I Can Program My Body?-Chapter 594: Seeds of the Future (2)
On another planet outside the influence of the Star Alliance Territory, in an arcade room.
Bang~ Bang~
Crash~
[Game Over]
"Tsk, what a letdown. Is this the limit of this ship? Why isn’t there any modification panel on this thing?" Hoover, a 10-year-old kid, muttered in dissatisfaction.
Filled with dreams of piloting the fastest and most powerful battleship in existence, yet lacking the ability to do so, he could only fulfill his fantasies inside these old arcade games.
Unfortunately, the games available to him were too old-fashioned and rigid.
Beyond choosing from a few premade ship templates, he couldn’t customize anything.
"Once I grow up, I’ll create a better game than this trash!"
Although he had no idea how, it had to be easier than joining the battleship pilot corps.
Dropping another coin, Hoover started a new round.
However, before he could even reach the first boss, a hand grabbed his shoulder.
"There you are! We finally found you!"
Before fear could take hold of his heart, Hoover recognized it was his parents’ voices, making him bolt away.
Unfortunately, his father’s grip was like iron.
Unable to break free, he could only brace himself for the scolding to come.
"Alright, don’t frighten him!" Hoover’s mother gently patted his father’s hand.
"Is something the matter?" Hoover asks softly.
Seeing that they weren’t about to berate him, he slowly relaxed.
"There’s a talent assessment being held nearby. We thought you could give it a try," his mother said.
"Huh? Didn’t I already get tested before? They said I have no talent."
If he’d had enough talent to be awakened, he could have pursued his dream of becoming a battleship pilot.
Unfortunately, he was the trash among trash.
Without any resources, he might not even reach the Void Commander Realm.
"This one is different. It tests for talent across many different professions."
"No, I don’t want to be some factory worker! I want to fly into the stars. I’ll decide my own future!" Hoover snapped defiantly.
Young as he was, he was proud, stubborn, and had his own convictions.
"What do you know! This isn’t one of those shady corporate assessments. This is a planetary-wide test, organized by the Xenus Alliance themselves!" his father shot back, irritated.
"Are you serious?" Hoover’s eyes lit up.
Even as a child, he understood who truly ruled this world, not the governor, not the planetary president, but the Xenus Alliance.
Remembering the videos he’d watched of battleships tearing through dark beast swarms made his whole body tremble with excitement.
"Mom, Dad... do you think I have a talent?"
Unable to make any promises, they exchanged a quiet glance and offered him the only thing they could.
"As long as you have a dream, you can achieve anything."
---
At the testing site, after finishing the exam, Hoover anxiously waited for the results.
Then, to his bewilderment, a procession of officials and administrators swept toward him with wide smiles and congratulations.
"What’s going on? What were my results?" Hoover demanded impatiently.
He didn’t care what rank or title these people held. Until he heard his result, he couldn’t calm down.
"Congratulations, young man. You have been found to possess SSS-level Battleship Manufacturing talent!"
"SSS-level Battleship Manufacturing talent... does that mean I can design and build any battleship I can imagine?"
"Precisely. As long as you can conceive it, you can bring it to life!"
---
On another planet entirely, a 12-year-old boy was digging through weeds as if he were collecting precious herbs.
Returning to his small shack, he crushed the herbs into a paste, mixed in other ingredients, added water, then strained the mixture clean, extracting every drop of liquid.
Pouring the yield into crude bottles he’d scrubbed earlier, a quiet smile crept onto Charles’s lips.
"Done. This should keep me fed for a few months."
Unlike the advanced planets and civilizations, the planet Charles lived on was poor and backward.
Without parents or any relatives, starvation was a constant shadow.
Fortunately, through his sharp instinct for identifying and manipulating the properties of herbs, he had taught himself to brew rudimentary potions.
Bitter as they were, these makeshift concoctions could substitute for food, which he sold for money to keep living.
"My supplies are running low..."
After celebrating, he noticed that almost everything in his collection was nearly gone. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
Besides the common grass he could find anywhere, the core herbs could only be taken from nearby farms.
As for buying them? It was impossible.
Those herbs were a monopolized resource. Not just anyone could purchase them.
Even the farm managers who pitied him couldn’t sell without getting themselves into trouble.
Left with no other option, Charles stole what he needed, knowing each tenant was quietly giving him leeway.
After all, the potions he sold were cheap and filled the stomach.
Bitter as they were, they had no side effects, unlike others on the market.
"Once I’m rich, I’ll buy this planet and thank everyone properly..." Charles vowed to himself.
If he had one dream, it was to become so wealthy that nothing in the universe was out of his reach.
Suddenly, while he was daydreaming, he heard a noise outside.
Looking out the window, he saw a crowd rushing toward his shack.
"Are they here to arrest me?"
Although he’d always guessed the farmers and tenants were giving him a pass, it was just a guess.
Panicking, he grabbed his most important tools and prepared to run.
Unfortunately, his small body was no match for adults.
"Charles, don’t run!"
Hearing those words, Charles didn’t stop but ran even faster.
"Charles, we’re not here to hurt you!"
Not hurt him? Then why were they chasing him with shovels and sickles?
Gritting his teeth, he pushed through the burning in his legs and kept going.
But as he pressed on, just as he felt he was about to collapse, a newly built building appeared ahead of him.
"What is this place?" Looking at the unfamiliar structure and noticing the crowd had stopped chasing him, Charles’s mind began to work fast.
"Was this a prank?!" He realized, catching his breath.
"Hahaha! We told you not to run! Are you surprised?"
"Enough. What is this place? A recruitment drive?"
"You’ll see once you go inside..."
