Jennifer, having finished tidying her attire, descended from the airship’s rope ladder onto the ground with a tense expression.
Her footsteps landed on the dirt. The pitch-black, desolate city, devoid of people or any signs of life, exuded a special, suffocating, indescribable aura that made one want to retreat.
If it were just a wasteland by itself, it might still be bearable, with at least a primitive openness.
But before her eyes were man-made buildings, yet without any breath of life, which only amplified a uniquely eerie quality born of unknown origins. Perhaps this, too, was a part of the craftsmanship.
The woman in black trousers and an overcoat felt an immense pressure enveloping her, emanating both from the ground and seemingly from the surroundings. With just a single glance, she quickly followed the few gentlemen and ladies who had come to meet her, striding rapidly toward the other end of the long street.
The truth was, she also knew she should slow down. She had already seen the efforts of the researchers on the airship. She was aware that the World Ark’s broadcast and communication system, which relied on airship relay stations, was about to be seized by the Empire.
Without this system, the World Ark’s influence on promoting perspectives for the world’s future landscape would regress to what it had originally been for a relief organization like theirs.
Over these past two or three hours, she had already speculated on various scenarios.
After tonight…
Many people in the future will still remember the World Ark, but it will be difficult for it to ever hold such influence again.
Jennifer took a breath, her heels clicking and stamping as she walked quickly across the empty street.
She looked ahead at another soft ladder hanging from the gondola of a massive airship that didn’t dare approach the ground too closely. These huge floating objects, and the screens on their sides that could broadcast images.
This can be easily understood when recalling the draw of a silent film occasionally played in the countryside, which would attract people from several surrounding villages, and even those from twenty li away, who would brave the dark night to watch. This epoch-making method of information transmission is such an important and intangible force that every nation urgently needs to control.
If the Empire were to obtain it alone, then for a long time to come, perhaps the main way, and… the content, of information for the world, especially the north-central region, would be monopolized by whichever faction controlled this system. It is a power of cultural invasion that is difficult to measure.
“Ma’am, watch your step, we’ve arrived. “
Now, she had finally reached this moment in time where intervention was possible.
“You go up first. We’ll protect you from down here, Miss Jennifer. “
Originally, beyond just biding time until Chairman Yang Buchen’s possible return,
Jennifer’s hand touched the soft ladder, confirming it once again in her heart.
There was only one thing left: refuse the Empire the system they demanded on behalf of the World Ark.
Subsequently, Blackwing Consulting can leverage the advantage that the headquarters of World Ark is located within their own country to fight for the restart of the “Krupp-En World Ark Division, ” which was repossessed by the Empire.
Hailikoni’s decision-making through the delegation… tipping the World Ark in favor of Blackwing Consulting lies within a single word from her.
After climbing a few meters, Jennifer let out a soft sigh and glanced down at the soldiers ensuring her safety from below, as well as the vast, silent, and dead buildings behind them.
Is Koni trying to maintain harmony with the World Ark on behalf of her family, thus handing over the decision-making power?
Still, it’s not bad—the Empire is cooperating too. While seizing the signal source, they are minimizing the matter’s fallout.
Otherwise, with a city as large as Steffen, why would they grant over three hours of deliberation, offer a single dedicated phone line connection, and then another chance for a call?
Her expression grew more resolute as she climbed the rope ladder. Hailikoni, the task of calming the President of the World Ark from here on out can only rely on you.
……
Blackwing Consulting.
Inside a residential room of the Haili family estate.
Hailikoni, having taken a bath and changed into a skirt, sat on the edge of the bed. Beside her, the woman Xie Lin, dressed in a long velvet gown, sat with a gentle expression on the bed’s edge.
“Still angry? “
Hailikoni’s eyes were fixed on the floor. “No, Mom. I just think this is too absurd. “
Without waiting for her mother’s scolding, Haili Koni looked up, gazing at the beautiful woman’s clean face, which bore a gentle smile.
“When did you decide to send Fenny to the Fogfolk? “
“From the moment you started searching for information on ‘Mist Sea Rime Ice’ in the family library. “
So that was when it happened. The girl sitting on the bed felt a flicker of faint, rising anger—a surreal and hateful sensation enveloping her.
