Operation Open Sky

Chapter IX: Xing Deng Bao Disaster

25 Degrees, Jing Dynasty morning.

Cuifen Chen Wu, 6th May 1894, Xing Deng Bao;

"Oh Chen Wu, apologies if I startled you." I drop my knife as I'm jumped with a cocktail of shock and relief.

"Thank Irene you're alright, what happened?" The darkness dissipates with Tao Ying looking flustered.

"I found him, Oreal. He was hiding here. He attacked me out of nowhere, and I managed to knock him down. Apologies for the shout, I'm quite alright. I was just tying him up." He steps back, revealing Oreal tied up to one of the pipes, deep in slumber.

"I have to warn the others... He said something about a bomb. We don't have much time! Make sure he doesn't move." A bomb? Things couldn't get worse, could they...

"O-Oh alright, go!" He dashes with no reply, now left alone with Oreal, his pale skin blends with death. Why would he plant a bomb? Was my unease valid after all? The elf looked comfortable, untouched almost considering Tao took him down. What are Oreal's intentions? It's all too confusing, I need to get to the bottom of this... Tao Ying seemed pretty far now. I check around where he tied him. Seems robust enough. I doubt Oreal would be able to come out of this. I contemplate the following actions I'm risking to take, but I've got no choice. I'll learn the truth. It's time I have a little chat with him. My hands hover around his temples, green light illuminating, dissipating in seconds. I return up, staring down at him, as he slowly animates back to life.

"Ouch, my head. Where am I?" He groans, eyes squinting.

"Count to ten, and then I'll answer your question." He pauses, then starts to count perfectly.

"You've been caught, you attacked Tao Ying. He managed to stop you, tying you up. He's gone to report to the others." By this point, Oreal looked up, confused and concerned.

"That doesn't sound quite right. Tao Ying told me to meet up here..." He attempts mild resistance. He stops right after, realising his situation more clearly.

"All of this is a misunderstanding Chen Wu. I'm being framed here!" It almost looked true real for Oreal to be suprised, I couldn't tell if he was bluffing or not. If only Mo Zhong was here...

"Wasn't the original meet-up between you both in the central room?" He takes a deep breath, calming down back to his usual demeanour

"No. He told me explicitly to meet here. If someone found us waiting in the room where the captain died, it would bring up unnecessary speculation. The less panic, the better. So I agreed with him." It makes sense, considering how Juhua reacted. I just need one slip-up from him...

"Well, do you have proof? You're our only prime suspect, whether you like it or not." I'm no good at this, I've relied too much on Mo Zhong's power. Not to mention the zeppelin's condition seems to be getting worse considering the tilting. We haven't got much time left...

"What's going on?" He notices the sudden shift of balance.

"One of the engines is down, someone sabotaged the engine." The shock he showed again... looked genuine.

"I know I'm in no position to point fingers but hear me out. Don't you find this a little strange? Me attacking Tao Ying, and failing?" I'm confronted with a sudden swift momentum. Oreal rises as the rope crumbles. I take a step back, still processing what just happened. Wiping the little dust on him.

"A little rope won't hold me down. Don't worry I'm not the enemy here." Rotating his neck, cracking it on occasion. I can only stand and watch. "Think about it, what would I gain from this? Nothing but sullying relations with the Jing Dynasty. You'll only be wasting time holding me here. We need to find Tao Ying." That's true, it makes no sense why he would do it. But who would then, and if he's telling the truth, why is Tao Ying lying? Is he... no, he has an alibi from Nikolai.