"Splash—"
—
With a tremendous roar of water, First the tip of the mast, then the rigid wooden sails, then the deck—a thirty-meter-long wooden ship slowly rose from the waters of a concealed military harbor.
"Beep—" Alarms blared!
Cameras swung around to focus on the wooden ship. More than a dozen powerful searchlights swept back and forth, their beams crossing to lock the ship in the center.
Shouts and commands came from every direction. Neat, urgent footsteps approached from afar, charging onto the pier.
The dockside cranes began to rumble and turn, ready to unload cargo. "Hull profile matches!"
"Energy fluctuations match!"
"Hull number matches!"
"It's Cloud Kun! Cloud Kun has returned!"
"Call him Cloud Kun! Don't call him Cloud Kun No.! He has a name! Would you be happy if people called you Li Huasen No.?!"
A group of professionals rushed out. There were upright young men in uniform;
cultivators carrying Compasses, Peach Wood Swords, coin swords, or holding all manner of strange instruments;
and experts desperately trying to get closer, only to be forcefully held back outside.
"Teacher Zhang, slow down! Teacher Lin, don't rush either! Wait until we've confirmed Cloud Kun's condition first!"
In the command center deep within the military harbor, a bloodshot middle-aged man closed his eyes and let out a long breath. His whole body went limp as he sank against the back of his chair.
This military harbor had previously been a secret port for docking big black fish. It allowed the big black fish to remain concealed from surfacing through the completion of maintenance, safe from satellite surveillance overhead.
Ever since Cloud Kun had entered service, a pier here had been permanently assigned to it.
A group of soldiers, a group from the Special Affairs Bureau, and a group of experts jointly