The woman reached out and took hold of the girl’s somewhat cold hand, saying:
“The family needs someone to step into the next era. You just didn’t know. There are some secrets… “
“That box—when did Fenny find out about it? “
The woman’s smile dimmed a little, her eyes shifting elsewhere for a moment. She paused for several seconds before speaking: “Yes… a little over a year ago. “
“She agreed? “
The woman’s lively eyes shifted slightly, and she gently nodded with a soft, “Mm. “
Haili Koni felt the pain as she closed her eyes, then a surge of fury filled her, making her want to instantly summon Fenny over, turn her over her knee, and give her a good, hard spanking to vent her anger.
“Isn’t there any other way, Mother? Relying on something like this, we… “
“We’re out of time. “
Xie Lin gently patted Haili Koni’s hand:
“Good child, you are too outstanding, and we know you too well. So we all understand that you would not accept such an arrangement. But your sister is different—her studies are only average. Even if she silently endures the same firearms and physical training you went through, she is not as sharp and agile as you, let alone the administrative affairs that need to be handled by the general’s side. “
“Then how could she possibly play my role well by the general’s side! “
“There’s no need for that now. “
The woman said briskly:
_”Don’t you know? That villa you bought—your sister sometimes goes over there too. She helps you maintain relations with the Fogfolk. Otherwise, how could those oil paintings sell so easily and quickly?
“With her gentle nature, she has made many friends who understand art and business, which made it so easy to help provide painting materials now, organize salons, and share and sell small artworks together with the Fogfolk. “
She held Koni’s hand and patted it gently again:
“And it’s not like the family wasn’t helping. Back then, you and the Lieutenant General didn’t have that much energy to completely handle all these matters. In fact, you should learn from your sister when it comes to worldly interpersonal matters. “
“But I did do my part too. “
Haili Koni was somewhat angry, but indeed her sister had mentioned that in her spare time, she would go help those two Fogfolk and that handsome guy.
The girl blinked her eyes.
Her younger sister had always been like a shadow, often impersonating her. But because she had always been very measured, after a few protests around the age of fifteen or sixteen, even the family said that since she was to be trained for a secret agency and couldn’t reveal her identity, they just let her have her way…
Haili Koni closed her eyes again and took a deep, long breath. She didn’t want to think about her sister’s matters anymore.
Koni’s heart was filled with an indescribable emotion. Then, recalling what she had done in the days before being confined, she said:
“Just because I helped the Fogfolk find that secret, you think that… “
Her heart pounded loudly twice as emotions surged inexplicably.
“Could someone like him possibly accept me? “
“You don’t know what a secret something like Mist Sea Rime Ice is to the Fogfolk. So you can’t grasp your place in Chairman Yang’s heart. “
“Isn’t it rare to be of use? “
Haili Koni lifted her head, snorting indignantly:
“It’s normal to seek out people from families like ours for inquiries. “
“We’ve analyzed Yang Buchen extensively through multiple channels of information. The fact that he entrusted you with this means you hold a place in his heart no lower than the two ladies beside him. “
The woman pondered for a moment, then said:
“Moreover, judging from the villa he arranged for you before he even built the others, you are someone he deeply trusts. “
Trust…
The woman smiled. “Don’t worry. So if you propose to follow him across the sea, it will be quite easy to achieve. “
“I see. “
_”Originally, Fenni could have received more help from him. However, based on some newly acquired intelligence, Chairman Yang Buchen’s information-gathering capabilities run far deeper and broader than we imagined.
If that legendary lady were to use her knowledge of our families, she could very easily see through your sister’s situation. Moreover, there are already signs suggesting that she may be under suspicion…_”
“Is Fenni really suspected?“
Haili Koni, having been confined for quite some time, did not realize how quickly she had spoken.
The woman beside her cast a sidelong glance, silently taking two moments to gauge the thoughts in her eldest daughter’s mind. A hint of helplessness arose in her heart, yet she wore a warm smile and spoke slowly:
“Fenni… it’s been so long without any good news from her, and she hasn’t brought up returning. We suspect that Mr. Yang Bucheng, who seems to have been avoiding her lately, might have sensed something. It’s just… ah, we’re not certain either.“
That wretched boy.
