Chapter 153
Translator’s Notes: Gonna be more Part 1s and Part 2s from now on!
Chapter 153: The Triphibian Flying Car Racing Compet.i.tion of Acallela [Part 1]
While Lung and Bezett were talking, the communicator in the office outside the lounge began to ring. Moreover, it sounded like it was going to get out of control.
Lung covered up his ears and rolled back and forth on his sh.e.l.l sofa, "It must be that Yu Linglung. I refuse to take her call even if I get beaten to death."
"If you don’t, little princess Yu would probably come right up our doorsteps." Bezette said with certainty.
"I don’t care, I’m not seeing her even if she comes here. Would I be suffering if she could summon one tenth of her courage to see Cillin?"
The second he recalled how Yu Linglung turned from a dangerous and highly intellectual woman to a gentle and harmless little sheep immediately when she talked about Cillin, Lung couldn’t help the gooseb.u.mps that kept falling off his skin.
Bezette sighed, "But the Andrea Family’s business would be affected like this. If that happens, who knows how long you’ll have to stay in this place."
Lung had been forcefully dumped onto Planet Ouroke to manage the Andrea Family’s business, and the master had arranged some goals for him to achieve. If Lung did not meet the standards the master had set, he would have to stay here indefinitely.
When he heard Bezette’s words, Lung’s shameless roll of defiance on the sofa abruptly froze as he jumped onto his feet and rushed towards the office.
"You can take this opportunity to fight for the development rights of that planet between the H and the U District." Bezette reminded him from the back.
"Of course!" only an idiot among idiots would not negotiate terms when they could.
Cillin had no idea about Linglung and Lung’s distress. After he left the Andrea Family’s building, he bought some sweets on the way back. He had promised Tang Qiuqiu after all.
Planet Ouroke was filled with money, authority and desire everywhere. High cla.s.s flying cars could be seen anywhere he looked. People who dressed themselves in ways that were only neater and prettier than the others boasted their own capital* ostentiously. When he walked on the road, he noticed that the workers who were pa.s.sing by him in haste were wearing expressions that were similar to a mask on their face. Their hearts were a blur. A high tempo lifestyle made the people too busy to relax as they grew more numb to the fact with each pa.s.sing day. Before they knew it, they had already gotten used to putting on a disguise.
*meaning worth or value
When he returned to the Feniers Family, Castella and Kirk were staring at him with odd looks in their eyes.
"LC Cillin, you are&h.e.l.lip; friendly with the young master of the Andrea Family?" Castella asked.
"Yeah, I became acquainted to him in the past. We haven’t met in several years, so we took the time to get in touch with each other today."
Cillin did not hide this. He knew that the Feniers Family had sent someone to follow him, so they must have known what had happened on the public square. However, Cillin did not plan to explain more than this either. Cillin did not care about what Castella and Kirk thought, and Tang Qiuqiu’s current mission was more or less about to finish.
After conversing a line or two, Cillin then sought out Tang Qiuqiu and pa.s.sed the colorful sweets and denture cleaner he bought on the way to her.
Cillin did not know that his status in Castella and Kirk’s heart had risen to yet another level, however. Not everyone could share such a good relations.h.i.+p with young master Lung, and even the discussion for collaboration this time was probably built on Cillin’s face. That was why Lung had given the quota for collaboration to the Feniers Family. It would seem that the discussion for collaboration this time would go a bit smoother.
In terms of influence in Sector H, the Feniers Family and the Binger Family combined might not necessarily match up against the Andrea Family still. This was also why Castella thought higher of Cillin.
They probably did not imagine that it was also young master Lung who had caused them the huge trouble they encountered on Zafia not long ago.
For the next two days, the collaboration discussions with the Andrea Family went rather smoothly as Castella had imagined. Both sides signed the contract, and whatever came next was under Kirk’s responsibility. Castella still needed to escort Tobo back to his home.
The gray cat was rather happy to leave this planet since it did not like it. Of course, the aquarium in Lung’s office was an exception.
They stepped onto the stars.h.i.+p once more and left the most gorgeous planet in Sector H, heading towards Sector F.
This particular flight went very smoothly, and they did not encounter any other obstructions or troubles. When they approached Sector F, they immediately ran into the Feniers Family’s escort corvettes that were waiting for them under orders. With these escort corvettes around, Tang Qiuqiu’s mission could now be considered finished.
They did not follow Castella and his people back to the Feniers Family’s headquarters. When they were pa.s.sing through the transit planet of Sector F, Cillin and Tang Qiuqiu rode the s.p.a.ceplane Castella had arranged for them and landed on the transit planet.
After acquiring the two million remuneration of this mission, Tang Qiuqiu was so excited that she could not sleep properly for several days. She had been thinking on where to play next all this time.
