“Ah? Missed. “
Sha’er’s attack left her mouth agape with regret. Then her gaze shifted further upward, landing on the scene playing on the screen.
“Huh, an auction? “
Along with her, looking up were people in over seventy cities and regions around the world who could receive this image at that moment and had not yet gone to rest. Among them were about a dozen airships that had originally chosen to join the World Ark organization, belonging to other individuals.
Beneath the westward-leaning full moon. Below the two airships suspended over Talco, the crowd of sleepless people gathering from nearby streets had grown even larger.
“The Haili family is going to hold an auction for the World Ark…? “
“Have they fallen out with White Violet Hero? ” Some voices in the street were filled with confusion, while many others were full of teasing remarks.
Among the crowd were campfire workers who strolled around chatting idly while yawning, some who had gotten up out of bed out of curiosity about the burning campfire, and the remaining majority were commoners in the city who could not afford to buy decent telescopes due to financial constraints.
“—Excuse me, what are you going to do? “
A man’s voice came through.
“—Why suddenly hold an auction? Isn’t there something special we are supposed to be waiting for… “
The image of the woman on the screen, which had been facing the camera, suddenly shifted due to frame skipping in the footage, turning at an angle to look behind her at a man in a uniform whose upper body above the chest was blocked from view.
It was unclear whether this voice had been present at that very moment, or if some brief intermediate sections had been omitted during the production of the video.
In any case, the man’s subsequent words were unintelligible.
But in the city below night, a vast “wow ” sound resounded across the distant streets from the crowd of townspeople.
Buzzling discussions echoed throughout the slightly chilly city.
“My heavens, is Haili Koni going to auction off our World Ark’s airship?! “
From several old estates of the Goas family, figures emerged, looking into the distance at the faintly flickering scene, joined by the spreading loudspeaker sounds and collective sighs of distant citizens.
“Can we get in touch? Quickly ask their family what’s going on. “
“We can’t reach anyone anymore. “
“Think of something! My God, does she even know what this means?! “
Those figures who stepped outside to take a look in the lit darkness and were thrown into panic immediately scattered in disarray—some returning to find phones, others rushing toward cars outside the courtyards, prompted by a few middle-aged voices shouting loudly.
At that moment, the lady’s voice on the airship finally continued to emit shakily after a couple of seconds of somewhat stifling and rigid pause on the screen. Though this was also something everyone had grown somewhat accustomed to.
— “…Yes, sir, ” the lady turned her beautiful face and spoke, her gaze looking straight ahead. “This is our response and decision. “
“No! Koni! ” a young figure on a balcony cried out into the air, murmuring:
“Why… why did she do this so publicly? Doesn’t she realize how much of an advantage it would be to our reputation in the world if I, Hei Wen Zike, got ahold of this system approved by the higher-ups! “
A slight distance ahead of the young man…
Governor Lanni clenched his fists on the balcony, his body hunched, grinding his teeth at the joints.
The Older Man with well-trimmed, dignified white beard opened his eyes in anger, as if a string inside him was taut, waiting for some judgment.
That voice, as if it could push someone off a cliff, continued to sound.
— “We are auctioning off equipment from airships around the world to the cities where they are located. Local aspiring organizations can all participate in the bidding.“
At the World Ark headquarters of Havenmark, people on a boat waiting near the invited room in feilü Hotel who heard the voice glanced at the faint glow in the distance.
“A charity auction, is that the plan from Chairman Yang’s side to counter that black hand’s scheme of dragging us in?“
“Returning the airships to Kruun would meet their goal of subverting the World Ark and helping the Empire establish a global broadcast system. Auctioning them off now… on the other hand, means their goal isn’t fully achieved, and we can exchange for some resources and prestige.“
“This has to be it. It’s a plan that doesn’t bring us into complete conflict with the Empire.“
Suddenly, everyone stared at the screen.
“In addition to the current equipment, all auctions will also include parts of our standard signal receiving and broadcasting devices… as well as the local large-scale signal receiving and broadcasting permits. ” The girl raised her fist proudly, “This is a very advanced and secure signal receiving device recognized by the World Ark International Relief Commission, which continues to undergo improvements and mutual support protection. “
“What? “
On the ground, many people watching these similar screens were momentarily surprised.
“Standard agreement, what does that mean? “
“Does that mean they’re opening up the manufacturing rights for that kind of signal receiving device? The one for this newly developed Tele-vision device? “
“It seems like more than that—she mentioned receiving and broadcasting devices. “
Amid people’s murmurs, a steady current sound representing broadcasting gently sounded again from the speakers.
