The sky in July gradually became hotter.
The sunlight outside the window carried the heat, and unknown insects screamed desperately, making the afternoons even more drowsy.
At the entrance of Wu Ming’s residential community, several teenagers gathered together, clearly very excited.
“Hey, Philip, is this your girlfriend?”
Alice had obviously made an effort with her appearance, highlighting her feminine features. Her legs in stockings drew admiring glances from passersby. Seeing Philip come out first, she immediately greeted him.
“No! Let me introduce you. This is Lanny, my…my good friend!”
Philip hastily explained, only to receive an annoyed glance from his tall female companion.
“I’m Alice. Nice to meet you!”
“I’ve heard about you from Philip. Congratulations on your graduation!”
Lanny smiled in response.
“Oh! Philip, you actually brought a girlfriend!”
The exaggerated exclamation immediately made Philip roll his eyes: “Lanny, this is Vidi. He’s got some issues, just ignore him!”
“Hehe, you little rascal…”
Vidi gave a lecherous grin and said no more.
“It seems you all arrived early!”
At this moment, Wu Ming also walked out from the community, carrying a travel bag, accompanied by two others: “Only Philip brought a companion?”
“Who are you…?”
Alice and the others immediately focused on the two people beside Wu Ming. The small girl was obviously Angelina, whom they naturally recognized, but the other young man was clearly not Brandon. He looked several years older than Brandon, and his face was oddly familiar.
“Don’t remember me? I’m Neville!”
Neville spoke with a deep voice: “Your elementary school classmate!”
“Oh right, Neville, it’s really you!”
Vidi laughed loudly to cover his previous embarrassment: “What are you doing now?”
“I run a small recycling business. Steven mentioned this trip, so I tagged along!”
Years of struggling in the real world had given Neville a more mature air. Looking at these former classmates, he couldn’t help feeling a bit envious and inferior, knowing their futures were far brighter than his.
“Alright, now that everyone’s here, let’s get going!”
Wu Ming clapped his hands. Dave and another hired driver immediately stepped forward to help everyone with their luggage: “We’ll take an airship across most of the Golden Oak Kingdom, then a ship to the Red Coral Sea!”
He smiled as he announced the travel plan, prompting cheers from the group.
Only Angelina gave a slight cold snort, seemingly unhappy, but Wu Ming chose to ignore such childish behavior.
Actually, Angelina’s recent behavior had been troubling him. The girl was showing signs of becoming a delinquent, and Wu Ming didn’t want to create future trouble for himself, so he decided to bring her along to fulfill his responsibility as an older brother.
“Ever since the war ended, the Golden Oak Kingdom has been vigorously developing its airship industry in response to its defeat in armored airships. Even our city has recently opened a new air route. I’ve been eager to try it out!”
Philip adjusted his glasses, his eyes gleaming with excitement. Lanny shared his enthusiasm.
They both came from ordinary families, and the cost of riding an airship was quite expensive. Without urgent matters, they would rather take the steam train, which took about the same time, albeit less comfortably.
The airport was located in the southern suburbs of the city, originally a vast plain. Along the wide roadside were acres of blue flowers. When the wind blew, blue petals danced in the sky, filling the air with a pleasant fragrance, making people feel refreshed and relaxed.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve arrived at the airport!”
Dave stepped on the brakes, jumped out of the car, and promptly opened the door for Wu Ming.
“Wow! Cool!”
Before the teenagers stretched a vast, flat building. Olive-shaped airships, resembling large ships, continuously rose and descended.
Their sheer size and the sense of safety they conveyed were reassuring.
Following the steam-punk era philosophy of “bigger is better, heavier is more beautiful,” the Golden Oak Kingdom’s current constructions all leaned toward this direction.
The army’s steam tanks were becoming increasingly massive, with more and thicker gun barrels, almost turning into walking multi-turreted fortresses. The navy was similar, always seeking longer and thicker cannons with thicker armor.
This trend was also evident in civilian airships. Although Wu Ming found them somewhat “clumsy and crude,” their reliable operation and long service life overshadowed any drawbacks.
“Alright Dave, you can leave us here.”
Wu Ming waved Dave and the other driver off, handing the hired men a small tip. The group walked into the terminal.
