This Mobile City floated above the thick clouds, its chimneys spewing gray-white smoke while the roar of its propellers echoed across the sea of clouds.
Li Ye was instantly dumbfounded.
"Can this Mobile City fly through the sky?"
He rushed to the Watchtower and picked up the telescope.
The outer shell of the Mobile City consisted of enormous, thick city sails. The sails were brightly colored and filled with fairytale charm, gathered together in the shape of a hot-air balloon.
Through the gaps between the sails, Li Ye could clearly see its internal structure.
Its main body was made up of layer upon layer of metal platforms, reinforced by riveted Armor Plates. Steam pipes of all sizes wound through them, carrying high-pressure steam.
Dozens of enormous gasbags hung beneath the city. A gigantic propeller was installed at the rear, while eye-catching mechanical fins extended from both sides, allowing the city to maintain its balance in storms and air currents.
Its vehicles were hot-air balloons of various sizes, along with several small airships.
Li Ye narrowed his eyes and continued looking.
What intrigued him most was how the residents of this Mobile City lived.
As the telescope slowly shifted, he saw exactly what he had been wondering about.
The Mobile City was divided into more than a dozen levels from bottom to top. It had far more levels than an ordinary Level 1 Mobile City because floating in the sky meant it was no longer restricted by the city's height.
Its levels were also arranged in the complete opposite of those in a Level 1 City.
The upper levels were the boiler and power areas, the middle levels were the residential areas, and the lower levels were the Noble District.
Li Ye could see the enormous steam reactors operating in the upper levels, with mechanics and apprentices bustling around them.
The streets in the middle levels were made of crisscrossing iron mesh and riveted Steel Plates. Roads of all sizes intersected, and every roadside had gear-driven Lifting Platforms and conveyor belts. The city's residents hurried back and forth, busy with their own affairs. Some leaned against the railings and waved at the people below.
The Noble District in the lower levels was very small, only about half the size of a soccer field.
Its layout was beyond Li Ye's expectations. There was only a quaint old little house, a small lawn beside it, and a circle of wooden railings around the outside.
The Mobile City drifted leisurely onward beneath the yearning gazes of everyone in Roland Fortress.
As Li Ye watched, the corners of his mouth rose involuntarily.
"It's wonderful." He could not help sighing.
The sky had always been the romance humanity yearned most to touch.
From Chang'e flying to the moon and the Greek gods dwelling on Mount Olympus, to Van Gogh's Starry Night, whose swirling brushstrokes set the night sky ablaze, and then to the technology of hot-air balloons, airplanes, and rockets—
Humanity had always tried to reach the sky in various ways, clumsy yet persistent.
Li Ye put away the telescope and closed his eyes, beginning to imagine life in this flying Mobile City.
When he woke in the morning, he would open the window to a flowing sea of clouds.
The morning wind would carry a thin mist inside. The rising sun would cast the silhouette of the enormous propellers onto the walls of clouds, forming a beautiful reflection.
Beneath his feet would be a flowing earth, with mountains, lakes, wilderness, and towns all within sight.
Workers in the boiler area would shovel coal while chatting, occasionally brushing the black ash from their bodies. Residents would open their windows and let in air mixed with coal smoke and morning dew. After putting on goggles and wind hoods, they would head outside. Along the interwoven suspended walkways, children would happily run past while holding the railings.
Since crossing into this world, Li Ye had been constantly tense every day because of the need to survive. Now, however, his mood quietly relaxed.
In this wasteland apocalypse, where order had collapsed and survival had become the highest priority, living in a flying Mobile City would surely feel incredible!
He suddenly felt that it would not be bad if the Morrow could become a flying Mobile City.
But all he could do was sigh at the impossibility.
Transforming a Mobile City into a flying model was extremely difficult. It not only required gathering a whole series of aerial components, but the entire Mobile City also needed to undergo a complete overhaul.
Whether resources, manpower, or material resources were involved, the cost would be enormous.
Even among a hundred cities, it was rare to find a single aerial city. That was how scarce they were.
And precisely because of that, when a flying Mobile City appeared before everyone, it seemed as beautiful as a fairy tale.
At that moment, everyone in the entire fortress stopped what they were doing and looked up at the flying city.
The flying city gradually slowed down, began lowering its altitude, and sounded two long blasts followed by one short blast from its steam whistle.
"That means it wants to communicate! It wants to rest at Roland Fortress!"
As the realization struck him, Li Ye became excited.
