Behind the plan was another plan

[We have control over the communications, what is the next step]

Hearing this, everyone in the control centre smiled, following Lan Du has led them one step closer towards the freedom they have longed for. At first, they didn't trust her, but by the time they wanted to regret it, she already had control over their life and death.

But now, they wholeheartedly felt they could escape.

"Next step is simple, inform the group in the weaponry to take any weapons suitable, and take as many explosives as you can, the bigger the explosives, the better" Lan Du smiled and replied

[Alright, I'll inform them right away]

Lan Du waited for a bit, her feet tapped the floor as she hummed to herself. They men couldn't help but daze as they stared at Lan Du. In this era, who wouldn't want a strong girl?

If not for Lan Du's pellet within them, they might have forced her to be their woman.

Feeling their heated gaze, Lan Du's gaze grew cold

"Tell me if you have a death wish, because that's the very wish I can grant" Lan Du said threateningly, her eyes became sharper than daggers and they shuddered at the sight.

[The group has taken care of the weaponry, however, we lost a lot of men in the process]

"Any domain realms lost?" Lan Du asked

[No]

Lan Du snickered

"Then we lost nothing, just a few dregs, at most we lost a few meat shields" Lan Du said mockingly, she didn't even consider the thoughts of the royal spirits in the room with her as she spoke.

They clenched their fists but didn't dare speak up, if that was how Lan Du saw them, they couldn't deny it. After all, Lan Du could kill them with a thought. However, the lingering feeling made them feel uncomfortable.

"Aren't you being a little harsh?" A domain realm spoke up, he was friends with some of the people so he decided to speak up for them.

Lan Du's cold gaze landed on him

"You were never a normal citizen, you're a prisoner who should be locked away forever, being dead and locked away are not much different, at most, you can be of use to me" Lan Du said coldly

"But don't be discouraged, because I would treat the admiral the same way" Lan Du stood up and walked over, she grabbed the man by his cheeks and pulled him closer to her face.

"To me, you are all just tools for my plans, I could have done this myself, but freeing you all are just to speed up the process" Lan Du said with a twisted smile on her face.

She then paused and stepped back

"Have the group in the weaponry to come to the control centre, as for those in the communications, just leave a few there to keep watch over the situation, the rest, gather at the control centre as well" Lan Du commanded

[Alright]

Lan Du yawned and sat back down, she glanced at the man she just spoke to. He had an uncomfortable expression but he no longer said anything. Her words struck deep, she had no reason to help them escape, so why did she need a reason to care about their lives?

But this made some of them feel respect towards Lan Du, after all, they were all criminals. Betrayal and using others as tools are a very common occurrence for them. But none of them had the capability to do so in such an open manner.

They respected her for that ability

[Emergency! The admiral has noticed something and is now leading officers towards the control centre!]

Hearing this, Lan Du's eyes grew colder.

"Prepare for combat, we don't need to beat the admiral or his men, we just need to stall for time" Lan Du said as she stepped closer to the doors.

Instead of leaving it closed, she opened it up and the blood mist began drifting into the area outside. She then noticed some movements, it was the prisoners from the weaponry and communications.

She had them enter first before stepping inside.

"Pass the weapons around, plant the explosives outside, hide some well while leaving others in the open as distractions" Lan Du said, she picked up a gun and saw a metallic container along with the weapons.

'My medicine!' She grabbed the container and was rather shocked, but when she opened them, her eyes dimmed.

'Tch, he dares to use my container to hold bullets?' She clicked her tongue and tossed out the bullets inside.

"They're here!" Someone shouted

Lan Du's eyes landed on the door, it was wide open and outside, it was completely surrounded.

"Drop the weapons and you can still live, if not, die" A dignified voice rang out

Lan Du snickered

"Detonate them" Lan Du said casually

They didn't hesitate and clicked the remote, instantly, they heard loud explosions ring, it shook the walls and ceiling but when they looked out, only a few of them were injured.

"They have a support based domain realm user!" One of them shouted when tehy realised the crew were almost unharmed.

Lan Du snickered

"I know...if I'm correct, Tu Ling, the first female Colonel in the army and also one of the best supporter within the army, your domain has the ability to protect allies from injuries" Lan Du stepped out and looked around as she spoke.

Her words shocked many, Ying Chue who stood at the front was especially shocked

"This is confidential information, how do you know this...you, you're the one who I captured not long ago, how did you escape" He growled

Lan Du laughed

"Admiral Ying, your prison was quite hard to bust open, but you made one mistake, and that is arresting an innocent person" Lan Du said sweetly as she said with a carefree expression.

Sung Lu stepped out and saw Lan Du, he was shocked by her appearance here, he never expected the person he locked away would break out and cause sch a big ruckus not long after.

