"W-what?" Brother Fatty suddenly began to stammer. He was sure he wasn't stupid, and he couldn't have heard wrong.
Under Brother Fatty's gaze, Mu Fan seriously repeated himself, "I should be able to do that move too."
With that, Mu Fan stood and walked toward the Training Field beneath Brother Fatty's upturned gaze.
He planted his feet, his body stiff as wood. His right leg rose, then suddenly dropped. His left foot stepped forward at incredible speed, and then his entire body abruptly folded sideways in a way that seemed to defy the laws of physics. As his waist twisted nearly backward, his right leg flashed like lightning across the night sky. Before the afterimage had faded, Brother Fatty felt the ground quake, like an ancient mammoth stomping down. By the time the sound reached his brain, he was still staring blankly at the wooden post that had exploded from the kick, his jaw still hanging open.
After a brief silence, "Ah!!~~ Master, please accept me as your disciple!!" Brother Fatty erupted with strength utterly disproportionate to his body and sprang from the ground, charging toward Mu Fan like a cannonball. Just as Mu Fan wondered whether to stop him with a palm or a kick, Brother Fatty dropped to his knees more than two meters away and slid forward like a mountain collapsing, wrapping his arms around Mu Fan's leg! He threw back his head and howled.
"This can't be real. I actually got to see a move from the video! Big Brother, please accept me as your disciple!" Brother Fatty had never encountered violence in his life. When he saw that move appear right before his eyes, if he hadn't confirmed that this guy had been watching the Sky Communicator with him just moments ago, he would have thought Mu Fan was Dark Right Foot himself.
I ran into a master today. I need to make a good impression. Brother Fatty no longer cared about anything else. He focused on hugging Mu Fan's thigh, completely ignoring the slight twitch in Mu Fan's facial muscles.
He still owes me 500 in tips... He still owes me 500 in tips... Mu Fan tried hard not to kick this kneeling fatty away, silently repeating the most tempting number in his heart.
"Master, please accept me as your disciple!" Brother Fatty didn't howl this time.
When he saw Mu Fan's cold gaze fall on the hands clutching his thigh, Brother Fatty instinctively withdrew them. But before Mu Fan could pull his leg away, he tightly grabbed the hem of Mu Fan's pants again, as though Mu Fan would fly away the moment he let go.
"Why do you say that?" Mu Fan hadn't realized how much of a shock his actions had just given this worldly Brother Fatty.
Bro, do you seriously not know that move isn't something a human can do? Keep pretending, and I'd be crazy to believe you. While grumbling inwardly, Brother Fatty looked at Mu Fan ingratiatingly and said, "I've never seen anyone pull off that move, anyway. Master, please accept me as your disciple. I'll definitely behave."
"Not interested." Mu Fan lightly exerted force and pulled his leg free.
"Master, great god!! Please accept me as your disciple! I can endure hardship." Seeing Mu Fan's calm, detached air of a master, Brother Fatty grew anxious, afraid the master would leave if dissatisfied.
"We can go on the PO Battle Network together. We'll definitely become famous." Seeing that Mu Fan was still uninterested, Brother Fatty panicked and cried out desperately, "Teacher, Teacher, please accept me as your disciple! I don't want any allowance anymore. I'll give it all to Teacher as tuition!"
Mu Fan's ears instantly perked up. "Tuition? You still owe me 500 in tips. Don't think you can muddle through this." He thought this scheming fatty wanted to use his tips as tuition, and he was a little angry.
"I'll pay, I'll pay, all of it. Tuition will be extra."
"How much?" Mu Fan reacted with unusual speed. Then he rubbed his nose awkwardly. "But I don't really have anything to teach you. I don't know those moves either. I only learned them from that video." Mu Fan had always been rather honest. Although the tuition sounded tempting, he still told the fatty before him the truth.
"It's fine, it's fine! I'm not learning that move. Even if you taught me, I couldn't learn it." Brother Fatty shook his head like a rattle drum. He had never even considered that possibility.
