Matrix Survival: One random treasure chest per day

Chapter 628 Invisible Panic
Li Zheng felt a little resentful. Why was he almost killed when the Black Dragon Spear was recognized as its master, while Xiao could just reach out and take it away?

Why should we?
Could it be because of race?

He pondered, "If Black Dragon Spear's recognition of Xiao is actually due to his recognition of his race, then it makes sense. It's just that I don't know which race he belongs to. When I first met him, his strength was too low, and Old Pu was unable to find out. I might be able to try next time."

Seeing that he was extremely weak, Zi Yuan urged him, "I suggest you go back to your room and rest first. When Senior Brother comes back, I'll ask him what happened. He's the one who created the Black Dragon Spear, and he should know the most about everything that happened during the recognition process."

"Okay." Li Zheng nodded and said to Miriel, "Help me back."

Miriel responded and led him back to his room.

Li Zheng laid out the bed and lay down on it, sighing, "I was originally planning to go out and find a martial arts sparring school to practice my moves, but I never expected something like this to happen."

“You’re already very strong. Even the top expert of the Abyss Clan might not be able to defeat you. Why are you pushing yourself so hard?” Miriel sat on the edge of the bed and looked at him.

“You don’t understand.” Li Zheng sighed. “You’ve been with me for a while now, so you should have heard about the Seven Sins Domain and the crisis of the Emotional Storm. These kinds of disasters that have wiped out countless civilizations always make me uneasy. I have a feeling that no matter how strong I am, I can’t survive them.”

Miriel pondered, "If we can't win, the outer city can still accommodate quite a few people, right? We're quite content living in the outer city, aren't we?"

"Heh." Li Zheng smiled wryly: "Didn't the Queen tell you that when the Abyss Clan entered the Matrix, all the elderly and young were screened out?"

Li Zheng looked up at the ceiling: "If we only think about hiding in the outer city and trying to survive instead of improving ourselves, what will happen to our families who couldn't enter the outer city when the final battle comes? Are we just going to watch them die?"

Miriel paused, stunned. "But among all the people I've met, I don't think I've ever seen anyone who still cares about their families. Especially those tens of thousands you killed today, if any of them had any concern for their families, they should have carefully considered things before targeting your legion, right?"

After all, Miriel could imagine the possibility of settling scores later. If the Origin Legion hadn't been defeated in one fell swoop, and as long as there was one survivor, even if there wasn't that so-called final crisis, wouldn't those people be afraid of their families being implicated?

“Perhaps… it’s because they don’t understand enough about what will happen in the future that they’re easily misled.” Li Zheng looked at the ceiling and said softly, “Before I knew about the emotional storm, I also thought I would spend my whole life in the Matrix. I never imagined that as long as we resolved the emotional storm, we would have the possibility of returning home.”
No……"

He suddenly felt a little lonely: "Aquamarine is their home planet, but I... I am a wanderer from another universe, and my home planet is not here."

"Moreover, most players may not even be aware of the existence of emotional storms and are still worried about their daily explorations. Having a powerful legion as a backer at least ensures their safety during daily explorations."

If a player encounters an overly powerful enemy and knows they cannot defeat it, they can ask for help within their legion and stall until others come to their aid.

This kind of support and protection can only be enjoyed if they obey the orders of the legion's high command.

Li Zheng also knew that most of the tens of thousands of people he killed were probably innocent players who did not participate in the attack on Qidian, but so what?
Since they chose to join those legions, they should have expected this day to come.

Li Zheng was also prepared for this.

If one day he encounters an insurmountable enemy and is killed.

He also had no regrets.

When he awoke from the matrix, he may not have had this realization yet, but after his first encounter with the Limitless Transformer and his experience of a life-or-death crisis, he came to understand.

Miriel comforted him, "Don't think too much about it. Maybe one day we'll find our way home?"

"future……"

A hint of confusion flashed in Li Zheng's eyes. He possessed the memories of his original self before his transmigration and had a strong longing to return to Earth.

However, countless years have passed since the original body traveled here. If it can return in the future, who knows what Earth will have become.

For a moment, he felt lost and helpless, fearing that when he returned, the Earth would be gone...

