Chapter 7 (2/2)

“Yes, I’ve been working in the suburbs lately so I didn’t have time to travel into the city district. I came this time because I encountered something and I was hoping I could get your advice on it,” Mu Fan nodded as he explained to Budd.

“What is it, my boy? Come in and take a seat first, I’ll tell you everything I know.” Budd had always liked Mu Fan as he was a smart and hardworking boy.

“Uncle Budd, I want to know what would be the fastest way to earn money?” Mu Fan asked as he stared at the old man with bright clear eyes.

“Earn money? How much? How come you are suddenly asking about this?” Oldman Budd was surprised because he knew Mu Fan’s situation, that what he had been earning was enough for him to survive and he would often spend money to buy books, making his life more difficult; but even in those situations, Mu Fan had never asked about the fastest way to earn money.

“Have you encountered some difficulties? How much money do you need? I still have some savings here.” Budd truly liked this boy and wanted to help him where he could.

“Thanks, Uncle Budd, but it’s sort of different this time. I need an optical computer so I have to earn the money for myself. I can’t use your money and I came this time to only ask you about the fast method to earn money,” Mu Fan said as he respectfully rejected Budd’s offer.

“Emm…” Budd blew out a smoke ring before he continued saying, “My boy, Mu Fan, you worked for me here before and I know that you have a lot of strength. There is a way to earn a lot of money, but I still hope that you can take time to reconsider before going into it.”

“What is it?”

“Be a practice partner at the Budokan,” Budd said as he stared seriously at Mu Fan. “Basically you’re going to be a sandbag! The longer you can withstand it, the more you’ll be paid! But I must warn you that it’s dangerous, and you have to watch out for your safety because someone strong there might not hold back. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”

“Thank you, Uncle Budd.” Mu Fan bowed deeply and his eyes brightened up even more.

“Don’t thank me. If you can’t withstand it then come and find me,” Budd said as he waved his hands.

“Alright. Then I’ll get going,” Mu Fan said as he turned around and walked out swiftly.

“Hey! It’s in the opposite direction, boy! Opposite!”

Mu Fan stumbled and turned his body 180 degrees as he scratched his head and chuckled.

…

In the northwest corner within District 22, there was a five-floored building with a wooden plate in front, and it was carved with the name Starfall Budokan. In the Interstellar Era, humans often needed to drive and control all sorts of machinery, and especially when mechs appeared, the standard for one’s physique increased even more. The Budokan was a perfect training place that combined martial arts and combat tactics, and it bloomed with the advancement of technology.

The parking lot was fully parked with hover vehicles ranging from cheaper civilian cars to high-class expensive vehicles. Four strong men were dressed in black budo suits and stood firmly in front of the main gate.

“Hey man, what are you doing here? Go away,” one of them said aggressively to Mu Fan as he smelled the scent of gasoline on him and knew that he couldn’t be a regular customer here.

“Is this Starfall Budokan? Do you guys need practice partners?” Mu Fan said as he stared fearlessly into their eyes.

“You? Haha, sandbag eh? Ya, we do need those! Follow me.” The man turned around and walked towards the lobby.

Mu Fan followed the man and stepped into this luxurious area for the first time. The moment he walked in, he saw a huge canvas hung on the two walls in an imposing manner! Looking straight forward, there laid a massive training area behind the tempered glass; there were strength testing machines that were the height of two men and rows after rows of training machines. Mu Fan came in the morning, so there weren’t a lot of people yet here.

“This is just a regular training area, you sandbags for Budokan practice are on the second and third floors.” The man dressed in the black budo suit laughed as he said to Mu Fan, who was stunned by what he saw. It was not unusual that those poor civilians would be stunned by the Budokan upon their first entry. Did this fool think that being a sandbag was an easy thing to do? He had heard that a Young Master from Planet Loga’s central district had recently come to this Budokan, and he was so forceful that he had crippled three ‘sandbags’ already.

“Thanks!”

“I’ll take you to one of our executives in a bit, but I’ll warn you first that it’s normal here to be crippled from being ‘sandbags’ and it’s not easy to walk away once you sign,” the man dressed in black said seriously this time as he was surprised by Mu Fan’s manners. The levitating elevator sounded as they arrived on the fourth floor and he said to Mu Fan, “We are here, I’m Man Kun by the way. Good luck.”