Matrix Survival: I Get A Random Chest Every Day

[Biochemical Forbidden Zone/B Zone, Exploration Rate: 0%]

Li Zheng followed Xiao Siyuan into the dungeon, and the first thing he did was check the name of the dungeon. He found it slightly different from before, with an added region number at the end of the name.

"Zone B, does this mean there's also Zones A, C, and even Z?" Xiao Siyuan also glanced at the dungeon's name, as he habitually collected battlefield intelligence.

"Zone A must have already been explored." Li Zheng said, "There are still many experts in the Matrix. Most dungeons' first regions aren't difficult; with a few Gold Level weapons and good coordination, they can be cleared easily."

In their first dungeon run, they had a Silver and Gold setup, and they managed to clear it at the cost of only minor losses.

"That's right." Xiao Siyuan took out his weapon, still a firearm, but now upgraded to Platinum. It was a mini electromagnetic cannon, only the size of a revolver; what used to be the cartridge had become the "battery," boasting considerable power.

"This is...?" Li Zheng looked at the electromagnetic cannon with some envy.

"A one-time blueprint, there's only this one. Little Lin helped me get it." Xiao Siyuan spun the electromagnetic cannon in his hand a few times as he explained.

"It's a pity. If it were a learning-type blueprint, I would have wanted you to help me build one too." Li Zheng shook his head in disappointment, composed himself, and said to the few people who had just come in, "Lu Li and Lin Fengjiao, you two follow Old Xiao in the middle. Zhan Zhouzhou will take the rearguard to prevent our firepower unit from being ambushed."

He was trying to accommodate Zhan Zhouzhou during her physiological period. He had just reviewed the map here; the start was another corridor directly connected to the entrance, making it almost impossible for monsters to spawn behind them. Having Zhan Zhouzhou in the rear was actually the easiest position.

Zhan Zhouzhou instinctively opened her mouth to object but was cut off by a sudden twist of pain in her abdomen. She could only frown, close her mouth, and accept the arrangement.

No one present raised any objections, and Li Zheng said to his little pet, "Little Ying, you're with me at the front. Have Pink Poli prepare for combat."

"Awoo!" The little one nodded, patted Pink Poli hard, signaling it to stay alert, and then followed beside Li Zheng.

"Polilili!!" Pink Poli puffed up, transforming into a pair of Monster Fists, striking a bodybuilding pose with full confidence.

"Let's go." Li Zheng drew the Sheathed Sword into his hand, took one last look at the others' positions, and led the way into the tunnel.

They filed through the corridor and soon arrived at its end.

The initial part of the corridor was coated with white paint on concrete, with white lampshades placed a few meters apart above, casting bright light through opaque covers, soft yet illuminating.

The end of the corridor was blocked by a gate controlled by a hydraulic system, beyond human strength to move.

Leaning against the wall beside the door was a corpse, disfigured, with two large holes bitten into its neck. The congealed blood had turned black but didn't smell; it seemed it hadn't been dead long.

Old Xiao crouched beside the body to examine it: "The deceased was about two meters three in height, male, humanoid, with thick limbs and torn tendons, most likely having been ripped apart by something."

He pulled back the sleeve to expose a hand, turned it over several times, and continued to report: "There is a webbed structure between the fingers, possibly indicating an amphibious lifeform. The cause of death wasn't the penetrating throat wound but suicide."

Using a kebab skewer, he lifted the curved metal pipe clutched in the corpse's hand: "This was a weapon. The side of the head was blasted open, the brain inside scorched. Looks like this time we'll encounter zombie monsters from movies, so everyone put on gas masks to avoid being infected."

Xiao Siyuan took out several Gold Level gas masks and distributed them to everyone in the team, while he wore one himself, speaking in a muffled voice: "It's uncertain whether this biochemical virus will affect us, so try to avoid injuries during combat."

He squatted down to search the body and quickly found a chip card in the inner pocket, handing it to Li Zheng: "This is the key to open the door."

"Professional." Li Zheng accepted the chip card, reading it by the gate, and instructed Little Ying, "When the fight starts, have Pink Poli block for you. It's special; the virus shouldn't affect it."

Pink Poli had moved from Little Ying's leg to her head, winding a loop around her nose and mouth, conveniently serving as a mask, without hindering it from fighting.

With its mouth sealed by Pink Poli, Little Ying couldn't speak, but she nodded silently to show she understood.

Li Zheng was quite confident in it, as the little one's combat talent surpassed even his own, rarely getting hurt.

By this time, the chip had finished reading, and the gate emitted a sound of hydraulic release, separating vertically and slowly opening.

Just a thin gap, two fingers wide, had appeared when suddenly a tongue full of sharp barbed hooks reached out from the gap, lashing towards Li Zheng's chest.

Swish!

Li Zheng reacted swiftly, waving the Sheathed Sword to sever the tongue, stepping back half a step.

The severed tongue squirmed on the ground a few times before ceasing all movement, almost instantly beginning to decay and emit a foul stench.

The gas mask Xiao Siyuan provided was highly effective; in fact, from the moment the door opened, a nauseating stench wafted through the gate gap, engulfing the entire corridor.

However, everyone wore a mask, isolating the stench outside, so no one noticed.

The hydraulic door didn't open as quickly as expected, progressing as slowly as a movie's slow-motion scene, lifting gradually.

Standing at the front, Li Zheng could already see inside.

It was dim; many of the densely packed bulbs on the ceiling had been smashed, causing large areas behind the door to flicker between light and shadow.

Two rigid figures wandered behind the hydraulic door, one with a long slender tongue, the other originally having one too, though it had been severed by Li Zheng.

Li Zheng noticed that although the two figures wandered randomly, one of the tongues continued pointing in his direction, like a venomous snake ready to strike.

"These zombies... seem to have some intelligence?" Li Zheng narrowed his eyes slightly, and when the gate had opened to a size large enough for him to pass through, he suddenly took action.

With a sweeping strike, he slashed towards the bizarre tongue posing the greatest threat.

Simultaneously, the three people behind him opened fire together, concentrating their attacks on the other creature.

Whish whish whish...

Sizzle...

Boom —

The greatest firepower was from Lu Li's Diamond Level sniper rifle, which not only shot the creature into two pieces with one shot, but also caused Li Zheng's ears to ring violently from the loud blast, almost throwing him back into a state of intermittent deafness.

"Damn!" Li Zheng cursed loudly; he could only hear his own voice faintly.

His hand didn't falter, chasing the agile bizarre tongue and cutting it off with a single stroke.

The air grew increasingly fetid.

Lu Li swung his gun around and shouted loudly, "Get out of the way!"

Although Li Zheng could hear only a faint sound, he immediately understood what Lu Li intended. It scared him into diving through the middle of the gate, standing up to chop off the creature's head with a strike.

Roll roll.

The head rolled to Li Zheng's feet, and as he looked down at it, his face suddenly showed shocked realization.

"It's him!?"