Matrix Survival: One random treasure chest per day

Chapter 517 The Disappointing Outer City

"I'll give you another chance now. Do you want me to take you for a medical check-up?"

Yakumo figured that if Li Zheng acted alone, who knows what kind of trouble he would cause? So he gave Li Zheng another chance to choose.

In the past, if someone rejected her once, she wouldn't bother with them anymore.

"Yes, yes, yes! Of course I want it!"

Li Zheng nodded repeatedly, then asked in confusion, "Actually, you took me for a medical check-up just to make some extra money off me, right? If I just give you the money directly and you provide me with some help, wouldn't that eliminate the middleman making a profit?"

"Do you think I don't want to?"

Yakumo led Li Zheng towards one end of the street: "But I have official duties to perform. If I accept gifts from others without permission, it would be considered bribery. Do you want to get me fired?"

"so serious?"

Li Zheng was surprised. Was the management of the outer city really that strict?
"That's not right. Is there any difference between earning extra money through commission and accepting bribes?"

They look almost identical, and the latter's behavior even seems more egregious...

"Of course there is a difference."

Yakumo explained, "Taking you to a medical check-up is like being a part-time 'middleman' for me. As a middleman, isn't it normal to take a commission from the service? After all, I've put in the work."

“That does…make some sense?” Li Zheng felt that something was off about her statement. “Wait a minute! Your job is to be a new receptionist, so if you do real estate agent work during your work hours, wouldn’t that be considered dereliction of duty?”

"Yalan is my immediate superior," Yakumo explained abruptly.

"And then?" Li Zheng didn't react.

"...He's my boss, so all I need to do to ask for leave is for him to approve it. Don't you understand?"

"learn!"

Li Zheng nodded vigorously. So it was still a case of using public office for private gain.

It's really just a disguised form of accepting bribes.

“Perfect timing. The place I’m taking you is quite far. If you have any questions along the way, feel free to ask. I’ll answer any questions I can.” After a moment of silence, Yakumo spoke again: “However, I can’t tell you anything, or if it’s high-value information, there will be a price to pay, ranging from one hundred to ten thousand white crystals. So think carefully before you ask, don’t waste my time.”

In fact, after spending some time in the outer city, Li Zheng had already discovered that this place was a money-obsessed society. As long as you had money, nothing was too difficult to get things done.

It vividly demonstrates what it means to be unable to move an inch without money.

Yakumo is quite generous; he's willing to answer a few of my questions for free.

Although it's because they're about to earn some extra money from me...

After thinking carefully for a while, Li Zheng listed several questions and asked them one by one: "The first question is, where should I go to exchange for white crystal coins?"

"Hmm, I thought you were going to ask where the terminal is."

Yakumo said this with a hint of sarcasm, indicating that in the past, the first thing most people wanted to do when they came to the outer city was to see the Matrix Terminal.

"First of all, you need to understand one thing: even places that exchange white crystal coins privately are different."

"Some places offer higher exchange rates, but the corresponding risks are also very high."

"Don't be fooled by the fact that all dangerous goods must be handed over for safekeeping once you enter the outer city. As you saw in the conflict just now, there are many ways to kill without weapons."

"Therefore, if you find a black market for exchanging white crystal coins, you'd better keep your eyes open and not exchange too many at once under the same faction, otherwise you'll be targeted by others."

“In certain corners of the outer city, corpses are often found every day, most of them assassinated and robbed after their wealth was exposed.”

"Also, since you know about these private exchange points, it must be Delta... oh, you mean that guy at the registration desk earlier, did he tell you?"

Li Zheng nodded.

Yakumo continued, "Don't be fooled by his seemingly kind-hearted act of warning you not to flaunt your wealth. In reality, this guy is ruthless. Believe me, if you turn around now, you'll see at least three faces you saw outside the registration office."

"!!!"

Li Zheng was startled by what he heard and resisted the urge to turn around and look.

“You’re clever, you didn’t alert the enemy, but you’re also stupid, because you exchanged a white crystal coin at Delta.” Yakumo seemed to shake her head, only her hood could be seen swaying from side to side: “Being able to exchange a white crystal coin without hesitation when you first entered the outer city means you must have a lot of good stuff.”

