Chapter 3' "Returning Gifts"
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"Desperate situations can make people give up, but as long as there's hope, the desire to survive will push the body to fight. Fortunately, I can provide that hope.
Don't you think a ready-made model of an escape plan would be more convincing to them than just you and Ginny's vague idea?"
Tangible objects always carried more weight than mere promises.
As he spoke, Oran led them to another cabin.
The space here was cluttered, with a variety of objects scattered around: mechanical lotuses, strange mechanical parts, potions emitting a purple fluorescence, eggs of unknown creatures, mysterious green fruits, and even a few crawling green beetles.
Oran picked up two cannon-like devices and handed them to Ivankov and Ginny, then carefully put away the lotus flowers.
"You're right," Ivankov conceded, "but what does that have to do with returning the gift?"
"The idea," Oran began, "is to show the natives here that we have a tangible, practical way to leave. But that alone isn't enough. The ones responsible for all this are the Celestial Dragons. Ignoring them would be... difficult for me."
There was no emotion in Oran's eyes, and his tone remained calm. But if his former employees had been present, they would have immediately recognized this as a sign that their boss was in a foul mood, with his bottom line clearly crossed.
As a rule, anyone who offended Oran in such a manner never came to a good end. Be it the Alchemist Baron of Zaun or a councilor of Piltover, Oran always found a way to retaliate.
"Are you saying you're going to..." Ivankov began but hesitated.
"It's simple," Oran interrupted. "I will make sure they can't achieve what they've set out to do.
The Celestial Dragons want to exterminate this island? Fine, I'll take as many people as I can and get them out.
The Celestial Dragons see this place as their hunting ground? Then I'll shatter the myths surrounding them, right here."
If not for the dire situation, Ivankov might have thought Oran sounded more like a hunter than a prey. There was a special kind of confidence in his demeanor, one that was hard to ignore.
In truth, Oran intended to use his actions to redefine the roles of hunter and prey—something that wasn't as straightforward as it seemed.
The Celestial Dragons were the world's aristocracy, protected by the navy. Everyone knew that attacking the Celestial Dragons would bring down the wrath of the navy admirals. This was common knowledge on the seas.
For most naval personnel, protecting the Celestial Dragons was seen as their duty. Years of indoctrination meant that even if the Celestial Dragons took everything from them, many still wouldn't dare to resist.
Even though Ivankov harbored thoughts of resistance, his primary goal was to escape and prevent the Celestial Dragons from achieving their aims.
But none of this mattered to Oran. Whether in his original world or in Valoran, his perspective remained the same.
Especially in the world of Valoran, where humans had never been idle in the face of demigods or noble Protoss. There were countless examples of humans who had slain gods and shattered myths.
"Shatter the myth? Are you saying you're going to..." Ivankov trailed off, looking at the weapon in his hand and processing Oran's words.
He thought of a possibility, one so audacious he wouldn't have dared to consider it under normal circumstances. But he still needed confirmation from Oran.
"They have one head and two shoulders, just like us," Oran said coldly. "If they can kill, why can't we kill them?
They may be descendants of the first 20 kings, but so what? The glory of their ancestors isn't some invincible aura.
You said there are 200 Celestial Dragon hunters scattered across this island. I admit, our current abilities aren't enough to take on the top elites among them.
But the Celestial Dragons themselves? They're nothing but trash. Killing one of them is more than possible."
"Hee... This is a truly unexpected plan..."
No one knew the full truth of what had happened in the distant past, but ever since Joy Boy's failure during the Void Century, there had been almost no voice of opposition to the Celestial Dragons on the seas.
Over a hundred years ago, a mysterious robot had attacked the Red Line but ultimately failed. Since then, there had been no attempts as audacious as Oran's idea.
"Oran, you must survive."
"What are you talking about?"
"What I mean is that your idea—to one day shatter the foundation of the Celestial Dragons' rule—is monumental. Even if you're the only one who escapes from here, it will already be a great victory."
Ivankov's tone grew excited. At just 15 years old, it didn't take much to stir his emotions.
Oran's words seemed to open the door to a new world for him. But Oran, in contrast, remained calm and showed no excitement.
"Don't give me that weird compliment. I'm only doing this for myself," Oran replied bluntly.
