Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen Yacht Players

As dusk deepened, the lights of the terminal gradually brightened.Regardless of the time of day, the overall lighting remains at dusk brightness.Terminal 9, like other yacht terminals in Uptown, maintains a state of daylight all day long, regardless of Florenna's rotation.Under the sunlight at noon, the luminosity may have increased significantly, but that was the only change. The reason why Marquis Jianruo knew that the day had passed was because when he entered the terminal, the colorful light in the city was left outside.Against the background of the darkening night, the lights were quite bright, but they didn't try to create the illusion of daytime.

Jian Ruo stopped on the inside of the gate of the terminal.There are thirty-six sheds and five launching eyes in the horseshoe-shaped terminal, which seem to be taken for granted in his eyes.The terminal is part of him, part of any seasoned yachtsman. He took out a long cigarette and stuffed it into his mouth. The cigarette was purple in appearance, with a very thin silver thistle on the tip.Covering the other end of the exposed tobacco with his hands, he took a deep breath and watched it glow green.These cigarettes burn slowly and have no ash.Soon, a puff of emerald green smoke came out of his nostrils.

He murmured, "Everything is business as usual." A member of the Yachting Committee walked briskly towards Jian Ruo, trying not to appear flustered.The man was dressed in a yachting suit, except for a modest but elegant inscription embroidered on the top of a button of his short-sleeved jacket to show that he was a member of the committee. "Ah, strong. Shouldn't it be business as usual?" "Hey, more. I was just thinking, with all the mess out there, some smart guy might think of shutting down the terminal. Thanks Zack, thankfully not." The commissioner looked serious. "Indeed, there is a real possibility of such a scenario. Have you heard the latest news?"

Jianruo grinned: "Who knows which news is the latest and which is second-hand?" "I mean, do you know what that Florentine is doing now? The murderer?" "Did they get him? I didn't hear." "No, not yet. But they already know he's out of town!" "Not in the lower city? Then where is he?" "Ha, uptown, here." Jian Ruo opened his eyes wide, then narrowed them again, with a look of disbelief: "Come on." "No, really." The committee member looked a little sad, "I have facts to prove it. A lot of patrolmen galloped on the Jiji Highway, they surrounded the city park, and they used the central arena as a dispatch center. These have roots and roots. According to."

"Well, maybe it's true." Jian Ruo turned his eyes around the yachts in various sheds, "I haven't been to Terminal 9 for two months. Are there any new yachts here?" "No. Well, there is, Theodosius' Flame Arrow." Jian Ruo shook his head: "I've seen it, it's brightly plated, it's ostentatious, and nothing else. I really don't want to imagine having to design one myself in the end." "You're selling 'Comet Five'?" "Sell it or throw it away. I'm tired of these new boats, they're too automatic. With automatic relays and track computers, the sport is ruined."

"Well, there are others who feel the same way as you do," agreed the commissioner. "Well, if I hear of anyone selling an older yacht in good condition, I'll let you know." "Thanks. Mind if I walk around?" "Of course not, please." The committee member grinned, waved his hand, and walked away quickly. Jian Ruo slowly looked around, leaving half of the cigarette hanging in the corner of his mouth.He paused for a long time before each active shed, assessing the yachts within with a shrewd eye. In front of the No. 26 shed, Jian Ruo showed great interest.He looked in from the low fence and called out at the same time, "Big Tycoon?"

It was a very polite inquiry, and after waiting for a while without reply, he had to call again.This time the tone was firmer and less polite. The appearance of the tycoon who responded was really unflattering.First, he wasn't wearing a yacht suit, and second, he needed to shave.And his rather obnoxious cap, yanked down almost half his face, is the most out-of-date way to wear it.In addition, his attitude is too cautious to make people suspicious. Jianruo said, "My name is Marquis Jianruo. Is this your ship, sir?" "Yes, that's right." The answer was slow and tense.

Firmly ignore it.He raised his head and looked carefully at the shape of the yacht, then took the cigarette from the corner of his mouth, and flicked the cigarette butt into the air.Before the cigarette butt reached the highest point of the parabola, it disappeared without a trace after a flash. Jianruo said: "I wonder if you would mind letting me in?" The other party hesitated for a moment, then stepped aside, and Jianruo entered the shed. "What kind of engine does this boat have, sir?" he asked. "Why do you ask?" Jianruo is tall, with dark skin and eyeballs, and curly hair cut very short.He was half a head taller than the other party, and he showed white, straight teeth when he smiled: "Frankly, I'm going to buy a new yacht."

