Mm! Mu Fan's eyes lit up, and his exhaustion vanished in an instant. He strode over and grabbed Brother Fatty's arm. "Where is it?"
Brother Fatty shrank back. Looking at Mu Fan's body still steaming with heat, he hurriedly pointed to the side. "Stop! Don't touch me, you're covered in sweat! Go wash up and change in the changing area first."
"All right." Mu Fan lowered his head and looked himself over. He really was a little unkempt. Helplessly scratching his head, he grinned and went to clean up first.
By the time Mu Fan came out, Brother Fatty was already sitting on the carpet fiddling with his Sky Communicator. Two dark boxes lay beside him, one open and the other still unopened.
"There, the unopened one is yours. Brother Fatty here is watching the latest Fighting Videos from top fighters. You never stop learning, no matter how old you get. You should learn from Brother Fatty's eagerness to study." Seeing Mu Fan come out, Brother Fatty kept his eyes on the Sky Communicator's light screen and casually pointed at the unopened box as he rambled on.
"Is this a light computer?" Mu Fan walked over, picked up the box, and turned it over in his hands.
"Idiot, press that black push-button circle." Brother Fatty looked up and saw that Mu Fan still had not opened the box after all this time, so he reminded him.
"Oh, thanks." Mu Fan grinned again and pressed the button. The box gradually split apart, then automatically unfolded flat in every direction, revealing an exquisite Helmet inside.
"This is the newest light computer you can currently buy on Luoqie Star. Anything newer will have to wait until I get a chance to visit an Administrative Star. Come sit beside me, and I'll teach you how to use it."
Mu Fan gently rubbed the Ring on his ring finger with his thumb, then sat beside Brother Fatty and watched his hands closely.
Brother Fatty pointed to one side of the Helmet. "This blue button is the power switch. Once it's on, just put it on. There's a Brainwave Synchronizer inside that can automatically connect to the interstellar network—provided you're somewhere with network coverage. If you go to an uninhabited planet, then you're probably out of luck."
Then he pointed at a small area on the back of the Helmet. "This is the chip identification area. Repairs are generally done through here in the future, so don't mess with it. This is where professionals disassemble it. The light computer uses Compressed Energy Technology; one charge lasts about a month. There's nothing else worth explaining."
"Put it on in a moment. Once you enter, it'll prompt you to register an account. Then add me. My Digital ID is lb004ljx077852319, and my name is—is—Lemon Balloon!! What do you think? Isn't it fresh and artsy? Isn't it full of depth? Hahahahaha!" Brother Fatty paused when he mentioned his nickname, then laughed loudly at Mu Fan as though psyching himself up.
"..." Mu Fan stared speechlessly at the lump of a man squatting before him.
"All right, did you remember the number? If not, I'll say it again. lb..." Brother Fatty skipped right over his previous mood and continued speaking to Mu Fan.
"lb004ljx077852319. The name is Lemon Balloon. I remembered it." Mu Fan directly cut off Brother Fatty's rambling.
"You're pretty smart. Come on, get in there. I'll teach you the basics first." Brother Fatty excitedly patted Mu Fan on the shoulder, thinking that he needed to properly educate him quickly, or he would not get another chance later.
"Mm, then let's go in." Mu Fan held the Helmet and looked at Brother Fatty.
"Okay." Brother Fatty answered, set down his Sky Communicator, picked up his own light computer Helmet, and put it on to activate it.
After seeing Brother Fatty put on the Helmet, Mu Fan's right hand suddenly shot out and gripped the back end of it. His ring finger pressed against the chip area Brother Fatty had just pointed out.
Something miraculous happened. The instant his finger touched the Helmet, the Ring on Mu Fan's ring finger seemed to melt, turning into a small stream of silvery-white Liquid Metal that slithered across the Helmet. It found the gap in the chip area and slipped inside.
In the blink of an eye, that small stream of silvery-white metal liquid disappeared completely.
Mu Fan held the Helmet carefully in both hands, his heart surging. His palms trembled slightly. He turned to look at Brother Fatty beside him, gritted his teeth, and put on the Helmet. Then he felt around for the blue button. "Bzz!" It activated!
The world instantly went dark. It was a sensation Mu Fan had never experienced before. He felt his consciousness leave his body in an instant and rise into the pitch-black sky. From a third-person perspective, he could see his own avatar, before some inexplicable force suddenly pushed his consciousness back into his body.
