"Cindy, are you ready yet?"
"Almost!"
"Hurry up."
"Yeah, yeah."
Gwen looked up and shouted another reminder toward the second floor where Cindy was still packing and taking her sweet time. She checked her watch. "Are we going to be late because of her?"
Locke checked the time. "Probably not."
The Poseidon was scheduled to set sail at 11:00 AM, and it was only 8:30 AM now.
Besides, Locke added, "It's better to go either very early or a bit late. If we go right now, we'll definitely end up stuck in a line."
Locke hated waiting in lines. In his past life, he preferred visiting obscure, unknown places; he'd flatly refuse to go to any popular attraction where a queue was even a possibility. If you pay money just to suffer, what's the point of spending the money?
Gwen sat down. "When Cindy says 'almost,' it usually means at least another half hour. Does she really have that many clothes to pack?"
Locke looked at Gwen and smiled.
Gwen blinked. "What?"
Locke shrugged. He decided not to mention that during their video call yesterday, Gwen herself had been busy from 7:00 PM until midnight packing her two suitcases.
As for Locke? Just like the trip to Augusta, he had a simple carry-on bag with a few changes of clothes. The suites on the cruise ship came equipped with everything, and even if you didn't want to do laundry, there were professional dry-cleaning services available at your door for a fee.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Cindy's voice drifted down from upstairs: "Gwen, get the door for me! It's Kahn."
Gwen stood up and walked over. She opened the door.
"Respected Mr. Michel... Gwen?"
"..."
Gwen looked at Kahn, who had been muttering a rehearsed speech only to glitch out upon seeing her. She tilted her head. "What were you about to say?"
Kahn's face reddened as he quickly changed the subject. "Where are Mr. and Mrs. Michelle?"
At that moment, Cindy came down the stairs lugging a red suitcase. She spoke irritably, "Don't even mention them. As soon as they heard I had plans for Christmas, they immediately rebooked their flights for Thailand."
If the Stacys were considered enlightened parents, Cindy's parents were completely "open-minded." To them, their own romance was eternal; Cindy was merely a happy accident. As soon as they realized Cindy wouldn't be home, they rebooked overnight and packed their bags the next morning, leaving Cindy behind so they could return to Thailand—the place where they first fell in love—to relive their honeymoon.
Kahn's mouth hung open. "Really? I spent all night thinking of..."
He had spent the entire night preparing a speech on how to convince Mr. Michelle to let Cindy go with him. It seemed all that mental effort was for nothing.
Sitting on the sofa, Locke looked at Kahn with a touch of envy. Look at other people's fathers-in-law. So enlightened. Then look at George.
Locke felt like every interaction with George was a battle of wits and courage. If there were system rewards for it, he wouldn't mind, but without them, it felt like a waste of brainpower and physical energy.
"Let's go."
Cindy tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, handed her suitcase to Kahn, and smiled at Locke. "Mr. Broughton, sorry to trouble you."
Locke stood up with a smile.
Before long, the Audi R8 was crawling through the congested streets at thirty miles per hour. New York traffic didn't improve just because it was a holiday; in fact, the snow from the previous day made it worse. With the windows cracked, the festive Christmas music from roadside shops wafted in.
An hour later, at the New York Pier.
Locke's eyes lit up. Seeing a gap, he expertly maneuvered the car into a parking spot that had just opened up. Several other drivers who had been eyeing the spot stared at Locke, stunned by his "lack of sportsmanship."
But in the game of parking, it belongs to whoever grabs it.
The four of them got out of the car.
"Wow!"
"Is that the ship we're taking?"
"Gosh, it's massive!"
Cindy and Gwen stared at the behemoth docked at the harbor, unable to suppress their awe.
"The Poseidon," Kahn began, providing a narration like a documentary voiceover. "365 meters long, 70 meters wide, with a 10-meter draft and a displacement of nearly 235,000 tons. It has a passenger capacity of 6,780 and a crew of 2,450."
"Cruising speed is 25 knots. It has sixteen decks, a 25-meter zip line, three rock-climbing walls, three surf simulators, fifteen swimming pools, and five water slides. There are 30,000 different plants growing on board, including sixty-two grapevines."
"There are twenty-three different restaurants, not to mention basketball courts, tennis courts, and a mini-golf course."
