Chapter 140: Reception
As the second-largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country, Walvis Bay played a role similar to Shangdu’s role in the Mainland.
Walvis Bay was also the only deep-water port in a 3,000 kilometers span of coastline between Lobito, Angola, and Cape Town, Rainbow Country.
In 2014, the Mainland contracted an $800 million U.S. dollar land reclamation project in Namibia around the region of Walvis Bay and built a modern deepwater port.
This project was not officially completed until October of 2019.
The new port included a container port of 800 TEU per hectare that was capable of handling loads up to 100,000 tons. Its specification also included a 372-meter-long cruise terminal and a 410,000-square-meter land storage yard. Corresponding supporting facilities such as railways, highways, water, electricity, and communications facilities, along with housing construction were established as well.
This was to say that without this port, there was no way that Walvis Bay could dock a cruise ship like the Symphony of the Seas.
At just three o’clock at noon, a fleet of vehicles made their grand appearance at the port of Walvis Bay, attracting the attention of countless residents from afar.
Due to the construction of the nuclear power plant, the day-to-day activities at the port were extremely lively. There were always cargo ships traveling from afar docking at the port one after another. After being unloaded, their cargos were transported by countless heavy load trucks and sent to the nuclear power plant construction site.
This was the reason Chen Chen had to construct the nuclear power plant somewhere nearby Walvis Bay.
In addition to being the only deepwater port in Namibia, Walvis Bay was also connected to the railroad. The farther the nuclear power plant was from Walvis Bay, the higher the transportation cost of materials, and vice versa.
By the time Chen Chen’s fleet appeared at the Walvis Bay customs, the supreme officer had already been waiting for him there. Chen Chen greeted the officer with a firm handshake and promptly informed the officer of the reason for his arrival.
The other party knew better than to give Chen Chen any trouble, they quickly sorted out all the formal procedures for Chen Chen. They even took care of the formal procedures for the other family members who had yet to arrive in Namibia. The only thing they needed was their signatures.
After nearly half an hour, they spotted a small white dot appearing at the horizon far away. Its appearance was accompanied by a distant whistle, it appeared to be a cruise ship.
As the cruise ship drew closer, many people present at the scene were floored by the sheer size of the cruise ship.
“It’s the Symphony of the Seas!”
It was one of the giant cruise ships that could count itself among the ranks of the top five in the Federation. It held a prestigious reputation in the marine-related industry. The crowd began to murmur and discuss upon hearing someone’s comments about the ship.
The cruise ship began to draw closer with every pa.s.sing second. What followed after was a spectacular visual. It was like facing a twenty-four stories tall building that was continuously drawing closer like a roaring mountain!
As the crowd was feeling the weight of the enormous beast, there was another dull roar, a deep and heavy rumble. It was like the bellowing of a sea monster residing under the depths of the ocean.
It took another half an hour before the t.i.tan cruise ship docked itself by the harbor.
As the pa.s.senger elevator was lowered, a group of aged but graceful and n.o.ble-looking Caucasian crowd began making their descent from above.
There were a total of fifty-eight people who came to the research center for the age-reversal treatment, nearly three times more than the previous batch. The group of gray-haired elders pa.s.sed through the customs on the grounds of traveling and partic.i.p.ation in international meetings. They then exchanged pleasantries with Chen Chen before entering the escort vehicles Chen Chen had prepared for them and headed for the research center.
Chen Chen, on the other hand, boarded the cruise ship with Qian Wenhuan and Cheng Cao.
“Please come with me, sirs.”
The person tasked with welcoming Chen Chen was an ashen-haired man who gave off an impression of being a butler. “I’m the advisor of Prince Steel, His Highness has been waiting for you for some time.”
“Thank you.”
Chen Chen nodded. “I heard that His Highness reserved the entire cruise ship?”
“That’s right, Prince Steele put in 20 million U.S. dollars for full ownership of the Symphony of the Seas for a month. Apart from the 2175 crewmates on board, there are only 500 pa.s.sengers. Around 100 of them accounted for the other esteemed guests of other families, the rest are all their accompanying followers and friends.”
