Matrix Survival: One random treasure chest per day

Chapter 514 Remnants of Civilization
"Changes? What changes?"

"have no idea."

The Ancient Mantis unexpectedly shook its head. It could tell that the matrix terminal was different from before, but it couldn't pinpoint exactly what the difference was.

Li Zheng was completely dumbfounded when he heard this. You don't know what you're saying?
Since you don't know where the changes have occurred, how can you be sure that the terminal is different from before?
"Dou Lei Lou, could it be that this ancient will has gone insane because it has merged with too many consciousnesses?"
and many more!

Li Zheng's expression suddenly changed drastically, because he suddenly sensed that a gate had been opened somewhere in his brain, from which a faint, eerie emotion was leaking out.

"This is!!!"

With a slight touch of his mental energy, the mental energy that he had been able to control so easily suddenly slipped out of his grasp, while the strange emotion seemed to receive tremendous nourishment and grew several times stronger!
"Is this... the secret that Romain Rolland was talking about, the secret that can't be known by others?"

Li Zheng recalled Luo Aimang's warning not long ago: never try to find the truth before you have reached a certain level of strength.

The moment you learn the truth, danger will strike sooner than expected!

What the ancient will just said undoubtedly revealed the truth that Roameng had been hiding, allowing Li to truly understand the whole truth.

"You...you...idiot...why are you telling me all this?"

Faced with this strange emotion, mental power became ineffective, and all his remaining means were rendered useless. Li Zheng was immediately at a loss and filled with regret: "I'm such an idiot! A complete idiot! Luo Aimang warned me, and I still had the curiosity!"

When an idiot with an insatiable thirst for knowledge meets a scheming scoundrel, who else is going to suffer if not you?

Helpless, Li Zheng felt like banging his head against a wall and dying.

The strange emotion that had grown stronger was like a greedy serpent, eyeing Li Zheng's spiritual source and the soul that served as the vessel for that source.

If one's soul is conquered, perhaps one will become what the ancient will said—an asymmetrical monster?

Although we don't know exactly what this so-called asymmetrical monster is, it's definitely not a good thing.

Unfortunately, all his skills, the only thing that allowed him to delve into the spiritual world of his mind, were powerless against this strange emotion.

My life is over!

Just then, the Dark Realm runes hidden in Li Zheng's palm suddenly shone brightly. The pure dark color seemed to absorb all light, and a rich and pure energy meandered from the inside of his arm all the way to his mind.

When that strange emotion came into contact with this energy, it was as if it had encountered its natural enemy, and it frantically fled in Li Zheng's mind, plunging into the depths of his soul.

The pure energy from the dark realm, like a leech clinging to a bone, followed closely behind, probing into Li Zheng's soul, entangled, enveloped, and devoured his strange emotions.

There is a play!

As an observer, Li Zheng was invigorated by witnessing this scene.

But he dared not do anything, fearing that if he rashly intervened, his remaining spiritual energy would be devoured, which would be tantamount to aiding the enemy. He could only wait for the pure energy to be unleashed.

After an unknown amount of time, the eerie emotions were finally completely erased and swallowed up, leaving not even a trace behind.

In a daze, Li Zheng seemed to hear a roar of resentment, and the strange emotions vanished like bubbles bursting in the sunlight.

But the gate that served as the passage did not disappear; it just stopped coming out.

After extinguishing the strange emotions, the pure energy became rather arrogant, transforming into a long tail that lashed out fiercely at the gate!

boom!
Li Zheng was struck by lightning and was sweating profusely.

The gate was breached, and the pure energy retreated back to the palm of the hand as if it had never existed.

At this moment, Li Zhengcai finally breathed a sigh of relief.

What the hell is that thing?

It can transcend countless distances and, through a spiritual approach, directly penetrate into the minds of others, releasing emotions that appear to have a tangible form.

This……

Unbelievable!

That's not scientific at all!
"Emotion" should be a derivative form of consciousness.

At best, it is a kind of appendage of consciousness; without consciousness or soul as its foundation, it should simply vanish.

But what I just experienced shattered this common sense. Emotions can actually exist as a separate entity, and can even devour the soul, using the souls of other beings as nourishment.
This is akin to taking a dump in the toilet, only to have that dump end up digesting you instead.

How absurd!

When Li Zheng came to his senses, he looked as if he had just been pulled out of the water, his clothes soaked with cold sweat, and he was panting heavily.

"Human, you actually survived!"

