Childhood Anime Grand Tour

Chapter 75 Laputa, Eye of the Storm

That's the advantage of the Tiger: because it abandoned offensive equipment, it was much more agile than a bulky spaceship like the Goliath, and quickly hid in the clouds.

The searchlights of the Tiger Moon swept around the area, but upon seeing that it had disappeared into the clouds, it was gone.

"Muska, why aren't you giving chase? It'll be troublesome if they get away!!"

General Muro, still appearing anxious, questioned Muska, while Muska, looking calmly at the flight stone in the navigation device, replied:

“Chasing them through the clouds is useless. I’ll figure something out. They can’t get far anyway.”

Muska is naturally intelligent; in this situation, pursuing them would only lead to being bogged down. Besides, they've already spotted the Tiger, so Muska knows their destination.

They only need to reach Laputa. Regardless of who arrives first, Musca is confident that he can handle everything and naturally doesn't want to waste time here.

From their conversation, it's clear that once inside the Goliath, Muska completely took control, and even Muro had to consult him for his opinion.

As mentioned before, General Muro is not the absolute boss; there is a higher-up above him, and the Goliath is that higher-up, even though it has not appeared in the story.

But he, or rather they, are the ones who understand Muro's character best, so now the Goliath is mostly staffed by Musca's people.

Of course, these people only obeyed him temporarily. After all, he had borrowed these forces. Since they were borrowed, it was inevitable that they would be dependent on others. For a time, the two of them had become a force that checked and balanced each other on the Goliath.

Unfortunately, most people in history who try this kind of trick end up backfiring. Musca and Muro, however, are evenly matched, like a hidden dragon and a phoenix. If they could obtain Laputa's resources, these two would definitely seize their own interests like crazy.

As the Goliath descended, it, along with Musca, once again transformed into a hunter.

"Where is that monster? The orders are to capture it alive!"

"He's no different from these sky pirates; he'll never amount to anything. Don't worry, I'll deal with him personally once we get to Laputa!!"

Even now, Muska isn't sure if he can handle Liu Yufei, but he's inclined to believe he can, provided he gains control of Laputa. If that's truly impossible, he'll have no choice but to cooperate.

Muska clearly believed Liu Yufei's nonsense, believing that he was indeed a Laputa person and that the two of them ultimately shared the same goal, but Liu Yufei still became the most unstable figure.

A perfect chessboard should have no opponents; the ideal situation is having your left hand and your right hand opposite each other. Thinking of this, Musca murmured to herself:

"What on earth is that guy thinking?"

In his view, Liu Yufei, as a Laputan, should be loyal not to any one person, but to the entire Laputan. Now that the Flying Stone was in his hands, he imagined that Liu Yufei should immediately defect.

Liu Yufei had no idea! His words had completely bewitched Musca. If he knew, he'd be laughing his head off! Hehe, brother, you're overthinking it. I'm not a chess player, I'm just a rider at best.

Meanwhile, Dora was still planning on the map.

"It's heading north from where we planned! Balu, can you hear me?"

"Um!!"

"We're out of time. If the Goliath catches up with us, we're finished. You have good eyesight, so keep an eye on things from the watchtower!"

"What should I do?"

"The watchtower can be turned into a glider, see that joystick in the middle?"

"I see!"

"After rotating clockwise, the wings will unfold once the hook is engaged!! After that, it's up to you to control them!! Is Sheeta with you?"

"exist!!"

Sheeta thought Dora was going to assign her a task as well.

"Are you coming back right away?"

"what?"

"What do you mean, 'ah'? You're a girl, how can you do something so dangerous?"

Sure enough, Sheeta was her biological daughter. It's really rare for Dora, who has three sons, to have such a well-behaved girl like Sheeta.

"Oh dear! Grandma, aren't you a woman too? Besides, I grew up in the mountains, and my eyesight is excellent!"

"Hida!!"

Upon hearing that Sheeta wanted to stay, Pazu immediately tried to stop her, but Sheeta was faster, speaking into the megaphone:

"Baru agreed too!"

"Ah! Hahahaha!!"

Dora let out a hearty laugh. Before, she only thought Sheeta was somewhat like herself, but now it seemed that she was a carbon copy of herself! Even her personality was so unruly.

"Okay, once you're up there, the megaphone won't be useful anymore. There's a telephone and communications system next to you..."

Before Dora could finish speaking, the phone next to her rang. Sheeta's reaction speed was truly remarkable.

"Grandma, is this the one?"

"Good girl, be careful!! Pazu, you have to protect Sheeta, okay?"

Dora was extremely gentle with Sheeta, but with Pazu, she spoke directly in the tone of a captain. Pazu naturally knew that Dora was doing this on purpose, and immediately smiled and said:

"Captain, mission accomplished! The ship is ready, requesting ascent!"

Sizzling...

