"A Return Gift"

"Desperate situations make people give up, but as long as hope is shown, the will to survive will drive the body to fight. Coincidentally, I can provide that hope.

Compared to your and Ginny's plan, don't you think an escape plan with a ready-made model is more convincing to them?"

Tangible objects will always be more convincing than mere plans.

As he spoke, Oran led them to another deck of the ship.

The items here were slightly more disorganized, and the variety was vast.

Mechanically crafted lotuses, bizarre parts, potions emitting a purple glow, eggs of unknown creatures, mysterious green fruits, and several crawling green beetles could be seen.

Oran picked up two cannon-like objects and handed them to Ivankov and Ginny, then put away the lotuses.

"You're right, but what does that have to do with a return gift?"

"The Portal plan is to tell the natives here that we have a feasible method to leave. But that's not enough. The ones responsible for all this are the Celestial Dragons. Ignoring them is a bit difficult for me."

Oran's eyes showed little emotional change, and even his tone was calm. However, if his old employees saw this, they would realize that their boss was in a very displeased state, clearly having had his bottom line crossed.

According to custom, those who offended the boss this much never had a good ending. Whether it was an Alchemical Baron in Zaun or a Councilor in Piltover, Oran always had a way to retaliate.

"You don't mean..."

"It's a simple principle: whatever they want to do, I'll make sure they can't.

The Celestial Dragons want to exterminate this island, so I'll take some people away within my capabilities.

The Celestial Dragons treat this place as a hunting ground, so I'll shatter their myths here."

If Ivankov didn't know the current situation, he would have thought Oran was the hunter. He felt Oran possessed a special kind of confidence.

In fact, Oran intended to prove the identities of hunter and prey through actions, and it wasn't just on the surface.

The Celestial Dragons are world nobles, protected by the Navy. Attacking them would attract a Navy Admiral; this is common knowledge on the seas.

In the minds of many Navy members, protecting the Celestial Dragons was also part of their duty. After years of influence, many dared not resist even if the Celestial Dragons took everything from them.

Even if Ivankov had the thought of resisting, his goal at the moment was only to escape and prevent the Celestial Dragons from achieving their objectives.

But these thoughts did not affect Oran. It was the same in his original world as it was in Valoran.

Especially in Valoran, whether it was the territory of demigods or noble Starborn, humans never resigned themselves to fate. There were more than a few who had committed acts of god-slaying.

"Shatter their myths? You don't mean..."

Looking at the short cannon in his hand, coupled with Oran's statement, Ivankov thought of a conclusion he would normally never dare to consider.

Yet, he still wanted to confirm it with Oran.

"We all have two shoulders and a head. They can kill people, so can't we kill them?

They are descendants of the original 20 Kings, but so what? Ancestral glory is not an invincible halo.

As you both said, there will be 200 Celestial Dragon hunters scattered across the island. I admit our current abilities are insufficient to deal with those top elites.

But the Celestial Dragons are a group that produces a lot of trash. Dealing with guys like that is still doable."

"Shi Bulo... this is truly an unexpected plan..."

What happened in the more distant past was unknown, but after Joy Boy failed during the Void Century, there were almost no voices of opposition to the Celestial Dragons on this sea.

More than 100 years ago, a mysterious robot attacked the Red Line Continent, but it ultimately achieved nothing.

Such an outrageous idea from Oran hadn't appeared in a very long time.

"Oran, you have to survive."

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean, your idea will definitely shake the foundations of the Celestial Dragons' rule one day. Even if only you can leave here, it will be a great victory."

Ivankov's tone was somewhat excited. At only 15 years old, he was at an age where he could easily become passionate from a few words.

Oran's words seemed to open a new world for him, but Oran himself showed no signs of excitement.

"Don't put that strange, high hat on me. I'm just doing it for myself."

"Wait! Wait! You two, calm down first! Isn't our plan to escape right now? While what Oran said is indeed shocking, the Celestial Dragons aren't that easy to kill.

