In the past, Aegir had maintained a superior position on Terra. Its only true diplomatic partner was Iberia, along with a handful of smaller countries. It would sell some of its obsolete weapons to them. To Aegir, those weapons were little more than outdated scrap, but to the smaller nations of Terra, they were considered top-tier armaments.
That arrangement only deepened Aegir's contempt for the other nations of Terra. Combined with the fact that they possessed knowledge and technology from a previous civilization, they naturally regarded themselves as standing far above Laterano, which only made their arrogance even more extreme.
But now, their connection with Iberia had been severed, and no reply came back. There was likewise no news from the smaller nations that had once continuously sought to purchase weapons from them. This left Aegir in an extremely passive position.
The fact that Aegir had been ignored by all the powers of Terra was something they had never expected. As one of the governors, Clementia recognized clearly that Aegir had made a mistake. She could only hope it was not yet too late. She wrote a letter herself, intending to entrust it to a messenger and send it to the Liberation King of Kazdel. But after thinking it through, she ultimately decided to go there in person.
She still remembered how the Science Governors had laughed loudly when they saw the invitation sent by the Liberation King a few months earlier. And now, looking at them...
With Kazdel's current strength, even though Aegir had mastered some of the technology of a previous civilization, it was still no match for Kazdel. At the moment, Kazdel was merely choosing to ignore them. But if they became enemies in the future, Aegir itself might very well cease to exist.
Clementia took two guards with her and prepared to travel to Kazdel personally.
In the postwar era, Kazdel entered a period of explosive development. Although battleships were still being produced steadily, machines had already begun replacing manual labor. That was because, after the war, Kazdel's two new mobile cities were officially completed. One was a mobile city centered on commerce and economic prosperity, Frankfurt. The other was a tourism-oriented mobile city, featuring inland seas, beaches, and ruins, Maris-thar. Each of these cities was equipped with the most advanced Originium weapons and shield systems. Even if a Catastrophe struck at any moment, the mobile city could immediately deploy its shields to protect everyone inside.
Some residents of the original Kazdel mobile city moved into the two new ones. Alongside the ordinary residents were also a great many players. The original Kazdel mobile city had only ever been so large, and with the constant influx of players, it had long since become overcrowded. The assembly halls were packed day and night, with people squeezing in and out at every hour. After the new mobile cities were established, many players decisively chose to move there and settle down.
As for the majority of new immigrants, they still came from other nations across Terra.
Before this, Felix had already discussed immigration policy with Ines and the other advisors and senior executives of Tomorrow's Developments, while also studying the immigration systems of other countries. Columbia, for example, had long favored skilled immigrants. As long as you possessed exceptional talent in a specific scientific or technical field, acquiring Columbian citizenship was relatively easy.
Columbia was only a classic example of skilled immigration. For major powers like Yan, Leithanien, and Victoria, immigration was hardly a consideration at all. They were great nations with no shortage of either talent or labor, so immigration simply was not something they needed to think about.
Kazdel, however, needed people.
The old Kazdel had been a complete wreck, and in those days, no one would willingly come there to die. But Kazdel was different now. After the war, everyone could see that it had transformed into a powerful nation that combined industry, military might, and advanced technology. Not to mention the Liberation King Felix, who had led the peoples of Terra to victory, or his command over the Seaborn.
It could be said that if the Liberation King ever wanted to rule the world, he would not even need to lift a finger himself. He could simply send out the Sea Legion and conquer any nation he pleased.
Under such circumstances, Kazdel suddenly became the center of all Terra. Not to mention that the nations of Terra all established their own embassies in Kazdel City and maintained frequent contact with the Liberation King.
After the war, under Felix's leadership, Kazdel gradually adjusted its policies, and the immigration plan became the top priority. Kazdel needed talent. It needed a large population. The tourist city of Maris-thar also needed people to support and maintain its operations. So once skilled immigration and investment immigration were introduced, Kazdel's immigration offices were instantly flooded with Terrans from every corner of the world.