Chen Chen nodded and silently marveled at the extravagant lifestyle of Middle Eastern culture. 20 million U.S. dollars for a month was around 1.3 billion Renminbi, exceeding the annual target Old w.a.n.g had set.
“The primary motive for reserving this cruise ship is because His Highness is very fond of the entertainment provided on this cruise.”
The ashen-haired elder marveled with pride. “There are seven activity sections on the Symphony of the Seas. This includes the central park, the Parkway Happy City, the Royal Avenue shopping street, dozens of swimming pools of various sizes, a spa, and a fitness center.”
As they chatted, Chen Chen officially stepped into the cruise. It appeared to be pre-planned for Chen Chen to enter from the tail end of the ship. The moment he boarded the ship, he was greeted by the scenery of a mini garden.
It made sense to call it mini since the total area of the square was only a few thousand square meters. The garden part of the description came from the wide variety of plantations decorating the area. There were various bars and restaurants on both sides, Chen Chen even caught a glimpse of a steakhouse and an Italian restaurant.
As they continued advancing, Chen Chen saw more bars, gyms, basketball courts, spa centers, and a theater that could host up to two thousand people...
Even though this was just a small preview, Chen Chen was completely floored by the sheer magnitude of the cruise ship and how well facilitated it was.
After walking for roughly ten minutes, Chen Chen finally arrived at the destination. It was the largest banquet hall in the Symphony of the Seas.
At the moment, there were a large number of people gathered in the banquet hall to welcome Chen Chen’s arrival, it was a great show of gesture. Unlike the previous spectacle where it was mostly aged members, the majority of them were the younger men and women of the respective families and relatives.
There were more than a hundred people present.
“Welcome, Mr. Chen.”
The one leading in front was a man from the Sand Continent. He had a white turban wrapped around him and had a ma.s.sive beard. Chen Chen had seen him on the television in the past, he was the brother of the king of the Sand Continent, Prince Steele.
Unlike the other continents, the Sand Continent still upheld an autocratic monarchy system. Strictly speaking, he held the highest authority of all people present at the scene.
“Your Highness, I’m flattered by your grand reception.”
Chen Chen bowed slightly as a show of respect, Prince Steele approached him and kissed Chen Chen’s cheek as they have always done in their culture.
What followed after was a lengthy introduction where Prince Steele introduced Chen Chen to dozens of esteemed families present. It was only after the introductions had concluded that they officially began the banquet of the night.
The banquet was hosted in the form of a buffet. Dishes from all over the world were presented including hot pot, barbecue, seafood, j.a.panese food, pizza, and so on.
Right beside them was a world-cla.s.s band weaving together musical chords and symphonies, delivering a magnificent musical performance. Chen Chen had a chance to see for himself the refinement which the true royal cla.s.ses indulged in.
The people came and went, forming small circles among themselves and making conversation. Countless business opportunities were birthed this way amid their many discussions, businesses where common people would never see, hear nor get a single cent of.
Chen Chen let Qian Wenhuan and Cheng Cao be on their own, Qian Wenhuan had already found someone to mingle with. Cheng Cao, on the other hand, kept to himself at the edges of the buffet while munching down his steak.
After mingling around with the crowd, Chen Chen left the banquet hall and went to the deck outside the venue.
Without even sensing the pa.s.sing of time, midnight had already come upon the cruise ship.
The Symphony of the Seas had long set sail into the vast blue sea again shortly after Chen Chen had boarded it. The night sky dyed in indigo drowned itself into the dark green ocean, there was no telling where the horizon which separated the two started and ended.
“The moon of the sea shines ever the same across all the different worlds...”
Chen Chen recited a familiar ancient poem.
“Good poem, good poem.”
There were approaching footsteps coming from behind. Shortly after, a tall and broad figure appeared by Chen Chen’s side and leaned on the railing just like how Chen Chen did. “I’ve always found myself captivated by the ancient poetry and culture of the Mainland.”
“Mr. Leo, you’ve heard of this one before too?” Chen Chen tilted his head and asked.
This was not the first time Chen Chen had met this man. This was the very man the Foster family sent the very first time Chen Chen sent the invitation to the eleven families.
Leo Foster. The only heir of Norman Foster, who was at the helm of the Foster family.