Or perhaps civilization on Earth has already evolved; these are all uncertain things.

"Wait!" Li Zheng suddenly realized, "What do you mean 'we'? You want to come back to Earth with me too?"

Miriel's beautiful eyes were full of smiles: "Yes, I'd love to see what a place that could raise such an outstanding person as you is like."

“Excellent… outstanding?” Li Zheng was somewhat ashamed: “What do I mean by outstanding… compared to those great people in my hometown, I am simply not worth mentioning.”

"Oh?" Miriel rested her finger on her chin, looking longingly at the sight. "Then I'd like to go see it even more."

Li Zheng couldn't help but ask, "Putting aside whether we can go back to Earth, don't you want to go back to your Abyss Clan's ancestral land with the Queen?"

“The ancestral land…” Miriel pondered for a moment, “To be honest, I don’t really want to go. I heard from my mother that the Abyss Clan’s ancestral land is actually quite ordinary, full of volcanoes and lava, and even the plants are black. Just thinking about it makes me feel horribly ugly. I still prefer a colorful world, so whether I go back to the ancestral land or not is not important.”

"Okay." Li Zheng thought for a moment and nodded.

Legend has it that demons live in the abyss, where the sun never shines, and the world is always dominated by dark colors, so there seems to be nothing to worry about.

Moreover, all the Abyss Clan members who failed to enter the Matrix are probably dead. Going back wouldn't allow them to see their families, so there's no point in going back.

"Oh, right." Thinking about the demons, Li Zheng said, "Actually, there are also legends about demons in my hometown. I used to think they were just fantasies of some people, but now that I think about it carefully, maybe those people have come into contact with your race through some means, but they can't be sure of the truth, so they recorded them as fantasy biographies or something."

"Huh?" Miriel looked up at him, excitedly asking, "Really? What are we Abyss Demons like in your legends?"

“Uh…” Li Zheng’s expression froze: “Well… it’s a bit awkward, because demons don’t have a good reputation where we are; they’re basically all villains.”

"A villain?" Miriel wasn't disappointed; instead, she asked with even more excitement, "Is it the kind of villain who's determined to destroy the world?"

Li Zheng tilted his head and thought carefully: "Pretty much. They are basically ugly demons with red skin, horns on their heads, a pair of bat-like wings on their backs, and the ability to breathe fire. They feed on human children."

“Hmm, this image is somewhat similar to that of a Greater Demon.” Miriel touched her chin with her finger and recalled: “Greater Demons are known for their bad temper among the Abyss Clan. They are the kind of beings who will start a fight at the slightest disagreement, so they are not very popular. In particular, there is a branch of the Greater Demon Clan called the Berserker Demons. Even if no one provokes them, they are always looking for a fight.”

"A berserk demon...is this what it looks like?" Li Zheng roared, his body twisting and transforming into an ugly demon, his muscles bulging high, exuding a sense of power.

“Yes, yes, yes! That’s exactly how it looks!” Miriel covered her mouth and chuckled. “It’s so ugly. Succubi dislike Great Demons the most; they’re all violent maniacs.”

As she spoke, she suddenly froze, pointed at Li Zheng, and her mouth slightly agape: "You...you...oh dear, I'm so embarrassed!"

She covered her face and ran to the eggshell bed, burying herself in the blankets.

"what?"

Li Zheng was stunned. "I just turned into a violent madman, what kind of reaction is that?"
He looked down and found that his waistband had been stretched open because of the transformation, and there was something even uglier peeking out as if it wanted to get some fresh air.

"..." Li Zheng pulled that thing out, looking completely bewildered: "Isn't this the tail that's unique to your demon race? I remember you had one too?"

Yes, what Li Zheng was holding was indeed the tail that grew out of the transformed berserker demon queen.

Unlike the succubus's tail, which has a triangular tip, the berserker's tail is uglier, bald, and looks like a large rat's tail, with a few sparse tufts of gray-black hair on it.

"Huh?" Miriel peeked her head out from under the covers. "It's a tail?"

Li Zheng flicked the tail in his hand: "Yeah, what else did you think it was?"

“Ha…haha…” Miriel laughed awkwardly a few times: “I thought it was a tail too.”

