Above the capital of the Schteffen Lion Empire.
Aboard airship No. 028, Haili Fenny, who had not rested well, pushed back her soft quilt and sat up from the single bed, gently swaying like a cradle in the quiet fluctuation.
She heard the noisy sound of someone knocking and entering the gondola hatch below again.
Suddenly, her own door was rhythmically tapped.
“Miss Haili Koni. “
A slightly urgent, unfamiliar voice came from outside.
“What is it, then? ” Fenny, her legs now on the floor, turned her delicate head aside.
“A notification from Kroupen City Hall—inquiring if you would be available to provide a brief, formal response on behalf of Chairman Yang Buchen of the World Ark, regarding the ownership of airships being supported by the Schteffen Empire. “
The person outside finished speaking. Immediately, quick footsteps were heard, along with the sound of her door opening ceremoniously. Inside, the face with features carved like jade deliberately wore no expression, glancing icily toward the visitor beyond the threshold.
This was the woman often mentioned in recent Fogfolk gossip, said to have a close personal friendship with Chairman Yang Buchen? The administrative staff in the corridor thought to themselves, she truly possesses the distinctive delicate beauty typical of southern belles.
“A reply? ” The girl inside the door asked, a hint of confusion in her voice.
The plain-looking woman standing outside stated, “In ten minutes, our Mayor Kelsen of Kryph will be in contact with you, the representative of the World Ark. Please prepare. We have already set up a dedicated line. “
Having said that, the woman seemed to deliberately leave some time for discussion, gave a polite nod, and then turned to walk toward the narrow stairway leading to the lower gondola of the airship.
I’m the representative of the World Ark?Haili Fenny, whose face inside the half-opened door was stiffened with cold composure, mimicking her sister, finally came to her senses and grasped the meaning of those words.
Her breath hitched. “Wait, ” the girl mouthed the word softy, then immediately clamped her mouth shut.I shouldn’t panic like this. I have to stay calm!
In the narrow, wood-and-metal inlaid corridor, the woman in the administrative uniform stopped her steps and turned back.
“Is there something you need? “
Haili Fenny leaned out, her gaze quickly sweeping across the two closed passenger doors deeper in the corridor.
“There… should be other officials in charge here. I’m only a subordinate member of the Havenworth delegation. “
“You are also a figure of considerable importance within the World Ark Association, Miss Haili Koni. ” The woman’s tone outside the door was steady, yet carried an unmistakable conviction. “As the current assistant responsible for inter-departmental coordination by General Ross, you inherently possess, in accordance with the charter, the rights of review and interim agency over the World Ark’s stateless relief committee registered in Tarko. “
“Me…? ” Fenny pointed at herself in a fluster with a slender finger.
“Especially at a time like this. ” The woman added, lifting her wrist to glance at it, “After all, the Fogfolk individuals like Xue Qi and the Pla, who, beside Chairman Xue, are in a partial assistant deputy proxy selector domain to can make decisions at this airship. “
Fenny’s apricot-like red lips parted slightly for a second, the eager expression on her face gradually shifting to a blank calm.
The woman in the corridor offered a formal, faint smile: “Please deliberate as soon as possible. The call concerns the Empire’s… formal commitment to the issue of ownership of the World Ark airships. “
The woman’s figure disappeared down the corridor with the sound of footsteps.
Haili Fenny, still in her soft, cape-like pajamas, walked to Hua Mi’s room and knocked. When there was no sound from within, she thought to herself, “This is terrible. ” At this unbelievable moment, the first thing Fenny thought of was, when the call came through, how she should even reply to the first words.
After all, it was the mayor of the capital city of the world’s most militarily powerful empire, and he was right beneath her airship.
Footsteps thumped urgently as two figures rushed up the narrow staircase, “Miss Koni! “
Haili Fenny turned her head around.