"Master—no, Great God Teacher, play on the PO Battle Network with me." Brother Fatty looked earnestly at Mu Fan. With Great God's special training, in a few days I'll make everyone in class drop their jaws. Let's see if they still dare laugh at me. Brother Fatty was already plotting in his heart.
"But... I don't know how to play on the PO Battle Network." Mu Fan was even more confused.
"It's fine, I'll teach you!"
"I don't have tuition."
"I'll pay your tuition. Great God Teacher, you just need to accompany me." Brother Fatty answered twice in quick succession. He could see it now—this was definitely a hidden master, and he had stumbled upon him by sheer luck. He had to cling tightly to this thigh. Opportunities like this were impossible to come by. Thank you, Dad. Thank you, Uncle Wu.
"Uh, I'd better pass." Mu Fan hesitated, then still refused. His top priority right now was earning money. Where would he find the time to think about anything else?
"Why, Great God?" Brother Fatty was practically about to cry. His chance to break through the Natural Barrier of Silver 1 Star with his mech was right there in this silent master's hands.
"I still need to work and earn money. I'm pretty satisfied with this job." Thinking of the cafeteria's free Nutritional Meals, Mu Fan felt quite satisfied.
"How much do you earn a day?" Brother Fatty stood up and asked.
"500 Star Coins. I keep all the tips." Mu Fan answered honestly.
"Master, I'll keep coming here for the next half month. I'll get an Advanced VIP membership later and designate you as my sparring partner. I'll pay you an extra 1,000 Star Coins in tips every day. Come with me onto the PO Battle Network, okay?" After a moment's thought, Brother Fatty spoke to Mu Fan with rare seriousness.
"Okay." Mu Fan agreed promptly. There was no reason not to earn this kind of money.
"Tomorrow, I'll bring you a light computer. It's a gift for you—an Apprenticeship Gift." Knowing Mu Fan's difficulties, Brother Fatty took the initiative to offer.
"No need. I'll buy one myself." Mu Fan wouldn't accept gifts from others for no reason.
"Don't rush to refuse. You can pay me back once you have money. You'll need it to enter the PO Battle Network anyway, and with a light computer, you can log in from home too." Brother Fatty had considered everything thoroughly.
"Then... okay. I won't take the tips. Consider them repayment for the money, and if the light computer costs more, I'll make up the difference afterward." After hesitating for a moment, Mu Fan spoke with a determined expression.
"No need—fine. Give it to me when you have money." Brother Fatty had opened his mouth to refuse, but seeing the determination in Mu Fan's eyes, he wisely stopped himself.
Could someone who can perform the moves of a Diamond 5-Star combat expert be ordinary? Brother Fatty here has a sharp eye for talent, heh heh. This is my secret weapon. In half a month, I'll make every one of you drop your jaws. You laughed at Brother Fatty for being fat. You laughed at my "Lemon Balloon." This time, I've got help. Just wait.
"Also, my name is Mu Fan. You don't need to call me anything else." Mu Fan couldn't read other people's thoughts, but his naturally sensitive nature let him see the sincerity in Brother Fatty's eyes. This fatty lacked the unpleasant mannerisms of the rich, the gaze of someone who thought himself superior, and the mocking or contemptuous look others gave Mu Fan.
When Young Master Harry heard Mu Fan say that to him, he was slightly stunned. Because of his build, he had always been somewhat insecure. He usually immersed himself in the virtual world, and his social circle had shrunk until he was practically a shut-in. Yet now, excitement welled up in his eyes. "I-I'm Harry. Master—no, Mu Fan, hello."
Brother Fatty nervously extended his right hand.
Mu Fan lightly tapped his palm with a fist.
The figures of the two youths froze in that instant. An ambition began to sprout in Brother Fatty's heart—for the future... or perhaps friendship... or perhaps a dream!
Before you continue