With a piercing screech from the winch—something rarely used due to its high risk—the aircraft was quickly and safely launched. The rising air currents caused Sheeta to cling tightly to Pazu's waist.

But being high in the air, the airflow was extremely unstable. As the air howled, the aircraft began to spin uncontrollably. Fortunately, the steel cable was strong enough to prevent the two from being thrown out!

"Ah!!! Shiita, hold me tight!!"

As Pazu roared, he frantically twisted the control stick. Soon, the aircraft calmed down. Pazu, feeling like he had been resurrected, looked at Sheeta's smiling face and said with a smile:

"Sheeta, take the rope out of my pocket and tie it around your waist!!"

"Um!!"

Dora was unable to hear this happy and sweet moment, since the megaphone was no longer effective, but Liu Yufei was very lucky to see it all!

Click, click, click...

A series of flashes followed, and Baru looked at Liu Yufei, who was hovering beside him, and said with a hint of annoyance:

"You're such a nuisance!!"

"Hahaha, Dora is really ruthless! Sending the two of you up here to carry out such a dangerous mission, I was just worried about you two, wasn't I?"

Although Balu said he hated it, his attitude towards Liu Yufei was much better than before, while Shida looked at Liu Yufei and said:

"Why are you following me?"

"Didn't I already say? I am..."

Liu Yufei originally intended to continue using his previous excuse to fool Xida, but after seeing Xida's sincere eyes, he withdrew his playful expression.

“Alright! I also want to go to Laputa. Only by following you can I find Laputa.”

Liu Yufei's tone was also very sincere, because he really wanted to see Laputa, as Liu Yufei, as a traveler, not as the guard he had fabricated before.

"Thanks..."

"Ah!! I didn't do anything! You're too kind! Hahaha!!"

Liu Yufei had considered any words Xida might use, but he never expected that Xida would ultimately say thank you, which left Liu Yufei speechless. He then scratched the back of his head and laughed sheepishly.

"Hida, why are you thanking him? I think he has ulterior motives too!!"

"You little brat, are you looking for a beating?!"

As he spoke, Liu Yufei clenched his fist, but didn't actually punch her. Instead, he smiled at Xida and said:

"I'll take care of things up there. You guys be careful too!!"

As he spoke, Liu Yufei flew into the sky. At that moment, Liu Yufei didn't know what he was thinking, or perhaps he had found something.

Liu Yufei's initial purpose was indeed Laputa, because of the flying stone crystals inside, and he also wanted to see Laputa's technology.

But at this moment, Liu Yufei had already put all those things behind him, because he knew that there were some things that were more important than Laputa, and more worthy of his protection.

That was Hida's sweet smile just now. It was a smile that Liu Yufei had never seen before. It was so innocent and charming that it could redeem a wounded soul!

Like Shan's gaze, but even more moving.

"Hehe, it seems I'm really stuck in this bodyguard role. But it's not bad, being a protector of flowers is pretty good!"

Liu Yufei is a traveler, and travelers have no destination. In the world of Princess Mononoke, all Liu Yufei saw was sadness, and even the fleeting moments of warmth were eventually swallowed up by the smoke of war.

Liu Yufei himself knew that his soul was inclined towards darkness, and the darker the soul, the more it craved light. As long as there was even a sliver of light, Liu Yufei would do his best to protect it. If that light disappeared, Liu Yufei would not hesitate to plunge the whole world into darkness!

Because of this personality trait, in the world of Princess Mononoke, he only intervened after coldly watching the Black Tide engulf everything.

Soon, a ray of dawn appeared on the horizon, and Liu Yufei came down as well.

"Baru, is there any water?!"

"Ah! Here you go!!"

Liu Yufei didn't stand on ceremony and started gulping down the water, finishing half the bottle in no time!

"Hey! You bastard, leave me some!!"

This was water for both him and Xida, but Liu Yufei drank it all in one gulp. Liu Yufei then laughed and said:

"Don't worry, we'll reach our destination soon!!"

Pazu twisted the bottle cap, and sunlight streamed in through the clouds. Shida, seeing the sunlight coming from the side, immediately looked worried and said:

"Baru, we've gone off course!!"

"Oh no! Grandma Dora, we've gone off course!!"

Baru immediately picked up the telephone, because they were heading southeast, and the sun should have been at their angle, but it was now at their side.

"What, have you spotted the Goliath?"

"No, we've gone astray!!"

"It seems the winds have shifted, you guys..."

"Ah! Look over there!!"

"What? They've spotted the Goliath?!"

Of course it wasn't the Goliath, but rather that Sheeta had spotted a huge cloud formation ahead. Liu Yufei also turned to look and immediately smiled, saying:

"Hahaha, Laputa, Laputa has finally arrived!! Grandma, stabilize the spaceship! Laputa is protected by the Goddess of Wind."