Matrix Survival: I Get A Random Chest Every Day

"Not bad, it'll come in handy on those sleepless nights." Shaking his head to dispel the oncoming drowsiness, Li Zheng placed the Rubik's cube on the bedside table and turned to the third Diamond Level item.

[Mysterious Fruit] A bright blue fruit, shaped like a date but as large as a football.

The skin was smooth, without wrinkles. Li Zheng looked at it in the light and could even see his own blurry reflection on it.

The Mysterious Fruit has two effects.

The first effect is that, after eating it all, you can unlock a random type of Genetic Ability with a 100% chance, with the tier randomized between Black Iron and Diamond (excluding special systems like the Abyssal System).

If it happens to randomly coincide with an ability the player already has, but which is not yet at Full Level, it will convert into ability experience, equivalent to consuming a Diamond Level item of the same system.

Li Zheng didn't have such worries; his only upgradeable ability, Ice and Fire Attachment, had just reached Full Level today.

The second effect is rather outrageous, so much so that it activates with every bite: after consumption, eating sour foods will transform them into other tastes.

Yes, this effect is random too!

Eating a lemon might turn sweet, or a sip of aged vinegar might taste bitter (spice is not included, as it's related to pain, not taste).

In principle, these two effects can activate simultaneously.

Unless someone has a brain cramp and insists on sharing a bite with others.

"Interesting, I'll save it for tomorrow's dessert." Li Zheng shook his head vigorously, the drowsiness he'd just driven off returning, making him sleepy again.

Putting the fruit down, Li Zheng resisted sleepiness and set up work instructions for the faceless agricultural humanoid to tend the crops and add fertilizers regularly.

Then he lay down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

When Sakura came out of the bathroom, Li Zheng was already asleep hugging the football-sized fruit.

...

At three in the morning, Ye Kai and the others had also fallen asleep.

Suddenly, Ye Kai, who was in deep sleep, woke up with a jolt.

After a brief moment of confusion, he jumped up excitedly, shouting, "I got it! I remembered!" and ran out to bang on the doors of Chu Xiao and Ye Yuan's residences.

He knocked fast and urgently. Chu Xiao, startled awake, quickly opened the door, clutching a weapon and looking around warily.

"What's going on? Are we under attack? Wandering monsters or players?"

Ye Yuan also opened her door, holding an exaggerated Gatling gun, standing sleepily at the entrance: "Did Creation find us?"

"No idea." Chu Xiao, finding no anomalies, put away his weapon and looked at Ye Kai for an explanation.

Ye Kai was taken aback by their over-cautious attitude, finally calming down from his excitement.

Realizing his actions could easily be misunderstood, he quickly apologized, "No worries, no attack."

Upon hearing there was no attack, Ye Yuan rolled her eyes and said impatiently, "No attack? Then why did you wake me up?"

Saying this, she yawned and turned to close the door.

"Exactly." Chu Xiao also found it baffling and went back inside his residence.

Seeing this, Ye Kai shouted, "It's Wu Cheng'en! Wu Cheng'en is the author of Journey to the West!"

"Why are you still fixated on this?" Chu Xiao was utterly speechless, quickening his pace to close the door.

But Ye Yuan stopped, lazily turning to look at her brother: "You woke us up in the middle of the night just because you remembered this?"

"Yes! I remembered first, so I don't have to feed the dog! It's only you!" Although Ye Kai had calmed down from his ecstatic state, he was still slightly excited.

"Oh." Ye Yuan said blandly, "I remembered before I went to sleep, so feeding the dog is still your job. Ha~ Ah~~ Don't disturb my sleep anymore, or I'll turn ugly!"

Bang!

The door closed, leaving Ye Kai standing alone in the night, somewhat desolate.

...

The next day, as usual, they woke up with the help of the Sakura-branded alarm clock.

Half an hour for washing up, half an hour for breakfast.

During this time, Li Zheng tested the effect of the "Mysterious Fruit," concluding it was indescribable.

The fruit itself wasn't tasteless; on the contrary, it was extremely flavorful, and intensely sour!

One bite down, if not for its preciousness, Li Zheng would have spat it out then and there.

Rinsing his mouth with water and swallowing, he repeated several times before getting some relief.

"This thing, it's ten times more intense than just eating a lemon!" Li Zheng hadn't realized the fruit had such a strong flavor and lost all interest in trying other sour foods.

"But for the sake of a new ability, and having already taken a bite, I can't sell it now even if I wanted to..." Li Zheng looked at the enormous Mysterious Fruit, on the verge of tears.

Eat it then, what else can you do?

Might as well have a few more meals with it...

Bracing against the discomfort, Li Zheng mustered the courage to take another two bites before finally admitting defeat.

"Tch-tsk~" Swallowing the saliva frantically being secreted, Li Zheng now dared not let his upper and lower teeth touch each other. Even his Silver Level physique couldn't bear the sourness; any touch would bring unbearable discomfort.

"Perhaps this is what they call 'wanting to wear the crown, must bear its weight.'"

If you want a guaranteed Genetic Ability development, how could there be no hardships at all?

Li Zheng put away the Mysterious Fruit, tidied up, and with Sakura in tow, set off on his journey.

[Acid rain environment after the door, melts gold and corrodes iron, if you have a ceramic umbrella, you can try exploring here; there are quite a few residual skeletal materials buried underground.]

"They keep mentioning the word 'acid' to me!" Li Zheng held his cheek and walked away from here to check another door.

[Island in the lake behind the door, special rules, fishing only, water collection prohibited.]

Li Zheng decisively turned back again: "Fishing, that's impossible, with rules against taking water, I can't even enjoy the 'fish soup' I catch."

[Cliff behind the door, soaring into the clouds, a cave in the middle of the mountain with a pool of your favorite drink inside.]

"My favorite drink? Zhongshi Milk?" Li Zheng was tempted; the Zhongshi Milk he had last obtained was long gone, and he still longed for that taste.

"I'll check the other two doors first; if there's nothing more valuable, I'll come back for the Zhongshi Milk."

[Desert behind the door, two small critters hide in the sand, waiting for prey to come to them.

Gold Tier, not very threatening.]

"Well, looks like I'm not fated with the Zhongshi Milk." Li Zheng hadn't checked the last door yet, but the value of the two Gold creatures here obviously surpassed the Zhongshi Milk.

[Volcano erupting behind the door, a group of small creatures able to survive in the magma are very active now.

Silver Tier, extremely low threat level.]

Li Zheng recalled the few materials he memorized last night; what he lacked was a Silver Level material, namely the blood of a creature called the "Hot Worm."

"This will do!"

With the Extreme Isolation ability, all extreme temperature environments are mere illusions before him.

What might be a deadly environment for other players is as harmless to him as a scenic mountain hike.

With the Air Purifier in hand, he can even immune to the dust and toxic gases in the air.

Letting Sakura wear a Pink Poli-brand mask, Li Zheng swiped his card at the door and stepped inside.