The Monster is Coming

Chapter 436 This cultivation technique is not right!

A corner of the Teizuka Village Library.

Xie Yu swiped his fingertips across the light screen, browsing the posts he had just published.

The post was much more popular than he had expected.

The replies refreshed rapidly, with some players reminiscing about the companionship of 734 and Atu, others shocked by the cruelty of civilization's destruction, and still others discussing the development of the martial arts system in the small world.

It's clear that many players are still very interested in the background information.

This is the unique charm of the monster world.

Unlike earlier simulation games, Monster World has no main storyline and no forced backstory.

There are no NPCs that force players to approach and interact with them, and then make you keep clicking to skip the dialogue.

There's no requirement to kill a certain number of monsters before returning to complete the quest in an endless loop.

Then switch from the small map to the large map, kill stronger monsters, and get more quest rewards after turning in the quest.

In the game Monster World, players are free spirits from the moment they are born.

You can experience everything in your own way.

All the stories are woven into every corner of the map, waiting for players to explore and discover.

Many stories begin with a pebble that a player accidentally kicks on the roadside, or an unmarked tombstone seen while passing by a certain scene... The story lies there quietly, waiting to be discovered.

This is fundamentally different from games from earlier years.

It never forces you to read, but it always prepares the key to the next part of the story when you become curious.

Absolute freedom is difficult for Xie Yu to achieve.

The game world needs to be meticulously crafted, but it is precisely this absolute freedom that gives birth to the irreplaceable immersive experience of Monster World.

Details are everywhere.

For example, the "information stone" in his hand.

This object, which would most likely have been sacrificed, actually holds a piece of a civilization's past.

This exquisite attention to detail brings surprises with each exploration.

Many background storylines are explored and understood by the players themselves, rather than being driven by so-called missions.

After browsing through the replies in the post for a while, Xie Yu then brought up the "Fengwu Shi" plugin.

As a member of the forum's renowned research team and a long-term collaborator with the explorers, he has the authority to directly submit content to the "Fengwu Shi" plugin database and participate in editing.

However, this permission is not without constraints.

All submissions must undergo "cross-review" by members of the research team.

In other words, information is only officially included after several other senior members of the research team independently verify its authenticity and confirm its reliability.

Explorers have offered a clear explanation, stating that the significance of folk poetry lies in preserving authenticity, rather than becoming a breeding ground for rumors.

Any oversight could mislead later readers' understanding of the information.

To ensure this, a rigorous and cumbersome review process is a necessary price to pay.

This rigorous system will be further deepened in the future.

As far as he knows, the Explorers plan to gradually delegate editing privileges to all players in the future.

To allow all players to participate in the improvement of the game.

Correspondingly, the review standards will become extremely stringent.

For content submitted by ordinary players, it needs to accumulate a very high "credibility" score or pass more than 100,000 reviews by other players before it can be officially adopted.

If any guild attempts to use its numerical advantage to forcibly upload false information, not only will the review fail, but the entire guild may also be permanently blacklisted by the plugin.

The Explorers' original intention has never changed: to make the landscape poems a treasure map of stories for the player faction, rather than a blackboard for anyone to scribble on.

Xie Yu wholeheartedly supports this.

Perfecting the local poetry is also one of the lifelong projects he envisions continuing into the future.

He then began editing the relevant content.

[The Poetry Database of Folk Customs has initiated a submission request]:
Target entry: Related civilization with ID DAAAV-734 (tentative name: Qitu Martial Arts Civilization).

Content: Provide a concise overview (within 300 words) and a link to detailed information.

Upload notes: Used for plugin terminology display and quick understanding.

……

After spending half an hour editing, Xie Yu submitted it for review.

The current Fengwu Poetry plugin is an essential tool for many research enthusiasts and even casual gamers.

Once a story passes the review of the "Fengwu Poems," it means that this period of history has truly entered the "official history" of the player's camp.

This is different from the glorious history.

