Chapter 12: An Unexpected Meeting

A silvery-white airship burst forth from the blizzard raging over the frozen plain. Its metallic hull shimmered with an ever-changing sheen as it activated perfect camouflage.

Hidden within dense dark clouds, concealed by darkness, there was not even the slightest energy fluctuation around the airship—it resembled nothing more than a leaf swept along by the gale winds.

“We are ten minutes away from Deep Blue’s civilian port. Please prepare accordingly.”

The virtual image of the silver-armored knight on the screen vanished just as the entire interior lighting of the airship dimmed. “Upon landing, my power will be reduced to ten percent,” Xi’er announced. “I’ll maintain only psychic wave contact with you. May fortune smile upon you, Master.”

No sooner had Xi’er finished speaking than the airship abruptly nosedived, tracing an eerie S-shaped path through the wind and snow.

Wen Luan lost his balance and tumbled to the ground. “Didn’t you say we still had ten minutes…”

“Warning: The government of Deep Blue may have discovered my disappearance. They could deploy mechs equal to or higher than mine for a search operation.”

Damn it, Wen Luan thought bitterly, just as I suspected.

“What should we do now?!” He scrambled back up, internally cursing; he couldn’t even read the instrument panel on this mech!

“My IQ setting is higher than Andros’,” Xi’er replied calmly, “but theoretically, my escape speed surpasses that of all other mechs.”

Xi’er spoke mechanically, “Energy transfer to thinking module, photobrain’s external connections closed, navigation system disabled… All programs terminated, all energy reserves redirected entirely for speed—confirmed!”

Boom!

The airship trembled lightly before shooting forward like lightning—not even along a straight path, as if striving to chase after light itself. A nine-minute flight was compressed into less than a second, bringing them directly to the vast port of Deep Blue.

Wen Luan felt his entire body seem to be flung away by some powerful force. His vision went completely black; he could hear only a massive splash before losing consciousness altogether.

The narrow little flying boat plummeted precisely into the raging tempest at the edge of the harbor.

Throughout the entire harbor, communication signals emitted faint crackling noises, while static appeared on screen displays. But just as quickly as it came, it vanished—so fast that the docked merchant ships and port staff barely had time to blink before their instruments returned to normal operation.

“Your equipment is due for replacement, you stingy wretch!” an imposing man standing in one of the harbor channels bellowed angrily. “A single day’s worth of taxes from this port would be enough to upgrade your systems entirely!” The minor glitch moments ago had interrupted his spaceship’s inspection upon arrival, forcing him to start the process anew.

Beside him stretched twenty identical channels. The hall stood fifty meters tall, with both length and width exceeding three thousand meters each. At least a hundred spaceships were queued up, waiting patiently to enter the port for inspection.

The floor was smooth, while both walls and the high ceiling of the hall were transparent. Through them, one could see the raging blizzard outside and the surging waves constantly crashing against the shore. Snow-white foam and deep blue seawater slid down the glassy surfaces, quickly giving way to new waves that would crest at the top once again. This spectacle—a vivid display of nature’s awe-inspiring power—left many first-time visitors to Deep Blue feeling simultaneously intrigued and petrified.

“Hey, this planet has only one landmass,” someone remarked, “so even the giant waves crossing such vast oceans reach astonishing heights.”

On another side of the hall lay the VIP passage—a special entrance reserved for nobles of status, officials, or wealthy merchants.

At that moment, a young man excitedly began boasting about his knowledge of this renowned city to his female companion. He had arrived in a small space shuttle—a vessel akin to a luxury yacht from the 21st century, typically used by affluent scions for interplanetary travel within star systems.

“You can’t imagine how fantastic this underground city is; it offers every conceivable form of entertainment you might think of—and even those you wouldn’t! Meredith City truly is a paradise on earth. As long as you have money—damn right, I mean just money—it doesn’t matter if you’re like me or those smugglers and space pirates docking over there. Everyone here can find suitable places to spend their wealth and indulge in pleasures!”

The young man spread his hands apart before finally sighing once more. “Regrettably, only citizens of the Deep Blue Kingdom can reside in Meredith City; outsiders are permitted to stay no longer than thirty days… Oh dear, what did you say just now? On the surface of Meredith—ha ha—that is their kingdom’s political center district, as well as a military-controlled area. After all, this is their nation’s capital city, eh—”

Staring blankly at the transparent wall, he noticed something silvery-white amidst the waves.

