Not Eating... Living Humans

Emery and I both wore gloomy expressions; I felt so embarrassed, and the first flight was completely different from what I had imagined.

In my imagination, I should be skillfully maneuvering the spacecraft, performing acrobatic stunts, just like the fighter jets dazzling the sky during the National Day parade, creating various intricate patterns in the air. However, reality and ideals always had such a huge gap, truly a face-losing experience.

But Emery should feel even more ashamed. After all, he was hailed as the best pilot in Noah City, and he was my mentor in flying. As a member of the exploration team, exceptional piloting skills were necessary, especially dealing with various complex weather conditions. Legend had it that there was nothing he couldn't fly, but the result was that he failed with Ice Dragon.

Edmund's creation was too advanced, leaving us all struggling to adapt.

"Prepare to return to Noah City," Ice Dragon said. Then it smoothly lifted off the ground. Damn, so this guy could take off slowly. Why did he shoot up into the sky like a rocket just now?

Ice Dragon's takeoff was also elegantly unhurried, steadily accelerating, like a free bird gracefully gliding through a valley.

As we flew away, the crows waiting on the cliffs descended to feast on our vomit. They even fought over it, creating a scene of dark silhouettes. Unable to resist my curiosity, I asked Emery, "What do Flying Corpse Monsters eat?" I was actually quite nervous and scared, anticipating an answer that would send shivers down my spine.

Emery looked at me for a moment. His complexion had already recovered, and he smiled gently. His amber eyes focused ahead, "Don't worry, Flying Corpse Monsters don't eat living humans."

Don't eat... living humans?

"Flying Corpse Monsters can fly over the airspace of the radiation zone. They migrate year-round, seeking places with water and fruits. Along the way, they'll plunder things from passing cities and sometimes attack pedestrians, hmph." Emery suddenly let out a light laugh, carrying a hint of mockery. "They are much better than humans. Humans eat each other, but they only resort to eating corpses when there's nothing else. They never eat living humans. Perhaps, deep down, they still retain a bit of humanity. Tell me, why is it that, though they are technically human, there's no humanity in them, while monsters, on the other hand, don't forget their humanity?" Emery looked at me with a cold smile, and I knew he was referring to the Corrupt Ghost Tribe.

"Why don't we attack the Corrupt Ghost Tribe?!" I asked angrily.Emery suddenly furrowed his brows, lowered his face, and fell silent. He extended his hands abruptly and muttered, "Requesting manual control." Faced with my question, he chose to evade.

I understood. Even Noah City's best energy source could only support one spacecraft, and with basic needs still unmet, how could we muster the resources to form an army to fight against a much stronger enemy? It would be a futile endeavor and a reckless act of bravery.

From Emery's sudden silence, I could sense that, like Campbell, he harbored resentment toward the Corrupt Ghost Tribe. However, he also shared Edmond's sense of helplessness. Even Silvermoon City, with control over the blue crystal energy, hadn't dared to attack the Corrupt Ghost Tribe. This indicated that the tribe possessed formidable strength, likely housing formidable individuals that even Silvermoon City feared.

Emery took control of the spacecraft manually. This time, he seemed more familiar, more experienced with the system. He didn't drive fast, but he was steady, as if still adapting to this method of operation.

Gradually, I saw a large hole below, north of the entrance to Noah City, with familiar green lights visible inside.

"Prepare to descend," Emery said.

"All right." Ice Dragon cooperated well with him, but I couldn't shake off the feeling that this cooperation had an air of "vengeance is a dish best served cold."

Emery withdrew his hands, and Ice Dragon slowly descended, smoothly entering the enormous hole. Then, just like when we exited, green halos lit up around us as we descended, and the opening above began to close, blocking the bright sunlight.

When Ice Dragon came to a stop, Emery leaped down, once again wearing a playful grin on his face, proudly tilting his head back, "See that? Without your Captain, I wouldn't know how to drive." Emery put his hands on his hips, exceptionally pleased. The guys gathered around him, and he began to boast happily. I didn't expose him; otherwise, I would have revealed myself too, right?

"Captain, how does it feel?" Everyone excitedly surrounded me, eyes full of admiration.

As they crowded around Emery, I quietly slipped away from the other side because I hadn't finished feeling sick yet. My complexion must be terrible, and I didn't want them to find out.

"Is it awesome?" Joey asked with envy. "Edmund said it's powered by blue crystal energy! Super fast acceleration!"

"Captain, Captain, how fast is it really? Can I try driving it too?"

"Get lost, get lost, you guys can't handle it," Emery flipped his hair arrogantly. "Only I can.""Just like you can't handle Yvette?" William suddenly teased, causing Emery's proud smile to freeze on his face.

"Hah—" everyone burst into laughter.

I kept a low profile on the side. Back in our world before I came to this one, there was a saying: "Take you for a ride while showing off." Today, I did take a ride, but I really couldn't show off; I felt so embarrassed. The most frustrating part was that the daily rations were already scarce, and now I had to throw up. Those crows really got lucky.

I took a few deep breaths and finally felt much better.

Edmund peeked out among the guys, and as soon as he spotted me, he rushed over. Bernice, Lindsay, and Edwina also approached from another direction.

"How was it? Is the operation still flexible?" Edmund hastily took out his notebook and anxiously asked me. The gray-blue eyes sparkled with excitement after the successful first flight of the spaceship. "If there's any discomfort, tell me, I'll make adjustments." He eagerly stared at me, hoping to get firsthand data and feedback from my first flight.

I really had to talk to him about this!

I extended both hands, clapping them on his shoulders. He seemed startled, and the gray-blue eyes blinked rapidly, as if he were shyly averting his gaze from my face. Despite being taller than me, his body seemed to shrink a bit.

I, feeling taller, leaned over his face and looked straight into his eyes, saying, "Edmund!"

"Ah...?" He turned away, his face blushing and avoiding eye contact.

"Please, install a joystick!" I exclaimed.

"Huh?" He was puzzled, turning back to look at me.

I let go of his shoulders, and he stood up straight, saying, "But now, Ice Dragon is equipped with the most advanced neural operating system. Its response far exceeds that of a joystick. It..."

"Add a joystick! Or a steering wheel, anything!" I was losing it; that neural operating system made me uncomfortable! I extended my right hand, mimicking the grip of a joystick. "As long as I can hold onto something and have a sense of touch!"

Edmund nodded dazedly in response to my enthusiastic words. "Oh, uh... well, how thick should it be?"

"About the thickness of a cucumber..." I froze instantly. What did I just say? I really must be going crazy! 

"Puff!" Lindsay burst into laughter on the side. "Hah—" Unable to control herself, she laughed even louder.

"Why are you laughing, Lindsay?" Edwina looked at Lindsay in confusion.