Chapter 309: Stimulant for Your Adrenaline

At that moment, Agent Smith arrived and aimed his gun.

The bullets hit Morpheus' legs, and it seemed he was about to fall.

But then, Neo also jumped out of the helicopter, extending his arms and catching Morpheus mid-air.

This scene once again used high-speed slow motion combined with a 360-degree surround shot, showcasing both the thrilling danger and the beauty of the action.

Boom!

The helicopter behind them exploded after being shot by Agent Smith, and Neo once again exhibited his savior qualities by saving Trinity.

The helicopter crashed into the building, resulting in a massive explosion.

In this scene, Martin didn't shoot it the same way the original film did, with a normal yet intense explosion; instead, he did something special.

When the helicopter collided with the glass curtain wall and exploded, the glass didn't immediately shatter. Instead, it rippled like waves, extending from the top of the building all the way to the bottom.

In a typical action film, explosions wouldn't be shot like this, as it would defy the laws of physics.

But since this was a gunfight in a virtual world, it didn't matter—whatever felt exciting, that's what they went for.

The goal was the mind-blowing, cool-as-hell effect!!!

Soon after, Neo, along with the other two, safely exited the building and headed toward the phone booth in the subway station indicated by "Tank."

However, as they crossed an intersection, several police cars blocked their path, and more than ten officers jumped out, aiming guns at the three.

Neo turned to Trinity and coldly said, "Take Morpheus and go."

While speaking, he spread his trench coat, revealing it was covered with grenades.

Neo then spun around, and his black trench coat flew from his body into his hands.

He tossed it toward the officers, casually deactivating a grenade's safety pin with his finger. A "click" was heard as the coat flew over the officers' heads.

Boom!

A massive explosion rang out, flames spread like a ring, and the shockwave flipped the police cars and threw the officers into the air.

This was another 360-degree freeze-frame shot, allowing the audience to clearly see the officers' bodies amidst the broken glass and car parts, frozen mid-air.

Then the freeze-frame abruptly transitioned into high-speed slow-motion. The viewers could clearly see the trajectory of the shattered glass and metal flying through the air, along with the flames and shockwaves spreading outward like ripples.

The glass and metal, mixed with flames and shockwaves, flew toward surrounding buildings or pierced through the officers' bodies, following their paths.

The camera then accelerated, and the sound of clashing impacts mixed with the officers' screams.

Spielberg straightened up in his seat, visibly shaken by this shot.

"Those Wachowskis know what they're doing!" James Cameron's voice was heard in admiration.

Cameron, who also loved explosions, was impressed. Though not as insane as Michael Bay, he was still one of Hollywood's biggest explosion fans!

This explosion, along with the earlier shot of the helicopter crashing into the glass curtain wall, had him in awe!

"My God, my God…"

The audience in the theater couldn't find the right words to describe the scene and simply kept shouting "God" mixed with applause.

At first, it was scattered applause, but it quickly built into a roaring cheer.

The audience needed some way to release their extreme excitement.

Then the real duel began.

Agent Smith appeared just as the three were about to enter the phone booth.

"It's time to end this," he said coldly.

Neo instructed Trinity to take Morpheus and leave while he faced off against Smith.

At this point, both Trinity in the movie and the audience outside the movie were utterly convinced that Neo was the Savior.

The Savior could never die!

So, Trinity confidently handed everything over to Neo and walked toward the phone booth with Morpheus.

Agent Smith rushed at Neo, and Neo charged at him as well.

The two leapt into the air simultaneously, guns raised, shooting at each other while simultaneously dodging the incoming bullets!

In slow motion, the audience could clearly see the trajectories of the bullets and how the two narrowly avoided each other's shots.

Then, both fell to the ground and engaged in a brutal hand-to-hand combat.

This battle between the two was even fiercer than in the original film, truly a peak in Hollywood action films. It was the kind of fight that could be used as a teaching example even twenty years later.

For Neo, this was another breakthrough.

How difficult was it?

Neo's companions had always instilled one idea in him: the only choice when facing an agent is to run. No one survives a fight with an agent.

The idea of "three men make a tiger" was something most people could relate to. Humans, in their evolutionary process, often don't survive if they ignore warnings. If someone tells you that poisonous mushrooms are dangerous but you insist on tasting them, well, goodbye. If someone says a tiger will eat you but you still go and take a look, it's the same result.

Thus, the words of those around us have a huge impact, forming our unshakable beliefs.

But in facing the strongest agent, Smith, Neo was improving.

Each time he was knocked down, he would get back up stronger.

The audience could see how Neo's combat abilities were constantly improving. This represented his breakthrough of the Matrix rules, driven by his deepening rejection of the Matrix.

In each battle, he got stronger and stronger—a universal source of excitement for humanity.

(PS: This is why most video games and web novels use this formula, haha.)

Finally, it seemed like Neo had gained the upper hand.

He narrowly avoided being hit by a speeding subway train and managed to push Smith right under the wheels.

Just as the audience thought Neo had finally defeated his opponent, the subway screeched to a halt, and an unscathed Agent Smith stepped out of the train.

"Messiah?" Smith mocked. "In this world, I am the god!"

As a "special program" created by the Matrix, it seemed impossible for Agent Smith to be killed in the Matrix!

At this moment, Smith's two companions also arrived.

Neo began to flee, with Smith and his companions in hot pursuit.

Finally, Neo grabbed a phone and contacted the hovercraft, obtaining the location for the phone booth to escape the Matrix.

In a thrilling chase through the air and across the ground, Neo finally reached the hotel room door.

The phone rang.

Inside the room, the life-saving phone call rang out.

As soon as he opened the door and picked up the phone, Neo would finally escape the virtual world.

Just as the audience prepared to breathe a sigh of relief, they saw Neo open the door, only to find the barrel of Agent Smith's gun pointed at him.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two shots rang out, and Neo fell to the ground, wounded!

"What the f**k?!"

The audience was stunned—The Messiah was dead?! The main character was dead?!

Agent Smith, after shooting twice, furrowed his brows, as though he wasn't satisfied, and shot several more times.

Neo closed his eyes.

The audience almost lost their minds—Neo had saved the day countless times before, and now this was how it ended?!

Was this movie a tragedy?!

Of course not!

In Hollywood films, there's a universal trope: true love can save everything, even death.

With Trinity's heartfelt confession, Neo was resurrected! The real Savior had arrived!

That's right—Neo, having died once, was truly the Savior.