This means that when those people rob someone, they'll be even more ruthless than usual; you should be prepared for that.

"Isn't he afraid of breaking the rules by doing this?" Li Zheng couldn't help but ask. Wouldn't these public officials be punished by the authorities?

"Heh, as long as he doesn't do it himself, the terminal has no reason to punish him." Yakumo scoffed at Delta's approach, saying it lacked any technical sophistication and was like that of a bandit who only dared to attack the weak.

"Then how does he profit... Oh..." Li Zheng realized, "After those people looted the goods, Delta's share would be consumed through the official exchange window, and then Delta would take a legitimate cut?"

“That’s right.” Yakumo nodded.

"Isn't anyone in charge of this kind of thing?" Li Zheng had mixed feelings. He had thought that the rules in the outer city would be more orderly, but now it seemed that it was not much better than that so-called wilderness.

It might just be a roundabout way of doing something dirty, a facade of peace.

"Of course someone is in charge; that's what the enforcement team does."

For some reason, Li Zheng didn't show much respect when Yakumo mentioned the enforcement team.

It seemed... there was even a hint of disdain in it.

"Hey, see that guy with the armband?"

Yakumo tilted his head, and Li Zheng looked in the direction he was looking. It was a beetle-like creature with six arms. One of the arms had a piece of black cloth tied to its chitinous shell. The cloth was embroidered with an abstract pattern of a long sword and a pistol crossed.

"That's the enforcement team?"

Li Zheng squinted because the beetle was lazily leaning against the outside of a shop, ignoring the pedestrians on the roadside.

Yakumo nodded slightly: "Can you expect these good-for-nothings to be dutiful? But they're not really indifferent. If a battle of level one or higher occurs in the outer city, they're still willing to take action."

It wasn't because they wanted to fulfill their duties as law enforcement, but because those who caused trouble often possessed valuables; they could abuse their power for personal gain, extort money, and line their own pockets.

"So you mean they generally don't care if people below the beginner level cause trouble, just because there's no profit in it?" Li Zheng found it hard to believe. If that's the case, then people with beginner-level strength have almost no chance of survival in the outer city.
“Not necessarily.” Yakumo’s tone became complicated as he said this: “Every once in a while, the terminal will conduct assessments on those of us who hold public office. If we fail the assessment, our positions will be terminated.”

"So there might be periodic chaos in the outer city. As the assessment period approaches, law enforcement will be strengthened. Once the assessment is over, the outer city will fall into a brief period of celebration?" Li Zheng understood the implication.

“If you want to avoid the ‘Carnival,’ just stay in a building during that time,” Yakumo said. “The outer city rules state that no illegal activities are allowed in any building except in special locations. It’s possible that someone will provoke you, and you have to endure it. If you make the first move, you’re finished.”

"What kind of special place are you talking about...?" Li Zheng was now a curious child, eager to learn about everything in the outer city. "Many."

Yakumo explained to him: "For example, places that contain underground boxing gyms, casinos, tobacco shops, brothels, etc., are difficult to guarantee that there will be no danger because of their special circumstances."

After all... fights between boxers, gamblers blinded by greed, smokers experiencing cravings, and clients arguing over prostitutes—these are all unstable factors, and it's best to avoid these places if you want to avoid them.

"So these are the places..."

For a moment, Li Zheng almost thought he had returned to Earth. What the hell was the difference between this place, with its prostitution, gambling, and drugs?

That so-called tobacco shop is likely a place that sells drugs. How can the authorities not care about something that erodes people's will?
Well……

Perhaps it's because the end users can't control it even if they want to; anyone who dares to touch these things must have a very terrifying force behind them.

Li Zheng, who was born on Earth, found it hard to imagine that these businesses, which would be serious crimes on Earth, were actually considered 'legal' in the outer city.

It completely shattered his worldview for a hundred years!

Li Zheng knew that with his current strength, he was definitely no match for those behemoths.

However, from the moment he heard about these harmful things, he had already decided to eradicate these scourges.

It is our duty to punish evil and uphold justice, and to restore a clean and bright environment to the outer city!

"You don't actually have any plans to oppose certain forces, do you?"

As if she could read people's minds, Yakumo, without even turning her head, hit the nail on the head regarding Li Zheng's thoughts. She chuckled and said, "I advise you to put this idea aside. I have seen many righteous people, but they either died tragically or went astray."

