Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Holman said he would take Baisha out to experience the world.

Baisha asked Yaning and Jingyi, "Have you ever left the orphanage before?"

Yaning and Jingyi were both momentarily stunned. Yaning, usually cheerful, hesitated, not knowing how to respond, while Jingyi's expression visibly darkened.

"We know what the outside world is like," Jingyi shrugged. "Yaning arrived here a year ago, and I came two years before him. We were orphans, abandoned or having lost all relatives, each from different backgrounds. But we agree on one thing: this place is rotten to the core."

"Don't have any high hopes for Lanslow Star—you'll be disappointed."

Baisha thought to herself that she had already browsed the Starweb and knew how desolate Lanslow Star was. However, coming from another world, she was a true 'country bumpkin.' Even a barren place like Lanslow Star could bring her daily surprises.

So when Holman came to fetch her, Baisha was very excited.

That is, until Holman led her to a battered spacecraft—its metal shell was dented and peeling, revealing graffiti that resembled a skull.

"This spacecraft is second-hand. The previous owner was a daredevil who had an accident with it. It was nearly scrapped, but I got it for a bargain," Holman said, glancing at the skull. "I had it repaired and tried to refurbish it. But the paint used wasn’t great, you can see it's already fading..."

Baisha: "…"

Holman pressed something, and the cockpit door of the spacecraft popped open. He gestured for Baisha to go in first.

Baisha eyed the second-hand spacecraft, which looked like it might fall apart: "Can it actually fly?"

Holman flashed a white-toothed grin: "Of course, it can. I was just driving this when I found you in the abandoned minefield."

With no option to refuse, Baisha climbed into the co-pilot's seat with a resigned expression, numbly pulling the seatbelt around herself.

Holman then took his seat, buckled up, and commanded, "Start." The screen in front of them lit up instantly, displaying various data about the spacecraft on the windshield. Buttons on the dashboard glowed with a faint blue light and started playing music automatically.

It was an electronic dance track, with a fast, noisy rhythm and a soft female voice. Her breathy vocals were hauntingly light, the seductive melody touching nerves like a dragonfly skimming water, transporting one to a dimly lit dance hall, where people swayed like seaweed under neon lights.

Baisha enjoyed the song, considering it a taste of exotic culture. However, the lyrics soon became inappropriate, shifting from parties to one-night stands, eventually turning into an "adult interactive story," with words too explicit for younger audiences.

Holman switched off the music at the right moment, saying, "That's the system's startup sound left by the previous owner, unchangeable. Pretend you didn't hear anything." He thought to himself that such a youngster wouldn't understand anyway and hoped she wouldn't repeat it in front of Madam Qiong.

"Actually, it was quite nice," Baisha commented honestly, even seeming a bit disappointed. "You could have let it play to the end."

Holman curled his lips, glared at Bai Sha, and said seriously, "You wish."

With a gesture from Holman, the aircraft shakily took off.

Free from gravity's hold, Bai Sha finally got a good view of the planet from above. The orphanage was surrounded by barren hills. A few minutes later, Bai Sha saw more buildings, also constructed of concrete, much like her own era. These buildings were tightly packed, varied in height, and all interconnected by electrical grids.

"This is the 11th District where our orphanage is located, one of the poorest districts on Lanslo Star," Holman told Bai Sha. "Lanslo Star's administrative division is straightforward: the first ten districts are for the rich, and those after the tenth are for the poor. My aircraft doesn’t have a permit to fly in the first ten districts, but I can take you to the 19th District where I often go... It’s situated higher up, and you can see what the top-ranked wealthy districts look like from there."

Holman spent ten minutes flying the aircraft to a dim high tower. Bai Sha, using the magnification feature of the aircraft, glimpsed the so-called "wealthy districts." The architectural planning of the wealthy districts was more orderly and featured beautiful light-colored buildings forming massive palace complexes. Nearly every home had a garden and a transparent swimming pool, and many silver shuttles flew above. These shuttles, when activated, didn’t disturb the air around them, moving so fast they left only a streak of afterimage, far superior to Bai Sha's rundown aircraft.

Let's take another look at these poor neighborhoods.

The streets are shrouded in a grey, primitive, and chaotic aura. Seldom are people dressed in bright and flashy clothes. They are mere workers, waiters, or vagrants, seemingly coated in a thick layer of dust, stifling any semblance of joy or vivacity. Among them, Bai Sha even noticed several individuals with obvious disabilities or deformities lurking in the shadows of the streets, their faces etched with signs of impending mental breakdown.

As the flyer moved from District 11 to District 19, Bai Sha witnessed at least four violent incidents along the way. The last one appeared to be a gang brawl, quelled by soldiers in white armor wielding laser weapons, who descended from the sky and loaded everyone onto a military transport.

"These are the patrol troops," Holman explained. "Their leader is called the Sheriff. Every district has its own Sheriff."

Apart from Holman, the sky was dotted with various other flyers, all blending in seamlessly. These flyers remained outside the police cordon, waiting for the arrest operation to conclude before resuming their journey.

