Beidou's opening line absolutely floored Ye Xi.
The men of the Southern Cross fleet standing nearby were just as stunned, frozen on the spot.
Well, how about that.
Making Ye Xi her second-in-command, letting Ye Xi be the boss~.
For the sake of one ship, she'd just handed over the top spot, no questions asked.
That was awfully sudden.
But come to think of it, if the Southern Cross fleet had this ship, wouldn't their name carry that much more weight?
Following that train of thought, every sailor in the fleet kept a tactful silence.
Ningguang's gaze took on an amused glint as she smiled. "Ye Xi isn't exactly short on Mora — what would he want with your fleet?"
"Oh~ so that's how it is."
One sentence was all Beidou needed to lock down the nature of Ye Xi and Ningguang's relationship in her mind.
She burst into hearty laughter. "Just messing with you, Brother Ye Xi."
"That said — this ship of yours is something else!"
"Only, I do have a question."
"This great big thing of yours — how does it actually move?"
"No sails, no oars. My head just can't wrap around it."
Beidou's question was exactly what Ningguang and the others most wanted to know.
Forget calling Beidou slow — even the Liyue Qixing themselves couldn't make heads or tails of it!
A ship that ran on neither manpower nor wind power — what was it running on?
Wave power?!
Seeing the ladies all wearing that same baffled expression, Ye Xi smiled and said, "Then why don't we take her out for a spin and see?"
Truth be told, having landed himself such a big toy, he was a little itchy to try it out himself.
"Sounds great!"
The moment the words were out, even the Millelith standing nearby caught the excitement.
Everyone wanted to see what a massive warship like this looked like leaving port!
By now, a sizable crowd of onlookers had gathered at the harbor too.
A leviathan of this size showing up by the seaside — naturally everyone was dying of curiosity!
Plenty of passersby were getting drawn in by the spectacle as well.
If not for the Millelith keeping order, things might well have spiraled into chaos.
Since they'd decided to set out, Ye Xi had to make some preparations.
Obviously, a cruiser like this could never be run by one person alone.
He spoke up, "Captain Beidou, send your best hands aboard. The Millelith are welcome up too."
"This ship is huge — it'll take a fair number of hands."
Those words sent the Millelith into an instant uproar.
None of them had imagined they'd actually qualify to board a ship like this!
Without a moment's hesitation, they all came clambering aboard.
The sailors of the Alcor wore matching expressions of amazement.
Once on deck, they laid into singing the cruiser's praises with abandon.
Everyone followed Ye Xi into the bridge.
The floor space of the island superstructure was practically the size of a large house, with sightlines wide open and bright.
Even with a dozen-odd people inside, no one felt the slightest bit cramped!
"The ship's wheel is in here!?"
Hailong, who manned the wheel aboard the Alcor, was taken aback.
It had never crossed his mind that the ship's wheel could be put indoors!
Every ship he'd ever seen had sails on the deck.
The wheel was either amidships, or set somewhat toward the stern.
For better visibility, ship's wheels were always out in the open.
Whether wind blew or rain poured, a helmsman like him just had to grit his teeth and take it.
Now, with the wheel set in this clean, tidy room — what a privilege it would be to be helmsman on a ship like this!?
Steering at the wheel while admiring the seascape?
First Mate Chongzuo went even further.
He pressed his face against the wall and ran his hands over it lovingly, unable to tear himself away, marveling endlessly.
"My gods, this is incredible! So solid!"
"If I could sail on a ship like this, I could die without a single regret!"
The other sailors couldn't stop singing its praises either.
The very men who'd just been bragging about the Alcor a moment ago were instantly conquered by the cruiser before them.
To these sailors, the warship in front of their eyes was, simply put, every sailor's romance!
While everyone was busy being awestruck, Ye Xi was still recalling how to actually pilot the cruiser.
Among the system's rewards, every operational detail had been imparted to him directly in the form of memory.
By now, he could fairly call himself an old hand behind the wheel.
Following the instructions, he started up the warship.
As certain buttons were pressed, the seafaring beast slowly awoke.
The Alcor, seeing this, hurriedly moved aside and gave the cruiser a wide berth.
The propellers at the stern began to turn, and this cruiser, with a displacement in the tens of thousands of tons, advanced into the depths of the Sea of Clouds!
The crowd watching from the shore couldn't help letting out cries of astonishment.
"It's moving! It's moving! It really moves!"
"Who was it that just said it wasn't a ship? Step forward!"
"This is impossible! No sails, no oars — how is it moving!?"
"I don't get it! I really, truly don't get it!"
"..."
The shoreline was in an uproar.
The cruiser's setting forth had completely upended everything they thought they knew!
Even the Adepti up on the mountain were dumbstruck.
"Lord of Geo, that ship really did move!"
"Young friend Ye Xi is simply incredible — what on earth is the principle behind this! What in heaven's name could push something this enormous!"
"This humble adept can't bear it any longer — this one wants to go take a look!"
What Cloud Retainer loved most of all was tinkering with mechanisms.
Seeing Ye Xi invent something like this, she'd long been unable to hold herself back — she was itching to go and investigate!
Zhongli, hearing her, could only nod. "Then go take a look."
Truth be told, he very much wanted to go too!
