From then until they boarded, the entire group remained unusually quiet—one could even say orderly. Though the unavoidable sense of estrangement and mutual wariness still hung around everyone, at least order was maintained. It had to be said that ever since they had been sent through the portal to this place, which lay beyond most people's comprehension, its strange sights and the incredible journey ahead had greatly diverted the "Chosen Ones'" attention. They could no longer focus on the questions they had wanted to ponder before, because even devoting all their energy to understanding and observing this place was barely enough.
The Giant Turtle Rock Platform, docked at a dedicated Starport, slightly broke the quiet, almost stifling atmosphere. It was a beautiful spacecraft. Though it was nowhere near as huge as those massive civilian transport ships or low-tech warships, its uniqueness was obvious from the special berth it occupied and the enormous, intricate servo facilities around the berth. When the Chosen Ones heard that this was the ship Hao Ren had arranged for them, they exclaimed in wonder and craned their necks beneath the starship's hovering supports—Hao Ren figured that more than ninety percent of their attention was focused on the husky head painted on the ship's deck...
"It's a ship decal, a personalized ship decal—you've never seen car decals before?" Hao Ren explained with a stiff face, doing his best to sound serious as he explained the enormous dog head on the ship.
Lily's innocent, radiant face stretched across three armor belts on the ship, from the secondary gun turret along the waistline all the way to the engine plating at the stern...
Vivian's expression did not change, but she squeezed the words out through her teeth. "I think you shouldn't have let Big Dog wear you down in