“The so-called large-scale signal means that all city groups participating in the auction can send friendly images and programs to our World Ark headquarters, broadcastable as image signals covering all our standardized equipment. Just like how you, dear friends, are now seeing these words of mine. “
Governor Lanni almost fainted on the spot, and the young man beside him quickly steadied him.
“Are you all right? “
He thrust his staff hard, pushing away the young man beside him.
An elderly woman walked out from the doorway. “Sigh, how can Koni stay by the General’s side for over a year and still have no political sensitivity between nations? Might as well send Fanni—at least she knows the bigger picture. Now the World Ark’s global broadcast system, a perfect justification for world coverage, is gone.“
“And to make matters worse, we’ve offended both Stiffen and our Heiwen Zike—the two most brilliant nations in the world today.“
“Grandfather, are you alright?” Another young woman’s figure crossed the bedroom and ran onto the balcony. “But… what does ‘Major Signal’ mean?“
The older man, feeling dizzy from a spinning head, steadied himself. “Major Signal?” After a moment of thought, he looked up and gazed at the airship in the distance.
“Wait,” the old man’s heart tightened slightly. “A uniform standard production license, accepting the Major Signal. That… that means… that anyone without the license to produce unified standard signals, even if they can later send image signals within a city, can… can only cover the single urban area that current signal technology can reach…“
The old man turned his head to look at Fanni, swaying gently as she held the microphone, the gentle smile on her soft face. And behind her, some indistinct figures were speaking to each other in profile.
“The World Ark’s broadcast system is gone. But the technology for transmission remains. So… the city that maintains this system right now will instead possess the precious qualification—to send images back to the World Ark for future global broadcast!“
Then, the overjoyed older man caught sight of the leading woman from the delegation at the edge of the frame, and his face hardened again. “Damn it, that’s Jennifer, the delegation’s leader. “
Damn it! Hailifenni, that wretched girl, at such a critical moment! The World Ark isn’t really just our Haili family’s alone—there are so many covetous council families out there. She! She’s gambling the family’s future on the tolerance of the General and the Prince!
“Go quickly to your Auntie Xie Lin’s residence, ” the older man said to the girl who had just arrived on the balcony. “When she returns, tell her to come and see me—I have matters to discuss. “
……
Not far from this house, in another old mansion shaded by high walls and green foliage.
Haili Koni watched her younger sister’s figure, murmured an inaudible word, and then slowly withdrew her gaze.
Then she heard a clatter. She saw her mother pull out from a partition of the tall wardrobe a wooden storage box, as wide and deep as the cabinet’s shelf, used for holding clothes.
“Mom, what are you— “
“Fenni, that wretched child! ” The woman’s breath was somewhat frantic. “Pointing her elbow outward at a time like this! I, I told her before—the Secret Box is paramount, the family’s interests are paramount! “
From beneath the fragrant, soft dresses inside the wooden storage box, she pulled out some documents and a sealed small box, her eyes filled with frightened panic as she stared at these identity credentials that represented Fenni’s ongoing participation in some form of special classified technical training from the family and the nation’s scientific research organizations.
“Doesn’t she know that if the soon-to-be-crowned Tingly VIII gains control of this signal transmission device set, it will bring our family… ” The woman’s beautiful eyes looked left and right with grief and indignation at the materials issued by the academy clasped in her hands.
Haili Koni glanced curiously, then let out a laugh.
The woman placed them on the bed, still fumbling through the wooden frame, “You ungrateful girl, still able to laugh! “
“So this secret training is just about receiving the cryptographic translation of the security technology left by Jinbei. “
She remembered that when Fenny was in school, she couldn’t even finish her own math homework and always wanted to copy off her answers.
The woman, bending over to organize, took out a pile of special academy identification materials and stacked them on the bed, saying while sorting:
“Koni, why don’t you quickly take these to see Mr. Lanni and ask if, with our family’s certification, the General will believe us? The words spoken tonight are all those little girl Fenny’s doing. She understands nothing at all, and just because she went to Kruen with you, she’s now being pushed out as a scapegoat tonight. I believe that as long as you show up immediately, the General will believe that it was your little sister impersonating you. “
“It’s no use. ” Haili Koni panicked for a moment, stepping forward two steps with her firm and shapely long legs beneath her skirt, her long hem swaying. She looked at the records of so-called secret training in the wooden basket.
