Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 446 - 14 Takeoff_1

Chapter 446: Chapter 14 Takeoff_1

"Hmm." Lina pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, letting out a noncommittal hum.

Upon opening the door, a short corridor appeared, linking to the wardrobe and dressing room to the side. A screen obscured the end of the corridor, behind which was a spacious living room of fifty square meters. The decor was in the style of the Gama Empire from seven centuries ago. In the center of the room were long, comfortable chairs arranged in a circle, providing ample space for someone to lie back and relax. In the middle of the chairs were several tables pieced together, laden with assorted fruits, snacks, and gaming tools. The room’s side walls were adorned with paintings and objects of art from various eras. Despite the multitude of items, the room was far from cluttered, showing that considerable care had been taken to organize everything. A low wall separated the living room from the dining room and a small bar on one side, which offered renowned liquors and juices from around the world. Several doors around the room led to six bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, offering guests the luxury of bathing high in the sky. Near the entrance of the living room were two hidden doors leading to the servants’ quarters and storage room. While the room might not appear overly large, considering that it was part of a Skyboat gives a sense of its rarity.

Even rarer were the crystal windows, about half a meter square, in the living room and each bedroom. Through these, one could view the scenery outside. One could only imagine the breathtaking views as the Skyboat ascended to a height of five hundred meters.

"These windows can be opened," Maggie timidly informed the group trailing behind her. "Would any of you like to try?"

"Huh?" The others looked bewildered, staring at Maggie, causing her to take a hesitant step back. "Isn’t that a joke? If we open a window hundreds of meters high in the sky, wouldn’t the wind blow everything out of the room?"

"You misunderstand," Maggie said with a hint of satisfaction in her voice, speaking softly, "There are seven layers to each window, each with cleverly calculated gaps that allow small amounts of air to seep in. When the innermost window is closed, there’s no connection with the outside. Once the window is opened, the weak, attenuated wind will blow in, providing a nice breeze during summer. For winter... it might be a bit too cold, so we usually keep them closed."

"Ding Dong~~," a pleasant, bell-like sound rings out, causing Maggie to straighten up and bow respectfully to the group of adventurers. "The Skyboat is about to take off. Please be seated and refrain from moving around too much to avoid falling if there’s any turbulence. The ascent will take approximately ten minutes. When we reach our planned altitude of five hundred meters, in ten minutes, you may move around freely when you hear the bell again."

"Interesting experience," Catherine remarked. She set her backpack aside, took the lead and sat on the long chair, waving to Maggie, "Given it’s custom for you to await takeoff in the servant’s quarters, why don’t you come and sit with us instead. During these ten minutes, we can chat more about this Skyboat."

"Thank you." Under normal circumstances, Maggie as a stewardess was not considered a servant, but more like a normal service worker similar to a tavern or hotel attendant, so she easily accepted Catherine’s invitation and took a seat. "Is there anything in particular you’d like to know?"

"What about the safety of this Skyboat?" Catherine asked, "If anything malfunctioned in mid-air and we fell, we’d hardly have any chance to escape."

"The Skyboat is very safe," Maggie assured the group. "Before taking off each time, a hundred proficient technicians separated into two rounds will meticulously inspect the 127,000 arrays on-board. If any potential safety issues arise, a specialized mage will be called in to adjust and maintain the arrays immediately. Nothing is overlooked."

"Indeed, this is not something you need to worry about," Vivian lay back in her chair, relaxing as she mused, "They’re very conscientious when it comes to adjusting arrays. A year and a half ago I was invited to participate in the array maintenance on another Skyboat. Oh, didn’t I tell you about this, sis?"

"Ah? Did you? Hehehehe." Catherine was casting her gaze about, looking for a change of topic, when suddenly she felt a slight jolt beneath her. Accompanied by a gentle rocking, the Floating ship had lifted from the ground.

"Hmm, the Floating Array is running smoothly," Vivian commented, her eyes closed as if feeling out the unseen. "Sis, you can relax. All activated arrays are functioning normally and have ample energy reserves. There is no risk of falling."

"But what if there was?" Although Catherine was traveling via Skyboat for the first time and was naturally a little unsettled.

"Regardless of the cause, if the Skyboat is falling, the emergency measures on the bottom will kick in," Vivian explained. "Three thousand slow down-and-soft landing arrays will decrease the Skyboat’s falling speed to manageable levels and prevent a catastrophic crash. In the 150 years since Skyboats have been in use, there have been three incidents of crashes. However, all three incidents combined resulted in only thirty-three deaths. Of these, five people died because they jumped overboard during a panicky crash, two passed away from sudden illnesses caused by stress, and six were directly killed in the accidents, but by being hit by debris, not by falling. Only the remaining twenty died from falling at excess speed, all in the same incident when the Skyboat was disintegrated by an attack. Still, even in that case, all those who died were ordinary people; there were no professionals among them. So, sister, you can rest assured."

