Chapter 370: Chapter 313: Opening the Treasure Chest, but Not Fully Open
Quan Xiangzuo kneeled on the ground, trembling under Cheng Tianpu’s cold gaze, not daring to look directly at him.
How should he answer this question?
Should he tell Cheng Tianpu he was scared of dying, so he chickened out?
Because he chickened out, he panicked?
Because he panicked, he sent the SOS message to the wrong person?
If that’s the case, Cheng Tianpu might just blow his brains out right now!
So he could only respond with silence.
Silence is the Kang Bridge tonight.
After a moment, Cheng Tianpu finally spoke again, "Describe the characteristics of the robbers."
"Ye... yes!" Quan Xiangzuo wiped his sweat repeatedly, explaining all the details he remembered, focusing on describing the two stiffly standing men in black.
"Boss, although they communicated in standard English the whole time, I think they should be Asian."
Quan Xiangzuo concluded at the end.
"Shut up!" The facelifted face suddenly roared angrily.
Quan Xiangzuo fell silent, knowing he had spoken out of turn; such conclusions should not be made by him but left to Cheng Tianpu’s judgment.
Without expression, Cheng Tianpu turned and made a gesture, "Make him suffer a bit."
After speaking, he took out a pen-like device and drew a circle on the ground.
After stepping into the circle, his figure vanished.
The facelifted face followed with eight others marked in red, leaving three behind to torment Quan Xiangzuo.
"Boss, a height between 1.6 to 1.7 meters can indeed only be Asian." The facelifted face emerged from the Teleportation Gate, whispering from behind Cheng Tianpu, "Tonight’s robbers likely come from Southern Yue, Mud Furnace, or the Elephant Country."
"It’s the Mud Furnace people!" Cheng Tianpu declared firmly.
"The monkeys from Southern Yue are not a threat; even with a million guts, they wouldn’t dare to rob us."
"The Elephant Country is embroiled in countless internal conflicts, unable to even settle among themselves, let alone offend others at such a time."
"Only Mud Furnace and Dragon Country have the ability and the guts to do something like this."
"Boss," the facelifted face curiously asked, "why not Dragon Country people?"
"Dragon Country and Mud Furnace are archenemies; if they were to rob, it should be Mud Furnace and not us." Cheng Tianpu’s voice was low, "Moreover, Dragon Country prides itself as a gentleman’s nation, disdaining petty acts; this is evident from their public stance internationally."
A muscled bald man marked in red behind them suddenly sneered, "Merely a bunch of prideful old men; calling them gentlemen is too flattering."
"Old-fashioned? Haha..." Cheng Tianpu suddenly let out a cold laugh, "Old-fashioned is good, the more old-fashioned, the easier they are to deal with.
Unfortunately, they are not old-fashioned, but rather calculating..."
Saying this, Cheng Tianpu’s gaze drifted into the distance, lost in thought.
Several red-named players each used a device to return to their rooms, leaving only the facelifted face, who still stood behind Cheng Tianpu, as if she wouldn’t move unless he did.
After a long time, Cheng Tianpu finally came back to his senses as if awakening from a dream, instructing, "Chunna, have Bing Yao take the Compass and go to channel sixty-seven; he knows what to do."
"Okay, boss, I will inform him after eight in the morning." Li Chunna bowed and replied, "It’s late; may I assist you in resting?"
"No need, I want to be alone tonight."
"Alright, if you need anything, please call me anytime."
"Mm, go ahead."
Li Chunna turned and walked away, releasing her capsule accommodation and went inside to rest.
Meanwhile, Cheng Tianpu stood in place, zoning out, his expression changing as if calculating various thoughts in his mind.
...
A slight sound of electron fragments sounded; Li Zheng put his Emotion Balance Bracelet back on, exhaling deeply, the blood-red color in his eyes quickly faded away.
"Whew~ more tiring than... exploration..." A hint of coolness spread from his wrist, permeating throughout his body, as his mind gradually regained clarity.
"Only fifteen minutes?" Li Zheng glanced at the time; he had held out hard this time until his consciousness almost blurred before putting on the bracelet, pushing the limits madly.
However, the result was quite gratifying.
Once the bracelet suppressed the violent emotions, he felt unprecedented clarity in his head, as if all distractions were cleared away.
Previously, his mind seemed covered with a thick layer of gauze, and now, a corner of this gauze had been lifted.
Listening carefully for a while, Li Zheng was pleasantly surprised to find that his previously mild tinnitus had disappeared, making the world many times quieter.
"Awoo." Little Sakura approached Li Zheng, only resting assured after confirming that her master was unharmed.
For the entire fifteen minutes earlier, she guarded alongside the Pink Poli, even as the murderous aura from Li Zheng grew stronger, almost making her think he would personally kill her, yet she did not retreat a single step.
"I’m fine." Li Zheng smiled at her, instructing her to go sleep in her own nest.
"Aw~"
She dragged the Pink Poli back to the fiber-made little nest, turning it into a "water bed," and Little Sakura lay on top of it.
Poli did not need sleep and could always stay energetically active.
But to accommodate Little Sakura, Pink Poli could stay motionless for hours at a time, which could be considered true love.
Li Zheng leaned against the bedside for a while until he felt sufficiently recuperated before getting up.
With a bit of time left until midnight, he didn’t want to waste it, so he summoned his Sheathed Sword and found a corner of the spacious accommodation to practice his Swordsmanship.
Zhan Zhouzhou had held another live stream tonight, which Li Zheng missed due to being busy.
But, given his private lessons from before, Li Zheng wasn’t particularly concerned about missing a bit of the course.
The martial arts path is profound and elusive.
Before Li Zheng ever encountered martial arts, he always thought traditional martial art techniques were flashy, ornamental nonsense, and burdensome.
Yet, after truly delving into it, he realized that, indeed... what he had seen before truly was flashy, ornamental nonsense!
To borrow a line Li Zheng once saw in a film: Martial arts is a killing technique!
In real life, the genuine Zhan’s Swordsmanship is purely a technique for killing. Once mastered, even three to five ordinary people would not be able to get close.
In the Matrix, since the types of enemies one might face are varied, Zhan Zhouzhou made significant adjustments to her Sword Techniques.
And during the private lessons earlier, she taught Li Zheng all of the adjusted techniques without reservation.
That’s also why Li Zheng agreed in the end to provide ninety meals.
Zhan Zhouzhou might profit, but he definitely didn’t lose.
"Zhan Zhouzhou was right; the more one practices Sword Techniques, the more room there seems to improve." Li Zheng focused on the sword tip, his gaze roaming as the sword moved.
After practicing for a while, he brought a saber and spear, familiarizing himself again with the two other martial arts he mastered, preventing them from becoming rusty from disuse.
Time slipped away slowly amidst the practice.
When Li Zheng finished practicing all three weapons, he finally heard the sound of the Treasure Chest refreshing for extraction.
[Treasure Chest has been extracted, Quality: Diamond. Do you want to extract it now?]
"Extract it!"