Age of Evolution

Chapter 447: 417: Simulated Battlefield

As long as you are willing to spend money, you can simulate any environment or opponent you want here.

At this stage, money is not a problem for Lin Zhen, so he can fully utilize the simulation field.

“Master, this is the simulation field.”

Lin Zhen arrived at the Asura Arena and looked at the open space before him. Chris explained it to him.

“Tell me about the plan you’ve set up for me.”

“Well, Master, you don’t need to spend time cultivating your realm at the moment. Instead, you need time to hone your skills and improve your combat capabilities through endless battles.”

“Based on your requirements, I have made a systematic analysis. First of all, we need to work on your spear techniques. You have currently mastered Nine Layers Spear River, Thunder Kill, and Meteor, among others. You should integrate them to create a unique and special spear technique that belongs to you.”

“Furthermore, I bought a secret manual called Star Fall today in the marketplace. It’s the seventh move of the Nine Layers Spear River. You can also integrate it into your new spear technique.”

Lin Zhen nodded. Acquiring Star Fall was indeed a pleasant surprise, but he still needed time to familiarize himself with it.

“How should I choose my battles?”

“I currently recommend that you challenge specific battle scenarios.”

As Chris spoke, a row of captions appeared in front of Lin Zhen.

“These are the designated environments in the simulation field. You can choose to clear these scenarios. Endless battles within them can rapidly improve your combat capabilities.”

Lin Zhen looked at the captions, which offered a wide variety of environments.

Elf Forest, Dwarf Cave, Dragon Clan Mountain Range, Hell Demon Clan, Bottomless Abyss, Zombie Siege, and so on.

Each map had difficulty levels: normal, nightmare, hell, and purgatory.

“What’s the difference between these four difficulties?”

“Of course, there’s a difference. Normal difficulty is easy. Although the monsters and enemies inside are the same, their actual strength is significantly different. Out of ten thousand people who enter, at least five thousand would be able to clear it.”

“Nightmare difficulty is quite different. Out of ten thousand people who enter, it would be impressive if a hundred can clear it.”

“Hell difficulty is designed for real geniuses. Out of ten thousand people, only a few can clear it.”

Lin Zhen laughed, “Then in purgatory difficulty, out of ten thousand people, maybe only one person can clear it.”

Unexpectedly, Chris said, “No, not just one in ten thousand. Even if a hundred million people entered, it might not be possible for one to clear it.”

“Is it that difficult?” Lin Zhen was stunned.

“Yes, it’s the highest difficulty level in the Constant Star Stage. Of course, Master, you can also choose Comet Stage or Satellite Stage, which you can clear without much difficulty.”

Lin Zhen resolutely shook his head: “Absolutely not. After entering the World Stone, I face enemies mainly in the Constant Star Stage. Lowering the difficulty now will not help me train effectively.”

“Since you have decided, Master, you can make your choice now.”

Lin Zhen thought for a moment: “Normal difficulty definitely won’t work for me; it’s not challenging. Let me try nightmare difficulty first. You said that out of ten thousand people, a hundred can clear it, I should be able to do it.”

“Master, I forgot to emphasize that basically, no one can clear it on their first try. It requires familiarity before you can progressively clear it step by step. The success rate of clearing nightmare difficulty on the first try is one in a million!”

Lin Zhen nodded, understanding the one-in-a-million concept. Those who come to the simulation field are geniuses among geniuses, not ordinary people.

Out of a million geniuses, only one can clear it on the first try. While Lin Zhen was confident, he understood the immense difficulty of this challenge.

“Master, if you can clear a map’s hell difficulty within a year, you can be considered a top-tier genius—an outstanding figure within the Constant Star Stage! So, don’t be impatient.”

“Don’t worry, I can handle losing. No one in this world can win forever. I’ll work on it step by step.”

Looking at the hundreds of designated maps, Lin Zhen picked one: “What is this Zombie Siege concept?”

“Zombie Siege refers to a disaster on a planet where humans have turned into extremely powerful zombies. Enemies are everywhere, and you can’t get hurt in this map, as the zombie virus is infectious. If you get infected, you’ll fail and become a zombie within ten minutes.”

“Even when I’m completely immune to toxins and my scale armor is impenetrable to weapons, would I still get hurt?”

“Once you enter this designated map, your immunity to toxins will be void, and you won’t be able to use your scale armor. Moreover, your spiritual power cannot attack zombie-like creatures as you’ll be in a no-fly zone. Are you sure you want to enter?”

“Yes. Martial Artists must be able to fight under any circumstance. This will provide me with an even better opportunity to hone my spear techniques.”

As Lin Zhen made his decision to enter, Chris immediately started the process.