Finally, Holman brought Bai Sha to a stop in front of a repair shop. Approaching the rusted rolling door of the shop, he knocked gently and called out, "Hey, Lao Liao, you there—"

A lean man with a tool belt and bare torso emerged from the back. His back was adorned with a black tattoo resembling petals or gears, his hair white, his features stern with a hint of ruthlessness, and a mechanical device whirring on his left eye. Simultaneously, a round robot rolled out from beneath his feet, its green light blinking.

Lao Liao glanced at Holman and said, "You've got the nerve to show up? You still owe me 3,800 star coins for the last mining robot modification, not to mention the time before that—"

Holman chuckled, grabbed Lao Liao's shoulder, and said vaguely, "Ah, we've been friends for so many years, talking about money hurts feelings." He then pointed to Bai Sha and continued, "This time, I'm bringing you an apprentice. This kid—she's top-notch at the orphanage, never forgets anything she's taught, always scores full marks on tests. I'm telling you, even the kids who study in the affluent districts can't compare to her..."

Holman praised Bai Sha to the skies, initially making Lao Liao think he was so shameless as to trade a child to offset his debts, but then realized Holman was serious.

Lao Liao frowned, his mechanical eye whirring as he finally gave Bai Sha a serious look.

"Where did you steal this kid from?" was Lao Liao's first reaction, not believing such a child could come from an orphanage.

"Steal? She's an orphan, genuine and unclaimed," Holman patted Lao Liao's shoulder, "As for her talent, you'll see once you test her."

Bai Sha, watching Holman’s exaggerated salesmanship, doubted whether she had really demonstrated any exceptional skills in his presence. Holman himself wasn't sure of her talents in this area.

And yet he dares to guarantee it? Isn't he afraid of being kicked out after a 'trial'?

Despite internally criticizing Holman's unreliability, Bai Sha couldn't show her weakness. Otherwise, she wouldn't even have a chance to try. She guessed that Lao Liao was quite arrogant; he might not like overconfident people, but he wouldn't favor those who were timid either.

So she decided to take the initiative for this final push.

"Please, just give me a chance to try," Bai Sha said. "Just one opportunity. If I don't meet your expectations, I won't bother you again."

Bai Sha knew her current appearance gave her an advantage.

Who could resist a well-behaved, intelligent, pitiful, and appropriately reserved little girl?

A brief silence fell in the repair shop, so prolonged that even Lao Liao's little robot at his feet looked up at its master in confusion.

"Alright, I'll give you a chance," Lao Liao said somewhat gruffly. "See that pile of junk in front of you?" He pointed to a broken machine in the corner of the shop. "I want you to disassemble it and draw a diagram of its parts with at least 70% accuracy. If you can do that, you'll have passed my test."

Bai Sha nodded, even excitedly rolling up her sleeves, "Is there a time limit?"

"No time limit. Take as long as you need," Lao Liao said, turning to instruct the little robot, "Guagua, go get her a toolbox."

After setting Bai Sha up, Lao Liao then gave Holman a stern look: "What are you still doing here? Go pick up your trash. And let me tell you, if you owe me money again, I'm deducting it from your payment." With that, Lao Liao turned and walked away.

The partnership between Lao Liao and Holman was akin to that of a "recycling station manager" and a "garbage collector." Holman flew his craft around designated junkyards, scavenging parts with any recycling value to bring back for Lao Liao to repurpose. Lao Liao would also share a part of the profit with Holman.

Watching Bai Sha and Lao Liao's backs, Holman touched his nose, thinking that success depends on human effort but is ultimately determined by fate. He had done his best; the rest was up to Bai Sha. So, Holman returned to his flyer and headed to other districts for his familiar garbage picking journey. By the time he finished, the sky was dotted with stars. On his way back, he stopped at a vending machine and bought a synthetic meat and tomato sandwich - Bai Sha hadn't eaten all day and must be hungry. He doubted Lao Liao would be thoughtful enough to prepare food for the girl. When he returned to the repair shop, the sky had deepened into a dark purple hue.

Inside the repair shop, under the yellow glow of the lights, Lao Liao sat at his workbench, looking down at something with an unprecedented seriousness.

As Lao Liao looked up and saw Holman's smiling face under the light, he couldn't help but ask, "Where did you find this little monster?"

Holman: "…?"

Lao Liao: "Mapping accuracy of 100%. Sure, any skilled mechanic should master this skill, but how old is she? And she did it with hand-drawn blueprints—no cyber-brain scanner modeling. This inefficient craft has been obsolete for centuries. But it proves her solid fundamentals."

After a moment of thought, Holman said, "Is it possible she never used a cyber-brain before and didn’t know about scanning and modeling?"

Lao Liao: "…"

Then, Lao Liao looked down and did something on his wrist terminal. Holman's terminal beeped, indicating he had received a transfer from Lao Liao.

"Go buy her a cyber-brain," Lao Liao said. "I'll teach her from now on. She'll become one of the rare high-level mechanics on Blanslo Star."