Matrix Survival: I Get A Random Chest Every Day

Banquan Longma didn't mind Li Zheng's hostile words and patiently continued to offer terms: "Mr. Li, why not listen to the conditions before refusing?"

"Not interested!" Li Zheng wiped the bloodstains off his shoes on the ground and turned to leave.

Banquan Longma blocked his way: "Mr. Li needs a large amount of blood resources to make the Genetic Potion, right?"

Li Zheng frequently traded blood resources in the world channel. Anyone paying attention could notice the connection between the two. It's not surprising that Banquan Longma could guess this.

"So what if I do?" Li Zheng stopped, turned back to look at Banquan Longma, and his gaze swept over several vulnerable spots, seeming to search for an easy place to strike.

Banquan Longma took two steps forward, avoiding the bonfire, and stood openly within Li Zheng's attack range. He considered himself a white-named player, unafraid of Li Zheng's threats.

"If Mr. Li is willing to join Creation, all the blood resources gained daily by all of Creation can be given to Mr. Li. Even if Mr. Li needs anything else, we can try to help meet those needs," Banquan Longma offered. He believed no one could refuse such terms, "Whether it be Advanced materials, a Power Core, rare blueprints, or even a woman to alleviate loneliness, Creation can provide them to Mr. Li."

"And everything... Mr. Li only needs to agree to join Creation and provide a sufficient amount of the Genetic Potion for Creation's internal use every day, and it will all be easily at your reach."

"Longma advises Mr. Li to consider carefully. I believe no other organization within the Matrix can offer such a price."

Banquan Longma thought that by presenting such conditions, his sincerity was evident. Even if Li Zheng only considered the 'benefits,' he wouldn't refuse.

Who in the world isn't greedy?

Banquan Longma looked at Li Zheng with a satisfied heart. He had encountered many tough nuts before, initially resistant, but they all eventually succumbed to the lure of money.

In his eyes, no one in this world can't be overwhelmed by 'benefits.' If someone can't, it must mean the 'benefits' aren't enough.

Is Li Zheng tempted?

Undeniably, there was indeed a moment when he considered joining Creation.

After all, Banquan Longma offered too much!

The conditions were so generous that even after joining Creation, Li Zheng could live comfortably until fifty and then leave the Matrix!

With Creation's scale and strength, if Li Zheng played his cards right, his daily income would definitely exceed what he could earn in ten days exploring alone.

But Li Zheng also understood, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Even if he provided the Genetic Potion, what he contributed would still be far less than what Creation would extract from him.

Once Banquan Longma tasted the benefits, he would only demand more from Li Zheng until his value was exhausted.

From the moment Banquan Longma decisively abandoned Creation's members and sought peace with him, Li Zheng recognized the man's vicious nature.

Others joined Creation seeking nothing but 'safety,' hoping for protection from the Creation Organization.

For that, they didn't hesitate to contribute their daily exploration gains.

But what did Banquan Longma do?

After realizing he couldn't defeat Li Zheng, he abandoned organization members and even sold others out.

Not just to Li Zheng, even within Creation, Li Zheng guessed there were many who already harbored disloyal thoughts and wanted out.

Banquan Longma now drawing in Li Zheng and betraying Jin Zaiyin, wasn't it all to acquire a substantial amount of the Genetic Potion to stabilize those internally disloyal members of Creation?

Perhaps someday when Li Zheng's value was depleted, Banquan Longma would kick him to death without hesitation.

Or when he thought he could kill Li Zheng, he might secretly ambush him.

All this was not hard to guess; Li Zheng was well aware of Banquan Longma's little schemes, all the more so with the help of micro-expression analysis master "Pu Ye".

[The big rat is up to no good. Although he's a white-named player, we have Little Jelly, so even if we kill him, we won't become a Bloody.

Old Pu suggests: strike swiftly, eliminate the problem at its root, to prevent future troubles!

Or... we pretend to agree to him, benefit from him first, and then leave, acting as an emotionless, fleeing scoundrel?]

The micro-expression master offered two suggestions. Compared to Banquan Longma's conditions, Old Pu understood Li Zheng better.

Both suggestions resonated with Li Zheng, especially the latter, which he was almost eager to implement on the spot.

But is it really feasible?

Li Zheng pondered, and realized its feasibility was actually low.

The tricks he could think of, Creation would have considered too, and Banquan Longma would certainly have measures in place to counter them.

The likelihood of benefiting and then leaving was low; instead, he might end up trapping himself!

Though his strength was relatively strong and he could fight his way out if necessary.

But solely relying on slaughter couldn't fundamentally solve the problem.

It might even cause public outrage due to excessive killing, and provoke a mass attack.

An enemy with such schemes seemed best dealt with by taking him out now.

But if he acted against Banquan Longma, it would undoubtedly ruin the image he built over the past two days, killing for justice in the public eye.

Most importantly, once Li Zheng took action, he would be on the losing side. At that time, with his reputation damaged, few would speak up for him.

After long deliberation, Li Zheng decided to spare Banquan Longma this time.

For someone like Banquan Longma, these setbacks wouldn't let him rest easy. He'd only act if given another chance to catch him off guard.

"The offer is tempting." Li Zheng's gaze softened, but he said rigidly, "Unfortunately, I refuse."

