"Is it a good thing that it's ahead of schedule?!"
"From a certain perspective, it's not necessarily a bad thing," Chen Fei said. "Think about it, if Wu Sangui's rebellion had been delayed by a year... I mean, when Kangxi was reducing the power of the princes, the final outcome would have been very different. Scientific research is even more so; being brought forward isn't necessarily a good thing. Think about it, scientific research is inherently a process of accumulation, a process of quantitative change leading to qualitative change. Letting those scientists research future technologies now isn't actually a good thing. And with this century-long deception, you've directly told them many of the errors, and they still believe them wholeheartedly. That further lays the foundation for their failure. How could Heaven not be pleased with that?"
Chapter 298 The Competition (Part 1)
When Chen Xu exited the virtual reality, he was still in shock. At that moment, Wu Yuan and the others ran over excitedly and said, "The competition is about to start, and the beasts from the Department of Life Sciences have already gathered in the computer lab." Chen Xu almost blurted out, "Tell them to get lost! I have important business to attend to, what competition are you talking about!"
However, Chen Xu ultimately didn't say it aloud, only saying, "Okay, let me get ready. I'll wash my face and brush my teeth and then I'll be there."
Although Chen Xu's mind was filled with shocking news, and people would probably think he was crazy if he told them, he was still very excited overall.
Because Chen Fei rambled on and on, but in the end he still said the same thing... there are no restrictions on his use of the computer!
Chen Xu should have realized this long ago, but being caught up in the situation inevitably leads to anxiety and uncertainty. Now that he's out of the loop, he understands the saying, "You can't see the true face of Mount Lu because you're in the mountain yourself." If he himself has to be restrained in using this computer, unable to access crucial data without fear of retribution and its destruction, would his grandson dare send him the computer? Even if he did, would he dare put that data inside?!
Therefore, there are some side effects to using this information, but those side effects are nothing more than some people coming to cause trouble. Compared to being wiped out by the Heavenly Dao, they are negligible!
Furthermore, the concept of "Heavenly Dao" is quite mysterious. Even without this so-called Heavenly Dao, it's normal for one's actions to bring trouble. Just treat it with a calm mind. Like I said, what kind of protagonist would they be if they never had any trouble?!
As for the few he occasionally steps on, Chen Xu really doesn't mind at all, not at all... he'd love to see them!
Just like those animals from the School of Life Sciences later!
Although Chen Xu wasn't entirely sure they had taken intelligence-enhancing drugs, he was fairly certain that it was true... otherwise, this kind of thing would be hard to explain!
Chen Xu knew that while he was intelligent, he wouldn't dare claim an IQ exceeding 250. Last time he fought those guys, the martial arts side relied entirely on genuine skill, but the subsequent intellectual contest was pure cheating. Today, Chen Xu wasn't worried about the martial arts side either, but as for the intellectual contest… he'd still have to cheat!
What kind of cheating is this? You guys use smart drugs. Can't I use some tricks?
Ancient swordsmen relied half on their own strength and half on their weapons, so what's wrong with me using a weapon?
Moreover, what excited Chen Xu the most was that after the second layer of permissions was enabled, Xiao Min gained another function... human brain integration!
Ha, that word is really scary, but the function is even scarier!
Previously, using Xiao Min's ability in front of others was a very troublesome thing for Chen Xu. He always had to pretend and was worried about being discovered… but now he doesn't need to! Because once Xiao Min's ability is activated, as long as she transforms into a necklace and hangs around Chen Xu's neck, her special electromagnetic waves can envelop Chen Xu's entire body, allowing her to directly exchange information with him!
This information exchange includes the exchange of mental information, the exchange of physical sensations such as touch, and so on...
For Xiaomin, she could perceive all of Chen Xu's senses—hearing, sight, smell, touch, and even taste; and for Chen Xu, Xiaomin could analyze the information she sensed and directly communicate it to him in her brain, without worrying about being discovered!
To give a simple example, it's like when Chen Xu cheated on the exam before. He had to use Xiao Min to scan the exam paper to get the questions, and then send the answers back to Chen Xu via Bluetooth earpiece. But now, he doesn't need to do that at all! Chen Xu's eyes are Xiao Min's eyes; Xiao Min can even let Chen Xu "see" many of her judgments directly!
