Chapter 174: Watching Films

Coordinates: Hawk's Beak Cove, Daishan Island.

Time: the 15th evening after the operation to hunt the Fortune ship.

Daishan Island lies in the northern part of the Zhoushan Archipelago. It is large in area but extremely desolate. Hawk's Beak Cove is on the eastern side of Daishan Island, facing the direction of the Pacific Ocean, and is named for a headland shaped like a hawk's beak.

In the ordinarily desolate Hawk's Beak Cove, seven large Chinese-style ships were now moored. Among them, two Fortune ships originally belonged to the Xie Family, four were Sand Ship fleet vessels of the Crossing Faction, and the last one was, naturally, the Dragon.

After the Dragon seized the Fortune ships that day, dividing things equally, the 100 crewmen aboard were split into three groups. They first hastily threw all the corpses into the sea, then the fleet sailed back to Hawk's Beak Cove. After half a month of rest and reorganization in Hawk's Beak Cove, the Covered Bandit Gang finally waited for the Sand Ship transport fleet to arrive and make contact.

"Erye, you pulled it off effortlessly! Not bad, not bad, hard work!" Wang Xiaohui, the chubby rotating fleet Commander, dressed in a blue training uniform, was standing at the bow of the Dragon, vigorously slapping Erye on the shoulder, expressing his delight with a gesture unique to Transmigrators.

... These two Fortune ships were like charcoal delivered in the snow for the Crossing Faction, which was currently scrambling to transport people. Wang Xiaohui's fleet group, on this return voyage, had its cabins stuffed full of people again, with absolutely no room to load any more miscellaneous goods. The raw silk, satin, and various Su Hang sundries inside the Fortune ships were precisely the trade goods urgently needed by Dayuan at the moment.

"You flatter me, sir. This battle relied entirely on the wondrous power of the Upper Realm's Dharma Artifacts and the brothers' efforts. Chen Er dare not claim credit."

"Haha, now you're being modest? Erye, this isn't your style!" Wang Xiaohui chuckled, teasing Chen Erye. Among the Ming people the Transmigrators had contact with, Chen Erye could be considered one of the most personable Natives: with his exaggerated appearance, bold and forthright character, and straightforward way of doing things, Erye truly matched many people's impression of an ancient Edo hero, making him the poster boy for a generation of heroes.

This was also why Erye thrived so well. In the current age, the honorific "Erye" had even become a pure nickname among the Transmigrators themselves.

However, today Erye changed his style, seemingly determined to be modest: Comrade Ma Liu was promptly pushed to the forefront. After recounting the contributions of that horse-faced comrade, Erye had Ma Liu take the spent casings to go see Commander Wang for a magazine exchange — these things had to be counted one by one; not a single one could be missing.

The handover process was very swift. The Sand Ship fleet arrived at Hawk's Beak Cove at dusk, and before this, the Dragon had already transferred over some crude salt from the Fortune ships. Apart from that, both Fortune ships, including their cargo, had now been completely handed over to the Sand Ship fleet.

The Dragon not only handed over the Fortune ships but also contributed some of its own manpower: a dozen or so young men who had passed assessment were sent onto the sand ships. These people would receive training in Dayuan in the future, becoming crewmen, workers, or Navy personnel.

Night fell quickly. In Hawk's Beak Cove, apart from the two Fortune ships where people carrying oil lamps were still checking the ships' condition, the remaining vessels had already fallen quiet.

On the largest sand ship in the cove, Chen Huoding was sitting in the stern cabin, which was full of instruments, chatting idly with Wang Xiaohui after dinner.

"Here, filled it up for you." In the cabin radiating the bright white glow of a solar lamp, Wang Xiaohui, picking his teeth with one hand, placed a Wahaha bottle in front of Chen Huoding. "Use it sparingly. Chili pepper annual output is low right now; it should be better in the second half of the year."

"Many thanks, Brother Wang!" Chen Erye felt a bit embarrassed at this moment.

"We're brothers in the same system, what's there to thank? Don't forget, the Dragon is now under the joint management of the Navy and the Intelligence Bureau, so you're considered one of our Navy men too." Wang Xiaohui then pulled out a pack of Black Lanzhou cigarettes and, with some visible pain at the expense, offered one to Erye. Seeing Erye wave his hand, he quickly put the cigarette pack away, lit one just for himself, and began puffing on it with satisfaction.

"Any difficulties lately? If there are, just say so."

"All is well, all is well."

"Hmm? Why do you seem a bit wilted today?" Wang Xiaohui finally noticed that Erye's attitude was off today: from the moment they met, he hadn't raised his loud voice, nor had he clamored to play with guns or knives. Instead, he was acting bashful, like a young girl?

"It's just... I just want to watch some shadow plays again," Chen Huoding said with an embarrassed chuckle.

"Shadow plays? Heh, so you wanted to watch some films. You should've said so earlier, making it all mysterious." Wang Xiaohui stood up, opened the laptop on the desk, clicked around with the mouse, then turned the laptop screen around. "Here, all your favorites. A ten-disc marathon. Take your time watching."

After saying this, Wang Xiaohui patted Chen Erye on the shoulder, turned around, and walked out of the cabin door.

Chen Huoding began watching the video with rapt attention.

... Although this was not his first time watching a "film," every time he sat before the screen, the images conveyed by the advanced electronic audiovisual technology of later generations still deeply shocked this 17th-century man.

A row of steel warships, massive as city walls, sailed across a wave-tossed sea surface; soldiers wearing white front-buttoned short jackets looked like ants upon the steel city. Then, thick cannon barrels fired shells; flames gushed from the muzzles. The camera followed the shells as they flew out; the distant city rapidly enlarged on the screen. The next moment, the shells exploded — firelight, a roar, houses flying up... and the enormous crater left after the smoke and dust cleared.

Chen Huoding knew that everything on the screen was real: this was a war between the vassal states of the Kunlun Immortal Palace.

He also knew that all the Transmigrators, including Wang Xiaohui, came from these vassal states. They had been selected by immortals and sent down to the Lower Realm to assist Cao Zhenren.

The screen image shifted; this time it showed a land battle. Countless cannons glowing with blue light were roaring; densely packed soldiers began their charge amidst battle cries. And the heavy machine guns that Chen Huoding had long coveted but had never been able to fire a single bullet from now filled the entire screen, spitting long tongues of flame and mowing down the brave soldiers in swathes.

Although he had long known the outcome, whenever he saw this scene, he still clenched his palms tightly.

The image shifted again.

This time it was not war, but a parade: a military parade of the Upper Realm.

Erye had extensive experience with military parades.

As a hereditary military household member of the Dinghai Guard, Chen Erye had become a member of the guard's "parade troops" from the age of 15. That is to say, during his days in the guard station, Erye would still drill from time to time. Occasionally, when superior officers came to inspect the troops, Erye would carry his spear and axe to the Scout Field and stand for a couple of hours with a bunch of similarly ragged military household members, so that he could receive a few reward coins in the aftermath.

However, the immortal realm's military parade completely overturned Erye's concept of one.

Soldiers wearing beautiful uniforms and shiny leather boots; formations as neat as if cut by a knife; gleaming silver bayonets slashing down in unison; square formations, majestic and imposing, marching across the screen one by one...

Erye knew that everything he saw on the screen would eventually appear, one by one, in the Great Ming: Cao Zhenren and those 108 Stars of Destiny who had descended to the Lower Realm to assist him were starting from that tiny speck of land, Dayuan Island, and little by little replicating these terrifying weapons and soldiers. Once everything was ready one day, they would send forth their troops to seize the realm.

Chen Huoding watched films that entire night, straight through until dawn.