Chapter 152: Lowengren’s Might
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Near one of the largest train stations that connected all of the African nations…
Lowengren and Alean's retreat route going back to China through the Red Sea had to be altered. Because of the interference of the strange group that attacked them, Lowengren had to set up another deception to lure the WGP and the Aragarians away.
As such, they actually rode a train towards another city and left the station to travel to a certain home where one of Harker's Programmed Slaves served and changed their disguise into another one before entering the same train station and traveling to another city in Africa. After traveling back and forth and going through the many cities in Africa, they finally disembarked on a specific station. It was very early in the morning, but since the train was interconnected with several cities across the African Continent, the station as critical as this one remained open. And although there were very few people in it as the various exits and gates empty with the lights shot off.
"Alean, let's split up now. Follow the arrangements I've made."
"You haven't told me what you will be doing." Alean furrowed her brows.
"It's best that you don't know. After all, the more genuine your reactions, the better. Just play it by ear." Lowengren shrugged.
The two separated and Alean went off and sought for a security guard in the station.
"Where is your manager? I want to speak to him." Alean spoke seriously. Her disguise was that of a middle-aged woman who had unremarkable features.
The tall black man wondered.
"I've come with orders from the WGP. As you may have heard, something happened on the middle cities which we believe to be a battle. Because of that, we are in search of potential suspects and require to check all the security cameras in the building. Speak to your supervisor if you don't know what I'm talking about." Alean's voice was calm. The look she had however made the tall security guard treat her seriously and immediately contacted his superiors.
It wasn't long until several black men arrived and started talking with Alean.
In truth, as Alean and Lowengren suspected, the battle they had at the park sparked attention and alarm to the African Government. Security on most public transportations was on high alert to identify people who weren't detected in their system or who have traveled illegally.
Alean maintained her serious expressions and followed the group into the large security room where all video feeds are being displayed and even broadcasted to several other areas of the Government.
"As this station is a hub that connects its too other stations, we need to properly identify all personnel. My own identity should have also surfaced in your systems. I will be frank. I've been sent on a secret mission. We do not know the organization which has caused that attack on the Middle Cities." A grave expression surfaced on Alean's face as she continued to explain the details of her mission.
Almost immediately, the security team sprang to action. Their computers were all working at top-notch speed as all the faces of people entering and exiting the station were shown.
Alean was secretly looking at the camera feeds and sending it to Lowengren.
Somewhere, in the dark corners of the large train station, Lowengren was studying the feeds carefully analyzing the position, direction, and movements of the cameras.
"This should be good. Alright. Just act out accordingly to what you see." Lowengren gave Alean some instructions before going silent.
Alean was curious just what this deception was?
Soon, the answer to her question was shown on screen.
Her jaw dropped open as she stared in shock at the scene.
"Hm? Sir! Look!" One of the guards pointed.
As the guard's eyes were drawn to the screen they were stunned.
"What is going on?! Who is that?!"
"I don't know! Should we let him in?" A guard was so confused at the scene that he asked a strange question.
"Let him in? Are you insane!? Guards! Head to the north entrance! I want to capture a madman!" The leader announced angrily as he rushed out of the room.
Alean was dumbstruck that she couldn't speak.
"Why does that person look familiar?" One of the guards suddenly murmured.
Alean noticed it as well. There had to be a reason why Lowengren revealed his true face.
"Isn't that… Lowengren?" Alean guessed.
At that point, the guards who were looking started to have shock faces.
They reviewed the tapes, again and again, to see and zoom at the face of Lowengren.
Lowengren's face was never fully shown in the camera. The angles they could only manage could at most show only half of his face.
Alean bid her farewell after confirming that there were no individuals who were able to escape the Blockchain network. Alean walked out calmly but still inwardly shaken with what she saw. The place where Lowengren had chosen as his stage to reveal his madness was one of the least used exits as it directly led to the main highway, and since there were very few buses commuting at that time, no one would pass by that area except the occasional drunks.
Alean moved to avoid the CCTV and finally waited at the other end of the station which was similarly unused as of this hour. It was the exit at the opposite end where Lowengren revealed himself.
Lowengren rushed towards the dark alleys careful to evade all the cameras in the city that are used for the government to monitor the area.
Alean continued to wait in the area where Lowengren left her. The waiting made her grow more impatient.
Soon her expression was sour. She constantly grumbled and wanted to tear Lowengren apart.
Lowengren finally appeared and immediately rushed towards Alean to wear the disguise he used to wear.
"What the hell was that?!" Alean cursed.
"SHHH! Be quiet. We don't know if they can hear us!" Alean and Lowengren had been speaking at a speed that was faster than to what a normal human could understand.
