NOVEL WEB Chapter 136: Simulation: Landing into a Box
"Is this what skydiving feels like?"
Zhu Jia, feeling the whooshing sound beside her ears, thought it was completely indistinguishable from reality.
Although she had never actually skydived, the sound of the wind and the current brushing against her face seemed incredibly real, fierce, and cold.
The sense of realism was off the charts!
Meanwhile, on the stage, under the action of the triple-ring device, Zhu Jia's body also made a falling motion, just like the character on the big screen.
Almost every detail could be controlled.
Even Zhu Jia's heartfelt scream was audible to everyone.
If it weren't for pretending in advance, this virtual reality device really could give one the sense of being there.
When she was about to hit the ground, Zhu Jia forgot to deploy her parachute and then crashed straight to the ground, feeling dazed and taking quite a while to get up.
"I actually feel a bit dizzy... This is too realistic."
Zhu Jia, on the screen, complained as she walked into a small house and started searching.
At this point, the host Tang Zichen appeared to make her presence felt, explaining to everyone, "Players who enter the game through virtual reality differ from those who control their avatars on a computer; avatars have certain settings, but personal entry requires much more realism."
"In fact, this game allows adjustment of pain, smell, hearing, taste, and other sensations."
"At the moment when Miss Zhu Jia hit the ground, our game programming system automatically minimized her sensation of pain, otherwise, Miss Zhu Jia would probably have experienced the feeling of being shattered to pieces."
"After all, the mind and body affect each other, and if Miss Zhu Jia thought she died in the game, her real body might have also gone into shock."
"We focus on realism because it is beneficial for personal spiritual practice, but for safety considerations, we also set up a program that minimizes the pain sensation when receiving a fatal injury."
The audience nodded in agreement.
After all, it would be very troublesome if someone playing this kind of virtual game at home died in the game and their outside body went into shock.
Subsequently, the audience followed Zhu Jia's perspective into a house, watching her start to search for supplies. However, the situation that followed caught them off guard.
The weapons didn't work like game avatars where you just pick them up and use them by simply clicking the mouse.
They required assembly.
The precision was no different from real-life firearms!
Realistic!
That's the word that came to everyone's mind.
But what was Ming Lun trying to do?
Chan Yinsha smiled faintly and said, "Regarding the assembly of firearms, there are two modes. One is the realistic situation that Miss Zhu Jia has demonstrated for us, and the other is like that of game avatars, where you can use them immediately upon picking them up."
"As Tang Zichen previously introduced to everyone, the most important feature of our virtual game is —"
"Realism!"
The audience pondered this.
But most were curious, why did Ming Lun have such clear knowledge of firearms?
Didn't they start from a martial arts school?
Sure, Sun Shisheng is a prodigy, but the knowledge about firearms available online and in books isn't that clear. Could he have personally explored this area?
Could there have been a collaboration with the military?
Only a few were not so surprised.
Because they knew of GOD and Tang Zichen. With these two around, what's the big deal about understanding the structure and assembly of some modern weaponry?
Moreover, they believed that even if Ming Lun developed new types of weapons, there would be no surprise.
Because—
It was only to be expected.
Compared to this virtual reality, they were more interested in what Sun Shisheng, who was scheduled to speak last, would announce.
Could it be some kind of martial art?
While it indeed counts as a product, modern people probably don't have that much time to practice; only the wealthy have that kind of time.
On the big screen, Zhu Jia was a bit confused, but still picked up a 98K rifle, only to be killed by a bullet from a bald intruder with a handgun.
GAME·OVER!
Zhu Jia exited the virtual simulation with the help of the staff and took off the helmet.
She was a little annoyed!
The character with "Laozi is your daddy" on his head had to be sneaking up on her; otherwise, how could she have lost so easily?
At this time, the on-screen image continued.
That guy actually looted a set of her reporter's uniform from her box and wore it.
It was a male character, wearing women's clothing!
It was a bit of an eyesore.
The game images on the big screen were then cut off, and Chan Yinsha stepped forward to say, "This is virtual reality. However, since everyone has only recently become acquainted with smartphones, releasing this would be a bit too advanced. It will only be available for purchase after people have understood the digital age."
"Moreover, this device is just a preliminary test unit. Future virtual reality may be applied in spiritual practice and be even more convenient."
Clap clap clap clap!
The audience gave a continuous round of applause.
