Matrix Survival: I Get A Random Chest Every Day-Chapter 95 - 88: Xiao Jing, give me a boost... (Including 2 extra Chapters for release)

Chapter 95: Chapter 88: Xiao Jing, give me a boost... (Including 2 extra Chapters for release)

The guardian slowly floated out of the shadows, revealing its form.

Li Zheng looked with his eyes wide open. It was a lifeform entirely wrapped in pitch-black smoke, with two tiny eyes randomly swirling within the black smoke, seemingly having no physical body.

[Thick Smoke Monster, No Level, Special Lifeform]

Prelis’ Eye provided information on it, but it was very brief, without even offering any weaknesses.

"No level, and labeled as a special lifeform, and it’s immune to physical attacks?"

"So it’s just another kind of monster? I thought something mysterious had revived..."

"As everyone knows, monsters die when killed. Think of a way to deal with it."

Li Zheng pondered for a moment, landed on the ground, and put down Little Sakura from his shoulder.

"Eeh..."

Little Sakura, who had originally been holding onto Li Zheng’s ear, felt weak and feeble due to the discomfort and weakness from a cold.

[You, immune to cold and heat, may not feel it, but the little guy has a fever. Fortunately, a strong cold medicine is taking effect, and the fever should subside in about half an hour.]

"Fever?"

Li Zheng touched Little Sakura’s forehead and indeed couldn’t feel much temperature.

"It seems that any ability has its pros and cons; acquiring immunity to cold and heat comes with dulled temperature perception."

"Is this the price paid for gaining power?"

Good thing I have Prelis’ Eye, which can alert me to abnormalities I can’t detect.

"Let him rest here for a while to avoid being accidentally hurt later."

After settling Little Sakura, Li Zheng took out the weapon he had stashed in the previous room and turned to approach the Thick Smoke Monster.

The Thick Smoke Monster’s movement speed was surprisingly slow. During the time Li Zheng was settling Little Sakura, it had only floated less than two meters.

"This speed is quite awkward. If encountered during the novice period, just grab the treasure chest and leave quickly."

But it’s no longer the novice period now; if hostile creatures in the room are not dealt with, players can’t proceed.

"So it still needs to be dealt with first."

Physical immunity, huh...

Let’s see if the genetic ability of Elemental Manipulation can cause damage!

With his mind set, Li Zheng had already devised a plan.

"Ice and Fire Attachment - Fire Element!"

Intense flames wrapped around the weapon - the ham - and faintly, Li Zheng seemed to smell an even richer and enticing aroma.

"...Damn, I need to find a weapon to replace it!"

Grumbling to himself, with Bronze++ level physique strength bursts, Li Zheng charged towards the Thick Smoke Monster, wielding the ham that smelled mouth-wateringly delicious yet was tough enough to break one’s teeth.

With a swing, Li Zheng put all his strength behind the blow, hitting the Thick Smoke Monster with a loud swoosh through the air.

"Whoosh!"

In the whistle of breaking air, Li Zheng was surprised to find the Thick Smoke Monster’s intangible body split into two, right along where the ham broke through the air.

The Thick Smoke Monster split into two, and even the lower half now had two tiny eyes, emotionlessly staring at Li Zheng.

Suddenly, both sections of the Thick Smoke Monster simultaneously expanded up and down, revealing huge, grim, pitch-black jaws with seemingly pure black fangs hidden within.

Then...it was as if they were set to slow-motion, sluggishly biting towards Li Zheng.

"This speed..."

Li Zheng stepped back, speechlessly avoiding the bite attacks of the two little Thick Smoke Monsters.

"Pathetic!"

However, the ham wrapped in high-temperature flames didn’t cause any substantial damage to the Thick Smoke Monster, which was unexpected for Li Zheng.

After all, the fire produced by Ice and Fire Attachment should not technically fall under the category of "physical attack."

"Ice and Fire Attachment - Ice Element!"

Switching abilities, Li Zheng tried again.

As a result, the Thick Smoke Monster split into one large and two small entities.

"Isn’t this endless? Infinite division? How to kill?"

Stepping back again to dodge the attacks of the three Thick Smoke Monsters, Li Zheng began to think carefully.

"This guy has no tangible body. It seems its entire body is smoke; each time the ham swings, it looks like I’ve split it."

"In fact..."

Li Zheng recalled the details of the two attacks, taking another step back along with it.

"In fact, before the ham even touches it, the smoke is already dispersed by the air."

"This is an unsolvable problem because as long as I try to attack, or even without attacking, a gentle breath causes airflow, enabling endless division, ultimately turning into a bunch of small creatures chasing to bite me."

Another step back.

"Furthermore... Wait? When I step back, it seems its advancement speed increases a bit?"

"Oh, retreating also causes air movement... The greater the movement, the stronger the air flow..."

"I got it!"

Li Zheng stood still, replacing the ham with an item instead of a weapon, which made a whirring sound upon activation.

"Air Purifier, clear all the smoke and haze!"

"Come on, Little Cleaner, give me some... I mean, suck it up!"

Li Zheng raised his arm forward, and the air purifier diligently began its work.

This little gadget doesn’t care what it’s inhaling; as long as the level doesn’t exceed its purification limit and the nature of the substance is gaseous, what it expels is always fresh, natural air.

"Woooo—"

The Air Purifier’s suction wasn’t very strong, but it was continuous.

The Thick Smoke Monster’s body obviously didn’t possess the trait of being "endlessly renewable," as the airflow drew it into the purifier, and its non-physical body was elongated and distorted.

With its grim mouth wide open, a faintly humanized look of horror appeared in a few of those little eyes of the Thick Smoke Monster.

In just three minutes, Li Zheng, holding the air purifier, circled around to ensure no trace of smoke remained.

[You’re such a clever rascal, thinking of a method like that.]

"..."

Looking at the empty ground before him, Li Zheng sighed up to the sky: "This thing doesn’t even leave a body, wasting energy with nothing deconposed into account!"

Stowing the air purifier, Li Zheng went back to pick up Little Sakura, then activated the flying device, ascending towards the top of the altar.

As he got closer, Li Zheng could clearly see that this altar, about twenty meters high, was constructed of a pure black wooden material and wasn’t a solid structure but had a hollow design.

However, the hollow sections were very narrow and tight, making them unnoticeable from a distance with the altar’s uniform color.

"Tap!"

Landing firmly atop the altar, Li Zheng tried shifting his weight to sway the altar.

Not moving an inch.

"It’s really sturdy."

Prelis’ Eye didn’t signal any danger related to the altar, so Li Zheng proceeded to the chest in front of him.

It was a gray stone square chest, with its upper part entirely a lid, which meant opening it entailed lifting half of its volume.

[I know what you’re curious about.

Is this thing a Treasure Chest?

The puzzle-solving pro Old Prel assures you: It is!

After all, any box containing treasures can collectively be called a Treasure Chest, right?]

"..."

After reading through the drivel provided by Prelis’ Eye, Li Zheng remained silent for a moment, then retorted: "You make such a good point; I’m actually at a loss for words?"

Like hell I am!

I was just wondering how to open this thing without even a handle!"

[...]

[Monitoring... monitoring...]

[Bomb Squad, check the water meter of this chest!]