Era VI shuttles through the ancient starry sky, like a curious traveler in the vast galaxy. The distant stars emit sixteen river-like light bands, exuding light in the lonely and far-reaching universe.
The shards of ice flew from the seventeen clusters of huge ice planets and followed a clear trajectory to the giant star in the center.
Raymond whistled and sat on the sofa, with two other people beside him, who were his companions for the downwind boat this time.
Opal said: "It's beautiful."
"Uh-huh." Raymond looked up and said, "Semi River stars, these ice crystal belts are estimated to take at least hundreds of millions of years to be completely absorbed by it."
"Fantuo is a diamond star." A man with a cigarette was sitting in front of the sofa playing cards: "I guess IRC doesn't have enough money, so they often dig diamonds from the ground and sell them."
His companion, a blond man, said, "You save yourself, diamonds are no longer valuable in ancient times."
"At least it can be used as a prism, as well as a condensing mirror for the light shock cannon." The man with the cigarette said, "Raymond, look at yours?"
"Two kings." Raymond showed his cards.
"Three with two," said another man.
"Oh—" Raymond and the man with the cigarette threw cards at the same time.
"Victor." Raymond said: "You are not a good thing."
The winner named Victor smiled and put away a small stack of shiny gold coins. Raymond got up and said, "I'm going to take a shower."
The man with the cigarette shouted, "Otto... what's it called? Kid, come and play."
"It's Opal." Raymond said before entering the room, "Don't bully him, or you will be miserable."
Opal turned his head and glanced at him, got down from the swivel chair, and took a bottle of Nuo Luoguo wine. The man with the cigarette narrowed his eyes and said, "Children can't drink."
"It's just fruit wine." Opal showed him and said, "Don't be too busy collecting chips, how much did Raymond lose to you? Take it out and put it away."
Victor and the cigarette-smoking man both laughed, and Opal said, "Is your name Thangcain?"
The smoking man corrected: "Thangkaen, you can call me thangka."
Opal nodded, Victor started to deal cards, Thangka took out a gold coin and flicked it, saying, "I bet on this, the commemorative coin of the 3300th anniversary of the founding of the Lion Star Autonomous Prefecture, with the emperor Karthus on it. 's avatar, here you go..."
Opal said: "Very good, leave it, it will be mine later."
Victor started to deal the community cards, and Thangka said, "Thank you for letting us ride your boat."
"Oh, you're welcome." Opal received the card in his hand, glanced at the card, and said, "It was given to him by Raymond's father, but you obviously won the ticket."
The two laughed together.
Thangka asked, "What are you betting on?"
"Bet..." Opal said, "Our little robot, plus Times VI."
Two people: "… "
Opal: "I never lie, this is for you, you win, we will go through the transfer procedures after we arrive at the destination." After speaking, he put E7 and Xiao Q on the table together, and Raymond came out of the shower, Thangka said. : "Your companion is going to gamble with us with the spaceship."
Raymond hummed and said, "He never lies."
Victor took out all the commemorative coins and said, "I'll take a gamble with you."
Thangka drank a cigarette, looked at Opal maliciously, and finally said, "It's interesting, I like it very much."
"It's what adventurers do a lot, and it looks like you're born with the vibe of King's Wharf," Victor said.
Raymond said with a smile: "Didn't Muri also lose the entire Adventurer's Guild to a competitor? That's a big gamble, let's deal the cards."
Victor was a little nervous and started to deal cards, but Opal was a little absent-minded. He looked at the cards and asked, "What is this?"
"The K's are all celebrities." Thangka's mental quality was obviously much higher than that of his companion named Victor, and said, "Guess what?"
"Well... I don't know any of them." Opal picked up the K of hearts on the table and looked at it.
"He's Azeroth," Victor said. "Not long after he died."
"What about this?" Opal pointed to a jack of clubs on the board.
"Li Wei." Thangka said, "Diamond J is to lift the wind."
"Ah—" Opal nodded slowly.
Raymond said: "I just drew a club king, guess who it is?"
Opal said: "Emperor Kartus."
"Oh no." Thangka drank a cigarette, looked at his trump card thoughtfully, glanced at Opal again, and said, "The King of Clubs is Marshal Rotman."
