Three days later, Huaiyuantang's airship landed at the airship base in a strange city in the desert, carrying out the second supply of the journey and the first repair after encountering the attack of the Iron-billed Ibis.
That time, the attack by the Iron-billed Ibis caused only one airbag in the airbag compartment of the airship to completely lose its ability to float. However, in order to maintain the balance and stability of the airship's flight, the airship with twelve airbag compartments was During the subsequent flight, he actively released a large amount of helium from the other airbag compartment opposite the one that was attacked, and also adjusted the air pressure of the other three airbag compartments. , the speed of the airship suddenly dropped by one-third, from more than 100 kilometers per hour to about 70 or 80 kilometers per hour.
Airship flight is a complex technical task, and Zhang Tie only learned from others' words how many adjustments were needed to allow the airship to continue flying smoothly after being attacked by an iron-beaked ibis.
That is to say, during these three days, Zhang Tie's identity on the airship changed slightly because of the battle with the Iron-beaked Ibis. Although he was still a special guest living in the passenger cabin, on the airship Most of the crew members knew him.
When the airship was preparing to land at the airship base in this city, Zhang Tie, like other passengers, walked out of the cabin and came to the vast airship deck, looking at the strange city below. .
What impressed Zhang Tie deeply was the terrifying cacti that often stood forty or fifty meters high surrounding the city. Those cacti formed the walls of the city. Looking from the air, the entire shape of the city looked like A piece of green clover, in the middle of this piece of clover. There are buildings with strange domes everywhere, and in the middle of the city, there is a large lake.
The airship base that can accommodate the landing of Huaiyuantang's airship is right next to the lake.
The biting cold wind that arrived in winter when leaving Karur has turned into a warm sun hanging in the sky. The passengers standing on the deck have already taken off all kinds of warm clothes that were obstructive and bulky. And dress lightly.
"This is the desert city of Loulan. The total population of the entire city and its surroundings is 4.1 million people!" Just as Zhang Tie was looking at the city below, Zhang Zhitian had already appeared next to Zhang Tie. Introducing the city below the airship to Zhang Tie.
After Zhang Tie saved his life that day, Zhang Zhitian, who was two years older than Zhang Tie, had become friends with Zhang Tie at this time.
"How's it going? Is your injury feeling better?" Zhang Tie looked at the young crew member whose face was bronzed by the sun. Zhang Zhitian's eyes were narrow and narrow, perhaps due to the same bloodline. It actually looks similar to my brother's. This guy looks gentle. But under the gentleness. But he has a strong temperament that ordinary people can't imagine.
Thinking of the way this guy and the iron-beaked ibis struggled on the airbag of the airship that day, Zhang Tie shook his head quietly in his heart.
Hearing Zhang Tie's inquiry, a smile appeared on Zhang Zhitian's face, and he raised his arm slightly, "After using a low-level recovery potion and applying some wound gel. After resting for the past two days, I am much better!" "
"By the way, have you often encountered this kind of situation before?" Zhang Tie asked casually.
"How can we encounter this situation so often and be so dangerous every time? Then wouldn't all cargo airships become the targets of those high-level mutant creatures that can fly?"
"You mean this situation is very uncommon?" Zhang Tie was stunned for a moment.
"It's not uncommon, but it's rare to encounter it. I have been on this airship for three years, but this is the first time I have encountered such a dangerous situation as the past few days, although I have encountered some capable ones before. The flying mutant creatures and monsters harassing the airship are not as dangerous as this time..." Zhang Zhitian patiently explained to Zhang Tie, "Although it seems that this airship can fly everywhere in the sky, in fact, like us, The routes of various large-scale cargo airships are relatively fixed. On these routes, there are basically no high-level creatures that can directly threaten the safety of the airship. This is an important consideration in the selection and exploration of airship routes. If in a certain There are many mutant creatures or monsters in this airspace that can threaten the safety of the airship route. Under normal circumstances, the airship route will choose to bypass this area. This is similar to a ship sailing on the sea. Although the sea is vast, it is not You can go anywhere.”
Zhang Tie suddenly realized, "I also find it strange. I feel that those iron-beaked ibises seem to be a little too smart. They seem to know how to avoid the shooting area on the deck, and specifically choose the most dangerous places on the airship that cannot be reached by everyone's weapons to attack." ?”
Zhang Zhitian looked both ways and saw that not many people were paying attention to him and Zhang Tie. Then he lowered his voice and told Zhang Tie the news, "I heard the discussion between the captain and the first mate. They also felt that this encounter with iron The attack of the Iron-billed Ibis is a little strange. In the past few years of sailing, no trace of the Iron-billed Ibis has been found on this route, but this time there were a lot of them, something a little abnormal!"
"Is there someone behind this?" Zhang Tie was also slightly surprised.
At this time, after receiving confirmation from the ground signal, the airship had slowly lowered its height above the airship landing position vacated by the ground base. When it was still a few hundred meters away from the ground, the airship had already dropped several A huge rope. After receiving the rope thrown by the airship, the vehicles and personnel on the ground became busy. The airship, which was still swaying in the sky due to the wind direction, suddenly stabilized and descended at a rapid speed. It's also accelerating.
