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Chapter 504: Earthling (1)

Coordinates of the Earthship Revealed

Of course, the current location of the Earthship was more or less an open secret, so there was no harm in sharing it with Herisa's side.

Government officials had already visited the coordinates, and anyone visiting Doatel would inevitably come across the Earthship anyway.

“A space station, huh… sounds pretty interesting.”

When Yeongwoo's eyes lit up with curiosity, Earth glanced out the window and asked,

『Who are you going with this time?』

“To the station, you mean?”

『Yeah. You’re not thinking of going alone, are you?』

Even in front of a refugee fleet, there was always the risk of being ambushed inside the station, so Earth was recommending caution.

But Yeongwoo instead raised a finger and replied,

“Then wouldn’t it actually be safer if I go alone? Worst case, if I get ambushed inside, you guys just blast the wall with a cannon and rescue me.”

『…Rescue? With a cannon? How would that even work?』

“You blow a hole in the station’s outer wall with the cannon, and I run out through it to escape.”

『…….』

A typically reckless plan that only Jeong Yeongwoo could come up with.

But since Yeongwoo could survive in outer space thanks to the Vesedel Armor, it wasn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility.

『At this point, blasting you along with the wall might not be a bad option either.』

Earth half-joked with a hint of sincerity, then used the comms channel to transmit the Earthship’s current coordinates—specifically, to Herisa, head of House Bate.

Piaaaaat!

『I sent the coordinates, just as you asked. Something should be arriving soon.』

As Earth spoke, a monitor appeared beside the captain’s chair and activated the radar.

[Warning: Interstellar object detected.]

“What, it’s already coming?”

『It’s not coming from another galactic cluster. Moving from the lower to upper sectors of the same galaxy isn’t that time-consuming if you have the coordinates.』

And sure enough, a massive wave was drawing closer to the center of the radar display.

Then suddenly—

Dooong…!

A faint vibration swept through from outside the cockpit.

『Seems like a pretty big object.』

“Wait, we’re in a relay zone right now—can we really feel its presence from here?”

『When we move, it’s even more intense.』

Yeongwoo and Earth’s conversation ended there.

That’s when a massive wave surged from one section of outer space just outside the cockpit.

Fwooooosh!

“Whoa.”

It was likely a wave meant to clear space for the incoming station, and it was far larger than Yeongwoo had anticipated.

Even after the edge of the wave moved past the cockpit’s peripheral view, it continued expanding outward.

“What the heck? That’s almost the size of a planet, isn’t it?”

『Not quite. Dragging a planetary mass around as a man-made structure isn’t feasible.』

The largest artificial structure Earth knew of was the mechanical planet of the Architect Lemu, where the famed Machine Tower was rumored to stand—a story that had circulated across the universe.

So it was logically unthinkable that Herisa, head of a mere noble house, possessed something on the scale of a planet.

Of course, there were some rulers in the universe who could rival Lemu… but was Herisa really on that level?

『Still, it’s definitely massive. I’d say it’s at least the size of a continent.』

“Even that’s pretty insane, no?”

『They call it a ‘station,’ but it’s basically just an extremely complex type of warship. So yeah, it’s impressive.』

Just as Earth was watching the wave and saying this, a tiny dot appeared in the center of the disturbance.

“Huh?”

『It’s here!』

And then—

Fwaaah!

Compressed space unfurled in an instant, and a colossal metallic structure burst out from the tiny dot.

—Is that a space station?

Jiseon, startled, pressed her face against the cockpit window to get a better look.

Yeongwoo, unable to contain his curiosity, stepped forward toward the front view.

“They’re actually dragging that thing around the galaxy…?”

The space station brought by Herisa, head of House Bate, resembled a massive labyrinth.

Thick steel pipes intertwined to form a cube-like shape.

And at the center of that cube, a sphere with an unusual texture rotated while being enclosed by dozens of metal meshes.

『That must be the reactor.』

“A reactor?”

『Yeah. Probably a nuclear fusion core that powers the whole station.』

As Earth commented on the Bate family’s space station, Moro, seated on the throne, offered a curt impression.

『It’s a knockoff of the Planetship.』

A knockoff of the Planetship.

That was actually a perfect description.

It looked like someone had tried to recreate a mobile planet—with an enormous framework and a central fusion core mimicking the Planetship’s star engine.

It was practically a hand-crafted Planetship made of metal.

Of course, it was only about the size of North America and couldn’t hold a candle to a real Planetship in terms of sheer scale.

“If that really is a Planetship knockoff… that Herisa must be feeling a bit bitter.”

Jeonggu, who had also pressed against the window to get a better look, murmured to himself.

But Jiseon shook her head and refuted the notion.