“Such an excuse can never fool the General’s eyes. Even if it were true, it would be of no use. “
She wasn’t worried that this explanation wouldn’t convince her mother. After all, she knew that once her flustered mother calmed down, she would definitely realize how redundant such an explanation was in the eyes of the General.
But at this moment, her panic stemmed from another thought—one that might seem absurd to her, but for Governor Lanni, it was likely a choice he would try to make!
“Mother. ” She stared at the woman who was frantically scanning between the wooden storage basket on the bed and the identity documents. The gentle-faced woman looked up and met her daughter’s gaze.
“Why? As long as Mr. Lanni thinks it’s feasible, the General can excuse us, and maybe Fenny can even take this chance to leave with Chairman Yang… “
Haili felt as if a tiny, venomous snake had been placed and incubated deep within the abyss of her worries.
“Mom, that’s only possible if the General is willing to absolve us. ” Kaine’s voice felt strained and tinged with panic. “And Chairman Yang… ” she said with difficulty, “he won’t find out, but… the Fogfolk can’t be deceived. Fenny, she… “
Then she realized that Fenny didn’t need to stay by Yang Zicang’s side forever. Her mission was merely to cross the sea.
……
Having spoken these words, Haili Fenny seemed already sentenced, accepting the execution and letting go of everything, a mixture of relaxation and despair. With a faint smile on her lips, amidst the noise behind her, she quietly faced the camera held by a Fogman and a researcher in front of her, gently swaying her body left and right as she hummed in her heart.
“OK, our Big Baby Koni, beloved by all our brothers! ” the Fogman in front shouted joyfully, raising his hands high. “You have no idea how our comrades at the sea station described this action plan—how incredibly, perfectly brilliant! “
“Huh? ” Haili Fenny lightly lifted her head and opened her eyes to look over.
“How did you come up with that? ” Though the busy man asked casually, it still made Haili Fenny secretly elated, her heart fluttering slightly.
“Ha… ” The Maiden let out a sigh, then said with a smile, “Because I’m always thinking about things, so it just came to me naturally… ” She nervously stuck out her tongue inwardly, relieved that she hadn’t caused any trouble.
On the other side, the man named Qiaoyade said excitedly, “This is an absolutely brilliant plan! ” He didn’t care at all that there were office staff from Koluong City Hall on the Airship. “The troublemakers achieved their goal, but so what? Haha, we even need to work overtime before dawn to establish an auction process—yes, exactly! “
“Huh? ” Fenny tilted her head. “Does that mean… I can stop recording for a while? “
“Yes, you can take a break now. Your on-the-spot help was invaluable. ” Qiaoyade wiped the cold sweat from his brow; the Chairman and the others simply had no time to deal with this side. After all, the radiance of the World Ark had already been completed. Originally, the only thing needed was to let it be seized by the other side while remaining as silent as possible. That way, even if the enemy succeeded, they wouldn’t be able to create a new radiance.
But unexpectedly, the young lady before him, who looked a bit flustered, managed to come up with such a genius idea.
One of Qiaoyade’s arms shot up excitedly. He called out to several people from the city hall across the way, “Wow, this auction process will let a lot of our brothers scattered across different regions of the world move together! Shit, sorry, that’s a foreign word from our continent. Ha. “
Qiaoyade, whose skin was a slightly darker brownish-black, his ethnic features quite similar to Chairman Yang’s, pressed a finger against a small, dark red earpiece. Then, excited, he grabbed a piece of paper:
“Miss Conny, although we have a few hours, but… ” he glanced at the city hall people, “we need to announce the handover time for the airship as soon as possible. And… there’s an important announcement to make. “
His hand wrote on the paper. Fenny tilted her head to look. “An important announcement? What is it? “
“Oh, right, ” Qiaoyade muttered to himself, then looked up. “Miss Conny, if you’re willing, could we trouble you to help us publicize the Hellfire Sect’s Campfire Ignition Plan? “
“What’s this? ” Haili Fenny asked, somewhat surprised and curious.
“We aim to advocate worldwide for such actions to be carried out as soon as possible, ” Qiaoyade said.
“Don’t worry. By now, virtually anywhere in the world that isn’t completely cut off from information should already understand the purpose of the Campfire lighting proposal. So all we need to do is provide a little atmospheric support. Considering the waiting time before our auction preparations are complete—hmm, anyway, I’ll leave the hosting and broadcasting duties to you. “
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