Taking out the Star Thief, Li Zheng tuned to channel 995 and continued, "Three days later, I'll hold a live auction. If you want the Genetic Potion, I can make an exception and grant you an entry spot."

"Consider it the reward for turning over Jin Zaiyin."

With that, he ignored Banquan Longma's reaction and teleported away.

Li Zheng disappeared from sight, leaving Banquan Longma somewhat regretful as he turned off the recording function. He thought that even if Li Zheng didn't agree to the terms, he would at least make a move against him.

Then, he could publicly release the recording, turning Li Zheng once again into a public enemy, the proverbial rat crossed a busy street.

"He didn't fall for it."

Disdainfully kicking Jin Zaiyin's body aside, Banquan Longma contacted other high-ranking members of the Creation Organization to gather all materials that could interest Li Zheng.

He planned to acquire more Genetic Potions at Li Zheng's live auction.

...

In the blink of an eye, Li Zheng had returned to channel 995.

To his surprise, this time he appeared directly where the doctor was, with the pure white decor and lighting seemingly able to cleanse all inner filth.

Click!

The button at the reception desk automatically depressed, and the familiar image of the middle-aged man appeared again.

"You're here, a bit later than I expected." The doctor seemed to have anticipated Li Zheng's arrival.

Taking out the syringe given by the Cloak and that section of tentacle, placing them at the door, Li Zheng asked, "Was it you who brought me in?"

"That's right." The doctor replied, and as he spoke, the door opened slightly, taking the items inside before closing again. "Last time, I sensed the presence of the Star Thief on you and thought I might be mistaken. But I didn't expect you really had one, so after you acquired something, I've been waiting."

"So that's how it is." Li Zheng nodded, knowing his status wasn't high enough to teleport directly into the doctor's place without some sort of invite; as expected, he was still the unlucky one.

"Since the payment has been brought, I should tell you how to use the bracelet." The doctor seemed to verify the items Li Zheng brought and, upon confirming them, spoke, "The Emotion Balance Bracelet... Eh? It seems you've already found out?"

The doctor's eyebrows slightly raised in surprise as he looked at Li Zheng; in his eyes, Li Zheng's previously modest Spiritual Power had increased slightly during his absence.

Even though it's an insignificant amount of improvement, to him it was plainly visible.

"Yes." Li Zheng nodded, saying, "A coincidence."

The surprised expression disappeared, and the doctor returned to calmness, "Since you've discovered its functionality, I'll add some details.

The negative emotions you're afflicted with are 'Rage' and 'Cruelty'. Guiding them is quite simple; all you need to do is remove the bracelet and concentrate on recalling the most wrath-inducing situations.

Once successfully triggered, the fury will burn your mental willpower, during which you'll need to resist it with your own determination, for as long as possible.

Only when you find it unbearable should you put the bracelet back on.

Remember, you should only practice this once a day; too frequently could damage your sanity. Always wear the bracelet normally to control your emotions."

"Alright, I've got it." Li Zheng listened intently, and once the doctor finished, he asked, "I have a question. By practicing this way, won't I eventually build a tolerance to these negative emotions? How do I continue to enhance my Spiritual Power then?"

"Tolerance?" The doctor showed a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, "The capability of ancient technology is beyond your imagination. As long as you engage in acts of murder, these negative emotions will keep growing.

Forget about building tolerance; maintaining sanity in such a state is not an easy feat."

"The Emotion Balance Bracelet isn't omnipotent. When you find it can't suppress your negative emotions anymore, come back to me, and I'll help you eradicate it."

Negative emotions will perpetually grow?

Li Zheng carefully recalled, and it indeed seemed that way.

Initially, he didn't feel anything unusual; even after killing Gangban Rihuan, he managed to suppress it on his own.

But then, as time went on, these emotions began to interfere with him, sometimes intentionally and sometimes unintentionally, making him prone to rage.

Only today, after trying to remove the bracelet, did he realize those negative emotions had grown to a point where they couldn't be suppressed even with the bracelet.

"This ancient technology creation seems much more dangerous than anticipated." Li Zheng was somewhat worried because in the Matrix, murder was rampant, and he might succumb to it one day.

The doctor seemed to notice his concern and said, "You don't need to be too pessimistic; the growth isn't as terrifying as you imagine. As your Spiritual Power gets stronger, your resistance to negative emotions will become more potent too.

As long as you manage it well and don't indulge in senseless killing, there shouldn't be any issues in the short term."

"I see." Li Zheng mused, realizing the rapid growth of these negative emotions was likely due to all the killing he had done in the past few days.

But he couldn't help it; he couldn't just endure when people bullied him.

In the future, he'll strive for balance and avoid repeating what happened this time, where he even dealt with the trolls.

"Alright, your transaction is completed. Any other questions?" The doctor noted he had pretty much explained everything and began to see the guest out, "If not, I'll send you out."

Li Zheng was brought in by the doctor this time, so being sent out would land him in his true target room.

"Yes!" Li Zheng wasn't sure when he'd return again, so before the doctor could send him away, he hurriedly asked, "I want to know, why was the target whose genes you asked me to retrieve imprisoned?"

"Wasn't he one of us players?"

"And those cloaked people, who are they?"

...