Many of them had already left their original homelands behind. They had come to Kazdel in the first place only to escape the apocalypse, thinking it might become Terra's final refuge, and now they had suddenly found an anchor for their future. They pushed forward frantically, presenting all their documents and information, hoping the immigration officers would choose them.
Even more, Kazdel citizenship had also been opened to players, though with lower requirements. As long as a player possessed the necessary identification, belonged to Tomorrow's Developments, and had a certain amount of currency in their savings account, they could easily obtain Kazdel citizenship.
The players standing at the entrance of Kazdel's Immigration Office stared wide-eyed at the crowded, chaotic scene inside, bustling almost like a market.
What on terra was going on here?
But then, after thinking about it again, they remembered that this was the Empire of the Dawn King, and suddenly, everything felt completely reasonable.
After the professional gamers and top-tier players returned to Victoria, the remaining players stayed behind in Kazdel. They had already heard about the plans for two brand-new mobile cities, so naturally, they were curious about what those new cities would actually look like. The first one everyone focused on was Kazdel's coastal city, Maris-thar. This tourism-oriented mobile city, named by Theresa, had been promoting itself relentlessly ever since its completion, creating a level of hype unlike anything before. Its advertisements even directly referenced other famous tourist cities with inland seas, such as Dossoles and Siesta.
"It offers tourists an eternal summer."
"Hey, buddy, what's that supposed to mean?"
Eternal summer?!
The Terran rubbed his eyes in silence, as if he were looking at some fake advertisement. But in the next moment, the young woman leading the tour smiled and explained, "Maris-thar's dome uses the most advanced Originium cooling technology, allowing the entire mobile city to maintain a climate identical to summer all year round, so visitors can enjoy the warmth and beauty of summer at any time. What are you waiting for? Maris-thar is waiting for your arrival!"
What?!
Was that really possible?
Yang Yan XF was still occupied with the war, but the moment he saw this advertisement, he immediately contacted the members of the strategy team and asked them to open a hotel branch in Maris-thar.
Because that meant money.
The tourists were going crazy. The people who wanted to settle in Maris-thar were even more excited. An eternal summer. Wasn't that absurdly romantic?
In less than a month, Maris-thar's population had already grown by five million, and that number continued to rise every single hour, because the city's total capacity was fifty million, and it had so far reached only one tenth of that.
After obtaining their Kazdel identities, the players cheerfully arrived in this city where it was always summer. It was not only a tourist destination, but also a perfect place for players to unwind. The strategy team quickly bought a plot of land on the busiest beach in Maris-thar, paying in full, and then hired a construction team to work day and night to build a resort hotel, ready to welcome the first wave of tourists to Maris-thar.
"Wow, the sea breeze here feels amazing."
Wearing a hat, the girl with short blue hair felt the sea breeze brushing her face, her eyes sparkling. She opened her arms as if to embrace the ocean, feeling that familiar yet warm sea air, and closed her eyes in comfort.
Qiu Muyu stretched lazily. Training with the Ice Rose team had really been exhausting, and she had finally managed to get a rare one-week vacation during the in-game downtime. The moment she returned to Kazdel, she signed up for a Maris-thar tour.
She had also invited her best friend Yui to come along for a vacation.
Their group included both Terrans and adventurers. Putting the adventurers aside for the moment, the Terrans first needed to judge whether this place was actually suitable for long-term residence.
And after obtaining Kazdel citizenship, there was another reason for coming to this city as well...
The moment they got off the bus and felt the sea breeze on their faces, everyone found themselves unconsciously captivated.
"It's really hot. It's already autumn, but this city still feels like midsummer."
Qiu Muyu muttered under her breath. Her autumn coat had long since been stored in her inventory, and in that sweltering weather, all she wanted to do was lie down on a beach chair and bask in the sun.
"Yui, what's wrong?"
"Nothing... um, I just feel like that person over there is a little strange."
Qiu Muyu followed the direction Yui was pointing and saw a woman dressed in blue, holding a parasol.
