They read the contents of this letter together and agreed. Nolan, Arlen, Rothur, Grimor, and the cloaked man signed this letter below the writing and stamped their signatures with their thumbprints using their blood as ink. Nolan put this letter back in a metal cylindrical case and closed it.

“It’s best if you guys stay here for a while because maybe we still have some business to finish.”

The others agreed with Nolan’s suggestion.

The time was 11:00 p.m., Earth time. They continued talking with each other while drinking. Nolan stood on the balcony while leaning forward on the glass railing with wooden frames and glossy wooden handrails. Nolan looked ahead at the atmosphere of Ark-001’s city night view, which was still busy even though it was getting late, and flying vehicles were still quite a lot, passing among the city buildings. Nolan was lost in his thought and stared blankly at the city view before him.

The others played a game similar to billiards, and Grimor sat on the sofa while reading a book. Rothur noticed Nolan and walked toward him. Rothur leaned forward on the railing beside Nolan, who didn’t notice his arrival.

“Is there something bothering you, Nolan?”

Nolan came to his senses and turned to Rothur.

“Oh, I was just thinking about Uncle Vazarlo again.”

Rothur was slightly surprised. His expression then turned gloomy.

“An unforgettable name not only because Uncle Vazarlo was close to us but also because he is Vazarlo Roxel, the Legendary Wanderer.”

Nolan smiled, but there was sadness he was trying to hide. Rothur smiled with a somewhat gloomy expression.

“I didn’t expect that day to be the last time we saw him.”

Nolan’s expression turned gloomy.

“That’s right, and Uncle Vazarlo’s last message to us is still fresh in my mind.”

Rothur was slightly surprised.

“Is that still bothering you?”

Nolan nodded, his gaze fixated on the cityscape before him.

“Right, I don’t know what he meant by leaving the hope of the universe to us.”

Rothur’s expression turned confused.

“If I think about it again, his message at that time didn't sound ordinary, even when I hear it again now.”

Nolan shook his head.

“It’s a shame he isn’t here to explain. But he said that we’ll understand it ourselves someday.”

Rothur appeared to remember something. His expression showed if something was bothering him.

“Perhaps that has something to do with your powers?”

Nolan was slightly surprised.

“I don’t know either....”

Nolan remained expressionless. Rothur smiled and patted Nolan on the shoulder, slightly surprising him.

“If it had something to do with your powers, you can already control it now.”

Nolan smiled.

The time was getting late, and each of them was still busy doing something different to one another. Nolan walked into the room.

“How about if tomorrow you guys take a day off? It would be a shame if you just missed the opportunity to have a vacation in Ark city.”

Arlen appeared excited.

“Good idea, tomorrow we’ll go on vacation!”

Rothur looked at Arlen astonishedly, then smiled.

The servants escorted them to their respective luxurious rooms. The bed was on a higher floor surface, which could be accessed by short stairs, a kitchen bar, a place to relax with a wide TV in the middle, a wardrobe, a bathroom, a toilet, and rows of tall glossy wooden framed glass double doors with automatic curtains, showing the beautiful night view of Ark city. Arlen, Rothur, Grimor, and the cloaked man were enjoying their room happily.

The next day, the morning atmosphere occurred at the Ark’s city, with the lights on the city’s ceiling being lit up to resemble the Earth’s morning sunlight. Arlen, Rothur, Grimor, and the cloaked man were having breakfast at the restaurant on one of the balconies of the skyscraper where they were staying. This restaurant had a partially shaded roof and a roofless one, with groups of tables and chairs facing each other, bordered by a purple hedge over rectangular plant beds. Their tables were in a row of similarly arranged groups of tables on the edge of a glass railing with metal frames and handrails.

Mountains of food piled up on their table, and they ate breakfast while chatting. Only they ate in this restaurant, with several servants on guard if needed. Rothur was reading the city guidebook for newcomers to Ark-001 city. His expression turned confused.

“Hmm... there are many interesting places to visit.”

The cloaked man nodded.

“That’s right, it’s one of those cities with many sightseeing and entertainment places.”