—Even if she doesn’t own a real Planetship, the fact that she built a station that size with her own hands makes her a tremendously successful businesswoman. She’s long past having those kinds of petty feelings.

“Well, yeah. She did approach us with an investment proposal after learning we launched the Planetship.”

Yeongwoo nodded in agreement with his mother.

—Of course, she probably still covets the Planetship. If it were me, I’d be looking for a way to steal it, too.

Jiseon’s words were loaded with implications for Yeongwoo.

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After all, like Herisa, Jiseon had also started out as a businessperson.

—So don’t show any weaknesses when you meet her. She’s not someone you can take lightly.

To this, Yeongwoo just offered a lopsided smile, half his mouth curling up.

“If I show a weakness, I’ll just patch it up with brute force. Don’t worry.”

Around this time, Earth rolled its eyeball around before turning to look at Yeongwoo.

『The Bate family just sent an invitation. You can head over to the station now.』

It was then that a system prompt appeared in the air within the cockpit.

「Space station |Bate-06| has opened its docking channel.」

Space Station, Bate-06.

That meant it was the sixth vessel under the Bate family’s ownership.

‘Damn, that must be one massive family. They've got a space station numbered 6? Even if number 1 is reserved for the head of the family’s ship, what about the others...’

What in the world are ships number 2 through 5, then?

Renaissance only has the Earthship, so of course they'd designate that as number 1.

And even if they expand in the future, the Earthship would never get pushed down to number 6.

But the Bate family had given the number 6 to what was essentially their Earthship equivalent—a space station.

‘What the hell, I’m the master of a planetary ship and they’re still making me feel small.’

Next, a geometric symbol appeared on the cockpit floor—a pattern of overlapping squares aligned in various angles.

Fwaat!

An entrance materialized, connecting the Earthship to Space Station Bate-06.

"Do I just stand on that?"

『Yes. The docking is complete, so if you stand there, you’ll be transferred.』

"And to return? Do I use a return stone like when I went to Doatel?"

『Ideally, you'd leave with an escort from the Bate family. But if that's not possible, you’ll have to make an unauthorized return with the return stone.』

"And how exactly do we define 'not possible'?"

『Time limit again, maybe?』

"Right. If I’m not back in two hours, fire the cannons."

『Understood.』

It was a ridiculous suggestion—but then again, when had anything on this planetary ship made sense?

Earth immediately approved.

『Then if you're not back two hours from now, I’ll exact bloody vengeance on the station.』

“…I might still be alive by then, so don’t overdo it.”

With that, Yeongwoo stepped onto the entrance pad.

A strange aura rose from the floor and enveloped his body.

『Come back alive.』

Earth's farewell followed.

And soon, Yeongwoo’s vision was washed in white.

* * *

Shiiiat!

A sharp frictional sound accompanied by a chill in the air.

Yeongwoo immediately sensed that the transfer was complete and quickly opened his eyes.

Just like when he boarded Doatel’s escort ship, a long straight corridor stretched out before him.

But unlike Doatel’s ceramic interior, this one was made of cold, hard steel.

‘One of those steel pipes I saw from the outside?’

Swish.

Yeongwoo reached out, curious, to touch the corridor wall.

Tap, tap.

Sharp footsteps echoed from the other end.

Someone was coming to greet him.

‘Looks like the head of the family didn’t come personally.’

Soon, Yeongwoo saw a silhouette that was all too familiar.

Well-proportioned limbs, a balanced torso, and the distinctive pelvic motion of a bipedal vertebrate.

‘…What the hell, it’s a human.’

Indeed.

The person greeting Yeongwoo was human.

But contextually, they were clearly not from Earth.

They must’ve come from a completely different place.

“Huh…”

Even as the figure drew closer, Yeongwoo couldn’t hide his astonishment—until the man on the other side greeted him first.

“It is an honor to meet you, Master.”

The man wore slightly heeled shoes and a sleek gray suit, like a professional salesman.

He was tall, though still a bit shorter than Yeongwoo—around 180 centimeters.

But if that was his natural height, it certainly wasn’t short for a human.

‘What the hell is going on?’

His hair was perfectly styled, even showing signs of hairspray, as though fresh from a salon. Yeongwoo felt like he’d just been smacked in the back of the head.

“……”

His jaw dropped further.

Then the unknown man glanced around briefly—before suddenly dropping to one knee and bowing deeply to Yeongwoo.

“Among all the humans I have encountered throughout the universe, you are the second greatest I’ve ever met.”

“…What?”

Then who the hell was the first?

Yeongwoo’s brow twitched with irritation, but the man continued.

“Please, come with me. My number one great human is waiting to meet you.”

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