The annals of glory record battles, while the poems of nature record everything.

Having finished his work, Xie Yu closed the plugin interface and reopened the relevant information about the Martial Arts World.

The concise 300-word description is complete; his next step is to refine the detailed information post.

Once players have read the concise introduction and are curious about the story, they can click the link in the poem to go to the forum and view more details.

He has not yet finished this part.

Since we've decided to keep a record, we should strive for completeness.

He needed to systematically sort out and archive the complete timeline from the natural environment and initial industrial level of the small world to the emergence, development, peak, and eventual destruction of the martial arts system after the arrival of 734.

This satisfies the curiosity of players who click on the link.

Two days later, Xie Yu, who was busy in the library, received a communication request from the real world.

The challenger's prompts stood out starkly in the quiet corner of the library.

Xie Yu frowned slightly as he activated the shielding against non-emergency communications in his gaming pod.

When he saw the sender, his expression immediately turned serious; it was his cousin, whom he hadn't contacted for over half a year.

He immediately logged off, his consciousness leaving the bizarre monster world and returning to the cold, real-world game pod.

The hatch slowly opened, and he sat up, rubbing his throbbing temples.

"Cough cough..." As if he had suddenly inhaled a mouthful of dusty air, Xie Yu felt his throat was dry and itchy, and he couldn't help but cough violently.

Even though I was mentally prepared, I still felt intense discomfort every time I logged off.

In the monster world, every breath felt like inhaling and exhaling a cool, sweet spring. The spiritual energy in the air was so rich that it became tangible, nourishing his body like a gentle stream, making him feel completely comfortable and mentally clear.

But the air in the real world is full of pollution.

When inhaled, it has a slightly astringent feeling, as if the oxygen has become thin.

More importantly, it's about breathing rhythm.

Each time I log off, it feels like I need to mobilize all my strength to breathe.

This suffocating feeling of falling from the extraordinary to the mundane made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Just then, a holographic image of my cousin was projected into the room. In the image, her eyes were red and her voice was hoarse.
"Xiaoyu... Grandma has passed away. The funeral is scheduled for tomorrow morning."

Despite being mentally prepared, knowing that his grandmother had been bedridden for many years, Xie Yu still felt a sense of disorientation upon hearing these words.

He took a deep breath, looked at his cousin's projection, and nodded:

"I understand, sis, I'll be there on time."

After hanging up the call, Xie Yu sat alone beside the game pod, a wave of emptiness washing over him in the real world.

Compared to the bustling world of monsters, reality always seemed exceptionally quiet, even making him feel vulnerable.

He realized that the gap between reality and virtuality was widening as his strength in the monster world increased.

Every time I log off, it feels like a forced "regression" experience.

His extraordinary body, which could manipulate the elements of heaven and earth with a wave of his hand and whose blood and qi flowed like rivers, was forced back into a mortal body where even breathing felt difficult.

"Perhaps, the ultimate destination for life on Earth will be the virtual world," Xie Yu murmured with emotion.

Although he may not live to see that day come.

However, he believes this will be an irreversible trend for the future of the Earth.

The beings of the All-Earth Alliance will primarily reside in the virtual world, while the reality of Earth, with its increasingly scarce resources and severe pollution and corruption, will ultimately be left to mechanical creations that do not need to breathe and are immune to radiation and pollution.

Perhaps the birth of the monster world is a virtual ark that StarNet has created for all living beings on Earth.

When the real world deteriorates to the point where it is no longer suitable for the survival of flesh and blood, and when blue skies and green waters become mere words in historical archives, the vast monster world becomes the last pure land that carries on the consciousness of civilization.

In the years to come, the virtual will become the new reality.

The consciousness of billions of beings dwells in a hive of game pods, continuing to live, create, love, and fight in a world built of data.

The real Earth becomes a "virtual" world maintained by machines, silently supporting the operation of the virtual world.

The details in Monster World reveal that it has surpassed the level of a typical game.

