City of a Thousand Sails

The sun rises from the east.

This journey, which should have been a brief stopover, finally arrived at the City of a Thousand Sails, the heart of the entire Seven Seas Alliance world, after a lively shipboard party and a harrowing day on Mermaid Island.

"The contract ends here!"

"Young man, if you have the chance in the future, you can come find me at the bottom of the sea. I haven't entertained any guests in a long time!"

The Red Sea Kraken did not drag the ships into the harbor.

It released the tugboat's ropes from a distance and dived into the deep ocean on its own.

The Fishing Boat, propelled by its last bit of momentum, continued its journey toward the city ahead.

Linsey stood at the bow of the ship, her eyes slightly narrowed.

The first thing that catches the eye in the distance is seven towers of different colors, which correspond to the seven colors of the rainbow spectrum.

Looking out from here, you can see the elaborate patterns painted on the tower. The structure of the stripes changes dramatically at different heights, but the theme of the composition always complements the beauty of the corresponding colors on the tower.

Of the seven towers, the Red Tower is located in the center of the city and is the tallest and most eye-catching, resembling a long spear pointing directly at the sun in the sky.

The other six-colored towers are distributed around the city in a regular hexagonal pattern.

It also vaguely marks the division of the urban area.

"The City of a Thousand Sails..."

Linsey murmured softly.

As the Fishing Boat moved forward, a clearer view came into view.

The entire City of a Thousand Sails shone brightly under the clear sunlight, and the bridges and houses all had beautifully designed roofs with different shapes.

On the outskirts of this art city, countless ships are moored on the sea.

Colorful triangular flags fluttered in the wind, bobbing and snapping above everyone's heads as they rose and fell with the waves, resembling a swaying, moving landmass.

Linsey and her group were approaching the city where the Purple Tower was located.

Two artists strolling on the sea spotted them and walked over, calling out to the ship from afar, "Stop! Line up in an orderly fashion outside! Your number is 66, and there are 65 more landing ships ahead of Purple Port..."

"Hmm? A ship from Cato Island?"

"Why are you 17 hours late! And where are the tugboat Sea People?"

Linsey couldn't help but ask Wala Wala beside her, "Is it always this lively here? Why are there such long queues to get into the city?"

"65 ships? That'll take forever."

Wala Wala chuckled and explained, "It's normal."

"Normally, it takes quite a while to get into the City of a Thousand Sails, let alone now that Art Festival is being held, which means even more guests are coming!"

Just as Linsey and Wala Wala were whispering to each other.

The captain of the Fishing Boat walked from the wheelhouse to the bow, and the red checkered silk cloth he was covering his stomach was particularly eye-catching.

"You two!"

"My ship was attacked at sea, and the Sea People have met with misfortune!"

Upon hearing the captain's call, the expressions of the two artists responsible for piloting the water changed.

One of them waved forward, and the seawater beneath their feet formed a transparent curtain, carrying the two onto the boat:

"They were attacked, and the Sea People died."

"What happened?"

The captain quickly offered an explanation:

"It was Fallen Artist who controlled the Red Sea Mermaid!"

"We were lucky. The people on the ship worked together and found a giant sea monster, which helped us escape."

"..."

"Another Fallen Artist."

"These people are always causing trouble. The Art Festival is about to start, and they still want to cause trouble outside."

The two artists who were drawing water exchanged a glance.

Then one of them sighed, jumped into the sea, and turned back towards the city's port.

The other person stayed on the ship to continue exchanging information with the captain.

Not long after.

A stirring and resounding trombone call echoed from the distant port, instantly shaking the entire sea.

The ships queuing in front of the port remained motionless, but the seawater automatically parted, splitting open a straight channel.

This unpowered Fishing Boat didn't need to be towed; a wave surged up from under the boat, pulling it forward until it reached the edge of the harbor.

Linsey joked to Wala Wala beside her, "Wouldn't you say we're cutting in line?"

The girl shrugged:

"I think this is a form of consolation after being attacked?"

Linsey continued to ask:

"In our situation, are we subjected to harsh questioning when entering the city?"

Wala Wala shook her head slightly:

"This kind of thing is not unusual; it's just a normal procedure."

"To go further, even if these people go to Mermaid Island to search, the previous artists have probably already run away."

Woohoo—

Another loud trombone blast rang out.

The summer breeze blows across the sea, transforming into two gentle giant hands that support the Fishing Boat securely, even tying the mooring lines tightly to the surface.

With Linsey's excellent hearing, she quickly heard people outside whispering.

How could they cut in line?

"A group of unlucky guys attacked by Fallen Artist, come and make a record."

"It seems like one of them has been attacked by Red Sea Mermaid?"

"That's good. We'll have to go and call a doctor. The last time I saw a man give birth was a year ago in the spring."

"..."

The Fishing Boat who received special treatment were quickly guided off the boat.

However, there was no special skill demonstration this time; instead, people simply set up springboards and filed down.

They were taken to the port office.

Seven offices were set up with their doors open, each for registering information.

When it's Linsey's turn...

Wala Wala naturally took his arm, and the two walked inside together.

A young man was in charge of receiving them.

On the left side of the other person's desk was a thick stack of papers, and on the right side were forms with filled-out information.

He looked up and asked Linsey and Wala Wala for information.

After only asking her name, she couldn't help but complain, "I can accept a feminine name like Linsey, but... Wala Wala?"

"What kind of weird name is that?"

Wala Wala replied with a laugh:

"I remember there's someone in the Purple District named Summer Grapes, right? My name isn't too bad, is it?"

The man who asked the question raised an eyebrow, "Are you all locals?"

Wala Wala pointed to himself, then to Linsey:

"I am, he is not."

Linsey volunteered:

"I come from Hidden Borderlands, a marginal world opened up by the Expedition Team."

"Wow, that's rare." The young man ignored Wala Wala and turned his slightly teasing gaze to Linsey. "You weren't pregnant when you were attacked by the mermaid, were you?"

Linsey naturally shook her head:

"No."

The other party continued to ask:

"Both of you are Awakened Ones."

Linsey replied, "That's right, I'm Game Player, Fourth Stage."

Wala Wala then introduced himself, saying, "Essence, Fifth Stage."

"..."

The registration process went smoothly.

Just like Wala Wala said, it was just a routine inquiry.

The man only fell into a brief silence when the girl mentioned her skills, and asked her to stay a little longer while he went next door to get new materials.

Linsey came out first and waited outside the port office gate.

He stood at the door for a few minutes under the scorching sun.

The pedestrians passing by the port had all sorts of different makeup styles.

There were warriors clad in armor and swords, undaunted by the scorching summer heat; there were also young men and women dressed in light clothing, as if on vacation; and there were even more serious passersby dressed in elaborate attire, resembling ascetics.

"..."

"Sir, may I stand here a little longer?"

At that moment, a voice rang out.

Linsey turned her head and saw that it was an opening in a stone statue on the edge of the port office gate! The statue was in the shape of a human and was quite exquisitely designed.

However, because it was crafted by professional stonemasons, the object also gained vitality due to their excellent craftsmanship.

It then began to complain to Linsey, "Sir, do you know? I've been standing here for 16 years, exposed to the wind and sun for not a single second!"

"This is really not a pleasant feeling!"