"Wait! Wait! Both of you calm down!" Ginny interrupted. "Isn't our plan right now to escape?
While what you're saying is certainly shocking, Oran, the Celestial Dragons are not so easy to kill.
They must have life cards. If we kill one of them directly, I'm afraid the navy protecting them on this island will go berserk. Then what?"
Ginny felt her older brother was getting far too carried away by this man he had just met, even becoming somewhat irrational. She admitted that Oran's words made sense, but they couldn't bear the consequences of such an incident.
"Of course, we won't kill one directly," Oran said. "Even if it's a sacrifice, it'll happen before the full expedition.
But those 200 Celestial Dragons don't need to sign in daily.
All we need is to catch one at the right moment, and then find another opportune moment to kill them. That's all it takes to achieve our goal."
Once the myth of their invincibility was shattered, the seeds of resistance could begin to sprout.
This was part of Oran's so-called return gift, though whether this spark of rebellion would truly ignite across the seas was still uncertain.
"The weapons I just gave you are net guns," Oran explained. "They fire a 90-caliber rope net, the kind used by Piltover police.
The recoil is a bit strong, so go test it outside later. If you have any questions, I'll teach you how to use it."
Oran also needed craftsmen to help assemble the Hextech device, which meant gathering more people in one place.
According to the intelligence provided by Ivankov and Ginny, the Celestial Dragons referred to the slaves and natives on the island as "Tuotuo" and used a point system to rank them.
There were 13 SR-level Rabbits and 150 R-level Rabbits, with a total of more than 100,000 people who were all considered hunting targets for the Celestial Dragons.
To earn more points, the Celestial Dragons would prioritize densely populated areas for their attacks.
However, human nature was fragile under the threat of death. No one could predict what someone might do when faced with their own mortality.
While some might hold steadfast to their ideals, the current circumstances left no room for trial and error.
Before recruiting a larger group, Oran needed a small, reliable team to ensure the implementation of the plan and maintain order among those gathered.
Given their shared intelligence and alternative plan, Ivankov and Ginny became Oran's priority choices.
"This net gun is indeed very strong. Ordinary Celestial Dragons shouldn't be able to break free," Ivankov remarked as he tested it.
"But the recoil is so strong that Ginny might struggle to use it effectively," he added, glancing at his sister.
At this point, Oran had already used the ship's cutting machine to remove the siblings' handcuffs. He had taught them how to operate the net gun and introduced them to various trap props they could use.
It didn't take Ivankov long to get used to the weapon's recoil, but it was still a bit challenging for Ginny at the moment.
Even adult women would be pushed back slightly when firing the rope net due to its recoil. The weapon was from the same series as the equipment used by Caitlyn, the Piltover police officer, but it had undergone some modifications.
Ginny's malnourished and young body made it difficult for her to handle the weapon. Instead, she primarily used the Den Den Mushi in her hand to gather information from the island.
Den Den Mushi was one of the unique species in this ocean. It lived in various regions, and its main body was a special wild snail. With the addition of certain parts, it could be transformed into a telephone.
Using parts from Oran's ship, Ginny had modified a wild snail she found in God Valley. The enhanced equipment allowed her to eavesdrop on more information.
"Those Celestial Dragons are about to start hunting, but a slave from the Buccaneer tribe has just escaped. They're probably headed in that direction," Ginny reported.
She checked a simple topographic map and roughly pinpointed an area. At that moment, her headphones picked up a new signal fluctuation, and her expression lit up with excitement.
"Brother Ivankov, Oran, I've detected a lot of signal fluctuations in the nearby waters. It seems the message I sent out earlier has been received!"
"Haha! That's great news," Ivankov said with a grin. "It'd be even better if some powerful allies showed up. The more chaos we cause, the better our chances."
With the tools and equipment on Oran's ship, Ginny's talents were proving invaluable.
She had even contacted people from the God Valley Shipyard and pinpointed their exact location, which she had now marked on the topographic map.
Meanwhile, Ivankov had mastered the weapon's loading and aiming. With their preparations nearly complete, Oran was ready to move on to the next phase of the plan.
"We can't put all our hopes in the unknown," Oran said. "No matter which plan we pursue, the three of us aren't enough. Let's take action first."