Chapter 7

When Zhang Yang entered the Matrix world, he finally received a notification about his personal attribute enhancement. His strength increased from 4 to 6, and what surprised him the most was another message.

"You have entered the Matrix world, where all your skills receive a special boost."

"English (Master Level, +1 Boost, Temporary), forgotten after leaving this world."

"Sanshou (Level 4, Proficient, +1 Boost), boost disappears after leaving the Matrix world."

"Firearm Usage (Level 4, Proficient, +1 Boost), boost disappears after leaving the Matrix world."

"Vehicles (Level 4, Proficient, +1 Boost), boost disappears after leaving the Matrix world."

"Damn."

Zhang Yang's eyes widened, and he cursed inwardly. He finally understood why Morpheus and the others weren't too strong in the Zion world but could face agents head-on in the Matrix world. It was all because of this damn attribute boost!

According to the plot, the system assigned at least a proficient level to Morpheus, and with the +1 boost, he would be at least a master level. As for Neo, the protagonist, he might already be at the master level, and with the boost, he would be at Level 6!

However, it was unclear whether the skills of the characters in the plot were subject to the same limitations as the four basic skills.

Zhang Yang followed Neo and pushed open the door of a teahouse. Inside, a man wearing a white Chinese-style jacket and a pair of sunglasses identical to Wong Fei-hung's was sitting cross-legged on a stool, drinking tea.

Seraph!

When Seraph saw Neo and Zhang Yang enter, he put down his tea and said, "You're here to see the Oracle."

"Who are you?"

Seraph walked over, and Zhang Yang's eyes narrowed, knowing that Seraph was about to make a move.

"I am Seraph. I can take you to see him, but I need to apologize first."

"Why do you need to apologize?"

"For this."

As soon as Seraph finished speaking, he suddenly punched Neo in the face!

Neo quickly reacted, and the two exchanged a few blows. Just as Seraph regained his footing, a whistling sound came from behind him. He quickly dodged to the side, and it was Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang and Neo exchanged a glance and simultaneously attacked Seraph.

Zhang Yang knew Seraph's identity but needed to pretend he didn't. He wanted Seraph to notice him so he could ask about Sanshou. There was a note about Sanshou:

"Note: Sanshou is an advanced skill. You can never fully grasp its essence from a disc. To truly master it, you need to learn from a master of Sanshou. — Seraph (Seraph)"

Just this sentence suggested that improving his Sanshou level was somehow related to Seraph.

The three of them jumped onto a nearby wooden table, and teacups and chopsticks flew everywhere. Although Neo's martial arts skills were not as deep as Seraph's, he had the protagonist's aura, and the "Savior" bug allowed him to fight Seraph to a draw.

Originally, the two should have stopped and gone to see the Oracle, but with Zhang Yang's involvement, the situation changed!

Zhang Yang had learned Level 2 basic combat and Level 1 Sanshou, which had two effects. One was the common martial arts moves, which Zhang Yang had already memorized, thanks to the disc. However, he couldn't apply these moves effectively. With his current Level 4 Sanshou, he could only achieve a power level slightly below Level 3.

If Zhang Yang couldn't fully understand and integrate these moves, Sanshou would be nothing more than a damage booster for him.

Martial arts were never that simple!

Although Zhang Yang's level wasn't high, he became the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Bang!"

The three simultaneously kicked, then each retreated to a table. Seraph waved his hand and smiled.

"Alright."

Neo and Zhang Yang exchanged a glance and stopped. Seraph looked at them and said, "The Oracle has many enemies. I must confirm."

"Confirm what?"

"Confirm that you are the One."

"You could just ask."

"No, I must fight to determine the truth." Seraph turned around, showing his back to Zhang Yang and Neo, indicating he had no intention of attacking. He took out a key, inserted it into the wooden door they had entered through, and opened it, revealing a white corridor.

Originally, outside the door should have been Chinatown, but with the key, it became a different exit, which was quite magical.

"Come, she is waiting for you."

Zhang Yang and Neo walked in. The white corridor had many doors symmetrically distributed. Seraph explained as they walked:

"This is the secret passage created by the programmers, also known as the backdoor."

A backdoor, in hacking terms, is a method to bypass security controls and gain access to a program or system. During software development, programmers often create backdoors to modify defects in the program. If a backdoor is known to others or not deleted before the software is released, it becomes a security risk.

A backdoor is also called a BackDoor. A computer has 65536 ports from 0 to 65535. If a computer is seen as a room, these 65536 ports can be seen as 65536 doors.

In hacking, a backdoor is a metaphor. After successfully controlling a target system, the intruder can implant specific programs or modify settings. These changes are hard to detect on the surface, but the intruder can easily connect to and control the computer, as if they had secretly made a key to the owner's room and could enter and exit without being noticed.

Seraph is like the hacker "intruder," and the key in his hand is the program to open the backdoor. These backdoors were initially designed by the "Architect" of the Matrix, the Machine King, who looks a lot like the old man from KFC.

According to this explanation, in the Matrix's backdoor, the white corridor where Zhang Yang and the others were, there should be 65536 doors. The keys to all these doors are held by one person, the Keymaker, who is the key figure Neo and the others are looking for to protect.

The Keymaker and Seraph are special programs in the Matrix, responsible for keeping the keys to various backdoors. Neo needs to obtain the key to the backdoor from the Keymaker to enter the Matrix's core, the Source.

"How do we enter these backdoors?"

Neo asked Seraph.

"There is a password mechanism inside. One password unlocks the door, and another opens a specific door."

"Are you a programmer?"

"No." Seraph stopped and used the key to open one of the doors. "I am responsible for protecting important figures."

The door opened to a courtyard of a building. The building was similar to the one in "Kung Fu" where the landlady lived, surrounded on all sides. In the courtyard, an old woman was feeding crows on a bench. She was the Oracle, a high-level program in the Matrix, even more mysterious than the Architect.

Neo walked over and began talking to the Oracle. Zhang Yang was about to follow, but Seraph stopped him.

"The Oracle has instructed that you cannot go over. She can only clearly see the future of the One, but your future is chaotic. The Oracle is worried that you might affect the future, so she doesn't want you to get too close."

Zhang Yang roughly understood why. He didn't belong to this world and knew the entire plot. If he revealed it, the plot could change drastically, so the Oracle didn't want to take the risk.

Zhang Yang had no choice but to stand by the door with Seraph, watching from a distance. Seraph suddenly asked:

"Was the martial arts you used just now Sanshou?"

Zhang Yang's heart skipped a beat, and he replied, "Yes, but unfortunately, the disc can only teach the form, not the essence, which is a great regret in life."

Seraph looked at Zhang Yang, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "You... are Chinese?"

Zhang Yang nodded. On the surface, he remained calm, but inside, he was shouting:

"Tell me, tell me everything about Sanshou!"

"You are right."

Seraph nodded, his voice tinged with a hint of melancholy. "Although I am just a protection program, my consciousness is based on a real human."

Zhang Yang's heart raced. Seraph's appearance should be familiar to anyone who watches Li Lianjie's movies.

"His name is — Wong Fei-hung!"