Kahn continued his lecture: "This ship was a joint investment between the Poseidon Cruise Line and Stark Entertainment. It's equipped with the most advanced Stark Industries intelligent management system. Otherwise, even a standard cabin ticket wouldn't be this expensive."
Let alone the suites. On the black market, the price had skyrocketed from $250,000 to nearly $700,000. And even then, you might not be able to get one. Anyone who could secure a ticket through official channels wasn't just wealthy; they had to have a certain social standing.
As Kahn shared his trivia, he added, "I saw some news yesterday claiming that Tony Stark might actually be on this maiden voyage."
Locke looked at Kahn. "Tony Stark?"
Kahn nodded. "But it's probably fake news. Tony Stark has his own private yachts and his own private islands. Why would he come to crowd onto a cruise ship?"
Locke nodded, thinking that made sense.
However... "Private islands..." Locke looked at Gwen, his eyes suddenly lighting up. "I just thought of a great place to make money."
Real estate in the East.
It was only 2004. He had at least 20 million dollars in "clean" funds. If he invested that into the real estate market and held it for a few years, that 20 million would likely double by the time he sold it.
Gwen blinked and gave him a friendly reminder: "Didn't you realize after you got that settlement that many of the investors who contacted you were scammers?"
After Locke received that massive 15-million-dollar settlement, many Wall Street types had called offering to "manage" his wealth. Locke had rejected them all.
Locke shrugged. Those Wall Street guys were just there to scavenge; he wouldn't fall for that. But real estate seemed genuinely viable.
Still, now wasn't the time to ponder such things.
"Let's go."
Locke slung his bag over one shoulder and pushed one of Gwen's suitcases. He locked the car. "Let's board."
He was here to relax and travel, not to figure out how to make money. As for how to increase the mission reward multiplier for this sea voyage, Locke figured that since it was a "Leisure" mode, he should be as relaxed as possible.
Don't think about business. Just play. However you're happy, that's how you do it. That's the definition of leisure.
*Ding!*
[Current Mission Multiplier: 2!]
Locke raised an eyebrow. Looking at the pop-up interface, the corners of his mouth curled up. See? He was right again.
At the boarding gate, Locke expected to wait in line. Then he remembered: Respected VIP players don't wait in lines. They have their own dedicated channel.
"Mr. Broughton, Ms. Stacy, welcome to the Poseidon. Your room is this way, please follow me."
"Mr. Ian, Ms. Michelle, welcome to the Poseidon. Your room is this way, please follow me."
Although both Locke and Kahn had S-Class cabins, they weren't in the same section. As they split up to enter different elevators, Cindy and Gwen exchanged a "call me" hand gesture.
The Poseidon had sixteen floors and twenty-four elevators, eliminating any congestion during transit.
"Here we are."
The elevator stopped on the 14th floor. A beautiful hostess led Locke and Gwen to a suite with a perfect view of the ocean. She smilingly introduced the suite's amenities while two attendants behind them moved their luggage inside.
"Thank you."
Locke glanced out the window at the sea. He reached into his pocket, pulled out two Franklins, and handed them to the luggage attendants. "Thanks for the help."
The two young men immediately beamed. Tipping was an annoying tradition. As someone originally not from US, Locke held reservations about the practice, but the rules here were what they were. Locke wasn't short on that kind of cash anyway.
The hostess and the attendants soon left, closing the door behind them.
Just then, Cindy called. Kahn and Cindy were also on the 14th floor, but while Locke and Gwen were near the bow, Kahn and Cindy were toward the stern. Aside from the distance, the rooms were identical.
A moment later, Locke—who had been inspecting the complimentary selection of fine wines at the suite's bar—turned to Gwen. "Are Cindy and Kahn coming over?"
Gwen shook her head. "No. We're meeting them later at Central Park on the upper deck."
It wasn't the real Central Park, but an atrium named after it. It was filled with real plants and trees, and featured a luxury open-air theater for various performances.
Locke gave an "oh."
Gwen looked around at the two bedrooms in the suite. She looked at Locke. "Which bedroom are you sleeping in?"
Locke looked at the bottle of bourbon in his hand—brand unknown—and said casually, "I'll sleep in whichever one you're in."
Gwen froze for a moment, then smiled. "Okay."
Locke snapped back to attention.
The dragon raised its head.
***
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