Lin Wu, who was repairing the Morrow, seemed to sense what he was thinking and spoke up.
"My lord, this flying city is very inspiring, isn't it? Do you want to go up and take a look?"
"Yes." Li Ye nodded, his eyes filled with emotion. "Even if it's only for a few minutes, it would be nice to see the scenery below while it's flying."
"Really? Just thinking about something like that sounds wonderful. May I go with you?"
"No. You have to keep working."
While Lin Wu disappointedly adjusted his glasses, Li Ye rubbed his hands excitedly and took the Lifting Platform back to the ground.
At that moment, the flying city had reached the sky above Roland Fortress and was slowly beginning to descend.
Its pilot had carefully selected a landing point and announced the landing procedure through the Speaking Tube.
The flying city gradually stopped heating its burners, opened roughly fifty to seventy percent of its exhaust valves, and maintained that opening as it slowly descended toward Roland Fortress.
When it was forty or fifty meters above the ground, it briefly ignited its burners to reduce the impact, then hovered above Roland Fortress with its basket held level.
The people aboard the flying city descended slowly in hot-air balloons.
Taking a close look, Li Ye discovered that they were all Westerners with blond hair and blue eyes.
Leading them was the butler of the flying city's lord. He was in his fifties, with a rational and restrained expression, a back as straight as a ruler, and brows permanently furrowed. He looked like a stern homeroom teacher from high school, standing by the window and silently watching his students.
He then opened his notebook and addressed the crowd.
"Then, as I planned earlier, we will purchase 2,000 units of Iron Ore, 1,000 units of coal, and 500 units of fuel from this fortress."
When he came to his senses, he found that the area around him was already packed with people.
Nearly everyone in the fortress had gathered there.
The butler then introduced himself.
The flying city was called the Adventure. It was a Level 1 City. His name was Gray, and he was the city lord's butler.
It came from the distant Basin Area.
According to him, the Adventure was about 300 meters high and approximately 700 meters in diameter, with a main structure about 120 meters thick.
Its more than a dozen levels had a total area of twelve square kilometers and could accommodate over five hundred people.
Under normal circumstances, the Adventure flew at an altitude of 300 to 1,500 meters. In emergencies, it could continue climbing.
Its usual speed was twenty to fifty kilometers per hour, and it could remain airborne for one to two weeks.
However, no one was interested in the data the butler was explaining.
"Sir, may we go up and look around?" a child asked, raising his hand.
"The lord would naturally be delighted to invite everyone, especially children."
Gray's expression remained impassive as he answered.
"But I hate children. When they make a racket, they're like out-of-control wind-up toys, often producing dreadful noises exceeding 140 decibels."
"Butler Gray, you were a child once too," a little girl said timidly.
Gray slowly and firmly shook his head.
"No. I was calm and self-controlled from childhood and almost never made a fuss. Someone often said I was like a boring little adult."
Before he finished speaking, a long line had instantly formed in front of him.
Seeing this, Gray helplessly relaxed his brows, then added one sentence.
"Lords of Mobile Cities may go first."
Li Ye immediately displayed his Lord's Bracelet.
To his surprise, he saw two other hands raised high among the crowd, each holding a Lord's Bracelet.
They belonged to Li Jin and Lei Jian.
"You're both this old and still so childish?" he asked in astonishment.
The two men gazed excitedly at the Adventure overhead.
"Nonsense! Any man, no matter his age, would be thrilled to see this!"
Under Butler Gray's arrangements, the three lords boarded hot-air balloons and ascended to the Adventure.
They arrived in the middle levels, where they first stepped into the central area known as Rivet Square.
It was both a marketplace and a social center.
Repairmen in the repair shops hammered parts at their stalls, sparks scattering onto the Steel Plate pavement with faint hissing sounds.
The windows of the small apothecary were filled with glass vials, their labels reading "High-Altitude Sickness Relief" and "Dizziness Tonic."
Street vendors called out their distinctive "gear grilled meat skewers." Chunks of meat were threaded onto small propeller shafts and roasted as they spun from the residual heat.
By the windowsills, residents tended cold-resistant steam greenhouse plants, their roots winding through metal grilles.
Several street performers played steam organs, the notes rising and falling with the low-altitude air currents.
The steam ovens in the bakery released their first aroma of toast. The crusts of freshly baked bread were especially crisp in the low-pressure environment, while the insides were fluffy as drifting cotton.