They definitely have Vivre Cards. If we kill one directly, the Navy protecting them on the island will go mad, and then..."

Ginny felt her older brother and this person she had only recently met were getting a bit too excited, even losing their reason. She admitted Oran's words made sense, but the consequences of this matter were something they couldn't afford to bear.

"Of course, we won't kill him directly. Even a sacrifice is made before the expedition. But those 200 Celestial Dragons, they won't report their numbers and check in every day, will they?

We just need to catch one at a suitable time and then kill him at another suitable time. The objective will be achieved."

Once a myth is broken, the seeds of rebellion should sprout.

This was also part of Oran's so-called return gift. However, on this great sea, whether this spark could truly ignite remained an unknown.

"The Net Guns I gave you both are for firing 90-caliber rope nets. They're Piltover police equipment, just with a bit of recoil. We'll test them outside later, and I'll teach you how to use them if you don't understand anything."

Oran needed some craftsmen to assist with his assembly, which meant more people would gather in one place.

And from the intelligence brought by Ivankov and Ginny, the Celestial Dragons referred to the slaves and natives on the island as "running rabbits" and had assigned them points.

There were 13 SR-level running rabbits and 150 R-level running rabbits. A total of over 100,000 people were targets for the Celestial Dragons' hunt. To obtain more points, densely populated areas would inevitably be the priority targets for the Celestial Dragons.

Human nature, however, cannot withstand trials. No one can be sure what a person is capable of when faced with the threat of death.

While some can hold onto their principles, the current situation leaves no room for error.

Therefore, before recruiting more people, Oran needed his own small group to ensure the smooth execution of his specific plan and to maintain order among those gathered here.

Ivankov and his companions, who had proposed another plan and shared intelligence, also became Oran's top priority.

"It's indeed a very resilient rope net. Those ordinary Celestial Dragons shouldn't be able to break free. It's just the recoil, Ginny might not be able to handle it well."

At this moment, Oran had already used the ship's cutter to remove the handcuffs from Ivankov and Ginny, taught them how to use the Net Gun, and demonstrated some trap items.

Ivankov soon got used to the weapon's recoil, but it was still a bit difficult for Ginny at this time.

Even an adult woman would be pushed back a short distance by the recoil when the rope net is fired. It's from the same series as the Piltover Enforcer Caitlyn's equipment, though it has been modified slightly.

Ginny, with her malnourished and young body, couldn't operate this weapon. She was mostly using the Den Den Mushi in her hand to steal information on the island.

Den Den Mushi are one of the unique species on this great sea, living in various regions. Their bodies are just wild, special snails, and with a few parts, they can become telephones.

Ginny had used parts from Oran's ship to modify the wild snails of God Valley, and with the enhanced equipment, she had also eavesdropped on more information.

"Those Celestial Dragons are about to start hunting, but just now a Buccaneer Tribe slave escaped. The direction of escape is roughly that way."

Ginny cross-referenced the simple map and roughly determined a section. Just then, she received new signal fluctuations through the headset she was wearing, which couldn't help but make her face light up with joy.

"Brother Ivankov, Oran, I've detected many signal fluctuations in the nearby sea. It looks like the messages we spread earlier have been received!"

"Hee hee! That's great news. The more powerful guys who show up, the more chaotic things get here, and the more opportunities we'll have."

With the support of the tools and equipment on Oran's ship, Ginny's talent was able to shine.

She even contacted people at the God Valley shipyard and obtained their specific location, which has now been roughly marked on the map.

Ivankov had also skillfully mastered the loading and aiming of the weapon. Seeing that they were all almost ready, Oran prepared to start the next step of his plan.

"I hope not everything can be left to the unknown. In any case, no matter which plan it is, the three of us are not enough. Let's get started.

Isn't there another one who escaped? There are still quite a few people who don't want to wait for death."