“These are the memorandum documents just delivered from Prime Minister Stutphen’s office. “
This researcher, wearing thick glasses, handed over the paper note adorned with the imperial seal, saying, “Please prepare quickly, ma’am. The ownership of Chairman Yang Buchen’s airships relies on your reply. “
“Damn it, ” the young man beside him deliberately said without stepping onto the last stair:
“The reason is that someone from the Jinbei Estate has assured Schiff that if the airship fleet is reclaimed, they will support the Empire in establishing another set of maritime signal stations capable of transmitting across the entire continent. “
Helene Finney had stayed with these Fogfolk near Creün long enough to have pieced together, through constant exposure, some of the principles behind that set of signal transmission and reception. She understood that the station could only be established in that sea region where only Fogfolk could venture.
Someone is using this method to make a play for Brucen!
“Then… should we also make a pledge? ” Haili Fenny quickly thought of a certain point, and probed by asking.
Then, Haili Fenny heard the third sentence of the night that left her feeling completely lost.
“If that enemy’s goal is to help the Empire acquire a signaling platform that Zidfen can control safely on their own, and we, too, help the Empire get what they want by making such a promise, then we will have fallen right into the enemy’s trap. “
“I… ” Haili Fenny murmured softly, “…Mom never told me any of this. “
……
Blackven Consult, World Ark Without Borders Relief Committee Headquarters.
In the past hour, five guards from foreign legations who had been lurking in Blackven Consult have now revealed themselves. This has undoubtedly exposed the concealed identities and capabilities of certain countries’ accompanying personnel.
But faced with the rumors circulating tonight, these individuals had no choice but to come.
Fortunately, when they stepped into that mysterious oak-paneled room bracing for the worst, they obtained intelligence that far exceeded their expectations!
Almost the instant they received the information, those lingering excess memories struck like a fiercely descending steel blade, shattering their established perceptions into fragments.
Thankfully, these people had already endured incidents involving the containment of high-circle magical blood contamination, leaving them with mental resilience far surpassing ordinary individuals. Thus, they did not, like some mentally fragile commoners whose deeply ingrained worldview was shattered by sudden exposure to an alien phenomenon, end up caught between initially believing both opposing worldviews yet truly trusting neither, ultimately degenerating into “Crossing People ” struggling in madness and doubt.
In the room built of brick and stone, its entire walls clad in dark oak paneling,
A visitor now strode out through the door, his face etched with shock and his steps faintly unsteady.
Inside, Rocmont of the ship’s contingent shook his head at the young man beside him: “He also merely caught wind of this and came simply to obtain the intelligence.“
A telepathic message came from a nearby concealed companion in his mind:
{Could it be that the target hasn’t arrived yet? }
Ying Renyu bowed his head, pinching his chin with his fingers as he pondered for a few seconds.
“Assuming such a target exists, then as early as when Havenbrook launched the artillery strike on that villa, he should have already obtained information about the ‘room,’ and consequently noticed Yang Buchen and the World Ark. Even if he were initially far away, he should have recently turned back due to Vice President Wager’s unusual behavior.“
Rocmont, a man of compact and sturdy build, followed up, “Could it be that our commotion tonight was too big, and the other party chose to lay low?“
{Unless the target doesn’t exist at all. Otherwise, he would never miss this night—the easiest opportunity to sneak into the hotel. Think about what that memory revealed—the one lurking in the shadows, who insisted on making a move against President Buchen even afterward, did so with the ultimate aim of seizing control of the hotel. }
Rocmont sank into thought and nodded.
“That does make sense.“
……
Haili Fenny sat by the oval window, the night view of the Imperial Capital shimmering like matte obsidian, dizzying and enchanting her gaze.
She could hear her own heartbeat, all too clearly.
The researchers and staff originally working inside the gondola gathered around, standing six or seven meters behind her. Under their felt gaze, the maiden seemed somewhat uneasy, but she still made an effort to adjust her demeanor, wearing the air of an adjutant by a lieutenant general’s side.
Across the round table stood the lady and two companions from the Prime Minister’s office, while on the table rested a hand-crank telephone fitted with a slender, long black cable.
Ring… ring…
The phone rang sharply. She lifted her eyes to look at the three people across the table, and after confirming the connection was normal, they had already withdrawn some distance out of politeness.
Soon, a second ring sounded.
She raised her hand.