As Yui's childhood friend, Yui know that girl seemed to truly love the sea. Ignoring the looks from everyone around her, she had already begun skipping forward in delight.
"Wait, don't wander off! Let's go to the hotel first. We have to stay together as a group here!"
The tour guide was shouting at the top of his lungs, while Yui had already opened the system's faction interface to check the housing prices in Maris-thar.
As someone working for a professional esports team, she had already become quite wealthy. Not only did she own an apartment in Lungmen, but now she was seriously considering buying a seaside apartment in Maris-thar too, the kind where she could wake up each morning and see the distant sea through floor-to-ceiling windows.
Qiu Muyu wanted one too, but she felt that even if she bought it, she would hardly have time to live there.
No...
After thinking it over, she gritted her teeth and decided she would buy a two-story house together with Yui.
Tourists poured into the hotels and inns, laughing loudly as they discussed which attractions they wanted to visit next. Many were especially excited about the music festivals and carnivals.
This city held two music festivals and one carnival every month, spaced one week apart. The music festivals invited famous musicians, while the carnival was pure celebration and revelry. It was said that this week's guest performer was Emperor, an extremely famous rapper.
That announcement alone had already drawn in a huge number of fans.
The tourists sincerely thanked the Liberation King from the bottom of their hearts for building this city and giving them a summer that would never end.
Meanwhile, the Liberation King, whom everyone was so grateful to, was reclining on a deck chair on his private beach, sipping an iced drink while reading the latest investigation report sent by Kristen.
Ever since the official investigation into the Stargate began a few days ago, dozens of Terrans had successfully passed through it into another world, one that had been temporarily named Talos-II. At the same time, the investigation into Talos-II itself was also progressing.
This was very likely what Felix believed to be a higher-dimensional universe. He did not state that idea openly, however, and simply allowed Kristen and the others to continue their investigation.
"Why are you still looking at work, Felix, when we finally came here for a vacation?"
Mostima lay down beside Felix with her usual open and carefree ease, her long blue hair spilling across his chest. Smiling, she breathed softly against Felix's earlobe.
Felix smacked Mostima on the backside, instantly making her eyes grow watery and her cheeks flush red. "You want to do it here?"
"If you think you can handle their anger."
Felix pointed toward the girls playing on the private beach in the distance, swimming in the inland sea, or riding across the water on the backs of speedboats.
"Hey, don't tell me you don't even have time for some private enjoyment?" Mostima leaned against Felix's chest. "The war is over, so why aren't you trying to have children yet?"
"Alright. We'll do our best and see whether it happens."
"My king, I will always be waiting for you."
Mostima smiled, kissed Felix on the lips, and then left, her blue hair flowing freely behind her.
After Mostima left, another Sankta approached Felix.
"Although I did invite you, we do not seem to have that kind of close relationship, do we?"
Looking at Arturia, who had brought him another drink, Felix took it and sipped it. This time, he had not only invited his harem, but also his friends and subordinates from Tomorrow's Developments. Logos, for example, was on the beach but did not dare enter the water. ACE was lying under the sun over and over again. The Doctor had taken off her hood for the first time and was now enjoying the sea breeze beneath a parasol, with Kal'tsit and Amiya at her side.
"No. It is simply that I unilaterally wish to develop an intimate relationship with you." Arturia, dressed in a revealing swimsuit, smiled in a way that was both alluring and elegant. "On this land, there is no one but you who can satisfy my curiosity and my thirst for knowledge..."
She suddenly laughed halfway through the sentence, then rose gracefully and walked away, blowing Felix a kiss before leaving.
In the very next moment, Felix spotted Federico on the beach.
No wonder Arturia had run off so quickly.
"Your Highness, I'm here to help you apply sunscreen."
"Theresa, your brother is over there swimming."
"He already knows, and he will not object." Theresa smiled, her slender fingers slightly cool from the sunscreen. "Your Highness, please just relax and enjoy..."