On a mist-shrouded half of an ancient ship, the sound of a man’s voice coming from the bow in the fog caught the attention of Ruan Wenxiong, who was on the other side of the wooden upper structure.
The young man, wearing clothes that felt slightly damp against his skin, had let his hair grow longer over the past two months. His black, shoulder-length hair was tied up with ripped strips of cloth, leaving a small lock hanging at the back of his head.
Somewhat puzzled, he took a rope and wrapped it around one of the helm’s spokes to prevent it from slipping, then strode forward.
After just two steps, a figure of moderate height suddenly rushed out from the doorway of a nearby room.
“Wow! The furniture down here is really beautiful—styles I’ve never seen before. Have you had a look?“
Motafu’s voice made Ruan Wenxiong turn his gaze to the carved handrails inside the cabin.
“Ah, it truly is very beautiful,” Ruan Wenxiong said with a smile, speaking in not-so-fluent Mutao language:
“The place where this half of the ship was discovered is different from the half that sank beneath the reefs back in our area. The items here are preserved much better.“
As he spoke, Ruan Wenxiong touched the antique wooden door of the cabin. Though it still looked old, it showed few signs of having been soaked by water.
Moreover, judging by the condition of the ship’s cannons and the wear on the interior materials he had glanced at, much of the decoration and facilities inside should be well preserved.
Otherwise, Chairman Yang wouldn’t fail to skip recounting when having lost in his elaborate psychic field apparition, with sights showing the crowds claiming those up front are major rich come to address, this strongholds they onboard are deemed rival at former transport sits the half we shack atop belong somewhat poorfolk.
“Wow, what a truly mysterious and wondrous vessel.“
This Mr. Mortaf, with his fluffy hair and thick mustache above his lips, shook his right hand, which was attached to an IV drip, and pointed down the stairs, saying:
“Would you like to go down and take a look? It’s truly the most beautiful thing. “
“Ha, there are still so many beautiful things from our world. When I have the time, I can share much more with you. What remains on this ship are just distorted remnants of foreign styles. Take those cannons, for example—very Euro… ahem, in style. Well, forget it, I’ve never seen the gun platforms on our ancient ships either. “
Having said this, Ruan Wenxiong lifted his gaze, staring into the misty distance.
It sounded like the new young man’s voice drifted in from the sea breeze, as if he was talking to himself.
“Just wait for me here. Don’t move around. “
Following the dim light cast upon the deck, he propped himself up against the wooden wall with his hand and walked forward step by step.
As he passed the base of a mast, the man with his hair tied back suddenly gasped…
On the vacant deck ahead stood hazy figures, who, sensing his approach, turned their bodies to look at him.
The young man, standing by the railing across from these figures, also turned his gaze towards him, his stare piercing through the thin mist to settle on Ruan Wenxiong.
“You! ” Ruan Wenxiong exclaimed in shock. “Could these be…? “, could they be the specters that appear when the half-platform covered by the sail awakens?!
{Unfortunately, this half-ship was not shuttered by you. }
The most solidly condensed figure among the human silhouettes curled the corners of his mouth into a smile and continued speaking.
{But it’s a good thing you’ve come. }
“What’s so good about it?” Ruan Wenxiong wished he could leave this half-ship immediately, but he instantly remembered the great scientist he had told to wait for him!
This burly First Mate’s figure turned completely around, facing Ruan Wenxiong, who appeared tense by the edge of the wooden building.
{It is perfect timing for you to hear this story. Hmm… }
He shrugged.
{I’ve just learned that extremely urgent events are happening on land right now. And… the situation is undergoing a very critical change. Ah, what a marvelous Chairman. Heh, such a pity though, I could originally have taken part in many Radiance and Glimmer matters. }
Although these words sounded somewhat regretful, the figure didn’t seem to carry much disappointment; instead, there was a hint of concealed pride.
{Come now, gentleman from another world. Come listen to the story we have to tell. This tale should draw you into this great event that is currently undergoing transformation. }
A strange glint flashed in Ruan Wenxiong’s eyes, and he looked questioningly at Cheng Yunze across from him. The young man, wrapped in luminous skeletal markings, nodded to him.
