Matrix Survival: One random treasure chest per day

Chapter 571 Mouse, I love sensible children like you the most.

In fact, Li Zheng knew in his heart that he was not incapable of learning Zhan Zhouzhou's "Piercing Swallow" move. After all, with the assistance of his super strong mental power, he could observe every detail of the exertion of force with unparalleled clarity.

The reason he couldn't learn it was because the technique of the "Swallow Through the Hall" wasn't about exerting force, but rather about some kind of mysterious "insight" or "state of mind".

If Zhan Zhouzhou herself were here, given some time, it would be no difficult for her to fully comprehend this move, "Through the Hall Swallow".

Because of her exceptional aptitude for swordsmanship, she easily absorbs insights and internalizes them.

As for Li Zheng...

His aptitude for martial arts is far too low. It would take him an incredibly long time to truly grasp it, and he would also need to constantly watch the memorized images to deepen his understanding of the move.

With no progress on the 'Swallow Through the Hall' technique, Li Zheng couldn't find a clue for the time being, so he simply turned to trying to convert the other proficiency techniques as well.

Soon, several more figures appeared in the dark realm, namely:

Sarutobi Amuro represents 'sword mastery', Miriel represents 'whip mastery', Li Zheng himself represents 'spear mastery' and 'short weapon (dagger) mastery', and... Fengshan, who inexplicably appeared in the Dark Realm, represents 'fist mastery'...

Fengshan's appearance made Li Zheng realize that the 'Alan Clan image' likely represented the combat skills of their own race, rather than 'fist techniques' that could be compared to mastery of fist techniques.

"It's a pity that Liu Jiale's swordsmanship cannot be taught casually, otherwise the 'Swordsmanship Specialist' image might have a different appearance." Li Zheng looked at Sarutobi Yura's figure, which was a woman dressed in a kimono, with a graceful figure and a samurai sword hanging at her waist, whose face was not clearly visible.

Only those familiar with Sarutobi Uraku could recognize her identity at a glance.

Due to some historical legacy, Li Zheng's ideology is very similar to that of the people of the Dragon Kingdom on the Blue Star. He doesn't quite like Sarutobi Yuruo, who is of Muddy Country origin, and feels somewhat uncomfortable about her influence in the Dark Realm.

“It’s too late to change things now, so we’ll just have to let it go.” Li Zheng shook his head slightly. “Let’s leave it for now. At least it’s a successfully generated image. We can see if we can replace her with someone else’s image later.”

After observing the subsequent images, Li Zheng found that they were no different from what he remembered. It was clear that cases like Zhan Zhouzhou were indeed very special and accidental.

"What a pity..." Li Zheng sighed. He was indeed lacking in talent in martial arts. The reason he was able to create a special case like Zhan Zhouzhou was probably because he had more contact with Zhan Zhouzhou and that Zhan Zhouzhou had personally instructed him in the past.

After gaining almost nothing from these images, Li Zheng planned to leave the Dark Realm. His capsule contained four memory release devices, which, once used, would generate four more memory images, enriching the content within the Dark Realm.

Just then, he felt his body sway, and the scenery before his eyes instantly changed, returning him to his body.

Strangely, this return did not bring the same mental pressure as before, and seemed quite ordinary.

Li Zheng's expression shifted, and he took off the memory release device, holding it in his hands and looking at it for a few more moments.

The difference between this return from the Dark Realm and the previous two times was obviously because I was wearing a memory release device. Could this item also isolate the pressure of a spiritual body?
"Awake?" Seeing Li Zheng's focused gaze, Miriel pointed to the only gap in the real maze and said to him, "Someone is looking for you."

"Someone's looking for me? Who is it?" Li Zheng put down the memory release device, which was no longer working, and looked in the direction Miriel was pointing.

There stood two unfamiliar alien races, one tall and one short, one strong and one thin.

The muscular one was tall and had its arms and legs sticking out, like claws left over from the evolution of wild beasts into humans. Its head was a bear's head covered with brown fur.

The thin one had a pointed, monkey-like face, with his mouth and nose protruding from his face, and his two front teeth stubbornly sticking out, making him look like no good person at all.

"The law enforcement team?" Li Zheng's gaze swept over the obvious law enforcement team insignia on the two men, wondering, "What do they want with me?"