"You mean, you are interested in this ship?" "Don't know yet. Maybe it's something like this, if the price is right. Anyway, wonder if you'd mind showing me the console and the engine?" The tycoon stood there silent. The firm voice became a little cold. "Of course, whatever you want." He turned and left. "I might sell it." The tycoon fumbled in his pocket, "This is a certificate!" Jian Ruo quickly looked at the front and back of the certificate with experienced eyes: "Are you Di Meng?" The tycoon nodded: "If you are interested, you can come in."

Jian Ruo glanced at the large timepiece at the terminal, it was the beginning of the second hour after sunset.The hands of this timepiece can emit cold light, which will shine even in daylight. "Thank you, please lead the way." The tycoon rummaged through his pockets again, and finally pulled out a stack of key strips. "Please first, Your Excellency." Jian Ruo took the stack of key strips.He turned over one by one, looking for the key with the small logo of "Boat Hull Mark".The other party didn't mean to help him. Finally, Jian Ruo finally said, "I think it's this one?"

He walked up the short inclined ladder to the airlock opening, and began to carefully examine the slit on the right side of the airlock. "Why can't I find... oh, here." He walked to the other side of the airlock. Slowly, silently, the gate opened, as if stepping into a mass of darkness.The gate closed behind them, and the red airlock opened automatically.Then the inner door opened, and just behind them entering the yacht, the whole yacht glowed white. Merlin Terrence had no choice. He had long since forgotten that there was such a thing as "choice."For three long, difficult hours, he had been waiting near Dimon's yacht, not knowing what to do.This waiting did not bring about any change in the situation; he could not see that it could lead to anything other than being arrested. Then came this guy who seemed to have his eye on the yacht.Dealing with this person is simply crazy. At such a close distance, it is impossible for one's fake identity not to be exposed.But then again, he couldn't keep waiting like this. At least there might be food in the yacht, it was a wonder he hadn't thought of that just now. Indeed there are. Terrence said, "It's almost time for dinner, do you want to eat something?" The other party hardly looked back: "Ah, maybe later, thank you." Terrence didn't force him, and followed him around in the yacht.He himself happily ate some canned meat and a serving of fruit wrapped in cellophane, and had a good drink.There was a bathroom at the end of the corridor opposite the galley, and he locked the door and took a shower.It's nice to be able to get rid of the tight cap, at least for the time being.He even found a low-bellied closet, from which he picked some clean clothes and changed. Facing Jianruo again, he has regained a lot of confidence. "Hey, do you mind if I test fly this yacht?" Jian Ruo asked him. "I have no objection. You can drive this model?" Terrence pretended to be completely indifferent. "I don't think it's a problem," the other party smiled. "I often boast that I can handle any regular model. To be honest, I have already contacted the control tower on my own initiative, and there is an empty launch hole. This is my Yachting license, maybe you want to see it before I take it over." Terrence glanced at it casually, as if he was looking at his ID just now. "Here's the console for you," he said. The yacht slid out of the shed slowly, like a whale in mid-air, its anti-magnetic hull floating three inches above the thick soil of the launch site. Terrence looked at Jian Ruo and manipulated the console with precise movements.At his touch, the yacht came to life.With every subtle switch action, the miniature model of the launch field on the picture board is constantly moving and changing. The yacht finally stopped and aimed at the top of a firing eye.The bow of the boat gradually strengthened the diamagnetic field and began to turn directly upward.The cockpit opened the universal horizontal free balance ring to balance the gradually changing gravity, and the cabin was so stable that Terrence could not notice the change at all.Then, the yacht's trailing edge snapped majestically into the groove of the launcher eye.The yacht is now standing upright, with its bow pointing skyward. The aluminum alloy cover at the bottom of the eye slid into the groove, revealing a neutralization liner a hundred yards deep that would absorb the first wave of propulsion from the superatomic engine. Jianruo and the control tower have been exchanging terse messages.At last he said, "Ten seconds to lift off." A rising red streak inside a quartz tube marks the passing of each second.Ten seconds later, the launch switch was automatically turned on, and the first surge of power was ejected backwards. Terrence felt weight gain, and a force pressed himself against the seat; a wave of panic came over him. He muttered, "Is it easy to operate?" Jian Ruo seemed indifferent to the acceleration, and his voice was still calm: "It's not bad." Terrence leaned back in his chair, trying to relax under the pressure while looking at the picture plane.As the atmosphere thinned, the stars on the picture plane became clearer and brighter.There was a cold and damp feeling from the thistle that was