Li Zheng rolled his eyes speechlessly, deactivated his transformation, and his tail retracted and disappeared: "In our hometown, demons tempt others to fall, and those who fall have a chance to gain the ability to transform into demons."

"This ability is something I absorbed from the blood essence of a berserk demon. Now that I think about it, the legend might be true. It's just that the demons gave the blood essence to the fallen ones, which is why they have the same transformation ability." "Hmm... this seems to be an ability unique to primordial archdemons. However, there are too many races born from the hybridization of primordial archdemons and other demon races. Some of these individuals also possess similar abilities. The berserk demon you encountered might be one of them," Miriel speculated.

Li Zheng thought about it carefully and felt that it might not be true: "You should have seen Feng Shan's state when he was fighting before. Most of his abilities are abyss-type transformations, but each transformation is only a partial change. For example, he can turn his arm into a pig demon's hoof."

“Region transformation?” Miriel shook his head: “I’ve never heard of any race possessing such an ability. It shouldn’t be a legitimate Abyss ability; it’s probably caused by special rules within the Matrix.”

“It’s possible,” Li Zheng thought this explanation was more plausible. “Another possibility is that the terminal stimulated the blood of those Abyss Clan members, causing varying degrees of atavism. However, the atavism was not thorough enough, or because their bloodlines were relatively thin, they could not achieve a complete transformation, thus evolving into a partial transformation like Feng Shan’s.”

“I don’t know much about that,” Miriel said. “But your explanation seems more reasonable and more likely to be true. Anyway, let’s not talk about things I don’t understand. Tell me more, what other characteristics do demons in your hometown’s legends have?”

She seemed particularly curious about this. She jumped off the eggshell bed, ran over to Li Zheng and sat down next to him. Seeing that he looked tired, she reached out and massaged his head.

This time, Li Zheng did not stop her, because the pressure of Miriel's massage was just right, and it did relieve his slightly tired spirit.

So he had Miriel sit on the edge of the bed and rested his head on Miriel's lap, making it easier to massage her.

“Besides what I just mentioned, the most prominent characteristic of demons in legends is their ability to bewitch people.” Li Zheng comfortably closed his eyes, enjoying Miriel’s massage as he slowly said, “And the most common way demons bewitch people is by using the so-called fulfillment of wishes.”

"To grant other people's wishes?" Miriel said, "That's impossible. I've never heard of any abyssal demon having such an ability. It must all be a lie!"

“It’s all a lie,” Li Zheng laughed. “Actually, the greatest desires in people’s hearts are just a few: either they want to have great power, or they want more wealth, or they crave beauty and power. For demons, satisfying these desires is a piece of cake, isn’t it?”

“That’s true.” Miriel nodded, then asked, “So far, it’s all about legends of the Great Demon. Aren’t there any stories about our succubus race in your homeland?”

Li Zheng opened his eyes, and Miriel looked down at him across the peak. He awkwardly looked away, avoiding the question: "Maybe, but I haven't heard of it."

His expression and actions clearly indicated he was lying; how could Miriel not see through it?

She was clever; instead of pressing for answers, she sighed softly, "If we really do have the ability to grant other people's wishes, as you say, then I will wish for your safe return to your hometown."

"Haha, how could such a thing be achieved by making a wish..." Li Zheng chuckled and shook his head. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he remembered something. He probed into the capsule's dwelling with his mind and took out a few inconspicuous stone fragments.

Fragments of a wishing stone!
The items Li Zheng opened from the treasure chest after entering the outer city a few days ago.

At first, there was only one, but then I had incredible luck for the next two days and opened two god-tier treasure chests, which contained a Bodhi tree seed and a Marrow Cleansing Pill.

Later, on the way to District Seven with Zhan Zhouzhou, he opened several low-level treasure chests, all of which contained Wishing Stone fragments.

However, the number of fragments varies depending on the tier of the treasure chest.

He had accumulated seven wishing stone fragments by this point, but nothing had changed.

"What is this?" Miriel asked curiously after taking a look.

Li Zheng didn't tell her, but instead asked her, "Do you think there might be something in this world that can truly fulfill all wishes?"

