The Star Knight

Era VI shuttles through the ancient starry sky, like a curious traveler in the vast galaxy. The distant stars emit sixteen river-like light bands, shining in the lonely and far-reaching universe.

Shards of ice flew from seventeen clusters of huge icy planets, and followed a clear trajectory towards the giant star in the center. Opal raised his head in a daze, staring at the magnificent spectacle outside the window.

Raymond whistled and sat on the sofa. There were two other people beside him, who were his companions for this ride.

Opal said: "It's really beautiful."

"Hmm." Raymond looked up, and said, "The flash river star, these ice crystal belts are estimated to take at least hundreds of millions of years to be completely absorbed by it."

"Fantuo is a diamond star." A man with a cigarette was sitting in front of the sofa playing cards: "I guess IRC doesn't have enough money, so it often digs diamonds from the ground and sells them."

His companion was a blond man, and said, "Don't worry, diamonds are not worth as much as they used to be."

"At least we can make some prisms, and the concentrator of the optical shock cannon." The man with a cigarette said, "Raymond, look at yours?"

"Two kings." Raymond showed his cards.

"Three with two," another man said.

"Oh——" Raymond and the man with the cigarette dangled cards at the same time.

"Victor." Raymond said, "You are not a good guy."

The winner named Victor smiled and put away a small pile of shiny gold coins. Raymond got up and said, "I'm going to take a shower."

The man with a cigarette yelled, "Otto... what's his name? Kid, come and play."

"It's Opal." Raymond said before entering the room, "Don't bully him, or you will be miserable."

Opal turned his head and glanced at him, got off the swivel chair, took a bottle of female fruit wine, the man with the cigarette narrowed his eyes and said, "Children can't drink."

"It's just fruit wine." Opal showed him, and said again: "Don't rush to collect chips, how much did Raymond lose to you? Take it out and put it away."

Both Victor and the man smoking a cigarette laughed, and Opal said, "Is your name Tang Kayin?"

The man with a cigarette in his mouth corrected: "Tang Kaen, you can call me Thang Ka."

Opal nodded, Victor started to deal the cards, Thangka took out a gold coin and flicked it, and said: "I bet on this, the commemorative coin of the 300th anniversary of the establishment of the Lion Star Autonomous Prefecture, with the emperor Kaltus on it." Avatar, here you see..."

Opal said: "Very well, put it away, it will be mine later."

Victor started to deal the community cards, Thangka said: "Thank you for allowing us to take your boat."

"Oh, you're welcome." Opal received the cards in his hand, looked at the bottom cards, and said, "It was given to him by Raymond's father, but you have obviously won the ticket."

The two laughed together.

Thangka asked: "What do you bet as a bargaining chip?"

"Bet..." Opal said, "Our little robot, plus Era VI."

Two people: "..."

Opal: "I never lie, this is for you, you win, and we will go through the transfer procedures of the spaceship after we arrive at the destination." Then he put E7 and Xiao Q on the table together, Raymond came out of the shower, Thangka said : "Your companion wants to gamble with us with the spaceship."

Raymond hummed and said, "He never lies."

Victor took out all the commemorative coins and said, "Gamble with you."

Thangka looked at Opal maliciously with a cigarette in his mouth, and finally said: "Interesting, I like it very much."

Victor said: "This is what adventurers often do. It seems that you are born with the temperament of King's Wharf."

Raymond smiled and said, "Didn't Murray also lose the entire Adventurer's Guild to a competitor? That's a big gamble, let's deal the cards."

Victor was a little nervous and began to deal the cards, but Opal was a little absent-minded, holding the cards to read, and asked, "What is this?"

"K's are all celebrities." Thangka's psychological quality was obviously much higher than that of his companion named Victor, and he said, "Guess what?"

"Hmm... I don't know any of them." Opal picked up the King of Hearts that was spread out on the table and looked at it.

"He is Azeroth." Victor said, "He just died not long ago."

"What about this one?" Opal pointed to a Jack of Clubs on the public card.

"Li Wei." Thangka said, "Diamond J is Tifeng."

"Ah—" Opal nodded slowly.

Lei Meng said: "I just drew a king of clubs, guess who it is?"

Opal said: "Emperor Kaltus."

