Matrix Survival: I Get A Random Chest Every Day-Chapter 781 - 544 Wish Stone Fragment

"No, no, I almost got caught up in your words."

After some serious thinking, Li Zheng responded, "Where we're from, there are more than just one type of restaurant. Besides what we usually eat, which can be called home-cooked meals, served as a finished dish directly to the table.

There are also two other kinds of restaurants where the business only needs to provide ingredients, and the rest of the cooking is left for the customers to handle themselves."

"... What?" Mirel paused her chewing abruptly, looking at Li Zheng in disbelief, "Such a model exists? Wouldn't that mean placing a lot of stoves in the restaurant?"

"Hmm..." Li Zheng recalled carefully, "Actually, just a few electric cookers are enough. The business provides the ingredients and either a soup base or a grill, and the customers cook the food themselves... it's not really cooking, you just need to put the ingredients into the soup to boil or on the grill to roast."

Mirel looked puzzled, "Why does this sound like grilled meat that everyone else has eaten to the point of puking?"

Li Zheng's face went dark, indeed!

In the Matrix, everyone eats grilled meat, and they're so sick of it that 99% of people feel nauseous just smelling it now.

"Then I'll open a hot pot restaurant!" Li Zheng said confidently, "The hot pot restaurant I open will definitely be delicious!"

"How can you guarantee that your stuff will taste good?" Mirel resumed chewing her food, pointing her chopsticks in the air twice, "According to your so-called hot pot model, to make it taste good you have to focus on two aspects: one is the soup base used to cook the food, and the other is the ingredients boiled in the soup.

Doesn't your world have a large population? The recipe for soup base and various ingredients must have been thoroughly researched already, if you can't offer something unique, it won't attract customers to your restaurant."

"..." Li Zheng frowned and thought for a long time, finally blurting out, "Aren't you a little princess of the Enchanting Demon Race? Why are you so knowledgeable about business?"

"What's wrong with a princess?" Mirel said matter-of-factly, "The Charm Demon King's Chamber needs to eat too, right? Bartering or currency exchange as a business model is common among all races, and as the most excellent heir of the Enchanting Demon Race royal family, learning business from a young age is quite normal, right?"

"What you said... really makes a lot of sense," Li Zheng was completely speechless, beginning to concede, "Okay, okay, whether I can go back is still uncertain, discussing what store to open is a waste of effort now."

As long as returning to the original world isn't possible, no amount of discussion about the future is meaningful.

Li Zheng found it amusing, thinking he must be bored out of his mind to be discussing this with Mirel.

"That's where you're wrong!"

Just when Li Zheng didn't want to continue the topic, Mirel instead spoke seriously, "Even if you can't go back, have you considered where to settle once we deal with the Spiritual Storm?"

"Will you leave the Matrix Realm, wandering through the universe, or stay in places like the Outer City of the Matrix Realm and open a restaurant as you mentioned? If you choose the latter, then what we're discussing now wouldn't be in vain, right?"

Li Zheng humorously tapped Mirel's forehead with his chopsticks, "Exactly the opposite, if I open a restaurant in the Outer City, wouldn't I still have stoves?"

Cooking with stoves provides not only delicious meals but also buffs, so any restaurant can become popular without worrying about business.

"... Well, that's the extent of your ambition," Mirel thought for a moment and agreed, nodding and no longer speaking.

The table fell into silence, with only the sound of chewing echoing.

Privately, Li Zheng began calculating in his mind according to the previous train of thought.

If he could really return to Earth, it might still be possible to open a successful restaurant.

With his current Spiritual Power, mastering star-rated hotel's signature dishes could be done just by observing once.

If not, he could also work in someone else's kitchen to learn secretly and accumulate capital, coming out on his own when the time is ripe.

Of course, this would only happen if he desired a peaceful life. Otherwise, with such powerful strength, he could easily crush Earth with a mere thought, let alone work...

After the meal, Li Zheng continued to study with old Prel, while Mirel went about her own tasks.

Except for the Kang'er brothers coming over complaining of hunger, whom Li Zheng sent to Basil, almost nothing else happened.

Soon enough, it reached midnight in the Outer City, the first night Li Zheng spent there.

[Daily Treasure Chest has been refreshed, randomizing quality...]

The familiar electronic voice pulled Li Zheng from his study, his ear twitched slightly, and a fleeting, inexplicable meaning passed through his expression.

[Extraction successful, the current Treasure Chest quality is: Silver. Would you like to extract it now?]

The Silver Level Treasure Chest, the lowest quality Li Zheng could extract now, was practically worthless. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Even using 'Delayed Extraction' to upgrade it by one tier wasn't worthwhile, as it might affect the quality of tomorrow's Treasure Chest.

So, without hesitation, Li Zheng directly extracted the Treasure Chest.

'Thunk!'

The Treasure Chest hit the ground, drawing others' attention, Mirel, who was practicing Whip Technique nearby, glanced over without much concern, only a bit of displeasure showing between her brows, seemingly blaming Li Zheng for making noise and disturbing her training.

"..."

Li Zheng couldn't help but pause at the sight.

He used to be overly cautious, always avoiding Mirel and the others when receiving Treasure Chests.

In reality, there were too many strange things in the Matrix, and as long as others didn't have abilities like Prelis' Eye, who could tell the Treasure Chest was unusual?

Smirking, he shook his head and opened the lid, reaching in to retrieve the contents, and once again was taken aback.

This time, the items weren't transferred directly to his capsule residence but appeared physically in his hands.

[Wish Stone Fragment]

[A complete Wishing Stone can theoretically fulfill any of your wishes, provided you can gather enough pieces and afford the cost of realizing your wish!]

[Old Prel: Everything you touch has been marked with a price by fate, never attempt to use it to resurrect someone, for their resurrection means your death as an equivalent exchange!]

Wish Stone Fragment.

Li Zheng read the prompt from old Prel and scratched his cheek.

He never expected the Treasure Chest System to produce something so... beyond the rules of reality.

Yet, he didn't pay much heed, casually storing the fragment in his capsule, treating it like any ordinary stone but with some commemorative value.

Coincidentally putting away his handheld device, Li Zheng stood up from where he was sitting, stretching his limbs to sleep, but felt entirely uncomfortable.

He exited the greenhouse to find Kang'er, still busy, and posed a difficult question even to this old Vine Race member.

"Does your Botanical Garden... have a place to take a shower?"