Living on the ship meant running into operators at all hours. Felix had prepared himself for that, yet now that he had become the "Amiya" of the Venus, part of him couldn't help missing the days when he tinkered alone in his workshop.
"So late, and you're still out here enjoying the breeze?"
Pulled from his meditation, Felix turned toward the familiar voice. It was Lin Yühsia, dressed in casual clothes. She smiled and sat beside him.
"What brings you here?"
"I heard from the operators that the boss was on the deck thinking about Tomorrow's Development and its future direction. None of them wanted to disturb you, so they all left quietly."
Her arms wrapped around her knees. "So I came. But really, were you thinking about something that deep?"
"No, just small things."
She laughed lightly and tapped him on the shoulder.
Felix turned slightly. "What did your mother say?"
"She was a little unwilling to let me go during dinner, but then started muttering things like 'a daughter married out is like water thrown out'… ugh."
Lin Yühsia spat twice, her cheeks warming in the night breeze. "But she knows I can't stay in Lungmen forever. I need to get out and see the world. Leaving me in your care puts her more at ease."
"So I've gained Auntie's trust."
"Exactly. So shoulder the responsibility properly. You better take good care of me."
She grinned and offered him her arm. "Winter's almost here. Don't catch a cold."
Felix stood with her help, his hand naturally meeting hers. She intertwined her fingers with his, holding on for a moment before letting go. With a small wave, she headed down the stairs.
Felix returned to deck four, where the higher-ups lived. These rooms were also prepared for guests and VIPs. His room sat in the center of the hallway, directly connected to his office. He could move between the two freely, and the room even had a small workshop for whenever he felt like tinkering.
He pushed open the office door. The décor wasn't too different from the Tomorrow's Development branch in Lungmen—bookshelves, sofas, cushions, and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the ship's exterior. Most of his daily work was already delegated to Mountain, Loughshinny, and the others. The only thing still bothering him was the construction progress in Kazdel, though even that could be handed to Ines and Luna.
Whoever wanted to sit in the office could sit in the office.
Back in his room, Felix finally relaxed. It had everything he needed. The furnishings followed a Laterano-style design: wide white walls, warm wooden furniture, and an expensive sofa perfect for sinking into. He could watch internal CCTV channels, snack, and scroll through forum jokes to his heart's content.
He fell asleep immediately after collapsing onto the bed.
———
The next day, the Venus awakened like a giant stirring from slumber. It was the final day of the boarding lottery. Players opened the draw results with excitement, some cheering, others groaning. The monthly accommodation fee had long been forgotten. After all, to travel the world at the side of the King of Dawn, what were a few expenses?
Those who failed the draw didn't despair either. The lottery would repeat roughly every two weeks until all slots were filled. That thought gave them comfort.
By afternoon, at least fifty thousand adventurers lined up outside the Venus. Carrying large bags and shouting excitedly, they looked like country bumpkins visiting a big city for the first time.
By evening, all adventurers had boarded. They eagerly explored the new "map," and what impressed them most was the cafeteria, where chefs from many nations served a variety of cuisines. Players praised the food system to the heavens.
As the voice announcement echoed through the halls, the Venus slowly began to move, carrying the dreams of everyone aboard as it set off into the distance.
On the city wall stood not only Wei Yenwu, Fumizuki, the Rat King, and Emperor, but also Ch'en Hui-chieh. She silently watched the landship depart. After a moment, she pressed her lips together and left with Swire, who seemed as if she wanted to say something but held back. Hoshiguma bowed to Wei Yenwu before following behind them.
"This world will soon welcome a new era."
Wei Yenwu spoke quietly, glancing in the direction Ch'en Hui-chieh had gone. "Lungmen's future development will rely on all of you."
The entrepreneurs beside him nodded. Emperor gave Wei Yenwu a sideways glance and puffed his cigar. The reason he didn't board was simple: he valued freedom. There was no way he would let himself be tied down by a ship.
The next day, Venus held a grand party as she sailed toward Iberia. It was a celebration for the smooth departure, and both Terrans and adventurers gathered on the fifth deck and the main deck for a night of revelry. Even the upper-level staff eventually joined in, laughing and drinking until late into the night. By the following morning, everyone woke up groggy and helped clean up the mess.
Felix realized there was nothing that required his involvement at the moment. He lived on the fourth deck, a floor reserved for upper-level personnel, so he never ran into adventurers or operators in the hallway. The quiet environment suited him. For the past few days, he either stayed in the bridge listening to the mechanics chatter or holed up in his room tinkering around while browsing the forums and watching players brag. This long-lost shut-in lifestyle made him unexpectedly nostalgic.
There were relatively few Iberian players, and even fewer participated in the lottery. In the end, only twenty thousand were won the lottery to board the ship.
Ten days later, the Venus arrived in the uninhabited zone bordering Victoria and Leithanien, taking on another seventy thousand people.
Columbia was too far away to reach anytime soon. A round trip would take nearly a month. Besides, relations between the Columbian military and Tomorrow's Development had become tense due to the affair involving the experimental subject Ifrit. Although things had not escalated further thanks to Felix's earlier negotiations, the relationship would never return to what it once was. That left him somewhat disappointed; having the military on friendly terms made it easy to operate anywhere in Columbia.