"It's wonderful." Lei Jian watched the scene and sighed sincerely. "How great would it be if I could live here every day?"
Li Jin nodded along, but still voiced his concern.
"What if they encounter strong winds, torrential rain, or thunderstorms?"
"Ahem, saying that now is a bit of a mood killer. Don't ruin the atmosphere."
While the two chatted idly, Li Ye followed the walkway toward another area.
What interested him most was the lower level with its old little house, lawn, and railings.
He soon reached the lower level and looked toward the old little house.
No matter how he looked at it, it was merely an ordinary wooden cottage.
It had a pointed roof, a chimney, and cream-colored walls. It looked like a gingerbread house stuck together with rainbow candy.
The cottage door was open, allowing glimpses of the interior.
Above the living-room fireplace was a framed photograph of a young couple embracing in front of a small repair shop. The edges of the wooden frame had been polished smooth from years of handling.
The faded floral sofa bore the impressions of two people in its sunken cushions. Fine scratches left by someone's knitting needle marked the left armrest.
Yellowed recipe cards were stuck to the old little refrigerator. They were covered with warning-like reminders about maintaining a healthy diet.
Two pairs of slippers sat before the door, their fleece long worn smooth.
One pair lay scattered carelessly, while the other was placed neatly beside it, as if still waiting for someone to return.
Li Ye silently watched it all, feeling the passage of time within the house.
Just as he hesitated over whether to knock and notify the owner, a sound suddenly came from inside.
"Hm?" Li Ye turned toward it in surprise and saw an elderly man frozen in place, secretly stuffing cake into his mouth.
The old man was about eighty years old. His silver hair was tousled like a dandelion, but his eyes still shone like those of a child who had stolen candy.
"Oh, I thought it was Gray." He immediately relaxed. "Welcome, young stranger. If you have time, come in and sit for a while."
"Actually, I'm here."
Gray appeared silently behind Li Ye, nearly frightening the old man into falling over.
His figure moved like lightning. He swiftly snatched away the cake and returned it to the plate—it was hard to imagine that a butler in his fifties could move so quickly.
"Please give up on eating sweets. Your physical condition makes them far too difficult to deal with."
The old man clasped his hands and sulked like a child who had done something wrong.
"This is Claude, the lord of the Adventure."
Gray introduced Li Ye to the man sitting on the sofa.
As he spoke, he rubbed his forehead in distress.
"He's already eighty-seven, yet he still acts like a child who never grew up, causing trouble every day."
"Stop using that helpless adult tone, Gray. You're more than twenty years younger than me." Claude grumbled.
While Gray was speaking, the old lord tried to dip a finger into the cake's cream and sneak a taste, but Gray promptly smacked his hand with the notebook.
"Ow! Be gentler!" he shouted angrily.
"You can't touch sweets anymore. If Madam were still here, she'd definitely be angry and hit you."
"Ellie wouldn't. She's a very gentle person." The old lord reluctantly withdrew his hand. "These days, I actually wish I could see her every day. I wouldn't even mind being hit."
Gray froze when he heard that. A trace of gentleness appeared in his usually stern eyes.
Li Ye listened from the side and smiled silently.
Claude then noticed the Lord's Bracelet on his hand.
"Oh, so you're a lord too." He rubbed his hands and leaned closer. "I wonder how your Mobile City is doing. Have you experienced anything worth remembering?"
Just as Li Ye was about to answer, the old man suddenly smiled and gently patted his shoulder.
"Before you tell me, why don't you hear my story first?"
Claude had been an orphan since childhood and grew up in a fortress.
A kindhearted repair-shop owner adopted him and trained him to become a mechanic from a young age.
When Claude cautiously and nervously stepped into the repair shop, a little girl shrieked wildly and rushed out, accidentally smacking the thick book in her hands into his face.
She was Ellie, the owner's daughter. The book in her hands was an adventure journal about flying cities written by a lord.
The two children of the same age met for the first time.
There was always endless work in the repair shop. Young Claude crouched in a corner and patiently repaired customers' belongings, while Ellie laughed and played beside him, occasionally helping in ways that only made things worse.
When the shop closed, they lit an oil lamp and read the adventure journal. In their spare time, they leaned against the rain-streaked windows and imagined life in the cities above the clouds.
More than a decade later, the repair-shop owner passed away, and the grown Claude had become a mechanic capable of standing on his own—even one with a reputation.
He inherited his adoptive father's shop and the responsibility of caring for Ellie.
