Matrix Survival: One random treasure chest per day

"What brings you here in such a hurry?" Li Zheng rubbed his face; he had just woken up and hadn't even washed his face yet.

"It's not in a rush," the terminal said. "I just happen to have some free time right now, so I called you over first, so I won't be too busy to take care of you later."

"Alright, what can I do? You're such a busy person," Li Zheng said helplessly. "Is there something you need me to do that you called me here for?"

"You need to do something?" the terminal asked, puzzled. "Why would I need you to do something?"

Li Zheng was taken aback: "You created so many clones, not so that we could work for you?"

"..." The terminal's expression was strange: "The entire matrix and the outer city are under my control. I can get whatever I want. Why do I need you to do things for me?"

Li Zheng was completely stunned: "So you were just bored and made so many clones?"

“Yeah, I’m just bored.” The terminal said matter-of-factly, “I’m just bored.”

"...??" Li Zheng didn't understand: "You're so bored that you're making clones for fun?"

“Otherwise?” the terminal said. “I need to have something I’m interested in doing, right? You know, even though I’m very busy every day, these things are like my job, and I actually really resist them. But creating clones and watching them slowly develop in the Matrix has a kind of fun, like playing a simulation game…”

"Oh," Li Zhengming realized, "So you cloned us to slack off at work, right?"

"Yes, yes, that's what slacking off is all about." The terminal sighed regretfully, "Unfortunately, I'll never be able to slack off again..."

He had preserved the original body using various methods until now, but it finally lost its activity more than a month ago, and not a single active cell could be found.

That is to say...

Li Zheng's original body is completely dead; now only these clones remain in the world.

The cells from the clone cannot be used for further cloning.

The terminal has lost a lot of fun.

"Alright, let's get down to business." The terminal steered the conversation back on track: "I've made some initial progress on the two things you brought before, and I'd like to share them with you today."

As he spoke, the ground in front of Li Zheng cracked open, and two counters rose up from underground, each displaying a large metal clock about half a person's height and a brightly colored butterfly picture.

“This is…” Li Zheng pointed at the two things that had absolutely nothing to do with the Heart-Soothing Bell and the Hundred Flowers Painting, and asked in shock, “This is what you call your achievement?”

"There has to be some innovation, right?" The terminal looked embarrassed. "Let me give you a proper introduction first."

"First of all, there's this bell... cough, the big clock."

A beam of light shone down from above the counter, illuminating the clock in minute detail.

The large bell is made entirely of bronze, is half a person tall, and as thick as a water bucket.

Unlike the clock face, the surface of the bell is engraved with cloud patterns.

It looks very heavy and ancient, not like a newly made clock.

“I named this bell the Buddha Bell,” the terminal explained. “I have made thousands of adjustments to the materials, and it is now very close to the original. However, the craftsmanship is still lacking, so I cannot make a bell. I can only make it into a larger bell.”

"However, this format also has its advantages, namely, the sound is louder, the range of dissemination is wider, and it can influence more targets, making it suitable for group use."

"You can tap it and see how it works."

Following the instructions of the terminal, Li Zheng raised his hand and slapped it.

When~~~
The large bell emitted a melodious chime, startling Li Zheng. He clasped his hands together and said, "Amitabha... what a load of rubbish!" Realizing what had happened, he lowered his hands and asked, "Why did I involuntarily shout Amitabha?"

This is not entirely unrelated to the effect of the calming bell.

That is... completely unrelated!

"So it's called the Buddhist Bell..." The terminal smiled awkwardly: "I don't know exactly what happened during the production process, but it's like this after it's made. Any intelligent being that hears the bell can't help but chant Buddhist verses."

When~~~
Li Zheng knocked again, this time forcefully using his mental strength to resist the urge to chant Buddhist verses.

However, this time he truly experienced the magic of the Buddhist bell.

Aside from the bizarre chanting of Buddhist verses, hearing the bell brought a sense of peace and tranquility to my heart, filling me with a detached acceptance of worldly affairs.

"This bell won't do!" Li Zheng tried to muster his fighting spirit in this state, but found his fighting spirit weak, and he even felt somewhat detached from life and death. He immediately said, "If this bell appears in the Sin Domain, it will only bring disadvantages and no advantages!"

The twisted creatures are unaffected by such things; ultimately, the only ones who will suffer are those who fight against them.

Imagine someone is fighting a twisted creature when suddenly someone nearby rings a Buddhist bell. Instantly, their fighting spirit vanishes, they transcend life and death, and they stand there chanting Buddhist verses, only to be slapped to death by the twisted creature.

That scene...

This reminded Li Zheng of a bizarre prop he had once acquired—a dance grenade.

The "Dancing Grenade" also affects intelligent beings through light, causing all targets illuminated by the light to stop what they are doing and be forced to dance awkwardly on the spot.

“This thing isn’t entirely useless; in certain situations, it can be even more effective.” Li Zheng corrected himself, “It just isn’t suitable for an environment like the Sin Domain.”

If a conflict arises among those in the Wrathful Sin Domain, ringing this bell will undoubtedly have a very good effect.

However, if it falls into the hands of someone with ulterior motives, this clock could cause a disaster, doing more harm than good.

"I still suggest you seal it in the central storage and don't take it out," Li Zheng advised.

"Okay." The terminal said with some regret, "I'll take another look and try to make a design that's closer to the calming bell."

Then another light shone down, illuminating the butterfly image next to it.

It was a long scroll, which seemed to have been artificially aged, with a slightly yellowed surface.

During this process, dozens of colors and special techniques were used to paint butterflies of different shapes and sizes.

If you look closely, you can see very obvious brushstrokes on the butterfly, and the traces are somewhat similar to those in the "Hundred Flowers" painting.

"This painting is quite nice." Li Zheng looked at it for a while, "but it seems to be somewhat different from the Hundred Flowers Painting. I couldn't feel the same wonderful effect as the Hundred Flowers Painting."

"Is that so?" The terminal revealed a mysterious smile: "Take out the Hundred Flowers Painting, put them together, and then look at it."

"Even if we put them together, it still won't work... wait?"

Li Zheng took out the Hundred Flowers painting and placed it next to the Butterfly painting.

The next second, the butterflies seemed to come alive, detaching from the painting and fluttering around the flower picture, just like a group of living butterflies dancing gracefully among the flowers.

He looked for a few more seconds, and suddenly the scenery around him changed, and he found himself surrounded by flowers once again.

The difference was that this time, he was surrounded by butterflies that flew around him, landing on the stamens of flowers and collecting nectar.