“No, thanks. I don’t have much of an appetite. I’m going back to rest.”

Su Ming replied, fighting the craving in his heart. He turned away from the table and walked toward the stairs.

Soon, Su Ming was back in his room. He threw himself onto the bed, staring at the ceiling as his thoughts raced.

He still hadn't figured out why he had come to this world. And his memories of his past life were becoming a bit hazy.

After digesting Su Ming’s memories, he even felt a strange illusion, as if he hadn't transmigrated at all, as if he was Su Ming. The past was vivid and clear, and he couldn't distinguish between reality and illusion.

After a long while...

Su Ming sighed in resignation. “Oh well, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

He could only accept this new reality.

Then, he sat up and re-examined his body, muttering to himself.

“What now? This body is too fat. At 175 cm, I weigh a full 185 pounds. The body fat percentage must be around 30%. To get a perfect physique, I need to lose weight down to 135 pounds, which means I have to lose 50 pounds. To do that in the shortest time without harming my body, it would take at least 120 days, which means every day I need to...”

Su Ming flopped back onto the bed, his thoughts drifting as he fell asleep.

...

The next morning.

In the luxurious living room, Zhao Ning was instructing Chen Hui.

“Keep an eye on the kitchen. When the ingredients are delivered...”

“Yes, Madam.”

Chen Hui replied respectfully.

At that moment, Su Ming, dressed in loose sportswear, walked by and greeted Zhao Ning.

“Mother!”

“Son? You’re up? Where are you off to?”

Zhao Ning was stunned. In her memory, Su Ming had never woken up this early.

“Running!”

Su Ming replied simply and jogged out of the house.

He ran out the door, through the small garden, and onto the concrete road.

Su Ming glanced back at his home. It was a detached villa, quite impressive even in this wealthy neighborhood.

With a slight smile, Su Ming turned and started jogging forward.

He was currently in the Old Federation, in the old Milky Way, on the Third Planet, in the Thirteenth District.

The Third Planet was the main star of the Old Federation, with three massive cities and sixteen districts.

The three cities were colossal metropolises built on the surface. The sixteen districts were administrative regions located underground.

Because the Third Planet was a Class 5 habitable star (for reference, habitable stars are rated from 1-7, with Earth being a Class 6), the climate was extremely harsh. Surface temperatures could reach 60°C and sometimes even higher. In the cold, it could drop to -23°C, sometimes as low as -70°C. The surface was no longer suitable for long-term survival, so most administrative districts were built underground.

As Su Ming ran out of the gate of the wealthy district, a few gossiping ladies saw him and began to whisper.

“Isn’t that the Su family’s little fatty?”

“It’s him. I heard he tried to hang himself not long ago. The whole thing caused quite a stir.”

“Heh, how embarrassing. Zhao Ning is such a sharp woman, how could she raise such a foolish son.”

“Who knows.”

...

Su Ming ignored the strange looks and whispers from all around, maintaining a steady pace as he ran.

He ran past towering steel buildings, through bustling squares, his mind contemplating this world.

Although the civilization here was somewhat distorted, it was relatively advanced. Besides the main star, the Old Federation had numerous directly governed stars and mining planets.

Of course, besides the Old Federation, there were two other major civilizations: the Empire of Darkstar, Belonka, in the First New Galaxy, and the Theocracy of Apocalypse, St. Lox, in the Second New Galaxy.

These two civilizations were both more powerful than the Old Federation, so the Federation's situation was not very good.

But they were not the biggest threat. The real threats were the two alien races that existed in the universe: one was the Mechanoids, composed of silicon-based life, and the other was the Qilami, composed of immortal life.

According to his memories and the information he had looked up, the Old Federation had been fighting against these two races for centuries, and their survival was extremely difficult. It wouldn't be surprising if they were wiped out one day.

However, the Old Federation was not the only one facing a crisis. The Darkstar Empire and the Theocracy of Apocalypse were in the same boat. Therefore, although the three sides were not on good terms, they had reached a temporary peace under the pressure of external enemies.

Su Ming ran up to a towering overpass and leaned against the railing, panting heavily.

When he looked up into the distance, he saw towering buildings standing tall, with various structures of different heights scattered around. Wide roads snaked through the city like ribbons, and in the air, corridors connected different areas, with anti-gravity vehicles zipping around like shooting stars.

A bright smile appeared on Su Ming’s face, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

He looked up at the sky, where the sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly.

Of course, Su Ming knew very well that the entire Thirteenth District was a huge underground city. The sky he saw was a fake projection, and the dazzling sun was not real but an artificial one.

The Thirteenth District was divided into an upper and a lower district.

He was in the upper district, where the residents were relatively wealthy, so everything seemed beautiful.

But that was not the case. The lower district was the true reflection of reality.

The Old Federation had a total population of 32 billion, with 5.2 billion permanent residents on the main star, the Third Planet. The Thirteenth District had a population of 210 million, with only 10 million in the upper district. The rest were all in the lower district and scattered outlying areas.

The lower district was densely populated, with old facilities and extremely scarce resources. Everyone was struggling to survive.

It was worth noting that the Old Federation's main structure consisted of the Council, the three city lords, and the sixteen district administrators.

Although the Council decided on major matters for the entire Old Federation, it did not directly govern the three cities and sixteen districts. The various regions were mostly self-governing and had a great deal of independence.

Therefore, whether a district was good or bad depended more on the governance of its respective administrator.

...

An hour later.

Su Ming, drenched in sweat, returned home.

Zhao Ning saw him return and went to greet him with concern.

“Son, are you tired?”

“I’m okay,” Su Ming replied, panting. He felt like he was about to collapse. This body was really weak. He had originally planned to run for two hours, but after an hour of on-and-off running, he couldn't go on.

But there was nothing he could do. He could only take it slow and gradually increase the amount of exercise.

“You must be hungry after exercising for so long. Breakfast is ready, and I have the vegetables you wanted.”

Zhao Ning pulled Su Ming toward the dining table.

Soon, Su Ming was sitting at the table. In front of him was a plate of green vegetables, a small portion of only seven or eight stalks.

Su Ming picked up a stalk with his chopsticks and tried it. The taste was just so-so. And because he had over-exercised, he had no appetite now. He only ate a few stalks before stopping.