Another World (2)

Mm! Mu Fan's eyes lit up, his previous fatigue swept away as he strode over and grabbed the fatty's arm. "Where?"

The fatty shrank back, looking at Mu Fan's steam-shrouded figure, and quickly pointed to the side. "Stop! Don't touch me, you're all sweaty! Go wash up and change clothes in the changing area over there first."

"Alright." Mu Fan looked down at himself—he really was a bit careless. Helplessly scratching his head, he grinned and went to wash up first.

When Mu Fan came out a while later, he saw the fatty sitting on the carpet fiddling with his Sky Communicator. Beside him were two dark black boxes, one opened and one still unopened.

"Here, this unopened one's yours. Your big bro Fatty's watching the latest expert fighting videos—live and learn, you should really pick up on this studious vibe of mine." The fatty, seeing Mu Fan come out, stared at the Sky Communicator's Light Screen and casually pointed at the unopened box, rambling on.

"Is this a light brain?" Mu Fan walked over, picked up the box, and turned it over in his hands.

"Dummy, press that black push-down circle." The fatty glanced up, saw Mu Fan still hadn't opened the box after ages, and reminded him.

"Oh, thanks." Mu Fan grinned again, pressed the button, and the box gradually split open, automatically flattening outward to reveal an exquisite Helmet inside.

"This is the latest light brain you can buy on Luoqie Star. For anything newer, I'd have to wait until I get a chance to visit an Administrative Star. Come sit over here, I'll teach you how to set it up."

Mu Fan gently rubbed the Ring on his ring finger with his thumb, sat down beside the fatty, and fixed his eyes on the fatty's hands as he operated.

The fatty pointed to one side of the Helmet. "This blue button is the power switch. Turn it on, put it on directly—there's a Brainwave Synchronizer inside that can auto-connect to the interstellar network, but only in places with network coverage. If you go to some uninhabited planet, forget it."

Then he pointed to a small area at the back of the Helmet. "This is the Chip Identification Area. If you ever need repairs, it's usually done from here. Don't mess with it—this is where professionals disassemble it. The light brain uses Compressed Energy Technology; one charge lasts about a month. Nothing else worth explaining."

"In a bit, put it on first. Once you're in, it'll prompt you to register an account, then add me. My Digital ID is lb004ljx077852319, and my name is... is—Lemon Balloon!! How about that? Super fresh and subtle, right? Hahahaha!" The fatty's tone hitched when he said his nickname, then he laughed heartily at Mu Fan, as if psyching himself up.

"..." Mu Fan stared speechlessly at the fatty crouched into a lump before him.

"Alright, did you remember the number? If not, I'll say it again—lb..." The fatty skipped straight past his earlier mood and spoke to Mu Fan.

"lb004ljx077852319, name Lemon Balloon. I've got it." Mu Fan cut off the fatty's rambling directly.

"Pretty sharp! Come on, get in quick, I'll teach you the basics first." The fatty patted Mu Fan's shoulder excitedly, thinking he'd give him a good education inside while he still could.

"Yeah, let's go in then." Mu Fan held the Helmet and looked at the fatty.

"Okay," the fatty agreed, put down his Sky Communicator, picked up his own light brain Helmet, put it on, and activated it.

Seeing the fatty put on his Helmet, Mu Fan's right hand suddenly gripped the back of his own Helmet with lightning speed, pressing his ring finger onto the chip area the fatty had just pointed out.

A miraculous scene unfolded. The moment his finger pressed the Helmet, the Ring on his ring finger seemed to melt, turning into a small stream of silvery-white Liquid Metal that slithered across the Helmet, found the gap in the chip area, and burrowed inside.

In the blink of an eye, that small stream of silvery-white liquid metal vanished without a trace.

Mu Fan held the Helmet reverently in both hands, his heart surging, his palms trembling slightly. He turned to glance at the fatty beside him, gritted his teeth, put the Helmet on, fumbled for the blue button, and—vwoom—activated it.

The world went dark in an instant, a sensation he'd never experienced before. Mu Fan felt his consciousness leave his body, rising into the pitch-black void. From a third-person perspective, he could see his own avatar, and then, pushed by some inexplicable force, his awareness suddenly returned to his body.

