CHAPTER 279: CHAPTER 239: THE OTHER HALF OF THE REWARD IS...

The doctor’s repeated inquiry plunged Li Zheng into hesitation.

If what the other party said is true, perhaps keeping that mass of emotion buried in his heart might be a good thing?

But...

Li Zheng glanced at the Balance Bracelet he held in his hand. Because Old Pu was "offline," he could only see some very basic attributes.

[Emotion Balance Bracelet

Tier: None

Type: Equipment/Accessory

Function: Balances extreme emotions to prevent the wearer from making dangerous actions due to intense emotional fluctuations.]

The thing was fine; in terms of attributes, it indeed was helpful in suppressing the latent dangers left by ancient technology.

Or should he...

Keep it?

Hesitating for a long time, Li Zheng finally accepted the doctor’s suggestion and decided to keep that mass of hostility in his heart.

"Alright then, what’s the remaining half of the reward?" Li Zheng put on the bracelet, which automatically shrunk to fit his wrist without impeding movement.

"Huh?" Li Zheng exclaimed in surprise as he felt that the style of this item seemed familiar.

The doctor, seeing this, showed no expression of surprise, seemingly having anticipated Li Zheng’s decision: "The other half of the reward requires you to help me fetch it."

"Go out to find it?" Li Zheng was startled; was this reminiscent of receiving another quest?

"Indeed." The doctor said flatly, "At your level, anything you can normally acquire in the Matrix holds no value to me."

"So, for the remaining half of the reward, I need you to go out and find a specific material for my research."

Using the calmest tone to deliver the most biting words.

The doctor is different from the Blacksmith and the Merchant.

The latter two, in transactions, require only payment of a sufficient total value, regardless of the cost to the customer.

However, the doctor is not the same.

For someone of the doctor’s level of power, ordinary materials are no different from trash in his eyes; what interests him more are things conducive to research.

However, given the doctor’s level, Li Zheng felt that the creatures he could kill had probably already been studied by the doctor.

Could it be that he wanted Li Zheng to venture into a certain instance to bring back a sample containing some rare biological gene?

That would rely heavily on luck!

"Rest assured, it’s not that difficult." The doctor, seemingly reading Li Zheng’s mind, proposed a condition: "Among your batch of players, some individuals are quite special. I need you to find one and bring back his gene sample."

Surprisingly to Li Zheng, the item the doctor wanted him to fetch wasn’t in an instance but was a gene sample from a player.

The difficulty was indeed much simpler than he had imagined, and he might resolve it right on the spot!

Li Zheng asked, "Do you have any general information or location about the target?"

Actually, Li Zheng wanted to ask for the person’s name and channel number. With these two pieces of information, he could find a way to contact the person and purchase a vial of their blood through the trading hall.

"I don’t know the person’s name, but I can provide the channel number where he’s located. Once you get there, just look for the strongest player in that channel." The doctor said with a slight shake of his head.

"Knowing the channel number works too." Upon initially hearing there was no name, Li Zheng was somewhat disappointed, but knowing the channel number would suffice. He could just ask on the world channel who the top-ranked player in that channel was.

It had just passed midnight, the world channel’s small trumpet had already refreshed for the day, and using it now would allow him to use the megaphone Chu Xiao provided in the afternoon for trading potions.

"The target is in channel 67; you should keep the name card. After acquiring the item and returning, you can still use it." The doctor added, "Here it’s a bit unique. Although there’s only one road leading here, everyone can use the door multiple times. As for the transport items for going back and forth, you’ll have to manage it yourself, as long as you deliver it within ten days."

Having explained everything, the doctor’s figure flickered and then vanished.

The red button on the reception desk popped up and reset.

Li Zheng, upon obtaining the information about channel 67’s top-ranked player, immediately inquired on the world channel, hoping to complete the task early and save on Star Thief teleportation fees twice.

However, possibly due to the late hour, many had already begun resting.

Except for a few players who popped up merely to curse at him, no one from that channel responded to him.

As it was just wasting a small trumpet, Li Zheng didn’t mind at all. If necessary, he’d ask again after eight in the morning.

In the worst-case scenario, he’d have to make the trip himself.

But before that, he still had some matters to handle in channel 995.

"Little Sakura, let’s go."

Accompanied by the shivering Little Sakura, Li Zheng crossed back through the door he came from and indeed returned to the previous tunnel-like room.

This made Li Zheng feel it was quite absurd.

Since the doctor here violated the Matrix’s rule prohibiting backtracking!

"Is it because he’s too powerful, even the Terminal struggles to restrict him?" Li Zheng muttered softly as he looked at the bracelet snugly fitting his wrist.

By now, Old Pu was back "online", working again and providing more information.

[Description: A masterpiece by the Blacksmith.

This is one of the Blacksmith’s early works, crafted entirely according to the doctor’s request. Initially intended only to control depression, it was unexpectedly discovered to have extraordinary effects on a different kind of ailment.

Old Pu: I think you should have noticed; that purple-skinned woman wasn’t being truthful!]

Li Zheng: "..."

So his earlier sense of familiarity was indeed not an illusion!

Li Zheng had already remembered where he had seen a similar style of item.

The "Overweight" collar Zhan Zhouzhou got from the Blacksmith was just like this!

It appeared metallic yet was very soft and completely conformed to the skin!

"So does that mean Zi Shu, fearing I wouldn’t be willing to help transport the medical bed, tricked me in a roundabout way?" Reflecting on the conversation at the time, Li Zheng depressingly realized that in some sense, she hadn’t lied at all.

He asked Zi Shu if she could cure it, and Zi Shu said she couldn’t.

She indeed couldn’t cure it, but she could suppress it using the same kind of item.

Li Zheng didn’t believe she wouldn’t know how to make this item; even if Zi Shu didn’t, wouldn’t the "reclusive" Blacksmith?

Looking at the Emotion Balance Bracelet, Li Zheng sighed helplessly.

What can he do?

Go back and find trouble with Zi Shu?

No reason to!

Her place is, after all, a Blacksmith Shop. Even if she saw he had a problem, she could very well choose to ignore it.

Yet she provided a warning in advance, which was already an enormous favor. In light of this, running an errand to deliver something seemed like no big deal.

"Just consider it another interconnected task."

Taking out the Mysterious Declaration, Li Zheng had Old Pu find the nearest metallic door and headed in that direction.

After traversing a maze entirely devoid of gaming experience, Li Zheng looked at the metal door in front of him, which showed player presence, and his lips twitched slightly.

"Kato Junwa, the superior of the one stationed slightly leftward at Gangmen, should have collected more intel. Perhaps I can inquire from him about the origins of those night creatures."