But the problem was — at present he was merely Zhongli, an idle man, with absolutely no way to head over and join the crowd.
At those words, the three Adepti felt a thrill of delight in their hearts and took to the air, flying off toward the warship.
Three streaks of light appeared across the sky.
Two cranes beat their wings, soaring across the heavens straight toward the warship.
A celestial deer followed closely behind, treading on air.
"Look — Adepti! Even the Adepti have been drawn here!"
As one young person on the shore pointed and everyone else looked up to follow, they all caught sight of the three Adepti's silhouettes.
The last time they'd seen the Adepti was during the battle with the Vortex Demon God, when they had been fortunate enough to gaze upon those celestial countenances.
After that, to see an Adept was purely a matter of luck.
No one had imagined that today, of all days, they would actually get to see the Adepti.
The people on the shore began to pray, one after another.
"Bless us, O Adepti!"
"Even the Adepti are interested in this ship?! How extraordinary!"
"If you ask me, it's that gentleman who built the ship who's the real Adept! He's even more incredible than the Adepti themselves!"
"Right, right! He conjured up a whole ship out of thin air! Not even the Adepti necessarily have that kind of power, do they!?"
"Just who in the world is that gentleman!?"
Those who had just witnessed Ye Xi build the ship began to develop a burning curiosity about his identity.
...…
Meanwhile.
Inside the cruiser's bridge.
Hailong, working the ship's wheel, couldn't help letting out a gasp. "So light! The wheel is so light!"
"Oh?"
"Let me give it a try."
Beidou took the wheel from him and gave it a light turn. Astonishment flashed in her eyes.
The wheel aboard the Alcor was extremely heavy — manning it was a real workout.
She had assumed the wheel of this steel leviathan would be heavier still, but somehow it was this nimble!
It was really quite simple — modern warships had electronic power-assist systems built in long ago.
Ye Xi noticed it as well.
The system aboard the cruiser could convert the power from the [Energy Core] into electrical energy.
Down the line, he could give that a proper study — there'd surely be plenty to gain.
"Alright, everyone hold on tight."
"Preparing for full speed ahead!"
Ye Xi pushed the throttle lever, cranking it up to the highest setting.
In an instant, the propellers' power surged to peak output.
Enormous white waves churned up at the stern, leaving the people on shore staring in shock.
"It's accelerating! It actually accelerated!"
"So fast! What a speed!"
"Is this really a ship!? You've got to be kidding me!"
"This iron thing is actually faster than a wooden ship!"
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the cruiser's silhouette swiftly receded toward the horizon, growing smaller and smaller, further and further away!
And in this very moment, the most shaken of all were the ones aboard the ship!
The sudden burst of speed nearly knocked Ningguang and Keqing off their feet — they both tumbled straight into Ye Xi's arms.
The Millelith had no time to be amazed anymore; they hastily braced themselves against the walls.
Only after the speed stabilized did the warship settle into a smooth cruise.
But that speed had already left everyone slack-jawed.
...…
"Are we flying across the sea!?"
"Oh my god! Is this speed ten times that of our Alcor? Twenty times!?"
"Look at that — the waves from this ship are practically capsizing the merchant ships beside us, hahahahaha!"
"This is what a ship should be! This is what a real ship is!"
Even Beidou's heart began to race with excitement.
A great warship racing across the sea, like a long blade cleaving the surface open and leaving behind a long white trail of foam.
On either side of the ship, surge after powerful surge of waves rolled outward.
The little wooden boats on either side were swept by those waves into wild, panicked rocking.
In the blink of an eye, the cruiser had already pulled out of the harbor and was tearing off into the depths of the open sea.
"What a ship! At this speed, getting to Inazuma probably wouldn't even take a full day!"
Beidou couldn't stop singing its praises.
Sure, this ship was about twice the size of her Alcor — but its speed was more than ten times faster!
Ningguang and Keqing now believed it for themselves.
When Ye Xi had said earlier that they could reach Inazuma in a day, he hadn't been talking out of his hat!
Beside them, Yae Miko fell into contemplation.
She was wavering.
If she agreed to Ye Xi's request, Inazuma too could surely have ships like this!
With three or four of them, Inazuma's trade and naval might would shoot up a hundred, a thousandfold!
Just as everyone was still reeling in their own astonishment, Ye Xi suddenly spoke up. "Captain Beidou — how about I give this ship to you as a cargo vessel?"
"Sure—— what!?"
Beidou had reflexively been about to agree, then snapped back to herself, her face a picture of disbelief.
"You're saying — you'd give this ship to me, to use as a cargo vessel!?"
"Are you serious?"
Seeing Ye Xi nod gravely, he said, "Of course. I'll need something in return."
At those words, Beidou let go of the wheel and dragged Ningguang off to a corner.
Hailong, seeing no one at the wheel, broke out in a cold sweat and rushed forward to grab it.
At this speed, if they crashed into anything, the ship would be done for.
Off to the side, Beidou cut straight to the chase. "Ningguang — is Ye Xi your man?"
"Eh!?"
Ningguang, seeing how many people were around them, quickly let out a dry cough.
But Beidou paid that no mind whatsoever. She said brashly, "If he's not yours, then I'm taking him with me!"
"If he is yours, then just hand him over to me! I'll treat him well!"
Ningguang: ???
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