In a restaurant on the transit planet F-C100, Tang Qiuqiu flipped through the materials in her hands repeatedly. The materials were all about the well known scenic spots of Sector F, and Tang Qiuqiu could feel her eyes spin just looking at them. If possible, she really wished that she could visit every one of them.
Unable to decide, Tang Qiuqiu pushed the materials to Cillin, "You choose, brother Cillin. I don’t know where we should go."
Cillin took over Tang Qiuqiu’s materials and gave it a look. He paid primary attention to the distinguished planets between F-C District because one, it was closer to where they were and two, they were less involved with the Feniers Family.
"How about this one?" Cillin pointed at one of the introductions and said.
It was a relatively famous planet in F-C Sector – Acallela.
In Sector F’s Sector language, Acallela meant ‘flying car’. As its name suggested, Acallela was famous for its flying car compet.i.tions. Every year, there were many people who went to Acallela to watch its fly car compet.i.tions. There were plenty of places in Sector F that live broadcasted the contests, but if the circ.u.mstances were right, there were even more people who were willing to attend and watch the contests personally.
Unfortunately, the Acallela’s champions.h.i.+p wasn’t due yet, so if they went now they would only be able to see the knock-out compet.i.tions. This was something that Cillin felt was unfortunate.
"That’s pretty good. But brother Cillin, what does the ‘triphibian’ of the triphibian flying car racing compet.i.tion means?" Tang Qiuqiu asked curiously.
The gray cat who was busy struggling against the roasted fish on its plate had also raised its ears.
"The flying cars that can drive normally under the three conditions of water, land and air are called triphibian flying cars, and a compet.i.tion where triphibian flying cars only are competing is called a triphibian flying car racing compet.i.tion. The compet.i.tion site ought to involve all three environmental conditions of water, land and air as well." Cillin explained.
Triphibian flying car racing compet.i.tion was a sport that was loved by many people in the galaxy, and it started many business activities; among them was car racing gambling. Back at Planet Brown Earth of Sector X, Old Devon had often gambled in car racing. Cillin had also helped him win some money through car gambling, thereby improving his life.
"It sounds very interesting. Let’s go to Acallela then!"
"Right now, the Acallela champions.h.i.+p is far and away. If we go now, we would only be able to watch the knock-out compet.i.tions."
"That’s fine too. I just want to see what a triphibian flying car racing compet.i.tion is all about." Tang Qiuqiu’s eyes were bright and yearning. The name ‘triphibian flying car racing compet.i.tion’ alone sounded full of pa.s.sion.
An exclusive race spectating tour group was also mentioned beneath the introduction of Acallela, but neither Cillin nor Tang Qiuqiu were willing to register. They preferred the freedom to act
After finis.h.i.+ng their meals, the two people and a cat roamed the transit planet at will before boarding on the pa.s.senger airplane to Acallela. The gray cat seemed to have gotten used to the pet’s cabin, and once it entered the cabin it switched into sleep mode right away.
When they exited Acallela’s port, the people’s first reaction was – there are so many cars!
There were all kinds and shapes of flying cars around, and there were even large electronic signs at the exits of the port displaying the news of the recent triphibian flying car racing compet.i.tions and replays of cla.s.sic episodes. They attracted many people to stay and watch.
After they had stocked up on food and equipment, Cillin, Tang Qiuqiu and the gray cat rode on a pa.s.senger flying car and headed to a nearby city.
Translator’s Notes: Wind City is real. The author borrows heavily from the actual scenic site, Urho Ghost Castle located at the northwest of Xinjiang China, and 100 kilometers northeast of Karamay City. It is also known as Wind City, because of its landscape shaped by wind erosion.
Chapter 153: The Triphibian Flying Car Racing Compet.i.tion of Acallela [Part 2]
The native population of Planet Acallela were few in numbers, and compared to other planets of the same bulk, their population size was pitifully small. Many of the people who came to race here were people of other planets, just like the ruler of this planet who was also transferred over from another planet. Therefore, the status of native Acallelans was basically on the low side.
The biggest reason behind the decline of Acallelans’ population was the planet’s geography. Of course, its geography was also why it was famous in the first place. Its unique geographical terrain caused this planet to become famous for its triphibian racing compet.i.tions. There were more and more flying car enthusiasts who came here to partic.i.p.ate in the race.
Since there was a huge influx of foreigners every year – and not just limited to Sector F; the people from the Sectors around Sector F would also visit for its fame – therefore everyone spoke the GAL’s common language on Acallela. Many of them carried accents from their own Sectors, however. As for the natives of Acallela, they too spoke the common language of GAL. Their speech might not be up to standard, but it could be understood at least.
