285: Chapter 285 Creating from nothing, replacing one with two!

"A flying shuttle that can run is a good flying shuttle!"

By the time Lin Xiao dropped this conclusion, Tian Xiwei was already squatting beside Shuttle No. 1.

She didn't rush to start the construction; instead, she re-examined the hull.

From the installation slots of the wind-whirls to the load-bearing structure of the keel, her fingertips brushed over every detail.

After she had investigated Shuttle No. 1 from bow to stern, she stood up, took a few steps back, and cleared a spacious enough area on the steel plating of the roof.

Tian Xiwei extended both hands.

A mass of black matter appeared above her palms, rotating slowly.

Then, the black matter began to extend outward, weaving itself in the air, stretching out the keel and the curves of the hull's sides.

In just three to five seconds, it expanded into the complete silhouette of a flying shuttle.

From bow to stern, every detail was a seamless replica of Shuttle No. 1.

However, the colors were completely different.

Shuttle No. 1 had a cream-white hull with sky-blue sides.

The one Xiao Tian constructed was pitch-black throughout the hull, while the sides were a low-profile gold, gleaming with a matte luster under the scorching noon sun.

"Holy crap, brothers, look at that! What kind of ability is this?"

Several new passengers by the pool, who were stuffing insect corpses into storage boxes, looked up. Their hands were still buried in the pile of insect shells, but their eyes were already wide with shock.

One of them sprang up from the ground, not even bothering to brush the sand off his knees, and rushed to the edge of the crowd, standing on tiptoes to look inside.

"What does this mean? Creation out of thin air? No way, man, is there really a skill like that?"

"Hey, wait, why does this beauty look so familiar? I feel like I've seen her somewhere... do you guys remember?"

"Let me check her info panel, uh... Tian... holy crap, Tian Xiwei?"

"Good heavens, we actually have a big star on our Astral Express?"

"Sigh, speaking of which, our train also had a popular star, but they were taken away by those people from the Silver-White Train."

...

The air was filled with the buzzing sound of discussion.

New passengers craned their necks and stood on tiptoes; some had already opened their chat channels to start recording videos.

As for the veteran passengers, like Fan Sinian and Liu Bi, they had long since grown accustomed to such sights.

Ruan Li stood in the crowd, watching the smiling Tian Xiwei, her clear eyes growing wider and wider.

"Creating something from nothing, manifesting a flying shuttle?"

Her voice was very low, as if she were talking to herself.

As a passenger who had survived two stages, she had seen all sorts of strange skills, and she had even accidentally obtained a very rare flying skill on the Sky Island!

But compared to Tian Xiwei, the skills she possessed suddenly seemed much less impressive.

That was creation out of thin air! It was practically a god-tier skill!

Lin Xiao happened to walk past Ruan Li, glanced at the stunned girl, and smiled. "Impressive, right? Actually, just like Hao Ke's transformation ability, it belongs to the category of special skills."

"No wonder."

Hearing this, Ruan Li understood immediately.

"So it's not a normal skill, I knew it..."

As she spoke, the shock on her face faded slightly.

Lin Xiao frowned slightly.

When Ruan Li learned it was a special ability, her expression was actually less surprised than before.

Was it because of Hao Ke?

She had a special ability user right beside her, so she wasn't entirely surprised.

But, according to Lin Xiao's speculation...

To react like this was because she possessed something similar herself.

Perhaps, as he had previously guessed, Ruan Li's healing skill also came from the power of a star emblem.

He just didn't know which Path it belonged to.

After just a few moments of casual conversation, Tian Xiwei withdrew her hands.

Shuttle No. 2 slowly landed on the steel roof, letting out a low thud.

She shook her hands and threw a proud little look at Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao gave her an affirming look with a smile, then walked forward and reached out to touch the low-profile gold trim on the side of the hull.

He had to admit, the craftsmanship was even more exquisite than Shuttle No. 1.

"Beautiful!"

He couldn't help but praise it again.

Lin Xiao turned to look at Shuttle No. 1 nearby and began to remove the wind-whirl crystals.

The process was simpler than expected.

There wasn't any overly complex physical locking design between the crystals and the installation slots.

The operator only needed to use mental energy to sever the connection between the crystals and the hull to easily take them out.

Soon, the four crystals were removed evenly and embedded one by one into the installation slots of Shuttle No. 2.

All four crystals lit up successfully; the hull vibrated slightly and then floated up steadily.

The two flying shuttles floated side-by-side above the roof.

One was cream-white with blue trim, the other was black with gold trim.

"A few of you come up to test the load capacity." Lin Xiao flipped himself onto Shuttle No. 2 and beckoned to those around him.

Fang Yuan and Sergei moved almost simultaneously.

Fang Yuan ran the fastest, jumping onto the craft in just a few bounds.

Because his movements were too large, his foot bumped against the side of the hull, nearly causing him to trip.

But he managed to steady himself by grabbing a seat, completing his boarding in one smooth motion.

Sergei followed closely behind, grabbing the side of the hull with one hand and flipping himself inside.

The hull sank an inch when he sat down.

The two sat side-by-side on the bench, neither looking at the other, but both secretly using their butts to push toward the middle.

Fan Sinian and Liu Bi jumped up in sequence.

By the time the fifth person was added, the flying shuttle began to wobble unnaturally, like a shallow-draft boat hitting a cross-wave.

The lift provided by the four wind-whirl crystals was just enough for a load of four people.

If they tried to force another person in, it would likely be the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Load limit is four people..."

Lin Xiao nodded, showing no disappointment; instead, a flash of joy appeared in his eyes.

The two flying shuttles together could carry eight people, two more spots than before—rounding up, that was a huge profit!

"It seems there are no problems for now. Well then, let's continue our exploration!"

Lin Xiao patted the side of the hull, his gaze sweeping over the crowd gathered around. "Since we have two extra spots this time..."

Before he could finish, Fang Yuan and Sergei had already stood up from their seats and squeezed to his side.

The two who were just elbowing each other on the bench were now standing shoulder-to-shoulder, as close as biological brothers.

"Brother Lin... Train Conductor Lin, please take us with you this time!"

Fang Yuan's tone was full of pleading.

The crowd began to jeer playfully.

Sergei used his heavily Russian-accented Chinese to argue with the crowd: "Shush, shush! There has to be a first-come, first-served order. We clearly boarded the craft first!"

Lin Xiao understood.

No wonder the two of them had scrambled to board for the load test; they had calculated this move long ago.

Lin Xiao gave a chuckle and didn't say anything more.

He handed the control of Shuttle No. 1 to Ruan Li while he stood at the pilot position of Shuttle No. 2.

He turned to look at the four women who were busy working: "The work of sorting the remains will be hard on you all."

Jiang Wanwan looked up, wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand, and waved at him. "Stay safe on the road, come back early!"

As her words fell, the wind-whirls of both flying shuttles accelerated simultaneously.

They soared over the pool, over the coconut tree canopies on the roof, and sped through the Coating into the distance.