close to Terrence's skin. Now they are in space, and Jianruo is testing the performance of the yacht at various speeds.Terrence couldn't make an expert judgment, but he could see that the yachtsman's slender fingers moved back and forth on the console as if playing a musical instrument, and the stars marched through the picture plane at a steady pace. .In the end, a huge orange curved body filled the clear surface of the picture plate. "It's not bad," said Jenkins. "You've taken good care of the yacht, Dimon. It's small, but it has its merits." Terrence said cautiously: "I think, you would like to test its speed and jumping ability? If you are interested, try it as much as possible. I have no objection." Jian Ruo nodded. "Thanks. Where would you suggest we fly to? Like—" He hesitated, then continued, "Well, how about going to Sark?" Terrence's breath suddenly became quicker, going to Sac, as he wished, he almost believed that he lived in a magical world, a series of events drove his actions, and he didn't even have to express his opinion.It was not difficult to convince him now that it was not "events" that prompted these actions, but fate.His childhood had been steeped in superstitions that the magnate had instilled in the Florentines, and it was hard to get rid of it even in adulthood.When you arrive at Sac, you may meet Yuke who is gradually recovering his memory. This game is not over yet. He said loudly, "Why not, Jianruo?" Jian Ruo said: "Then go to Sak." As the speed of the yacht increased, the sphere of Florenna slipped from the picture plane, and the distant stars reappeared. "How long was the fastest time you flew from Florence to Sark?" Jian Ruo asked. "No record-breaking performance," Terrence replied cautiously, "just ordinary." "Then I suppose you've had a record under six hours?" "Yes, occasionally." "Do you object to me trying to get closer to five hours?" "No objection," said Terrence. It took hours before they were far enough away from the fabric of space distorted by the mass of the star to make the leap. Terrence found the inability to sleep to be torture.For three nights, he had barely slept, and the tension of the past few days doubled his tiredness. Jian Ruo glanced at him: "Why don't you go to bed and sleep for a while?" Terrence squeezed out some energy from the tired facial muscles: "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter." He gave a long yawn and smiled apologetically.The yachtsman turned away to operate the instrument, and Terrence's eyes became glassy again. Seats on a space yacht need to be extremely comfortable, and it must provide proper padding to help passengers resist acceleration.Even if you are not particularly tired, it is easy to fall into a sweet dream when you sit on it.At this moment, Terrence, who could sleep even lying on the broken glass, had no idea when he lost his sanity. He slept for hours.I have never slept so deeply in my life, not even a dream. He never woke up.When the cap was removed from his head, he felt nothing but regular breathing. Finally, Terrence woke up slowly and dazedly.For several minutes he had no idea where he was, and thought he was back at the mayor's house.The real situation gradually emerged step by step, and finally, he was able to smile at Jian Ruo who was still on the console: "I guess I fell asleep." "I guess so too, Sac is in front." Jian Ruo nodded to the huge white crescent on the picture board. "When do we land?" "In about an hour." Now Terrence was sober enough to realize the subtle change in the other party's attitude.Then he discovered that the blue-gray object in Jian Ruo's hand was actually the barrel of a needle gun, and he was astonished like cold water pouring on him. "What's going on..." Terrence said while standing up. "Sit down." Jian Ruo said in a cautious tone, holding a cap in his other hand. Terrence raised his hand to touch his head, but what he touched was hair.The hat is gone. "That's right," said Jianruo, "it's quite obvious that you're from Florenia." Terrence's eyes widened, but he couldn't say a word. "I knew you were a Florentine before I boarded poor Dimon's yacht," Jianruo said. Terrence's mouth was stuffed with cotton, and his eyes were on fire.He watched the tiny, deadly muzzle, waiting for the sudden, silent flash.He has reached this step, this step, but he lost this gamble in the end. Jian Ruo seemed unhurried, holding the needle gun firmly in his hand, speaking calmly and slowly. "Your basic mistake, Mayor, was to think that you could really outsmart an organized police force forever. You'd do better, though, if you hadn't had the misfortune to choose Dimon as your target." "I didn't choose him." Terrence said in a low voice. "Call it luck, then. Estelle Dimon, about twelve hours ago, was standing in the city park waiting for his wife. He chose to meet her there for no other reason than that. They were originally Met there, and they dated there on that day every year since. The ritual was nothing particularly novel among young couples, but it seemed important to them. It never occurred to Dimon, of course, that because The location was rather out of the way, making him a suitable target for a murderer. Who in Uptown would think of such a thing? "Under normal circumstances, this kind of murder may not be discovered for several days. However, within half