BATTLE FOR STARS

But if he explained it that way, Lina probably wouldn’t understand much of it. So Ding Yufei decided to simplify things.

“Whether it’s a mech or the human body, one of the main sources of power comes from beneath your feet—from the reaction force the ground gives you.”

“Reaction force?” Lina looked puzzled by the term.

“Let me put it this way,” Ding Yufei said. “If I suspend you in midair with a rope, how much force could you produce? Not much, right? That’s why real power comes when your feet are planted on the ground. Generally speaking, the greater the force you can generate, the faster and stronger your running, jumping, and punches become. The same goes for dodging and counterattacking. So you need to stay grounded with both feet firmly connected to the surface. Only then can you generate force properly and react fast enough.”

“So the key is in the legs.” Lina immediately understood a lot more. “No wonder you barely moved. You were maintaining constant contact with the ground.”

“Not just the legs,” Ding Yufei continued. “If you also use body rotation properly, you can speed up your own movements while redirecting the opponent’s force. That makes counterattacks much easier.”

As he spoke, he demonstrated the motions with his body.

“Then you definitely need to teach me properly.” Lina’s interest was fully sparked now. She could already tell this style would be extremely useful for her combat techniques.

“Alright. I’ve got a full set of movements here. I’ll teach you first. Practice them until they become familiar, then slowly learn how to coordinate your feet with the ground.”

Right there in the training center, Ding Yufei began teaching Lina a complete Taiji routine.

Lina truly deserved her reputation as a gifted fighter. Before long, she was already imitating the movements convincingly.

As a mech fighter, her physical conditioning far surpassed ninety-nine percent of the people on this planet. More importantly, her control and awareness of her own body were exceptionally refined. So even though this was her first time hearing many of the theories behind Taiji, she grasped them surprisingly quickly.

After that, the two began discussing high-frequency blades and Taiji Saber techniques in detail. The entire afternoon gradually turned into a passionate exchange about how Taiji could be applied to mech combat.

Two people who genuinely loved fighting techniques sat there enthusiastically studying together, occasionally getting up to demonstrate movements with punches and footwork.

Lina was thrilled to have learned a completely new combat art.

Ding Yufei was equally happy to finally have someone with whom he could share his experience.

Meanwhile, Belina and Little Chubby had taken the opportunity to learn a couple more small scam tricks from each other. They weren’t as impressive as the earlier ones, but they were still useful for lightening the mood from time to time.

“I think that’s enough for today. Let’s go eat something,” Belina said after checking the time. It was already getting late.

“Sounds good. I’m getting hungry too,” Ding Yufei replied.

“Lina, call your male intimate partner along. We’ll all go together,” Belina said.

“Sure, no problem.”

“Little Chubby, you’re coming too.” Ding Yufei looked toward him. “By the way, what’s your real name? We’ve been hanging out this long and I still don’t know it.”

“My name’s Morris… but I think I’ll skip dinner,” Little Chubby replied awkwardly.

“Why?” Ding Yufei asked curiously.

Even Lina, who was technically a slave, had no issue eating together with them. Little Chubby was just an ordinary civilian. Why would a meal matter so much?

“I already made so much money from you guys today… going to dinner too just feels… wrong.” He spoke hesitantly.

“Hahaha…”

Ding Yufei burst out laughing. So that was the reason.

“It’s fine. That little bit of money doesn’t matter.”

Back when he and Belina studied at university on Earth, Ding Yufei had already developed the habit of freeloading off wealthy friends. Every meal usually followed the same pattern—Ding Yufei invited everyone, and Belina paid the bill.

Things were basically the same now on Boman.

“No one’s leaving,” Ding Yufei declared generously. “My treat. The more people, the livelier it is.”

Little Chubby glanced nervously at Belina. Seeing her smiling without objection, he finally relaxed.

Truthfully, he really did want a decent meal.

For a long time now, he had been surviving on system-delivered nutrient food that tasted like watered-down porridge. He was thoroughly sick of it.

But his wallet had always been empty. He never dared splurge on real food.

“Then… thank you,” he said shyly.

“So what are we eating today?” Ding Yufei asked Belina.

Over the past few days, the two of them had been trying all kinds of alien cuisine. Honestly, extraterrestrial food wasn’t fundamentally that different from Earth food. In some ways, Earth cuisine actually had more complex flavors.

But the quality of ingredients here was unquestionably superior.

The meat alone was far fresher and richer than anything from Earth’s farm-raised livestock. The difference was enormous.

“There’s a lakeside restaurant nearby,” Belina said while checking the map on her wrist device. “It’s a Gold-class restaurant.”

“Then it’s definitely good. Let’s try it.”

Restaurants here were generally ranked by color classification. By Earth standards, Gold-class restaurants were basically equivalent to five-star establishments. This one counted as a top-tier restaurant even here, so the food quality definitely wouldn’t be an issue.

“Lakeside Restaurant?”

Lina knew the place. It was famous, and not far from here either. But she had never eaten there herself.

From what she knew, a single meal there would probably cost her one or two months of income. Even her master only visited occasionally during holidays.

Deep down, Lina genuinely wanted to experience it once.

But the prices were terrifyingly expensive, and there were several people in their group. So she cautiously suggested in a quieter voice:

“That place might be a little expensive… maybe we should find somewhere cheaper?”

Little Chubby was even more shocked.

He had never once imagined himself eating at a Gold-class restaurant. In his mind, places like that charged astronomical prices. One meal there could wipe out years of savings.

Even the several thousand Latir he had earned from Belina today probably wouldn’t cover more than a single visit.

But at the same time, if he really got the chance to go, he would be unbelievably happy.

So he looked at Ding Yufei and Belina with a conflicted expression full of hope and worry.

“It’s just a Gold-class restaurant,” Ding Yufei said casually. “Not expensive. We’ve already been to other Gold-class places before. Don’t worry about it. Besides, someone’s paying anyway.”

As he said that, he glanced at Belina and laughed.

He had never felt embarrassed about letting her pay for meals.

“It’s fine. Let’s all go together,” Belina said cheerfully.

Truthfully, she also wanted to eat there.

Before long, she would have to return to her own kingdom. Compared to Boman, the food there simply couldn’t compare in either taste or variety.

After all, this was an entertainment planet. People here paid far more attention to food and spent much more effort perfecting it.