"Who is Square K?" Opal said, "Is it the Emperor or the Pope."
"Do you have a cube K?" Raymond asked.
Opal said, "No, I guess the emperor."
"Yes, he is Diamond K." Victor said softly: "The Pope does not allow the Emperor to ride on his head. Guess who the Pope is?"
"I don't think these retro cards look like real people." Opal said: "What about the Js? I guess one of them is the Pope."
Thangka smiled slyly, picked up the two JOKERs on the side and flipped them over.
The big ace is a golden elder holding a scepter, and the little ace is the dark knight in armor, calm and calm, with a long sword in front of him.
"Coroline," Opal murmured.
Several people nodded slowly. Opal seemed to be more interested in this set of cards than in winning the cards themselves. He wanted to reach out to turn it over, but was restrained by Thangka and said, "It's not over yet."
After Victor dealt the last card, Opal showed his cards and said, "Add the community cards to form three kings with a pair of jacks, full house."
With a loud noise, the thangka fell.
Raymond laughed, came over to collect the gold coins, and touched Opal's head.
There were still three hours to go to King's Wharf. Raymond packed up the cards, and a few people chatted in the boat. Thangka could win and lose, but after a while, he was no longer sad, shook his head helplessly, and went to the refrigerator to get Opal and Raymond's reserve wine.
"The desert fruit wine of the Sphinx." Thangka said, "This thing is worth a lot of money."
"Last time a farmer gave it to Opal." Raymond said: "He needs a plant that can sing to set up the farm, and at the same time pay attention to the trespasser and call the police."
"Plants with vocal cords," Victor said. "There are quite a few in the City of Carols."
"Yes." Raymond nodded.
Opal sat aside and turned the cards, took out a Jack of Spades, and asked, "Who is this?"
"Caesar, the head of the fourth prince of the Meteorite Legion under Corolin," Raymond said, picking out the K of spades and throwing it on the table, "What about this?"
"Spades are the biggest." Opal said suspiciously, "Is this man so powerful?"
"Yes." Thangka nodded and said, "There are only four of these cards related to people in the Dark Ages, this one, this one, this one... and this one."
The thangka picks out the king of spades, the king of hearts, and the big king.
"The four universe cards with the highest order." Thangka said, "It's a special way of playing in another game."
Pope Drummond, Cororin, Knight on the K of Spades, and Azeroth.
"This man's name is Horius." Victor glanced at it and said, "The war god of the dark age, sacrificed for King's Wharf, and in honor of him, they put him on the cosmic card."
"What about Azeroth?" Raymond asked.
Victor said: "The people of Lie Xing admire him very much. You know that the Great Astronautical Association and the Mercenary Union are the only two free organizations with the longest history in the universe, so I guess the person who makes this deck of cards is also Acknowledge his position."
"Where are the Qs?" Opal spread out four more Qs one by one, from left to right are spades, hearts, clubs, and diamonds.
"Natasha, Queen of the Sphinx, Inni, Queen of the Empire, Refina Heinris, the Voice of History, and Shia Plant, the Little Woman."
Opal turned the card to the back and glanced at it, and said to himself, "What are these two women doing?"
"Shia is the richest woman in the universe." Raymond said: "The first lady of the Punes Chamber of Commerce, she has four sons, and her business is spread all over the universe. They have their shares in IRC, which can be said to be a financial empire."
"I heard that she is just a romantic... little woman." Thangka shrugged: "Her nickname is the little woman."
"I know this." Opal said, "Plant, Emmanor, Stegas. The three directors of the Punes Chamber of Commerce."
"The Enmenor family is dead." Victor said, "Stegas has done quite a lot in the mining star business. Fortunately, there is an interstellar anti-monopoly law, otherwise all human regimes will become theirs sooner or later."
Thangka said: "But I heard that the Enmeno family is preparing for a comeback, and they appeared in the Republic some time ago. I haven't heard this surname for a long time..."
Opal said, "Is Lephina so famous?"
With a cigarette in his mouth, Thangka said vaguely: "There are many famous people in her family, including many talented scientists, but she is the last member of this brilliant family. As for whether she is qualified to be a plum blossom Q , this is a matter of opinion, perhaps because this card is made by her students, it is not necessarily..."
