Unable to understand these events, they had to put them aside for a while, as their main task was to execute their mission in Helros. They didn’t want any slip-ups during such a critical time.
The airboat had been flying for about three days. Looking out from the window, they could see rolling hills and mountains, indicating they had entered Masya’s territory and were heading for Ronisca.
Despite the fact that no High-peak people had come to inspect the cargo, Luo’er remained cautious, strictly limiting the crew’s movements and asking that they spend most of their time inside the wooden crates.
Luo’er finally agreed to Tangmo’s incessant pleas and allowed her to stay in the crate with him for a while. During these three days, they minimized their movement, occasionally opened the window for ventilation to prevent strange odours from dominating the cargo bay.
Sitting on the straw inside the crate, Luo’er sighed as he gazed helplessly at Tangmo, who was clinging to his arm, unsure of what to say to her.
She was happily holding on to Luo’er’s arm, seemingly forgetting about their previous fallout. After that incident, she had reverted to her morbid obsession with him. Baiyue hardly had the chance to spend time with him because of her.
"Don’t hold me so tightly," Luo’er uncomfortably tried to shake off her hold without success.
"No, I feel like I don’t have enough time with you," Tangmo whined playfully.
"I’m really torn when you act ," Luo’er said helplessly.
"Don’t you like me behaving this way?" Tangmo asked, looking up at him.
"Even if I said no, you wouldn’t change, would you?" Luo’er shrugged.
"Luo’er knows me best!" Tangmo closed her eyes in satisfaction, nestling against him.
Luo’er sighed deeply and eventually fell silent. Suddenly, he heard a strange noise from the direction of the cargo bay’s entrance. Instantly, he rolled over and stealthily peered out through a gap in the crate.
"Luo’er..." As he rolled, he ended up embracing Tangmo, which took her by surprise.
"Shh, someone’s coming." He gestured for silence before continuing to peep out through the gap.
Tangmo nodded and fell silent. While Luo’er was distracted, she wrapped her arms around his waist and silently leaned on him. Luo’er didn’t resist; his full attention was on the outside of the crate.
Moments later, the cargo bay door squeaked slightly, opening a crack. Luo’er could faintly make out a dozen or so short figures sneaking into the cargo bay. When they were fully in sight, Lola finally saw what they looked like.
Dwarves, they were all dwarves, albeit with exaggerated beards that made Luo’er think of the Copperbeard people that Tangmo had mentioned.
"What are these people doing here?" he wondered.
These Copperbeard dwarves went straight to the storage area where the weapons were kept and began to open the crates. They armed themselves with the equipment inside.
Next to the crates where the Advance Team hid was a window. The light streaming in from it hampered the vision of the dwarves but revealed their activities to the team.
The dwarves donned tactical vests brought in from Earth, a model frequently exported to Otherworld, then stuffed magazines into their vests and started to check their weapons.
As Loler and his team had speculated, the weapons did indeed belong to these Copperbeard dwarves. What they didn’t know was why these dwarves were arming themselves now.
While swapping equipment, the dwarves talked amongst themselves. Though Luo’er and his team had only learned the Dwarven language for a week, they could tell that the language the dwarves spoke wasn’t the dialect of the High-peak people.
One interesting detail that Luo’er noticed was a dwarf accidentally dropping his fake beard in haste while putting on his vest, causing raucous laughter among the others. He bent down, picking up the beard, and reattached it to his face.
Luo’er had confidence in his team. Despite their usual antics, they were all serious in critical situations. Everyone quietly observed every move of the dwarves, even the ever-boisterous Hu Daoke and Cheng Ziang, who usually stirred up trouble, remained uncharacteristically silent.
The dwarves spent about ten minutes gearing up, then formed two lines. One of the leaders began to address the others, but the Advance Team, having only learned the Dwarven language a week ago, could not understand them.
Luo’er quickly counted and estimated there was about twenty of these dwarves and there were exactly enough weapons for all of them, indicating that the remaining crates probably held different weapons.
Their pep-talk was brief, lasting less than a minute. Then, at the leader’s command, they filed out of the cargo bay, weapons at the ready.
The Advance Team remained hidden inside their crates. Less than ten minutes later, they heard a hail of gunshots and loud clamour above them.
