Chapter 1: We Shall See, Old Fart (2/2)

Unlike the GN power, which was only determined by one's birth, the strength of the METAL suit could always be purchased with money, lots of money.

The standard METAL suits were only useful for optimizing the GN force output to a pre-existing cap. However, the superior suits could significantly increase those cap, but they were astronomically expensive which made the FFC Corporation one of the three largest arsenal providers in the entire Confederation.

If the METAL suit were considered as the external tool to harness GN power, then the Eighth Mental Field would be the tool within the soldier him/herself; but while rigorous training could strengthen one's EMF, only deep pockets could upgrade a METAL suit.

Within each subgroup of humans, genes were further branched into major Families as were the training methods. Out of these different training methods evolved distinct combat styles, usually recorded in a canon called the “Tactics”. Each family created their own combat tactics that had a decisive advantage in the form of unique coup de graces, and the methods to deploy these coup de graces were the greatest secret of any tactic, usually known only by the closest members of the family.

The title for the most powerful tactics undoubtedly went to the “Tactics of the Valkyrie”. The canon containing the “Tactic of the Valkyrie” was kept in the hall of Valhalla, the human's most sacred place which was said to be located in the Astral Realm. Only those who earned the privilege of entering Valhalla have the honor to study the “Tactic of the Valkyrie”.

Wang Tong had waited until the end of middle school and was then finally able to receive the “Mind Opening Operation” at the age of fifteen. As soon as he could fully grasp his Eighth Mental Field, he could then attend a Military Academy, albeit a cheaper one, it would still mean he would have a bright future ahead of him.

”But… who would’ve thought that Old Fart would trade my only free ticket to the 'Mind Opening Operation’ for moonshine? He said he did it inadvertently...”

Each citizen of the Confederation received only one free operation when he or she reached the age of fifteen. It was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity, but Old Fart exchanged Wang Tong's turn for merely one…no...merely two bottles of moonshine.

That said, he wouldn't have had to go to Norton even if he wanted to self-fund his operation, but he was sent there, Old Fart himself had enlisted Wang Tong. Perhaps it was a secret deal with the dispatcher for some quick cash? And if Wang Tong were to breach the contract, he might have to pay dearly for the kickbacks Old Fart had received. So, he was stuck with a deal that he never made.

Wang Tong looked through the windowpane into a space full of twinkling stars. He started to feel the gloomy outlook of his future weighing heavily on his shoulders. ”What will happen to me on Norton? Nothing good, I bet.” He didn’t blame Old Fart for his misery, although he thought he really should, Old Fart had always provided him the comfort of a home. At least he didn’t have to live in the cold orphanage.

On the other hand, perhaps great opportunities were awaiting him on the planet of Norton. Wang Tong seemed to see a glimpse of hope. ”Maybe I'll be rich in two years, I'll be able to swagger in front of the Old Fart like I meant it, and I'll throw moonshine in his face until he pukes just as a lesson.”

Wang Tong had always been an optimistic person, if not overly so.

”Dear passengers, the shuttle is about to enter quadratic speed, we will arrive at the space station in twenty-five earth-hours. We will start the hyper-jump from the space station and should arrive at our destination in one hundred and twenty earth-hours. Please proceed to enter deep sleep stage to ensure that you are fully rested upon arrival.”

As the sweet voice of the space stewardess spread throughout the ship’s cabin, a burst of curses started to fill up the rest of the cabin space. Although uncomfortable, sleeping through the quadratic speed was the cheapest option for space liners and was also the only option for those in the economy cabin. Comfort was a luxury reserved for the richest in space traveling.

Wang Tong didn’t mind sleeping through the trip; there was nothing to see outside of the window once they had entered the quadratic speed. What Wang Tong really wanted was smelling the land, swallowing big jugs of Cola and triple layered drumstick burgers that sizzled with grease. Before he finally entered into the state of deep sleep, he wished in secret that he could have all of those in his dream.

‎Wang Tong never seemed to have enough sleep. He was aghast when he opened his eyes again, seeing the galaxy in the distance that looked very different from the one that he had left. This was the Centaurus Galaxy. Although Wang Tong was not an avid space navigator, instinct still told him that he had traveled many parsecs into the deep space.

The shuttle slowly descended, and from here, Wang Tong had a panoramic view of the planet as a bright green assaulted his visual sensory. Covered with a blanket of emerald colored vegetation, the scenery on Norton looked much like Earth; no wonder so much hype was stirred up the first time it was discovered by humans from Earth.

In Wang Tong's first impression of Norton, the beautiful, yet strange scenery was invigorating and relaxing at the same time.

The dispatcher had started assigning quarters as soon as the passengers had passed security. There would be no rest for this lot as they were sent here as laborers, not tourists.

The receiving officer ‎looked at Wang Tong in surprise, seeing the dark-haired boy in front of him who looked even younger than he really was, the officer shook his head in sadness. He figured that the kid must have had terribly selfish parents.