"I won't, at least I won't go along with it!" Li Zheng composed himself: "What do you veteran players think about this?"

"us?"

Yakumo was silent for a moment, then laughed out loud: "In your words, it's just giving up, what else can you do? Life goes on, at most you can just restrain yourself from touching it."

Is this a typical case of being unable to resist and only able to give up?
Li Zheng frowned. If everyone is unwilling to resist, what's the point of staying in this outer city?
Are we just going to stay here and live a life of debauchery?

What to do about an emotional storm?
What will happen to our homes?
Are we just going to ignore it all?
Li Zheng discovered that in less than four hours, the more he learned about the outer city, the more he disliked this place.

If the terminal hadn't forced him to come here, he would have loved to escape and return to the Matrix.

At least in that place, he had a certain ability to keep the rules within a relatively less cruel range.

All the questions that had been swirling in his mind suddenly vanished, leaving Li Zheng feeling somewhat depressed.

"Don't you have any other questions?" Yakumo noticed his silence and asked after a while.

“I had a lot of ideas, but suddenly I lost interest,” Li Zheng sighed.

"Are you disappointed with the outer city?" Yakumo said with a light laugh. "Actually, you don't need to be so pessimistic. Although the outer city is a bit chaotic, there are still certain rules. You will understand as you get to know it."

And... not everyone here is giving up; some people are still trying to survive.

They did try to resist, but they all failed.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be trapped in the outer city, barely surviving.

Ultimately, the residents of the outer city were nothing more than a pack of stray dogs, continuing to live in what they considered a dignified way.

It's hard to say who's right and who's wrong, who's acting legally and who's acting illegally.

Just as rolling one's eyes is considered disrespectful on Earth, it is the highest form of etiquette among the black and white tapirs.

"Tell me where I can exchange for white crystal coins." Li Zheng was silent for a while before asking again, "You led me astray just now, and the topic suddenly went quite far."

"Don't worry, we can change it at the place we go."

Yakumo led Li Zheng around a corner and into a secluded alley. The number of pedestrians here suddenly became sparse, and the alley was filled with clutter on both sides, with all sorts of random things inside.

Li Zheng even saw an eyeball of unknown race roll out from a pile of junk, staring at him with an eerie gaze.

"Go away!"

Yakumo kicked him mercilessly, and a cry of pain came from the pile of debris nearby.

But apart from that cry of pain, there was no further response.

Li Zheng followed Yakumo deeper into the area and couldn't help but ask curiously, "What happened just now?"

“He’s just a homeless man from the multi-eyed tribe. Watch your step when you walk in the future. If you accidentally step on one of their eyeballs, they’ll try to extort money from you, and you won’t have an easy time.” Yakumo explained, “The way I did it just now is the best way. It didn’t break any eyeballs, but it also let them know that you’re not someone to be trifled with.”

"..."

Li Zheng was astonished. Could there really be a race that didn't care about their own organs at all?

"Do you think they don't care about their own organs?" Yakumo sneered. "You guessed right, they really don't care."

The multi-eyed race has a very strange characteristic: all the eyes on their bodies can regenerate rapidly, and if one is lost, it can grow back in a maximum of 24 hours.

Unfortunately, these eyes are special; they cannot be transplanted to any living organism except for the person who created them.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have become homeless by selling their eyeballs.

Hearing this, Li Zheng couldn't help but ask, "Besides exchanging for White Crystals, are there no other ways to earn White Crystals in the outer city?"

Yakumo stopped in his tracks. The two had arrived at a door with strange lamps and slapped one of the oddly shaped lamps hard.

"Ouch~~"

The light fixture actually opened its eyes, said something in a complaining tone, and then opened the door.

"We're here, come in."

Yakumo beckoned Li Zheng inside and explained the issue to him: "Of course there are ways to earn white crystal coins, and there are many."

Besides various businesses, the most well-known is taking on assignments.

As for where to pick up the mission, after you finish your physical exam, just keep walking straight along the path we came in from. The building with the most extravagant style and the largest area is the one.

Just then, Li Zheng saw a small door open inside the brightly lit building, and a figure walked out.

"It's you!?"

(End of this chapter)