The ancient mantis's eyes flashed with green light as it scanned Li Zheng's brow.

It seems that it observed everything that just happened.

"Did you do this on purpose?" Li Zheng bent over and looked down. He felt very tired, as if he had just done an extreme sport that exhausted his physical strength.

Miriel silently stepped forward, supporting him with her small hand to steady him.

She was unaware of what had happened to Li Zheng, because she hadn't understood what the ancient will had said, so she, as one of the parties involved, was completely unharmed.

This is thanks to Zishu for not sending the translation equipment yet; otherwise, Li Zheng wouldn't have been the only one to suffer.

"It's just a trivial, unremarkable experiment." The Ancient Blade Mantis's electronic voice remained unchanged. Li Zheng felt that if he had died here just now, the Ancient Blade Mantis wouldn't have shown him the slightest pity.

"experiment?"

Ha ha……

Li Zheng smiled bitterly. He never expected that his life would be worthless to other races, and that he would become an experimental subject so easily.

As a race that has gone through countless player iterations, they couldn't possibly be unaware that once they understood the nature of the emotional storm, they would be attacked!
"You managed to pull through, human. It's a truly unexpected blessing." After confirming that Li Zheng was alright, the green light in the ancient mantis's compound eyes slowly faded. "This proves that our clan's research direction was not wrong!"

"What are your research areas?"

Li Zheng straightened up and laughed sarcastically: "You guys aren't researching how to actively engage with emotional storms and forcibly resist them with your own will, are you?"

"No, that's right, human, you are very intelligent." A hint of appreciation appeared in the complex emotions emanating from the ancient mantis.

Ah, it really is like that.

Li Zheng shook his head with a wry smile: "Can I ask you one question? Why are you using me as an experiment?"

He couldn't understand what he had done to deserve being targeted by an ancient race and made into a lab rat.

"Because of you, the rage within me has vanished." Perhaps because the scene just now proved that their research direction was correct, the Ancient Mantis explained, "Our race is dedicated to studying various emotions, trying to explore the essence of emotional storms, so as to obtain the means to combat them."

After years of research, our race has discovered that all races that have been overwhelmed and swallowed by emotional storms have one thing in common: they all possess the seven emotions of rage, greed, pride, sloth, gluttony, lust, and envy.

If one can remove one of these seven emotions from the body without relying on external forces, but solely on one's own strength, then perhaps one will possess the resources to combat emotional storms.

So, humanity, you're quite something!

It turned out to be like this...

Li Zheng smiled weakly. It turned out that he was being targeted because Xu had helped him suppress his rage back then.

Because he was tampered with by Xu during his return from the Dark Realm, it was as if he had found a way to get rid of Xu in the eyes of the Remnant Clan, who had been monitoring him through their rage.

What a huge misunderstanding! It almost cost me my life!
Li Zheng shook his head, raised his palm, revealing faint lantern patterns: "If you think that removing the rage was my own ability, then you are very wrong. In fact, I also relied on external forces, but you just don't know it."

"This is impossible! During our clan's observation period, only your place did not show any external force!" "Nothing is impossible. The items in the matrix are incredibly diverse. How can you be sure that nothing can escape your surveillance?" Li Zheng lowered his hand.

However, the ancient will's next words shocked him greatly.

"Because all the tools in the Matrix were invented bit by bit, and my race... is the remnant of the civilization that built the Matrix and the Tower!"

What the hell!!

Li Zheng felt completely numb.

The kind of numbness that spreads from head to toe.

Despite all the calculations, I never expected that they would be the oldest race in the Matrix...

Damn it?

How dare they call someone a "stink bug"?

Where did you get the nerve?
"Therefore, whether inside the matrix or in the outer city, no item can deceive our people's eyes and ears!" The electronic voice rang out calmly.

Li Zheng had no way to refute this. If the ancient race was indeed the one that originally created the matrix, then they certainly had the confidence to say such a thing.

Unless the lantern itself holds many more secrets that it has yet to discover.

Li Zheng's eyes flickered, as if his understanding of the lantern came entirely from one-sided accounts, with no evidence to prove whether what he said was true or false.

What if it's just a lie, a self-deception?

The thought of such a possibility made Li Zheng feel even more exhausted.

Can the world get any better?
Can't everyone just be a little more straightforward?

Why use so many tricks?

Is it fun?
Gan!
But looking at it from another angle, is it possible that... the ancient will was the one lying?

