A massive spaceship hovered in the harbor, making Kevin feel like he'd never have to watch Hollywood again.
The ship's size was difficult to discern with the naked eye. To Kevin, its long axis resembled a mountain range suspended in the harbor. The ship wore a light blue paint job, with a light gray and silver-white base visible beneath. It was unclear whether it had been that way from the beginning or had undergone some sort of modification. The ship was wedge-shaped, with one end larger than the other, but the transition was very smooth. Two perpendicular dividing lines divided the ship into four perfectly symmetrical sections from head to tail. Reminiscent of Earthling catamarans, Kevin felt it should be called a "quadrumaran." The ship's wider end faced the interior of the fourth connecting port, while the narrower end opened toward the starport, facing the distant, radiant stars. Complex light signals flickered across the ship's hull, giving it the impression of fireflies. Beneath the ship, four massive steel beams (definitely not made of steel) connected the fourth port. The spaces between these beams were filled with transparent crystals, so anyone standing on them would have the illusion of drifting into space. These beams emitted a constant, faint glow. It wasn't intense, but it seemed to resonate with the lights on the hull of the ship suspended above them. "That's a force field restraint device," the guide girl told Kevin, noting this was his first time seeing this. She explained everything with impeccable professionalism. "The four main beams are used to stabilize the ship's position in the harbor, preventing drift. They can also provide departure acceleration or inbound guidance for some older models. After all, there are still many less advanced civilizations in this universe."
Kevin nodded and looked toward the port's opening into the universe. He had just noticed the occasional large objects drifting slowly in the distance. The guide noticed his gaze and explained, "Those are other ships entering or leaving the port. This is a large-scale relay station. All ports are controlled by highly efficient artificial intelligence, and the daily ship throughput is in the triple digits."
Kevin smacked his lips. His gaze remained fixed on the massive spaceship before him. "Just how big is this thing? Oh my god... a space fortress, right?"
"Not too big, actually," the guide smiled. "It's a passenger and cargo ship from a private company, a medium-sized vessel in its class. With a long axis of 3.2 kilometers and a rudimentary space expansion container bay, it's considered large for some primitive civilizations, but in your eyes... is it considered a large ship?"
Kevin was stunned, unable to grasp what "in your eyes" meant. A few seconds later, he suddenly remembered his identity: an employee of the Xiling Empire's Spacetime Administration. Although currently a temporary employee and still at the apprentice level, this apprentice level was a classification reserved for the Empire. To outsiders, there was no difference between a trainee examiner and a full-time examiner. The guide before him was treating Kevin as a "big shot within the system." At this thought, Kevin suddenly felt a profound sense of responsibility to uphold the Empire's dignity. He nodded solemnly, like a wolf with a large tail. "Well, of course I'm not comparing it to an Imperial spacecraft..."
The data terminal muttered in Kevin's head, "You're just pretending. Have you seen any other Imperial flying objects besides this one?"
"Yes, Raven 12345's house. Not only can it fly, it can even fly backwards."
The data terminal: "..."
At this moment, the guide girl produced a small device and pressed a few buttons, as if signaling to the other port staff. Then, she led Kevin and his group forward. "I'll take you to the captain. My mission is over. Please follow me."
Kevin followed forward. He had just spotted a small group of people standing on an alloy platform beneath the spaceship. They looked like staff. This group fulfilled Kevin's "little green men" paranoia: half of them were humans similar to Earthlings, but the other half were a multitude of strange shapes, from short, plump creatures with hairy faces to those wearing strange, spherical glass helmets. The sight of these people, aquatic species with liquid in their helmets and two thin, dark green-skinned dwarfs, finally made Kevin breathe a sigh of relief: he felt like he'd finally seen aliens in the truest sense of the word. The guide girl beside him looked incredibly friendly. He really couldn't quite find the feeling of entering a sea of stars...