“Probably not.” Miriel thought for a moment and added, “If there were, it would definitely come at a considerable cost.”

The price?
Li Zheng stared blankly at the fragments of the wishing stone in his hand.

He remembered that when he first obtained the fragment, Old Pu had given him a similar warning, telling him never to think about using the wishing stone to calm his emotional storm, or it would kill him.

This shows that the wishing stone can calm emotional storms, but it requires him to pay the price with his own life.

So……

If one's wish is to return to Earth, what price would be required?

For some reason, he had a strong intuition that the wishing stone could really grant his wish, but the price to be paid would be extremely harsh.

Li Zheng asked Lao Pu in his mind, "How many wishing stone fragments are needed to synthesize a complete wishing stone?"

[Unclear. 】

Three words flashed before his eyes, but Old Pu seemed to be hesitant to give a definite answer, as if he was worried about something.

Li Zheng frowned. If there was anything that could directly affect the Eye of Preys, with his current strength, perhaps only the Treasure Chest System could do so.

In other words, the treasure chest system restricts the Eye of Preys from revealing answers related to the Wishing Stone.

Li Zheng wasn't sure if this situation was due to the treasure chest system also possessing "consciousness" or some kind of "program" setting, but...

The treasure chest system, this cheat code that came with the terminal when it traveled through time, must have a secret behind it that even the terminal didn't discover!
Perhaps the event of the original body's time travel itself was a conspiracy?
A thought flashed through Li Zheng's mind, and he suddenly felt a strange sense of panic. Even the black hair on the back of his head trembled slightly and twisted uneasily.

"What's wrong?" Miriel noticed something was amiss, turned around to look around, and frowned. "Why do I feel like something is watching us?"

"It's just an illusion! Don't overthink it!" Li Zhengqiang suppressed his thoughts, forcing himself to forget everything that had just happened, and dared not dwell on it.

He always felt that if he delved deeper, something unpredictable might happen, and it would be no less threatening than an emotional storm!

This was the first time he began to question whether the existence of the treasure chest system was for some ulterior motive.

As soon as he suppressed the thought, the panic vanished instantly, and the black hair formed from the aggregate of resentment behind him also calmed down, as if everything that had just happened was truly an illusion.

"Huh?" Miriel's expression shifted slightly: "The feeling of being spied on has disappeared?"

“I already said it was just my imagination.” Li Zheng said with a serious expression, “It’s probably because you’re too tired today. Get some rest early.”

"Okay, I understand." Miriel nodded, said no more, and quietly massaged Li Zheng.

Li Zheng really wanted to ask Old Pu what had just happened, but the Eye of Pullers would definitely not tell the truth, so asking would be pointless.

The mystery behind the system is different from the matrix; I can't get any help from the Eye of Preys, I have to try to unravel it myself.

But this day may come very early or very late.

Li Zheng didn't know if anything unpredictable might happen during this time, and now he was even a little hesitant to open the treasure chests he used to look forward to.

After pondering for a long time, he put the wishing stone fragments back into his capsule residence, thinking to himself, "No matter what the conspiracy is, I shouldn't refuse any benefits that are offered to me. If I am being used, then the contents of these treasure chests will be my reward."

He definitely needs to keep opening treasure chests; it's the key to rapidly increasing his strength. It would be foolish to give up on all treasure chests just because of what happened earlier.

Working for capitalists earns you a monthly salary, so refusing the treasure chest is tantamount to refusing your wages, isn't it?
"By the way, there's something I'm not sure if I should say." Miriel paused in her massage, two blushes rising on her cheeks.

She wanted Li Zheng to help her resolve the emotional turmoil that frequently occurred after the succubus reached adulthood. If she had to choose one person to help her, she felt that Li Zheng was a good candidate.

"If you don't know whether you should say it or not, then don't say it," Li Zheng said calmly. "Things that start with this kind of sentence structure are usually not good news!"

“…” Miriel was stunned for a moment, then increased the pressure of her massage, as if she wanted to crush Li Zheng’s skull.

Oops!!! I made a mistake!!! I posted the chapter an hour early!!! Ugh!!!


(End of this chapter)