Hang spent the next two days organizing his thoughts. He had put multiple ideas together, while grilling Yunmei on the phone for information.
He understood that the Xianzhou Luofu was going through 'cancer.' That was the simplest way he describe it.
Although it was a problem, Hang didn't necessarily need to deal with it. He just needed to find a way home.
If dealing with the problem was a clue on how to get back, he would do it. That's just how things work.
He knew one thing for sure thought—it took a tremendous amount of energy in order to be brought here. So it would take a tremendous amount of energy to get back.
Hang put the phone in his pocket, having just finished organizing his inventory. He looked over all the items, sorting them to whether or not they would be useful.
He put the useful ones at the top, where it's the most accessible. He wouldn't need to scroll down. The interesting ones were also kept near the top, in case situations called for them.
Stepping out of the lodge, Hang is greeted to the hustle and bustle of Central Starskiff Haven. It seemed that the two days Hang stayed indoors, most of the city returned to normal.
He started walking towards where he entered this world. If Hang could find any remnant of the portal, he could go back, but that would be a hopeful outcome.
"Hey, did you hear?" A native said, talking to his friend as Hang walked past. "I heard they closed Cloudford."
"What? What does that mean for everyone?"
"Cloudford," Hang thought. "Probably another city in the Xianzhou."
But if they closed Cloudford, there could be a reason behind it, which was most likely the aftereffects of the Stellaron burst.
Thinking logically, Hang decided that his best course of action was to get to Cloudford. If it had traces of energy, he could use that to figure out whether or not he could use a Stellaron as an energy source to get home.
That is, if he can figure out a way to get home in the first place.
"Hey," Hang said, walking up to the natives who were talking about Cloudford. "How do you get to Cloudford."
The man looked at Hang, a look of surprise on his face.
"Pointed ears," Hang observed. "A Vidyadhara, presumably."
"Cloudford? It's closed at the moment," The Vidyadhara said. "But, if you were going to go there, usually it's through a Starskiff."
Hang nodded and walked off. Where would he get a Starskiff, and how would he ride one?
"Hm. Better ask the native." Hang thought, as he pulled the phone out of his pocket.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[Hang]: fox
[Cheery Fox]: What an endearing name, Mister Hang. What can I do for you?
[Hang]: cloudford
[Cheery Fox]: Cloudford? It's closed right now. And you'd need a Starskiff to go there, the tour Starskiffs are probably closed for Cloudford.
[Hang]: drive me there
[Cheery Fox]: I can't do that...
[Hang]: ok
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Hang closed the messages and opened up his inventory instead.
When he was organizing, he came across an interesting item that Lian had presumably told him to shove inside.
[Mask O' Disguise] - Wearing this will coat you in medium-grade illusion magic. You can transform into anything you'd like until you take it off.
Hang clicked on the picture, and the mask popped out of nowhere from next to him.
Cloudford was most likely closed to tourists and regular people. But to the Cloud Knights, Hang would have to figure out.
He placed the mask over his face, as a whisper of wind started to move around him. The wind stopped after sometime, signaling that the magic had been applied.
Walking around, Hang looked for the docks of Starskiffs that he had seen when walking around with Yunmei just a few days ago.
People walked around Hang, making room for him as he walked. Cloud Knights seemed to be respected here, so if Hang was caught impersonating one, he could only think of the consequences that followed.
Hang's eyes flicker over to the left, spotting the docks of Starskiffs, other Cloud Knights standing at attention.
Walking over, Hang looked at one of them. "Cloudford."
"Cloudford? Take that Starskiff," The Cloud Knight said, pointing towards the Starskiff behind him.
Hang nodded, walking past the Cloud Knights and entering the Starskiff. The Starskiff waited in the dock for a few seconds, before it started flying towards a direction.
Hang waited inside the Starskiff until he had felt it stopped moving. Stepping outside, he noted no buildings in sight.
Everything was box after box. Large gates stood in the way of different chokepoints, while machines wandered around.
Keeping a low profile, Hang took off the mask and put it back into his inventory. He moved, sticking to the side of the walls, gazing around at his surroundings.
Turning around a corner, Hang spotted Cloud Knights on the floor.
Before he could walk closer, he saw three figures walk up to the downed soldier.
"Mr. Yang," a girl with short pink hair, a bow at her side exclaimed. "He's hurt!"
Beside her were two other companions, one with medium length silver hair and yellow eyes, and an older man, with glasses, brown hair, and a walking stick.
"You're hurt, son," the older man said. "Try not to talk."
"Mr. Yang. March," the girl silver hair said, looking directly at Hang. "We have company."
Hang stepped out of the corner, his stature relaxed and calm.
"Were you the one who did this?" The pink girl accused, drawing her bow and pointing it at Hang.
Hang shook his head. "I just got here."
"Just got here," the older man said. "From where?"
"Central Starskiff Haven."
"P-please," the Cloud Knight on the floor started to speak. "U-up ahead..."
Hang's brown eye started to glow. Echoes of the past manifested, showing Hang the events that transpired.
A Foxian girl, and multiple Cloud Knights. The Foxian and some Cloud Knights ran, while some others stayed behind to fight the same plants he had seen a few days ago.
"What are you doing?" The pink girl asked, noticing the small glow of Hang's heterochromatic eye.
"Are you kind?" Hang asked bluntly.
"Kind? Of course! We're Trailblazers!" The pink girl replied cheerfully.
"Okay," Hang replied monotonously. "Plants are chasing a Foxian."
The trio looked at each other.
"Those lifeforms we saw earlier, perhaps," the older man explained to the other two. "Then we have no time to lose. Let's go."
The older man turned to look at Hang.
"Are you going to come, too?"
"... ok."
Hang followed behind the trio. Perhaps if this lady was important enough to be guarded by multiple Cloud Knights, maybe she knew more about the Stellaron.
He would just have to wait and see.