He looked down, clenched his fists. In this virtual world of consciousness, he could only see himself; everything around was darkness. This novel feeling filled Mu Fan with curiosity.

His right hand shot out like the wind and snapped back. Mu Fan stared oddly at his fist. The body felt like his own, but the sluggishness in his reactions made him frown deeply. His actual reaction speed was several times faster than what he was seeing now—it was terribly uncomfortable.

Ding. "Welcome, dear player. Welcome to the PO Battle Network. Please choose to log in to an account. If you haven't registered, please select account registration."

Just as Mu Fan was looking down and pinching his avatar's arm, he suddenly heard the system prompt. Looking up, he saw a floating robot glowing with Blue Radiance appear in the darkness ahead. Then, two Light Screen options materialized on either side in front of him: "Account Login" and "Register Account."

Ding. "Welcome, dear player. Welcome to the PO Battle Network. Please choose to log in to an account. If you haven't registered... please select... beeeeeeep—"

The robot repeated itself, but this time it cut off mid-sentence, followed by a long electronic screech. The robot in front of him vanished, and the Light Screens disappeared too.

Silence returned all around. Mu Fan was a bit dumbfounded. What was going on?

"Hey?" "Anyone there?" He couldn't help calling out twice, but unsurprisingly, there was no answer.

How do I get out? Mu Fan looked down at his body, a bit troubled.

Ding. "System restart successful... zzzzt... Welcome, dear player. Welcome to the PO Battle Network."

He heard the voice again. Mu Fan breathed a sigh of relief. Wait—why did it sound different from the electronic voice before? Something's wrong!

"...Due to no response within three seconds, the system has automatically registered a random account."

What? Such harsh conditions? No, that voice—that voice—why was it so familiar!

"Black Egg!" Mu Fan suddenly looked up.

In the darkness ahead, a silvery-white spherical figure emerged, about the size of a fist. It did a backflip and floated in front of Mu Fan.

"Mu Fan, hello." Two curved eyebrow light projections appeared on the silver sphere, and a familiar smiling face expression faced Mu Fan.

"Black Egg, it's really you." Mu Fan couldn't help reaching out and touching the sphere floating before him. Its slightly cool texture gave him an unreal sense of being in the real world.

"Mu Fan, this light brain has been optimized by my previous carrier, the Liquid Metal. In the tens of seconds you waited to enter the system, I've already interfaced with some data and performed cross-boundary optimization on some client software. Now, this light brain's simulation level can be directly increased from 70% to 85% AA1% through intense mental stimulation."

"Mm, just set it up for me." Mu Fan was completely a tech illiterate now, understanding none of these terms. With one sentence, he handed everything over to Black.

"Command accepted." A Laser Ripple flashed across Black's surface, then the sphere turned red before returning to silver-white.

"Mu Fan, I've now officially entered the interstellar network. For a considerable time to come, I'll be here perfecting myself. If needed in the future, I can enter a physical entity at any time for coordinated combat."

Mu Fan only understood the first half. The second half was completely beyond his current concept. What was a physical entity? Coordinated combat?

"I don't understand this place. You just plan the routine from now on." Mu Fan said succinctly.

*********

PS: Thanks to fellow readers Huan Qianyun and Remnant★Snow Without Trace for the 588 Starting Point coin tip! Thanks to Bai Yiduo for the generous tip!

(Talking a bit off-topic today. Li Ge likes to write at night, but last night around 11 I dozed off from exhaustion. When I woke up, I saw fellow reader Huan Qianyun's tip. He specifically recharged through his phone to tip this book, but only got half the amount—I was deeply moved. He's been the most active reader in the review section, cheering me on since I'd only written three or four chapters. At first, I mistook him for a generic commenter, but later, when the book made the new release list and he posted a long review, I realized he'd been following it all along. A few of his posts in the review section truly lifted my spirits for many nights. Readers' encouragement is the greatest reward for an author. And to those friends who silently support without leaving comments, Li Ge sincerely thanks you for your kindness! Thanks again!)