After all, most of the emotions you perceive from the other person are negative and pessimistic. In comparison, when the other person communicates with you, it is actually more pure.

Given that the other party just led him to the "truth" without explanation, it's hard not to suspect that the ancient will has ulterior motives.

"Let's set aside whether I managed to get rid of the rage on my own."

Li Zheng asked, "Is it possible that the direction of your research is not necessarily correct?"

Science is a rigorous discipline, and anyone working in this field should maintain an uncertain skepticism about the results.

"impossible!"

For the first time, the electronic voice carried a resolute tone: "Our clan's research direction is definitely correct!"

Goodness, you didn't pause at all while saying that! How sure are you...?

Even though the experiment was still in progress, they were so certain about the results. Li Zheng felt that this race had gone a bit mad in their ability to deal with emotional storms.

No matter what you say to a stubborn person, it's useless; they will only believe that their thoughts, actions, and beliefs are correct.

Li Zheng was too lazy to continue the discussion with the ancient will: "Now that the experiment is over, can you send me away from here?"

Instead of wasting time in this wretched place, we should head to the outer city to improve our strength.

He had already experienced emotional storms before and knew that with his current strength, if he faced one head-on, he wouldn't have the strength to resist at all.

"sure."

The ancient mantis turned around and gestured for Li Zheng to follow: "Before that, cooperate with our clan for a thorough examination. Afterwards, we will let you leave."

Li Zheng stood still, the so-called inspection sounded a bit unreliable.

Will it be used as a test subject for biopsy?

Seeing that Li Zheng hadn't followed, the Ancient Mantis stopped, and an electronic voice rang out from high above: "Don't worry, there will be no danger."

The ancient celestial canopy reappears, with a colossal mechanical head looking down from the distant sky, a sight that takes your breath away.

That's true. If they were to slice it, it seems like I wouldn't be able to resist.

Since you can't resist it, try to accept it...

If a person dies, a bird will look up to the sky, and he will not die for tens of thousands of years.

When I become powerful, you better pray you don't fall into my hands, otherwise I'll definitely tear you apart and give you a thorough medical checkup!

With a sigh, Li Zheng led Miriel and Xiaoying and followed.

At this moment, Li Zhengcai noticed that the two red Poli were also there.

Li Zheng still hasn't figured out what exactly is going on with this special race.

Even though it hasn't acknowledged a master, it follows me everywhere, and now it's even hitched a ride to the outer city.

Also no one.

"Polly?"

Sensing that Li was looking at her, a red Poring appeared above Sakura's head, its eyes looking at her with a puzzled expression.

Sakura, with the help of the two red Porings, remained in a deep sleep.

Looking at it, Li Zheng suddenly thought that if the little guy were still awake, it would have pretended to be dead on the spot when the Ancient Curtain appeared, just like when it first met Luo Aimang.

He hadn't noticed it before, but looking at it now, Li Zheng realized he really missed how lively and active the little guy used to be.

Once we reach the outer city, figure out the rules there, and establish ourselves, we'll go find a way to awaken Sakura.

If the little guy continues to sleep like this, Li Zheng is worried that he will die in his sleep and never wake up again.

Following the ancient mantis, Li Zheng encountered several giant mechanical entities of different shapes along the way.

Looking at these towering mechanical structures, for a moment he even had the illusion that he had arrived on Cybertron.

Those Transformers that gained the ability to transform after being exposed to the AllSpark are probably about the same size as these ancient machines.

I wonder who would be stronger if they were put into a real battle?
Li Zheng looked up, but the head of the Ancient Heavenly Veil had disappeared again and could not be seen in his sight.

Old Pu has been silent ever since he probed the other party's information, probably hiding in some corner trembling with fear.

Li Zheng sighed again. Why were all the cowards around him?
That is why Miriel always remained calm in the face of anything.

Oh, and there are two carefree Red Poli who know nothing of danger.

Without a clock, Li Zheng had no idea how long he had followed the ancient mantis before a metal door, about three meters long, finally came into view.

The Ancient Blade Mantis stepped forward, and a laser beam shot out from above the doorway, connecting with the Ancient Blade Mantis's compound eyes.

A few seconds later, the metal door made a hydraulic sound and slowly moved upwards.

Once the metal door was fully opened, the laser disconnected from the ancient mantis, regaining its mobility and leading the way inside.

Following them inside, after passing through a short passage, an extremely advanced factory appeared before Li Zheng's eyes.

(End of this chapter)