Lowering his head, he clenched his fists. In this virtual world of consciousness, he could see only himself; everything around him was shrouded in darkness. The novelty of the sensation filled Mu Fan with curiosity.
His right hand shot out like the wind and withdrew. Mu Fan stared strangely at his fist. His body clearly felt like his own, yet this sluggishness in reaction made him frown deeply. His real reaction speed was several times faster than what he was experiencing now. It felt terribly awkward.
"Ding. Welcome, dear player. Welcome to the PO Battle Network. Please select an account to log in with. If you have not registered, please select account registration."
As Mu Fan lowered his head and pinched his avatar's arm, he suddenly heard the system prompt. Looking up, he saw a floating robot radiating Blue Radiance emerge from the darkness ahead. Then two light screen options appeared on either side before him: "Account Login" and "Register Account."
"Ding. Welcome, dear player. Welcome to the PO Battle Network. Please select an account to log in with. If you have not registered... please select... beep—"
The robot repeated itself, but this time it abruptly stopped before finishing. A long electronic alarm sounded, and the robot before him vanished, as did the Light Screens.
Silence returned to the surroundings. Mu Fan was a little dumbfounded. What was going on?
"Hello?" "Is anyone there?" Unable to stop himself, he called out twice into the darkness. As expected, there was no answer.
How do I log out? Mu Fan lowered his head and looked at his body, feeling troubled.
"Ding. System reboot successful... bzzz... Welcome, dear player. Welcome to the PO Battle Network."
He heard a voice again. Mu Fan inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Wait, why did it sound different from the electronic voice just now? Something was wrong!
"...As you did not respond within three seconds, the system has automatically registered a random account for you."
What? Such harsh conditions? No, this voice, this voice... why was it so familiar!
"Black Egg!" Mu Fan suddenly looked up.
A silvery-white spherical figure emerged from the darkness before him, about the size of a fist. It made a backward spin as it floated over to Mu Fan.
"Hello, Mu Fan." Two curved eyebrow-like projections appeared on the silver sphere, and a familiar smiling face looked directly at Mu Fan.
"Black Egg, it really is you." Mu Fan could not help reaching out to touch the floating sphere before him. Its slightly cool feel gave him an unreal sensation, as though he were standing in the real world.
"Mu Fan, this light computer has already been optimized by the Liquid Metal from my previous carrier. During the several dozen seconds you waited to enter the system, I interfaced with part of its data and performed cross-platform optimization on some client software. The simulation level of this light computer can now be raised directly from 70% to 85% through intense mental stimulation, ±1%."
"Mm, just set it up for me." Mu Fan was completely ignorant of technology now and could not understand any of those terms. With one sentence, he handed everything over to Black.
"Command accepted." A Laser Ripple flashed across Black's surface. The sphere turned red, then returned to silvery-white.
"Mu Fan, I have now officially entered the interstellar network. For a considerable period of time in the future, I will continue improving myself here. If needed in the future, I can enter a physical body at any time for coordinated combat."
Mu Fan understood only the first half. The latter half was a concept that simply did not exist for him yet. What was a physical body? What was coordinated combat?
"I don't understand this. You can make the plans from now on." Mu Fan was brief and direct.
*********
P.S. Thanks to fellow readers Huan Qianyun and Remnant★Snow Without Trace for the 588 Starting Point coin rewards! Thanks to Bai Yiduo for the generous reward!
(Today, I want to say something off-topic. Lige likes writing at night, but last night, after eleven, I was so sleepy that I nodded off. When I woke up and saw fellow reader Huan Qianyun's reward, I learned that he had specially topped up through his phone to reward this book, yet only got half of it. I was deeply moved. He has been the most active reader in the review section so far. Back when Lige had written only three or four chapters, he came by to cheer me on. At the time, Lige mistakenly took him for someone leaving generic comments. Only after this book made it onto the new book rankings and he later posted a long review did I realize he had been following this book all along. Several of his posts in the review section truly kept Lige energized for many nights. In fact, readers' encouragement is the greatest praise an author can receive. And to those friends who have quietly supported me without ever leaving a comment, Lige is truly grateful for your affection! Thank you once again!)
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