Raymond said: "I heard that she is currently at Lie Xing?"
"Well, Star," Victor said.
A few people chatted casually. After Opal watched the cards, he went to the side to play a small projection handheld game machine. This is an atomic pool game. After winning a round, the handsome man inside will take off a piece of clothes.
"It's not good for children to play this," said Victor.
"It doesn't matter." Raymond said: "He is fifteen years old now, and he will be an adult after the next month."
Victor looked at Raymond, then at the expressionless Opal, who was struggling to remove the smart opponent's vest.
Thangka said, "Are you two father and son?"
"Uncle and nephew," Opal said. "He's my uncle."
The two nodded, and Raymond said, "They are also lovers."
"Dude, according to the imperial law, you will be arrested, he is not yet an adult." Victor could not laugh or cry.
Opal said: "We are just spiritually in love."
Raymond smiled and said, "Yes, spiritual love, I've been waiting for him to grow up, and after four years of hard work, I can get it soon."
Victor: "… "
Thangka: "..."
Opal laughed to himself. This was the fourth year after they left Iszur. After starting from the Grip of Rotation, the first stop they arrived was the King's Wharf in the Nimbus star system.
King's Wharf was the first landing site for the ancestors of mankind to enter the Leo Galaxy for the first time in the early Light Era. The forerunners settled here for a short time, then dispersed to the entire Leo Galaxy and discovered a brand new world. They built here The administrative center has been called Leo Autonomous Prefecture for nearly two hundred years, and then migrated towards the Lion Star. The original capital site has been renovated several times and has become the headquarters of the Great Astronautical Association. It is open to the entire universe and has become a highly free immigrant. port.
This planet is located at the very edge of the Leo Nebula. In its nearly 20,000-year history of civilization, it has encountered countless wars. The Lion Galaxy Autonomous Prefecture has fought several wars with the Milky Way. The fuse was ignited on King's Wharf. At the end of the Dark Ages, the two most inclusive planets, King's Wharf and Fierce Star, became the last refuge for the human race.
After the capital injection of the empire and major financial groups, the construction here is even more prosperous than that of Lie Xing. Countless spaceships take off and land. It is the largest free port in the empire. Adventurers drive their own spaceships and come to the Great Astronautical Association to contact them. Find an employer and do business.
The most different thing from Lie Xing is that it is very free here - almost crazy free. King's Wharf has well-established laws and regulations handed down from the dark ages. Unlike the mercenary unions, the Great Astronautics Association established a system to restrain every adventurer, but left them to fend for themselves. There was no recruit training and no curriculum guidance. All Everyone is free, and they contact employers directly according to their grades and qualifications, and pay a small handling fee.
Adventurers never form groups, and the entire Greater Astronautical Society has nearly two billion registered members and is individually assessed for them. All delegations are individually linked to the responsible person, and the association does not take any responsibility for this. The Adventurer's Manual is like a mercenary diary. There is no organization or team here, and each registered member's manual is separate.
The adventurers are also quite different from the mercenaries, and each one is like a well-mannered gentleman - at least in King's Wharf. However, once they leave the Great Astronautical Association, they don't know what action they will take. They will also kill, rob, or steal valuable works of art from ancient tombs.
As long as the Star Patrol doesn't find out, they can get away with it unless they're breaking the law. The definition of breaking the law is very vague, sometimes it is the law of the empire, sometimes it is the law of the republic, and more often it is the local law of many small planets. When encountering such a thing, the adventurer can only escape as much as possible. The Great Astronautical Association It will not cover up criminal acts.
However, whether it is a murderer or a thief, as long as he hides in the hall of the Great Astronautical Association during the business period, all forces are not allowed to fight here, because everyone in King's Wharf believes that the soul of the war god Horius is sleeping here. under the land.
The first sentence of the Adventurer's Handbook is: [Exploration is the lifelong pursuit of adventurers. ] And the first article in the Great Astronautical Association's charter is also: [Please always remember that the mission of adventurers is not for killing, after the inevitable battle, the war god Horius will always provide you with a holy place to shelter your soul. temple. ] The evaluation grades of the adventurers are similar to those of Fierce Stars, but they are replaced with poker-like A~10 points, and J, Q, and K grades.
