“Excellent, set the time ratio to one thousand to one for me, and let’s play two more games.” Sean Carter said excitedly. Faintly, it felt as if the chess intuition he had lost for years was now shooting up again like spring grass on the prairie.

　　“Are you sure you want it at one thousand to one?”

　　“Uh,” Sean Carter was about to confirm, but suddenly a strong sense of foreboding surged in his heart. He hesitated and asked, “Is there a problem?”

　　“If you want to adjust the time ratio, your body and mind must be able to withstand that level of intensity. Otherwise, if the adjustment is too extreme, it will cause permanent damage to your body and mind,” the virtual Sean Carter said sincerely.

　　“What kind of damage?”

　　“Cerebral vascular rupture, mental breakdown, brain paralysis, spinal nerve failure, cardiovascular blockage…”

　　Listening to this string of familiar and unfamiliar terms, even though he was in virtual space, Sean Carter still felt a chill in his heart.

　　Oh God, if he had just casually agreed a moment ago, then his fate now…

　　For the first time, he felt as if he had picked up a little gadget full of danger.

　　“Are you sure you want to set it to one thousand to one?” the virtual Sean Carter asked seriously.

　　“No, of course not, absolutely not, never.”

　　Sean Carter replied without hesitation. If he still chose to confirm under these circumstances, it would be pure suicide.

　　“Um, what’s your name?”

　　“Experiment No. 1.”

　　“All right, Mr. No. 1, can you check for me what time ratio adjustment is most suitable for me right now?”

　　“Yes. After scanning, your body is in excellent condition and can withstand a twofold time adjustment.”

　　“Twofold?” Sean Carter gave a wry smile. Well, that’s better than not being able to adjust at all. “Okay, help me set the time, I want to get some sleep.”

　　“Why do you want to sleep?”

　　“Because I have to work tomorrow. Sufficient sleep is the guarantee of physical strength.”

　　“Don’t worry. As long as you’re wearing the learning device, you’re already in a sleep state, and it’s even a semi-deep sleep. You only need three hours to fully restore all bodily functions. You’ve already been in the device for over three hours, so your body has completely recovered.”

　　“Ah, that’s really good news. Maybe it’s my biggest gain today.”

　　Being able to sleep for three hours and have it equal a normal person’s eight hours of sleep saved Sean Carter a full five hours, so of course he was happy.

　　“Since you’ve chosen the negative time-difference learning method, I suggest you start with the beginner’s radio calisthenics.”

　　“What’s the use of that?”

　　Images of the morning exercises he had to do every day at school floated through Sean Carter’s mind, and he immediately felt a wave of dread.

　　“Beginner’s radio calisthenics can improve human physical fitness and promote the development of brain capacity. As long as you master one lesson, you can increase the negative time-difference to more than threefold.”

　　“Is it really that effective? All right, I’ll learn it.”

　　Anyway, in this virtual space, besides Chinese chess, the only thing to learn was radio calisthenics. If he had to deal with it every day, he’d have to learn it sooner or later.

　　The virtual Sean Carter No. 1 immediately smiled happily, while the real Sean Carter developed a high regard for the intelligence of this learning device.

　　“Human Development Beginner’s Radio Calisthenics, Set One, Section One, official instruction begins: one, two, three, four…”

Chapter Four: The First Practice

　　Reaching behind his head, Sean Carter took off the black eye mask.

　　He didn’t open his eyes immediately, but instead carefully recalled in his mind the content of the first section of the first set of beginner’s radio calisthenics for human development that Experiment No. 1 had taught him.

　　The beginner’s radio calisthenics was divided into two main sets, each with five sections.

　　Judging from No. 1’s tone, it seemed that as long as he completed any section, the time-difference in the virtual space could be doubled.

　　And according to its current assessment, with Sean Carter’s current physical condition, he was already capable of completing the first section of the first set. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to withstand the impact of a twofold time-difference without any ill effects.

　　When he heard the words “human development,” Sean Carter realized that these moves were probably not so simple.

　　Sure enough, after seeing No. 1’s demonstration, his face turned slightly pale. The difficulty of these moves was just too high. What kind of radio calisthenics was this? If such calisthenics were introduced in the twenty-first century, out of a hundred people, ninety-nine wouldn’t be able to complete them.

　　These moves were nothing like radio calisthenics—they were more like a modified version of yoga.

　　However, Sean Carter still obediently learned those moves.

　　No. 1 had a real talent for teaching. When instructing this set of calisthenics, he was absolutely meticulous, not giving any leeway.

　　If Sean Carter made even the slightest mistake, he would be subjected to No. 1’s endless criticism. That barrage of scolding would be enough to make any menopausal woman feel ashamed.