Host, Please Be Honest! What Exactly Are You?

The journey to and fro the mysterious island was one many swore to never forget.

They could already see it now, them writing tales of their thrilling adventures.

To appear outside the strange space and see the beautiful skies made many teary.

(:TT×TT:)

Wooooo~

They wanted to cry a river and stare into the sky with oaths to keep their promises to the heavens once they returned.

How they came out was also amazing.

Standing on the ship, they watched the grandmaster raise his staff.

But then and there, a projected image of strange golden symbols floated out and revolved around the staff's head.

The Grandmaster whispered some strange words, and the entire island, including the crooked trees, strange waters, and everything else, was suddenly pulled away as though in the middle of a tornado storm.

Around and around the things flew, burning away with every twirl.

The many creatures kept screaming and begging while also cursing at the Grandmaster in horror.

Their faces would pop out from the tornado from time to time.

It was clear they didn't want to die. But so what?

When everyone thought of how desperate they were all this time, they felt no pity for these ghoulish fiends.

What's more, many of their humankind had been chewed right before their very eyes, killed, and destroyed mercilessly.

Deserve it!

They only hoped whatever the Grandmaster was doing would put these bastards to sleep permanently.

They never wished to lay their eyes on these filthy, ugly things ever again!

~Shwshwshwshwshwshw~

They watched the Grandmaster whisper strangely. And the more vigorous his chants, the faster the tornado began changing from a strong purplish color to a golden one.

In the end, they watched the tornado also break down and vanish like fiery ashes, flaking away.

It all disappeared.

And some who were too scared earlier finally opened their eyes to realize they were back on the seas... Back to where it all began.

It was already morning.

The beautiful mix of pinkish golden hue was the sign of a new dawn.

'So beautiful.'

Watching the sunrise reminded them of how much they missed their ordinary human lives.

It's ironic how before this, they took something as someone as dawn for granted.

But now, they felt they would live on every day, grateful for their lives... Especially after facing death more than they could count.

Sigh...

Several shrunken looked to the sky, feeling that it was so suddenly so big than what they were used to.

Hey!... Was this how Thumbelina would see the world if she were real?

Wait a minute... Hold the phone! At this point, who could say Thumbelina wasn't real?

(°_°)

Everyone who survived was able to fit on the boat Dorian and the rest had arrived earlier because most of the survivors were shrunken.

Bho Jin took a deep breath, feeling the scene needed a little more 'liveling' up.

But he felt his prestige as a Bho master would be heart. So he asked one of the guards to sing a silly song everyone probably knew.

"_" [Guard]

Young master, do you have something against me?

The guard sighed, switching from serious to playful mode, first whispering the song slowly until a few children caught up and began singing along. And soon, the entire ship was filled with smiles and laughter.

Bho Jin nodded severally, feeling he had finally accomplished something he had always wanted to do while out on an adventure.

Whenever he watched the famous One Piece episodes, he always loved how they would sing the song Bink's Sake...

Lah Lalah Lalah lalah~ Yo-ho~... Hohoho~... Yo-ho~... Hohoho.~

There was just something about singing after a good adventure that made everyone happy.

And though he of course wasn't singing Bink Saka, the one the guard sang was also very famous and very merry.

Even Gia Ming and the rest were sailing the ship back to Navy headquarters with smiles on their faces.

It feels good to be alive.

Meanwhile, at the base, several people blinked, too dumbfounded by how a ship signal suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

A glitch in the system?

(?~?)

Everyone was flabbergasted by the shocking scene. But soon, they recognized the boar as one of theirs.

"They're back! They're finally back!"

Several people were ecstatic, seeing it was Gia Ming and his gang.

You have to know that after they left the base last night, they discovered for too long which left many worried.

However, because Old Gia himself and several others had refused any from approaching the water region where the cruise line vanished, they had no choice but to sit tight.

Before Old Gia left last night, he said only by morning were they allowed to check things further.

.

"Vice Admiral Ming!"

"Old Marshal Gia!"

Very quickly, several people rushed to the docks. But after reaching, their feet suddenly felt a thousand times heavier.

Blink. Blink.

They rubbed their eyes severally in disbelief.

You, who, what, when... How did this happen?

(°π°)

Not only were there many little people the size of their thumbs, but there were also others with grotesque warts and hunched backs around.

The many Navy officers suddenly felt dizzy.

Fleet Admiral Hazan who also arrived, suddenly slapped one of the Captains under his command.

"Reagan... Where are my glasses?"

"_"

"Sir, they're on your face."

"Are you sure?"

He touched his glasses, taking them off and putting them back on severally.

"So everyone is seeing what I'm seeing?"

"Affirmative, sir."

(°×°)

Old Gia strolled out and quickly brought everyone back to reality.

"I didn't fight so hard for you all to suddenly turn sluggish. Help the survives to Zone 3, Hall A-79! Don't ask questions. Everything will be answered shortly. Now move!"

"Yes, sir!"

Old Gia's words were like a divine command that kept their feet running.

The boxes carrying the shrunken humans had long vanished. And now, they were all standing on the ship's floors like puny little smurfs, only they were much smaller.

Vice-Admiral Hazen lashed out at many, seeing how they handled the puny humans.

"Quickly! Carry them with care! Don't squeeze too hard! Ah... Forget it! Someone bring out as many baskets as you can! Wait! Where are the go-carts?"

Move! Move! Move! Move!

As if they were about to face the fiercest battle in their lives, everyone disputed, all having various tasks at hand.

They also handled those with hunchbacks and boils as carefully as they could. And since Old Gia had said it was contagious, they did their best not to inwardly worry about getting infected.

It would be a lie to say they weren't scared of both the tiny humans and the hunched-back pimple-faced people.

They were human. This was human instinct, to fear what they couldn't understand.

How can humans suddenly turn small? And what about the other unnaturally hunched ones?

Of course, all this while they didn't think it was supernatural.

Yes!

Till now, they had already come up with a good point armor and storyline to explain it all.

.

Hazen placed his hands on Gia Ming's shoulders with an understanding expression.

"Old buddy... I get it. The survivors must have been kidnapped by some mad scientist who developed a shrink ray machine, right?"

"_" [Gia Ming]

In the face of firm science believers, Gia Ming suddenly didn't know how to explain it all.

What to say?

He had several layers of black lines on his face.

"You're wrong."

"Eh? Impossible! I can't be wrong! The evil scientists must have had some failed experiments, resulting in people hunched with warts and pimples... Hold on... Ah!-... I understand, buddy." Hazen spoke, drawing closer to Gia Ming's ears.

"This is supposed to be top secret, right? That's why you keep denying it. I understand. I understand, buddy. My lips are sealed. There are no evil scientists, and there are no shrink ray machines."

"..."

Like that, many led the survivors away, believing they had hit the jackpot regarding this matter.

Science...

It held the answer to every question the world held. And whether it was Old Bho or the Navy officers who experienced hell last night, they all looked at each other tactfully, no one bothering to clarify things further.

And soon, everyone found themselves within a massive hall the size of a small airplane hanger.

Looking around, it's clear the Navy used this hall to hold announcements or address large congregations of officers.

Well, this was just fine.

"Quickly! Quickly! Be gentle with them!"

The survivors were placed about carefully. Those tiny were kept separated from those hunched.

And while they were here, orders had already been given to prepare a meal for them all.

After all, who knows how badly treated and strained they were under the hands of those evil scientists?

Dorian calmly walked to the front alongside Butler Sheng and the rest.

However, Dorian suddenly tilted his head towards one of the many officers scattered about.

Everyone was confused. What was he looking at?

Heh.

The corner of Dorian's lips raised unnaturally.