Matrix Survival: One random treasure chest per day

Chapter 557 Zhan Zhouzhou's mission and... Li Zheng?!

"It's nothing, I just suddenly remembered something." Li Zheng turned his head away awkwardly.

He didn't know why he felt guilty.

“It will take about three days to return to our ancestral home. I need you to cover for me as a receptionist for the next three days until I return.” The receptionist took out a small hexagonal badge and handed it to Li Zheng.

"This is……"

I took the badge, and a virtual message flashed on it: "Duty has been temporarily handed over. You are not allowed to leave your post during the temporary shift!"

Li Zheng: "..."

Wow, this is incredibly intelligent!

They handed it over as soon as they got it... without giving anyone any room for hesitation.

"It seems my itinerary for the next three days is set." Li Zheng smiled wryly at Miriel, indicating that the shopping trip he had previously agreed to would have to be postponed or canceled.

Miriel nodded nonchalantly, seemingly lost in thought: "Then see if you can grant me access to the Inscription Card. Just give me the card directly, and I can go shopping by myself."

"..." Li Zheng took out the inscription card and studied it for a while, and found that there really was an authorization option.

He said to Miriel expressionlessly, "You can't authorize anyone else to use it."

Miriel met his gaze at eye level, flapped her wings, and replied expressionlessly, "Do you think I'm an idiot?"

“…Ahahaha…” Li Zheng chuckled dryly a few times and handed the inscription card to Miriel: “Spend it sparingly.”

"Do I look like that kind of immature person?" Miriel rolled her eyes, grabbed the inscription card, and flew away.

Looking at Miriel's retreating figure, the Blood-Patterned Black Dragon receptionist said to Li Zheng with a strange expression, "You're quite different from everyone I've ever met."

"What's the difference?"

“You’re so good to your pet,” the receptionist said. “I’ve never seen a player give their pet so much freedom; you’re the first.”

"Really?" Li Zheng was slightly taken aback, then smiled: "Perhaps after a while, you will meet more people like me."

"For them, pets are more like companions, like family members, than ordinary lives that can be abandoned at any time."

Perhaps due to the influence of numerous online novels, as far as Li Zheng knows, most of the players on Blue Star who own pets value them highly. Some even consider their pets more important than their families, preferring to face danger alone to ensure their pets' safety.

Gazing quietly at Li Zheng, and finding that he didn't seem to be lying, the receptionist sighed, "It's a blessing for this little one to be able to follow you. I think that once she finishes her dormant period, she should take the initiative to find you and continue to follow you."

Among the Blood-Striped Black Dragon Clan, this is the highest positive evaluation they can give to an outsider!

Li Zheng smiled calmly and said, "Xiaoying has her own choices, and as her companion, I support her unconditionally!"

At that moment, a change appeared in the receptionist's calm eyes hidden under her hood. Her gaze softened several times over, as if she had finally begun to acknowledge Li Zheng.

"My name is Mo Li. What's your name?" Mo Li asked Li Zheng about his identity and told him her real name.

"My name is Li Zheng."

"Li Zheng?"

"Well, what?"

"No..." Mo Li's tone contained a hint of doubt. He seemed to have heard a similar name somewhere, but why couldn't he remember it?

Shaking her head, she pulled Xiaoying towards the portal. Before leaving, she said to Li Zheng, "You can find out the general duties of a receptionist through the public office badge. Generally speaking, no one dares to cause trouble for public officials in the outer city... If you do, just bear with it for a few days and I'll get revenge for you when I get back."

"Okay." Li Zheng nodded, then watched Mo Li lead Xiao Ying away through the teleportation portal.

For a moment, I felt like something was missing in my heart, leaving me feeling empty.

After Sakura fell asleep, her presence became very weak, but since she had been by his side since the first day he entered the Matrix, Li Zheng still couldn't let her go.

"It's just a month-long trip to their ancestral homeland, nothing should go wrong... right..."

Li Zheng recalled the novels he had read before, where such plots often represented endless trouble.

He is someone who hates trouble.

"Probably not..." he muttered to himself, looking down at the so-called official badge.

[Civil Service: Portal Receptionist]

[Responsibilities: To receive all life forms entering and exiting the portal (number: 902) and facilitate their travel.]