“Who knows?” Miriel shrugged. “I’m just a follower. People have their own careers and don’t tell me about them.”

When those two guys appeared and specifically asked to see their master, Miriel was met with indifferent glances and cold expressions. Feeling helpless and speechless, she could only fulfill her duty as a person of her status—to inform Li Zheng.

"Could it be that Zhan Zhouzhou did something wrong and implicated me?" Li Zheng thought for a moment, then got up, jumped off the bed, and went to meet him.

"You two..." He had just begun to speak when the bear-headed man opened his blood-red maw and said in a muffled voice, "You're the temporary worker Mo Li chose?"

The sound came from under the other person's ear, with a metallic quality, clearly indicating that the other person was using a translation device for simultaneous interpretation.

"Uh... yes."

"Didn't Mo Li tell you the rules of the outer city?" the rat-headed man asked from the side, his voice, though metallic, had a sharp edge.

"No, what's wrong?" Li Zheng was completely bewildered, not understanding why these two law enforcement officers wanted to see him.

Could it be that Mo Li has done something wrong?

Probably not...

“Just as I thought.” The bear-headed man sighed and pointed to the walls built by the ‘True Maze’, saying to Li Zheng, “Considering that you were unaware of the situation and this is your first offense, quickly demolish these illegal buildings, and we can overlook your violation of the outer city’s regulations.”

"Uh... Huh???" Li Zheng was completely dumbfounded. He never expected that he was the one who had committed the crime!
"Do you know that your actions have seriously affected traffic?" The rat-headed man's eyes showed a hint of suppressed impatience. "If it weren't for Mo Li's influence, you would have been arrested by the law enforcement team an hour ago for 'affecting traffic in the outer city,' 'damaging the appearance of the city,' and 'illegally constructing illegal buildings.'"

"Do you know how many complaints our enforcement team has received about you in the past hour?" The rat-headed man's tone turned hostile when he saw Li Zheng still standing there. "Hurry up and demolish it!"

To be honest, they were already very polite to Li Zheng, and waited a full hour before informing him.

Of course, the reason it took so long was mainly because after the enforcement team received the complaint, no one dared to come and deal with the matter. In the end, the terminal had to randomly name two people from the enforcement team and force them to come and perform their duties.

Li Zheng had no idea how terrifying Mo Li's name was here. He thought the enforcement team in Block 902 was more approachable than the one in Block 950. He immediately put the real maze into a capsule, scratched his head, and apologized with an embarrassed smile: "I'm new here and don't know the rules. I'm really sorry for causing you all trouble."

"It's alright." The bear-headed man grinned, revealing a smile that he might have thought was kind, but which actually sent chills down Li Zheng's spine. He pointed to the bed. "That one's too big, so it needs to be put away. As for the table and chairs you use for tea, don't put them in the middle of the street. As long as they don't obstruct traffic in the outer city, we can turn a blind eye." Holy crap!

Li Zheng exclaimed inwardly, "This Brother Xiong from the enforcement team is so damn friendly!"

As the saying goes, one shouldn't hit a smiling face. If Li Zheng doesn't know his place, then he's really disrespecting the law enforcement team.

"No problem, no problem, I'll clean those things up right away and fully cooperate with our law enforcement team to maintain the atmosphere of the outer city!" Li Zheng obediently packed up all his things and then approached the two law enforcement team members with a big smile. He took out two diamond-quality gene serums from the capsule and stuffed them into their hands. "I feel like we've known each other for a long time. This is just a small gift, nothing special."

These were the only two bottles he had left over from his own use, and he could use them to do someone a favor.

The two looked down and instantly recognized the medicine and its quality, their faces showing some emotion.

No wonder Mo Li took such good care of this newcomer; it turns out this kid is incredibly generous!
Diamond-quality potions are of course useless to them, but don't forget that many of the residents in the outer city are old players, and over time they will inevitably pair up and have children.

Gene serums could be used to improve the bodies of their offspring, making them an invaluable resource for them.

Most importantly, they haven't seen this product through legitimate channels for many years since the gene-producing factory was destroyed, and similar items sold on the black market are ridiculously expensive.

It's a pity, the items are good, but they can't accept them.

