Chapter 96: Mother, I Want to Go Travelling!!!

Chapter 96: Chapter 96: Mother, I Want to Go Travelling!!!

The 15th of December, 7 in the morning.

Row upon row of private and civilian ships queued nose to tail outside the gate of the planet Sirius, waiting their turn to go in.

Among them were a few Streamers, their fan numbers not counting as particularly mighty. But once the titles of their broadcasting rooms had to do with the free trial trip on the planet Sirius, viewers across the whole Galaxy came flooding in to follow their channels.

"Everyone, we have arrived at the planet Sirius, right now we are waiting for our identity information to be scanned before going through the gate." A Streamer sitting on a civilian ship aimed his smart camera down at the planet Sirius through the ship’s meteorite glass window. He said gloomily: "They really have been willing to invest, going so far as to use a one-way protective wall. From outside looking in you cannot see a single thing."

Another person sitting beside him cut in: "Not only a protective wall. They have set up a space ship parking ground as well. Meaning we have to get down at the parking ground first, and only after passing through the security gate do we go on by lift to get inside."

The Streamer drew a deep breath, saying: "How do you know that?"

That friend pointed at his own smart watch, saying: "There is a friend who is also a Streamer and went in ahead of us, and while he was waiting for his identity scan he took the chance to read the regulations."

The Streamer said at once: "Oh come on, we came here for the experience. If you watch the livestream what surprise is left?"

The other rubbed his nose in embarrassment: "Heh heh, I forgot." Having said that he switched his smart watch off at once. The private ship in front of theirs had already gone into the parking ground, and their ship began to pass through the combined scanning pillar.

[Scanning the ship, there may be slight shaking. Passengers are requested to remain seated and to fasten their safety belts.] The announcement rang out over the loudspeakers throughout the cabin, and everyone sat still in their places checking whether their safety belts were fastened.

The ship shook very slightly, causing no discomfort at all to those sitting aboard. After the first security scanning step was passed, their ship was permitted to move into the parking ground.

In this fellow’s broadcasting room the comments flooded in without pause.

[Streamer, shift aside a bit, you are blocking my whole view!]

[Heavens, I cannot wait! This angle from a civilian ship is better than the channels on private ships, you can see the whole long queue behind as well!]

[I am so curious about this space transit station, they say it is the Hall family’s newest technology!]

[On the welcome arch of this space transit station there are three family crests, the two on either side are the Hall family’s Eagle and the Mason family’s Rhombus Meteorite. So the one in the middle is the Martinez family’s? What is that? A flower?]

[No idea, but it looks lovely. Soft yet lacking nothing in elegance.]

The Streamer, whose name was Kay, hurriedly picked up his backpack and squeezed along with his friend in the stream of people stepping down off the ship. The space transit station was designed exceedingly luxuriously, but what astonished everyone was that it was mixed through with patches of green that were cool to the eye. Pots of climbing plants with broad, glossy green leaves covered the alloy columns in shade.

Kay turned his camera all around, closed his eyes and drew a deep breath then muttered: "This is only the parking ground and the air is already this fresh. The air filtration system here really is first-rate."

They queued to pass through the second security gate. A Smart Unit voice rang out exceedingly sweetly yet with content that was extremely strict:

"Welcome, honoured guests, to the Sirius Eco Planet. Please note, guests are absolutely not permitted to bring any article of high lethality inside the planet. And no natural article whatsoever may be taken off the planet, be it a stone, a dry branch, or a blade of grass. Every act in violation will be permanently banned from the Martinez family’s, the Hall family’s and the Mason family’s establishments across the whole Galaxy. We wish you an enjoyable holiday!"

Each passenger received a personal secure locker operated with their own identity card in which to put the articles forbidden inside, only then passing one by one through the security gate.

After a full-body scan to ensure nobody was carrying a high-lethality weapon, the party was guided into an enormous lift car made of transparent meteorite glass.

The lift began to descend at a very smooth speed. As it passed through the layer of artificial mist created by the one-way protective wall, the true scenery of Sirius struck every pair of eyes head on.

In the lift car there rang out at once the sound of everyone drawing a cold breath together. Kay was dumbfounded to the point of gaping, his two hands clutching the filming device tight so as not to drop it.

Below them were no cold masses of iron and steel, no factories belching clouds of smoke, nor the gleaming metal skyscrapers familiar to the Lumina Galaxy. It was a living picture with countless shades of green!