"You showed yourself to the world! The WGP is watching over us! They'd pick up on you!"
"It's a deception." Lowengren easily.
"That wasn't deception! That was insanity!"
"Exactly. That was the point."
"How was that the point?!" Alean was so angry.
"Think about it. I want to make myself seen by the Aragarians. The problem is that the World Governing Powers are also watching. So how do I deceive one party and not alert the other?!"
"I don't know! But definitely not what you just did!"
"Think! My actions have to make the WGP doubt it's me so they can ignore it! But on the other hand, our recent deception has made Pridgeon extremely obsessed with exterminating the Jews, remember? So that action of mine is perfectly reasonable!"
"The hell it was!" Alean cursed angrily.
"Relax! Have faith in my Path!"
Alean gave Lowengren a quiet stare. She had to admit, Lowengren has yet to fail with his path.
"Explain how you did it."
"All I have to do is deceive the WGP into thinking that it's not me. I don't need to deceive the highest officials who control the world. I may get the attention of several army leaders, but they'd probably not bother with it. In fact, most of the people working with the WGP would probably ignore it and not report it to the higher-ups. But even if they do, I'm still confident that they wouldn't think so much of it. That's why I had to do that."
Just as Lowengren predicted, the various bases of the WGP had been notified of the video from the train station.
"You wanted me… to see this? What's wrong with you?" A network manager of one of WGP's bases reprimanded.
"But Sir! The system detected that it's Lowengren!"
"No, it's not! Don't bother me with this useless reports!" The manager angrily stormed out of the room.
Similar scenes were played out on different parts of the world. Lowengren however, failed to realize one possible loophole from his deception.
On the depths of an undisclosed part of the Pacific Ocean, a large structure that was as wide as a mountain kept crawling on the ocean floors. Apart from the distance and the various interference that other nations used to mask signals, this underwater structure had technologies that surpassed the world. This deep traveling base was one of the many 'Atlantis' mobile bases deployed around the world.
Having jurisdiction and unrestraint freedom, the World Governing Powers were now more aggressive in their hunt for the terrorist organization that attacked China.
This particular Atlantis would patrol the regions in the South Pacific as the ongoing wars against Australia continued to rage.
One particular soldier decided to report the incident to the higher-ups. His immediate supervisor was surprised at the scene but decided to bring it up to the Fleet Admiral.
"You sure Admiral would like to see this?" The soldier questioned helplessly.
The supervising officer frowned.
"You're the one who showed this to me. If you didn't think this was something worth alerting me, then why are you worried if I showed it to Fleet Admiral Margantae?"
"With all due respect, Sir. I was merely following protocol. You can choose to ignore this report." The soldier gave an embarrassed reply.
"Well, Fleet Admiral did say I should bring anything odd or strange. And I would have ignored anything but this really does look like Lowengren. And she values him that much."
"She really thinks he's alive?" The soldier had a strange expression.
"You know how fans are. Anyways, Fleet Admiral's choices on which team or player she would fan over is her decision. As for me, I'll just do my job." The officer shrugged and took the file containing the video and left the room.
The officer and soldier belonged to one of the more skeptical and guarded military bases of the WGP.
The officer walked and rode several elevators and walked along various transportation routes to get to the main chamber of the various commanders in the base.
During the Third World War, most wireless communications and devices were easily detected, interrupted, manipulated and even blocked with the various technologies of each nation. Because of this, the need to deploy highly trained soldiers who would have the insight of a General was necessary on each major battlefield. These new rank was adopted by several countries and it continued to be so even after the war.
Field Commanders, Naval Commanders, and Sky Commanders were frontline soldiers that had the authority to command and use a wide array of a nation's technological possibilities and were generally trained directly by a General or an Admiral. This was so that whenever technologies would interfere in communication, a battalion could still function and coordinate as these Commanders generally had the same flow and thought.
The General would generally spend the majority of their time training with these Commanders for various scenarios to make these Commanders coordinate well with the General's plan.
The officer approached the main training area of the Commanders of the Pacific Atlantis. This was the most guarded and protected area in the entire mobile fort as the most powerful officials were gathered here.
"Fleet Admiral! We have reports that need your immediate attention." The officer called out respectfully.
Several high officials turned to see why the soldier had interrupted their daily training.
"Report." A tall, and cold woman ordered. She had short hair that would mistake her for a man, and several burn wounds on her face.
"We have a video feed of what we believed to be Lowengren!" The officer reported.
"Only… it's a bit troublesome." The officer continued with an embarrassed expression.
The commanders in the room were shocked. Some even stood up in surprise.
