Chapter 250 (1/2)
The glorious sun shone on the Dawnbreak Island after the disaster. The crumbled, cracked city would probably take a long time to fix, and the giant engine that had been completely scrapped needed an even longer time to repair. The thrilling tumble from the previous night brought the island an unprecedented short night and a hasty dawn. All the institutions of the city were forced to operate at high power, treating the wounded ones and repairing key, damaged equipment. The only good news now was that the casualties were not as serious as they would have imagined. The areas where collapse and cracking occurred were mostly marginal or too old where resident numbers were limited. Also, the earthquake-resistant design of the city itself made it hold on for a long time at the beginning of the tremors. So, the citizens had ample opportunity to take refuge in the more stable central district of the floating isles.
Clouds of dust and smoke, which had not dispersed overlooked the city from a high altitude. The dome had entered a state of traffic control. Only engineering airships or levitating cars that performed the most urgent tasks were flying in the sky. While in the streets below, the citizens were all in a state of order: they spontaneously rescued all those who needed help, and queued up for supplies that had just been salvaged from the collapsed warehouse. They also voluntarily declared if they had been injured in the disaster, and how much their injury would affect their labor capacity. There was no confusion, no complaining, and not even a little glimpse of gloom on the elves’ faces. They organized themselves in a surprising manner. The disaster was sudden, but everyone in the city appeared to have rehearsed it many times.
Several big shadows were projected on the dome. They were of the large transportation ships sent from the other floating isles. These bulky ships were quickly completed at the time of the Dawnbreak Island explosion. Presently, the ships brought the elves valuable medication and additional air filters, which were essential: the air in the dome relied on purifying equipment buried in the ground and around the hoop. However, the explosion caused some damage to them. Now, the smoke and smog in the city had to be removed as soon as possible. They could only rely on external devices.
Hao Ren and Hilda were standing on an open balcony atop the tower of the Royal District. Hilda was meditating while Hao Ren was peering at everything in the city using his extraordinary eyesight. He expressed admiration for the elves’ reaction to the disaster.
Vimm stood silently behind them.
“My people have gotten used to this kind of thing. Seventy years ago, when the Isle of Serenity disintegrated, they saved the most important resource warehouse on the island with great calmness. About a tenth of the city’s citizens were survivors of that disaster,” Hilda said softly, “and, more and more floating isles are approaching their limits. The Assembly of Technology is trying to repair some of the dead floating isles that have been extinguished, but the progress has been modest.”
Hilda looked exhausted. She had been under the greatest pressure in the last few hours. After a quick meeting with the Assembly of Elders, she began to command refuge and rescue. When the floating isle tumbled and the city began to crack, it was Hilda who allocated evacuation plans for each city. She also came up with the asylum plan at the royal area. After the propulsion unit was completely destroyed, she cooperated in directing the work of stabilizing its floatation: This queen was not just an authority giving orders, she was also an expert in all technical parameters of the floating isles. Now that everything was settled, she did not listen to her bodyguard’s advice to go back to rest. Instead, she brought Hao Ren to the open balcony atop the tower, overlooking the whole city.
“This is our current status.”
Hao Ren was still looking for the best solution for the elves of Aerym. He already had a few ideas, but still needed to wait for the MDT to confirm which one was the most feasible. Before that, he carefully asked Hilda a question, “If I had the power to get you out of this mess, how much would you be willing to pay?”
Hilda turned her back to the edge of the balcony and spread her hands in despair, as if her whole body would melt under the dome’s skylight. She then said, “You can see what we have left. You can take away anything you need. As long as you can help my people live a better life and let them have a real sky like other species have, you can take away everything you see here.”
Hao Ren hurriedly explained, “Come on, please, do not think this way. It is easy to misunderstand—I am not blackmailing you or anything. I am trying to help you as a friend, but to be honest, I cannot do it alone, and my ship is just five hundred or six hundred meters long. So, I may need help, and those helpers will be not free.”