Matrix Survival: One random treasure chest per day

"He is still alive, but for some reason, I can't feel much vitality from him."

Following Li Zheng's instructions, Feng Yue cautiously approached the ape-man to examine him. Having long been involved in scientific research projects, he also had some knowledge of the medical field.

He walked back to Li Zheng's side and said, "That guy is like a living dead now; his body is alive, but his consciousness is dead."

"Not a vegetable, but a living dead." He seemed afraid that Li Zheng and the others wouldn't understand, so he quickly added another explanation.

Upon hearing about these symptoms, Miriel finally understood what Li Zheng meant earlier: "Yakumo's sister does indeed have these symptoms, so your previous speculation was correct. Someone did indeed use powerful mental energy to destroy those people's mental world!"

but……

why?

What is the purpose of destroying those people's mental world?

Li Zheng pondered for a long time, his face as pale as paper. He gasped and said, "Help me go take a look."

He doesn't even have the strength to stand up now. The medication he swallowed earlier is starting to take effect, and the large and small cracks on his body are slowly healing.

Countless tiny granulation tissues wriggled within the wound, intertwining and growing together to mend the cracks in the body.

Strangely, Li Zheng discovered that his blood seemed to have changed, becoming much thicker than before. Even though he had dozens of deep, flesh-exposing wounds on his body, only a few drops of blood flowed out, and the blood was absorbed back into his body by the granulation tissue that appeared during the wound healing process.

Miriel helped Li Zheng walk step by step to the ape-man's body.

The ape-man's appearance remained unchanged, except that the flames that had surrounded his body had all dissipated not long ago.

The fur of the Fire Ape clan seems to be naturally resistant to high temperatures; even after being surrounded by flames for so long, not a single hair curled up.

The ape-man's eyes were slightly closed, as if he were simply resting, his expression serene.

But his eyeballs had lost their nerve twitching, and he was indifferent to the presence of several people around him.

Li Zheng checked his breathing and heartbeat, and all his physiological functions were normal. His heartbeat was as strong as a drumbeat, and he could feel a small hammer hitting his palm through the skin, hair and muscles.

He tried to leave a wound on the ape-man with the Black Dragon Spear, but he pierced the ape-man's palm instead. The ape-man didn't even flinch; he just twitched slightly due to the triggering of nerves within his body.

“I just discovered five things that resembled mental nodes in his mental world.” Li Zheng told Miriel and Feng Yue about his discovery: “But I’m certain that it’s a completely different path from nodes.”

"We'll stay here for a few days until I recover a bit. Then I'll go back into his mental world to examine him and figure out what that thing really is."

He turned to look at Mudala; whether Mudala could enter the outer city was no longer his concern.

The most urgent task is to figure out what exactly the five nodule-like structures in the ape-man's brain are and how they formed.

“I have a feeling that that thing might be the main cause of those patients with amnesia!” Li Zheng said with concern. “If my guess is true… the situation might be even more dire than we imagine!”

Although he only noticed the five knot-like objects for a moment, Li Zheng still sensed a spiritual source from them that was completely different from that of the ape-men.

“Since we’re staying here for a while, I’ll go and inform Mudara,” Miriel said. “This is, after all, the territory of the Destroyer Clan, so we need their permission.” “Okay,” Li Zheng nodded and gestured for her to go.

He sat down on the spot. He really had no mood to continue communicating with Mudara. The method that caused the soul loss suddenly appeared before his eyes. Compared with it, the agreement between his senior and the Destruction Clan seemed insignificant.

“I think I’ve heard of patients with this kind of symptom before…” Feng Yue was deep in thought: “There seems to be a research institute in 375 that is studying such patients, but I had only heard about it before and had not paid much attention to it.”

In the outer city, nothing is surprising. Naturally, he wouldn't actively pay attention to or learn about things that were unrelated to Feng Yue's interests.

Li Zheng took a deep breath and slowly exhaled: "There are many more patients like this in the outer city. Just one friend of mine has taken in hundreds of them."

The doctor once said that he wasn't the only one who took in these patients in the 950 block.

It's hard to imagine how many cases of amnesia there are in the entire outer city.

“Master of the Way,” Feng Yue said, “if this method comes from some organization in the wilderness, we’d better find a way to deal with it as soon as possible, otherwise, if they continue to develop, the residents of the outer city will all live in fear.”

Feng Yue had already understood the basic principle from Li Zheng's explanation: it was simply that someone used overwhelming mental power to forcibly invade another person's mental world and obliterate the mental entity residing within it.

However, simply knowing the techniques is not enough; the key is how to defend against others' intrusions.

Or, to put it another way, how to strengthen the defenses of one's mental world.

The spiritual world itself has a fairly strong defense, but that level of defense is practically useless against a target with exceptionally high strength.

Take Li Zheng, for example. If he wanted to force his way into someone else's mental world without regard for the safety of both sides, no one in the entire outer city and wilderness could stop him!
Therefore, the most important thing is to figure out how to use one's limited mental strength to create a highly targeted attack that can resist mental intrusions stronger than oneself.

Li Zheng thought for a moment but couldn't come up with a solution, so he said, "I'll study this matter properly once I recover from my injuries."

His body had just survived a near-collapse, and now he dared not recklessly use his mental power, otherwise the outcome would be unpredictable.

“If there is anything you need from the Guide, please don’t hesitate to ask.” Feng Yue bowed and said, “Although I am not very proficient in mental power, I am very good at being a test subject.”

He had been a guinea pig for decades and wouldn't mind being a guinea pig again for a different research topic, as long as it could bring progress to the outside world. Even if he died during the experiment, he would be happy to do it.

Li Zheng looked up at him for a while. People like Feng Yue, who have a spirit of dedication, probably have a lot in common with the Black Dragon Ancestor and the others.

At this moment, Miriel returned and said to Li Zheng, "Mudala has agreed to let us stay here for a while, but she has one more request."

Li Zheng frowned: "What are the requirements?"

“She said…” Miriel turned her head and saw that Mudala was clearing the flowers and plants near the cabin, preparing to make room to build two more cabins for Li Zheng and the others to move into.

"She said she wanted to learn how to break through the limits of mental strength, and I agreed on your behalf."

"Of course, I also made another condition..."