Extra Chapter 5 - Li stumbles upon something important

Things had calmed down a bit after the group was taken to the zeppelin to evacuate Ironwave Anchorage. While the two kids were more focused on their unconscious teammate, Li remained by one of the windows, watching with intense focus the hellish chaos unfolding nearby.

Those enormous steel giants were wreaking havoc wherever they went, and the energy blast fired by one of them had claimed the lives of a large number of the Armada’s personnel. At that moment, a certain thought returned to Li’s mind—one he hated to recall, as it had been a deeply traumatic experience during his early months in that reality. A large group of people, a massive airship soaring through the skies, and a rain of fire falling overhead, all followed by a fog that made it very difficult for him to remember how they had survived.

⌠Skill: Analyze Lv2⌡ ⌠…⌡ ⌠…⌡ [Sea Titan ‘Portbreaker’- Rank A ] ⌠Additional Information⌡ ⌠A formidable war machine used by the pirate faction ‘Thunderstrike Dreadnoughts’ to dominate both land and sea. These headless giants have a massive, cube-shaped body made of riveted steel plates reinforced with iron bands, giving them a brutal and imposing appearance. Each Sea Titan is equipped with powerful, gear-driven limbs, allowing it to trudge effortlessly along the ocean floor, unaffected by the crushing depths. At the center of its chest, a large, glowing power core hums ominously, capable of unleashing devastating electric rays that can obliterate enemy ships or fortifications with enough charge time.⌡

The man furrowed his brow and adjusted his hat. He certainly didn't like the idea of them almost getting trapped in a place filled with such high-ranking war machines. Yet, he seemed oddly pleased with what had transpired, as if he had known all along that the attack was bound to happen.

As he watched everything unfold in the distance while they moved away, he couldn't help but pull out the strange copper coin he'd acquired the day before from one of his pockets. He clearly remembered the instructions Victor had given him and wondered where all this would lead. He couldn't lie to himself; it was the first time in a long while that he felt genuinely excited. If everything went as planned, he held in his hand a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—something that could bring him closer to... well, he already knew, there was no need to dwell on it.

Li remained calm for the rest of the journey. He took the opportunity to rest in a corner and even took a nap, though he was still being watched by a couple of soldiers. At least he could be thankful that the cuffs they had put on him were anything but restrictive, unlike the ones they had been forced to wear on Captain Magnus’s ship, these cuffs had a chain separating both sections, so long it was practically as if his hands were free.

Li didn't really know how many hours it took to reach the landing site; all he knew was that no one had bothered to wake him up. The focus was entirely on the large number of wounded they had brought with them, so much so that Li's nap ended simply due to the noise. With a sigh of resignation, he quickly made his way to where Drake and Kazue were, intending to suggest that they disembark and wait outside. After all, it seemed like it had already been quite a while since Adam’s body had been taken away by the medical team.

"But what will happen to Mr. Sebastian and Nikolai? We don’t know what could have happened to them during the destruction of the walls"

The blonde asked, his voice full of concern.

"Forget it; in the best-case scenario, they were evacuated along with the entire medical guild that was at the camp. Think about it—wouldn't it be strange for them to have been left behind when there were orders for an immediate retreat?"

Li replied, trying to sound reassuring even though he didn’t care much, maybe they were dead, well, too bad for them but that was life inside these stories.

After that, things unfolded a bit more naturally. They managed to disembark from the zeppelin and stayed around until a couple of soldiers noticed their presence. The soldiers then escorted them to another area inside the complex, surprised that they had remained so calm despite technically being prisoners—something that would likely help with the story Li had told the Commodore.

There was something to admit—even with all the soldiers and medics rushing around, the place was quite impressive. It seemed they had arrived at none other than a base of one of the Ironclad Armada regiments. Not exactly the kind of place where they'd normally take pirate prisoners, but given the circumstances with the evacuation of the wounded, it was likely the only option they had.

They were kept waiting in a simple room with only a few chairs for quite some time—perhaps even more than an hour, which passed slowly and in silence. Still, they were at least given some water, a small comfort that suggested they were still considered prisoners. Yet, as Kathlene herself had noted, it seemed the authorities were uncertain if they were truly pirates or merely victims caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Rear-Admiral Basil is ready to see the suspects. Please have the first one come in."

The soldiers immediately obeyed, signaling for Kazue to rise from her seat. However, before she could comply, Li stood up and took a few steps forward.

"I’ll go first. The kids might still be a bit shaken by everything that’s happened."

The two soldiers simply looked at each other and then at the secretary, who shrugged, indicating that it really didn’t matter who went in first. This was accepted by both, guiding Li into the room. It was a relatively large, almost empty room, illuminated by a single window on the back wall and furnished with nothing more than a table with some books and two chairs. One of the chairs was occupied by a tired-looking man in a white military uniform, adorned with at least five impressive emblems on the right side of his chest, resembling military medals.

"Please leave him here and exit the room."

He said in a raspy voice, revealing his thick mustache and the small wrinkles on his face. While he wasn’t exactly old, it was obvious he had quite some years behind him.

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“Sit and explain”

The soldiers obeyed and exited the room, closing the door behind them, while Li moved closer and sat in the only available chair, facing the Rear-Admiral, who looked at him with an expression that suggested he didn’t want to be there at that moment.

“So? I don’t have all day”

A bit annoyed by the disdain he was being treated with, Li began recounting everything that had happened, carefully sticking to the version he had given to the Commodore, while the man in front of him read through a couple of papers he had in front of him. When Li finally finished his narration, the Rear-Admiral raised a hand to signal him to stop, then chuckled very softly without losing his tired expression.

"Heh... I really just wanted to see what bullshit you’d come up with, and it looks like you’ve just crafted a story from top to bottom. It’s not even worth the time you’ve made me spend here."