About ten or so minutes, the gunshots finally ceased. Luo’er was puzzled when he suddenly felt an invisible force pushing him from behind. Caught off guard, he ended up pressing himself onto Tangmo.
"Luo’er..." Seeing Luo’er’s actions, Tangmo’s face turned red as she called out his name shyly.
"No!" Luo’er shook his head with a frown, then lifted the lid of the wooden box and jumped out. Seeing his actions, the others followed suit.
"Damn, are these people trying to hijack the airship?" Hu Daoke, observing the wooden planks and boxes scattered all over the ground, couldn’t help but speak.
"I’m afraid they’ve already started." replied Luo’er, his face serious.
"What just happened?" Hu Daoke asked.
"The airboat changed course!" Cheng Ziang came over to the porthole, looked down, then spoke to them.
"That can’t be." Hu Daoke said in confusion.
"Little Ke, be vigilant!" commanded Luo’er.
"Understood!" Hu Daoke’s response to Luo’er’s command was succinct. He nodded, then fumbled in the straw to pull out his submachine gun, set it up on a box, and aimed it towards the entrance of the cargo hold.
"Moumou, check the direction!" Luo’er continued.
"Oh!" Tangmo nodded and carefully got out of the box, her face still tinged with a blush.
She took out a piece of paper marked with a rune from her pocket, spread it flat on the ground, and then picked up the magic wand to recite the spells silently.
In the Otherworld, there’s no such thing as a compass. To ascertain direction, one could either rely on the sun or use magic .
As she recited the spells, parts of the rune on the paper began to emit bright light. As Tangmo recited the spells, she adjusted the direction of the rune on the paper. In no time, under her adjustment, all the runes on the paper lit up. At this point, Tangmo stopped reciting the spells and began to observe the direction of the runes.
The rune was a four-point star, and each corner of the rune was drawn differently. Only when each corner points to the correct direction will the rune at that corner light up with the incantation.
After observing for a moment and then comparing it with the direction of the airboat, Tangmo lifted her head and spoke seriously, "The airboat has changed course, it’s now heading south-southwest!"
Luo’er nodded, then turned and asked "Yue’er, where are we now?"
Without saying a word, Baiyue took out a rolled-up map from her map tube, spread it out flat, then looked at it and calculated for a bit, then pointed to an approximate position on the map.
Luo’er leaned over to take a look. They were already deep in the center of Masya. This flight path would take them right through Galan and Obus. He pressed his finger on the map and gradually moved it down south. His finger crossed the border of Masya, cut through Saint Basaya, and finally stopped at Baales in the south.
"Going south all the way, what’s related to the dwarves..." Luo’er lifted his head and looked at Cheng Ziang, then said, "It is the Zhuyan People!"
"It’s not the Copperbeard people on the ship, but the High-peak people’s sworn enemy, the Zhuyan People!" Upon hearing Luo’er’s words, Cheng Ziang nodded in agreement, spelling out his analysis.
"They are the Zhuyan People?" Tangmo was astounded by this conclusion.
"This explains everything, not only about the weapons, but also about what’s happening right now." Luo’er nodded and said, "The Zhuyan People are disguised as Copperbeard people and they’ve hijacked this airboat!"
"What do you think they want to do?" Cheng Ziang asked.
"I suspect," Luo’er mused, "they might want to take this airboat to Baales?"
"It’s possible!" Cheng Ziang nodded.
Perhaps the conflict between the High-peak people and the Zhuyan People arises from the former’s possession of this antigravity engine technology. It is highly likely that the ancestors of the High-peak people who deserted the Zhuyan people already had access to the antigravity engine technology, which is why they willingly abandoned their kin in pursuit of the skies.
"So they’re planning to hijack the airboat to their own country, and then try to analyze the High-peak people’s antigravity engine technology?" Tangmo exclaimed in a sudden realization.
"Frankly speaking, if the Zhuyan People want this airboat, we have no problems with that, but now we need this airboat to reach Helros. If they meddle , we’ll have to start all over again." Cheng Ziang shrugged.
"So what should we do now?" Tangmo asked, looking at the thoughtful Luo’er for guidance.