The frail young man, the ruler of the Nation on the Ship.
One of the original twelve members who had founded the City.
Homecomer Joel.
A Wasteland researcher, a powerful Train Conductor.
A human who had long since given up on returning to the past.
He leaned back coldly in the captain's seat and casually brought up several Light Screens.
"I once said that any cooperation with Lu Jiayun's City of a Thousand Stars was forbidden. What a surprise. The captain of my mothership actually became Lu Jiayun's mole. It seems that while I was doing my research, you people forgot quite a few things."
Joel's words sent the Deputy Captain dropping to his knees in terror, frantically banging his head against the floor.
"No, I didn't-how could I dare! This was all the captain's-ah, no! It was all this traitor's doing! The rest of us knew n-nothing about it! City Lord! Please give us another chance! We really didn't know anything!"
Joel continued looking through the fleet logs.
He held a pistol loosely in his hand, its muzzle aimed straight at the sweat-soaked back of the Deputy Captain's head.
The icy muzzle made his body tremble uncontrollably, as though he would be the next to become a corpse.
In fact, all these people who operated the starships had been selected from the ordinary humans of the Nation on the Ship through round after round of screening before making it here.
They were not Train Conductors. It was only because of [Freedom] that they had gained the opportunity to stand on equal footing with Train Conductors, or even hold a higher status.
"What nerve, actually trying to take my City from me. It seems I've been far too good to you. Or has my staying in the research institute all