That response startled Li, which didn't happen very often.

“What do you mean?”

“*Sigh* Are you that stupid? Well, I suppose I can't expect much more from pirate scum. But for your information, preliminary reports from the survivors stated that you attacked without warning, using a great amount of fire, which fortunately was repelled... But at the same time, the preliminary report from the field soldiers indicates that inside another factory they found a large number of charred bodies—three soldiers and more than five civilian workers. Does that sound familiar?"

Li paled at those words, and although he tried his best to appear calm, it was nearly impossible for him.

"Always the same with you people, trying to shift the blame onto others as if your actions would never have consequences... Well, we have laws here too, and they dictate that all of you will be executed immediately and without trial. After all, we have evidence that you are nothing more than a band of murderers, just like any other I have had the displeasure of interrogating."

With that, Basil slowly rose from his seat and began stretching his arms to loosen up.

“Seems I don’t even need to hear the rest. I think it’s clear enough, don’t you agree? Please, follow me to the exit. I’ll take you to your place of execution. Believe me, it’ll be quick and only a little painful—unless, of course, you want to put up a fight. Please, do resist. I’ve been bored all day.”

Li remained motionless, his teeth clenched as never before, his mind racing to find any possible way to act. Could he confront Basil? Possibly not. If there was one thing he had learned from talking to pirates, it was the hierarchical structure of the Armada, and since Basil was a Rear-Admiral, that put him a rank above Commodore Kathlene, someone he definitely couldn’t defeat normally. And even if he could, what then? He was in the middle of an enemy base; escape would be impossible.

"Can I take your inaction as resistance to the sentence?"

The man said, beginning to form a malicious smile and slowly extending one of his arms toward Li, who finally decided on the only move he had left—a gamble that would determine his life.

With a swift motion, Li took advantage of the proximity of his hands to his pockets and pulled out the copper coin he had been keeping. To the soldier’s surprise, he slammed it onto the table and then simply closed his eyes, praying with all his might that it would make a difference.

Basil stood perplexed, staring at the object now on the desk for a few moments. Then he glanced at Li, and finally, he lowered his arm and slumped back into his chair.

"*Sigh* This is why I can't stand new recruits. They don't know shit about the basic structure or who they should report to. Now, tell me, why are you even here?"

Li's eyes flew open in disbelief, realizing how fortunate he was. Clearly, the gods and fate must have been smiling upon him. He wasted no time getting back on his feet and started to explain.

“I’m Finn O'Malley and we were sent here by executive Victor Reid to take part of ‘it’”

At that response, the Rear-Admiral raised an eyebrow in doubt.

“You? Really? What is that Reid thinking selecting a bunch of kids and an idiot?”

Clearly skeptical of what was being said, the Rear-Admiral continued questioning and pressing Li, who had to answer based on everything he remembered from the conversation he had at the Gearspire Stronghold tavern.

"Well, at least you're aware of what we're doing and what's happening. But what am I supposed to do? You're in the middle of nowhere in one of the most insignificant brigades of all. Why would you be here?"

"And that's exactly why this is the perfect place to be."

A mysterious voice spoke up at that moment, startling both Li and the Rear-Admiral. They turned their gaze toward the back wall, where a tall figure stood, their upper body shrouded in the shadow cast by the window.

"Hey, please don't scare me like that. At my age, I could have a heart attack."

Basil said, trying to calm himself, while Li stared at the newcomer, confused about how they had appeared so suddenly. Had they come through the window? That seemed impossible, as it remained as closed as ever. The truth was, Li hadn't taken his eyes off the front for even a moment; it was as if the person had materialized out of thin air.

"Executive Victor Reid has done a good job. I also received his communiqué informing me, so we will proceed as planned."

Said the mysterious individual, although Basil didn't seem willing to leave things as they were, even if he said so.

"Not so fast. There's still the issue that these individuals murdered civilians and Navy soldiers without reason. Even though I understand the sacrifices that need to be made, I can't let someone like this go."

Those words struck Li’s ears like daggers. Such a simple mistake could be the reason all the luck he’d had so far could come crashing down. But how to get out of this? He truly had no idea; no amount of scheming or deception would be enough to convince them. However, recalling his time as a soldier, a glimmer of naive hope surfaced in his mind—something he had learned could work in certain cases. He had nothing to lose.

"We didn't do it."

He said, gritting his teeth and giving the most serious look he could muster.

"Oh, of course, and I'm the fool who ends up believing that, right? I don’t care who sent you here, you can’t..."

“It’s okay, if he said they didn’t do it then they didn’t”

Basil’s outburst was interrupted by the mysterious man, who had somehow appeared beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder, signaling him to calm down. The man finally revealed his face, showing someone quite young, with a pale complexion and slicked-back hair, giving him the appearance of a high-society figure.

“But there are evidences that…”

“Every ‘Stratos Technology’ executive inside the big plan had their records fully checked, you and sir O'Malley there are no exceptions, if he said they didn’t do it, then they didn't do it”

Resigned, Basil stepped aside, his previously relaxed and bored demeanor now replaced by clear annoyance. Meanwhile, the young man turned his attention to Li, addressing him as Finn O'Malley, just like the boy from whom he had originally taken the coin.

After this, he went on to explain the plan being carried out, giving an overview of the details and finally the resolution they were aiming to achieve. As Li listened, he grew more and more astonished and stupefied. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing; he knew the general idea but never would have thought that everything was orchestrated in such a way.

"Have you understood?"

The young man concluded after finishing his explanation. Before Li could say or respond anything, a system window appeared before his eyes.

image [https://i.imgur.com/cC4NA77.png]

“Yes, sir”

Answered Li with a beaming smile.