Chapter 15 After Reading the Introduction to This Spaceship

After reading the introduction to the spaceship, Hao Ren was a little dazed. He looked at Raven 12345 in surprise, "So it's only a few hundred meters long? I thought it would be at least two kilometers..."

"You still think it's small?" Raven 12345 rolled her eyes. "This is for your missions, not for colonizing. It's big enough. Plus, the internal space expansion device is awesome. Some sections are actually bigger on the inside than the outside. As for kilometers… you're just dizzy. You can't judge the size of something just because it's big."

Hao Ren thought that made sense. The thing in front of him was already a mountain-like behemoth, and the introduction said it was the best model, so he shouldn't be ungrateful. The main reason he questioned it was the deep impression left by Transport 883, and he subconsciously compared two spaceships with completely different functions and purposes.

"The spaceship has self-defense firepower?" Hao Ren pointed to a few lines on the hologram that he was most concerned about. "And this inter-world navigation... how would I know any of this stuff? Am I going to have to learn gunnery and navigation?"

"Heh, you'd be amazing if you could get this ship off the ground with your own skills," Raven chuckled and walked forward. "Your current spaceship piloting skills are zero, even lower than mine. There's a lot to learn. The main piloting will be done by your data terminal, and you'll just watch from the side. By the way, the spaceship must dock at the Kuiper Station and can't leave the shielded area while stationed in the solar system, and it can't land on Earth. You understand that, right?"

Hao Ren nodded. He knew that even without being told.

The group walked down the spaceship corridor for a while and entered a fork area that looked like a crossroads. It was as wide as a small hall, with four corridors converging here. In the center was a round table-like object, with holograms floating above it, scrolling through complex charts and data. Hao Ren had noticed a similar hologram following him. Now seeing this big one, he realized that the hologram beside him wasn't from the data terminal. Hao Ren poked the image next to him. "What's this? Built into the spaceship? I don't understand..."

"The shipboard main computer automatically sets up a follower image beside the captain to report the status of the spaceship in real time. If you don't understand it, just turn it off. There's nothing to pay attention to. In a real emergency, the shipboard main computer will contact you via broadcast and telepathic communication," Raven 12345 said, pointing to the lights in the corridor and the suspended guide markers on the wall. "The lighting, environment, gravity, markers, everything is set at the factory. You can adjust them yourself according to your needs, but it usually takes several flights to get used to it. The corridor ahead is the central fork. The left leads to the ecological and residential area, the right leads to the energy compartment and various machine rooms and laboratories, and straight ahead is the control room and information center. There is a teleportation activator below the central hologram. You can use mental commands to activate the teleportation, entering the upper cargo container area or the shipboard hangar. I'll send the spaceship's structure diagram to your data terminal. You can get used to it slowly. It would be a gift if you can figure this thing out in three years. Now let's go straight to the control room."

Hao Ren was a little dizzy from all the different sections and divisions. Just as he was about to ask something, he suddenly heard a slight buzzing sound in the distance. Turning his head, he was surprised to see a strangely shaped mechanical "creature" floating towards them!

It was a strange, silver-gray thing with an irregular, round body. In front of its body were two rows of symmetrically distributed bright eyes, and below the rear of its body extended several twisting mechanical tentacles. The total length of the body and tentacles was about two or three meters. It looked like a mechanical squid from a horror movie. The strange and frightening mechanical monster floated toward the group, making a series of gurgling sounds. Nangong Wuyue immediately jumped up, "Where did this squid come from?! Why is it floating in the sky?!"

Hao Ren was also startled by it, but he noticed that Raven 12345 didn't have any special expression, and the thing seemed to be built into the spaceship. So he didn't move, but curiously watched the mechanical squid float in front of him nimbly, waving its tentacles and "saying" a lot of incomprehensible things before floating to the ceiling and using the probes on its tentacles to check some equipment.

"This is an autonomous machine. You can see many of these little guys on every spaceship or large facility of imperial bloodline," Raven 12345 said, pointing to the mechanical squid. "They are responsible for maintaining the spaceship, repairing equipment, cleaning, doing odd jobs, and can also take care of people. However, they usually don't do that last point very well. They can also be used as sentries, and their combat power... can be used to scare people."

"The spaceship's handyman?" Hao Ren realized. "So the spaceship's crew is replaced by these autonomous machines?"

"Pretty much. After all, I can't arrange for hundreds of workers to do nothing but polish and wax the spaceship for you every day, right? Besides, these autonomous machines usually live in the upper shipboard hangar. They repair and maintain each other, and they will produce new autonomous machines as needed. You don't have to interfere at all. Just think of them as part of the spaceship's internal ecosystem."

