"Otherwise?" The Terminal finally stopped laughing and returned to calmness: "I've had that system for countless ages, and you would never guess what kind of bizarre things I've opened from those chests!"
As he spoke, the Terminal gritted his teeth: "Maybe I used up all my luck traveling. From when I was still human to when I beca data in the Matrix Terminal, I've only opened up two really good items from those chests.
One is the Matrix blueprint we're standing on right now, and the other one..."
The Terminal suddenly paused and didn't continue.
Li Zheng pressed, "What was the other one?"
He already had so guesses in his mind.
The Terminal said despondently, "The other one was also a blueprint, but I underestimated its power at the ti, and in the end, it led to the creation of the Emotion Storm."
"!!!"
His suspicion confird, Li Zheng was montarily speechless.
The culprit behind ravaging the universe for countless years and destroying who knows how many civilizations turned out to be the sa person who had generously provided refuge to remnants of all races.
"I also tried using the treasure chests to find a one-ti solution for the Emotion Storm, but my luck was just too bad!" The Terminal's face seed clouded by a shadow: "Aside from heaps of everyday items, there were only so useless blueprints that were no help in solving the Emotion Storm, which I threw into the Matrix in frustration.
You should have noticed there are two types of blueprints in the Matrix, one you can learn and reuse, and ones that are single-use and unlearnable. The latter are the 'junk' I've opened from the chests over the years."
Li Zheng understood: "I was wondering why items made from single-use blueprints are more efficient than similar items from another type of blueprint. Turns out they're the precious finds from our treasure chest, eh!"
"Not quite..." The Terminal looked awkward: "Actually, later on, I also replicated the treasure chests and created so consumable blueprints myself, throwing them into the Matrix to pad out the numbers; you just haven't co across them."
Li Zheng rubbed his chin: "So it seems my luck is indeed good."
The Terminal's face turned dark: "I accidentally spilled so of the blood from earlier; you'll need to give a bit more."
Li Zheng was suspicious: "Would you really be so careless?"
The Terminal grinned: "Oh, it was just careless!"
With that, the avatar disappeared, and the screen displayed a scene showing a drop of fresh blood on the floor next to a piece of testing equipnt.
Li Zheng: "..."
What the heck, you really did spill it on purpose!?
Helplessly, he could only grit his teeth and cut himself again, letting out a bit more blood for the Terminal to collect with its chanical arm.
"You won't spill it again, right?" Li Zheng glanced sideways at the Terminal.
The Terminal said, "Whether I spill it or not depends on how you behave."
"..." Li Zheng suddenly recalled how he had once tornted Phoenix Mountain; how similar it was to the current scenario!
The Terminal put away its playful tone and spoke seriously: "I transferred the system to you back then because your lifespan was short, and at the mont of your death, the system would return to .
But now it seems you've obtained a Genetic Potion from the treasure chest, fixing your deficiencies and extending your lifespan to that of a normal person, so I can't just forcibly take the Treasure Chest System back."
"But there's one piece of advice you must always rember. The origin of the Treasure Chest System is unknown, and even after becoming the Matrix Terminal, I couldn't decipher its essence. Be cautious with anything you get from it. If you find sothing with unclear effects, do not use it hastily. Otherwise, you might repeat my mistakes and cause a catastrophe!"
Li Zheng nodded: "I'll rember."
He thought to himself: "The original probably never opened anything like Old Pu, so he was blindly groping around, leading to uncontrollable outcos and disasters.
I'm different. With Old Pu's help, no matter what cos out of the treasure chest, its purpose and usage will be clear, ensuring I won't repeat his mistakes."
Satisfied with his promise, the Terminal nodded in contentnt: "If there's nothing else, I'll send you back now. I'll open a private communication channel for you on your Inscription Card to contact . But unless it's absolutely necessary, try not to; I'm usually quite busy."
Li Zheng thought it over carefully and, having no more questions for now, asked the Terminal to send him back the sa way.
The scene before him flickered, and he and Mirel were sent back into the Matrix. His player permissions had been locked by the Terminal, preventing him from using most functions, and even his ability to teleport freely was revoked. Without special tools, he was practically immobile within the Matrix.
With nothing left to do here, Li Zheng decided to give up the rest of his staying ti and return to the Outer City, appearing at the reception area of Street 38.
The Outer City was nearing nightfall, and it had been over ten hours since they started their mission. There weren't many people at the reception area, just a sparse few.
Not wanting to block anyone else from using the Teleportation Gate, Li Zheng dragged Mirel back to the Blacksmith Shop.
The only one receiving visitors at the Blacksmith Shop was Zi Yuan. The blacksmith's apprentices were nowhere to be seen, and Li Zheng guessed they had gone out to gather materials for so project.
"You're actually back alive?" Zi Yuan sighed regretfully from behind the counter when she saw Li Zheng return.
Li Zheng never took off the Translator from his ear: "Do you really wish for my death that much?"
"That's not what I ant." Zi Yuan shrugged innocently: "I just don't want you to cause trouble for my sister."
"..." Li Zheng was silent for a few seconds, then reached out to remove the mask from Mirel's face, saying to Zi Yuan: "You can rest assured, soone looking like this is what fits my aesthetic. Your sister... is not my type!"
Originally thinking Mirel's appearance would be devastatingly attractive to any race, Li Zheng found himself mistaken this ti. Not only did Zi Yuan stare at Mirel's face, which could enchant an entire nation, for a while but her expression grew increasingly peculiar. Finally, she blurted out, "So you like this type!"
"???" Li Zheng couldn't tell what Zi Yuan ant by that for the life of him.
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