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The clock pointed to 5 o'clock, and the fat man sat down on the floor with a huff, taking large gulps from the bottle in his hand, his sweat pouring like a river.
Mu Fan tossed his protective gear to the side, his voice showing no sign of exhaustion, "Harry, that's it for today's training. I don't know much martial arts skill, but I'll do my best as your sparring partner. If you can persevere, I believe there will surely be a change."
After an afternoon of training, the fat man was too tired to say a word. He wiped his face with his broad hand and mumbled, "I'm going all out... We'll continue tomorrow, Fat Brother must make those guys take notice."
After cleaning themselves up, the two walked out of the training room, the alloy door slowly closing behind them. The fat man stumbled along, propping himself against the wall. His suit couldn't conceal his bulk, and the swaying of his body couldn't even let the passing waitress's curves catch his attention. If you got close enough, you could faintly hear him muttering to himself, "I'm going home, almost there... I'm going home..."
Mu Fan followed the fat man down the stairs, and in the lobby on the first floor, he saw a group of people tidying up their clothes.
"It's payday, it's payday!" a burly man shouted, quickly passing by Mu Fan.
Mu Fan looked in the direction of the man's walk. There, a small group of people had gathered, some of whom he had seen at lunch. It seemed it was time to receive their salaries.
So Mu Fan called out to the half-alive fat man in front of him, "Harry, I need to head over there to get my money. You go on ahead."
"Ah, alright then. Where do you live? I'll give you a ride later," the fat man forcefully replied.
"No need. The Martial Arts Hall will probably arrange tomorrow's work soon, you go ahead," Mu Fan didn't want the fat man to escort him, one reason being he was used to running home, and second, he didn't want to reveal any hint of Black's secret.
"Okay, I'll go arrange things with Uncle Wu. See you tomorrow. I'm exhausted, I'm going to die, really exhausted," the fat man said as he drooped his face and moved toward the door.
Mu Fan walked over to the Martial Arts Hall staff nearby, "Name, area."
"Mu Fan, VIP Room 9 on the second floor."
"Well, Mu Fan, here's your pay." After checking the electronic register, the staff handed over 500 Star Coins. Mu Fan solemnly accepted it with both hands; this was the first time he earned so much in a day.
"Be at the Martial Arts Hall by 8 a.m. tomorrow, latecomers will have money deducted." The habitual phrase was a notification to Mu Fan.
After agreeing, Mu Fan, with Star Coins in hand, headed towards the changing room. Along the way, he noticed some colleagues carrying bruises. Mu Fan's eyebrows furrowed for a moment and then relaxed.
When he went out again, Mu Fan changed back into his tattered clothes, but the smell of engine oil had lessened considerably.
...
Looking up at the sky, Loga Star was on the outskirts of the Federation map, and night descended especially early. At this moment, the Star Curtain had been reset, and the Dark Night lowered. Mu Fan took a deep breath of the mixed air and looked around. The crowd in suits, bustling with playful banter, was scattered. The nightlife of District 22 had already begun, and various neon lights lit up the district.
Touching the 500 Star Coins quietly sitting in his pocket, Mu Fan felt in an exceptionally good mood today. Right, there was also that fat man; thinking of him, Mu Fan's mouth curled slightly.
After several turns, he reached the city outskirts, glanced back at the city, made a few stretching movements, then swung his arms and ran towards the suburbs.
"What on earth is that?" A driver in a floating car heading into the city threw his cigarette butt out the window and inadvertently noticed a flickering, darting silhouette in the distance. He shivered slightly, threw away the cigarette butt, and recalled various scary and disturbing rumors. "Drive faster; it's too dangerous out here at night."
Mu Fan was unaware that someone in a floating car heading into the city had noticed his movements. Even if he knew, he wouldn't care. His world was simple: just survive. Now he added another goal, to earn a Light Computer. In the future, he wanted to pilot a mecha across the starry universe. Of course, what to do later was still unknown; that was a matter for the future. The fat man's words greatly moved him internally; he felt something indescribable. His current world seemed too monotonous; he wanted to see the wonders outside.
He lowered his head in distraction, but his feet accurately stepped on flat stones and roads in the night. His body narrowly passed between branches and rocky walls, moving like a phantom of the dark night, with graceful agility and enduring stamina.
With a thud, he stepped onto a diagonally extending piece of deadwood, his body following the inertia for an airborne twist, brushing past the branches below and landing on the other side. Mu Fan's eyes caught a glimpse of movement in the forest beside him; he heard the sounds of animals but paid no heed. He was very satisfied with his lunch, so food was not a worry now. Going home came first! Home!
...
The abandoned factory still sat quietly there. The sky had completely turned pitch black, and the factory merged with the dark curtain, without a single glimmer. Yet Mu Fan's eyes sparkled at this moment.
"No trace of anyone at the entrance, the detection line by the wall hasn't been touched, the fire pit is unchanged, hmm... no footprints near the ashes by Black Egg..."
"Black!! Mu Fan, please call me Black, not Black Egg!" Mu Fan was gently muttering as he examined the security measures he set before leaving this morning when suddenly a voice from the scrap heap startled him.
"Didn't you self-check?" Mu Fan's face didn't show a hint of embarrassment.
"Keywords trigger automatic activation." Mu Fan clearly sensed a tint of annoyance in the voice from the scrap heap.
Mu Fan silently lit the fire, fetched Black's carrier from the scrap heap, and looked at the white globe-bearing antenna risen facing him.
"Why do you seem a bit different now?"
"Featuring a 30% emotional simulation with 10% intelligence, Lord Black is not an ordinary artificial intelligence. As intelligent life with autonomous thinking ability, it must be distinguished from the norm." The white globe twisted vigorously when it saw Mu Fan's poker face.
Mu Fan continued expressionlessly, "Oh."
Then, without waiting for Black to protest, he continued speaking to himself, "I've got a lead on a Light Computer."
"Ding," the white globe suddenly projected an expression, showing a blue smiley face in the air.
"Mu Fan, I've completed an initial level-one self-check. Secondary program sorting and self-repair no longer require the current carrier." The bright blue smiley faced Mu Fan.
"Black Egg."
"Here."
"Black Egg."
"At your service, host."
"Black Egg."
"Speak, Mu Fan."
"Black Egg."
"Hmm..."
...
Mu Fan was finally satisfied. Seeing the brightly lit smiley face projected by Black, he nodded approvingly, "I got a job at the Martial Arts Hall, met a friend, and he's having me teach him fighting. We'll join the Battle Net together, and he's agreed to give me a Light Computer."
"A Light Computer, Battle Net!?" The blue smiley suddenly looked surprised, "When?"
"The fat guy will come by again tomorrow."
"Mu Fan, I need your world's current data. I will formulate a training plan suited to your physical condition based on the data. I need the Light Computer to connect to the network for the virtual personality's self-improvement. Please take me with you."
Mu Fan glanced at the giant egg in front of him, eyebrows twitching.
As if noticing Mu Fan's confusion, the white globe suddenly retracted its carrier. After a few seconds of silence, a small mechanical arm extended, with a tray at the top. It held a ring without any exquisite gem, golden shine, or any extra patterns, just slightly wider and thicker than a normal ring.
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PS: Thanks to reader First-Class Xuanji for the 600-point reward! Thanks also to readers Discrete Mathematics, Oh Ru Ba, and others for your generous contributions!
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