Their initial purpose for coming here was actually to meet Sun Shisheng in person. But now, whether it was smartphones or virtual reality devices, everyone realized that Ming Lun had true substance in the field of scientific research.
And more importantly!
It was truly epoch-making!
Most people were certain that Ming Lun must already have a finished product of the virtual reality device, and it might have even gone through several upgrades already.
The product they demonstrated was just the most basic first-generation model.
Yet, even this first-generation model had most of the people present excited.
Ming Lun!
Deserving to be the future of the world!
"Thank you, Chan Yinsha, for bringing us this virtual reality game device," Tang Zichen once again spoke, segueing from one topic to the next, "Next, we will have the head of our Ming Lun Martial Arts Gymnasium, Sun Shisheng, deliver a speech. He will bring a whole new revolution to the world!"
Immediately, the somewhat noisy venue fell silent.
All eyes were curious and expectant as they watched the young man slowly step forward.
Even Zhu Jia, who had stepped down, couldn't help but take out her small video camera to record every move that Sun Shisheng made.
This text was acquired from M|V|L0EMPYR.
On the stage, all the spotlights were focused on Sun Shisheng.
With short hair, neat and tidy, wearing an outfit resembling sportswear, his features were handsome. Yet what caught people's attention the most were his eyes, as profound as the universe itself.
Not just profound!
But as vast as the starry sky!
Judging by age, he seemed to be under twenty, but judging by those eyes, no one could definitely say how old he was.
But there was no doubt that he was very young and full of life.
"Humans, nature, the Theory of Evolution tells us that everything in nature evolves to adapt to the environment," said Sun Shisheng, slowly maturing a fact of this world, his voice calm yet attention-grabbing.
"Can someone tell me, what is evolution?"
As soon as this question was posed, a blond westerner raised his hand, spoke fluent Mandarin, and gestured with his hands, "The modern scientific concept is that of genetic change."
Sun Shisheng nodded, saying, "That's right, genetic change. But essentially, genes have no hierarchy of quality; there is no such thing as lower or higher level, only whether they can adapt to the environment."
"Those that can adapt are preserved and passed on to the next generation."
"Those that cannot adapt to the environment will be eliminated."
"However, if the environment undergoes drastic changes, genes that adapted to the existing environment may suddenly become maladapted, and those eliminated genes that can adapt will surely trigger a massive biological extinction, followed by the birth of genes that can adapt to the new environment."
"Logically, all life on Earth should follow this pattern."
"Until a peculiar species appeared."
Upon saying this, Sun Shisheng paused, giving everyone time to digest.
Which peculiar species was he referring to?
All the elites present understood that he was referring to humans.
"I'm sure everyone has realized what I'm talking about."
"Yes, humans," said Sun Shisheng with a slight smile, speaking slowly, "Compared to other life forms, we chose a different path—wisdom, or logical thinking."
"We rely on wisdom, from the moment our ancestors learned to use fire, their imagination exploded, practicing slash-and-burn agriculture, building kingdoms."
"According to fossil research, Homo sapiens left Africa only seventy thousand years ago to go to various parts of the world, but our close relatives, the Neanderthals and Denisovans, left two million years ago."
"However, why is it that we now occupy the world?"
The crowd murmured among themselves, discussing, but there wasn't a consensus answer.
Both should be intelligent species, so why did Neanderthals and Denisovans disappear from history?
"In my view, the reason is simple; they did not possess true intelligence. Although they could use fire and spears, they still relied on their body's instincts," Sun Shisheng slowly revealed the reason.
"Because, they lacked imagination!"
"Imagination is the most critical part of intelligence. Without it, even if a species can talk, use tools, or even excel in solving certain mathematical problems better than humans, that does not make it a civilization."
The audience chuckled.
They had all heard of some scientists experimenting with gorillas, teaching them to do math.
But what of it?
It was just extraordinarily fast conditioning.
The purpose was merely to get a banana, or maybe an apple.
"Imagination is the foundation of intelligence."
Sun Shisheng clapped his hands, and the crisp sound echoed in the venue, making everyone feel as if they had entered a peaceful paradise.
Inside the venue, the air kept changing, shaping one scene after another.
Primitive humans, slash-and-burn agriculture; forming tribes, driving out wild beasts; building city-states, developing the concept of private property; fractions and factions, warring against each other...
Scene after scene, one by one, as if they were right there.
Humans had embarked on the path of wisdom, defeating countless species on Earth, until there were no enemies left, beginning to war against each other...