The pa.s.senger flying car’s windows were all closed due to the strong wind.
Other than the triphibian flying car racing compet.i.tion, the people also said that first time visitors must not miss out on the wind of Wind City.
Wind City was not a city, but a huge zone formed by a dozen or so cities that covered over several millions of square kilometers. It was called the Wind City District, or abbreviated as Wind City. Meanwhile, the cities situated inside the Wind City District would often use the prefix ‘Wind City’ before their city names, which was why one could often hear from other people speaking of ‘Wind City XX’. They were talking about a certain city in Wind City District.
Wind was a feature of this place. It did not have a fixed direction. A minute ago it might blow from the front, and the next it would blow from the back.
The cars driven all across Acalella had undergone special modification to enable them to find their balance amidst the irregular airflow.
The uninhabited regions of Wind City had the distinct landform of an arid region. The wind had an erosive effect. Due to the constant wind erosion, wind formed canyons and deflation hollows gradually separated the land into flat-headed small hills in the shape of isolated islands, which then evolved further into rock pillars or rock blocks. Looking from afar, the scene gave off the impression of an ancient city. The crisscrossing wind formed canyons, rock pillars and rock blocks looked just like building complexes built alongside a street. Every time a strong wind arrived, yellow sand would cover the sky. The wind would cycle within these ‘building complexes’ wildly, creating mournful, whistling noises that sounded like ghost wails or wolf howls, striking extreme fear into people’s hearts. Therefore, some people also described this zone as the ‘Devil’s City’.
Due to thousands and tens of thousands of years of wind and sun exposure, the flat sandstone stratum on the earth’s surface of this area formed all kinds of landscape such as rock arches, mushroom rocks, sandstone pillars, rock pedestals, yardang and deflation hollows, mogotes, castles and so on. The sceneries were magnificent, scoring sighs of wonder from everyone.
There were also some unusually shaped and sized dunes and mounds at this place. The mounds were both hard, dry and neatly compressed. Every time a cloud’s shadow pa.s.sed by, or a soft wind lifted light sands, the dunes or the mounds would drift gradually like a s.h.i.+p setting sail or a school of big fishes travelling. The scenes were impossible to unravel and invoked infinite imagination.
If the stratum was near water level and alternated between hard and soft stratum, the soft stratum would be eroded easily while the hard stratum would protrude in contrast just like eaves. Here, such a scene could be seen everywhere.
"Wah, brother Cillin look quickly, it looks like a crawling snake!" Tang Qiuqiu cried out excitedly while sticking at the car window and staring outside.
Cillin followed the direction Tang Qiuqiu was pointing at, and where she pointed one end of the sand was ‘sc.r.a.ped’ by the wind to form a long and winding mark, even as the other end was being gradually covered up and smoothened by the sand once more. Since the beginning end of the mark continued to cut against the wind into the sand at the front, at first glance it looked just like a huge snake crawling on the sand.
The gray cat crouched on top of Cillin’s shoulders and stared round-eyed at the scene happening at the sand beneath the car and outside the window. Its paws moved unconsciously, and judging from its looks it really wanted to go down there and let itself loose.
"Eh, there’s a rock ball over there! It’s so big!" Tang Qiuqiu said. The video camera in her hands had never rested since the beginning, "Was it carved by someone?"
"No, it is formed naturally." Cillin explained, "When a rock is exposed on the surface, it will be eroded by the wind. Since it has well defined corners, it is easier for it to suffer from wind erosion. The tip of the rock would be eroded from three directions, whereas its edges would be eroded from two directions. Its facet would only be eroded from one direction, however. Therefore, as time pa.s.ses, the corners of the big rock will gradually decline under wind erosion, ultimately trending towards a ball shape just like that big rock ball."
"Oh, I see." Tang Qiuqiu memorised Cillin’s explanation in her heart. This was also knowledge.
"There’s a racing circuit right at the front." someone blurted out.
The crowd looked at the direction he pointed. There were two tall and towering rock mountains, and in between the mountains there was a corridor that looked like a narrow tube. The pa.s.sage was one part of the racing circuit during the contest period. When air entered, the narrow tube caused an effect that sped up the airflow’s movements. Therefore, strong winds would often be formed at this place, and adding this to Wind City’s already irregular winds and winding turns of the narrow pa.s.sage, the slightest lapse in attention would cause the driver to run into the rock mountains. It could be said to be an incredibly thrilling experience.
Although this narrow pa.s.sage was very thrilling, it was just a small section of the full circuit of the triphibian flying car racing compet.i.tion.
According to the description on the materials, the circuit of the triphibian flying car racing compet.i.tion went around almost the entire globe. Moreover, this one round of circuit did not miss a single arduous region on this planet.
