‘Stupid! Stupid! Stupid, Astra!’ I chided myself as I ducked yet another qi blast coming from the cultivator currently chasing me. This will be the last time I buy a treasure map from a shady old man in an alley, they’re usually so trustworthy. Considering the cultivator trying to kill me was after the map, I think buying it was a mistake.

I barely managed to make it around another asteroid when a qi blast destroyed it. I yelped and continued to elude the angry cultivator.

"Give it up girl, I’ll kill you painlessly if you just hand me that map!" The cultivator called to me for the umpteenth time.

"No way you stinky old man!" I called back, sticking my tongue out at him as I disappeared behind the next asteroid.

The mining fields were a vast expanse of asteroids that held various promises of metals, precious gems, and hidden treasures for would-be treasure seekers.

I was one of those that made their living mining these asteroids, hoping to find something I could sell back on Setria 9, the small mining colony placed in this field centuries ago by the Beltigo corporation. Part of everything I made went back to the company, but they let me live so I guess I couldn’t complain.

I watched the cultivator fly past my hiding spot and nearly gave away my position in celebration. I checked the map again, not sure if I still wanted to chase after its possible treasure, but if the old man was chasing me for the map, it must be worth something.

I was only about half a league from the location marked on the map. That was doable in a single excursion, but I’d be cutting it close with my oxygen reserves getting back. It didn’t help that being chased made me lose my reserves quicker than If i was mining normally. I steeled my resolve, it was now or never, I needed to find something soon. If I didn’t, I’d lose my apartment and have to go back to stealing, or begging on the streets.

I was making a beeline for the location the map pointed out, already nearby the designated spot when a sensor in my hab-suit notified me of the projectile rapidly approaching from behind me.

"Crap!" I said out loud as I tried to dodge the murderous blast of qi flying at me. I didn’t dodge it completely and I felt it hit me on my flank as I twisted my body. It luckily didn’t break my suit, but it did launch me sideways and into a nearby asteroid. I made a visible crater within the asteroid but thanks to my cultivation level, the damage I sustained from the crash wasn’t enough to incapacitate me.

The old man hovered in front of me, unmoving as he looked down at me.

"So much for all of that running. I finally caught you, now hand over the map or I’m simply going to kill you and take it." The old cultivator stated. I could feel he was stronger than me, I stood no chance in a direct fight. Even knowing this, I got a sour taste in my mouth just thinking about rolling over and giving it to him. If he was going to kill me anyway, I’d give him hell for it.

"No way you decrepit old man!" I told him. "The only thing I have to give you is this." To punctuate my statement I showed him both of my middle fingers. His face went red and he spluttered before finally regaining enough composure to speak again.

"You’re courting death, girl!" He said as he condensed an extra large Qi blast and launched it at me. My eyes widened and I rushed to get out of the way of the blast. I curled my body in on itself as it hit the asteroid, but instead of the explosion I was expecting, a much larger explosion sounded out all around me and the entire area around us was bathed in a solid white light. It felt like my entire body was heating up even from within my suit. I heard the old man’s scream cut off abruptly right before the white light disappeared.

I peeked out from the fetal position I was in to protect myself and looked around but found no sign of the old man. Where the asteroid had stood, a metal cube about as tall as I was stood in its place. I floated over to it, curious about its contents. I never heard of anyone on Setria 9 finding anything like this before. It might be worth a lot of money!

My mood instantly improved at the thought of all the money the cube might make me. I went up to it and knocked on it a few times. If it was hollow, it might be holding more treasure inside that I could loot before selling it for the metal

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As I knocked, a hollow sound rang into my sensors on my hab-suit. Nice! It was hollow. I wondered what was inside. I looked around the sides of the cube looking for any kind of opening but I didn’t find one. I tried saying various things out into the void to the cube, I begged it to open, said open sesame, and even yelled at it. I punched it some more but it didn’t want to open at my provocations. The only other thing I could try was inserting my qi into the cube. It was a long shot, but I figured it was worth taking.