"Arrested the wrong person? Who was the one who captured my captain and used him as a hostage" Ying Chue replied sternly

Lan Du snickered

"Blame your captain and his crew, they insisted that I was part of that pirate group, but alas, you were the one who made me do this" Lan Du shook her head and sighed

Sung Lu's eyes ere glued onto Lan Du

"He called you boss, are you going to deny that?" He spoke up

Lan Du laughed harder

"Just because he called me boss, does that means I'm his boss? How about I call you son, will you be my son?" Lan Du mocked

Sung Lu wanted to refute but what Lan Du said made sense

"But how can you be someone he captured! You were walking around just fine" He retorted

Lan DU looked around

"Didn't I do the same in this ship as well? I'm a captive, but I have been wandering around for the past few hours" Lan Du shrugged her shoulders and said nonchalantly

Her words left everyone speechless

Ying Chue took in a deep breath as he glared at her

"But now you have committed a crime, even if you were innocent, now, you have freed hundreds of prisoners, this crime is punishable by death" He said coldly

Lan Du rubbed her chin

"Oh? But what if I can make them submit, would my crime be written off?" Lan Du snickered and asked

Ying Chue felt as if his intelligence was being mocked at this moment. Lan Du had actually said such a ridiculous thing to him, how could he not feel mocked?

"Do you know the consequences of fooling an admiral?" He snapped and said

Lan Du rolled her eyes

"My men are all fully equipped, I also have a few domain realms who are no longer affected by your virus, wanna continue negotiating or do you want to fight?" Lan Du chuckled and said'

Ying Cue was shaking from anger at this moment, but he knew Lan Du was right, if they fought, he might even lose a few domain realm fighters. His ship only has a few dozen, losing any will mean a large drop in strength.

"What do you want" He growled

Lan Du's smile brightened

"As I said earlier, I'm just an innocent person who got caught in this mess, as for those behind me, they are just a few tools I acquired, I just want to get dropped off at Xing Dian, nothing else" Lan Du said calmly, her smile made Ying Chue feel uncomfortable but he gritted his teeth and had to bear with it.

"But you have committed a crime" He glared at her, this was his last card, if this failed, he could only either fight it out or accept her conditions.

Lan Du glanced at the few behind her before a smile crept to her face

"Easy, I can kill them all right now, the weapons were merely used to negotiate in the first place" Lan Du said with a light smile

The group behind her froze

"B-But you promised you would free us!" They began shouting

Lan Du's smile became cold

"Yes, and I did do it, I freed you from the prison, as for leaving this ship, I never promised such a thing" Lan Du placed a finger on her lips and said cutely, but her eyes exerted a cold aura.

"But-"

Someone wanted to continue speaking, but Lan Du flicked her finger and like earlier, needles shot out of the man, he didn't even have time to scream when he dropped to the ground and died on the spot.

"Any more back chatting?" Lan Du asked with a sweet smile

The group no longer spoke, it was now too late to regret it, no matter how much they wanted to escape, they couldn't do anything about it.

Seeing that man die, Ying Chue lifted his brows. A few people behind him were also shocked, they didn't know how Lan Du had killed that man, but they were terrified.

"Now, let's negotiate the price of the weapons, one weapon isn't cheap, so let's go with 20 million for each weapon" Lan Du clasped her hands together and said sweetly.

Her words threw everyone off

"Y-You're asking us to...buy our own weapons? T-This is another crime, you have stolen goods on you" Sung Lu exclaimed

Lan Du shook her head

"No no no, I didn't steal anything, the people behind me did, now, I have apprehended the prisoners and retrieved their stolen good, now, I am merely returning it to you all, but nothing is free, so please pay up" Lan Du giggled and took out her bracelet.

Sung Lu wanted to refute but Ying Chue stopped him

"You're twisting facts now" He said after calming down

Lan Du stuck out a tongue

"Am I? But I have earned great contribution for apprehending escaped prisoners and also retrieved your stolen good, I wonder what wrong have I done so far?" Lan Du feined ignorance as to when she said she freed the prisoners and played innocent.

Her words made them furious

"Admiral, don't get too stressed" A gentle voice rang from the side, Lan Du turned her head and saw a woman.

She had short green hair and a pair of glasses on her. She wasn't very tall, in fact, even by the tsandard height, she was quite short. But it gave her a unique charm as Lan Du immediately related her to a hamster.

Lan Du giggled and reached out one hand

"Hello, you must be miss Tu Ling, pleased to meet you, I'm Leng Yu" Lan Du said gently as she smiled brightly towards the girl.

However, the girl slapped her hand away

"H-Hooligan, first you dod this to our ship, then you act innocent, y-yet now you even dare flirt with me" Thou she said harsh words, her expression was flustered and she stuttered a lot, making her seem even cuter.

Lan Du smiled bitterly

"But it was your fleet who forced me, at first I was merely on a trip to visit my family on Xing Dian, I was then abducted by pirates, by the time you arrived, I have taken full control over the ship, yet instead of thanking me, you arrested me, threw me in a small cell and tried to feed me dog food" Lan Du slumped back on the wall as a drop of tear ran down her face.