While still with his mouth full, Arlen replied.

“Then we’ll just go over them all.”

Rothur turned to Arlen with a deadpan expression. Grimor was reading the same guidebook.

“Let’s just try to go to as many places as possible.”

The others nodded curiously.

After breakfast, they got up from their seats and walked to the wharf to board the flying vehicles provided, the same as yesterday. Their vehicles took off vertically and then flew away steadily. The first place they came to was an expansive, three-story, modern-style shopping mall filled with various humanoid races. They shopped for various items such as clothes, shoes, etc.

Sometime later, each of them wore casual clothes: short-sleeved shirts, knee-length shorts, hats, and sandals, with the cloaked man still wearing his cloak, mask, gauntlets, and boots. Grimor looked at the cloaked man astonishedly.

“You’d better relax a bit and remove your cloak and equipments.”

The cloaked man shook his head while crossing his arms.

“This equipment is too precious; I can’t carelessly leave it or entrust it to someone even for a while.”

Rothur nodded astonishedly, while Arlen and Grimor looked at the cloaked man curiously. Arlen looked around curiously.

“It’s pretty nice to go shopping like this occasionally.”

Grimor appeared to realize something and then nodded.

“You’re right; what other shops should we go to?”

They continued their activities.

In the afternoon, the lights on the city ceiling were getting brighter to resemble the afternoon sunlight of the Earth. They were now in a busy culinary area that provided various types of food and dishes from many parts of the universe on a pedestrian road with various rows of food stalls along its middle at a regular distance from each other. On the right and left sides of this quite long pedestrian road were rows of various restaurants with modern minimalist-style buildings, with the tallest buildings only three stories high. Arlen, Grimor, and Rothur sat next to each other on benches in various locations of this culinary area while carrying various kinds of foods, dishes, or drinks in their hands. Grimor looked around curiously.

“I’m going to admit that this city has a many culinary cultures.”

The cloaked man replied as he ate.

“Maybe it’s because the Ark City received people from across the universe who also brought their culinary culture here.”

Rothur looked around in amazement.

“Now that you mention it, it’s true that various races from across the universe own the food stalls and restaurants here.”

Arlen finished the food in his hand, stole one of Rothur’s foods without him noticing, and ate it with a smile.

“If my stomach can bear it, I’ll taste all kinds of foods and drinks here, hahaha.”

The others watched Arlen with a smile.

In the evening, the lights from the artificial sun lamps on the high metal ceiling were set to grow darker orange and dimmer as time went by. They arrived at an expansive amusement park surrounded by a vast area of trees and plants with various colours of leaves. They played several rides, such as roller coasters, Ferris wheels, various arcade games, etc., most of which were rides that tested adrenaline, but they appeared cheerful without the slightest bit of pressure or scare. Sometime later, they sat together while eating their foods. Arlen smiled.

“Interesting, this place reminds me of when I was still on earth.”

The cloaked man nodded.

“I feel the same way; I haven’t been to the amusement park in a long time.”

Rothur appeared normal.

“Somehow feels a bit boring....”

Grimor smiled.

“I also feel normal, maybe because everything we are used to has numbed our senses to be afraid of extreme things, hahaha.”

Grimor laughed casually. The others watched him curiously and smiled.

At night, the lights on the city’s high ceiling were turned off and replaced with many smaller light dots resembling stars, scattered all over the city’s ceiling. Arlen and the others were touring the casino, a three-story, magnificent, modern classic style white building decorated with beautiful carvings on various corners with various types and shapes of lights, and various panel displays. Inside the building was vast and dim, with a two-story high ceiling.

Arlen was participating in an arm wrestling match and had just won against a whitish-orange-skinned humanoid race with large canine teeth on their lower jaws and burly bodies. Arlen’s victory caused an uproar among the people gathered around them. Arlen smiled cheerfully; the referee, wearing a vest suit and from the purple-skinned humanoid race, looked at him awkwardly and frowned.

“This is your umpteenth victory, you... you’re not cheating, are you?”

Arlen looked astonishedly at the referee.

“Of course not, haven’t you checked on me?”