1 Welcome to the Matrix

[Welcome to the Matrix.]

[Each matrix is made up of several rooms. The contents of each room are random. There are resources and dangerous elements.]

[Each matrix will start with 1,000 players. Don't worry, the matrix is large enough for you to explore.]

[Every player has the same starting resources. Two basic nutrient solutions, two bottles of drinking water, one capsule shelter, and one identity card.]

[The capsule is indestructible. It is the only thing you can trust. Please do not abandon it.]

[The identity card is used to explore the matrix. By swiping the card in front of the door, you can enter the next room. Each person can explore ten new rooms a day.]

[Note: once you choose a new room, you cannot cancel it after swiping the card. You cannot go back after you enter the new room.]

[Note: there is no sandbox mode, so players can attack each other at will. Whether you want to work together or kill your way through the matrix alone, it's up to you.]

[All players under the age of 16 and over the age of 50 will be removed from the matrix.]

[Now, begin your journey in the matrix!]

The screen in front of him flickered, and Li Zheng only came back to his senses after the words disappeared.

"The Matrix?"

Had he transmigrated?

Li Zheng rubbed his temples.

He only remembered a piercing white light flashing past, and everyone passed out.

After he woke up, he was already here.

"I don't think it's a transmigration... Even if it is, it's a large-scale transmigration within the world. Therefore, I'm not the 'chosen one' like how it usually is in novels. I can't just wander around."

Li Zheng was not in a hurry to explore the so-called matrix. Instead, he first examined his surroundings.

He was now in a room that was about three meters in length, width, and height.

He was used to living in a single room of a thirty-square-meter apartment, so this felt cramped.

If he had claustrophobia, he might have gone crazy.

The room seemed to be made of metal and was controlled by advanced technology. A dim light bulb on the ceiling was the only source of light.

The floor was also made of metal. Not far from his feet were two bottles of water, a card, and two cans about the size of a Red Bull can.

Other than that, there was nothing else.

"So, I'm in the so-called capsule?"

Li Zheng jumped around and looked around. The corner of his mouth twitched in dissatisfaction. "It's really shabby. Other than the door, there's not even a window. No wonder this place it's secure."

He went over to pick up the ID card and stuffed it into his pocket. Then, he searched his entire body.

Sure enough, all his pockets were empty, not even the lighter he usually used to light cigarettes.

"I guess that's fair..."

Li Zheng didn't mind. He didn't actually smoke, he just lit them up for others.

He picked up a bottle of water and a holographic screen appeared.

[A clean bottle of water. It contains 500ml of water in a plastic bottle.]

"..."

Li Zheng was silent for a moment. "Does that need explaining?"

He picked up the can the size of a Red Bull can."

[The energy in one can of basic nutrient solution is equivalent to an average person's lunch. It tastes sweet and may have other unknown effects. It contains 330ml nutrient solution in a can.]

It was the same style of description as for the water bottle.

"Alright ... I was planning to go to a restaurant for a meal before I came here. This is a good time to try out the effect."

"Gulp."

He pulled off the ring, and with a few gulps, he drank the entire can of nutrients.

It was too sweet, and Li Zheng didn't want to drink another one for the time being. He even suspected that they made it so sweet to make one feel nauseated.

Then, he looked at the can in his hand.

[An empty can that could be used to store things, or you can step on it to vent your anger. Unable to be decomposed, but it could be melted.]

In short, a single can was equivalent to garbage.

He threw it to the corner of the room, picked up the water bottle, and took a sip to get rid of the sweetness in his mouth. He then opened the regional chat channel.

The chat channel was divided into the world channel and the regional channel.

[Matrix channel: 0000879. Current number of people remaining: 1,000. Number of small speakers: 1/1 (small speakers are world communication tools, one is available every day, players should use them carefully.)]

The screen disappeared quickly. Li Zheng swallowed the water he was rinsing his mouth with, thinking that the system was telling him that the speakers had other uses besides chatting.

No one spoke on the world channel. There was only a small speaker at the start of the game, so no one was willing to waste time on meaningless chit-chat. Li Zheng opened the regional channel he was in.

(In the regional channel chatroom, only the players in the channel can speak. There is no limit to the number of times you can speak, and no small speakers will be consumed.)

"The Matrix? What is going on? Who kidnapped me here?"

"Who knows? Maybe it was an alien. By the way, is Xiao Xuan around? I'm Cutie. "

"Cutie? I think you're a pig."

"Wahahahahaha! Ants like you shall all tremble under the feet of the future king!"

"Did this person get brain damage?"

"I guess so!"

"+1"

"..."

"Hmph, foolish ants, I am the reincarnation of the great God of Darkness. This transmigration is a ceremony for my people to welcome the return of their holy light. Your blood will eventually become the embellishment of my throne!"

"Oh, so the Matrix is nothing for the God of Darkness? May I ask which room you are in now?"