"I was forced, I never wanted this, I wanted to see my family, but one thing happened another" Lan Du said on a sorrowful tone, her eyes were watery but she didn't let the tears run down.

Tu Ling hesitated but she soon got a grip of herself

"Y-You c0could have tried explaining it t-to us" She said softly

Lan Du shook her head

"Have you seen a prisoner leave after entering your prison before?" Lan Du asked

Tu Ling shook her head

"Have you seen anyone apart from people delivering food enter the cell before?" Lan Du asked again

Tu Ling once again shook her head

Lan Du laughed, but the layughter was bitter and sorrowful

"They how do I explain? Shout at the top of the lungs that I'm innocent? Break out and walk over to Ying Chue to ask for permission to leave? I'd be surprised if I can even survive walking up to him" Lan Du looked towards u Ling with her atery eyes.

"But even if I explained all this...will you believe me?" She asked again

Tu Ling became flustered, she no longer knew how she should respond. She felt that she had to nod in this situation, but wouldn't that be confirming Lan Du's innocence? But if she shook her head now, she'd feel terrible about herself.

She then saw Lan Du hold her own arm

"In the end, I'm just an insignificant bug, aren't I? Sung Lu, the one whom I saved from his own boss is also talking against me, if someone I saved is against me, what can an explanation do? It was your boss who forced me" Lan Du clasped Tu Ling's hands and stared at her in the eyes.

Tu Ling wanted to shake her hand off, but seeing Lan Du's watery eyes, she began hesitating. But before this got further, Ying Chue raised one hand and smacked Lan Du's hand away.

"Admiral!" Tu Ling was surprised, but she then saw Lan Du smiling bitterly

"You see, if an explanation can help, why do I need to do this?" Lan Du  shook her head and held up a gun.

Tu Ling looked back between Lan Du and Ying Chue, as if she was making a tough decision. After a few second, she saw Ying Chue raise one hand, and a thought ran to her head.

'He's going to use it again!'

She suddenly ran forward and stood in front of Lan Du

"Admiral, w-we should listen to him first, if he isn't lying, then it was indeed our mistake" He said nervously

Ying Chue who was prepared to use his domain froze, he didn't lower his arm but he didn't activate his domain either.

"Move, I will eliminate him immediately" He said

Lan Du smiled

"You stiill don't believe me? Alright, I have one last excuse" Lan Du placed her  right hand on Tu Ling and said lightly.

"Don't touch her!" Sung Lu roared, he predicted that Lan Du would take her as hostage, but contradicting him, she gently moved Tu Ling aside.

"A girl shouldn't be caught in this battle, if a delicate flower falls in troubled water, my heart will break" Lan Du said sweetly as she patted Tu Ling's head.

Tu Ling flushed red

"I-I'm a colonel, and I-I still w-want some r-respect" She said shyly'

Lan Du smiled as she continued to stroke her head, her eyes landed on Ying Chue.

"At the port I entered from, there should be three cards on the ground, those three cards are my final testimony" Lan Du said lightly

Ying Chue paused

"I will trust you this one time" He said and instructed someone to go get those cards. Not long after, the person ran back with the three cards in his hand.

[Colonel Tian]

[Colonel Di]

[Colonel Shui]

These three cards surprised him

"You have their cards, meaning you have thir support and approaval...I'm surprised, Leng Yu was it? Not a bad lad, however, I still cannot disregard the fact tha you have freed the prisoners and stole my weapons" He said coldly

Lan Du glanced back inside the room

"I can kill them all if you want, would that do?" Lan Du asked, her suggestion frightened the group, they all dropped to their knees and tossed the weapons in their hands.

"W-Why! If you wanted to kill us, why did you instruct us to get weapons and infiltrate the communications!" Somene shouted

Lan Du snickered

"Getting someone in the communications was to make sure I got get snuck up on by Ying Chue, as for the weapins, I've said it already, they are negotiation tools, similar to hostage situations, I can use the weapons to get some extra cash" Lan Du rubbed her fingers and said.

Her words made them further speechless, robbing an entire fleet's weaponry just to earn some cash?! What ype of twisted logic is that?

"Same price, 20 million per piece" Lan Du giggled and said

Ying Chue furrowed his brows

"You planned this, from the very start, didn't you" He spoke

His words stunned everyone, but they soon caught onto to something

Lan Du giggled

"From the moment I freed those prisoners, I planned to speak to you face to face" Lan Du nodded her head, her eyes glistened as she placed a hand on Tu Ling's shoulder.

Ying Chue frowned

"Then your escape plan was never serious" He asked again

Lan Du shook her head

"No, it was serious, except, I will merely be escaping with a different method" Lan Du stuck out her tongue as she leaned closer to Tu Ling.

Tu Ling blushed from Lan Du getting closer, but she didn't step away as she was afraid Ying Chue would do something the moment she does.