*Swish!*
Ji Feng jolted awake, the mechanical, synthesized voice yanking him from the edge of sleep. His eyes snapped open, but the sight before him left him speechless.
"Where… am I?" he murmured, stunned. He stood in an endless expanse of white, surrounded by swirling mist. The sky above was a chaotic blur, devoid of form or substance.
"Am I dreaming?" Ji Feng wondered aloud.
To his shock, the cold, electronic voice responded, "You are not dreaming, Master!"
"Who's there?!" Ji Feng spun around, heart pounding, but saw nothing. A flicker of fear crept in. "Who's talking? Show yourself if you've got the guts!"
"Yes, Master!" the voice replied.
Suddenly, the white mist before him shifted, swirling rapidly toward a central point. It coalesced into a fist-sized orb of soft, radiant light. The glow was gentle, almost soothing, but Ji Feng's pulse raced. On the orb's surface appeared a childlike face, its small mouth moving as the electronic voice spoke again: "Master, it's a pleasure to meet you!"
*Master?*
Ji Feng's eyes widened, his mind reeling with shock and confusion. After a moment, he stammered, "Are… are you talking to *me*?"
"Yes, Master!" The orb bobbed, as if nodding.
Relief washed over him—at least they could communicate. Forcing himself to stay calm, Ji Feng asked, "Why are you calling me Master?"
"Yes, Master!" the orb replied again.
Ji Feng's head spun. This was too bizarre. He shook his head, trying to clear the fog of confusion. "Have we met before? Why do you keep calling me that?"
"No, Master!" the orb said, shaking slightly. "We have not met before."
Ji Feng felt like he was losing his mind. Trapped in an empty void with a talking ball of light that looked like a child? Fear and bewilderment churned within him. "Who *are* you?" he asked, voice tinged with desperation.
"I am Intelligent Brain No. 1, from the Gamma Empire, a thirteenth-level civilization in the Gamma Galaxy," the orb answered promptly.
"Gamma Galaxy?" Ji Feng let out a dry laugh. "You're saying you're from some galaxy I've never heard of? Ha…"
He was convinced this was a dream. The Gamma Galaxy? Thirteenth-level civilizations? The Gamma Empire? These sounded like something straight out of a sci-fi novel or movie.
"I must've hit my head hard," Ji Feng muttered, worry creeping in. "First the photographic memory, now this crazy dream. How am I supposed to afford a doctor?"
"Yes, Master," the orb—Intelligent Brain No. 1—continued, as if sensing his skepticism. "I am indeed from the Gamma Galaxy, approximately one billion light-years from the planet you call Earth."
"Fine, Gamma Galaxy it is," Ji Feng said, exasperated. If he couldn't wake up from this bizarre dream, he might as well play along. "What do you want with me?"
"Intelligent Brain No. 1 has fully integrated with you, Master. When would you like to begin training?" the orb asked.
"Training?" Ji Feng blinked, confused. "What kind of training?"
"Agent training," the orb replied instantly.
"Oh, come on!" Ji Feng groaned, crouching and clutching his head, tugging at his hair in frustration. "What is going on here?"
"Master, are you addressing me?" the orb asked.
Ji Feng sighed, defeated. "Sure, I guess. If you've got answers, I'm listening."
"Of course, Master!" the orb said eagerly. "By Earth's timeline, the story begins three hundred years ago…"
Ji Feng's initial exasperation faded as the orb's narrative unfolded, drawing him in. By the end, he was utterly shocked.
The orb, Intelligent Brain No. 1, was an artificial intelligence from the Gamma Empire, a thirteenth-level civilization in the Gamma Galaxy. It was designed as a super-agent training system. The Gamma Galaxy housed numerous advanced civilizations, each wielding technology far beyond Earth's, having long entered the interstellar age. But technological progress couldn't quell human greed. Every nation sought to dominate the others, sparking an interstellar war.
The Gamma Empire, the galaxy's most powerful nation, prioritized war intelligence, investing heavily in training elite agents and spies. Intelligent Brain No. 1 was created to mold super-agents for this purpose.
The war raged for three hundred years, culminating in catastrophe. The galaxy's largest star was obliterated by overwhelming war energy, triggering a chain reaction that destroyed every star in the Gamma Galaxy. In mere days, the entire galaxy collapsed like a house of cards.
Amid this cosmic disaster, Intelligent Brain No. 1 was carried away by a gamma-ray flare. After a three-hundred-year journey through the universe, it reached Earth—and fused with Ji Feng's mind.
Ji Feng stared blankly at the orb. "So, you're saying… you're inside me? In my head?"
"Yes, Master," Intelligent Brain No. 1 confirmed. "To be precise, I am integrated with your mind."
"You're sure I'm not dreaming?" Ji Feng asked, still clinging to doubt, though he was starting to believe. He recalled the news broadcast from three days ago, mentioning a gamma-ray flare from the Crab Nebula. And since leaving the hospital, he'd felt stronger, more powerful, with a photographic memory to boot. These changes aligned with the orb's story.
"Yes, Master, you are not dreaming," Intelligent Brain No. 1 assured him.
Ji Feng let out a nervous chuckle, embarrassed by his earlier fear. "Alright, then. You mentioned training?"
"Master, would you like to begin immediately?" the orb asked.
Ji Feng hesitated, then frowned. "Hold on. Me? Train to be an agent?" Growing up malnourished, he'd always been frail. The idea of becoming a nimble, legendary agent seemed like a fantasy. "Can I even do that?"
"Master, you are capable of training," Intelligent Brain No. 1 replied. "While your current physical condition falls below the minimum standard, you can begin with basic aerobics to build strength. Once you meet the requirements, formal agent training can commence. Additionally, you can start learning other skills that do not require physical fitness."
"Other skills?" Ji Feng's curiosity piqued. "Like what?"
"An exceptional agent must master multiple disciplines," the orb explained, its tone turning stern, like a drill instructor. "Fluency in various languages, disguise techniques, etiquette, weapon proficiency, and numerous other skills. Many of these rely on knowledge, not physical ability."
Ji Feng's eyes lit up. He could already see the potential. "And the minimum standard for physical training?"
"Based on human physiology, there are thirteen levels of physical fitness," Intelligent Brain No. 1 said. "Level three is the minimum for formal agent training."
"What level am I at now?" Ji Feng asked, hopeful.
"Master, with three rounds of body strengthening, you could reach level one," the orb replied.
Ji Feng froze, his enthusiasm deflating. "Level *one*? After *three* rounds of strengthening?"
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