A fish perhaps?

Both the spacecraft and merchant ships slowly ascended towards the harbor docking area above. This place was even larger; every five hundred meters, there stood an elevator leading underground. At the far end of the dock lay a sheltered highland where common language texts continuously flickered in the air. Several two-meter-tall robots were stationed there, and groups of excited tourists frequently ran over. After paying, they would climb into the robots, then gracefully leap into the surrounding ocean waves.

“Using first-generation amphibious combat mechs for surfing and diving—only the Deep Blue Kingdom could pull off such a feat,” came exclamations from all around. “In our planet, these types of mechs are still reserved exclusively for military and police use. They’ve already completely phased them out here!”

Although all the weapons on the mechs had been disassembled, those tourists who had never used such machines before couldn’t resist this thrilling experience. They formed a long queue, surrounding the area.

Wen Luan was roused by this commotion.

Blearily opening his eyes, he discovered amidst the deep seawater around him, one powerful metal robot after another clumsily swam—some using breaststroke, others doggy paddle, and some unable to control their direction at all, flipping back and forth like dead fish caught in the waves.

“…”

Could these be the pursuit forces? The elite troops sent to hunt them down by the kingdom?

Something must have gone wrong—

In his dazed state, Wen Luan shook his head slightly. Suddenly, he realized he too was a robot—or rather, he found himself inside one just like them.

Through the visor, his eyes clearly saw his thick, sturdy limbs.

“Xi’er?”

“Mimicry program activated; target for imitation…” Xi’er emotionlessly recited a string of codes—the type codes corresponding to the nearby robots’ models. It then reminded Wen Luan, “Please disembark as soon as possible and leave the harbor within half an hour. My power reactor has been shut off; we won’t be detected for a short time.”

“Why would we be in the sea?”

After three seconds of silence, Xi’er said solemnly, “Although our journey is ‘to the stars and the vast sea,’ sometimes we may still fall into the vast sea.”

“…”

This damn mecha should just be abandoned! Wen Luan thought. Being pursued by the kingdom over it would be too great a loss!

Wen Luan took a deep breath, then realized that basic control of the mecha wasn’t difficult at all—whatever movement he made, the mecha could replicate accordingly.

The problem was!

He didn’t know how to swim! How could he have learned swimming in Meteorite Town, which lacked such an environment?

Thus, despite wearing the most advanced mecha from the Deep Blue Kingdom, Wen Luan found himself flailing desperately in the waves like those tourists. Xi’er calmly recited the port situation, but it was merely reading from data—north, south, east, west… While Wen Luan was still thrashing about in the sea, how could he possibly distinguish directions?

“Accident…” Xi’er slowly articulated this word before nodding. “I understand now. Even for a mecha initially programmed with high intelligence, accidents will always occur. We had only thirty minutes to escape the harbor, yet I ‘accidentally’ discovered that you might need fifteen minutes to learn swimming.”

“Shut up!” Veins bulging on his forehead, Wen Luan roared angrily, “Don’t randomly nod; I can’t see clearly through your perspective.”

At that moment, Wen Luan felt a powerful wave sweep across the sea surface, causing his body to instantly stiffen.

But this detection wave failed to discover him; it swept past and continued in another direction.

“Another guy with higher rank than me,” Xi’er said calmly. “My master, if you don’t learn swimming soon, we’re finished.”

“… Learning to swim while wearing such heavy armor! Is there anyone more unfortunate than I am?”

“Deny. I have activated my anti-gravity device; my original weight was three tons.”

Wen Luan was at a loss for words.

He hefted his metal arm heavily and struck his head, gritting his teeth as he said, “Reduce your weight even further.”

“I deny. One hundred kilograms is the standard weight for this amphibious combat exoskeleton. If I make adjustments or perform any extraneous movements, our cover will be blown.”

Wen Luan had an urge to spit blood.

Despite these challenges, his potential was indeed commendable. Thirteen minutes later, Wen Luan finally floundered ashore from—what turned out to be—a mere seven-meter-deep seabed.

The staff member at the surfing diving spot spoke to Wen Luan with a beaming smile.

“Xi’er?” Wen Luan murmured anxiously.

“He says please remove your exoskeleton.”

“… Take it off?”

“Yes, no problem. The information said there were many foreign tourists at the port. Never mind those wearing snow wolf fur; even tribes clad in leaves exist.”

The voice could only be heard within the mecha; outside, the staff maintained their professional smiles.