No matter how strange their appearance, the group wore uniform, or at least similar, gray-white uniforms. Their uniforms were adorned with a pale yellow triangular logo that matched the logo on the hull of the spacecraft. It was clear they were the crew for this flight. The guide girl led Kevin forward to greet them. Finally, he stood before an unusually burly man with a mischievous smile on his face. "Captain, we've brought our VIPs. I'll leave the rest to you."
"Yes," the captain said. A burly and robust man with a square face that looked quite imposing, his muscular build nearly bursting his gray-white uniform. He seemed familiar with the guide, and smiled and waved. "Go back and tell that old man Laval that I'll bring some good wine next time I come. Tell him to have his wallet ready!"
The guide girl smiled and bowed, then disappeared from everyone's sight with a distorted screen of light. "You three are the VIPs, huh?" The "Captain" turned to look at Kevin and his companions. "Um... who's the Inspector?"
It was the first time in his life that Kevin was addressed as "Your Excellency." He was immediately flattered and nodded quickly. "I am. So... are there any boarding procedures?"
"You're on official business. After your identity is verified, you're exempt from all formalities and security checks." The "Captain" waved to the crew members beside him to board the ship, pulling out a rectangular device gleaming with a blue light. "You'll need to scan your ID..."
Before he finished speaking, a data terminal popped out of Kevin's pocket. "Here's the device. Scan it."
Kevin watched in astonishment as the data terminal floated over and brushed against the "Captain's" scanner. A beep sounded, and the device indicated verification...
This was the first time in his life he'd seen a plane ticket check itself!
"Then, Your Excellency the Inquisitor and your two assistants, please aboard," the captain grinned, pointing to a metal platform suspended in mid-air nearby. "Interstellar Express Transport Ship 883, I wish you a pleasant journey."
Nangong Wuyue was the first to jump aboard: "Aboard, aboard!"
Kevin completed the boarding process in a state of near-daze. Standing on the floating platform, he floated into a small hatch beneath the massive ship's belly. Once inside, he drifted through a jumble of cluttered corridors and warehouses before finally arriving at a clean, spacious area. The incredibly muscular captain barked into the communication equipment on the floating platform, "Alright, signal control tower, get ready to sail!"
"How long will it take us to get there?" Kevin suddenly remembered he hadn't even asked about the timeline, as he hadn't even grasped the concept of "800 light-years." After a long moment of daze amidst the futuristic scenes, he suddenly realized he had to go faster than the speed of light. "Don't worry, I'm not going to laugh at you. This is my first time on a spaceship..."
"Sure, sure, the higher-ups told me everything," the captain extended his hand and shook Kevin's vigorously, making his knuckles crack. "We'll get there in a day. Just stay in your cabin and get some sleep, and we'll be there. This ship is the star of this route, having been ranked first for seven consecutive years. By the way, just call me 883..."
Kevin was stunned: "...883? Isn't that the name of your ship?" "I named her after myself!" The captain, calling himself 883, laughed. "That's the custom over there. A man should have a ship with his surname. We make our living from ships, and a ship is a man's second wife!"
Kevin: "..."
He felt the captain had subtly misunderstood something. It seemed cultural differences did exist between different races, so it was best not to delve into the issue. Kevin, led by another crew member, arrived at his assigned cabin. He was surprised to find it was a luxurious suite with four bedrooms. While the furnishings were odd, he could almost tell what they were used for. He instinctively asked, "Could this room have been modified specifically for the three of us?"
"No, this is a standard first-class cabin," said the crew member leading the way, a short, dark-skinned young man with a somewhat reserved smile. "This ship is used for both passengers and cargo. Wing sections D6 through D17 are dedicated passenger areas. We offer luxurious and attentive passenger service, and most of the guest rooms are tailor-made for Class I carbon-based passengers... Although we haven't had any passengers yet due to the captain's inability to choose the right license plate, and there's no room service on board, trust me, the rooms are at least professionally equipped."
Kevin: "..."
He inexplicably felt like he'd been tricked again!