For example, right now, when Chen Xu sees Wu Yuan and his group approaching, with just a thought, his vision can instantly display calculations about Wu Yuan, including his distance, height, body measurements, and so on. He can also analyze Wu Yuan's fighting ability from his muscle strength. If a real fight were to break out, Xiao Min could instantly analyze a person's speed, punching power, and even the trajectory of their punches…
Chen Xu thought for a moment, and the two things he would enjoy most after gaining this ability were: First, playing billiards... it would be like having an invincible cheat code, like playing a computer billiards game, able to see the trajectory of the ball and even its trajectory after impact; the other was playing Texas Hold'em. In the international Texas Hold'em tournament, the legendary God of Gamblers competition, there was an official loophole used for cheating... but actually, it wasn't really a loophole... it was card verification.
Many people imagine the God of Gamblers to be exaggerated and mythical, but that's impossible. Those are just Hong Kong directors creating a spectacle. How could a real God of Gamblers competition involve cheating? Any loopholes that could be used to cheat are plugged. But if it were just a matter of luck, that wouldn't work either. So, there's a card-checking process… After a deck of cards is laid out, the dealer uses his skillful technique to gently push and flip it, revealing the cards! Although the process is very short, less than ten seconds, it's enough for a master!
Of course, even a world-class gambling master cannot remember all 54 cards, but being able to remember most of them already makes one a super expert!
So, all you need to do in Texas Hold'em is two things: eyesight and calculation ability!
Knowing what cards you have isn't enough; you also need to use the rules to get the cards you want while preventing your opponents from getting the cards they want. That takes calculation ability.
But when it comes to these two things, who can compare to Xiaomin's supercomputer?!
So if it really comes down to playing all-in, then Chen Xu is a classic case of a sharp-eyed person playing against a blind person; it would be strange if he couldn't win!
Chen Xu washed his face, changed his clothes, and then, surrounded by the computer science students, headed to the computer lab. Since the computer lab building was located right at the west gate of the school, as he approached it, Chen Xu's keen senses suddenly detected several pairs of eyes watching him, and he couldn't help but turn around. He discovered that the gazes were coming from the guardhouse at the school gate.
Standing at the doorway were two tall, imposing middle-aged men, though quite a distance away. Thanks to Xiaomin's ability, Chen Xu could clearly see their magnified faces and details: one was 1.85 meters tall with muscle strength of C-grade or higher; the other was 1.87 meters tall but missing his left ear, and his muscle strength was B-grade!
The unit of calculation is the same as that in "Real Fighting." A B-rank is already incredibly formidable, and that's just a simulation of muscle strength... because the distance is vast. It can only be calculated based on the proportion of their exposed muscles. And while Chinese muscles are generally much weaker than those of Westerners, their strength is comparable, or even greater... especially those who have practiced traditional martial arts; they're not exactly muscular men. But try having those muscular bodybuilding champions fight them!
I can't beat him to death!
Chen Xu noticed the two men were looking at him, but sensed no killing intent. He suddenly realized these two must be retired special forces soldiers from the Eastern Divine Sword Brigade, sent by Huang Anping to protect him!
At this moment, Wu Yuan, who was standing next to Chen Xu, tugged at him and asked, "Third brother, what are you looking at?"
Chen Xu smiled and said he hadn't seen anything, then nodded to the two men and followed the group into the computer room building.
"This young man has pretty good senses!" After Chen Xu went inside, the man with C-level muscle strength laughed at the one next to him who only had one ear, "No wonder he came from our Eastern Divine Sword Brigade!"
The latter smiled faintly: "Indeed, it's quite good, but what are they trying to do?"
"Who knows? Our mission is to protect him and keep him from getting hurt. He already has a certain foundation, and no one in this school can hurt him."
"What I fear most is external forces. By the way, what happened to that British agent you arrested yesterday? Is he dead?"
The man spread his hands innocently: "He's almost dead, though. You know Old Li's iron claws. I thought that guy from MI5 was tougher, but he was dead after a couple of rubs."