I put my hands onto the cube and felt deep inside my dantian, my qi center. Inside it I felt a roiling mass of unrestrained qi flowing around inside of me. I read books that said it was supposed to feel more organized, but mine always felt unwieldy to me. I clumsily grabbed a hold of my qi and pushed it through my qi pathways.

It moved like mud through my body and eventually made its way into the cube. As soon as the qi touched the cube’s exterior it began drinking it up like an endless void. It sucked and sucked my qi until I was completely dry. Just as it drank the last dregs of my qi from my dantian a harmonic chime resounded. The metal of the face of the cube folded away and an all encompassing brilliant white light shone out from inside the cube, I was forced to close my eyes to stop it from burning them.

As the light faded and I slowly opened my eyes I saw, to my astonishment, that the cube had disappeared from sight. I frowned at the now empty space where the cube had once been. There was no sign of it leaving in any direction, but I couldn’t believe my luck! First that stupid map sold by that kindly old man in a cloak got me chased by an immortal, then I found a metal cube that just disappeared on me.

With a huff, I began the long trek back to Setria 9.

As I walked back through the airlock I took off my helmet first. My sodden electric blue hair stuck to my head from my efforts while out in the mining fields.

I walked down the catwalk lining the walls, steam pouring out of pipes running along the walls. I dodged a few of the gouts as I walked, not needing anything else to go wrong today. I looked briefly over the railing of the catwalk, the tiered city and slums fanning out below me.

The city sprawled out in sections marked for different functionality. The residential section was positioned closest to the exit I liked to use to get to the mining fields. Below me I saw countless walkways, bridges, and catwalks crossing from one side of the thin section comprising this residential area.

Only a few yards spanned the gap from one side of the wall to the other, the remaining space being used for the insides of the homes. The closeness of the area made me feel safe rather than cramped. I walked down a few levels, the heat increasing as I went further down closer to the industrial district of my sector, sector 5, in Setria 9. I passed by the countless small apartments that marked the sides of the wall, a few peepholes opened and I gave them a slight wave. They quickly closed and I slowly let my hand drop down. Asteroid mining wasn’t a reputable career and most looked down on any who decided to make their living that way. I wasn't going to let that get me down, though. I was taught better than that!

I made it down to my small apartment, the unused welcome mat at the front door mocked me as I looked down at it. I rolled my eyes and walked inside, worrying about my social life again wasn’t good for me, and I had more important things to worry about, like how I was going to make rent this month. I walked into my apartment and threw my few belongings I had with me and my backpack onto the cluttered kitchen table.

They laid on top of the pile of overdue notices and threats of eviction that had piled up. I walked over to the small kitchen and moved some of the dirty dishes from on top of the stove and into the sink. I opened the fridge and bent down, looking for something cool to drink and quench my thirst. I picked up some slightly off juice I had bought on a whim last week, not thinking about my finances. It tasted way too tangy for juice that had been sweet but I drank it anyway. At least it was cold.

I moved to the bathroom and peeled off the form fitting undersuit I always wore when I went out. It provided a modicum of protection from the elements but wouldn’t do anything to help me out if my suit was pierced. After the suit was off, I peeled off the sweaty underclothes I had put on this morning and threw them on top of the too big pile in the corner of the room. I stepped into the shower and turned on the hot water.

I felt relief wash over me as the water washed away the grime and sweat of the day. I thought back onto the chase by the immortal and the mysterious metal cube. I hoped it wasn’t some weird magical item that would poison me or something.

After my shower I applied lotion to myself, I didn’t have an immortal body yet so I still needed to keep up with my own personal hygiene.

I put on a simple set of pants and an overly large shirt.

I laid down on the couch with one of my favorite cultivation stories and relaxed for a time.

When I got too sleepy to keep reading, I made my way to bed.

I laid down on the hard cot I used as a bed, its surface covered in various blankets to make it slightly more comfortable to sleep on. It took me too long to fall asleep but it isn’t like I had anywhere to be tomorrow. I’d probably just spend another day mining asteroids. As I lost consciousness I was vaguely aware of text popping up in my vision but I was already lost to the oblivion of sleep.