After arranging to meet the fatty again in an hour, Mu Fan left the CC1029 VIP Room. Laurel mm was still standing dutifully at the door, and Mu Fan only noticed her when he passed by.
"Um, Egg Lord, pfft—" Laurel mm glanced at his nickname and called out instinctively, then failed to hold back her laughter again.
"Is something wrong?" Hearing that bizarre name, Mu Fan answered helplessly and turned to look at the girl.
Most player avatars on the PO Battle Network could be adjusted by up to 10% from their real appearance. The girl before him was roughly shoulder-height on Mu Fan. Two strands of hair perked up playfully by her ears, while an adorable bun hairstyle made her slightly chubby little face look even cuter. Laurel mm's big eyes were staring straight at him, making him a little uncomfortable.
"Um, I'm often on duty here. Let's add each other as friends. My name is Dark Night Laurel." Her big eyes curved into crescents as Laurel mm grinned at him. Her companion beside her looked utterly shocked. After all these days, this girl had actually taken the initiative to ask someone for their contact information.
"Uh, well..." Mu Fan was a little nervous. He had never spoken to a girl before, so he was not used to someone approaching him so warmly and proactively. He was not accustomed to strangers entering his world. Getting to know someone usually took time.
After thinking for a moment, Mu Fan said with a straight face, "Sorry, I sneaked in. I'm not ready yet."
"Pfft—hahaha!" Laurel mm had not reacted yet, but her companion burst out laughing first. What kind of answer was that? It made no sense at all. This guy was too funny.
Mu Fan blushed slightly. He had planned out what to say, but his nervousness had made him mess it up.
Unable to keep his composure, Mu Fan immediately turned around and waved. "Bye, bye!" Then he ran off in a flash.
Laurel mm's big eyes were filled with astonishment. This person... "He's so cool! So cute!" She pumped her little fist hard and shouted at Mu Fan's retreating back, "Add me next time!"
"She's hopelessly lovestruck!" Her companion covered her face. Usually, Laurel mm did not even spare a glance for the many people who tried to strike up conversations with her. Why had she taken such a liking to that weirdo today?
Mu Fan had already vanished without a trace.
He really could not understand it. The people he encountered on the Battle Network were far livelier and more interesting than those in reality. But then again, in real life... he was still just working to earn money. He would work here for a while first. By the time Harry left, it would probably be time for him to leave as well and seek his fortune somewhere new.
After running off, Mu Fan wandered around aimlessly. He had already left the plaza where he had entered and was now walking down an unfamiliar street, thinking about where to go next.
He had left the Combat Hall. At his core, he was still just a rookie who knew nothing. If he teamed up with Harry again, he would only drag him down.
Hmm, he could not go to the Training Camp today. There were still more than seven hours left on the countdown.
He could not make heads or tails of it!
So Mu Fan logged off...
Yes, that was right. Mu Fan flashed in place and logged off after confirming with the system.
Meanwhile, the fatty entered Level 5 Room matchmaking by himself again. He wanted to test explosive tactics on the Lemon Balloon fantasy-type mech named after his own ID. He had bought a whole pile of strange, varied fifth-generation-compatible fantasy-type tracking rounds, counterattack mines, and booby traps, and was currently figuring out how to combine his equipment.
Could one imagine an early sixth-generation mech entering the battlefield covered head to toe in explosives? At any rate, the fatty believed safety came first. Being wrapped all over in High-Explosive Grenades seemed rather reassuring. The fatty rested his chin on his hand and nodded.
He did not notice that Mu Fan had already logged off.
Mu Fan removed his Helmet and stared blankly ahead. For that instant, he could not even tell whether this was illusion or reality.
But this place had a familiar scent. Yes, scent. The air he breathed in reality, the distinctive smells of various objects, the sensation of his pores opening, the warmth, and the wind brushing past him—these were what made up the space of real life.
What should I do?
Mu Fan walked around the fatty, who was leaning against the sofa, and headed into the T-shaped corridor. On the right was the strength training room he had used that morning.
Hmm, was the training room farther inside the Gravity Room?
Its silver-white metal door differed from those of the other rooms. Because of its special construction, the entire room was made of metal.
The Gravity Room's full name was the Multi-Gravity Environment Training Room. It required special materials such as a central body and a rotating body, making it extremely expensive to build. There were only a handful of them in the entire martial arts gym.
He pressed the circular button, opening two metal doors in succession, and Mu Fan walked in. Hiss—the two metal doors shut heavily behind him, and bright white light flooded the room.
It was a circular area with a radius of roughly six or seven meters. The floor was metal. When he stomped hard, there was no echo. The entire ground sloped slightly toward the center, while a red ring-shaped wall of unknown material, about four meters high, enclosed the room. Mu Fan looked around. There was nothing at all!? Was this the true face of the mysterious Gravity Room?
"Dong, dong." The bright white lights went out. A ring of dark red light lit up in sequence from above, followed by another ring of yellow-white light around the floor. The entire room suddenly darkened.
"Please select a gravity multiplier. This Gravity Training Room can be adjusted from one to eight times gravity in eighty settings. Each setting equals 0.1 times gravity. The gravity standard is that of Capital Star, where the Star River Federation government is located. The current planet, Luoqie Star of the Fourth Administrative Region, has a gravity index of 1.4 times. Users are advised to begin at setting fourteen and increase gradually. The maximum increase each time is three settings." An electronic female voice delivered the standard notice in a mechanical yet clear tone.
"This training room is equipped with a human-body data monitoring system and emergency rescue devices. If the trainee experiences unhealthy conditions such as fainting or shock during training, the equipment will immediately stop."
"Please select a gravity setting." After two pauses, the system prompted Mu Fan to make his choice.
"Setting sixteen."
With a hum, 1.6 times gravity took effect. Mu Fan felt his body tighten slightly, but nothing else.
He was somewhat puzzled. An old book he had picked up before had introduced planetary gravity. Once the human body adapted to a planet's gravity, each additional 0.1 times gravity would place an all-around burden on the internal organs, bones, and blood vessels. This was fundamentally incomparable to simply carrying more weight. Human muscles could grow powerful, but no one said the heart could withstand impact as well as muscles could.
Setting eighteen!
At 1.8 times gravity, Mu Fan's body tightened a little more. He tried jumping in the room and strangely discovered that something seemed slightly off about his body.
It was not discomfort under gravitational pressure, but an incredibly rapid adaptation to the changing gravity!!!
Black had said his body was somewhat special. Was it a bloodline trait?
Did that mean his Night Vision was also one of those bloodline traits?
Mu Fan could feel that within just a few breaths, his body had adapted to the current conditions. Even his bones seemed to be sending out faint sensations of comfort.
What was going on? Mu Fan was filled with confusion.
Setting twenty! Double gravity!
Gravity training could further strengthen muscle density, improve bodily coordination in high-gravity environments, and greatly increase the heart's ability to supply blood. Its accompanying drawbacks were hidden injuries to internal organs and bones. Fortunately, current medical conditions could effectively alleviate the aftereffects of gravity training.
Mu Fan had read those words in a book. Ever since obtaining Black, his heart had been in the sky, beyond the clouds, amid the vast sea of stars.
Cherish everything before me!
Ah!!!
"Beep, beep. System prompt: After setting twenty, would you like to begin movement training in a high-gravity environment?"
"Begin!"
Setting twenty-three!!! Hum!
P.S. Thanks to readers Poetic Charm, Ren Xiaowei and Remnant★Snow Without Trace for their generous rewards.
Thanks as well to Remnant★Snow Without Trace for the long review. Whether one was in the prime of youth, already married with children, or growing old, there would always be a small place in one's heart that held one's earliest dreams. And Li Ge, or Mu Fan, was walking the road toward realizing his dream!
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