Chapter 1101, The Freedom One

Translator: Silavin

 

*Coo coo coo…*

 

The Grey Feathered Giant Bird seemed happy with the glass room on its back, making cheerful sounds without pause.

 

Whatever way it shifted and moved, the glass room held firm.

 

“Fly up so I can see.” Su Bai ordered.

 

Flapping in place on the ground would not tell them much. It needed to actually be in the air for the fitting to be properly tested.

 

*Coo coo coo…*

*Whump whump…*

 

The Grey Feathered Giant Bird called once, then began beating its wings and lifting into the sky.

 

“Everyone, step back. Don’t stand too close.” Su Bai raised his hand and waved the group back.

 

He wanted to make sure if the glass room came loose mid-flight, no one was underneath it.

 

The Grey Feathered Giant Bird beat its wings several times and rose clear of the ground. The glass room on its back appeared to cause no difficulty for it whatsoever.

 

High up, it began to circle around, then swept into a series of low passes and turns, all of which were directed by instructions Su Bai was sending through his consciousness.

 

He wanted to observe every kind of movement: left and right, diving, circling. He needed to know whether the glass room shifted, wobbled, or loosened under any of it.

 

A little over ten minutes later, the Grey Feathered Giant Bird received its instructions and descended slowly.

 

From takeoff to landing, through every loop and turn in between, the glass room on the bird’s back had not shifted at all.

 

“It’s secure. Now, let’s try sitting inside to see what that feels like.” Su Bai smiled.

 

He needed to be honest with himself: that he was actually a little nervous. He had never ridden anything like this before.

 

Still, the fear was limited. After all, he need not worry about safety. His Skill, Danger Foresight, had not been triggered, after all. Which meant it was safe.

 

“Finally. I’ve been looking forward to this for so long.” Yu Ying said, delighted.

 

“I hope it gives us something to be surprised about.” Yan Hua blinked her delicate red eyes.

 

She had ridden a Peak Eagle herself, so travelling in the sky, and the views that came with it were not new to her. What she had not experienced was flying inside a glass room mounted on a bird’s back.

 

*Coo coo coo…*

 

After receiving its instructions, the Grey Feathered Giant Bird settled slowly, tilting its body to one side and lowering its wings to the ground.

 

Su Bai took Yu Ying’s hand and they walked up along the wing toward the door of the glass room.

 

Several people boarding at once seemed to not affect the Grey Feathered Giant Bird at all. It was much like a person failing to notice a few ants climbing aboard. The bird’s back was already carrying the full weight of the glass room. A handful of passengers added very little.

 

As the last person stepped inside and the door was drawn shut, the Grey Feathered Giant Bird folded its wings back in.

 

“Walking into something like this for the first time feels odd in a good way.” Yan Hua looked around the interior with wide eyes.

 

The interior of the glass room was straightforward. The layout was not unlike the inside of a flying machine, divided into two columns with a single aisle running between them.

 

Though the seating arrangement had its own character. A central passage ran straight across from one side of the wings to the other. On either side of it, one row of seats faced toward the bird’s head, and the other faced back toward the tail. Each column held two rows, each row could fit eight people, making room for thirty-two passengers in the glass room on the bird’s back in total.

 

That was somewhat more than Su Bai’s original estimate.

 

It should be noted that the space inside was fairly compact. There was not a lot of room to move about inside.

 

“Shaman, what are those small compartments above the seats?” Sha Lan looked up curiously at the spaces running along the upper section.

 

The entire square glass room was laid out in two layers. The lower section held the seating. The upper section had individual compartments running along it.

 

“Those are for storing goods, or passengers’ baggage.” Su Bai walked over and opened one of the glass doors, looking into the storage space. “Although they don’t hold much.”

 

“So, this would suit someone travelling on their own. If a Tribe needed to move goods, they’d still have to rely on the ships.” Yan Hua nodded, working it through.

 

“Then what about Tribes that aren’t close to the river? Ships wouldn’t be able to reach them.” Su Bai smiled quietly. He had another arrangement in mind for those.

 

“That’s true.” Yan Hua blinked her red eyes.

 

“Looking at the view from here feels different somehow.” Yu Ying had her pink fox tail swaying behind her as she pressed her face against the glass and looked out.

 

Yu Ying had far less experience in the sky than Sha Lan and Yan Hua. Her last flight had been when Su Bai was testing the Grey Feathered Giant Bird, and before that, the hot air balloon.

 

“I think the Grey Feathered Giant Bird is going to be very welcome with the other Tribes. I can’t feel any shaking or sense of weightlessness at all.” Sha Lan’s cat ears gave a small twitch.

 

Sitting in her seat, she felt perfectly steady. Not the faintest suggestion of swaying.

 

She had assumed that a transportation vehicle like this would shake a lot in flight, and that comfort would suffer because of it. She had been completely wrong. It was genuinely comfortable, especially with the view spread out beyond the glass.

 

“Another good thing is that we can’t feel the wind on our faces. We can actually keep our eyes open.” Ye Jiu said suddenly.

 

The wolf eared girl had spent the flight back from the Hunting Ground on a hot air balloon with her eyes streaming and half-shut the whole way.

 

“Let’s fly for a while and get a proper feel for it. If it’s as good as it seems, we can open our aerial transportation service.” Su Bai said.

 

“Shaman, surely our transportation vehicle should have a name? Like our great ship.” Yu Ying turned her head to ask.

 

“Of course. Our great ship is the Flame Dragon Sail. So our aerial transportation vehicle will be called Freedom One.” Su Bai had already had it ready.

 

The name was plain and easy to remember. But the meaning was not shallow.

 

In this primitive era, who did not long for freedom? And the Grey Feathered Giant Bird was what would carry that hope.

 

After all, once aboard the Freedom One, a person could go anywhere — as long as they had the means.

 

“The Freedom One will be open before long.” Yu Ying smiled.

 

“Shaman, are you planning to use two of them for cargo as well?” Sha Lan ventured.

 

The cat eared girl had looked at the glass room and judged the storage space rather limited, which was what had led her to guess.

 

“Not at all. Something else entirely will be handling the cargo.”

 

The corners of Su Bai’s mouth curved upward, his expression saying considerably more than his words.