Opal began to feel very unaccustomed to this place. He only felt that it was too loose. There was no teamwork, no comrades in arms, and no definite affiliation. But after getting familiar with this real neutral territory, he suddenly found that it was very interesting.
Adventurers guard each other with the most basic courtesy, and do not refuse other people's inquiries and help. Among them, there are quite a lot of knowledgeable people. These people know many rumors and anecdotes in the universe. The filthy young man was a sailor genius, or perhaps a certain gray-haired old gentleman had just had a drink with the bosses of the big consortium not long ago.
Adventurers control a world out of reach of mercenaries. They avoid unnecessary battles and use their brains more than strength. The title page of the Adventurer's Handbook reads: Wisdom is your only weapon.
This is diametrically opposed to the mercenary's rule of being born for battle. Adventurers are more cunning and roundabout, and are used to solving problems with smoothness and tactics rather than fights.
The Great Astronautical Association is also a competitor of Lie Xing. However, due to the limitations of the loose organization of adventurers, they cannot carry out too many tasks that are too difficult, which makes Lie Xing invincible in many tasks. After all, The mission of the mercenaries, who often cooperate with dozens of people, is something that adventurers dare not challenge.
They can only explore, seek, and discover class delegations within their capabilities. Free people who have passed the certification of no criminal record after registration will also receive a separate card medal. This card is printed with points and suits, similar to the F to SS ranks of mercenaries, and promotion points are obtained through commission evaluation. There are thirteen levels in the entire adventurer system, and each level is divided into four sub-levels of spades, hearts and clubs, and diamonds.
Levels A to 5 are called reserve personnel, while 6 to 10 are certified official adventurers. Adventurers starting from J have entered the field of advanced exploration. They have their own specialties and a network of relationships that extend in all directions between the stars. , and occasionally take care of the younger generation, but it is never like the mercenary on the fierce star who will sacrifice his life for a comrade-in-arms he does not know.
Adventurers are more in pursuit of retro, art and life. They always seem to intervene in troubles leisurely. When they see that the momentum is not right, they withdraw in time. When they have partners who have commissioned them, they play cards, gamble and chat on the spaceship.
They like playing cards and gambling very much. This seems to be the only tradition of the entire association. When you join the association, you will first get a set of cards. Behind this set of playing cards is printed methods to solve unexpected problems. Proverbs down. It is undeniable that the famous words of ancient philosophers can indeed solve almost every problem in the world.
They also like to chat very much, often a topic can cover everything, from the characteristics of a planet's plants to the entire universe, to the gene company executive's wife who slapped an executive last night.
Opal is not old enough to apply to become an adventurer, but Raymond can, so Raymond got the qualification certificate and took Opal to adventure. Therefore, as long as they encounter adventurers who ask for a free boat in the alien world, they will never refuse their request. Among these people, some are as cunning as foxes, some are serious and down-to-earth, there are old people, and there are young people. All of them have one thing in common. Trait - Curiosity.
Their curiosity is very strong. Perhaps this is the most basic element of people who join the Great Astronautical Exploration Association. They often have countless different opinions after exchanging a question. Walk each other, say hi when you meet, and say goodbye when you leave, like never having any friendship.
Opal felt that this kind of life had almost everything. The days at King's Wharf made him often think of Lie Xing unconsciously, but his friends there no longer had the slightest memory of him, just like a previous life.
But he still sent an anonymous letter to Xun, which detailed many things that he thought should be careful, although Corolin promised him that he would not go to Liexing again in the short term, maybe a hundred years, or maybe Two hundred years, but many things are uncertain.
Living a very fresh life every day on King's Wharf, Opal sometimes wonders, are these people lonely in their hearts? For himself at least, the constant process of satisfying curiosity and knowing more could not fully make up for the emotional inner loneliness.
But luckily he still has Ramon.
"Welcome back to Nimbus." The female voice in the communication station sounded: "The weather is sunny today at King's Wharf."
Raymond: "We're home."
After a few people packed up, Victor said, "Bye two, goodbye!"
Thangka took a cigarette lazily and said, "Goodbye, little guy."
Times VI opened the rear cabin in the sun, several adventurers said goodbye to each other, Opal jumped up, put on Raymond's back, let him carry it, and boarded the train to the association to report the commission.