Chapter 134: First Arrival

David headed to the military camp one last time to bid farewell to Lieutenant Eaton and Lieutenant Elmer, then returned home to copy the intelligent system of Emma, his smart house manager.

Of course, this action was strictly illegal; every copy of a smart manager system program was meant to exist individually and was not permitted to be replicated. David was not trying to save a few credits—he certainly had enough to purchase a new one—but Emma had grown familiar with his habits, or rather, he had grown accustomed to her presence.

With that done, he gathered some clothes and his Grade 1 heavy axe, then boarded his Type II Land Tiger armored vehicle. He took one last lingering look at his home before finally departing. Since arriving in this world, this place had been his home, his spiritual sanctuary, filled with the beautiful memories of his predecessor and the lingering imprint of his mother.

The Type II Land Tiger hovered thirty meters above the ground. Even after arriving in Naan City, this armored hover-vehicle could not be used within city limits; it was restricted to the wilderness. Naan City was not like Perrin City, where the military recognized David and treated him as one of their own. Once in Naan, he would be in a completely unfamiliar environment. While the Type II Land Tiger was a piece of military-grade equipment that was perfectly legal to own, he had no authority to operate it within the city.

However, as long as it remained inside the Titan S600 transport ship, no one would inspect it. Under Interstellar Federation law, the interior of a ship was considered private territory; without definitive evidence, even the police could not enter to search. Furthermore, this ship was a gift from the Titan Consortium; with their influence on Granite Planet, he would face no trouble at all.

"Captain, destination Naan City. Take off!" David commanded the AI navigation pilot he had nicknamed Captain.

He now possessed Master-level piloting skills, but the ship’s controls had been modified into a "dummy-proof" system, leaving him with no interest in flying it manually. He would much rather control the *Beacon* through his Shadow Servant than pilot such a mindless vessel. The modified Titan S600 was like an automatic car in his previous life, whereas a true professional driver would only ever race with a manual transmission. This was exactly why David had no desire to pilot the Titan S600 himself.

"Perrin City Airspace Control, Granite T000111 requesting takeoff!" the AI Captain’s mechanical voice broadcasted the request.

Granite T000111 was like a license plate from his past life, though here, ships did not need to display physical plates, relying instead on electronic identity signals. Because Granite Planet was in a war zone, ships of this size required clearance for every flight; unauthorized liftoffs risked being destroyed by anti-aircraft fire.

"Granite T000111, takeoff request approved. Have a safe flight!" the control tower replied promptly.

David shook his head. He had noticed the peculiarity of the ship’s registration number the moment he received it. "Granite" stood for the planet, "T" for transport, and the trailing numbers were the ship's ID. Such a sequential number was likely a perk reserved only for the ultra-wealthy.

The ship lifted off vertically, maintaining a level orientation rather than pitching its nose—a capability usually reserved for luxury cruisers. Only while sitting in the Titan S600 did he realize that his forty million credits were truly nothing in the eyes of the super-rich.

Once the ship leveled off at an altitude of ten thousand meters, it began its journey toward Naan City. Within the atmosphere, the Titan S600 was not particularly fast; its hull was designed for cargo capacity rather than speed. It had not been built with aerodynamics in mind, and while its engines were powerful, they could not compete with smaller vessels designed specifically for velocity. Of course, once in space and with the warp drive engaged, its speed would dwarf that of ordinary craft.

He had often heard that the skies of Granite Planet were unsafe, especially following the Zerg invasion, where the influx of numerous Grade 2 Zerg had worsened the situation. David kept his Land Lion exoskeleton storage case by his side, with his常用 weapons within reach. However, it was clear that unless he was exceptionally unlucky, danger was rare at such high altitudes. Moreover, he had underestimated the security measures of the wealthy. While flying at ten thousand meters, the ship’s sensors detected a Grade 1 Zerg flying thirty-two kilometers away. Because it posed no threat, the Zerg was merely tagged, and no alarm was triggered. In fact, the ship had a comprehensive hazard response protocol, leaving no need for David to be anxious.

"This is Naan City Second Spaceport. Granite T000111, please activate identity verification so we may confirm your credentials!" Five hours later, David heard the voice over the console.

David immediately authorized his identity bracelet to allow the scan.

"Mr. David, your E-level clearance is confirmed. Welcome to Naan City. You may use Docking Bay 36 at the Second Spaceport," the voice announced.

"Captain, display the forward view!" David ordered.

The screen showed the image of Naan City. The ship had approached the city and was decelerating, allowing David a clear view. An indescribably massive, transparent energy shield was draped over the gray earth. It was "indescribably massive" because, even from the sky, the screen could only display a fragment of the dome.

The afternoon sun shone against the transparent shield, reflecting a dazzling glare. As the Titan S600 approached, the shield automatically parted to create a channel large enough for the ship to enter. Under the guidance of the AI Captain, the vessel slipped inside.

By then, the ship’s altitude had dropped to five hundred meters. Upon entering the shield, David saw a vast expanse of green below—the legendary hundred-kilometer ecological zone surrounding Naan City. There were rolling forests, lush grasslands, and scattered lakes, giving him the fleeting illusion that he was no longer on Granite Planet.

He had been in this world for over two months, and this was the first time he had seen so much greenery. Accustomed to such landscapes in his past life, he felt a sudden urge to go down and explore. However, he knew his priority was to get settled first; there would be plenty of opportunities for leisure later. He also realized the reason for this hundred-kilometer green belt: the massive energy shield kept the harsh, volatile climate of Granite Planet at bay.

He could not imagine how Naan City managed to power such a gargantuan shield. Perrin City had one too, but it was only activated during emergencies because the energy consumption was staggering. Beyond the power requirements, the maintenance of this entire ecological zone was an unfathomable undertaking. While technically and theoretically feasible—David himself had a fully automated ecological system in the basement of his home in Perrin, and his ship had an even better one—those were contained systems. Naan City, however, had an entire hundred-kilometer belt encircling the massive city.

As David marveled at the view, the ship entered autopilot mode, following the ground control signals toward the designated spaceport. He finally caught a full glimpse of Naan City. Entering from the west, he saw countless aircraft of various sizes flying in an orderly fashion along designated routes above the city. Judging by the sheer volume of traffic, Naan City was vastly different from any city he had seen before. Looking at the crowded sky, for the first time, he truly felt like he was living in the interstellar age.