Star Sky Professional

The sun set in the west, at the school gate.

Liu Wei held two bottles of salt soda, "Here... what are you daydreaming about?"

"Oh, thanks."

Fang Xing took the soda and casually took a sip. Under the sunlight, the specially made soda refracted a rainbow of brilliance. It seemed to encapsulate a variety of different flavors, and the wonderful bubbles were clear and distinct, exploding on the tip of the tongue with a hint of coolness, making one feel incredibly refreshed. Yet the consistently faint salty taste compelled him to keep opening his mouth, taking big gulps, "Refreshing..."

Drinking the salt soda, Fang Xing walked home with Liu Wei.

The place they rented was nearby, not far from the school.

A small river meandered by, with clear water you could see to the bottom and snowy white embankments.

"I must get into university!"

Suddenly, Liu Wei flung the soda bottle far away and, looking at the splashes it made, he suddenly spoke out.

"Hm?"

Fang Xing was pondering his own financial situation while thinking about fully enjoying the food, drink, fun, and leisure of this era, and incidentally researching the newly appeared "Gate of All Heavens," when he heard this statement and couldn't help but turn his head to look at Liu Wei.

"I must get into university and switch to another department, preferably the Mechanical Department. Continuing in Martial Arts is a dead end," Liu Wei said earnestly.

Martial Artist is just a prefix to a profession. According to the conventions established by the Blue Star Federation, only when a Martial Artist reaches the Fourth Realm—the Realm of Courage—do they truly become a Professional "Martial Artist!"

Of course, after becoming a Martial Artist, one can further study and become something like a "Mecha Master."

Even in ancient times, the combat power of Armored Warriors differed vastly from that of Unarmored Warriors, not to mention Mechas.

According to the knowledge of his previous life, even the lowest rank military external skeletons could immediately grant an ordinary person the strength to rival a Martial Artist of the Realm of Courage!

"Alas... it's only due to a lack of resources; otherwise, everyone could have been happily piloting Mechas."

He sighed inwardly.

Why does the Blue Star Federation strongly develop the Martial Arts system and create a bunch of bioengineered humans? Isn't it because the front lines lack cannon fodder, lack Mecha Masters, lack resources?

Rumor has it that some high-ranking officials have proposed to open up genetic modification technology and reduce the ten-month external cultivation period for bioengineered humans to three months or even shorter. But this has been rebutted by many, who believe that doing so would truly lose the potential and infinite possibilities of being human.

According to current technology, once genetic modification is performed, it would significantly increase the probability of bioengineered humans advancing to the Martial Arts Fourth Realm, but the possibility of becoming an Eighth Realm Martial Saint or a Ninth Realm Martial God would drastically decrease.

"But when the Blue Star Federation suffers a big defeat and resources become even scarcer, who knows?"

"After all, cannon fodder is just cannon fodder; you can't expect too much... And Martial Saints and Martial Gods, they're not really that strong. Mecha Masters, Mind Masters, Sword Masters, or even other professions at very high levels can have even more destructive power..."

"Of course, the various professions are not isolated from each other... For example, Martial Artists need to wear special External Skeletons or specially made Mechas in order to exert their maximum combat power!"

"Yeah, you go for it!"

Thousands of thoughts spun in his mind, but all Fang Xing said were these three words.

After they parted ways, Fang Xing returned to his home.

To call it 'home' was akin to calling it an apartment. As soon as you entered, you could see the living room, and beyond that, there was a kitchen and a bedroom. The space was quite large.

"The price of housing in the Happy Home District seems to be around ten thousand Star Coins per square meter..."

Fang Xing looked around and a thought came to his mind.

"Even the rent isn't cheap. If it weren't for the Federation's student loan and grants, it would indeed be difficult to afford..."

He took out his phone and adeptly opened an app, looking at his wallet.

[Balance: 14,231.9 Star Coins]

"It's just enough for a little over one square meter, and that's after I've worked hard in my spare time..."

Fang Xing thought of the original owner's dream, which wasn't about getting into university, but buying a house!

Not on this Chuying Star, but to go to Capital Star, the origin of the Blue Star Federation—buying a house on Blue Star!

"The housing prices on Blue Star, plus the costs of immigration, and the spacecraft tickets... with what I have, it's not even a drop in the bucket..."

"Perhaps only those big shots among the Professionals can afford it?"

Fang Xing calculated and found himself speechless. This dream was much larger than Liu Wei's.

'First, I need to survive before I can even think about buying a house.'

Fang Xing, who had experienced the pressure of modern mortgage loans in his previous life, now scoffed at the original owner's wish, "With this little money, I might as well first enjoy life... The entertainment of the interstellar era is so rich and varied..."

"Although it's just an ordinary Education Planet, there's still plenty of fun to be had..."

Recalling the basic information about this place, Fang Xing was amazed at the Blue Star Federation's big moves.

Chuying Star, located in the Black Mountain Star System, has an atmosphere primarily composed of nitrogen and oxygen. It is made up of 44.6% land, islands, as well as 55.4% oceans and bodies of water, with a standard gravity 1.2 times that of Blue Star.

As an Education Planet, its main industries are various schools and cultivation centers.

You could say that the entire planet was built around this industry cluster.

It was precisely because of this that Liu Wei felt despair—without interstellar travel capabilities, he simply could not escape this planet.

