Small Accident

"Has it finally arrived?"

"It's finally here!"

The same words carried completely different emotions.

The former was a sigh of relief that It had finally arrived, that they could finally go home, that the nightmare was finally over.

The latter, however, was filled with resentment and displeasure.

"If we hadn't won this battle, with It arriving nearly a month late, everyone would've been dead."

Normally, if the "shuttle bus" was delayed, people might grumble a little. But when the ship that was supposed to save their lives arrived late, it could provoke more than mere dissatisfaction—perhaps even hatred.

Especially when this Ark's arrival brought some unplanned "extras" with it.

"Heh, Phosphorus People."

When that familiar yet unfamiliar group of Phosphorus People appeared on this land, they naturally drew even more attention, and even wariness.

Especially after people discovered that these Phosphorus People neither understood Earth's languages nor came from Earth, even more "thoughts" arose.

"...This time, our god really screwed me over."

While having a private meal together, Wang Xi'er complained to Lu PingAn.

Over the past two days, she had suffered plenty of undeserved frustration. She could not afford to offend either the Lamp Lord or the Four Cities authorities, yet she was destined to become the intermediary between them.

"You didn't get any advance notice?" Lu PingAn asked casually.

"No, none at all. Why would they tell a... decorative figure like me about something like this? That..."

The woman pointed at the sky, her face openly full of displeasure.

"...To It, people like us are merely relatively valuable chess pieces. When a Chess Player plays, why would they consult the pieces?"

"Oh, I see. Then things will be a bit rough for you from here on out..."

The meal lasted a full two and a half hours. For