ALL NOVEL 0045 – A New Path Unveiled
Reality is a tedious game. Time is a ruthless killer. As Zoe gazed at Jane’s haggard face, she glimpsed a future that stretched out endlessly before her, a future that mirrored the fate of most ordinary players of Earth Online—one devoid of any true promise or hope. Earth Online is a pitiful creation. Ordinary players toil for money. Even those who invest heavily in the game only have a fleeting eighty-to-hundred-year lifespan.
Material wealth, no matter how abundant, is merely ephemeral. Humanity, a profession added to the game just a few million years ago, leaves most individuals as nothing more than a handful of ashes and dirt after a century.
But Zoe understood that she was now on a drastically different path. As time flows, it leaves others with nothing but disappearance. For Zoe, however, it might be just a ripple on the long journey of life. With her limitless evolution, she had acquired a cheat code for Earth Online. In this moment, she realized profoundly. She was no longer the same.
Pondering this, Zoe chatted briefly with Jane. Jane expressed her awe and envy at Zoe’s current physical condition. Although she didn’t know how much weight Zoe carried in her bag, she was well aware that Zoe had lapped her twice. The gap was evident. Zoe now lived more fully and possessed superior physical fitness. Their conversation was filled with nostalgia. Zoe refrained from mentioning her extraordinary transformation, focusing instead on reminiscing about their days at the factory.
After about ten minutes, Jane mentioned her plan to meet some friends at a hotel for a small gathering and invited Zoe to join her birthday celebration. Zoe politely declined.
Firstly, she wasn’t familiar with Jane’s friends, which would make the gathering awkward. Secondly, she had noticed some shortcomings in her morning workout.
Zoe felt her training efficiency was lacking. Besides increasing the weight, she considered learning some professional training techniques. She decided to visit a gym that afternoon, abandoning her previous reluctance.
Not necessarily to get a membership, Zoe mainly wanted to see if her current state of heightened awareness, enhanced by her mental power, could allow her to effortlessly learn various training techniques.
February 4th, 1:00 PM.
The sky remained clear, prompting the weather forecast to update to partly cloudy with clear skies. After her morning workout, Zoe compensated Benny with some rice wine and then indulged in a few casual, non-demanding games like Plants vs. Zombies, Happy Pop, and Angry Birds.
Compared to games like CIS:GO, where her dominance was overwhelming, these games still offered a modicum of fun. At 1:00 PM, Zoe quickly tidied herself up. She then hopped on her electric bike and headed to a nearby gym. The gym was about five kilometers away, making it the closest one to her home. She vaguely remembered the gym’s scale from a flyer she had received; it was quite large. Besides various machines, The gym also had outdoor courts for badminton and shot put, offering lessons in these areas as well.
Following the guidance of her navigation app, Zoe quickly arrived at her destination. Even before entering the gym, she noticed a poster at the entrance that read: "New Sambo Program - Register Now and Enjoy a 12% Discount."
Zoe glanced at the poster and then looked away, uninterested. She found no need to learn Sambo , a combat technique of Soviet Union. In fact, she saw no reason to learn any human martial arts. Just a few days ago, she had witnessed a martial arts performance by a troupe, where two performers, touted as provincial champions, demonstrated their skills. Yet, to Zoe, their moves were nothing more than superficial showmanship.
This wasn't a matter of disdain but a statement of fact. These combat techniques were systematic strategies based on human combat experience, focusing on defense and counterattack. While they had some merit, they were essentially useless to her.
After a brief glance, she had already grasped the essence of their power techniques and weak point strikes. Given her extreme speed, strength, enhanced perception, and exceptional bodily coordination, she had effectively become a human-shaped powerhouse.
Zoe had reached a stage where brute force trumped all techniques. Her incredible speed, immense strength, ability to predict and perceive every opponent's move, and combat instincts that targeted only weak points made learning martial arts redundant. It was akin to teaching Doomsday or the Hulk martial arts—completely unnecessary and somewhat trivial.
The only valuable aspect of human combat techniques was the focus on exploiting human weaknesses. In this regard, Zoe’s innate combat instincts, which homed in on an enemy's weak points, were more than sufficient. If needed, studying medical books on human anatomy would be more beneficial to her than learning martial arts. Unless there were mystical martial arts like those in fantasy stories, she had no need to study them.
In reality, such mystical techniques did not exist in this world. So far, Zoe had only discovered her own unique existence. The notion that combat techniques would be effective against beings of her caliber was absurd. One had to consider the limitations of techniques designed for humans, which were incompatible with Zoe’s vastly superior capabilities.
Zoe needed to develop techniques suited to her unique attributes. But before that, maintaining her training regimen was crucial. With these thoughts, she ignored the poster and headed into the gym.
Near the entrance, a casually dressed staff member noticed her and immediately approached with a smile, offering the usual sales pitch common in gyms: "Would you like to try out a few programs?", "You look like a great candidate for muscle building!", and "You can start with a six-month membership to experience our facilities."
Zoe remained noncommittal. Following the staff member, she toured the expansive gym. The enthusiastic guide showed her various basic equipment, continually pitching membership benefits.
As Zoe followed along, she discreetly performed beginner-level exercises while activating her enhanced perception to observe the gym-goers around her. She had to admit, this visit was indeed beneficial. After just one circuit, she had gained a deep understanding of fitness training.
The various equipment and exercises were designed to target different muscle groups. In comparison, her previous training regimen seemed quite one-sided, lacking a comprehensive approach to full-body conditioning. Additionally, she learned various power techniques and methods just by observing, which would help her refine her future workouts.
This visit provided Zoe with valuable insights for structuring a more systematic and effective training plan.