“What will you do then?”

“There are cameras here. You leave first. I’ll find an opportunity to change form later.”

“…”

Wen Luan emerged from the robot, his head swimming with frustration. Immediately, visitors who had been queuing up to play approached him. Just as he stepped out, red lights began flashing continuously on Xi’er’s transformed robotic chest—a sign indicating low energy reserves.

Staff members promptly apologized to the waiting tourists with regretful expressions. Using mechanical tow arms, they pulled Xi’er over to join a cluster of other robots depleted of power.

The sight of the harbor’s vast parking area left Wen Luan feeling numb all over. Everything was meticulously orderly. Trying to discreetly sneak onto a spaceship and escape seemed as difficult as boarding an airplane without a ticket—it was practically impossible.

Wen Luan walked away, looking back every few steps—not because he worried about Xi’er, but rather—Damn it! He didn’t even have a portable translator device. How was he supposed to get away?

“Bang!”

Wen Luan, not watching where he was going, collided heavily with someone.

Then his shoulder was roughly grabbed by a figure at least two meters tall—a bald man with a vivid red tiger-head tattoo on his left cheek who glared fiercely at Wen Luan.

Instinctively, Wen Luan stared at the man’s neck before struggling against him with an elbow strike aimed directly forward.

But this fellow was like an iron tower—unmoved even slightly. His expression merely shifted from ferocity to slight confusion as he muttered to himself, “Strange, why does he seem somewhat familiar?”

Though Wen Luan couldn’t understand what he said, the other’s physical features were too distinctive. His memory hadn’t yet been frozen solid by the icy winds of the Frozen Plain; it slipped out involuntarily:

“Jim? Is that you?”

The moment Jim heard English spoken, his face paled instantly. He immediately released Wen Luan and began scrutinizing him carefully.

“Jim, how could you be here—” Wen Luan’s mind buzzed with questions. Jim was the foreman of the miners in Meteorite Town, known for his brutishness—he often settled disputes with his fists alone.

What was this guy doing here?

The bald giant’s fierce triangular eyes twitched shockingly, and he blurted out spontaneously, “Luan?”

Is it really Jim?!

How utterly bizarre! This is the civilian port of Deep Blue, capital planet of the Third Kingdom within the White Whale Galaxy—two thousand years from now!

Wen Luan couldn’t help but widen his eyes dramatically. The air around him trembled slightly as an impossible layer of mist appeared—a phenomenon completely incongruous with a spaceship docking area.

A cold sweat broke out on the bald, burly man’s forehead. He immediately seized Wen Luan by the shoulders and whispered in English, “This isn’t the place to talk. We need to leave Deep Blue swiftly. Trust me—for the sake of—damn it all, God! For the sake of Father Defere’s piety at the Meteorite Town church, your friend—you weren’t friends before, but certainly are now—follow your friend Jim. Quickly!”

With those words, he dragged Wen Luan towards a battered spacecraft covered in pitted dents.

“I demand immediate departure!” miner Jim roared at the port staff.

“Sir, please queue up; you must wait,” the harbor inspector replied icily. “Moreover, there’s no record of this person in your entry logs. He isn’t listed among your companions!”

“Damn it, we’re leaving, not entering…” Jim suddenly felt a weight on his arm. Trembling, he turned back to look at Wen Luan and indeed found him unconscious, slumping over.

The inspector’s eyes glazed over as the entire port fell silent in an instant. Every person became like wooden puppets, maintaining their previous postures with lifeless gazes fixed forward.

Jim cursed bitterly, raking his fingers through his hair in frustration.

To the east lay the entrance; to the west stood the departure checkpoint leading straight outwards—the exit route clear.

The burly man with a shaved head opened the cabin door, hoisted Wen Luan inside, then hastily piloted the spacecraft. With reckless force, he rammed aside several shuttles before bursting forth from the port.

Unnoticed amidst this chaos was how the spaceship dipped slightly downward during the collision. A silver metallic sphere had flown out from among the robots, adhering itself firmly to the top of the departing vessel.

In the very next moment after the spaceship left the docking area, the noise that had been paused resumed its clamor once more.

As if nothing unusual had occurred, the inspector stared somewhat bewildered at the now-empty parking space before him and crossed out the registration record still clutched in his hand.

Ten minutes later, the maintenance worker responsible for refueling the robots stared blankly, perplexed by the situation. “Strange,” he muttered. “How could there be one extra energy block?”