Matrix Survival: One random treasure chest per day

Chapter 593 Together as Traitors
[Mission Objective: Infiltrate the players participating in the three rounds of challenges and do everything in your power to prevent them from completing the mission.]

The lingering light and shadow from the portal had not yet dissipated when the terminal display screen reappeared before Li Zheng's eyes, showing the details of the current mission.

He looked around and found seven cloaked figures of the same height and build standing beside him.

The gray cloak concealed his appearance, making it impossible to discern his identity from his looks.

In this situation, Preys' Eye gave Li Zheng an unimaginable advantage. After all, this disguise was like a joke to Old Preys, who could see through all the information.

Li Zheng glanced down and saw that he was wearing the same clothes, indicating that this was a mandatory requirement imposed by the terminal.

"Do everything in your power to prevent players from completing the quest?" a cloaked figure spoke, the voice androgynous, making it impossible to discern gender. "Such a simple request?"

"Is it easy?" another cloaked figure said in the same voice, "Are you thinking that killing all the players will complete the mission? Heh, take a good look at your own strength. It has been suppressed by the terminal to a rating below the beginner level, probably around the extraordinary level."

After his reminder, the others remained silent, clearly assessing their own strength.

After a while, the third cloaked figure spoke up: "Not only is our strength suppressed, but even the abilities we can use have changed!"

[Ability 1: I can fly high]
Effect: Using this skill temporarily increases jumping ability.

Duration: 7 seconds
Cooldown time: 10 seconds

[Ability 2: I can run fast]
Effect: Using this skill temporarily increases movement speed.

Duration: 3 seconds
Cooldown time: 5 seconds

[Ability 3: I can play hide-and-seek]
Effect: Using this skill grants invisibility for a period of time, during which movement speed is slightly reduced. Using other abilities will interrupt the invisibility effect.

Duration: 30 seconds
Cooldown time: 60 seconds

Special Ability: Stop babbling!
Effect: This skill is exclusive to mission executors. When used on a target, it will silence them. During the silence, the target cannot speak or use abilities.

Duration: 5 seconds
Cooldown time: 30 seconds

There are four skills in total, presented in a 3+1 format.

The effects of the first three abilities are quite standard, with nothing particularly noteworthy.

Only the last one, the ability exclusive to the mission executor, is somewhat interesting.

I guess the only way to complete this mission is to work on this skill.

After reading the ability descriptions, everyone wanted to have another discussion when the surrounding scenery suddenly changed, from the previous meeting place to a passage made of bluestone.

The number of people remained the same, eight in total, all wearing cloaks that concealed their appearance.

Li Zheng glanced at it subconsciously, and his expression turned strange.

Because these people's appearances haven't changed, but their identities have.

Or rather, the seven people around Li Zheng were no longer the seven residents from the outer city.

Instead, there were seven players from the planet Water Blue.

"This new special room is quite interesting. Instead of letting us choose our own teammates, it randomly matches us with all the players." One player stepped forward and said, "To make it easier to cooperate later, let's start by introducing ourselves. My name is Feng Bujue, and I'm from China."

"My name is Wang Tanzhi, and I'm also from China." Another player scoffed, "Who the hell do you think you are? Do you think others haven't seen Horror Park? You think you can just use my name like that?"

Li Zheng turned and glanced at him, but didn't say anything.

The first player wasn't lying; his name really was Feng Bujue.

Even without the Eye of Preys, Li Zheng could tell that both of them were from China, since puns are ineffective against automatic translation.

Feng Bujue explained his name, and apart from the one who made the sarcastic remark, 'Wang Tanzhi,' the others didn't react much.

"My name is Wang Xiaoshan," Wang Tanzhi introduced himself. "I'm from China."

Li Zheng glanced at him again and sighed deeply in his heart. Couldn't this kid be a little more sincere?

His real name is Wang Dahai, but he actually used the pseudonym 'Wang Xiaoshan'.

