Chapter 24: Experiencing Combat

Inside the museum's biological specimen hall, along with the Dark-Mist tribe, are the Shadow-Tooth Beasts they have domesticated.

The Shadow-Tooth Beast resembles a gray wolf from the Blue Star world, with a body length of approximately two to three meters. This ferocious alien beast possesses black fur and sharp claws and fangs, with a sleek and robust physique. It possesses two primary abilities. The first is a psychic skill; when it howls, it exerts mental pressure on its enemies, creating a sense of dread similar to the awe-inspiring presence of the Dragon race. The second is an invisibility skill; when in shadows, it can vanish, allowing it to evade enemy attacks or launch surprise strikes at critical moments. Many warriors of the Great Xia, especially those at the Foundation Establishment stage, have suffered greatly in early combat due to their lack of understanding of these traits. As for this beast, the two girls’ assessment remained: "So ugly!"

Beyond the biological specimen hall, the museum features a War Relics Hall, displaying damaged combat armor, rusted weapons, and medals and photographs recording the heroic deeds of soldiers. There is even an entire wall engraved with the names of the soldiers and warriors who sacrificed their lives in the war. Many visitors watch in silence, and many parents bring their children here to pay tribute to the heroes who saved them.

Among the various exhibition halls, the most popular are the 4D cinema area and the interactive experience zone. In the 4D cinema, visitors can wear virtual reality goggles to immerse themselves in the battlefield scenes of the past. Whether it is the shell-shocked front lines or the fierce clashes between humanity and the Dark-Mist tribe, everything feels as if it is happening right before one's eyes. During the viewing, Bai Yue and Lin Yichen shrieked from time to time, clutching Shi Yu’s arms tightly on either side. Shi Yu looked helpless, which prevented him from feeling truly immersed in the war footage.

However, his interest finally piqued in the interactive experience zone. Here, there are multiple virtual interactive pods that simulate the inter-dimensional battlefield, allowing visitors to fight against the Dark-Mist invasion in person. The zone is specifically divided into a general spectator area and a warrior area. The general area is further split into sections for minors and adults, while the warrior area is categorized by martial arts cultivation levels: Essence-Gathering, Foundation Establishment, and Aperture-Opening. Each zone corresponds to different levels of challenge and sensory intensity. The minors' zone downplays sensory stimuli—even the blood is green. The adult zone offers a 100% realistic representation of the Dark-Mist tribe and Shadow-Tooth Beasts, complete with blood, cruelty, and violence. The warrior zone adjusts the difficulty of the opponents according to the respective levels.

There are three stages in the simulated war, ranging from easy to difficult. To incentivize participation, the interactive zone even features a leaderboard. The more stages a visitor clears in the simulated battlefield, the higher their rank. On the wall of the experience zone hangs a massive high-definition screen displaying the rankings for each zone and broadcasting live combat footage of those currently in the pods.

Bai Yue went in with high spirits and came out pale after only five minutes. She rubbed her head, her face still full of lingering fear. "It’s too terrifying! You can’t win, and you can’t escape. That Shadow-Tooth Beast roared at me, and it felt like my whole head had been smashed by a hammer!" Hearing this, no matter how much Bai Yue urged her, Lin Yichen refused to go in.

Shi Yu smiled, ignoring the sisters' banter, and looked toward the virtual interactive pod for the Essence-Gathering warrior tier. The pod door opened, and the person inside stepped out, sighing heavily. "I thought I could last longer," the person said to his companion. "I didn't expect to last only six minutes; I didn't even pass the first stage." Shi Yu glanced at their clothing and recognized it as the uniform of Star City No. 1 High School. It seemed they were high school students visiting Yuelu Mountain during the holidays.

The boy's friend sighed, "Liang Cheng, you've already made it into the elite class, and you couldn't pass the first stage, so it goes without saying for me." "Since we're already here, Wu Hui, you should go try it out," Liang Cheng from the elite class said with a smile, pushing his friend toward the pod. Meanwhile, the person in another pod exited, and Shi Yu stepped in.

[Welcome to the Yuelu Mountain Inter-dimensional War Interactive Experience Game]
[Please confirm that the user does not have the following conditions: hypertension, heart disease, ...]
[Real-name identity verification... High school student...]
[Mode confirmed, difficulty coefficient confirmed...]
[Please enter user ID]
[Please select a weapon]
[First stage initiated]

Shi Yu gripped his horizontal blade tightly, appearing on a mountain path on Yuelu Mountain. Moonlight poured down, casting dappled shadows and deep, gloomy silhouettes. He first tested the game's level of realism. Even though the environment was simulated as realistically as possible, there was still a distance from the real world. Virtual is, after all, virtual. "The realism should be around 70%," Shi Yu muttered.

He stepped onto the stone stairs and climbed steadily upward. Ten seconds later, he reached a platform halfway up the mountain. Without warning, a ferocious Shadow-Tooth Beast emerged from the shadows, drool dripping from its sharp fangs, looking exceptionally vicious. The beast's eyes glowed with a dark light, staring fixedly at Shi Yu as if looking at prey.

"So this is the first stage," Shi Yu thought to himself. "One person against one beast." He glanced at the mountain path he had arrived on; if a challenger panicked and turned to flee, they would likely be caught and have their throat torn out by the Shadow-Tooth Beast within seconds. One could only hold out by maneuvering around this large platform. Presumably, this was the choice most people made.

Data from the game's introduction flashed through Shi Yu's mind; each stage corresponded to a different difficulty coefficient. The first stage had a coefficient of 0.2, the second 0.4, and the third 0.6. In other words, the Shadow-Tooth Beast in the first stage corresponded to a warrior at the second level of the Essence-Gathering realm. The second stage was the fourth level. The final stage was the sixth level, which was exactly the passing requirement for a high school graduate.

"The first stage is equivalent to my current cultivation level; then the subsequent stages..."
"Interesting..."

A faint smile appeared on the corner of Shi Yu's mouth. He gripped his horizontal blade and walked step by step toward the Shadow-Tooth Beast!

...

Outside, Bai Yue and Lin Yichen stood before the giant screen, searching for Shi Yu. The screen, which covered most of the wall, was divided into multiple small windows. Each window displayed real-time combat footage of different participants.

"There! There!" Lin Yichen shouted excitedly, her finger pointing rapidly toward the bottom right corner of the screen, where Shi Yu’s combat window was located. Liang Cheng from Star City No. 1 High School glanced at it but didn't pay much attention; his eyes were fixed intently on the video of his classmate, Wu Hui.

...

The distance between Shi Yu and the Shadow-Tooth Beast grew closer. A bloodthirsty light flickered in the beast’s eyes; it could no longer suppress its inner madness. It let out a heaven-shaking roar and, exerting force with all four limbs, lunged at Shi Yu!

"A pounce—this is the first move!" Shi Yu had the beast's reaction completely in his sights. While waiting outside to enter the pod, he had watched many combat videos on the big screen. Others watched for the excitement or to see the performers' reactions, but Shi Yu had focused his attention on the Shadow-Tooth Beasts and the Dark-Mist tribe. He observed every movement, reaction, speed, and strength of the creatures, learning their techniques and skills. To know the enemy and know yourself is to be invincible in every battle.

Seeing the Shadow-Tooth Beast lunging toward him, Shi Yu took a sudden step forward, tightened his grip on the horizontal blade, and charged to meet it!

Come!

"Boom!"

The blade light and beast claws collided, producing a deafening crash. The battle exploded instantly!