He didn't think much about this future that he was destined never to see.

Xie Yu drew his attention back.

He began preparing for tomorrow's funeral.

The following morning, he changed into a plain-colored outfit and took the maglev train to the edge of the city.

There is a beautiful ecological memorial park here.

The funeral was held in the farewell hall in the park.

Grandma's remains were not displayed here; in accordance with her wishes, they were returned to the natural cycle in the most environmentally friendly way.

In the center of the hall, a holographic projection device is suspended, playing a collection of images of Grandma during her lifetime.

There are her radiant smiles from her youth, heartwarming scenes of her holding her young self and telling her stories, and a profile of her sitting quietly by the window reading in her later years.

Next to the video, messages sent by relatives and friends who came to pay their respects were displayed.

The farewell to this era was without heavy coffins or incense sticks.

Only soothing background music and the quiet conversations and reminiscences of relatives and friends filled the room.

As the funeral officially began, a holographic image of Grandma appeared in the center of the hall, wearing her favorite light purple robe, her face serene.

The image suddenly shifted to Xie Yu, who smiled and said:
"Xiaoyu's here? Why aren't you wearing more clothes? Staying in the game pod for too long weakens your body, and you'll easily catch a cold when you go out."

This is an interactive system generated using my grandmother's voice data and AI technology.

Xie Yu couldn't help but speak up:
"Grandma... I'm fine now. The gaming pod technology has been revolutionized and won't affect my health..."

"Still the same old you, always wanting to explain. Grandma knows what you've been up to lately." The video gently interrupted.

"Your grandmother watched many of your live streams before she passed away, and now you're researching the history within the game... That's great."

My cousin added quietly from the side:
"This AI was generated based on my grandmother's chat history before she passed away. She said that if she were to pass away one day, she hoped that she could still talk to everyone."

As relatives and friends arrived one after another, they began to interact with the holographic images.

When my aunt mentioned taking my grandmother on a trip last year, the video immediately responded:
"That time you insisted I eat the new fruit cultivated by the Greenwood Clan. It looked really ugly, but it tasted pretty good."

These words drew knowing smiles from everyone.

My cousin mentioned the braised pork his grandma used to make when he was little, and his grandma smiled and nodded:

"If you're talking about this, I'm not sleepy anymore. The key to braised pork is to caramelize the sugar... If I hadn't already lain down, I would have gotten up and shown you how to make it."

With the help of technology, this farewell ceremony became a warm remembrance.

Scenes from the past were brought up, but laughter gradually turned into sobs.

Finally, Grandma's image gently said:
"Don't cry, my time is up, but your good days are far from over."

After the ceremony, Xie Yu and his family did not leave immediately.

The park staff prepared a small bag of special "memory seeds" for each relative and friend. These bioengineered seeds contain a genetic sequence of the deceased.

When relatives and friends sow seeds in the park's designated "memory woodland," the trees or flowers that grow in the future will bear the imprint of the deceased's life.

Xie Yu, along with his family, gently buried his seed in the soil.

Standing at a distance, watching his relatives still busy at work, he felt that this was perhaps the gentlest interpretation of "the dead are gone, but the living remain" in the age of technology.

Life continues to connect with this world in another form.

There is no gloom, only remembrance.

But the emptiness that comes with saying goodbye is not diminished by the gentleness of the gesture.

Technology can preserve the carriers of memory, but it cannot completely fill the void of lost warmth.

As relatives and friends gradually dispersed, Xie Yu stood before the freshly turned soil, still able to clearly feel the desolation of those familiar faces and laughter now gone.

Just then, my cousin's voice came from not far away:

"Xiaoyu, stop standing there, let's go eat. Your second uncle and third aunt are waiting. It's not easy for us to get together..." This call pulled him back to reality from his reverie.

He took one last look at the land where the seeds had been planted, then turned and walked toward his family and friends.

Technology has indeed preserved memories, but those who are alive still need to use the warmth of gathering together to comfort each other and jointly bear this loss.