"Hmph, this game is not even worth mentioning. Today, I will conquer this world and be crowned as king!"

A minute later.

[Number of people left in the area: 999]

"..."

"God of Darkness? Where is the great God of Darkness?"

"Pfft, can't you see that there's one less person? He's probably dead."

"I hope he's fine."

"You're too late, he's probably dead."

"..."

Li Zheng closed the chat, speechless.

The game had just started, and everyone had at least two meals to eat without worrying about anything. Therefore, most people were waiting and watching, hoping that someone would start the game first to get more information.

However, Li Zheng knew that the situation would change tomorrow.

When the time came, hunger would force them to take the first step.

Then, the purging would begin

Just like how the player was purged just now.

Would the players who successfully explored the next room share their experience?

Li Zheng felt that it was highly unlikely.

He wouldn't anyway.

Other than the chatroom, there was also a virtual trading room.

Li Zheng opened it to find that it was empty.

"It's time to start the exploration. It's not good to keep hiding like this."

Li Zheng opened the door to his room and stepped out.

"Hmm?"

To Li Zheng's surprise, there was a huge underground cave outside the capsule. A few pieces of broken rock were scattered on the ground.

He turned around and found the button next to the door of the capsule's residence and pressed it gently.

"Bang!"

The room instantly shrank and became the size of a capsule.

Li Zheng picked it up and kept it away with his mind.

With another flip of his hand, the capsule appeared. He pressed it hard and threw it out.

"Bang!"

A square capsule appeared in front of him in a cloud of smoke.

"Hmm, there's a delay of about two to three seconds between taking out the capsule and it becoming a shelter. If I encounter danger in the future, I might be able to make use of the invincibility of the capsule."

He just didn't know if he could take out the capsules during battle.

Li Zheng transformed his room back into a capsule and put it away. He then began to examine the cave.

The top of the cave was very high, more than five meters, and covered in glowing moss, so he could still see.

There was a high-tech metal door on each of the four walls of the cave, which led to the next room. The key was the identity card of the players.

There was also a door on the ceiling and the ground, so Li Zheng had six directions to choose from.

"Don't even think about going up. I can't climb without any tools."

"If I go down, I don't know how high the space is. If I fall and get injured, no one will come to save me."

After all, he could not cancel his choice after choosing a passage, so Li Zheng had to be extremely careful with his first choice.

As for the remaining four directions, Li Zheng looked at each of the doors. In the end, he was disappointed to find that each door was exactly the same. He could not tell what was behind the door at all.

Just as Li Zheng was about to choose a random door to enter, a voice suddenly rang in his ears."

[Random treasure chest is being drawn. Please wait...]

"Success. Treasure chest quality: silver. Would you like to claim it now?"

"What...what does this mean?"

Li Zheng looked around to make sure that there was no sound system in the cave. He was sure that it wasn't an NPC playing tricks on him.

"Claim it…?"

Thump.

A silver chest appeared out of thin air and landed in front of Li Zheng.

"There's actually such a feature!?"

Li Zheng opened the chatroom and confirmed that no one had mentioned anything similar. 

This treasure chest might be his cheat code!

"Let me see what's in there!"

Li Zheng squatted down excitedly and grabbed the lid. With a light tug, the lid was lifted.

[Obtained: 1 silver-grade blueprint for ordinary detector.]

[Obtained: 1 power core.]

[Obtained: 15 spare parts.]

[Obtained: 10 iron ingots.]

[Obtained: 5 copper ingots.]

Reaching into the treasure chest, Li Zheng looked at the notifications in excitement.

These things were approved in the matrix!

All the items obtained by players in the matrix could be stored in the capsule. Even if the room was in a capsule state, players could take out the things they needed.

After the items were taken out, the treasure chest gradually became transparent and eventually disappeared, as if it had never existed.

"What the...is this sorcery?"

With a thought, a USB drive appeared in Li Zheng's hand. He was stunned.

"This is the blueprint?"

[Silver-grade blueprint for ordinary detector. One-time use.]

[It could be used to make an ordinary detector. Materials required: iron ingots x2, spare parts x5, power core of any grade x1]

[One-time blueprint cannot be learned. You have sufficient materials. Do you wish to create it?]

What was he waiting for?

"Yes!"

Three seconds later, the USB drive disappeared and was replaced by a pair of goggles that looked like the scouters in Dragon Ball.

[Ordinary detector, silver-grade item, unique, upgradeable.]

[It could detect, but was not limited to, materials, items, creatures, players, and retrieve basic information.]

[The higher the item's level, the more detailed the information.]

[Upgrade material requirements: technology core x1, 300g B25 manganese steel, power core x1, spare parts x30.]

He wore the detector, pressed the side button, and it turned on.

Li Zheng looked at one of the doors through the detector, and a word appeared on the screen of the detector:

"Danger!"