While speaking, the autonomous machine, like a mechanical squid, had completed its inspection of the corridor. It waved its tentacles and gradually floated away. Nangong Wuyue then exhaled, "Phew—this place really has a lot of interesting things."

The group finally arrived at the spaceship's control room. It was a circular, spacious room, divided into upper and lower levels. The upper level was slightly narrower, making the entire control room feel like a truncated hemispherical hall. The group entered from the entrance at the lower end of the control room, and facing them was a holographic projection device floating in the center of the room. The image displayed was the spaceship itself.

"Why isn't there even a place to sit?" Nangong Wuyue curiously walked around the room, finding that there wasn't even a seat to be seen.

"If you need a seat, just 'think' about it," Raven 12345 said. Some silver-white, bright lines had already appeared in the air behind her. These lines instantly condensed into a seat of the right size. "The entire spaceship supports full mental control. As long as you register your identity when boarding, you can use the common equipment that doesn't require permission. Seats are one of them. Okay, that's the end of the tour. Hao Ren, now insert the key into the main computer interface of the console, the glowing place, with a circle of arrows pointing to it."

Hao Ren had already seen light blue arrows floating in the air, indicating what to do next. He came to the device called the "console" and found a slot on the sloping crystal tabletop that was the right size for the crystal key.

As the activation key was inserted into the slot, two clear "beep" sounds rang out, followed by a low rumble from deep within the spaceship: the core of the power furnace began to increase its output.

Hao Ren broke out in a cold sweat: "Why does that beep sound so familiar?"

"I specifically had the customization department add it for you," Raven 12345 said with a smile, pointing to the console. "How is it? Does it sound familiar?"

Hao Ren: "...Isn't this the sound of a motorcycle anti-theft lock?! You used the sound effect of a motorcycle anti-theft lock for such an advanced thing?!"

Raven 12345 thought about it: "Oh right, that does seem a bit low-end... Then I'll change it to a car anti-theft lock next time."

Hao Ren was about to nod when he suddenly reacted: "Those two sound the same!"

"Okay, don't worry about the details," Raven 12345 waved her hand, casually covering up her own crappiness, then pointed to the components near the console. "The console itself is a variable crystal panel. It's lit up now, right? Depending on the spaceship's status, available control commands and buttons will appear here. There's a small groove next to the console. Put your data terminal in there and let it take over the spaceship's navigation."

"No need for anyone to put it in, this machine will do it itself!" The data terminal floated out on its own before Hao Ren could do anything, and crashed into its slot, only to be bounced out with a bang. "Why can't this machine get in?"

"Did you even look at the direction of the arrows?! Front side to the left!" Hao Ren pointed to the instructions on the slot, then suddenly became very curious, "Speaking of which, I've known you for two months, which side is your front?"

"You always use this machine as a brick, and you don't even bother to study it, so now you don't even know where the front is," the data terminal grunted, then suddenly became confused itself, "That's right, which side is the front? No one told this machine that it even has a front and back when it was manufactured..."

Raven 12345 studied the data terminal for a while and finally determined: "The side with the serial number is the front."

After a lot of trouble, the data terminal was finally connected to the spaceship's main computer. The sounds of various equipment starting up came continuously from all directions, and holographic images and indicator lights lit up everywhere in the control room, dazzling the eyes. Raven 12345 took the opportunity to tell Hao Ren one thing: "By the way, I've already named your spaceship..."

Hao Ren went from a state of elation to one of dread in a fraction of a second, because he instantly remembered when this crazy woman had last named something—that's right, the Space Administration's office in Wangba Tuozi... (Turtle Mound)

Other girls' words always brought a ray of sunshine, but Raven 12345's words always made Hao Ren's vision go dark. He couldn't believe what kind of random name this guy had given his spaceship: "...If you dare to call it the Wangba Tuozi, I'll fight you to the death!"

Raven 12345 laughed and waved her hand: "How could I give it such a lame name? Don't worry, I chose a particularly domineering one—how about the Giant Tortoise Rock Terrace? It means as solid as a rock, which is perfect for this spaceship's high protection."

Hao Ren finally felt relieved. Although the name was a bit inexplicable, it still sounded a bit imposing. However, this feeling only lasted a few seconds, because Nangong Wuyue realized, "Doesn't that still translate to Wangba Tuozi?"

Hao Ren: "..."