_________POV Narration__________
The people in the auditorium weren't taking the formally dressed middle-aged man seriously enough.
They actually thought he was entertaining. Meant to showcase the strength of the provisional hunters taking part in the expedition.
After all, a man able to stop people with just his voice wasn't something you could see every day. Many actually wanted to hire him as a bodyguard now.
Still, some of the smarter people were taking this seriously. Like Cheadle, who had really hoped something like this wouldn't happen.
She would obviously be present for such an event, in fact, most of the Zodiacs were present. Only around 3 of them were tasked with guarding Beyond Netero.
'Thankfully the guests weren't discouraged by this...' Were Cheadle's thoughts right now.
After all, the Kakin empire wouldn't have taken kindly to a hunter showing such disdain for their expedition.
Especially if he influenced the opinion of other people of importance. Although his words still made some people silently question the safety of the expedition.
After all, the announcer downplayed the dangers of the expedition quite a bit, whilst Ashton was blunt and forward about the fact that all of them were in great danger.
Ashton did basically spit on their promise of bringing a lot of people to the unexplored 'new' continent.
The existence of the Dark Continent should've remained a secret.
Many of the people in the audience had been somewhat moved by the old scientist's performance. Whether of his strength, or his courage.
This was the ship of a powerful empire at the end of the day. And he had implied that it was going to end up ruined.
His words were simple, sure, but none could miss the underlying threat in them.
The shift in atmosphere and the whispers that followed Ashton's little speech were concerning to Cheadle.
She could only hope that things would work out in the end.
_________POV Ashton__________
As expected, they didn't heed my warning at all. The ship set sail without any hitch. No complaint or anything of the sort.
We've already been on waters for three days straight.
I surprisingly didn't have any trouble with guards or hunters trying to arrest me or things of that nature.
But I guess not all of them were pleased with my 'negativity' as some were looking at me oddly. Like I'm some type of unbeliever in a religious cult.
I've not yet been able to find any of the Zodiacs either, so I've mostly spent my time idling and waiting. I guess I will have to ask for directions eventually.
But for now? I have yet to explore the entire ship. And it seems this isn't all that peaceful of a journey.
There are quite a few stowaways too. Usually, in a ship this big, it would be impossible to tell who is and isn't invited. But I am quite sure a group of thieves wouldn't be invited at all.
I could see three people looking around, one was a man covered in bandages and wore boxing gloves(for some reason), one was a lady wearing glasses, a black blouse, short black hair, and jeans.
And the last was the ever unaffected by the circumstances around her, the pink-haired, traditionally dressed, Machi.
I wasn't even looking for people I know, I just happened to be walking around on the 4th tier of this ship and caught a glimpse of them. I obviously haven't forgotten about them yet.
Although, the structure of this ship sure is confusing. The ship itself is split into 5 different tiers. At the very top, live all of the 'important' people, celebrities, politicians, royalty.
There are around 2000 people in total on the first two tiers of this ship. 500 of which are the aforementioned 'important' people, and the rest are either guards or doctors.
At least that's what I gathered from looking at the crowds in that tier. The auditorium may have been large, but only the members of the first two tiers were actually there in person.
The rest must've had to watch a broadcast of sorts. After all, what was being said is rudimentary information that every passenger should know.
The lower tiers are filled to the brim with actual non-fighting regular people. They are all thinking that they are leaving their lives behind to start anew.
At least 180 thousand people looking for a fresh start. Unfortunately, they decided to embark on what is essentially a suicide ship.
I mean, it seems to be quite sturdy upon further inspection, so the sea monsters might not destroy it... At least the ones on the surface. The depth of that sea is filled with monstrous beings that I don't really know the limit of.
Now, I am unaware of how exactly they plan on defending themselves with only 1500 guards(at most) on the Dark Continent. But hey, I didn't write the propaganda about it.
From what I've heard, they consider it to be a place filled with opportunity and potential. They seem to be forgetting the fact that no meal in the world is free.
And it sure as hell won't be a great experience for anyone involved(besides me).
I'll stick around to watch my former family be satisfied with this little snack trying to sneak into our home.
Now, I've been following the three Phantom Troop members for a while now. I do want to see how Chrollo is doing, the little shit didn't even call me and thank me for saving his skin.
But, I guess he would be a bit hesitant to call me at all. After all, I wasn't exactly the most affectionate teacher to him... Although, I did try to show him some important things.
I guess he didn't really understand most of them. I mean, who exactly lets their very wanted associates prance around in the middle of a very populated ship.
I sure wouldn't. I really want to have a talk with him though, I need to find out why he would join this expedition.
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