“Dear passengers, we are about to enter double-speed warp flight. The spaceship will arrive at the space station in twenty-five Earth hours for a space jump, and then reach the destination in one hundred and twenty Earth hours. During this period, please enter deep sleep to ensure your physical condition.”

The voice in the cabin was still as sweet as ever, but the surrounding passengers couldn’t help but curse. There was nothing they could do—sleep was the most economical option, and their spaceship wasn’t first class. It was uncomfortable during warp flight, and the government was always stingy with the poor.

Brian Carter didn’t care. Once warp flight began, there was no scenery to see anyway. Besides, in space, there was nothing but stars. What Brian Carter longed for was the ground, a giant can of cola, and a triple-layer chicken burger. God bless—hopefully he could eat all of that in his dreams.

Sleep always felt short, especially since Brian Carter didn’t dream of anything at all. When he opened his eyes again, they had already arrived in a completely unfamiliar star system. This was the Sagittarius system. Even though Brian Carter was terrible at stargazing geography, he knew this place was unimaginably far from Earth.

The spaceship slowly landed at the main base on Norton Star. Through the window, the scenery of Norton Star was laid out in full view. No wonder the Norton fleet that first discovered this place had been so excited—the terrain here was indeed seventy or eighty percent similar to Earth’s. The key was the plants—green ones. For spacefaring explorers, this was undoubtedly the greatest possible visual stimulation.

The first impression was great. Since they were here, they might as well settle in. At least from the scenery, it was refreshing and pleasant, and curiosity made everyone excited.

After passing security, everyone started their assignments without even a break. Well, they were here to work and make money, not to travel.

When it was Brian Carter’s turn, the assignment officer paused, shook his head. Clearly, no one this young had ever come to work here before. Since Brian Carter was a typical black-haired, black-eyed East Asian, he looked even younger. Probably had heartless parents.

“Brian Carter, fifteen years old, kid, Norton Star isn’t paradise. Go back and read the instructions carefully. I hope I’ll see you again in two years. Next.”

That was the assignment officer’s cheap sympathy. This place really wasn’t suitable for young people. The government’s propaganda was always beautiful, but in reality? They’d soon find out how painful it was to be a pioneer.

The transport ships scattered the people to various bases like flower petals. Brian Carter was assigned to the D-18 mining area. His daily job was to sit in the monitoring base and watch a group of one hundred and eighty work robots mine. Of course, the Federation very humanely assigned him an assistant—an intelligent robot butler, serial number C-1847678. The C indicated its level, which meant it was very low. Simply put, it was there to provide basic help to workers. Since this guy was pretty dark, Brian Carter gave it the nickname “Black Charcoal.”

Rule number one: don’t leave the base, because Norton Star’s gravity was five times that of Earth. Also, the safety level wasn’t very high. Unless you were a skilled armed warrior, it was best to keep a low profile.

If something happened at work here, you’d only get a small compensation payment. This was clearly stated in the contract. Brian Carter had no intention of risking his life just to get the old man a few bottles of liquor.

With Black Charcoal’s help, Brian Carter got a general understanding of the base. The human’s role was supervision; the base’s overall operation was fully automated. Black Charcoal’s job was to keep workers like him from going crazy with boredom.

Brian Carter had already slept enough on the spaceship, so now he was full of energy—especially since young people are always restless. But he was dismayed to find that there were almost no entertainment facilities here, only a fitness center and a reading library. The planet was still under development, and many facilities hadn’t caught up. After all, everything cost a fortune, and the government clearly wasn’t going to invest in entertainment.

For a whole week, Brian Carter diligently completed every task, and spent all his free time practicing his Blade Technique. The early bird catches the worm—this was also preparation for awakening his abilities in the future.

This Blade Technique wasn’t the same as the legendary Blade Warrior’s from four hundred years ago, who created an invincible myth. Instead, it was a basic technique for preparing for awakening, or for use in the early stages after awakening. Practicing it before awakening could increase the chances of success and stimulate the state of the mental sea. Continuing to practice after a successful awakening also helped stabilize the eighth brain region. In short, it was a common technique. If you were from a prestigious family, you’d never practice this kind of generic stuff. Even ordinary people would switch to the school’s techniques after entering the academy.

The old man hadn’t done many good things, but this was one—he taught Brian Carter the Blade Technique, helping him form his first mental cycle. The old man always bragged that this was his unique secret, completely different from the ordinary stuff. If Brian Carter could master it, he could achieve the myth of the Blade Warrior. Of course, if the old man wasn’t drunk, he’d probably be more convincing.