”Wang Tong, 15... lad, let me tell you something, read your instructions carefully. Norton isn't a friendly place for a kid like you. I hope to see you again in one piece in two years. Next.”

Norton indeed was not a place for a young boy like Wang Tong. The dispatcher's cheap compassion wouldn't be able to save Wang Tong's ass on this awful planet. Regardless of what the government had boasted about Norton to the people on Earth, down here, settlers lived a miserable life.

The cargo ship dropped the laborers off one by one to their home quarters, like tossing a handful of petals. ‎Wang Tong was assigned to a mining district in Sector D-18, and his daily task was to supervise the one hundred and eighty mining bots. The Confederation had also provided him with a personal assistant - a robotic butler with only very limited AI. His code name was C-1847678，”C” stood for the class which the robot belonged to and also meant that this robot was a lower tier unit among all the units from where it was manufactured. Wang Tong gave him the nickname “Charcoal”, after his charcoal colored face.

Rule number one at work: “Never leave the base”. Firstly the gravity on Norton was five times stronger than the gravity on Earth; second, the streets on Norton were teeming with crime. Unless Wang Tong wore the METAL suit, he had to stay put as the compensation for non-work related incidents was pathetic. Wang Tong decided that he would never trade his life for a few dabs of moonshine.

With Charcoal's help, Wang Tong had a rough understanding of the colony's operation: the humans functioned as overseers, while the whole planet worked on its own like a tireless machine. This was going to make life on the planet incredibly monotonous, and this was where Charcoal came in; a robot like him was designed to provide companionship to humans, thus preventing them from losing their sanity out of complete boredom.

After a long conversation with Charcoal, Wang Tong still felt agitated, he was well rested from the space shuttle, and the rush from his first arrival on a new planet remained. He decided to walk around the base, but to Wang Tong's disappointment, he noticed the lack of entertainment facilities at the base; only a gym and a reading chamber for the workers. This planet was yet to be developed, and many basic civil infrastructures were yet to be built. Naturally, the Confederation was reluctant to spend too much money to meet workers' need for entertainment.

For the entire first week, Wang Tong practiced a combat tactic called the ”Tactics of the Blade” during his free time after work. He still wanted to take the ”Mind Opening Operation”, and he needed to practice to increase his success rate.

The ”blade” in the name of the tactic had nothing to do with the invincible Blade Warriors who had become legendary some four hundred years ago. It was a straightforward and elementary exercise for rookies who had just finished or were about to undergo the “Mind Opening Operation”. Trainees following this tactic would increase the rate of success for the procedure; it also stimulated one's Sea of Consciousness, and for those who had just undergone a successful ”Mind Opening Operation”, it could help to stabilize their EMF. It was a very common, if not mundane, tactic widely practiced by rookies like Wang Tong. The ones who were born in a prominent Family wouldn't even glance at this kind of tactics canon. Even those who had practiced it while they were rookies would switch to something more advanced once they entered a Military Academy.

That being said, one of the very few nice things Old Fart ever did for Wang Tong was to teach him the ”Tactics of the Blade”, but the “Old Fart” version. It had at least helped Wang Tong to complete his very first round of tactics. Old Fart, however, insisted that his version was more than just an ordinary tactic. He boasted, more often than not after a few moonshine, that Wang Tong would become as powerful as a Blade Warrior if he were ever able to master what he had taught him.

What Old Fart had taught him was indeed unique compared to the conventional version of ”Tactics of the Blade”. The fundamental technique of inert training in any type of tactics was to surround one's consciousness with eight of the pivotal GN nodes (or “Qi” in ancient superstitious texts) in a circle. However, Old Fart's version was called the ”Tactics of the Blade: 16 Genome Nuclear Force”, as it required the trainee to mobilize sixteen GN nodes instead of eight.

It was harder for a rookie like Wang Tong, and it never even did anything special.

Trapped on this beautiful but terrible planet, practice and training became Wang Tong's only downtime activities. He never stepped outside as he knew he wouldn't last long out there without a METAL suit, but it was hard for Wang Tong, an energetic virgin boy filled with testosterone, to stay calm and content.

It had been a peaceful week since Wang Tong's arrival, at times he even missed Old Fart. Practicing the tactic allowed him to focus and, more importantly, to hold on to his sanity. Here on Norton, he could even finish the entire set of training, something that he could never do on Earth because of the unique requirement of Old Fart's version; to finish a complete round could take up to five hours. Wang Tong could seldom complete an entire set of training on Earth thanks to the many distractions, but on Norton, since training was the only thing he could do, finishing the full form meant less time spent in excruciating boredom.

In his own way, he had already learned to adapt to his new lonely life.

However, this moment of calm and peace was disrupted on the morning of the seventh day since his arrival. Sirens suddenly went off unleashing ear-piercing shrieks across the sky. Wang Tong glanced at the CCTV screen, Zergs. They had already sprawled over the entire screen.

”Damn it! They didn’t even tell me that there would be Zergs here!”