And a mysterious woman skilled in gathering intelligence? With her head bowed, Haili Koni pondered, Who could that be? Letting out a sigh within, she deliberately feigned displeasure but adopted a slightly lighter tone:
“If Mr. Bucheng finds out my sister is replacing me, I’m afraid this topic will go nowhere, won’t it?“
“No.“
“So certain?” Haili Koni looked at her.
The woman’s gaze fixed on her. “In the worst-case scenario, if you make the request, Chairman Yang will also take you to the Next Era Land. As long as you accomplish this task well, Fēn behaves life will be happy because of it. You know, Fēn is best suited to become a virtuous wife who supports her husband and educates their children.“
In the air came a faint, hissing electrical sound.
A woman with a reserved smile turned her head toward the large window and looked outside. In the night, the outline of an airship floated slowly above the silhouette of the tower, and the blocky projection areas on its surface flickered with glowing fluorescence.
Participating in the construction of the World Ark has always been a great and monumental endeavor in both the current era and the entire history of the Haili family.
Protecting and contributing to the building of this broadcasting system in the apocalypse—how proud that is.
However, there was something a bit off with the broadcast system tonight.
It had made several strange announcement sounds earlier, but it had been quiet for quite a while now.
Haili Koni noticed that her mother’s smile was strangely frozen on her face.
— “H-Hello…“
“Hmm?” Haili Koni heard a tone that sounded both familiar yet slightly unfamiliar.
“This is…” The woman in the long gown stood up.
The airship of the World Ark was always quiet at night, but the current sound, though not as loud as daytime noise, was still clear enough to be heard by anyone within half a mile.
On the screen flickered a black-and-white image much clearer than during the day, with occasional frame skips and glitches.
As the signal fluctuations gradually calmed, a lady’s face slowly emerged.
“That’s! “
Hailikoni watched the figure gradually appearing on the screen.
She grabbed the binoculars on the table. In the current world, especially in cities with airships, this item had become a top seller.
The farther the district was from the city center, the longer the focal length of the binoculars sold.
The lens shifted to Hailikoni’s eyes, and the distant night sky scene zoomed in with a shake.
“Is… it Fanni? ” Hailikoni took a deep breath, her chest tightening.
— “Koni, what are you doing? “
A voice came from the airship, intermittent, as if deliberately lowered in volume at this moment, and it was still fading.
The sweet-faced girl in the black-and-white image immediately turned around in surprise. “I, Zhen, Fu… no… “
— “You… “
The image went completely silent, and even the lens was turned to other places. Just as it was about to point to the dark city, a strong arm blocked it, then turned it back.
Then the people burning bonfires in the city saw, in the trembling image, two women surrounded by several uniformed figures seemingly arguing intensely about something.
However, most of the time, it was the older-looking, relatively plain woman who was emotionally intense. The other woman simply kept her hands clasped in front of her chest, forcing a smile to prevent the argument from escalating further.
“Is that, Fenny?! ” The woman stared at the screen in disbelief, then quickly grabbed the binoculars her daughter had been holding to her eyes and put them up to her own.
Scattered throughout the city, many people noticed the situation unfolding on the screen.
“What does that mean? “
“I don’t know. Is this some new movie? “
Suddenly, the sound in the picture returned, a man’s voice, and the camera also adjusted to focus on a chubby, middle-aged man with a beaming smile:
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is a live broadcast we’ve transmitted and recorded on an expedited basis. “
“A live broadcast? “
— “This is a special experiment. Our staff have been working frantically, racing against the clock to bring you the reality unfolding right now over the capital of the Stefen Empire. “
“Huh? “
“What’s he talking about? I don’t get it. “
“Does he mean this isn’t a play, but something happening in Kraun? “
People busy around some campfires scratched their heads and looked up at the screen.
The man on the screen had barely finished speaking when the camera was adjusted again, revealing the figure of a man in military uniform. “Ladies and gentlemen, we are… “
The screen suddenly went black. When the footage resumed, the beautiful lady was once again facing the camera.
— “Hello everyone, ” she said.
Leave a Reply