The massive waiting hall was nearly full. People kept rising anxiously to look at the small blackboard numbers hanging from the ceiling, constantly changing.
Angelina seemed a bit uneasy, moving closer to Wu Ming.
After all, she was still a child, and this was her first long trip. Even though it was just to a new place, she couldn’t help feeling a bit anxious.
“Don’t worry, everything will be fine!”
Wu Ming accurately sensed her psychological state and gave her a warm smile.
This was exactly the feeling he wanted, to make his sister start relying on and trusting him, making future guidance… no, education easier.
Hearing Wu Ming’s reassurance, Angelina inexplicably felt much more relaxed and dared to look at the other waiting passengers.
“I’ve already bought the airship tickets. Now we should go to Waiting Room No.2!”
Neville ran to the window to queue and soon returned, handing everyone a delicate red ticket: “The journey takes five days, and we’ll land at Victoria Harbor!”
“Attention passengers, attention passengers, boarding for Airship No.2 has begun. Please line up orderly for boarding!”
A sweet female voice echoed through Waiting Room No.2.
Immediately, people sitting, lying, or doing other things all stood up, tickets in hand, rushing toward the boarding gate.
“Wow, it’s so big!”
After passing through the long corridor, Angelina immediately let out a cry of amazement.
Although they had seen the airship from afar, standing beneath it still amazed even Vidi and the others.
It was as huge as a small mountain, making them seem like tiny ants in comparison.
“Dear passengers, Golden Fly Airlines is at your service!”
Inside the airship, a sweet female voice constantly echoed through the corridor speakers: “Our company uses the most advanced airship technology, with compartmentalized gas bags and composite steel armor plates… everything is designed with passenger safety as the top priority, creating a comfortable, safe, and hygienic travel environment, with three-star restaurant service… finally, we wish you a pleasant journey!”
“Our rooms are all adjacent. If you need anything, just knock on the wall!”
Wu Ming distributed the keys and casually opened a cabin door.
Inside was a small private room with a table, a bed, and even an independent bathroom—an unimaginable luxury for ordinary people.
On an airship, this was VIP-level luxury. Compared to regular economy class, which was cramped like a coffin, it was vastly superior.
“Ah, we’re taking off!”
At this moment, the airship gave a slight tremor.
Wu Ming looked out through the circular armored glass window on the wall and saw the ground receding, buildings shrinking into miniature.
“Rest well. Golden Fly Airlines is well-known in the Golden Oak Kingdom for its safety and comfort!”
Wu Ming dismissed the group: “We’ll have dinner together at 6 PM!”
“Hey, buddy, want to play some cards?”
Vidi couldn’t wait any longer, pulling out a deck of cards similar to Tarot cards.
Although playing this game with Philip and Alice, they still couldn’t beat Wu Ming, but he just loved it.
“I’ll go take a walk first!”
Wu Ming smiled and declined: “Have fun!”
He wandered aimlessly through the corridor, suddenly pulling out another key and opening a nearby cabin.
Inside was an ordinary cabin, but a strange, pleasant fragrance lingered in the air.
“Already here?”
Wu Ming glanced at the table, spotted an envelope, immediately stuffed it into his pocket, and left without looking back.
Secretly sneaking onto the airship to leave a message was naturally Vixie Dia, the fox enchantress.
After being subdued by Wu Ming, this woman had been gathering supernatural information in this world for him. After three years of probing, she had gained some results.
Otherwise, Wu Ming wouldn’t have set the destination of this graduation trip to the Red Coral Sea.
With her current strength, this woman was far beyond an ordinary A-level wanted criminal. It was said that her reputation in the international dark mercenary circles was growing, even reaching the point where ordinary special search units dared not provoke her.
“Agreed to meet in Victoria Harbor?”
Wu Ming blinked, silently exiting the room.
With Dia’s current hypnotic skills, combined with some mental techniques, no one on the airship could detect her presence, although Wu Ming was an exception.
“She’s already left? What a cunning little fox!”
Obviously, Dia was highly alert. She knew that on such a heavily inspected airship transport, unless one had a legitimate identity, there was a risk of exposure, and there would be nowhere to run. Therefore, she chose more covert and unmonitored ground transportation.
Wu Ming was quite satisfied with this woman’s vigilance.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage