Chapter 4  : Brave New World

Ye Chong chewed on roasted engulfer’s meat as he stared fixated at the schematics for Mu Shang’s inner structures before him. It took plenty of convincing for Ye Chong to get Mu Shang to agree to this. The designs were too complex and ingenious, as Ye Chong admired inwardly. Under his foster father’s guidance, Ye Chong was definitely qualified to be an expert in mechanics, but the schematics before him did not make much sense, meaning he would have to decipher it bit by bit, but this also dramatically raised his high opinion for the designer.

After half a day, Ye Chong felt his eyes went arid, and so he shifted his vision away from the schematics and peeked at the static Mu Shang by his side, and made an impertinent remark. “Mu, best not waste your efforts, this Pulse Signal Relay Station is not so easy to hack! Why, back then, my foster father tried numerous times and never succeeded.”

Mu Shang was inert, as though Ye Chong never spoke.

Ye Chong began his quirky habit of talking to himself again, as he mumbled against the schematics, “Mu, it’s not personal, but let’s stop trying with this impossible task, you should use your spare time to teach me instead. I mean, I’ve stared at this tattered schematics for a good part of the day and my head hurts. But the designer behind this must be a genius, tsk tsk. Amazing, amazing…”

Mu Shang suddenly spoke up, “Hacking complete!”

Ye Chong’s eyes did not leave the schematics while he replied in reflex, “What? Hacking complete? I say Mu, when did you learn to joke? Hah, not bad, not bad. You’re improving! But Mu, a failure is a failure, for something impossible like this, your failure is expected, and so, no one is going to laugh at you…”

Mu Shang ignored Ye Chong and continued, “Fal star system’s weekly news review, Renaissance’s new space station, the S.S. Hui Tan will begin accepting new citizens this Monday, the first phase of new citizens will enjoy the following benefits…”

Ye Chong’s eyes glazed for a bit, his hands paused from whatever he was up to, and shook his head vigorously before speaking in disbelief, “You, you really did it?”

Mu Shang replied calmly, “Undeniably so!”

Ye Chong asked carefully, “Are you sure?”

Mu Shang, “I am sure!”

“Hah, hahaha, I can finally learn about the outside world, I can finally learn about the outside world…” Ye Chong jumped with glee, and hit the ceiling with excessive force.

*Bang*

Ye Chong was oblivious, as he continued to run about his house in excitement, fully relishing in his joy.

Mu Shang observed Ye Chong’s emotional response, his cool face softening around the edges, but the moment was over in a flash as it resumed its usual composure.

Ye Chong carefully sat in Mu Shang’s cabin, put on the helmet, and laid down silently on the soft seating, but he heart was anything but calm - there was excitement, hope, curiosity, and a little trepidation against the unknown setting. These plethora of emotions kept him agitated, unable to calm down.

Mu Shang’s voice rang in his ear, “Ye, ready?”

For some reason, Mu Shang’s voice had a calming effect on Ye Chong. Ye Chong took a deep breath, and answered steadily, “Ready!”

Just as he finished, Ye Chong’s vision changed dramatically.

Ye Chong shook his head dizzily, and Mu Shang’s voice returned when he felt better, “Users accessing the virtual net for the first time would usually experience dizziness, this is normal, and has no negative health consequences.”

Ye Chong had a rough idea what that meant, and began to examine his surroundings.

The first thing he saw was a screen made up of intertwined light rays in a wide range of colors, those vibrant hues fluctuated and moved as though they were alive, creating and recreating new palettes!

The strong contrasts in sight moved Ye Chong like never before!

For Ye Chong, who grew up on a trash planet, the world was made up of only metallic blacks and whites, the yellow from the star’s rays, and the sweeping color of rust. He never thought colors could be so dazzling, so rich!

Ye Chong stood there, mystified, as he took in the most stunning view before him!

Someone passed by Ye Chong, noticed the look on his face, and swore under his breath, “Idiot!”

That swearing woke Ye Chong up from his fascination. Ye Chong could not help but felt a little bitterness, what would these upper class people know about his hard life? Fortunately, Ye Chong was not one to wallow in self-pity. After feeling lost for a while, Ye Chong picked himself back up.

As though sensing his change, Mu Shang, who was silent up until then, finally spoke up, “Ye, you can walk through the light screen now!”

Ye Chong obeyed, and came upon a huge square. The square was displaying all sorts of machines that Ye Chong could not even identify, and the middle of the square was occupied by a large electronic display, broadcasting all sorts of news and information.

“The Central Square is the news area, this is also my first time here, why don’t you have a look around yourself, if there are any problems just call for me in your mind, as I can detect your brainwave signal! Alright! It’s settled!”

Mu Shang’s voice ended abruptly, leaving only silence.

Ye Chong smile wryly inside, but his worries were quickly replaced by intense curiosity. Ye Chong observed around him inquisitively, as he began to explore the area.

More than a decade’s worth of survival instinct led Ye Chong to be highly vigilant in unfamiliar territory. He kept himself about two meters away from anyone around him at all times, as that was his best striking range, so that he could respond in time to any unexpected circumstances.

The ability to navigate quickly through the dense and irregular trash terrain on his home planet also added to his skillset, as he moved like a fish, slipping through the crowd smoothly and with style. On top of that, compared to the relaxing, strolling pace adopted by everyone else, Ye Chong moved as though he was in a rush for something urgent, but that was only because on the trash planet, every second was precious - it may be a matter of better returns, or a matter of life and death!

Ye Chong was like a vicious predatory fish wandering amongst the carefree, slow-witted fishes, obviously out of place, and a bit of an eyesore.

His foster father once said, outside of trash planets, humans live in peace and happiness - no countless life-threatening mutated lifeforms, no daily scheduled storms, no food-scavenging through the trash heaps. Instead, they wear bright clothing, eat fresh and fancy meals, living a life of peace and leisure. They go to school every day, with many friends, and they have many different kinds of mechs.

Ye Chong once asked his foster father longingly if it was paradise out there, but his foster father said no. Ye Chong was baffled - if a place like that wasn’t paradise then what else can it be? The young Ye Chong had spent countless occasions imagining the outside world as he thought it should be like - the mysterious, promised land of dreams-come-true.

Now, Ye Chong could finally experience the world he had long wished for!

Ye Chong could not really understand what he felt at the moment, as he walked on absentmindedly, not knowing where he really was.

Ye Chong stared blankly at the ceiling.

He did not exactly remember how he got back, his mind occupied by a lingering emotion, one that he couldn’t really recognize. He would need time to process the day’s experience.

Mu Shang said nothing, his silence made it hard for anyone to guess what lightning-speed calculations were running through his processor.

The ceiling was as it always was, unchanged, and the night was as silent as every other before it.