Chapter 73 - The Out-of-Control Starskiff

"Autopilot…"

The word made everyone freeze.

"Uhm… everyone? What's the matter?"

Tingyun tilted her head, confused by the sight of the group standing frozen in place.

"Er… it's nothing. Just brought back some old memories," Welt said, subconsciously pushing up his glasses. Surely, they couldn't be that unlucky, could they?

"Yeah, this is Xianzhou technology, after all… it shouldn't be a problem… right?"

Wiping her mouth, Little March looked hesitantly at the unmanned control console.

"Don't think about it… don't… think about it…"

Stelle's eyes were filled with terror.

"It's alright, Miss Tingyun. We might have a bit of… PTSD," Wende said with a wry smile, instinctively fastening his seatbelt and gripping the armrests on both sides of his seat.

This… must be our fate, Welt thought with resignation, silently buckling himself in.

"What… is everyone talking about? Why can't this little lady understand?"

Tingyun grew more and more perplexed as she looked at the Trailblaze team. Xianzhou technology… was there something wrong with it? And what was this "Pee-Tee-Ess-Dee"?

"Hmm, Miss Tingyun, could you please trouble yourself to check this Starskiff's autopilot system… is it still working properly?" Wende reminded her with a苦笑.

"The autopilot system… let me see…"

Returning to the pilot's seat, Tingyun looked at the Starskiff, which was currently executing its autopilot task. Everything seemed fine, didn't it?

Her small hand lightly tapped the projection screen button on the skiff. Suddenly, her brow furrowed.

"Eh?"

Her slender, jade-like fingers tapped repeatedly on the screen, but the operational interface showed no reaction whatsoever.

"No… it can't be, right?"

Tingyun's eyes widened in an instant, her emerald pupils showing a trace of panic for the first time.

Seeing Tingyun's frantic state, the Trailblaze team simply shook their heads as if this was all perfectly normal, then tightened their grip on their armrests.

"Wh-what's going on? Could it be a quality issue with this batch of Starskiffs??"

She wanted to carefully inspect the Starskiff's system for any problems, but she soon gave up the struggle. She silently sat back down in the pilot's seat, fastened her seatbelt, and at the same time, took out her "Jade Abacus," attempting to dial the Sky-Faring Commission's Starskiff emergency hotline.

[Hello, the Jade Abacus you have dialed is not in a service area. Please try again later.]

"Er…"

The little fox's mouth twitched. She could only force a smile as she swiveled her chair to face the cabin.

Stare x4

"Ahem… my dear benefactors~ It seems we've run into a tiny little problem… but the autopilot's destination shouldn't have changed, so we should arrive safely at the Starskiff Sea Central Hub… probably?"

Even Tingyun herself sounded uncertain.

"Get rid of that 'probably' at the end! That's terrifying!!" March shouted at Tingyun, who, despite maintaining an appearance of "calm composure," had a tail that was already spinning anxiously enough to become a propeller.

"Hmm… Ehehe?"

"What is 'ehehe' supposed to mean!"

"Don't you all think… that the Starskiff's speed seems to be increasing?" Welt interjected at the perfect moment to remind them.

"…We're screwed."

"What's with this 'vehicle killer' plot device…"

Sister Guoguo complained weakly, but after thinking about it carefully, it actually made a strange kind of sense.

[But let's be real, if a vehicle doesn't have problems, can you even call it a vehicle?]

[What changed you? Was it your driving instructor?]

[It was the coach for Subject Two of the driving test.]

[Here we go… we're probably going to be wanted criminals again, aren't we?]

[Yes! Yes! I wonder if the Xianzhou wanted posters are done in ink wash paintings?]

[You guys are just itching to get put on a wanted list, aren't you.]

[No, no, no, we're all fellow inmates here… so can I please see the "Jailer"?]

[Uncuff me! I want to be uncuffed! Cuff me to you!]

[Outrageous netizens (sweating emoji)]

[The net of justice is vast and all-encompassing, but it just so happened to have a you-sized hole in it, huh?]

[That's one way to get your name on a list, I guess.]

"Sigh, ever since the Starskiff Sea was locked down, all the skiffs coming and going are official ones. They're all so rule-abiding, it's so boring…"

At the Starskiff Sea Central Hub, a speed monitor was slouched lazily over the side of a bridge, watching the sparse few Starskiffs pass below, feeling utterly bored.

WHOOSH!!!! 💨💨💨💨

A silhouette flashed past at the speed of light, the wind blasting the speed monitor's neatly combed hair into a wild, skyward swirl.

"Hmm…"

The speed monitor silently stared at the speed gun in his hand, its numbers skyrocketing wildly…

Beep-beep-beep… BOOM!

"Hiss…"

"All units, attention! All units, attention! A speeder who has broken the all-time historical record is currently tearing through the locked-down Starskiff Sea! I repeat! A historical-level speeder is rampaging through the Starskiff Sea! Requesting backup!"

"Waaaahhh! It's so fast!"

Watching the scenery outside fly backward, March screamed in terror. It felt like she was on an incredibly fast roller coaster, and the contents of her recently emptied stomach began to churn violently once more.

"Er… I think we're in trouble."

Seeing several Starskiffs slowly gaining on them from behind, Wende said with a hint of unease.

"It's the Sky-Faring Commission's Starskiff patrol! That's great! We're saved!"

Seeing the Starskiffs chasing them, Tingyun's hope was instantly reignited.

"Hello, hello? Calling patrol, calling patrol…"

Kssshhh-zzzzzt

Only static crackled from the Starskiff's communication device.

"It's broken… the skiff's built-in communicator is unresponsive too…"

As if her bones had been removed, Tingyun's delicate body went limp in her seat, her eyes filled with despair.

To think she would run into this kind of mess right after returning from a business trip… Sigh…

"Miss Tingyun! Pull yourself together!"

Seeing Tingyun's vacant eyes, as if all hope was lost, March hurriedly tried to console her.

If even Tingyun had no solution, then what could they possibly do?

Welt sat calmly in his seat, not panicking in the slightest.

"That's right, there's still a chance. Miss Tingyun, aren't you an Amicassador? They must recognize you. Why don't you go to the back and try signaling them for help? You must have specialized hand signals, right?"

Hearing Welt's words, Tingyun rallied once more. It was true, they had special flag signals and hand gestures.

"As expected of Uncle Yang, to think of a solution so quickly!"

March looked at Welt with an expression full of reverence.

Wende was still gently patting Stelle on the back. It seemed the girl was getting a bit of motion sickness.

Tingyun walked to the very back of the Starskiff. With March's help, she steadied herself and then began making distress signals at the pursuing skiffs behind them.

"Is that… Miss Tingyun?"

"Why is Miss Tingyun on that Starskiff?"

"Look! Miss Tingyun's hand signals!"

"This is bad! Miss Tingyun has been hijacked! Notify the Cloud Knights immediately!"

Watching Tingyun wave for help while being held hostage (steadied) by March, the pursuing members of the Sky-Faring Commission behind them had, unsurprisingly, completely misinterpreted the situation…