The rat-headed man shoved the potion back into Li Zheng's hand and said righteously, "What do you take us for? Do you think we're here to enforce the law and try to profit from you? You dare to bribe the law enforcement team in the street! And as a portal receptionist, you're breaking the law, which is an even bigger crime. Be careful, or we'll arrest you and put you in jail!"

The bear-headed man was a little slow to react. He looked at the potion and then at the passersby who had stopped to watch. He immediately understood the rat-headed man's meaning and returned the potion to Li Zheng, saying firmly, "Yes, we can't take it!"

Although there are countless dirty deeds in the law enforcement team, they are all done in the shadows and belong to the unspoken rules. People in the outer city know this, but at the same time, they keep it to themselves.

But if they accept bribes in public, then the nature of the matter is different.

If anyone reports them, just like they reported Li Zheng, they will be punished by the enforcement team at best, and at worst, they may even lose their official positions as members of the enforcement team, which would be a huge loss.

Li Zheng, observing their expressions and understanding their meaning, immediately changed his tune: "How can this be considered a bribe? I may not have explained myself clearly just now. These things are actually the fines for my illegal road occupancy! As a law-abiding citizen of the outer city, isn't it only right that I voluntarily pay the fines?"

As he spoke, he stuffed the medicine back into their arms.

This time, the rat-headed man did not refuse. While putting the potion into his personal space, he pretended to say loudly, "Good! Since you have such awareness, our law enforcement team will enforce the law impartially, and the fine will be taken back and turned over!"

“Ah, yes, yes, yes…” the bear-headed man echoed repeatedly.

Passersby only saw two test tubes. They could simply fill the same containers with water and hand them over when they got home, and the medicine would go straight into their pockets.

This is what they call "when there are policies from above, there are countermeasures from below."

There are techniques to giving and receiving bribes.

Li Zheng's approach is just the most basic; there are more advanced techniques and rhetoric that allow one to conduct shady deals discreetly using everyday language.

"Don't do anything that violates the outer city regulations anymore, understand?" The rat-headed man warned Li Zheng with a serious face, but whispered in private, "From now on, we two brothers will protect you in this area. If anything happens, just send someone to the law enforcement team to find us. My name is Shen Rui, and his name is Xiong Li."

"Hmm!" Xiong Li nodded slightly, indicating his agreement with Shen Rui's statement.

Li Zheng beamed and cupped his hands in thanks to the two men: "Then thank you both for taking care of me."

"You're welcome." Shen Rui saw that the few pedestrians who had stopped to watch had left, and he was about to take his leave as well. Before leaving, he said to Li Zheng, "I, Shushu, like sensible children like you the most."

After saying that, he pulled Xiong Li away and quickly disappeared at the end of the street.

As he watched the two figures disappear into the distance, the smile on Li Zheng's face vanished.

He bribed those two guys not because he was simple-minded, but because the information Old Putin gave him was really exaggerated.

Despite the fact that the two law enforcement team members seemed somewhat wary of Mo Li, each of them was actually quite strong.

Bear-headed Man Xiong Li, Strength Rating: Beginner to Advanced!
The seemingly weaker rat-headed man, Shen Rui, had reached the intermediate early stage!
Li Zheng deduced from Shen Rui's few words that Mo Li was definitely a top-notch figure in this neighborhood. With Mo Li as his backer, he basically didn't need to worry about encountering any danger.

But he was only a temporary worker, and his position would have to be handed over to him once Mo Li returned.

At that time, Mo Li will be restricted by the terminal and will not be able to leave the teleportation portal too far.

At this point, having two powerful backers who can travel around freely becomes very necessary.

"As the saying goes, having more friends means having more options." Li Zheng sat down in the chair and earnestly instructed Miriel: "Those two guys from earlier will definitely come in handy in the future. Even if I don't need them now, Zhan Zhouzhou doesn't have the protection of an official position, right? He can be of great help when necessary."

“I understand.” Miriel sat down beside him. “Back when we were in the Abyss, my guards and maids accepted a lot of things from others, just so they could use my name to do things when necessary.”

"Huh?" Li Zheng was taken aback: "So all of you people whose names were used to cover things up knew? I thought you were all kept in the dark."

"You're underestimating us too much, aren't you?" Miriel rolled her eyes and said disdainfully, "Without our tacit approval, those people wouldn't be able to gain any influence whatsoever!"

Li Zheng pondered for a moment, then nodded: "That makes sense!"

(End of this chapter)