No wonder Yani's great-grandfather, Sale Liu Belenkester, who had served five terms as the Alliance's Grand Commander, had once said, "The Empire? A source civilization, my ass. It's nothing but a bankrupt knockoff that blindly follows the Enlighteners' every move."
They said that remark had really gotten under the Empire's skin at the time.
Yu Lian, however, thought there was no need to take it so seriously. Even if the Empire was a bankrupt knockoff, it had indeed reached a level of solemn, magnificent industrial design that other civilizations could only dream of matching. It might have been a copy, but culture was culture, and it had developed a style of its own.
Take the corridor on this ancient ship, for example. It was certainly gorgeous, but it wasn't necessarily any better than the audience chamber built later aboard the Dawn Angel.
Yu Lian was still mulling that over when the Count of the Black Moon appeared behind him. The moment the legendary gentleman thief landed, he whistled and clicked his tongue in admiration. "Just how much of the people's hard-earned wealth went into this?"
"...This is an Enlightener ship."
"Oh, right. Hahahaha, sorry. I can't help thinking that whenever I see decor like this. I suppose it's a kind of PTSD." The Count of the Black Moon laughed.
Now that was some strong class solidarity. You could tell he was one of their kind. If Yu Lian hadn't known that a gentleman thief like him was used to being free as a bird, he would have recruited him on the spot.
"Still, this sort of place makes my head spin. I must have some sort of illness that makes me want to pry loose anything valuable the moment I see it. To avoid holding things up, I'll leave the