The one-eared soldier frowned and said, "His death is still a problem. Tell Old Li that once we've got enough information, we should send him to the National Security Bureau. Let them handle it. Also, next time something like this happens, it'll be my turn to have some fun. It's always you guys who have to come... I haven't seen blood in ages!"
When Chen Xu entered the computer lab, Huang Chong and the others were waiting for them, but Dr. Li was nowhere to be seen. This was expected; Dr. Li probably wouldn't attend under these circumstances. However, they did see the mixed-race man, Jimmy. Jimmy smiled politely at Chen Xu, and Chen Xu returned the smile, but he knew in his heart that both of their smiles concealed daggers!
Huang Chong looked very confident and waved his hand, saying, "Since we're here, let's not waste time. Let's choose a computer!"
Chen Xu smiled and didn't stand on ceremony... mainly because the computers in the computer lab were all old and worn out, so it didn't matter which one he chose. He just randomly sat down in front of a computer, and the computer science students all crowded around him, forming a circle behind him. Huang Chong smiled confidently, walked to a computer opposite Chen Xu, and sat down, and the life science students followed suit.
"How do you compare them?"
"Same as always, best two out of three."
"No problem!"
Huang Chong sneered, sat down, and unplugged the USB drive into the computer's USB port... Because many action settings in the game "Martial Arts Master" can be loaded onto a USB drive or the network, but because there are too many action moves, the website's server is already overloaded, so many are carried by the players themselves using USB drives... Moreover, many moves are regarded by players as "treasures of their sect" and they are unwilling to take them out so easily.
Huang Chong was retrieving character and move information from the USB drive when he suddenly heard many people exclaim in surprise, "Huh? Chen Xu, why aren't you using the default characters and moves?!"
Huang Chong was taken aback, then heard Chen Xu laugh and say, "There's no need for that. We can just use the characters that come with the system to deal with this kind of thing."
The words were spoken loudly, and although they were meant for the computer science students, everyone in the room heard them clearly. This infuriated the students from the School of Life Sciences, who angrily denounced Chen Xu for being too arrogant!
But how could the computer science students be at a disadvantage?
They retorted, "We have our reasons for being so arrogant! Why don't you go and wipe out those Korean bastards all by yourself?!"
Huang Chong sneered. With his current intelligence, he easily realized that Chen Xu was trying to provoke him. High intelligence had its advantages; Huang Chong was no longer so impulsive. He knew Chen Xu was highly skilled, but he'd heard Chen Xu hadn't played the game in a long time and was just relying on his past experience! Hmph, he thought he was strong while he was weak… Yes, six months ago when they fought, Huang Chong was utterly defeated, but that didn't mean things had changed after six months!
Let him be arrogant! He'll pay the price for his arrogance!
Thinking of this, Huang Chong waved his hand, silencing the commotion among the students in the Department of Life Sciences, and said to Chen Xu, "Have you made your choice? Can we go into the mainframe now?"
Chen Xu smiled slightly: "You want to die so early? I'll grant your wish."
Dear reader, Chen Xu's arrogance isn't due to pride or conceit, but rather a strategic underestimation of his opponent while tactically taking him seriously. As the first player of this game, and one who dedicated a tremendous amount of time and effort to it, how could Chen Xu not know that this game is inextricably linked to intelligence?
Playing games requires strategy; as the saying goes, there are no bad classes, only bad players… This is especially true for a classic game. This martial arts game particularly values the player's intellect.
Since Chen Xu was over 90% certain that the other party had taken some kind of intelligence-enhancing drug, and that the other party was so arrogant in challenging him, how could Chen Xu not guess that they must have acquired tremendous strength, even to the point of threatening him?
Chen Xu was arrogant in order to dampen their arrogance, but Chen Xu also saw that Huang Chong's eyes were as cold as water.
He wasn't provoked at all!
Indeed, intelligent people don't get angry easily, because anger greatly impairs their judgment.
These guys have indeed undergone a complete transformation, but unfortunately... they don't realize that this transformation isn't necessarily a good thing.
