A "Return Gift"

"Desperation can make people give up, but as long as they are shown hope, their desire to survive will drive them to take a gamble. And I happen to be able to offer them that hope.

"Compared to the plan you and Ginny came up with, don't you think an escape plan with a working model would be more convincing?"

A tangible object was always more persuasive than a mere plan.

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

The things here were somewhat more cluttered, with all manner of different items.

Mechanically crafted lotuses, strange parts, potions glowing with purple fluorescence, eggs from unknown creatures, mysterious green fruits, and even several crawling green beetles.

Oran picked up two things resembling short cannons and handed them to Ivankov and Ginny, then put away the lotuses.

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

"The flying gate plan tells the natives here that we have a practical way to leave this place, but that isn't enough. The ones responsible for all this are the Celestial Dragons. Ignoring them would be a little difficult for me."

There was little change in Oran's expression, and even his tone remained calm. But if any of Oran's old employees had seen this, they would have realized that their boss was extremely unhappy right now. His bottom line had clearly been crossed.

By precedent, no one who offended their boss this badly ever met a good end. Whether it was Zaun's Alchemical Barons or Piltover's councilors, Oran always had a way to return tooth for tooth.

"Could it be that you want to..."

"It's very simple. Whatever they want to do, I'll make sure they can't do it.

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

"They treat this place as a hunting ground, so I'll shatter the myth surrounding them right here."

If he had not known the current situation, Ivankov might have thought Oran was the hunter instead. He sensed a peculiar confidence in Oran.

In truth, Oran also intended to prove through his actions who was the hunter and who was the prey. It would not be merely superficial.

The Celestial Dragons were World Nobles under the protection of the Navy. Attacking a Celestial Dragon would bring an Admiral down on one's head. This was common knowledge across the seas.

In the minds of many Marines, protecting the Celestial Dragons was one of their duties. After years of such conditioning, even if the Celestial Dragons wanted to take everything from them, many people would not dare resist.

Even though Ivankov had thoughts of rebellion, his current goal was only to escape and prevent the Celestial Dragons from achieving their objective.

But such ideas had no influence on Oran. That had been true both in his original world and during his life in Valoran.

Especially in Valoran. Whether it was the domains of demigods or the lofty Starborn, humanity had never simply waited for death. More than one person had committed the act of slaying gods.

"Shatter the myth? Could it be that you want to..."

Looking at the short cannon in his hands and hearing Oran's words, Ivankov thought of an outcome he would normally never have dared imagine.

But he still wanted confirmation from Oran.

"They have one head on two shoulders, just like us. They can kill people, so why can't we kill them?

"They are descendants of the original Twenty Kings, but so what? The glory of their ancestors is not some invincible halo.

"You said it yourselves: two hundred Celestial Dragon hunters will be scattered across this island. I admit we currently lack the strength to deal with those top-tier elites.

"But among the Celestial Dragons, there is no shortage of trash. We can still take down people like that."

"Hee-haw... What an unexpected plan..."

No one knew what had happened in more distant history, but after Joy Boy's failure during the Void Century, almost no voices opposing the Celestial Dragons had appeared on these seas again.

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

Such an outrageous idea as Oran's had not appeared for far too long.

"Oran, you have to survive."

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean, your idea will surely become the foundation for breaking the Celestial Dragons' rule someday. Even if you are the only one who can leave this place, it will still be a great victory."

Ivankov's tone was somewhat excited. At only fifteen, he was at an age when a few words could easily set his Hot Blood boiling.

Oran's words seemed to have opened the door to a New World for him, but Oran himself showed no excitement.

"Don't put some weird lofty title on me. I'm only doing this for myself."

"Wait! Wait! You two need to calm down first! Isn't our plan supposed to be escaping right now? Oran, what you said is indeed shocking, but Celestial Dragons are not that easy to kill.

"They must have Vivre Cards. If we kill one directly, the Marines protecting them on the island will probably go mad. When that happens..."

Ginny felt that her big brother and this person they had only recently met were becoming a little overexcited, even somewhat irrational. She admitted that Oran's words made sense, but the consequences of this were more than they could bear.

"Of course we won't kill one directly. Even if we were using someone to sacrifice to the banner, that would only happen before setting out. But those two hundred Celestial Dragons are not going to report in every day, are they?

"We only need to capture one at an appropriate time, then find another appropriate time to kill him. That will accomplish our goal."

Once a myth was shattered, the seeds of rebellion would begin to sprout.

This was also part of Oran's so-called return gift. But whether this tiny spark could truly ignite anything on these seas remained unknown.

"What I just gave you two are Net Guns. They fire ninety-caliber rope nets, standard Piltover police equipment. The recoil is a little strong, though. Try them outside later, and I'll teach you anything you don't understand."

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

And based on the intelligence Ivankov and Ginny had brought, the Celestial Dragons called the slaves and natives on the island "fleeing rabbits" and assigned them point values.

There were thirteen SR-rank fleeing rabbits, one hundred and fifty R-rank fleeing rabbits, and more than a hundred thousand people in total were targets of the Celestial Dragons' hunt. To gain more points, places where people were densely gathered would inevitably become the Celestial Dragons' priority targets.

Human nature could not withstand testing. No one could be certain what a person might do when faced with the threat of death.

Some could certainly hold fast to their principles, but in the current situation, there was no room for trial and error.

Therefore, before recruiting more people, Oran needed a small group of his own to ensure the plan could proceed smoothly and maintain order among those gathered here.

And Ivankov and Ginny, who had proposed another plan and shared intelligence with him, became Oran's priority choices.

"The rope net really is tough. Ordinary Celestial Dragons probably won't be able to break free, but Ginny will likely have trouble handling that recoil."

By now, Oran had used the ship's cutting machine to remove Ivankov and Ginny's handcuffs, taught them how to use the Net Guns, and shown them several trap devices.

Ivankov quickly became accustomed to the weapon's recoil, but it was still difficult for Ginny.

Even an adult woman would be knocked back a short distance by the recoil when the rope net fired. It was from the same series as Policewoman Caitlyn's equipment, though it had undergone some modifications.

Ginny's malnourished and young body could not operate this weapon. She mainly used the Den Den Mushi in her hands to steal intelligence from around the island.

Den Den Mushi were one of the unique species found on these seas. They lived in every region, and their original form was merely a type of special wild snail. Add a few components, and they could become telephones.

Using parts from Oran's ship, Ginny modified wild snails from God Valley. With the equipment enhanced, she intercepted even more information.

"The Celestial Dragons are about to begin their hunt, but a Buccaneer Tribe slave escaped just now. The direction he ran in should be roughly over there."

Ginny compared the information with a simple map and roughly narrowed down an area. Just then, the headphones she wore received a new signal fluctuation, and joy immediately appeared on her face.

"Big Brother Ivankov, Oran, I found a lot of signal fluctuations in the nearby waters. It looks like the message we spread earlier was received!"

"Hee-haw! That's good news. The more powerful people who come, the better. The more chaotic this place becomes, the more chances we'll have."

With the tools and equipment from Oran's ship supporting her, Ginny's talent was able to shine.

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

Ivankov had also become proficient at loading and aiming the weapon. Seeing that they were more or less prepared, Oran was ready to begin the next step of the plan.

"We can't place all our hopes on the unknown. In any case, whether it's either plan, the three of us aren't enough. Let's get moving first.

"Didn't someone escape again? There are still plenty of people who don't want to wait around to die."