Having survived in the Matrix for so long, these players are truly cunning; there's no trust left between them. "My name is Li Ruizhou, and I'm also from China," Li Zheng followed suit, giving a false name.

Then the other five players took turns announcing their names and nationalities. They were:

"Li Minshun is from China."

"Erbatu, a Chinese from the Dragon Kingdom."

“Anne is from China.”

"Tchaikov, a Chinese."

"Carol, a Chinese."

Feng Bujue and Wang Xiaoshan looked at each other in disbelief. These people really don't need to think before they lie, do they?
The first two people surnamed Li said they were from China, which was fine, but what kind of people are they starting with Erbatu?
Even if Erbatu is a minority, we'll accept that, but those names like Tchaikov and Carol sound like they're made of vodka and cheese. How dare you call yourselves Chinese?!
What about the face?

Don't want your face?
Li Zheng was equally speechless. Apart from Erbatu, who was an honest man, all the other people's names and nationalities were fake.

Feng Bujue knew that dwelling on names and nationalities was pointless, so he simply assumed that what these people were saying was true and began to get down to business: "This is the first time we've entered this special room, and there's no guide to consult. So, regardless of your true identities, I hope that everyone can work together to overcome this challenge."

“The fact that you’ve all survived this long means you’re all quite skilled,” Wang Xiaoshan said. “Not to mention that the terminal has slightly improved our physical condition this time, bringing us to the extraordinary level. So if anyone drags us down later, I’ll just assume it’s intentional, that they want to drag others down.”

“I agree with everything you’ve said.” Li Minshun stepped forward and stood in front of Wang Xiaoshan. “Especially your point of view, I wholeheartedly agree with it. I hope you won’t make any mistakes in the future, because if you do, you’ll be a burden, and we won’t save you.”

Feng Bujue retorted, dissatisfied, "Didn't I say that we should all work together to overcome this difficult time?"

"Anyone can be hypocritical," Li Minshun said sarcastically. "You two were just pretending not to know each other. Did you think we couldn't see through you? You grabbed the initiative at the beginning, and then one of you kept saying we should work together, while the other was telling others not to hold us back."

They sound like they're talking in the same direction, but their actual meanings are completely opposite.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t feel comfortable entrusting my back to teammates like you two who are so hypocritical.” Li Minshun took a half step back: “If possible, I would like to act alone.”

"You'll regret this!" Wang Xiaoshan's voice was icy.

The cloaks concealed their faces, making it impossible to see their expressions, but Li Zheng guessed that Wang Xiaoshan and the other man must look extremely unwell at this moment.

What is a team most afraid of?
Stupid, troublemaker, traitor.

In just a short while, the seven-person team had gathered all these factors.

In the end, Feng Bujue and Wang Xiaoshan managed to recruit two teammates.

Erbatu and Carol.

As for Li Minshun, Chai Kefu, and Annie, they all wanted to be lone wolves and get through this special room on their own.

Why did Li Zheng also choose to be a lone wolf?
That's because it's safer for the mole to act alone!

Wang Xiaoshan and his three companions huddled together for a moment, then set off first, quickly disappearing from the sight of the remaining three after turning a corner.

Li Minshun glanced at the remaining three people and left in the second group without saying a word.

Tchaikov and Anne followed closely behind, becoming the third group.

Li Zheng thought for a moment and decided to follow Li Minshun and deal with this arrogant guy first.

Just as he was about to set off, another mission notification popped up in front of him.

[Personal Mission: During this mission, you will not only do your best to prevent other players from completing the mission, but also compete with your peers.]

[Task Requirement 1: At the end of the mission, the number of executors in the outer city cannot exceed three.]

[Task Requirement 2: During the mission, personally eliminate at least five players.]

[Task Requirement 3: During the task, personally eliminate at least one competitor.]

[Task Requirement 4: Before the start of the third round of challenges, ensure that your team suffers no more than two casualties.]

The more tasks you complete, the richer the rewards.

(End of this chapter)