Chapter 63 (1/2)

Endaro Star Region’s warship graveyard was on a planet called ACG 21, the site where all the decommissioned spaceships were scrapped and abandoned.

There were no direct flights leaving Earth to ACG 21, so Xia Fei had no choice but to fly to the metropolitan planet of Brolin first before taking another flight from Brolin to the warship graveyard.

Because the Earth Federation had recently joined the Pan-Human Alliance, it was still considered a backward civilization. There were only two flights that passed through Earth; both ships originating from the edge of the star region were bound to the premier planet, Brolin.

The Federation’s interstellar spaceport was built on the southern outskirts of Delmar, Delaware in the North American continent. This was a vast area, which was largely uninhabited, possessing a suitable climate for spacecraft takeoff and landing, making it a good choice for them to build an interstellar spaceport.

Xia Fei stood in the spaceport terminal, peering through the floor-to-ceiling windows. It was empty all around him, and he could very clearly make out the distant horizon.

Spaceships would all land and take off vertically, so there was no need for a runway in the spaceport. All it had was a huge concrete parking apron, which took up roughly about several dozens of square kilometers.

Further away, a larger and grander main terminal was currently under construction. It would cover an area of well over two million square meters, able to transport up to a million passengers a day.

There were even four extremely large parking aprons that were being built around the terminal, allowing assault class warships to land and take off with ease upon completion of their itineraries.

It was fairly ironic. The Earth Federation would barely receive ten thousand or so interplanetary visitors a day currently, yet they had spent an astronomical amount to construct a spaceport that could handle a million passengers a day. Xia Fei felt that the Federal government had only done so to save face, demonstrating a level of unfounded blind optimism toward the planet’s future.

“Mr. Xia Fei, would you like a glass of champagne?” A very sultry female voice could be heard from behind him.

Behind him was a whole row of flight attendants all dressed in their uniforms. Because Xia Fei was the only passenger on this flight, the entire staff in this spaceport had been circling him the entire time.

Xia Fei smiled awkwardly and rejected her kind offer.

He was not used to this overly friendly reception, feeling as if he were being watched the whole time.

After some time, he saw a small shuttle in the sky flying closer and closer. The warp engine thundered as the blue flames it spat glowed near luminescence, which made for a beautiful sight.

Xia Fei picked up his backpack and made his way down the terminal to board a small shuttle under the escort of several employees.

This shuttle was especially suited for picking up and dropping off passengers, so there was only space for a dozen of seats, while the larger passenger space cruiser was parked in space.

Xia Fei sought a seat near a porthole and placed his backpack on his lap.

There was a young steward in a blue uniform onboard who seemed to be no older than twenty years old.

“Welcome aboard Connection Airlines. Please show me your ticket.” The young steward spoke with a smile as he approached his side.

Xia Fei pulled out his ticket and handed it over. The young chap glanced at it once, then returned it to him. He pushed a button on the onboard intercom to inform the pilot that they were cleared for take-off.

“Mr. Xia Fei, are you reporting to the Adjudicator Union?” The young man sat beside Xia Fei and struck up a conversation with somewhat familiar ease.

Xia Fei was a bit shocked. “Do you know who I am?”

The young man laughed lightly and very politely replied, “But of course. Practically everyone in the star region has seen your fight with Chen Dong. Truth be told, I found it somewhat hard to believe when I saw your name appear on the passengers’ list.”

Xia Fei mulled over this for a moment. “Are my looks easily recognizable?”

The staff looked at the plain clothes that he was wearing and shook his head. “I never imagined that you would be someone so lowkey.”

Xia Fei’s mind was somewhat put at ease. Not being easily recognizable was a good thing; he did not enjoy being gawked at by people everywhere he went.

Soon, the small shuttle left Earth’s atmosphere and entered space.

A huge space cruiser loomed in the distance, parked beyond Earth’s orbit. It was over a dozen of kilometers long, shining brightly from the lights of the many portholes on the side.

“That spaceship is huge. How many passengers can it carry?” Xia Fei was taking in the sight of the massive spaceship.

“That’s a midsize, long-range spaceship, Dragonfly, with a maximum capacity of 176,100 passengers and 8,322 staff, as well as twenty-five small shuttles which are used to ferry passengers.”

“There are a hundred sixty-two restaurants, thirty-seven nightclubs, fourteen casinos, as well as a pool, a gym, and all sorts of amenities on it. I dare to guarantee that you will fall in love with that luxury liner.” The steward gave Xia Fei an introduction of the space cruiser as if he had recited it by heart.

A bay door opened near the tail end of Dragonfly, and the small shuttle automatically guided itself to dock inside, landing on the parking apron within the passenger ship.

The bay door closed, and the sound of rushing air was heard. It was evident that this bay they were in was being rapidly filled with air.

Several minutes passed, and a green light from within the shuttle lit up, indicating that the berth had been filled with air and people could now breathe freely.