"Oh no." Thangka, smoking a cigarette, looked at his cards thoughtfully, then glanced at Opal, and said, "King of Clubs is Marshal Rotman."

"Who is the square K?" Opal said, "Is it the emperor or the pope."

"Do you have a King of Diamonds?" Raymond asked.

Opal said, "No, I guess it's the emperor."

"Yes, he is a square K." Victor said softly: "The Pope does not allow the emperor to ride on his head. Guess who the Pope is?"

"I don't think these vintage playing cards look like real people." Opal said, "What about Jacks? I guess one of them is the Pope."

Thangka smiled cunningly, and picked up the two jokers that were placed aside.

The big trump card is a golden elder holding a scepter, and the small trump card is a dark knight in armor, calm and calm, with a long sword in front of him.

"Colorin," Opal murmured.

Several people nodded slowly. Opal seemed to be more interested in this set of cards than the winning cards themselves. He wanted to reach out to flip through them, but Thangka restrained him and said, "The bet is not over yet."

After Victor dealt the last card, Opal showed his cards and said, "Add the community cards to form three Kings and a pair of Jacks, Fullhouse."

There was a loud noise, and Thangka fell down.

Raymond laughed loudly, came over to take the gold coins away, and patted Opal's head.

It was three hours before they arrived at King's Wharf. Raymond packed up the cards, and several people chatted in the boat.Thangka could afford to win, but he could also afford to lose. After a while, he no longer felt sad, shook his head helplessly, and went to the refrigerator to get Opal and Raymond's reserve wine.

"Sphinx's desert fruit wine." Thangka praised: "This thing is worth a lot of money."

"A farmer gave Opal last time." Raymond said: "He needs a plant that can sing to decorate the farm, and at the same time pay attention to intruders and call the police."

"Plants with vocal cords." Victor said, "There are quite a few plants growing in the City of Carols."

"Yes." Raymond nodded.

Sitting aside, Opal flipped through the cards, took out a Jack of Spades, and asked, "Who is this?"

"Caesar, the leader of the four princes of the Meteorite Legion under Kolorin." Raymond said, picked out the K of Spades and threw it on the table, saying, "What about this one?"

"Spades are the biggest." Opal said suspiciously, "Is this person so powerful?"

"Yes." Thangka nodded and said: "Only four of this card are related to people in the dark age, this one, this one, this one... and this one."

Thangka picked out K of Spades, K of Hearts, and King and King.

"The four universe cards with the highest order." Thangka said: "Another special method in the game."

Pope Drummond, Corolin, Knight on the King of Spades, and Azeroth.

"This man's name is Horius." Victor glanced at it and said, "The war god of the Dark Ages died for King's Wharf. To commemorate him, they included him in the universe card."

"And what about Azeroth?" Raymond asked.

Victor said: "The people of Lie Xing admire him very much. You know that the Great Astronautics Association and the Mercenary Union are the only two free organizations with the longest history in the universe, so I guess the person who made this deck of cards also Acknowledge his status."

"Where are the Qs?" Opal spread out four Qs one by one, from left to right are spades, hearts, clubs, and diamonds.

"Natasha, Queen of the Sphinx, Innie, Empress of the Empire, Refina Heinris, Voice of History, and Sia Plant, the Little Lady."

Opal turned the cards over and glanced at them, and said to himself, "What do these two women do?"

"Xia is the richest woman in the universe." Raymond said: "The first lady of Poons Chamber of Commerce, she has four sons, and her business is all over the universe. Their shares are in IRC, which can be said to be a financial institution. empire."

"I heard that she is just a romantic...little woman." Thangka shrugged and said, "Her nickname is Little Woman."

"I know this." Opal said: "Plant, Enmino, and Stegas. The three directors of the Puens Chamber of Commerce."

"The Enmino family is dead." Victor said: "Stegas has done a considerable business in the mine star business. Fortunately, there is an interstellar anti-monopoly law, otherwise all human regimes will become theirs sooner or later."

Thangka said: "However, I heard that the Enmino family is preparing to come back. It appeared in the Republic some time ago. I haven't heard of this surname for a long time..."

Opal said, "Is Refina so famous?"