She had grown up as well, changing from a mischievous little girl into a quiet young woman.
Instead of constantly causing trouble while trying to help Claude as she had in the past, she now honestly worked beside him.
One day, Claude was on tiptoe changing a light bulb in the shop when he suddenly stumbled. Ellie quickly reached out to hold the bulb steady.
Their fingers touched the bulb at the same time. When their eyes met, sparks flew—but neither of them knew whether they came from electricity or something else.
There was no earth-shaking passion and no dramatic romance. The two young people simply fell in love.
The couple ran the shop, raised children, and supported each other for more than a decade.
Then, in an accidental tragedy, they lost both of their children.
Claude managed to hold on, but Ellie was nearing collapse.
Watching his wife grow thinner and more haggard by the day, Claude felt heartbroken yet helpless.
Until one day, while tidying the house, he suddenly found that old adventure log.
It held the childhood dream the two of them had shared.
When Claude came before her and, as if by magic, revealed a picture from the adventure log showing a city in the sky, Ellie's eyes lit up—a rare sight.
The couple pulled themselves together and diligently ran the repair shop every day.
While Claude was busy in the shop, he saw Ellie bring home an orphan who had been wandering around the fortress.
He was a little boy dressed in rags, yet still holding his head high.
Claude waved a wrench, intending to tease and frighten him, only for the boy to stomp on his foot without warning, making him yelp.
Yet even though Claude was a renowned mechanic, and even though he had worked diligently for over a decade, he still could not save enough money to buy a Mobile City, much less transform it into a city in the sky.
The couple gradually grew old, and their hair turned gray.
That night, as he looked at his dying wife and the adventure log in her hands, Claude gazed at her, his eyes filled with guilt.
Ellie merely smiled and shook her head. She closed the adventure log and gently took his hand.
Her gentle eyes seemed to smile, as though she wanted to say something.
When Claude asked her about it, a hint of mischief appeared in her eyes. She simply gave a soft laugh and shook her head.
Claude sat dejectedly outside the closed repair shop, not knowing what he should do.
Hearing movement beside him, he looked up and saw Gray handing him the adventure log.
The dull little boy had long since become a dull grown man. Even when handing over the book, he still wore the same stern expression.
Claude slowly opened the adventure log and discovered that new content had been added inside.
It recorded every little detail of the life he and his wife had shared over the decades.
From the moment they met, to understanding one another, supporting each other, and falling in love.
Before he realized it, Claude's eyes had grown moist.
When he turned to the final page, he saw a single sentence written there.
"You are the greatest adventure of my life."
Only after a long while did Claude finally calm his heart.
He closed the adventure log, pulled himself together, and stood to face Gray.
The two exchanged a glance and gently nodded.
The repair shop reopened, and the old man and the young man continued working diligently.
The story of Claude and Ellie gradually spread throughout the Basin Area.
One day, as Claude was closing the shop, he saw several residents of the fortress walking toward him.
Several units of Iron Ore, a wrench, and a small piece of metal plating.
One after another, everyone handed their offerings to the bewildered man.
In the days that followed, more and more people visited the repair shop.
Steam pipes, chimneys, mechanical components. All kinds of things appeared outside the repair shop, gradually piling up into a small mountain.
Bounty hunters, survivor convoys, and Mobile City lords. With the entire Basin Area working together, they somehow managed to piece together a Mobile City in the sky over the course of more than a decade.
Claude thus became its lord, while Gray became his butler.
He named the Mobile City in the sky Adventure, then moved the little house where he and his wife had lived to the lower level. With that, it set off on a brand-new journey.
"That's wonderful."
Li Ye could not help but sigh from the bottom of his heart.
Claude, meanwhile, gently ran his fingers over the adventure log, his eyes filled with remembrance.
"As you can see, I'll continue adventuring in this world until I return to my Ellie's side."
With a thunderous roar, Adventure slowly started up and began circling the fortress.
Li Ye stood beside the railing, his hair tousled by the breeze, his eyes shining brightly.
The wilderness, lakes, mountains, and forests.
At that moment, everything on the earth lay before their eyes, breathtakingly beautiful.
Claude stood beside him. The old lord gripped the railing tightly with both hands, gazing at the scenery below with him.
"Hey, young man! I've finished telling my story. What about yours?" he shouted.
Li Ye thought for a moment, then gave the old lord a gentle smile.
"It's only just begun."
Before you continue