The family gathering was held at a long-established restaurant near the park.

The private room quickly became lively as the elders reminisced about their grandmother's life and waiters bustled around serving various dishes.

The most interesting thing was the younger generation chatting animatedly and passionately.

Their conversation was all about the monster world.

"The strongest part of the Star Pulse combination is the damage-absorbing build centered around the Stone Golem. At level 1, it can take down 100 Eagles at the start, and with the petrification form activated, it can take down 1000. Do you guys even understand what it means to stand there and let you hit it, and you still can't kill it?" A little cousin said forcefully, waving his chopsticks.

"Come on," my cousin with a ponytail immediately retorted.
"Output is king! I watched a live stream yesterday, and a player had just mastered the Thunderous Soul skill. One kick and the ground was filled with lightning, a million times cooler than a black, petrified area!"

Upon hearing this, the other chubby boy excitedly stood up:
"Your stuff is all outdated. You know the latest Blackwater Soul, right? It releases a corrosive effect. One strike and the evil spirit collapses. Even the bully from Emperor's Tomb Village couldn't take it and almost knelt down to beg for mercy. I saw it with my own eyes in the live stream!"

Hearing these vivid and exaggerated descriptions of the characteristics of the life soul, Xie Yu couldn't help but smile slightly.

These children haven't even passed the anti-addiction verification yet, and they don't have the right to play games.

But the way he bragged was just like his younger self.

Because of the various skills in the game, you can chat with your companions all day long, adding all sorts of custom content along the way.

They were still chatting even after school was over, their minds still replaying the conversation.

The next day, I gathered my thoughts and went to school to try again.

At this moment, her cousin picked up a piece of braised pork and placed it in Xie Yu's bowl:
"I remember you loved eating this when you were little, try it."

Xie Yu smiled and thanked him, but the moment he put the food in his mouth, his movements suddenly froze.

It tastes like chewing wax.

It wasn't that the food was bad, but rather that his taste buds, and indeed his entire body, had become accustomed to the spiritual food of the monster world.

Ordinary food in reality became unusually coarse to him.

The moment it enters your mouth, the rich, oily flavor of the sauce dominates your entire oral cavity.

The meat fibers felt particularly tough and chewy when torn between the teeth, and beneath the salty and savory seasonings was a strong, fishy odor.

What made him even more uncomfortable was that after swallowing, the food fell into his stomach without bringing the familiar nourishing warmth.

Instead, it felt like a lump of blood that was difficult to dissolve, lingering in his stomach, a stark contrast to the feeling of comfort and vitality he experienced after consuming spiritual food in the monster world.

He barely managed to hold it in and not vomit on the spot.

Each swallow seemed to remind him of the ever-widening chasm between the two worlds.

He ate with reluctance, trying to keep up with the conversation and laughter at the table and not spoil everyone's fun.

At this moment, the thought of returning to the monster world surged within him.

The dinner party ended in what seemed like a lively atmosphere.

Xie Yu forced himself to say goodbye to his relatives and friends, but as soon as he got home, the discomfort that had been churning in his stomach all night could no longer be suppressed.

He rushed into the bathroom, leaned over the sink, and vomited violently, his stomach cramping with pain.

"Start...home medical scan," he said with difficulty, enduring the discomfort.

A soft blue light fell from the ceiling and enveloped his entire body.

A moment later, an electronic voice sounded:
[Scan complete. Diagnosis: Acute gastrointestinal dysfunction with mild electrolyte imbalance.]

[Situation Analysis: Long-term reliance on the game pod's nutrient solution to maintain bodily needs has led to a low-load, dormant state of gastrointestinal function. Sudden intake of high-fat, difficult-to-digest solid food exceeds the current digestive system's capacity.]

[Recommendation: Take a nutritional supplement and avoid solid food for 24 hours.]

After the analysis results were presented, the sound of the home robot starting up rang out in the living room.