Thangka smoked a cigarette and said vaguely: "There are many celebrities in her family, including many talented scientists, but she is the last member of this brilliant family. As for whether she has the qualifications to be a plum blossom Q , it’s a matter of opinion, maybe it’s not necessarily because this card was made by her students..."

Lei Meng said: "I heard that she is now in Lie Xing?"

"Well, Lie Xing," Victor said.

A few people chatted casually. After watching the poker cards, Opal went to the side to play a small projection handheld game console.

"It's not good for kids to play with," Victor said.

"It doesn't matter." Raymond said: "He is 15 years old now, and he will be an adult in the next month."

Victor looked at Raymond, then at the expressionless Opal—he was trying to peel off the smart opponent's vest.

Thangka said, "Are you two father and son?"

"Uncle and nephew." Opal said, "He is my uncle."

The two nodded, and Lei Meng said, "At the same time, they are also lovers."

"Brother, according to the imperial law, you will be arrested, he is not yet of age." Victor couldn't help but laugh.

Opal said: "We are just spiritually in love."

Raymond smiled and said, "Yes, spiritual love. I have been waiting for him to grow up. After four years of hard work, I can get it soon."

Victor: "..."

Thangka: "..."

Opal laughed to himself. This is the fourth year since they left Iszur. After starting from the Grip of Light, the first stop they arrived at was King's Wharf in the Light Wheel star system.

King's Wharf is the first landing place where the ancestors of mankind entered the Leo galaxy for the first time in the early Era of Light. The pioneers settled here briefly, and then dispersed to the entire Leo galaxy, discovering a brand new world. They established here The administrative center has been called the Leo Autonomous Prefecture for nearly 200 years, and then migrated towards the Lion star, and the original capital site has undergone several large-scale renovations to become the headquarters of the Great Astronautics Association, and is open to the entire universe, becoming a highly free immigration port.

This planet is located at the edge of the Leo Nebula. It has encountered countless wars in its nearly 2-year history of civilization. The Lion Galaxy Autonomous Prefecture fought several wars with the Milky Way. The fuse was ignited on King's Wharf. At the end of the Dark Ages, the two most tolerant planets, King's Wharf and Blazing Star, became the last places of refuge for the human race.

After capital injection from the empire and major consortiums, it has been built more prosperously than Lie Xing. Countless spaceships have taken off and landed. It is the largest free port in the empire. Adventurers drive their own spaceships and come to the Great Aerospace Association to approach the commission. Find employers and do business.

The most different thing from Lie Xing is that it is very free here - it is almost crazy free.King's Wharf has perfect laws and regulations that have been handed down from the dark ages. Unlike the mercenary union that establishes a system to restrict every adventurer, the Great Astronautics Association is left to fend for itself. There is no recruit training and no course guidance. People are casual, directly contact employers according to grades and qualifications, and pay a small fee.

Adventurers never form a group. The entire Big Astronautics Association has nearly 20 billion registered members and conducts individual assessments for them.All commissions are individually linked to the person in charge, and the association does not take any responsibility for this.The adventurer's handbook is like a mercenary's diary. There is no organization or team here. Each registered member's handbook is an independent book.

Adventurers are also completely different from mercenaries, all of them are like polite gentlemen-at least they did behave like this when they were in King's Wharf.However, once they leave the Great Astronautics Association, they don't know what actions they will take. They will also kill, rob, or steal valuable works of art from ancient tombs.

As long as the interstellar patrols don't find out, they can get away with it, unless they break the law.The definition of crime is very vague. Sometimes it is the law of the empire, sometimes it is the law of the republic, and more often it is the local law of many small planets. When encountering such things, adventurers can only escape as much as possible. The Great Astronautics Association There will be no cover-up for crimes.

However, whether it is a murderer or a thief, as long as they hide in the hall of the Great Astronautics Association during the business period, all forces are not allowed to fight here, because everyone in King's Wharf believes that the soul of the military god Horius sleeps here under the land.

The first sentence in the Adventurer's Handbook is: [Exploration is the lifelong pursuit of an adventurer. ] And the first article in the articles of association of the Great Astronautics Association is also: [Please always remember that the mission of an adventurer is not to kill. temple. ] The assessment levels of the adventurers are similar to Lie Xing's, but they are replaced with poker-like A~10 points, as well as J, Q, and K levels.