[Old Pu: To put it bluntly, you're just a gatekeeper. Your job is simply to open up a path for those people in different directions... Right, are you having some strange little scenarios playing out in your head right now? Keywords: elevator, uniform, woman, malfunction...]

Li Zheng: "..."

If you put it that way, then the duties of a portal receptionist are indeed quite clear.

Looking around, I saw pedestrians hurrying by, and no one using the teleportation portal.

Li Zheng sighed. In this desolate world, no one was willing to go there voluntarily. The street teleportation required a handling fee, which made the teleportation gate receptionist a cushy job...

Bored to the extreme, he simply took out some tables and chairs of different styles that he had previously collected from the capsule, placed them in front of the portal, boiled a kettle of water to make tea, and slowly sipped it alone under the gaze of all the passersby.

Actually, taking over as the portal receptionist was exactly what Li Zheng wanted, as it allowed him to wait for Zhan Zhouzhou, who was expected to be doing a mission in the wilderness, to return.

……

Wilderness, ID: B7712485344
This is the destination area for Zhan Zhouzhou's mission. It is a low-resource area, inhabited only by a few kinds of wild beasts, and there is not a single mineral deposit.

Therefore, apart from those who have received missions, no one other than wild beasts will appear here under normal circumstances.

"Three pairs of tusks from a 'purebred red-skinned boar'?"

Zhan Zhouzhou held the Purple Extreme Sword, standing in the cold wind, his expression shifting between light and dark, giving off an air of wanting to challenge someone to a duel.

There were already no fewer than ten pairs of red-skinned pig tusks lying inside her capsule, which should have been enough to complete the mission.

But that's where the problem lies.

She didn't look closely when she accepted the mission; she just thought that a mission that didn't even require 'beginner' level strength was offering a reward of 100,000 white crystals, so she accepted it without thinking.

The task actually required the tusks of a 'purebred' red-skinned boar!
The key point is 'purebred'!
"Damn it, how would I know what kind of pure bloodline is called 'pure blood'?" Zhan Zhouzhou gritted his teeth in anger, released the Purple Extreme Sword in his hand, and instead activated the thrusters on his back. Regardless of whether it would attract the surrounding wild beasts, he swaggered into the sky.

"And the quest didn't describe the difference between purebred red-skinned pigs and regular red-skinned pigs. Am I supposed to slaughter all the red-skinned pigs in the entire area?!"

Zhan Zhouzhou is in a bad mood right now!

Very upset!

Although she still had one more chance to abandon the mission without penalty today, she had already accepted it and had already spent half a day working at the mission target location. If she just went back like this, she would only feel more unhappy.

Zhan Zhouzhou is inherently competitive, and this competitive nature sometimes manifests as... being very stubborn!
Her personality is particularly evident when she has sunk costs incurred in something and when the thing itself is challenging for her.

At this point, she was caught in a mental dilemma: abandoning the mission would make her reluctant to give up the 'sunk costs' she had already invested, but not giving up...

The result could be that the task continues indefinitely.

"Since the terminal has confirmed that the mission is successful, it means that it can definitely be completed in this area. If killing ten red-skinned pigs is not enough, then I will kill a hundred! A thousand!"

"Until we gather enough for the mission..."

"Ok?"

While searching for the red-skinned pigs in the air with her thrusters, Zhan Zhouzhou was suddenly stunned when she looked to her right front. She had actually spotted signs of a battle taking place in the distance.

Damn it!
This stupid quest is actually being fought over?!
The thought popped into Zhan Zhouzhou's mind, and anger rose in her heart. She prepared to go and 'steal the monster'.

However, as he flew closer and was about to reach his opponent, Zhan Zhouzhou's expression suddenly changed, and he swiftly swung his right hand five times in front of him.

Ding!
Ding!
……

Ding!
Five crisp impacts rang out in succession, and five waves of energy suddenly erupted in the otherwise empty air before silently dissipating.

"What a strong spirit!"

Zhan Zhouzhou's narrow eyes narrowed as she stared at the figure on the ground, who was holding a dark red dagger and wearing a blood-red hood, and exclaimed in surprise: "Li Zheng?!"

(End of this chapter)