"Mr. Chairman, someone is asking to see you."
The quill pen halted, and the sound of writing abruptly stopped.
Idrim-Bakite looked up at his servant, "Do they have an appointment?"
"No, but it seems urgent. According to your instructions, I'm supposed to notify you."
Idrim glanced at the watch hanging on the bookshelf and nodded.
Soon after, the servant brought in the absent-minded Orlenze person.
Idrim took off his glasses and, with just one glance at the other's dark skin, saw the traces of a long life spent making a living on the Sky Sea.
He asked in a kindly voice, "May I ask what brings you here?"
The man's face was pale, drenched in sweat. He struggled for a long while before speaking, "I..."
"I'm here to report something..."
...
The Floating Island Whale was magnificent, its mountain-like ship's rail slowly approaching Tarn's tree-bridge pier.
When it came to a stop, a long whistle sounded.
The tourists on the ship's rail cheered, as if celebrating the end of a half-month journey.
Starting from Dolifen, the Floating Island Whale had spent an entire week in the sky. Though the ship supplied drinks and entertainment, for the lower-class guests, it was getting unbearable.
The sailors laid down a long gangway, which was a novel thing from another world.
Previously, they would jump directly off the ship; those adapted to Wind Element could float briefly over the Sky Sea. This ability allowed sailors to drift like feathers as they descended.
People not adapted to Wind Element couldn't even get on the ship in the past.
Over the past half-century, airships matured day by day, becoming larger, with increasing demands for freight and passenger transport.
The Floating Island Whale emerged under such circumstances.
Since its maiden voyage, it had plied this route for over ten years. By the ship's age, it was still in its prime.
The tourists jostled and squeezed their way off the ship.
On the other side, on the exclusive gangway for first-class passengers, a young man with black hair climbed down, carrying an enormous suitcase.
Due to the sheer size of the suitcase, it had already drawn complaints from the gentlemen and ladies around him.
The young man could only unceasingly apologize to those around him.
Fortunately, he had a handsome face, with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes. Although the men were displeased, the ladies quickly forgave him.
They nudged their husbands, so the latter had nothing to add.
The young man descended the gangway, let out a long breath, placed the suitcase heavily on the ground, and pulled out a slip of paper, looking around.
Dockworkers were now rushing over in groups; those who arrived early began hauling unloaded cargo, while those in the rear waited for the crane to bring down a second batch.
The young man went up, stopped one of them, and asked how to get to the place on his slip of paper.
He asked three or four people in succession before getting an accurate answer.
"Golden Oak Trading Company Mansion."
He double-checked and then took out a Communication Crystal, lighting it up and saying, "Light Night, I've arrived."
"You should call me Captain." A woman's voice initially came through the Crystal.
"That's not going to work; we agreed I'm just a temp worker, Lady Lin."
"You've been with us for two years; I've never heard of such a temp worker."
"Alright, Lin, don't get sidetracked." Another voice, steadier, came through the Communication Crystal, "An analyst speculated they might be in that area, but if you find anything, contact the others first."
"Is it troublesome? But I heard their level isn't high." The young man held the Communication Crystal in one hand, his slip of paper in the other, walking forward as he asked.
"You know the Pale Brigade, don't you?" the voice said.
"That Qing's guild?"
"Yes, Qing was in Idus not long ago and seemed to suffer a lot."
"What happened?"
"He didn't say, and the livestream footage was retracted then. We also looked for recordings, but you know the basic ones are his die-hard fans, so we didn't find anything useful."
"It's also said the natives did it. The Pale Brigade and other guilds lost several Floating Ships in that battle. I think they wouldn't have been able to do this."
"Not necessarily," the young man said, "Blind God Dika."
"That was arranged by King of Sand Barbaltan, and I heard Ye Hua was also involved."
"Alright," the young man nodded, "in any case, I'll be careful."
"I trust you in all other aspects," the voice responded, "but this time you must be extra careful."
The young man showed a slightly awkward expression, "It's just a minor matter."
"Sir," he immediately heard someone calling him nearby, "is this your suitcase?"
The young man paused slightly, turned around, and saw not far away, a somewhat adorable short girl waving at him.
A boy, wearing a thick coat, stood beside her, with a somewhat pale face, appearing very delicate, still retaining some of his youthful innocence.
Yet his gaze, seemed lethargic, giving off a dead fish eye impression.
As the young man saw the large suitcase over there, it looked more and more familiar.
Wasn't that his suitcase?
He slapped his forehead, he almost forgot something important, good thing someone reminded him.
There are still good people in this world.
"What suitcase?" that voice from the Communication Crystal asked.