"Wow, you’re so knowledgeable." Maggie looked at Vivian with admiration. "You know even more than I do, and I work here!"

"Because you don’t need to know these things, a general understanding is sufficient for you," Vivian replied. "Our situation is different; we need to know the principles and key problem areas so we can tune the arrays."

"It does sound quite safe," Catherine agreed. "But didn’t you mention one incident with an attack? Given the sheer size of a Skyboat, isn’t it an easy target?"

"There are 11,000 arrays on the Skyboat tasked with creating a shield when necessary," Vivian explained. "These can withstand all attacks below Gold Rank and even a few Legendary Rank attacks. To put it visually, this Skyboat could withstand three hits from the most powerful crystal energy cannon currently available. Even if a Legendary Rank individual decided to attack a Skyboat for some unfathomable reason, it wouldn’t matter. Each and every Skyboat carries a Legendary Rank professional who takes care of safety during the flight. There’s no need for concern."

"Alright." While Catherine was still a bit nervous, she did not show it anymore. She relaxed and asked, "Maggie, I’m very curious. This skyboat service, even though the ticket price is high, does it really make any profit?"

"Basically, it doesn’t." Maggie replied, "At the best of times, it barely breaks even. Most of the time, it’s operating at a serious loss."

"Then why do you still maintain this business?" Catherine asked with confusion, "As far as I know, a single voyage of this ship consumes an immense cost, perhaps millions. If each voyage is losing hundreds of thousands of gold coins, why insist on maintaining this operation?"

"That I don’t understand." Maggie chuckled shyly, lowering her head as she spoke, "Those decisions are made by the higher-ups in the association, I’m just a waiter. I wouldn’t know."

"They aren’t doing this for the money in the first place." Lina, who had been flipping through a book on the side, suddenly looked up. She pushed her glasses up and added, "Well, I don’t understand it either, but someone just told me."

"You really have it easy, getting answers to all your questions." Catherine noted, "If they aren’t after the money, then... uh, I got it. How boring."

"So, they’re doing this essentially to flaunt their economic strength?" Freya guessed. Having grown up in the lord’s house, she had a keen intuition on certain affairs, and quickly caught on, "It’s also a way to court potential allies. The non-monetary profits far exceed the monetary ones."

"Probably for that reason," Catherine nodded, "No wonder why they cling so stubbornly to the Skyboat service. But it’s a good thing. If they weren’t providing this service, I’m afraid no one else could. After all, the costs are too high. But why don’t they make Skyboats smaller? If they’re smaller, wouldn’t the cost naturally decrease?"

"Impossible," Vivian denied, "I’ve seen the data. For hundreds of years, countless scholars have studied skyboats, conducting hundreds of thousands of experiments. But only skyboats of this particular size range can actually fly. If they’re smaller, there wouldn’t be enough space to engrave so many arrays. Increasing the density of the arrays would cause interference. It’s an insolvable problem. If they’re larger, the weight would increase, which could cause the ship hull to collapse. So, neither reducing nor increasing the size is feasible."

"That’s a real pity," Catherine shook her head and sighed, "It seems destined that the majority of people won’t be able to experience the feeling of flying."

"Who knows," Vivian speculated, "Maybe after hundreds or thousands of years, as magic technology develops, things will change."

Just as Catherine was about to speak, the hull of the ship trembled again. The ascent stopped quickly, followed by the sound of a pleasant bell echoing through the ship.

"Alright, the take-off process is over. The skyboat is now in a steady cruising mode." Maggie jumped up from her chair cheerfully, "You can now move around the ship freely. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. I’m at your service at any time."

"You do know where Marquis Snape’s cabin is, right?" Catherine hesitated before speaking, "Please go and ask him. We’re planning to visit the marquis. I don’t know if he has time."

"Alright, I’ll take care of it," Maggie replied energetically, nodding her head before leaving the room.

"Just for politeness’s sake, we should visit at least once," Catherine said, "Pannis, you’ll accompany me this time. It won’t take long."

"I’m not going. That guy always looks at me weirdly... alright, alright, I’ll go." Pannis quickly surrendered under Catherine’s gaze, standing up with a resigned expression, "Let’s get ready to go then."

Soon, Maggie returned, but her face showed confusion, "The marquis... he left a note saying he suddenly had something to come up and couldn’t make it. He asked us to enjoy our journey to the fullest and said he wouldn’t disturb our spirits."

"Well, we’ve been played." Catherine immediately understood Snape’s intentions. Grinding her teeth, she felt both annoyed and amused, but she was already at a loss. (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to cast your recommendation votes at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users can read at m.qidian.com.)