“Miss Haili Koni. “
“Yes, this is she, ” the girl’s voice tried its best to remain calm. “Respected Mayor Krupp En. “
The voice on the other end was warm yet dry. “Thank you for taking my call. I trust our staff have already briefed you on the details. Now, due to relief needs in our Steffend region, we require a clear stance from your side in response. “
Haili Fenny did not answer immediately.
She turned her head to look at the two researchers standing at the passageway, who were mouthing the syllables of some tones they had discussed moments ago.
There really was no way out! If she immediately returned the airship, then of course everything would be doomed instantly.
But if she made promises on behalf of Buchen, she would fall into a trap. Because from the sound of it, for the Fogfolk, doing relief work for free and with enthusiasm was not simply to please the mood, but had reasons she did not yet understand. And who was the target and who was the plan maker were particularly crucial to the development of the situation. Even if the enemy carried out most of the actions, it might ultimately just serve to create an incomprehensible garment for themselves.
This was what she had personally experienced during this time, as well as what she had gathered from some of the recent explanations.
It was… stalling for time.
Fenny watched their mouths opening and closing with understanding, and pressed the telephone receiver, which she had held an inch away from her ear, back into place.
“Mr. Mayor, ” she began, speaking very slowly, “before you continue, I need to clarify two things first. “
“Please, go ahead. “
There was a brief second of silence on the other end of the line.
“First, I was not involved in the design, deployment, or authorization process for this set of film and television broadcast systems. Second… ” Fenny tried to recount methodically, just like her sister would: “I… I do not have the authority to make immediate decisions on behalf of Chairman Yang Buchen and his team right now. I believe they should be in touch later today— “
Before she could finish, the voice on the other end cut her off:
“Very well. Your stance is that the delegation representing the Kingdom of Heivenzike is unaware of World Ark’s use of our airship and has no intention to intervene. May I interpret and record it that way? “
The next second, a sharp scraping sound of a chair against the floor rose abruptly behind her.
“NO. “
At that soft word from the Fogfolk, Fenny immediately felt a surge of tension as she clutched the phone receiver with both hands and said:
“No, Mr. Mayor. Chairman Yang Buchen is currently… truly unreachable. This matter is of great importance. I—I can coordinate immediately. Please give me a moment, and I will have his technical team and the head of our Heivenzike delegation, Ms. Jennifer, contact you directly. Even on issues of authorization, they have more details and can move things forward more quickly. “
Haili Fenny felt a bit dazed by how the call had ended.
She was aware that, because of her urgency, Jeniffer, who was resting on the neighboring airship, was being woken up and was on her way over.
Step by step, she made her way back to her own room.
After resting for a bit, Fanny suddenly thought of her own fantasy: how romantic and memorable it would be if, through the airship screens of the World Ark that spanned the entire continent, she could sing a song above the world’s most famous and prosperous cities.
Turning her head, she saw by her pillow the clippings and scraps of notes and various newspapers and magazines. Among them were some reports about the White Violet Hero.
If at first she had merely admired this man who had brought vastly different new lives to many laborers, then later, when he established the “World Ark ” for Borderless Relief and began rescuing trapped people across the globe—even if in relatively small numbers—this White Violet Hero had truly become the heroic figure she had imagined during her school days by heart.
“First, I must protect Mr. Buchun’s interests. If I can make this a success, then even Sister probably won’t dislike me as much in the future. But it’s so difficult. “
They had left without notifying her.
Crestfallen, she quickly and deftly put on her sister’s clothes; in her previous state of panic, there had been no time to do this. She hoped Sister Jennifer would come to handle this matter perfectly. Buttoning up her coat, she glanced at her own reflection in the mirror. With a soft sigh, she turned her gaze back, her eyes brushing once more against the handwritten note beside the pillow. Was she about to lose you, World Ark?
“Borderless Relief Committee… “
Her eyes suddenly sharpened, “International… relief, relief… charity auction. ” Suddenly recalling something she had fantasized about before, her heart began to race and pound. Then, a surge of immense joy welled up within her!
“I’ve got it! “
She rushed out the door.
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