Opal felt very uncomfortable with this place at first, and felt that it was too loose, with no teamwork, no comrades-in-arms, and no definite affiliation. interesting.

Adventurers keep the most basic courtesy to each other, and do not refuse other people's inquiries and help. Among them are quite a lot of knowledgeable people. These people know many rumors and anecdotes in the universe. The dirty young man is a sailing genius, or some gray-haired old gentleman who just had a drink with the bosses of the big money not long ago.

Adventurers control a world beyond the reach of mercenaries. They avoid unnecessary battles and use their brains more than strength. The title page of the adventurer's handbook reads: Wisdom is your only weapon.

This is the opposite of the mercenaries who believe in the code of battle. Adventurers are more cunning and circuitous, and they are used to solving problems with tact and tactics instead of fighting.

The Great Astronautics Association is also a competitor of Lie Xing. However, due to the limitations of the loose organization of adventurers, they cannot carry out too many difficult commissions. This makes Lie Xing invincible in many tasks. After all Adventurers dare not challenge the missions set out by the mercenaries who often work together with more than a dozen people.

They can only perform exploration, search, and discovery tasks within their capabilities.Free people who have passed the certification of no criminal record after registration will also receive a separate card medal.Points and suits are printed on this card, which is similar to the F to SS ranks of mercenaries, and promotion points are obtained through entrusted evaluation.There are thirteen levels in the entire adventurer system, and each level is divided into spades, hearts and clubs, and four small levels of diamonds.

Levels from A to 5 are called reserve personnel, while 6 to 10 are certified official adventurers. Adventurers starting from J have entered the field of advanced exploration. They have their own specialties and a network of relationships that extends in all directions in the interstellar world. , and occasionally take care of the younger generation, but it is by no means like the mercenaries on Lie Xing who would sacrifice their lives for comrades they have never met.

Adventurers are more pursuing retro, art and life. They always seem to intervene in troubles leisurely, and get out in time when the momentum is not right. If they have partners who are commissioned, they will play cards, gamble and chat on the spaceship.

They like playing cards and gambling very much. This seems to be the only tradition in the entire association. When you join the association, you will first get a set of cards. Proverbs come down.It is undeniable that the famous sayings of ancient philosophers can indeed solve almost all problems in the world.

They also like to chat very much, and often a topic can cover everything, from the characteristics of plants on a certain planet to the entire universe, and then to the wife of a genetic company executive who slapped an executive last night.

Opal is not old enough to apply to become an adventurer, but Raymond can, so Raymond got the qualification certificate and took Opal to take risks. Therefore, as long as I meet adventurers who ask for a ride on an alien planet, I will never refuse their request. Some of these people are as cunning as foxes, and some are serious and down-to-earth. There are old people and young people. Everyone has one thing in common. Features - Curiosity.

Their curiosity is very strong, perhaps this is the most basic element of people who join the Great Space Exploration Association. They often have countless different opinions after exchanging a question. Go each other, say hello when you meet, say goodbye when you leave, like no friendship was ever formed.

Opal felt that this kind of life had almost everything. The days at King's Wharf reminded him of Lie Xing unconsciously, but his friends there no longer had the slightest memory of him, just like what happened in his previous life.

But he still sent an anonymous letter to Xun, which detailed many things he thought should be careful, although Corolin promised him that he would not touch Lie Xing again in the short term, maybe 100 years, or 200 years Years, but many things are uncertain.

Living a very fresh life on King's Wharf every day, Opal sometimes wonders, are these people lonely in their hearts?At least for himself, the process of constantly satisfying his curiosity and knowing more cannot completely make up for his emotional inner loneliness.

But luckily he still has Raymond.

"Welcome back to the light wheel star." A female voice sounded from the communication station: "The weather at King's Wharf is fine today."

Raymond: "It's home."

Several people packed their things, and Victor said: "Both, goodbye!"

Thangka lazily put on a cigarette and said, "Goodbye, little guy."

Times VI opened the back cabin under the sun, several adventurers bid farewell to each other, Opal jumped up, put it on Lei Meng's back, let him carry it, and boarded the train to return the commission to the association.