For those bioengineered humans who think too much, Chuying Star is a vast prison, with even the sky and the universe feeling oppressive.

But for Fang Xing...

"Wow... how broad must one's experiences be to feel that even a planet can't contain that bit of personal freedom?"

He thought for a moment, then opened a food delivery app on his phone.

Before long, the sound of rotors could be heard on the balcony.

A flying device landed on the balcony, beneath it a steamy delivery bag.

"Order confirmed, dear customer, please leave a good review, okay?"

The adorable loli voice rang out, and then the flyer directly withdrew.

"Quite a primitive delivery method..."

Fang Xing commented as he opened the meal box, and a strange aroma immediately wafted out.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the box was filled with heaps of rice, each grain the size of a pinky tip and plump as a crystal, resembling red jade.

"Hmm, this is 'Blood Tooth Rice'; they say eating it greatly replenishes one's energy and blood."

"Besides that, there's Shaluo Beast Meat... uh, this juice..."

He picked up a slice of the meat with his chopsticks, looking at the crystal-like flesh and stuffing it into his mouth. A strong meaty flavor filled his mouth instantly; the Shaluo Meat, once processed, was truly melt-in-your-mouth without getting stuck in the teeth. With each chew, large bursts of meat juice exploded, perfectly complemented by vegetables and delicious rice—an unparalleled delicacy...

"Delicious!"

Before he knew it, Fang Xing looked at the now empty meal box, a hint of longing on his face: "Although it costs over a hundred, it's well worth it. Now for some after-dinner milk tea... Living like this, just lying back and enjoying it, who cares about buying a house anyway!"

As for enlisting in the military after graduating high school in three years, Fang Xing had already selectively forgotten about that.

After finishing his meal, he tossed the fast-food box into the trash and pulled out a pair of sci-fi-looking glasses from the drawer.

The moment he put them on, a virtual world suddenly appeared.

"Huh? The virtual reality games in this world don't have an 18+ rating? I'm totally giving this a rave review..."

The next instant, Fang Xing discovered a new world and unwittingly became immersed in it.

...

The next day.

In the bedroom.

Fang Xing was red-faced, panting heavily, sweating profusely.

He stood tall like a bow, his back straight as a dragon, he was indeed practicing the Great Dragon Stance!

Although he had a blast playing games yesterday, he was after all an adult and knew to practice restraint, going to bed on time before midnight, and upon waking up in the morning, after a quick wash, he started practicing.

Half an hour later, Fang Xing was panting deeply, his attention focused on the attribute panel:

[Name: Fang Xing]

[Age: 16]

[Profession: Martial Artist]

[First Realm: Skin and Flesh (Refining: 21/100)]

[Military Boxing Twelve Styles: 56/100 (Novice)]

[Great Dragon Stance: 67/100 (Novice)]

[Gate of All Heavens: 2/100 (Locating)]

"The Great Dragon Stance and Military Boxing Twelve Styles haven't changed; it seems unlikely to achieve a qualitative change in one day, right?"

"But the Gate of All Heavens..."

Fang Xing shifted his focus to the symbol resembling a mirror gate, and a flood of inexplicable information suddenly surfaced in his mind: "Increased by 1% in a day?"

"By this calculation, only another 98 days to go before I can open the Gate of All Heavens and travel to another world?"

He was somewhat excited.

Another world!

This could be a new journey and, who knows... maybe he could even return to Earth!

Although, if he returned, he would continue to be a wage slave and still wouldn't be able to afford a bathroom in the capital city, uh...

"Considering that, a life change accompanied by a powerful Golden Finger from transmigration doesn't sound too bad..."

Fang Xing's lips curled slightly: "What's more important is that I've got a way out!"

Even if he failed the college entrance exam in three years and had to undergo obligatory military service, he could travel to another world instead of risking his life on the battlefield.

"However, if I'm to travel to another world, I must prepare well."

His expression serious, he opened the mobile store app to look for equipment he might need.

The simplest devices for air quality testing, food-grade toxin test strips, unmanned reconnaissance drones, and even protective gear and weapons...

After all, another world could be exceptionally dangerous, so he had to be ready for anything.

Luckily, there was still enough time.

"In terms of protective gear, the Federation does have some good stuff, like the low-level Nano Protective Suit, which can generate a mask for comprehensive, no-blind-spot protection. Even an ordinary person without the strength to truss a chicken, wearing it, would be impervious to the attacks of even a Third Realm Martial Artist..."

"As protective as the gear is, the Federation does restrict weapons... huh?"

Fang Xing noticed the most expensive weapon listed in the store, his eyes suddenly lighting up.

At the top of the product page, there was a display picture of a firearm with a silver-white body that looked very sci-fi and would surely fit well in hand.

['Swift Dragon' Level Laser Gun (Civilian Version), price: 200,000 Star Coins]

"The Swift Dragon is a major arms manufacturer in the Federation; the laser beam fired from its Laser Gun is lethal even to Fourth Realm Courage Martial Artists—no doubts about that. Too bad it's the civilian version..."

Fang Xing felt a bit regretful; the term 'civilian version' meant that the firearm had internal programming locked in place, preventing it from attacking humanoid lifeforms.

"If I transmigrate to a world full of monsters, it could still be very useful, but unfortunately... I can't afford it..."

"It looks like I'll have to start grinding away again over the next three months."

"Could this be... the destiny of the working man?"