Chapter 135: Furness

Naan City was adorned with numerous towering buildings, a stark contrast to most cities on the Rock Planet that David had heard about. Given the environment of the Rock Planet, high-rise structures often spelled disaster when faced with Zerg invasions. Especially considering the flying Zerg, far more terrifying than their ground-bound counterparts, who favored attacking targets perched high above the ground.

Naan City was different. Everything here was protected by energy shields, freeing the architecture from concerns about Zerg threats. Of course, the buildings were not excessively tall; David could vaguely discern four particularly tall structures standing prominently above the rest—no other buildings came close to matching their stature.

“David, welcome to Naan City!” As David spotted the second air terminal, a message from Garen arrived.

“Uncle Garen, I’m about to land!” David replied.

“I have some matters to attend to today and can’t come pick you up. I’ll have Furness meet you instead. Join me for dinner tonight!” Garen said with a smile.

“Uncle Garen, that’s unnecessary. Father arranged accommodations for me here in Naan City,” David responded shyly.

“Kid, no need to be so polite. I’m busy today; see you tonight!” Garen chuckled and hung up without further ado.

David looked at his identity wristband with a helpless smile, grateful for Garen’s consideration.

The Titan S600 transport ship slowly descended onto Dock 36, a massive open landing bay. Once the ship touched down, several mechanical arms extended to secure it firmly. Simultaneously, David received access rights for Dock 36, which would be his private domain for the duration of his ship’s stay.

“The charm of credit points!” David murmured, understanding that the docking privileges were purchased by the Titan Consortium for this vessel.

He hadn’t brought all his belongings but carried only one container housing the Land Tiger exoskeleton armor, a pair of secondary-grade twin swords, and a secondary-grade combat dagger strapped to his leg. Since he was meeting Garen, he left behind the secondary-grade spear and instead brought along the secondary-grade war hammer storage box.

Though he had only been in this world for a little over two months, David already possessed armor equipment surpassing that of most knights—a testament to both fortune and his own strength.

As for clothing, he brought none. He planned to purchase what he needed in Naan City or transfer items once he had his own hovercar. Using credit points made this easy.

Stepping out of Dock 36, he saw a sleek, all-black hovercar waiting outside. A young man with golden hair, clad in a fitted leather jacket, tight leather pants, and shiny black pointed shoes, was chewing something and brightened upon seeing David.

“Hi, David Kerr! I’m Furness. My teacher Garen sent me to pick you up!” Furness waved a greeting as he approached.

“I’m David. Thanks for coming!” David said, curious about Furness’s peculiar attire but managing to hide his expression.

“That’s your luggage. Let me put it in the back,” Furness said, reaching for David’s items.

David stepped back, unwilling to let anyone else handle his weapons and armor.

“Wow, a Land Tiger exoskeleton armor container, a war hammer box, and those twin swords on your back. No wonder the teacher says you’re a genius—learning so fast!” Furness’s attention was completely drawn to David’s gear.

“These are some rewards and spoils I earned in Perran City,” David explained.

“Better not wear exoskeleton armor in public here in Naan City. The things in the sky will target you!” Furness pointed upward.

David looked up. Previously, he had assumed the sky was filled only with ships, but now, guided by Furness, he saw special flying devices hovering evenly across the sky, almost completely covering the city.

“Those are War Eyes—a real nuisance. They make it hard for me to drive my hovercar freely,” Furness complained as he climbed into the driver’s seat and started the vehicle.

“Do the War Eyes have offensive capabilities?” David asked, intrigued.

“Yes, two attack modes. Usually, they use non-lethal missiles that blind or stun. Only upon receiving a kill order do they unleash lethal, powerful missiles, some even with first or second-grade warheads!” Furness was quite talkative, answering every question.

David found that despite Furness’s odd fashion, he was a genuinely good person. Furness seemed to understand Garen’s intentions well; perhaps David was his junior disciple, so a bad attitude was out of the question.

An under-eighteen knight and a recipient of the Silver Star Medal—these were enough to prove David’s genius.

Along the way, Furness introduced many aspects of Naan City, giving David a rough understanding of it. He learned why only four buildings towered above the rest—each represented one of Naan City’s four major factions.

The military, the government, the Knight Association, and the Naan Chamber of Commerce. In overall strength, the military and government were unsurpassed, but in individual combat prowess, the Knight Association was supreme. The Chamber of Commerce was a coalition of financial groups, rife with internal struggles, unified externally only by their wealth; in other areas, they were average.

David wanted to ask Garen’s allegiance but refrained, as he and Furness were not close, and such questions would be inappropriate.

The hovercar stopped before the fifteen-story Summit Hotel, where a waiter in a burgundy uniform opened the door.

David stepped out; it was about six o’clock, yet many people were already coming and going. Many cast strange looks at David, who understood why—few here wore Federation standard uniforms, and the clothes everyone wore seemed peculiar to him.

“Don’t mind it, David. To people here, anyone in a Federation uniform is either a civil servant or a country bumpkin,” Furness explained with a smile.

“In Naan City, I guess I’m the country bumpkin,” David joked self-deprecatingly.

Still, he preferred his Federation uniform over those odd clothes.

He stopped the waiter from carrying his luggage, opting to carry the exoskeleton armor container and weapon box himself.

“Sorry, sir. Our hotel requires that all weapons and equipment be stored at the front desk. You may collect them upon departure,” the lobby manager approached quickly as David entered, smiling politely.

His gaze lingered not only on the boxes but also on the twin swords on David’s back, causing David to frown. His equipment was valuable; there was no way he would entrust it to the hotel's public storage.

“That’s enough. This is Lord Garen’s guest. Go about your business. I’ll take care of him,” Furness waved off the manager as he followed David inside.

“Mr. Furness, I apologize. I didn’t realize he was Lord Garen’s guest!” The lobby manager broke into a cold sweat, bowed deeply, and stepped aside.

“David, you should consider switching to less conspicuous containers and storage boxes. Public places in Naan City don’t allow knights to bring in exoskeleton armor or weapons to avoid accidents. Of course, if your gear isn’t so obvious, inspections are usually lax. But the Summit Hotel is our own establishment, so there’s no worry here,” Furness explained.

“Looks like Naan City is quite safe,” David remarked appreciatively.

Since entering Naan City, he had noticed its distinctiveness—crowds everywhere, a bustling population making the city incredibly prosperous.