If the apple was like a sweet poison to Adam and Eve, then an optical computer and a mech would be the ultimate dream for Mu Fan. He had fallen asleep at night and dreamt that he was riding one of those metal monsters and imagined owning an optical computer himself; but when he woke up covered in his worn-out blanket and felt his hungry stomach, he was instantly pulled back into reality.

But today was different! Mu Fan had always woken up on time, but today he was still soundly asleep wrapped in his worn-out blanket and curled up in a corner. He only opened his eyes when the bright starlight shined upon his face!

He quickly looked to his right, and that black egg was still lying there quietly.

“It wasn’t a dream!” Mu Fan shouted as he recalled the conversations between him and the black egg last night. His heart almost jumped out when he learned that his dream could turn into reality. He remembered that he had fallen asleep listening to Black making a list of all the necessary equipment for an optical computer, and he couldn’t remember exactly when Black had stopped talking as he fell asleep dreaming about his future.

“Black!”

“Master,” a familiar voice responded, coming from that black egg.

“Call me Mu Fan from now on! You’re my friend now!”

“Okay, Mu Fan.” Black paused a bit as if he was registering the new setting, but also as if he was pondering about what it meant to be a ‘friend.’

Mu Fan took out a curved shell and used it to scoop out some clean rainwater from the bucket, and he washed his face with the water as he said to Black, “What’s the part you need the most right now? I’ll go find it first!”

“Optical computer,” Black responded immediately.

“What? Optical computer? Aren’t you an optical computer?” Mu Fan felt lightheaded because even the most basic optical computer would cost 50,000-star coins. How was he going to get money for this?

“Correction. I’m a super Artificial Intelligence, codenamed Black, not an optical computer. However, I can enter into any machinery and use it as a vessel to exist. I need an optical computer to connect to the interstellar network and update my database, and then I will be able to transform into an optical computer.”

“Optical computer, optical computer. Okay, I’ll go and earn money!” Mu Fan clenched his teeth together after hearing Black’s answer.

“Black, sorry but I’ll have to cover you up for now.” Without waiting for Black’s response, Mu Fan carried over a bunch of random junk and poured them over Black.

“Black will be entering hibernation mode for self-inspection and correction. Please wake Black once Mu Fan retrieves the optical computer.” The cybernetic voice came from beneath the junk, and it was lacking emotions as Black had already entered into hibernation mode.

The sky was grey as usual without any colors, and occasionally there were small transport ships flying through the air while hover vehicles roamed through the highways across the city and suburbs.

The distance from the factory into the city district was thirty-kilometers, and there was a visible contrast between the broken suburbs and flourishing city structures along the way. Mu Fan’s breathing remained normal when he reached the city district after jogging for more than an hour.

He came here with a clear goal today, he was going to ask Oldman Budd, who was the owner of Budd Convenience store in District 22, some questions. He used to help him in the convenience store and Oldman Budd was a kind person who often fed Mu Fan food and gave him some money in return. However this time, Mu Fan didn’t come for work, but to ask if Oldman Budd had any suggestions to earn more money.

District 22 wasn’t big but it was always popular, and the crowd always kept at least one meter away from Mu Fan when he walked amongst them. Those people who lived within the city district saw themselves as nobles and were afraid of others mocking them for even walking too close to a poor person from the suburbs dressed in ripped clothes.

Mu Fan swallowed his saliva as he quickly passed the food district, and he continued walking until he paused in front of Xiuzhe’s equipment store; he had heard that it was one of the top outdoor equipment stores in District 22. He clenched his fist together as he stared at the superior quality daggers and the tactical combat uniforms with desire in his eyes.

After turning right at the block and passing through a supermarket, he finally arrived at Oldman Budd’s convenience store.

“Uncle Budd,” Mu Fan called out respectfully when he saw Oldman Budd behind the counter smoking his low-quality cigarette.

“Hey, if it isn’t my boy Mu Fan! It’s been more than a month since I last saw you. You finally have some time to visit me?” Budd greeted Mu Fan with joy as he smoked his cigarette.

“Yes, I’ve been working in the suburbs lately so I didn’t have time to travel into the city district. I came this time because I encountered something and I was hoping I could get your advice on it,” Mu Fan nodded as he explained to Budd.