an hour of the crime, Dimon's wife arrived on the scene and was very surprised that his husband was not there. He is not that kind of person, she Later, she explained that she would not leave angrily because she was late for a while. She was often late, and he would more or less expect this kind of thing. At that time, it occurred to her that her husband might be waiting for her in 'their' cave. "Of course, Dimon was waiting outside 'their' cave. It was the closest cave to the scene of the crime, and he was dragged there, of course. His wife went into that cave, and it turned out that—well, You know what she found, too. She managed to get the news to the Patrol Corps through our Homeland Security office, although she was almost incoherent from the fright and hysteria. "How does it feel to kill a man in such cold blood and have his wife find his body in a place filled with fond memories of both of them, Mayor?" Terrence almost suffocated, he struggled to catch his breath, and spit out his anger and frustration: "You Sarks killed millions of Florentines, including women and children. You get rich on us, like this yacht "…" He couldn't go any further. "This was the case when Dimon was born, and he shouldn't be responsible for it." Jianruo said, "If you were born as a Sak, what would you do? Give up your property and go to work in the thistle field?" "Okay, shoot!" Terrence shouted. "What are you waiting for?" "There's no rush, anyway, I have plenty of time to finish the story. Originally, we were not sure about the identities of the deceased and the murderer. We only guessed that the two were probably Dimon and you respectively. According to the ashes of the police uniform next to the corpse , we think you've apparently disguised yourself as a tycoon. We then speculate further that you're presumably headed to Dimon's yacht. Don't overestimate our folly, Mayor. "But it's still pretty complicated. It's not going to do much to track you down because you're cornered. You've got weapons, and if you were surrounded, you'd undoubtedly kill yourself. Suicide is not what we want. They're going to kill you in Sac I want to see you, and I want to see you alive. "For me, this is a particularly difficult problem. I must convince the Ministry of Homeland Security that I can handle it alone, and that I can get you to Sack quietly and without difficulty. You should know that at this moment I am doing this. "To tell you the truth, at first I doubted that you were the man we were looking for. You're in ordinary formal attire at the yacht terminal, which is unbelievably vulgar taste. In my opinion, pretending to be a yachtsman without wearing yachting attire Well, no one would ever dream of taking that risk. I thought you were sending bait on purpose, and you figured out how to get yourself arrested while the person we wanted escaped in the other direction. "I was hesitant, so I tested you in other ways. First, I was looking for the keyhole in the wrong place. No yacht has ever had an airlock designed to open from the right side, the keyhole has always been on the left side, never changed You never showed any surprise at my mistake, not at all. Then I asked you if your yacht ever flew from Florence to Sark in six hours. You said you did—once in a while .This is really not easy, and the best record is more than nine hours. "So I judged that you couldn't be the bait, and the ignorance you showed is too much. You should be the right target, not pretending. I just need to wait for you to fall asleep-it's obvious from your face that you are very serious. Need sleep - disarm you, quietly point a weapon at you. I take off your hat, mostly out of curiosity. I want to see what a light-haired head looks like on a Sack suit .” Terrence's eyes were fixed on the needle gun.Maybe Jian Ruo saw his jaw muscles swell slightly, or maybe he just guessed what he was thinking. "Of course I can't kill you, even if you pounce on me." Jianruo said, "Even if it's for self-defense, I can't kill you. But don't think that you will have any advantage, as long as you move, I will kill you." I'll shoot your leg right away." Terrence's fighting spirit disappeared instantly.He pressed his forehead with both hands and sat there blankly. Jianruo said softly, "Do you know why I told you this?" Terrence didn't answer. "First," said Jenruo, "I am quite happy to see you tortured. I don't like murderers, especially the Florenians who murder the Sarks. I have orders to escort you to Sark, but the order does not say It is not stipulated that I have to let you have a pleasant journey. Second, you need to have a comprehensive understanding of the situation, because after you arrive at Sac, the following developments are all up to you." Terrence raised his head: "What do you mean?" "The Ministry of Homeland Security knew you were about to arrive. You don't have to doubt that the local office sent a message as soon as the ship left the atmosphere of Florena. But as I said, I must convince the Ministry of Homeland Security that I can handle it alone, And I did, and it changed the whole situation." "I don't understand what you're talking about." Terrence said desperately. Jian Ruo replied in a calm manner: "I said 'they' want to see you in Sac, and 'they' want to see you alive. I mean 'they' not the Ministry of National Security, I mean Trantor!"