Zhang Zhitian only glanced down slightly, then withdrew his gaze, "Because of its sharp and long beak, the iron-beaked ibis, a level five creature, poses the greatest threat to airships in the air among all creatures below level six. Among the top three, this kind of creature that can threaten the safety of airship airways suddenly appeared in large numbers in the originally safe airship lanes without any warning. The officers on the airship all judged that someone was operating behind the scenes. This time, if our airship is not If it is a rigid airship that uses advanced airbag compartment design instead of other soft airships, everyone on the airship may not be able to come back this time!”
Zhang Tie took a breath of air. Although he had a certain degree of suspicion beforehand, when this suspicion was confirmed by a more experienced person. He still felt a little frightened, "Is someone targeting Huaiyuantang?"
"I don't know!" Zhang Zhitian shook his head, "But we will know soon. The desert city of Loulan is the most important air transportation hub within two thousand kilometers nearby. After landing in Loulan City, just ask if there are other When an airship encounters something like this, the officers can probably make a judgment?"
"What if someone really targets Huaiyuantang?"
A proud smile appeared on Zhang Zhitian's face, "Then as long as we return to the Huaiyuantang clan, someone will naturally come to settle the score with those guys! No one can avoid paying the price after scheming against Huaiyuantang!"
Zhang Zhitian's self-confidence beyond his age also infected Zhang Tie, and a smile appeared on Zhang Tie's face. This is the confidence of having a powerful family behind you. This kind of confidence makes a young man on the airship of Huaiyuantang's business group seem to have the same attitude as Reinhardt when facing dangers and difficulties. Such pride. Thinking of the Zhang family of Huaiyuantang. Thinking about his father and the current situation at home, Zhang Tie sighed quietly in his heart.
"Speaking of Huaiyuantang. I'm not very clear about many things about Huaiyuantang. Can you tell me about it?"
"Okay, I estimate that it will take at least one day to complete the supply and airship repairs in the desert city of Loulan this time. Anyway, I am also recovering from my injuries at this time and have nothing to do. I will give you a good talk when I have this time. Huaiyuantang!" Hearing Zhang Tie take the initiative to ask him about Huaiyuantang. A smile appeared on Zhang Zhitian's bronze face.
"Jinyun Kingdom is a human country composed mainly of Chinese people. Our Huaiyuantang is one of the six aristocratic families in Jinyun Kingdom. We have eight cities under our command and a clan area of more than a thousand miles. We occupy one county of Jinyun Kingdom. , the name of the county is the name of the Huaiyuantang of our Zhang family. Every generation of the head of the Huaiyuantang who inherits the title of Earl Feng, the human clan leader, is respected by everyone in the family. The position of the head of the family is elected by the family elders. However, in the past two hundred years, Later, the position of the head of the Zhang family in Huaiyuantang was inherited by the Donghai City lineage and has been inherited to this day... "
Zhang Zhitian spoke eloquently, and the impression of Huaiyuantang in Zhang Tie's mind gradually became clear.
…
After the airship landed, many people on the airship became busy. Because the desert city of Loulan lacked mineral resources, many of the high-end alloys and ordnance brought by the airship from Karur City were sold here. This gave the Changfeng Merchant Group Come huge profits.
After selling the goods brought from Karur, Zhang Tie saw that the airship purchased a lot of things from the desert city of Loulan. Under Zhang Zhitian's introduction, Zhang Tie knew that there were three main things that the airship purchased here. The first is ruby, the second is something in the body of a mutated lizard in the desert, which is said to be a material for making bows and arrows, and the third is said to be the secretion of a special cactus. This secretion can directly adhere to wounds on the human body.
While various goods were coming in and out of the cargo hold below the airship, the water, coal, and food needed by the airship were also replenished here.
After landing, repairs to the airship's airbag compartment were also carried out in an intense and orderly manner.
After flying in the sky for many days, Zhang Tie's feet were a little shaky. After landing, Zhang Tie, led by a familiar airship crew, walked around the desert city of Loulan. Loulan City's grilled scorpion meat Zhang Tie was deeply impressed by the mutated cacti that protected the city.
At night, the temperature in Loulan City suddenly dropped, and it suddenly became even colder than in Karur City. The passengers on the airship suddenly felt the taste of ice and fire.
That is to say, at night, the captain, first mate, and several other major figures of the airship all sat in the control room of the airship with frowns on their faces.
"Did you get any information?" the captain of the airship asked a man sitting next to the table.
"I have inquired clearly. Apart from us, five of the airships that have come to Loulan for supply and rest in the past three days have encountered the same situation as us. They have all been attacked by a large number of iron-beaked ibises. Those five airships have all It was a rigid airship equipped with protective armor. After paying a huge price, it reluctantly arrived at Loulan. In addition, there were several airships that had agreed delivery times with several business groups in Loulan City but arrived. It hasn’t been reached yet, it has been missing for several days, and all the missing airships are relatively backward single-airbag soft airships!”
The airship captain, who was smoking a pipe, narrowed his eyes and asked after a long time, "Is there any news about the destruction of the elder family of the Carlo Federation Alchemist Union?"
"No, although the reward notices from the Carlo Federation and the Alchemist Guild have now spread throughout the Hawaiian subcontinent, the murderers seem to have disappeared out of thin air!" The man who spoke glanced at the captain of the airship, "Between the two, Is there any relationship between them?"
"I don't know if it has anything to do with it. What I know is that the world and the airship route seem to have become dangerous overnight!" The airship captain's eyes flashed with a calm and serious light, "Repair the airship as soon as possible , and then go contact those merchant airships whose next stop is the same as ours and have been attacked by dangerous creatures, and let’s form a team and leave Loulan together!”
"yes!"