A short while later, the robot handed over a bottle of light green conditioning solution.

Xie Yu took the drink and swallowed it. The cool liquid slid down his throat, which relieved the nausea, but made him feel his body's weakness even more clearly.

Back in the living room, he leaned back on the sofa, feeling the slight coolness of the remedy dissolving in his stomach.

The physical body is still too weak.

After getting used to being powerful, logging off is a painful ordeal every time.

It seems I need to buy the latest Eclipse Clan equipment as soon as possible, otherwise my physical functions will gradually deteriorate due to the lack of exercise from playing games for a long time.

Just then, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

He has recently been researching information about the martial arts sub-world in the monster world.

The origin of the martial arts system was that Atu's body was weak, and 734 created it to optimize his body.

It is certain that the spiritual energy content in the martial arts world is not high.

In the early stages, 734 tried to get Atu to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, but this approach was abandoned after a short time.

The reason is that the martial arts world is ultimately just a small world, unlike the monster world where even normal breathing is full of spiritual energy.

The air there needs to be filtered multiple times, and the spiritual energy content is very low.

734's choice was to change the cultivation mode and open up a body-strengthening method that relied on dietary supplements.

This system does not rely on abundant external spiritual energy. Its core lies in guiding the body to efficiently utilize food energy and stimulating inner potential through specific movements and breathing, gradually elevating the level of life.

"If only... this method could be used in the real world."

But then he couldn't help but shake his head and laugh, realizing that he was being too far-fetched.

Monster World, as the pinnacle creation of StarNet, contains many technological concepts, mathematical models, and even some philosophical reflections.

The library contains a wealth of advanced technologies, which are being studied by various ethnic groups.

However, directly transplanting a martial arts training method from a game into reality is simply too absurd.

Although the monster world is indistinguishable from reality, and even more realistic, it is ultimately a meticulously constructed virtual world.

The spiritual energy and blood energy inside are just effects simulated based on some complex algorithm.

However, once this thought arose, it grew wildly in Xie Yu's heart like weeds.

As a seasoned forum researcher, identifying problems, proposing hypotheses, and verifying them has almost become second nature to him.

A strong desire to explore began to constantly stir his mind.

A voice echoed in my heart:

"What if? What if the underlying logic of this method is not entirely fictitious, but based on the development of some undiscovered human potential? After all, the technology of the StarNet has long surpassed his comprehension..."

The more he thought about it, the more he felt it was necessary to give it a try.

It's not about whether you can actually achieve anything significant; it's more about rigorous academic verification.

If you fail, it's just a waste of time, proving that it's indeed just a game setting.

But if... if there really were even the slightest effect... the possibility brought about by this "if" made Xie Yu's heart race.

He took a deep breath and his eyes became firm.

He decided to use himself as the experimental subject to verify this seemingly absurd conjecture.

Just do it.

Xie Yu immediately picked up his phone from the sofa and placed an order at a nearby fresh food warehouse, selecting a batch of high-protein, easily absorbed ingredients.

In less than ten minutes, the drone delivered the goods to the balcony.

With the ingredients in place, he logged onto the Monster World website on his phone and began browsing through the martial arts world body-forging methods he had summarized.

734 opened up many paths for the martial arts world, but he couldn't even try most of the cultivation methods.

Because the beings in the martial arts world have different life structures than him, Xie Yu dared not try many martial arts cultivation methods, such as visualizing divine intentions and condensing bloodline runes.

Blindly practicing can easily lead to problems.

His focus eventually settled on the most basic and simplest type of martial arts: physical training.

The cultivation logic of this type of method is unrelated to the meridians in the body.

By using specific external stimuli and breathing guidance, along with sufficient food intake, muscles, bones, and fascia can be continuously pushed beyond their original limits, making them stronger.

Before he started trying it, he asked the robot butler to find an electromyography (EMG) device.

In his first attempt, he followed the instructions and tried to assume a stance similar to a horse stance, striving to find the feeling of "deep muscle tremors".