Far off were undulating ranges of mountains embracing terraced fields that wound like soft bands of silk laid across the hillsides. A little closer, right below their line of sight, was a wide, crystal-clear river, glittering as it reflected the gentle winter sunlight.

On both banks of the river were small towns built of wood and bamboo, roofs thatched with some strange kind of leaf packed close together, interspersed with orchards hanging heavy with fruit in brilliant orange and yellow.

Kay’s broadcasting room exploded at this point, the comments flowing past so fast that human eyes could not keep up with reading them.

[Damn it all! My eyes! My eyes are being baptised in green!]

[This is virtual graphics, right? Tell me this is fake!]

[Heavens, look at those trees, they are not planted in glass cases, they are growing straight out of the ground! Actually growing straight out in the open air!]

[A-a-a-ah! So beautiful! Mother, I want to go travelling!!! I want to go to Sirius!!!]

The lift gave a slight tremor then touched the ground. The glass doors slowly opened to either side. With no need for any artificial air filtration system, a current of natural wind carrying the earthy smell of damp soil, the faintly sweet fragrance of flowers and grass and the cool water vapour off the river came rushing into their faces.

The tourists who lived all year round in climate-controlled environments and had to eat insipid nutrient fluid immediately closed their eyes, breathing in the primal air of this place for all they were worth. A few with sensitive tear ducts even had their eyes brimming. The feeling was like the withered cells in their bodies drinking their fill of water for the first time.

A group of guides in simple brown clothes woven from soft bamboo fibre came forward with smiles to receive the guests: "Welcome, honoured guests, to Sirius’ riverside town. Today, you will experience a life truly merged into nature."

Kay and his friend stepped out gingerly, their feet treading on a road paved with smooth-worn pebbles. He slowly bent down, reaching out a hand in curiosity to touch a small yellow flower growing wild right in a crack between the stones. The sensation, soft, slightly cool and utterly real, travelled to his fingertips and set his heart beating out of time.

"Everyone, it is real..." Kay muttered into the microphone, his voice shaking with excitement. "Not a holographic image, nor a fake flower of synthetic fibre. It is a real flower growing up out of the ground! It even has a faint fragrance!"

In front of the riverside town’s welcome arch, a small reception counter built of bamboo tubes was giving out free welcome drinks. Every tourist passing by received a small wooden cup, made of no one knew what kind of wood, holding inside it a pale yellow liquid, perfectly clear.

"This is chilled corn silk tea, which quenches the thirst and cleanses the body. Do try it." The guide introduced it with a bright smile.

Kay carefully lifted the cup to take a sip. The pure, clean sweetness at the tip of his tongue along with the cool feeling sliding down his throat carrying a natural, fresh fragrance brought him wide awake.

Kay opened his eyes wide, tipping his head back without hesitation to drain what remained in the wooden cup, then staring at the empty cup with a face of the utmost longing.

"Heavens above, this is a thousand times better than those chemical energy drinks they sell in the supermarket! Could I ask for one more cup?" The friend beside Kay licked his lips, speaking up on behalf of what was in Kay’s heart.

The guide covered her mouth and giggled, pointing towards the bustling rows of thatched houses with bamboo-wattle walls ahead:

"In the town and in the floating market on the river there are a great many stalls selling other distinctive drinks and dishes, all made from natural ingredients grown right here on this planet. Your lunch has also been prepared according to your trial vouchers, so do explore at your leisure."

"Miss, we are only allowed to stay three days? Can I stay longer? I will pay extra!"

The guide smiled politely: "I truly am sorry, sir. Once the three trial days are over, the planet will close to be adjusted once more before the official opening, so you will need to leave here when the time is up. However, those taking part in this trial assessment activity will have priority in buying weekly and monthly passes at 80% of the price."

Hearing this, the whole party was like a hive breaking open, pouring excitedly into the riverside town, gazing at everything everywhere. Everything was far too new and magical to them: the stilt houses built over the water, the woven bamboo boats drifting idly on the river loaded to the brim with strange roots and fruits, the lanterns made of dó paper swaying in the wind...

In the broadcasting rooms of Kay and dozens of other Streamers, the number of viewers was rising exponentially, breaking the Interstellar Connection platform’s access records one after another.

Comments of envy and admiration, cries demanding the Martinez family put more tourist tickets on sale, flowed past without pause.