One of the most commonly used circuit was the ‘Wind City – Seven Joined Lakes – Stone Forest’ circuit.
Although the wind at Wind City was huge, it was possible to drive temporarily on the sandy grounds if a driver was forced to land. However, they would need to avoid instantaneous gales as these gales would flip a car over. Experienced racers would use the miniscule changes in the sand to judge where instantaneous gales existed and when the strongest gale would be formed, hence commencing evasive actions.
The second major section of the circuit was Seven Joined Lakes.
Seven Joined Lakes was a pa.s.sage established under seven great lakes that was then joined together to form one underwater circuit. The lake waters were very deep, and there were basically no light that could penetrate down to the underwater pa.s.sage. It was very dark, and there were some underwater flora and fauna that poses as disruptive elements as well. If by chance something were to happen to the energy system, the flying car would sink to the bottom and into the silts at the bottom of the lake. Adding this to the entanglement of water plants, you could only exhaust your oxygen reserves while you wait for the rescue team’s arrival. If your oxygen reserves weren’t sufficient, or something went wrong with your oxygen supply system, then death was not too far away.
There were also other obstacles beneath the lake, although it wasn’t stated clearly in the public version of materials that Cillin was holding. It didn’t take much to figure out that those obstacles could only be harder, and this was accounting for environmental factors only. The level of danger need not be said when you considered the factor of drivers playing dirty and stabbing each other in the back.
The third major section of the circuit was the stone forest.
The stone forest was full of tall and straight mountains. The peaks of the mountain were conical, tower-like, cylindrical and so on. The surface of its landscape were clints, grikes and so on. The stone forest had incredible toughness, and if a flying car was to fall into the stone forest, there was basically no chance that it was climbing back up again. There was also the possibility of car crashes, or the slightly better getting jammed between the rocks of the stone forest. Even if they could take flight again, the damage to the flying car would greatly impact their performance during the latter half of the race.
A circuit like this greatly tested a driver not just in terms of skill, but also their mentality and adaptability. Of course, experience was indispensable as well.
It was exactly because of the danger, the high fatality rate and the high crash rate that flying cars enthusiasts were excited for the race. However, Cillin was thinking: How would a flying car driver who could race well in a compet.i.tion like this fare if they were to pilot a fighter instead?
There was no time to think further; he had already reached his destination. Cillin was going to get off at the stop ‘Wind City Vento’.
Acallela’s natives may be few in numbers, but the foreigners were plenty. Therefore, inns and other such buildings were always filled to full capacity for the whole year. In Acallela, if a towering, gorgeous building were to show up suddenly within the city, then it absolutely had to be a hotel. The costs of these hotels were shockingly expensive, and yet they were always saturated to the point where one might not necessarily get a spot even if they booked reservations three months ahead of time.
Therefore, to Cillin who had made the snap decision to come to Wind City Vento (E/N: sounds like ghetto), the city with the most backward living conditions without a doubt presented a greater chance at locating an accommodation. One must understand that camping outdoors in a place like Wind City was pure masochism. Even if they ignored the low night temperature, there were still strong ravaging winds and sands in the area. If they were to camp inside a tent, the tent might get blown away with them in it.
In the Wind City of Acallela, most of the native civilians lived inside stone houses built from sandy soil or rocks. As compared to the tall and gorgeous buildings at the central area, these civilians gave off an ancient feeling of having gone through great changes in life. This feeling was without a doubt inferred even stronger in Wind City Vento.
The high cla.s.s hotels at the city center of Wind City Vento and all of the housings of the surrounding area had been filled with people. Since there was a limited number of hotel rooms, some private housings would clear out some rooms to rent and earn some rent revenue as well. In reality, there were many native citizens who relied on rent money to make a living. If one day the triphibian flying car racing compet.i.tions were no longer held, and foreigners no longer came to pay for lodging, they would probably find it difficult to preserve their livelihood as well.
However, after walking a long way, they did not find even one available private house!
The gray cat laid on top of Cillin’s shoulders with a weak appearance.
What the meow! Not only is this s.h.i.+thole expensive as h.e.l.l, the most infuriating thing is even at that price they’re all full! Are they cats.h.i.+tting me or what?!
The day gradually turned darker, and when Cillin and Tang Qiuqiu continued to look for accommodations along the street, a series of ‘toot toot toot’ sound suddenly came from behind them. It gradually approached and stopped beside them.
It was a flying car, and a very old one. It was the kind of old, shabby car that’s loud all over except its horn.
The gray cat cast a glance at the junk-like thing before dangling its eyelids once more. There really was nothing to look at all, in fact a second glance would only give it the impulse to end its life at the age it deserved.
"Are you guys looking for an accommodation?" the top lid of the car opened up to reveal a young face covered in dust.