New Century, Year 1305, Week 50, Day 10, 4:00.
Lingbi Star, Tana City.
Rain drizzled from the sky, sometimes heavy, sometimes light, like the moods of the audience currently queuing outside the venue. There was never a moment of peace, and everything was bleak and gloomy.
Lan Qiao rested her chin on the shoulder of her friend Mia as they watched the live interstellar weather updates on the "Virtual Workspace." One sighed, then the other lamented. Both wore miserable expressions.
The situation was far from encouraging.
The disturbances in the interstellar space around the Qiankong Star System, caused by the Styx, had slowed but had not fully settled. The Solid-85 Star Gate had yet to issue clearance for passage.
Footage from the scene showed that the Flying Ships jammed on both sides of the Star Gate had formed a massive bottleneck. Even if the gate met transit conditions now, it was said that clearing the congestion would take two or three days.
Mia was tall, slender, delicate-looking, and had something of a model's air about her.
At this point, all she could do was groan. "We're done for! Even if Aunt Wei rushed over from the Star Gate now, it would count as a victory if she could dive her flying ship straight into the middle of the venue... Look, lots of people aren't even planning to go in anymore."
"But people are still going inside."
The dampness clinging to Lan Qiao's skin made her look even paler and more bloodless, but her voice remained strong and her resolve firm. "I'm going in no matter what! How many people here came all the way from the Red Silicon Star System, more than ten sectors away, just for a concert..."
"Study tour! You came here for a study tour!"
"My mom