30. To Haolin Port [Modern Warship in a Cultivation World]

“So this Immortal Messenger... is like a force of nature in human form?” Pax’s voice, sharp with disbelief, cut through the helicopter’s rhythmic rotor wash in the headset.

“That’s what he says,” Officer Nolan replied, sitting opposite Pax, strapped firmly into his seat.

The small stealth helicopter jolted as it lifted from the airwing hangar. Next to Nolan, Lu Mingfe adjusted his borrowed headset. “What’s he saying?” he asked through the crackling line.

Officer Nolan looked at the young man as the craft smoothly joined the cloak of the night clouds. “He’s having a hard time believing the description of the Immortal Messenger.”

Lu Mingfe nodded, his voice carrying the weight of ancient knowledge. “I also believed he was just a folklore until I saw him appear in the Blood Claw Sect’s meeting room.” He repeated the legend he’d shared with the crew. “He is one of the first Immortals, and he has always appeared at important events in history to witness them.”

“Since due to the Heavenly Principle of Functionality he can’t directly interfere in mortal business, he just goes around observing ‘interesting things’.”

Officer Nolan translated for Pax, then countered with a probing question. “Didn’t you also say he indirectly interferes, despite the Principle?” The helicopter jostled slightly, forcing Nolan, Pax, and Lu Mingfe to grip the stabilizing handles.

“In folklore and legends, he subtly pushes for things to happen so they will be ‘interesting to witness’ ,” Lu Mingfe explained, adding, “but every story has some sort of lesson to be taught for the individuals involved.” He finished by noting the celestial being’s reputation: “He is one of the most respected cultivators in both the orthodox and unorthodox practitioners as a wise and all-knowing immortal.”

Nolan relayed the information. Pax, processing the profound implications of a cosmic meddler, scoffed. “All knowing?”

Lu Mingfe nodded. “There have been debates on how true it is between scholars for a very long time. It is said that The Immortal Messenger can dabble into fate and has foresight into the future and past.”

Pax opened his mouth to ask another question, but the pilot's voice cut in abruptly, overriding the internal chatter.

“Drop point up ahead! Prepare to de-embark!”

Pax, Officer Nolan, and Lu Mingfe quickly finished their checks. The helicopter executed a perfectly silent landing on an extremely small island in the Western Archipelago. The trio exited the aircraft swiftly and discreetly. As the pilot lifted off one last time, his final operational message echoed in their headsets: “We will contact you every night at 23:40. If you do not reply, we will deem the mission a failure and sail away.”

With the helicopter vanishing into the darkness, the three nodded and plunged into the dense, forest-like area at the center of the small island.

_______

“Would you mind playing a game with me?” Officer Lee, sitting in the ship’s main lounge in front of a monitor, asked Jessica, who was walking past. He was setting up a gaming console.

“Well... I don’t really have anything to do; I think I’ve already interviewed everyone important,” Jessica replied, her curiosity piqued. She walked over and accepted the offered controller. “I didn’t know you played video games, Officer Lee,” she added, sinking into one of the plush sofas.

“It’s not mine,” Officer Lee confessed with a smile. “It’s Lieutenant David’s, but I do play now and then with my niece and nephew back home.”

“I see. I’m not much of a player myself,” Jessica admitted, her focus already on the screen as she selected her character.

“He isn’t either,” a voice chimed from behind. Jessica turned to see Lieutenant David approaching them.

“I thought you weren’t going to play, David?” Officer Lee teased, hitting the start button as David sat down next to Jessica.

“Well... I don’t have anything to do right now, since we’ll be stationary here for who knows how long,” David replied with an exhaustive sigh, resting his head on the sofa’s back.

“That is true, but that’s not what I meant. What happened with Lieutenant Sarah?” Officer Lee asked, focusing intently on the screen as he began an aggressive attack against Jessica in the game.

“Lieutenant Sarah?” Jessica asked, momentarily confused by the sudden shift in topic as she frantically tried to dodge Officer Lee’s relentless on-screen assault.

“What do you think? Another miss? I don’t think she is getting my hint ,” Lieutenant David lamented, his tone heavy with romantic frustration. “How can someone be so dense?”

Jessica finally processed the true nature of their conversation, repositioning herself on the sofa with the controller still tightly in hand.

“Wait… Lieutenant David, you like Lieutenant Sarah?”

Lieutenant David sighed dramatically, a look of profound, exhausted defeat crossing his face. “Yes, Reporter Jessica. I do. A lot. But every time I try to talk to her outside of an operational briefing, she’s completely focused on medical charts or running diagnostics. I try to ask her out for a quiet coffee, and she starts talking about the fracture recovery rate of the average Third Circle Martial Artist. It's like trying to date a hyper-intelligent, gorgeous medical textbook.”

“How can someone be so dense?” he added again, the question directed more at the universe than at Sarah herself.

Officer Lee, who had just soundly defeated Jessica's character on the screen, chuckled warmly. “She’s not dense, David. She’s just focused. Give her some time. Now, focus on the rematch, Reporter Jessica, you were sloppy on that last round.”

Jessica, however, ignored the game. She saw the familiar anxiety in David’s eyes, the kind of existential fear that had nothing to do with being stranded in an alien world and everything to do with the age-old terror of unrequited affection. It was a comforting piece of Earthly normalcy amidst the chaos.

_________

Meanwhile, far away in a small, traditional inn room that smelled faintly of burning incense and stale tea, a tension of a completely different order was unfolding.

“A ship with no masts?” an old man in the deep azure and silver robes of the Azure Mist Sect asked, his voice low and rich with the power of high-level cultivation. He sat cross-legged on a floor cushion, his expression conveying profound skepticism.

Young Master Bai Zixuan, also in full Azure Mist regalia, sat respectfully opposite his father, the Sect Leader. He nodded, confirming the unbelievable account. “Yes, that’s right, Father. We encountered it in the open ocean. Its form was entirely unnatural: linear, metallic, and colossal. And it possesses weaponry that defies our understanding. It shot down two Netherfins with a single, sky-born blast of metallic shrapnel.”

The Sect Leader’s ancient eyes narrowed slightly, betraying a flicker of intense concentration. “And you believe it might not have allegiance to the Murim Alliance, nor to the Demonic Sect?”

“Yes, Father,” Bai Zixuan affirmed with confidence. “In fact, the more I reflect on the vessel’s behavior, the more certain I am. If they were Absolution allies, they would have either fought us to the death or attempted to rendezvous with their fleet. Instead, they ran. And if they were a secret Murim weapon, we would have been informed. Their frantic evasion suggests a desire for absolute neutrality.”

The old man slowly ran a thumb over the silk cuff of his robe, his mind calculating the geopolitical weight of such an unexpected player. “Hmm. A ship with such capabilities appearing unannounced in the coastal waters near the Sovereignties... This is a complication that cannot be dismissed lightly. We might have to inform the Ambassador to the Sovereignties to take them lightly.”

He fixed his gaze upon his son, the gravity of his next command absolute. “You will accompany the Ambassador as well. Your firsthand account will be invaluable. Try to find out any and all information on this supposed mastless ship. Determine their origin, their mission, and, most importantly, their weakness.”

Bai Zixuan accepted the order instantly, rising with the fluid grace of a master cultivator. He executed a precise, formal martial arts salute. “As you command, Father. I shall find the truth of this phantom vessel.”