"This spaceship is really beautiful," the brown-haired man exclaimed sincerely. He shaded his eyes with one hand and gazed at the snow-white, ring-shaped spaceship slowly retreating into the distance. He admired it for a few moments before finally turning to Lin Sanjiu with a smile. "I'm Eight-Heads De. Nice to meet you."
What an odd name.
Eight-Heads De was tall and broad, his muscles, facial features, and bones seeming to expand horizontally. When he stood in front of her, he was as wide as two Lin Sanjius. His brown hair was tied into a long braid at the back, woven with various small trinkets. He wore a tight gym shirt on his upper body, but paired it with a black horsehair skirt below.
He clearly came from a world very different from Lin Sanjiu's, and like many posthumans, he seemed indifferent to his attire, wearing whatever felt comfortable.
"You don't actually have eight heads, do you?" Lin Sanjiu blurted out.
"I do," Eight-Heads De replied with an earnestness she didn't expect. "I keep the other seven heads in different places."
Lin Sanjiu stared at him for a moment, unsure if he was joking.
"And what should I call you?" Eight-Heads De asked, flashing a sunny smile like a friendly insurance salesman. His voice was deep and resonant, making it easy to talk to him.
"I'm Ji Shanqing," Lin Sanjiu replied, earning a quick glance from the grand prize.
It was frustrating. Even though she hadn't done anything wrong, she couldn't bring herself to reveal her full name here in the Twelve Worlds Centrum. While she was searching for friends, her enemies were likely doing the same to find her. Locally, there were the Munitions Factory and Advaita; on a broader scale, there was the organization that Irezumi and Cyrus were affiliated with, casting a constant shadow over her mind.
2
"And this one?" Eight-Heads De turned to the grand prize.
"In that case, just call me grand prize," he muttered.
"Grand prize?" The broad-shouldered man looked puzzled for a moment, then let it slide. "Nice to meet you. I often travel long distances on ships, but this is the first time I've seen someone disembark from a luxury spaceship and switch to the 26th ship! I'm guessing you two, with your own spaceship, aren't too familiar with the situation on this ship, right?"
Was that supposed to be a problem?
"I'm just here to find someone," Lin Sanjiu reiterated. "Once I find who I'm looking for, I'll leave. I won't be staying long."
As she spoke, she scanned the passengers on the ship once more. There were about thirty people on board, a mix of individuals. Most were traveling alone, so even with her sudden appearance from the sky, they only gave her discreet, assessing glances.
"Of course, of course," Eight-Heads De replied, glancing up at Exodus as it followed them slowly in the sky. From the vantage point of the 26th ship, only the snow-white hull of the massive spaceship was visible. "But if you're interested, I can still give you a brief introduction. The 26th ship departs from the first to third levels of the East District's Big Fish Cluster, heading to the first to third levels of the North District's Giant Gathering. It makes five stops along the way..."
Out of pure curiosity about this new world, Lin Sanjiu didn't interrupt him. However, she only half-listened to Eight-Heads De, focusing most of her attention on figuring out Ah Quan's location. If she remembered correctly, Ah Quan had been standing near a central mast just a moment ago, surrounded by three or four people who didn't seem to know each other.
Who was holding Ah Quan's pocket dimension?
"Half an hour before you arrived, we'd already left the North District," Eight-Heads De continued. He glanced at them and, noticing their lack of response, paused for a moment before explaining, "That means the 26th ship will reach its destination in about ten minutes."
Lin Sanjiu and the grand prize immediately focused their attention on him.
"Once we arrive, everyone will disembark and go their separate ways," Eight-Heads De said apologetically. "I don't mean to offend, but it looks like you're not familiar with the appearance of your target. You only know they're on this ship, right?"
Lin Sanjiu nodded. It wasn't hard to figure that out from their behavior.
"Ten minutes won't be enough," she said, frowning. She knew Eight-Heads De hadn't approached them just to deliver bad news. "Do you have any ideas?"
"Well, uh..." Eight-Heads De hesitated for a second, then flashed a sheepish smile. "I'll only charge a very reasonable fee. In return, I can help keep most of the people on this ship for a while. What you do after that is up to you."
He was quite the salesman.
"You're quick on your feet," the grand prize said with a slight smile. "Money isn't an issue. How do you plan to keep them here?"
"This ties into my usual line of work," Eight-Heads De said, lowering his voice. "It wouldn't work for just anyone; it requires a bit of my expertise. Nobody on this ship recognizes me, and they certainly don't know my profession, so if we make a deal, please don't mention this to anyone afterward." ℟ΑΝỒʙËṤ
"What's your job?" Lin Sanjiu asked, her curiosity piqued.
"I'm a radio host," Eight-Heads De declared suddenly, with unexpected eloquence.
A radio host? How could a radio host keep people from leaving? Wait, could there really be radio hosts in this world called Cloudwalk Heights?
Just as Lin Sanjiu started to feel puzzled, Eight-Heads De pursed his lips and smiled, holding up five fingers. "Is this price acceptable?"
Neither Lin Sanjiu nor the grand prize knew exactly what he meant by "five." It was clear that the foggy spheres were divided into different denominations, and he wasn't asking for the ones marked with "1." But before Lin Sanjiu had a chance to negotiate, Ji Shanqing answered bluntly, "We'll double it."
"Oh no, I couldn't accept that," Eight-Heads De said, his eyes lighting up. "You don't have to double it. Let's just be friends. I'll go make some preparations. In the meantime, you two should think about how you'll find your target once the ship stops."
As Eight-Heads De walked away, Ji Shanqing turned to Lin Sanjiu and asked quietly, "Sis, do you have a plan?"
"Well, I've got an idea. Tell me if you think it'll work," Lin Sanjiu replied, slowly scanning the passengers on the ship. "In Ah Quan's memoirs, I heard a man talking; it seemed related to Ah Quan becoming a pocket dimension. Plus, Ah Quan was standing right beneath the mast earlier, so the person carrying him might still be close by. I'm planning to focus mainly on the men near the mast."
The grand prize gave her a look of regret, as if he wished he hadn't asked her in the first place. His expression seemed to say, 'I should've just done it myself instead of asking Sis.'
Lin Sanjiu sighed. "What did I get wrong?"
"Well, Sis," the grand prize said a bit sheepishly, "If it were me, I'd check both the front and back of the ship, especially in the crowded areas. Also, I wouldn't rule out women or even Eight-Heads De himself."