“Entering simulation field… Zombie Siege… Data transmission in progress…”

“Entering… Final objective… Kill the Fifth-level Zombie King in the city center square, and rescue at least fifty survivors.”

The scene before Lin Zhen’s eyes changed, revealing a city reminiscent of the A.D. era.

He stood in a secluded alley in the city. A light curtain surrounded the area, a safezone for rescued survivors.

Beast-like roars echoed throughout the city, the so-called zombies.

“This environment feels incredibly real, not like a virtual environment at all.”

Lin Zhen looked down at his clothes, unchanged from when he first entered, only his surroundings had changed.

He raised his hand, and the Yin-Yang Spear appeared in his grip.

Trying to use his Spiritual Power, he found that he couldn’t fly, but Mental Shock and flying knives were still available to him.

However, Mental Shock was useless here. According to the information, the zombies didn’t possess any intelligence and were just reanimated corpses.

“Well, I’ll just fight them slowly. My spear is perfect for combat in this environment.”

A few wandering zombies approached him at a rapid pace, faster than a normal human, but nothing Lin Zhen couldn’t handle.

His spear trembled, sending out several frigid lights, each hitting a zombie’s head and creating a bloody hole.

“That wasn’t too hard.”

Lin Zhen sped up, heading straight into the city.

Zombies encountered along the way were swiftly killed by a single thrust. Lin Zhen grew more and more relaxed.

Occasionally, Lin Zhen would find survivors and bring them back to safety. In less than three hours, he had already saved twenty people.

“I think today’s mission can be easily completed. Chris’s claim about a one-in-a-million chance seems a bit exaggerated.”

As Lin Zhen attacked a group of zombies approaching from ahead, one suddenly increased its speed.

The sudden attack caught Lin Zhen off guard, leaving a bloodied scratch across his chest.

“Damn, this is a Level two Zombie with increased agility. I was too careless!”

A potent virus began to attack Lin Zhen’s nerves, and he knew his challenge had failed.

Lin Zhen didn’t linger in the virtual world. With a calm mindset, he easily killed the Level two Zombie before leaving the simulation.

“That Level two Zombie’s attack speed was definitely faster than the speed of sound. And it’s only Level two, just a nightmare difficulty. It seems that the strength of these zombies far surpasses those from the movies back in the Common Era. I was too careless.”

Lin Zhen reflected on his previous failure and entered the virtual battlefield for the second time.

The second time, Lin Zhen managed to save forty survivors. But during a melee battle with a group of zombies, he got hit by a Fourth-level Zombie and failed again.

This fierce battle exposed some shortcomings: his spear techniques weren’t sharp enough during group fights. Previously, his body was protected by armor scales, and he was immune to all poisons. But now, the situation had changed.

On the bright side, such circumstances were perfect for honing his skills.

With this realization, Lin Zhen didn’t rush to complete the challenge. Experiencing actual combat was a rare opportunity, and it was crucial to learn from it.

During his third attempt, Lin Zhen saved more survivors and effortlessly killed large groups of zombies until he encountered a Fifth-level Zombie King and was eliminated again.

This battle allowed Lin Zhen to further understand his spear techniques.

“Before, I focused on the lethality and attack power of my spear techniques. My powerful attack moves often left me ignored my own defense and led to me getting injured in battles. As my opponents get stronger in the future, I must avoid such situations.”

“Precision, continuity, evasion – those are what I need to practice for now.”

“But this nightmare difficulty doesn’t seem hard anymore. I’ll clear it today and head to Hell, where the real challenge lies!”

In his fourth attempt, Lin Zhen killed the Fifth-level Zombie King and successfully cleared the nightmare difficulty.

After clearing it, Lin Zhen thought Chris would praise him. But all he received was an indifferent comment: “You barely made it through the nightmare on your fourth attempt. Mediocre performance. I truly have no confidence that you’ll make it through Hell within a year.”

Lin Zhen was displeased. Was it really that exaggerated?

Lin Zhen then entered Hell difficulty in the Zombie City Siege, only to find the difficulty had increased a hundredfold!

Ordinary zombies, who only had a bit of strength, now had the power of Planet Stage Martial Artists!

The strength of Level two Zombies had reached the Planet Stage peak!

Level three and higher Zombies possessed Constant Star Stage power.

Facing the enormous zombie-infested city, Lin Zhen licked his lips: “This is going to be fun. No wonder Chris said that even a top genius would struggle to clear the Hell difficulty within a year.”

“I can’t use Mental Shock, can’t fly, and my biggest trump card is restricted. This challenge will be insanely hard.”

“Bring it on! Only an environment like this can truly unleash my potential. Let’s see if Hell difficulty can stop me!”