Five minutes later, my legs were sore from standing, but my muscles didn't react at all.

The waveform on the electromyography (EMG) monitor screen in front of me did not change at all.

"Looks like it's not that simple," he muttered to himself, rubbing his aching thighs.

The 734 data mentions that this tremor is not related to controlling muscle contraction, but requires awakening the body's potential.

He immediately changed his approach, trying to relax his body while maintaining the posture to "feel" the most subtle movements inside his body.

The second time, the third time... he kept adjusting his breathing rhythm and mental focus. The electromyography device in front of him would occasionally capture a trace of random electrical signals, but they would disappear in an instant, far from the "harmonious resonance" state described in the Dharma.

But Xie Yu did not give up.

Back on the sofa, he reviewed the body-strengthening techniques again and made a new discovery.

The concept of "Qi and Blood Resonance" mentioned in the material actually has a vibration frequency.

The 734 series records this frequency value in detail.

He immediately brought up the smart home control interface and asked the robot butler to bring out the slightly outdated multi-functional physiotherapy device.

He purchased this device years ago when he used the "Moonlight III" gaming pod, mainly to relieve muscle stiffness caused by prolonged immersion in gaming.

Nowadays, most gaming pods are equipped with this function, especially the latest Lunar Eclipse gaming pod that he is preparing to replace, which can already allow him to complete his training within the game.

This instrument had been idle for a long time.

At that moment, he thought of a basic function of this old instrument: low-frequency microcurrent muscle stimulation.

It's perfect for testing.

He sat down on the sofa and attached the electrode pads of the physiotherapy device to various parts of his body.

Instead of choosing the standard physiotherapy intensity, he lowered the current intensity to a level where he could feel the current slightly.

Subsequently, referring to the "basic tremor spectrum" mentioned in the body-strengthening method, he set the frequency to a numerical band.

Once he was ready, he stood up again.

This time, instead of trying to perceive the tremor from scratch, he chose to focus his attention on the frequency of the external stimulation generated by the instrument, and tried to synchronize the deep muscles with this vibration rhythm.

Press start.

At first, my body didn't react at all.

Xie Yu chose to slow down his breathing rhythm and gradually synchronize it with the frequency.

Ten minutes, twenty minutes... just as he was feeling mentally exhausted and wanted to give up the attempt.

The deep muscles in the legs seemed to suddenly "capture" a rhythm and began to tremble spontaneously.

It achieves perfect synchronization with the external frequency of the physiotherapy device.

Instantly, a strong, tingling, and warm sensation erupted from my legs, far more intense than any previous attempt.

He truly felt the high-frequency movement of his muscles.

Looking at the physiotherapy device in front of me, the waveforms on the screen are rhythmically changing.

In this state, the soreness and swelling caused by the half-squatting posture disappears, and you can clearly feel the blood and qi flowing faster throughout your body.

It worked!
He didn't stop, focusing his mind on protecting this feeling, as if protecting a candle flame in the wind, carefully maintaining the fragile frequency that had just been established, and guiding the energy from the food that had melted in his stomach to flow throughout his body, as instructed in the method.

Instantly, the sound of blood and qi surging like a tide rang in my ears.

A strange feeling of hunger welled up inside me.

It seems that the food in my stomach was digested in a short time.

Along with it came a strong warm current that suddenly spread from deep within the muscles.

The waveforms on the physiotherapy device became more active.

The feeling is getting stronger and stronger.

A warm current flowed through my body like a wildfire, quickly sweeping through my limbs and bones.

Every muscle fiber was screaming with hunger, greedily absorbing the surging energy.

Xie Yu suddenly opened his eyes wide, staring intently at the data on the screen and the incredibly real sensations within his body.

Scientific instruments and subjective experience are both validated at this moment.

This is no coincidence.

"Holy crap, can the body-strengthening techniques in games really be applied in real life?!"

(End of this chapter)