Under the bright fluorescent light, Kurapika sat upright, his expression calm and serious. He pointed to the seat across the long table.
"Please sit down. I have a few questions for you."
"What kind of attitude is that? Do you even know who I am?"
Even after spending the entire second half of the night running for her life, the woman still held her head high with an air of arrogance.
After all, she was safe now. She no longer had to watch her tone around anyone.
"I am the most trusted aide of the Kakin Empire's First Prince. A close friend of his... neighbor. You'd better show some respect. I expect a suite, a fresh change of clothes—"
Kurapika didn't interrupt her.
In fact, the more she spoke, the better.
It gave him time to observe the movement of the chain on his ring finger — the Chain of Judgment.
The small metal ball at the end swayed ever so slightly.
That meant most of what she said was true, with only a hint of exaggeration and vanity.
It was rare to see a high-ranking member of the Kakin Empire among the survivors.
Aside from Queen Oito, this woman was only the fifth he had encountered so far.
The reason was simple: the chaos on Ship BW1 had started on the yacht level — the first layer.
And the first and second layers were primarily inhabited by the upper class of the Kakin Empire.
In other words, the very first victims of the riot were, more often than not, the elites.
Kurapika asked her a few more questions, then finally waved her off.
"Someone will escort you to a resting area. But there are no private rooms."
"What?! Did you not hear me? I said I'm the neighbor of the trusted aide of the First Prince's closest friend! I can make one call and—"
"I am not under the jurisdiction of the Kakin Empire."
Kurapika's cold gaze locked onto the woman, his calm voice cutting through her words like a blade.
The pressure in the air grew instantly heavier, and the woman felt it deeply.
"Listen," he continued, "you have to share a room with others, use the same bathroom, wear plain and simple clothes, and eat the same food. These are the limits of our resources in the fortress. Have I made myself clear?"
The woman opened her mouth slightly, lips twitching as if she wanted to argue—but in the end, she didn't have the courage.
Fuming, she turned around and stormed off, followed closely by the temporary guard unit assigned to assist her.
Not far down the hallway, Germain and Saccho stood quietly in a shadowed corner, having witnessed the entire exchange.
No one else was with them now.
Illumi had gone off to rest.
Kastro had taken Meleoron to the infirmary, hoping to find Cheadle, Gel, and Shizuku for assistance with the wounded.
"Your student is impressive," Saccho said, unable to hide his admiration. "Whether it was during the two-month voyage or now, he remains calm, decisive, and commanding."
"He has that kind of potential," Germain replied with a nod. Then he shifted the subject. "Saccho, how much do you know about the riot that happened at midnight?"
"Not much," Saccho said, shaking his head slowly as he recalled the events. "Chairman Netero gave us our orders. We were to split into two teams."
"Cheadle, Gel, Cluck, Pyon, and List were to protect the support crew and move to seize the internal shipyard's vessels."
"Chairman Netero and our team were assigned to take the control room of BW1 and secure the entire ship."
"Everything went smoothly at first. We overpowered the guards and made it into the control room. We were just about to steer BW1 toward the coastline—"
"—when the attack came."
A swarm of monsters surged into the cockpit, each one possessing strange and terrifying abilities. Their bodies were wrapped in thick layers of aura, heavy and oppressive like armor made of malice.
We couldn't subdue them all at once. In the chaos that followed, BW1 crashed into the coastline and was completely destroyed.
Flames erupted all around us.
Chairman Netero used his 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva to blast open the cabin wall, giving us a way out to the wider deck to continue the battle.
But the monsters just kept coming. Worse, an aura appeared—unlike anything we had ever felt before.
It was crushing, overwhelming, as if a giant invisible hand was squeezing the entire area.
Chairman Netero, Botobai, Morel, Ginta, and Kanzai all faced it head-on… but they were all blown away like rag dolls.
What happened after that… I can't remember clearly. Everything turned into a blur.
The next thing I knew, I had lost contact with everyone. Clinging to a piece of floating wreckage, I was drifting alone in the sea.
After making landfall, I couldn't find the Chairman or the others. I wandered for a long time in the darkness, fending off monster attacks along the way.
Somehow, along the way, a group of survivors started following me. That made things harder—I had to slow down and protect them.
Fortunately, I managed to make contact with this place.
Germain listened quietly as Saccho finished his account.
It still wasn't a complete picture, but the more fragments they gathered, the clearer the truth would become.
After saying goodbye to Saccho and Kurapika, who had to remain behind, Germain quickly made his way toward the command center. On the way, he passed by many busy faces.
In the medical bay were Cheadle, Gel, and Shizuku.
In the operations area, Bisky, Izunavi, and Melody were coordinating efforts.
In one shared ward, Kastro and Meleoron were still recovering...
A small, round figure darted between zones like a mole—Tokarine appeared from time to time, helping transport supplies and deliver messages between departments.
The entire fortress was operating like a well-oiled machine.
Germain arrived at the heart of the fortress — the control center — where he found Cluck, Pyon, and List, all looking exhausted and overwhelmed.
He came with a proposal.
"You and Shizuku want to return to the top floor of BW1?" Cluck stared at Germain, clearly confused. She stood with her hands on her hips, eyes red from exhaustion.
They had been working nonstop since the latter half of the night. Her long feathered headdress had already been removed and tossed carelessly to the side.
Although Pyon and List were still at their stations — one typing rapidly on the keyboard, the other glued to the surveillance monitors — their ears were fully tuned into the conversation.
"That's right," Germain said. "That's where we teleported from. Since you're short on manpower here, I plan to go back to the Ancient Labyrinth Outpost and bring the rest of the team over."
Cluck's eyes lit up. "Would that be too much trouble?"
"Not at all. Shizuku and I will bring Menchi, Sanbica, and the rest, along with the stockpile of 'Hope'. If needed, we'll even return to Greed Island."
Returning to Greed Island would also allow them to collect more "Hope" and other critical supplies in case of emergencies.
Right now, Germain had nine unused lanterns — enough to make a round trip between the Hypothetical Continent and Greed Island.
As for traveling between the Dark Continent and the top floor of BW1, that didn't require using any spare lanterns. They could go back and forth as many times as needed.
The only limitation was that each teleportation could carry only four people at a time.
"Alright, let's go with that," Cluck snapped her fingers. "We'll draft a list of the supplies we need immediately."
"Rest for an hour first. We'll come find you when the time's up."
*******
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