“What is it, my boy? Come in and take a seat first, I’ll tell you everything I know.” Budd had always liked Mu Fan as he was a smart and hardworking boy.

“Uncle Budd, I want to know what would be the fastest way to earn money?” Mu Fan asked as he stared at the old man with bright clear eyes.

“Earn money? How much? How come you are suddenly asking about this?” Oldman Budd was surprised because he knew Mu Fan’s situation, that what he had been earning was enough for him to survive and he would often spend money to buy books, making his life more difficult; but even in those situations, Mu Fan had never asked about the fastest way to earn money.

“Have you encountered some difficulties? How much money do you need? I still have some savings here.” Budd truly liked this boy and wanted to help him where he could.

“Thanks, Uncle Budd, but it’s sort of different this time. I need an optical computer so I have to earn the money for myself. I can’t use your money and I came this time to only ask you about the fast method to earn money,” Mu Fan said as he respectfully rejected Budd’s offer.

“Emm…” Budd blew out a smoke ring before he continued saying, “My boy, Mu Fan, you worked for me here before and I know that you have a lot of strength. There is a way to earn a lot of money, but I still hope that you can take time to reconsider before going into it.”

“What is it?”

“Be a practice partner at the Budokan,” Budd said as he stared seriously at Mu Fan. “Basically you’re going to be a sandbag! The longer you can withstand it, the more you’ll be paid! But I must warn you that it’s dangerous, and you have to watch out for your safety because someone strong there might not hold back. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”

“Thank you, Uncle Budd.” Mu Fan bowed deeply and his eyes brightened up even more.

“Don’t thank me. If you can’t withstand it then come and find me,” Budd said as he waved his hands.

“Alright. Then I’ll get going,” Mu Fan said as he turned around and walked out swiftly.

“Hey! It’s in the opposite direction, boy! Opposite!”

Mu Fan stumbled and turned his body 180 degrees as he scratched his head and chuckled.

…

In the northwest corner within District 22, there was a five-floored building with a wooden plate in front, and it was carved with the name Starfall Budokan. In the Interstellar Era, humans often needed to drive and control all sorts of machinery, and especially when mechs appeared, the standard for one’s physique increased even more. The Budokan was a perfect training place that combined martial arts and combat tactics, and it bloomed with the advancement of technology.

The parking lot was fully parked with hover vehicles ranging from cheaper civilian cars to high-class expensive vehicles. Four strong men were dressed in black budo suits and stood firmly in front of the main gate.

“Hey man, what are you doing here? Go away,” one of them said aggressively to Mu Fan as he smelled the scent of gasoline on him and knew that he couldn’t be a regular customer here.

“Is this Starfall Budokan? Do you guys need practice partners?” Mu Fan said as he stared fearlessly into their eyes.

“You? Haha, sandbag eh? Ya, we do need those! Follow me.” The man turned around and walked towards the lobby.

Mu Fan followed the man and stepped into this luxurious area for the first time. The moment he walked in, he saw a huge canvas hung on the two walls in an imposing manner! Looking straight forward, there laid a massive training area behind the tempered glass; there were strength testing machines that were the height of two men and rows after rows of training machines. Mu Fan came in the morning, so there weren’t a lot of people yet here.

“This is just a regular training area, you sandbags for Budokan practice are on the second and third floors.” The man dressed in the black budo suit laughed as he said to Mu Fan, who was stunned by what he saw. It was not unusual that those poor civilians would be stunned by the Budokan upon their first entry. Did this fool think that being a sandbag was an easy thing to do? He had heard that a Young Master from Planet Loga’s central district had recently come to this Budokan, and he was so forceful that he had crippled three ‘sandbags’ already.

“Thanks!”

“I’ll take you to one of our executives in a bit, but I’ll warn you first that it’s normal here to be crippled from being ‘sandbags’ and it’s not easy to walk away once you sign,” the man dressed in black said seriously this time as he was surprised by Mu Fan’s manners. The levitating elevator sounded as they arrived on the fourth floor and he said to Mu Fan, “We are here, I’m Man Kun by the way. Good luck.”