Matrix Survival: I Get A Random Chest Every Day-Chapter 729 - 513_2

So, are you...

"The Cyclops?"

Li Zheng blurted out, feeling the hairs on his back stand on end.

Back when he first tackled this quest, the final Boss he encountered was a large mechanical entity resembling a Cyclops.

If it weren't for Zhan Zhouzhou's exceptional skills holding it off single-handedly, allowing him to find its weak point for a critical strike.

They wouldn't know how many of their first-time team would have died in that battle.

"To be precise, I am the consciousness amalgamation of all the Ancient Races; we are inseparable," an electronic voice sounded as the mechanically transformed Sword Mantis leaped down from the foot of an Ancient Giant Statue, and its razor-sharp wings unfolded like blades behind it, slowly landing in front of Li Zheng.

The compound eyes, assembled from numerous image devices, locked onto Li Zheng without warmth; yet, eerily enough, Li Zheng felt a fluctuation of emotions in its gaze.

Arrogance, anger, jealousy...

Among them, seven emotions were most conspicuous, while the rest were relatively calmer, almost exuding a Buddhist-like vibe.

Different from extreme decay, it was a feeling as if everything had been seen through with detachment.

"Is your doing the reason I'm here?"

Facing this Sword Mantis, Li Zheng didn't even bother to assume a defensive stance; if it wanted to kill him, he'd already be minced by now.

"I did not; you simply appeared on your own," the Ancient Will denied Li Zheng's guess.

Since they weren't the ones behind it, the Terminal surely had a hand in it.

Could a Terminal-led transportation malfunction mid-process?

Li Zheng thought that this possibility was less likely than Zhan Zhouzhou accidentally decapitating himself while practicing swordsmanship.

Then what was the Terminal's purpose in sending him here?

Could the Ancient Race be hiding some secret?

"With your strength, entering the Outer City shouldn't be difficult, right?" After pondering for a moment, Li Zheng asked, "Then why remain in the Matrix as stepping stones for new players?"

Say no more, just that Ancient Celestial Veil alone placed in the Matrix would slaughter all players countless times.

The conditions to enter the Outer City must have long been met.

"Outer City, my race has been there,"

The Ancient Will replied, "But, the war was lost, and my race chose to return here to study and devise strategies."

War?

Li Zheng noted the word, though the Ancient Will's speech would randomly stutter without pattern, given it mastered Mandarin, it shouldn't utter ambiguous words.

"What war?"

"Yes, the war against the Twisted Invasion," the Ancient Will slowly explained, "This information, originally, was not to be disclosed to new players. But you are now fit to proceed to the Outer City and are qualified to know."

Of course, he'd learn it eventually, as he was now unable to contact anyone else, so the Terminal wasn't afraid he'd leak the information.

"What Twisted Invasion?"

Li Zheng frowned, "Related to the Twisted Magic Crystals?"

Twisted, this word he had heard many times; the first time he heard information in this regard was when the Bloodthirsty Demon Blade discovered low-purity Twisted Magic Crystals from a mutated radiance-infected body.

Back then, Li Zheng thought that the so-called 'Twisted Creatures' were some kind of trial in the Outer City distinct from Matrix creatures.

Now it seems, it might not be just that.

The Ancient Will: "Twisted Magic Crystals are the products of Twisted creatures. They are wicked and will devour everything! The Matrix is the Pure Land; its existence is to fight against the Twisted."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Li Zheng was puzzled, "You're speaking in riddles, can't you start from the beginning?"

The Ancient Will: "Well, it needs to be traced back to a very long... long... long time ago..."

Following the Ancient Will's narrative, Li Zheng finally grasped the partial secret the Terminal hesitated to reveal.

First, there indeed existed more than one civilization in the universe, but the area where the Blue Star was located was rather unique, an area that should have been a life-forbidden zone but somehow birthed an intelligent race.

According to the Ancient Will, the nearest civilization to the Blue Star was over ten thousand light-years away.

That was the civilization of the previous round of players.

Such a considerable distance posed a massive hurdle for the average civilization.

Usually, no civilization is willing to pay an exorbitant price to engage in long interstellar travel just to find another possibly nonexistent civilization.

However, in a certain star system described by the Ancient Will as "difficult to investigate," two civilizations emerged simultaneously.

These two civilizations progressed rapidly, each advancing furiously through different power systems.

One civilization specialized in "emotion" studies, while the other was a typically common "Technology Side" in the universe.

After acquiring space travel ability, these two civilizations finally discovered each other's existence.

Initially, the relationship between the two civilizations was relatively harmonious, exchanging their respective power system achievements with one another.

Until one day, the civilization studying 'emotions' realized that resources within its territory were on the brink of depletion. Without a substitute, the entire civilization would disintegrate and eventually vanish from the universe.

By that time, conducting planet-level travel was too late, and they could only start with the nearest neighbor.

From initial appeals for help to later occupation, to the full-scale escalation of conflict.

War broke out, leaving unchecked destruction.

The two civilizations fought back and forth in the fields they excelled at, with both sides claiming victories and defeats.

The initial idea of the Technology Side civilization was to engage in a war of attrition so that once the opposing side's resources were exhausted, they would ultimately emerge as victors.

However, the Emotion Civilization was aware of this too, and at the brink of depleting its last resources, all life fused together to stimulate the power of 'emotion' to its pinnacle, forming an unprecedented 'Emotion Storm'!

Once the storm formed, it spiraled out of control because it mixed countless differing emotions, becoming extremely twisted and anomalous.

Everywhere it went, any life with consciousness, rationality, and emotion would be infected by this warped emotion, transforming into an asymmetric monster.

The Emotion Storm swept across the Technology Civilization, and, on the verge of extinction, the Technology Civilization went all out, constructing the Matrix and a technological creation called the Tower to carry a part of the living force out from the Emotion Storm, fleeing into the universe.

After annihilating the remaining resistance of the Technology Civilization, the Emotion Storm drifted aimlessly through space.

The storm, fused with innumerable emotions, was extremely sharp, capable of detecting intelligent life thousands of light-years away.

Upon discovering a target, it would proceed there at the fastest pace.

Gradually, after engulfing countless civilizations, the Emotion Storm once again crossed paths with the Matrix.

Following another brutal slaughter, the Matrix still couldn't compete and retreated in failure.

Afterward, the Matrix embarked on a life of countering the Twisted, forever trailed by the Emotion Storm.

Upon identifying an opponent's objective, it would preemptively take away all life from that civilization.

Initially, the Matrix's approach was all-inclusive; as long as it was intelligent life, it fell within the scope of rescue.

Alas, while ideals were full, reality was cruel.

As the population of intelligent life within the Matrix grew, frictions reminiscent of the two civilizations at their start began to appear.

Gradually, those frictions escalated into wars, leading to rivers of blood.

Thus, the original race in the Matrix altered its policy, expelling all those races and sending them to oppose the Emotion Storm.

That battle yielded incalculable casualties.

The Ancient Will merely knew that thereafter, every civilization rescued by the Terminal had to undergo a period of assessment.

Those failing to pass the test would remain in the Matrix Realm for the next confrontation with the Emotion Storm.

Thus, the original race in the Matrix altered its policy, expelling all those races and sending them to oppose the Emotion Storm.

That battle yielded incalculable casualties.

The Ancient Will merely knew that thereafter, every civilization rescued by the Terminal had to undergo a period of assessment.

Those failing to pass the test would remain in the Matrix Realm for the next confrontation with the Emotion Storm.