“What story could possibly draw me into a great event? “
Just as he was asking, a spreading mist suddenly emerged in the air, and the silhouette of a train, moving at a leisurely pace, slowly appeared beside Cheng Yunze as he slightly dimmed for a moment.
“Huh? ” The puzzled voice of the Demon Train rang out.
With a clatter, the door slid open. “Ha, Old Cheng, eh hey? ” Li Aimin’s figure froze in the doorway.
As Cheng Yunze turned his head to look, the semi-transparent figures on the deck also twisted around to stare at Li Aimin in the entrance.
For a moment, the atmosphere on the deck grew awkward.
“Since you’re both here… then let me start the story from the beginning one more time. “
“Hold on? Aren’t you… ” Li Aimin felt a bit unnerved as he stared at the vaguely familiar figure of the First Mate. Were these people just showing up so openly?
……
“That was in the mid-era of the Bright Land, around the summer of year 324. There was a storytelling troupe. Passing by a town whose protective rock shell was destroyed, they saw the refugees in the town and couldn’t bear it… Well— “
He paused to recollect, then said:
“Having made it their purpose to collect wishful talismans, they decided to create a story for those refugees—one they could truly empathize with, and that could offer them solace… “
……
Several planes of the Black Script Envoy began an unusual mass departure, heading to a certain location outside the city.
Tonight, plagued by all sorts of noise and the commotion of extra fires that kept sleep at bay, many residents in this suburban apartment building looked up to catch glimpses of planes cutting across the night sky, repeatedly flying toward the northwest.
“What’s going on tonight? “
“Who knows, ” an old man on a resident’s balcony replied, shaving blade in hand, gliding it along his cheek as he answered his neighbor in the next building.
Among the murmuring crowd below, on the head of a man on the adjacent balcony who was half-reclining while scratching his belly and yawning… Then, his mouth, opened wide from the yawn, gradually turned into a surprised “O ” shape.
Buzz buzz buzz~~
Amidst the propeller noise that slightly vibrated people’s eardrums, a two-seater propeller plane—one without a large cargo hold—flew evenly from the night sky toward the crowd and the towering residential buildings shrouded in darkness.
Inside a net dangling beneath the plane, several restrained black goats were crammed together.
“Huh? “
The heads of passersby on the street below followed the plane’s trail, turning toward the night sky behind the building.
The old man with the razor on the upper floor also leaned half over his balcony railing, twisting sideways in an effort to see the plane that had already vanished from sight.
Before they could even ask what was going on, two more propeller sounds, distinct and separated in pitch, echoed from afar.
Buzz~
Whoosh —
A gray-black fighter jet streaked across the night sky at a faster speed, aiming toward the north behind the building.
Right after came a large civilian twin-engine biplane transport, its lower section suspended by a huge net bulging like an inverted balloon, packed with several sheep.
People on the street twisted their bodies and craned their necks upward; some with hats had their heads tilted so far back their hats were about to fall off.
“What are they doing? “
“Are they airlifting goats to deliver food to a refuge area somewhere? “
“They dare to slaughter them? “
The night sky over the distant suburbs.
Amidst a droning hum, one airplane after another, at a modest speed and altitude, followed a route along the city’s flank, heading northward.
Most nearby citizens and personnel in the refuge areas, aside from finding it strange, didn’t realize much else.
But among the crowd, some who had heard certain legends, as well as several former military personnel, straightened up with a puzzled look, gazing into the distance, trying to determine what was suspended beneath the aircraft.
The Hazel Palace in Talco.
Within the royal residential quarters behind the ornate, ancient building.
A well-preserved middle-aged man stood by the window, gazing into the night sky at the city’s edge.
From here, only the moonlight about to sink behind the city’s silhouette was visible. As for the flight formation previously reported in the General’s plan, it was completely impossible to see.
A man in ceremonial uniform with a tall-feathered hat stamped heavily outside the door. “Reporting, Your Highness. A phone call for you. “
The man turned his head and asked briskly, “From whom? “
“His Majesty’s Special Secretary. “
The Crown Prince’s tone held a hint of disappointment. “Tell him I’m resting. “
“Yes. ” As the man was about to leave, a voice came from behind.
“Later, tell the General that I wish to use the World Ark’s screen to deliver a brief speech. “
“Yes. “
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