Chen Xu and Huang Chong both entered the main game. Chen Xu chose a military boxing class that came with the system, while Huang Chong's character was dressed in ancient martial arts clothes, but it was unknown which school he belonged to.
"My character uses the Pi Gua Zhang technique, please give me your guidance."
"Military boxing, I'll beat you until your face is covered in bruises!"
The conversation between the two immediately enraged the students in the Department of Life Sciences, who felt that Chen Xu was extremely rude!
Huang Chong sneered, "I wonder who got their face bruised and battered!"
Countdown: 3, 2, 1, the game begins!
Chapter 299 The Competition (Part 2)
In fact, the character designs of martial artists are not weak at all; on the contrary, they are the most perfect in terms of proportion!
It's like modifying a car. Many people think that modified cars are the best, but they don't realize that no matter how good your modification skills are, can you compare to the design masters who are deeply immersed in this profession? The original configuration of a car has the most golden ratio. If you change the engine or modify it yourself, it may exceed the original configuration in some aspects, but the ratio will actually be out of balance.
The character models in martial arts games are created in the same way. This classic fighting game has a very high level of balance, with martial arts moves precise to the millimeter, and the character's physique is directly related to their strength. Naturally, modifying the characters in this way will not achieve the same balance as the original system settings.
But Huang Chong couldn't have imagined this at all. Being smart and knowing a lot are two different things. Even if there really were such a smart drug in the world, it would only improve IQ and memory. It's impossible to acquire knowledge out of thin air when it comes to the unknown.
So Huang Chong thought Chen Xu looked down on him... In fact, Chen Xu really did look down on him!
After the countdown ended, Huang Chong immediately charged forward like a wolfhound, unleashing a fierce "Splitting Mount Hua" attack.
Chen Xu has now merged with Xiao Min and can directly see the other person's data. Sure enough, if he had been hit like that, he probably would have lost half of his life.
However, when the opponent struck with a palm, Chen Xu deftly dodged to the side and followed up with a sweeping kick to attack the opponent's lower body.
Dear reader, Chen Xu's confidence stemmed not only from his mastery of the "Martial Arts Master" game, but also from his awareness that he hadn't played it in a long time and his skills had likely become rusty. However, he now had Xiao Min calculating for him. The moment his opponent unleashed the first move, Chen Xu knew exactly where to strike!
Although each attack lasts for less than a second, it is more than enough for Chen Xu's current reaction speed!
With his foresight and Chen Xu's skillful maneuvering, if this still couldn't kill Huang Chong, Chen Xu would just write his name backwards!
Chen Xu easily dodged Huang Chong's several attacks. If Chen Xu hadn't been a little rusty, he would have knocked him out long ago.
Several attacks only resulted in the loss of many lives. Huang Chong was furious and desperately increased his hand speed. The character he controlled launched a fierce and relentless attack.
It must be said that Huang Chong's execution of the Pi Gua Zhang technique was quite skillful. The ruthlessness of the Pi Gua Zhang was vividly displayed in the game, earning cheers from the spectators in the School of Life Sciences, while the computer science students were worried for Chen Xu.
But after a few rounds, everyone saw that Huang Chong's character's health was decreasing, while Chen Xu's character was still at full health!
Chen Xu's character is like a lone boat in a storm; although it sways constantly with the wind and rain, nothing happens to it!
When Huang Chong's health bar was down to half, the students from the Life Sciences Department stopped complaining. They had seen that no matter how Huang Chong attacked, his opponent was unharmed. Instead, a seemingly effortless counterattack was enough to reduce Huang Chong's health.
Huang Chong was also anxious. Fortunately, this was a game. If it were a real battle, he probably wouldn't just be anxious, he would be furious!
Just imagine, you launch dozens of attacks in a row, but your opponent doesn't even get a scratch, while you get badly beaten. Anyone would be frustrated in that situation!
Huang Chong roared angrily, "Chen Xu! If you're a man, come and fight me to the death! You bastard, what kind of hero are you, always hiding and running away!"
Upon hearing this, a chorus of boos erupted from the computer science department.
joke?!
I'm out of my mind, why don't I fight you head-on?!