Chapter 52: The True Matrix World, Neo Learns Kung Fu

Morpheus said, "You have been living in a dream world. This is the real world."

The camera cut, focusing on the television set.

Post-production CGI was spliced in.

The screen on the television turned dark, lightning flashing amidst ruins everywhere, resembling an apocalypse.

In the foreground lay a desolate cliffside. At the base of the cliff, the two men were still seated on the red sofa.

Morpheus: "Welcome to the desert of the real."

Neo looked around in terror.

On the actual shooting set, however, there was only a green screen, and the performance relied entirely on imagination.

"The records we possess are fragmentary, but we know that at some point in the twenty-first century, all of humanity celebrated a grand jubilee, rejoicing over a magnificent technological milestone—the birth of AI."

Neo: "You mean artificial intelligence?"

Morpheus: "That singular artificial intelligence gave rise to a whole race of machines. As time passed, it became impossible to know for certain who struck first."

"Later on, it was us who scorched the sky, because back then, the machines were entirely dependent on solar energy."

"Looking back across human history, our lives were so deeply dependent on machines. Fate is truly ironic."

This sequence was filmed using previsualization animations, and everyone present knew what content was expected.

Post-production would heavily rely on visual effects compositing.

"The bioelectricity generated by the human body exceeds 120 volts, and our body heat yields over 25,000 units. Through fusion, the machines obtained an inexhaustible energy source."

In the previsualization, a grim environment appeared, with colossal mechanical arms controlling humans who were being farmed inside individual red pods.

"Fields as far as the eye can see. Human beings are not born; they are cultivated."

Previsualization, extreme wide shot.

Beneath the darkness stood countless human pods, while towering tentacled robots roamed among them, just like cultivators tending crops.

"For a long time, I refused to believe it, until I saw it with my own eyes."

"I watched them liquefy the dead to nourish the living. I stood there, watching the machines waste nothing, and finally realized the undeniable truth right in front of us."

The camera cut back to the white space.

Morpheus turned off the television.

"What is the Matrix? Control! The Matrix is a computer-generated virtual world designed to control the entire human race, turning every living person into this..."

He pulled out a battery, using it as an analogy.

Neo's entire worldview shattered. He shook his head, "No! I don't believe it. This is impossible!"

Morpheus: "I never said it would be easy to accept. But I did say, this is the truth."

The close-up pushed into a medium shot as Neo grew somewhat frantic.

"Stop talking! Let me out! I want to get out!!"

"Cut!"

Qin Feng called out, walking onto the set.

Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne walked over as well.

"Director."

"Very good," Qin Feng said. "In the story, from Neo's initial encounters with Trinity and Morpheus, to his relentless search for the truth, arriving here and understanding the real world—"

"I imagine anyone would find this unacceptable. His worldview is completely collapsing."

Keanu Reeves: "Okay, I should portray a deeper sense of breakdown."

"Yes. Additionally, Morpheus's expression needs to be even colder. You have already witnessed numerous human tragedies, understood the entire truth, and become the most powerful leader."

"No problem, Director."

Fishburne nodded.

"Alright, let's run through those camera transitions again."

Having given his instructions, Qin Feng returned to the director's chair.

...

When the day's shooting finally concluded, Qin Feng called a wrap.

He could finally relax.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose and took off his headphones.

He spotted Collin Chou in the distance.

"Mr. Chou."

Collin Chou walked over. "Director Qin, what's up?"

"Tomorrow's scenes will feature Neo's first martial arts action sequence."

"Ah, we've already rehearsed everything beforehand. We just need to walk through the choreography on set."

"That's good. Let's do it tomorrow morning. You guys can walk through the blocking first, and change into costumes at noon."

"Understood, Director Qin. I'll go let Keanu and the others know."

...

At noon the following day, filming resumed.

Inside the interior of the hovercraft, Neo sat alone on the floor of the room.

The cabin door opened, and Tank walked in, robust in build and wearing a smile.

"Good morning, Neo. Sleep well?"

"I'll definitely sleep tonight, I guarantee it."

"I'm Tank, your operator."

Neo looked at Tank, noticing something. "How come you don't have..."

Tank: "An interface jack? Nope. My brother Dozer and I are one hundred percent purebred humans, born the old-fashioned way."

"Born in the real world. Children of Zion."

"Zion?"

"Yeah. When the war is over, Zion is going to throw one hell of a celebration."

"Is that a city?"

"Mmm. The last city, the remaining gathering place of humanity."

"Where is it?"

Tank squatted down. "Underground, near the earth's core. It's warmer there. If you're tough enough, you might even get to see it for yourself."

He smiled. "To be honest, if Morpheus is right, I'd really love to see what you can do. I shouldn't be talking about this, but if you really are... well, that would be wonderful."

"We've got plenty to do today, let's get started!"

At that moment, the scene shifted.

Qin Feng called out, "Control room, next scene."

Tank and Neo arrived at the control room, and Neo took a seat.

Tank looked somewhat excited as he flipped through various hard drives containing different physical conditioning programs. He said:

"Normally, you'd have to learn the basic operations first. That's the most boring part..."

"We should jump straight to something exciting. How about combat training?"

He shoved a hard drive into the computer.

The screen provided a close-up shot, the visuals of which would still need to be completed in post-production.

Neo stared at the screen. "Judo? Am I going to learn judo?"

Tank rapidly operated the keyboard.

Bzzzt—

A mechanical sound rang out.

The close-up pushed into an extreme close-up as Neo felt a wave of pain and slammed his eyes shut.

Three seconds later, the pain vanished. He opened his eyes and gasped heavily, "Oh, damn!"

Tank laughed, "Want some more?"

"Yeah."

The camera cut to the computer, accompanied by previsualization animations.

One combat program after another was continuously uploaded into Neo's body.

Karate, Taekwondo, Drunken Boxing, Tai Chi...

Morpheus walked over and patted Tank on the shoulder. "How's it going?"

Tank: "He's been learning continuously for ten hours. He's practically a machine."

The camera cut to a close-up.

Neo leaned back in the seat, eyes closed, his eyelids twitching continuously.

Finally, he let out a soft breath, opened his eyes, and completely relaxed his body.

"I know kung fu!"

Morpheus stepped forward. "Show me."

"Cut! Prepare for the transition to the martial arts dojo."

The crew quickly executed the scene transition.

The martial arts dojo was located in an adjacent soundstage. Built entirely of timber and already decorated, the space was wide, open, and bright.

Collin Chou and a team of stunt actors were waiting there.

Although this scene only featured two characters, wirework would be involved, requiring some crew assistance.

Close-up shot.

Neo and Morpheus were already inside the simulation program.

Both had changed into martial arts uniforms and stood facing each other.

A sparring match was about to break out!