It was nothing like the Maylander Foundation. Even though they served as the government's glove, there were still requests they could not handle. The military, on the other hand, would act the moment they agreed.
By now, the landship was filled with lucky players. Felix actually had a selection system of his own. New members who joined too late often had questionable loyalty. Still, some newcomers had joined late but completed many tasks. For cases like that, he asked Clever to write a scoring and screening program. A newcomer who joined late but had excellent task completion would receive a high score.
With this system, he filtered out players whose loyalty could not be guaranteed, then drew lots only from those whose loyalty was certain.
At the end of November, the Venus reached Kazdel. His luck was slightly poor this time; they almost ran straight into an originium storm. Although the mechanics calculated that the ship's armor could withstand it, they still decided to play it safe.
Players stood along on the deck, watching the scene from afar. For many who had never witnessed an originium storm with their own eyes, it was an unforgettable sight. The storm raged for a full day and night, leaving behind jagged originium pillars and scattered debris. Fortunately, there were no caravans or convoys nearby.
The Venus slowed to a stop. The originium recovery teams were deployed, piloting drones to clear the pillars. After determining which ones were safe to use, contaminated pillars were crushed and buried on site, while those suitable for recovery were loaded into the lower workshops. Machines would then process them into pure originium shards, valuable for trade or production and welcomed by many.
The landship remained there for half a day before gradually heading toward the Kazdel Mobile City.
When the Goliath defenders on the walls saw the steel colossus approaching in the distance, their first instinct was that Babel's Rhodes Island ship had returned. But they quickly dismissed the idea. The landship before them was noticeably larger than the Rhodes Island vessel. If they had not already known that the King of Liberation would return aboard a new landship, and if they had not seen Tomorrow's Development's massive logo on its side, they might have thought Victoria had sent troops to attack.
Soon, all of Kazdel heard the familiar yet unfamiliar rumble. Some residents grew uneasy, while many others rushed outside the city gates to see what was happening.
The upper-level members of Tomorrow's Development appeared atop the city wall. They stared at the distant landship, their expressions complicated.
"This… is much larger than the Rhodes Island ship," Hoederer said, unable to hide his astonishment. "The King did say he would return aboard a landship, but I didn't expect something of this scale."
Ines glanced at the wide-eyed W and took a deep breath. "A landship of this size… no, this is practically a battleship. You would only see something like this in Victoria."
Giles added quietly, "It's at the level of a Duke-class battleship, but even bigger. I don't think there's another landship of this scale anywhere. It's one of a kind."
"I want to get on board."
Everyone turned in surprise. They had not expected the one to say it would be W.
W found herself the target of several odd looks, especially from Hoederer and Ines, who stared at her with an expression that reminded her of parents watching their child finally grow up. The moment she noticed it, her temper flared.
"W-what are you looking at?! I want to board the ship because I plan to keep an eye on him," W snapped, baring her teeth. She let out a sharp huff. "Don't get me wrong, as a Sarkaz, as a former member of Babel, it's my duty to watch him closely and make sure Tomorrow's Development doesn't go off the rails. Any problem with that?"
"No…"
Luna withdrew her gaze. If W was going, then she would go as well. As a former member of the Military Commission and the commander of the Second Legion, Saviadel, her boarding the ship was already a foregone conclusion.
As for who would stay behind to manage things, that would have to be decided in a high-level meeting once the King of Liberation made his choice.
Soon after, the residents of Kazdel's mobile city were allowed onto the walls to witness the colossal vessel in the distance. Some initially mistook it for Rhodes Island returning, but a second glance made the difference painfully obvious.
Qalaiša stood on the wall holding Nymph's hand, while her other hand clasped Narcissa's. Ifrit stood nearby with her hands on her hips, with Adele quietly at her side.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the massive landship slowly settled onto a flat stretch of ground just outside the city. With a deep mechanical groan, it came to a halt. The boarding ramp lowered, and adventurers stepped out, breathing in Kazdel's wonderfully "fresh" air.
Streams of people poured out as adventurers from far-off regions entered the vast, newly risen mobile city of Kazdel. They eagerly chatted with local players on the streets, some immediately buying local specialties, while others sought out NPC mercenaries to trigger quests in hopes of unlocking new skills.
Felix returned to Tomorrow's Development's meeting room, where all of Kazdel's upper-level members had gathered, including the adventurers.
Who should oversee Kazdel was indeed a difficult question. Felix might not remain here in the future; he could be roaming the continent. Leaving the city to a competent upper-level council member was the best option.
He listened as the debate heated up. Everyone wanted to board the ship and travel with the King, yet none of them could make their desire too obvious. If they pushed too hard, they would only lose their chance.
W was probably the least worried in the room. With no formal education and little authority, she could never convince anyone she was fit to be a regional executive. She simply watched the chaos unfold as though enjoying a performance.
Past events aside, players like Yang Yan and XF were relaxed. As members of the Emperor's Children, they were tied directly to Felix and would naturally board the ship with the King.
"Giles is good at defense. He might be the right choice to hold the fort in Kazdel."
"My qualifications are far too shallow, and I'm a former member of the Military Commission. No one would trust me. I'm not worthy of the position!"
"Hoederer is steady and reliable. He seems more suitable."
"Come on, man. I'm just a mercenary captain. You want me to be the executive of an entire region?"