"Oh? That kid? Show it to me." The woman contained her shock but everyone knew that this news greatly affected her.
The name Lowengren was a legend amongst Commanders and Generals. The World Governing Powers had deemed this person a threat and due to the inconclusive reports of his death, the WGP had to check if Lowengren was indeed dead. Secretly, several of the Commanders in this fleet including the Fleet Admiral herself had faced Lowengren in the massively multiplayer game, Generals. It was there, that they tasted defeat.
"Show us the video." A Commander ordered on behalf of the Admiral.
The video was replayed in front of all of them.
"The video was taken from the CCTV camera of a public train station in Nairobi." The soldier reported.
The commander had a strange expression and pointed to the video and asked the soldier with dread in his eyes.
"What the hell is this?"
The officer didn't know how to react and started explaining.
"We've confirmed the identity using facial recognition. Although only one half of his face was clearly seen, we matched it with the recent pictures that Lowengren revealed during the Australian Avarice."
"Is it a 100 percent match?" The Commander continued to ask.
"There were some inconsistencies. But over 76 percent of that revealed area matched with Lowengren's known face. Also, his eye color doesn't match. But our experts believe that this could be due to some special contact lenses. We've already ordered a special team to investigate the area and see if there are any trails that this man left."
"You've left out the most important question." A Commander impatiently replied.
"Commander… I am well aware that this video shows his… his might… and this shouldn't be news that I can… easily show you… But I simply… thought…"
"You simply thought what? Answer the damn question! Why is he naked?" The Commanded then turned to ask.
The officer was silent and simply shook his head.
The video he showed was a recorded CCTV video where the person they believed to be Lowengren had emerged from the staircase and was drunkenly walking carrying a bottle of Gin. Only his left side was revealed but he had no clothes on. This pathetic sight which showcased the drunk teens 'Might' had unknowingly stunned these powerful men and women."
"Well to be fair… a 70% match could be something we have to look into. Our facial recognition system is almost perfect." Another Commander asked.
"Almost. But why would Lowengren appear in a public train station in Africa? And why would he be naked?" Another commander inquired.
"I don't know. Maybe he met some trouble?"
"That bottle his holding… it appears to be some liquor? Maybe Lowengren got drunk." Another Commander sarcastically added.
"You're actually discussing whether or not this is Lowengren? The man who brought Australia to its knees, a man shrouded in mystery even to his alleged death! He was that man who defeated several of us! He was at the peak of intellect, the paragon of cunning, the very definition of cautious! Why would allow himself to be seen publicly?" A Commander who was a well-known fan of Lowengren shouted in defense.
The other commanders could not answer. They knew of Lowengren's potential and this action seemed absurd.
"Maybe he's an exhibitionist?" A commander guessed.
"Please keep it professional." The Admiral gave a silent comment but every Commander became silent.
"Maybe to deliver a message?" Another commander guessed.
"Then why show his face? Why risk showing it to us? If it was to send a message to someone, what's the message?"
"Indeed. The more important question is why would you reveal something that can make us easily identify him?"
"Are you talking about his face or his groin?" Another commander couldn't resist but joke.
The Commander gave an angry glare at the joker.
The joker gave a dry laughed and avoided the eyes of this strict commander.
"This was taken in Africa? A pity that the Fleet Admiral assigned on that continent hates my guts. I guess I have to go." The Fleet Admiral sighed.
"Admiral?" Several surprised voices echoed.
"Although all of this it doesn't make sense and it is most likely not him, this is something he would definitely do."
"Get drunk and walk around naked?" A Commander could not help but reply.
"All that I know is, we cannot take the wisdom of that brat lightly. If he is alive, we should consider all possibilities. Commander Lioner, Aura, Lockhard, and Reinfield. The Atlantis is yours to command. The rest, prepare for departure. We leave for Africa tonight." A rare smile emerged as she gazed hopefully at the screen.
The Commanders around her turned elsewhere.
The Admiral realizing the strange timing of her smile as she looked at the video feeds immediately retracted her gaze and coughed as she walked out.
"It is as Admiral Tanya says. This is so random and so pointless that it couldn't be Lowengren. But of course, we should still send someone there to confirm. Look for someone who would match Lowengren appearance on the right side of the face." Another commander quickly gave a summary to change the topic.
"Let's get ready." He continued as he followed the Admiral.
Meanwhile… Somewhere on the moon.
"IT REALLY IS LOWENGREN!" A shocked Pridgeon reacted after watching the same video feeds.
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Near one of the largest train stations that connected all of the African nations…
Lowengren and Alean's retreat route going back to China through the Red Sea had to be altered. Because of the interference of the strange group that attacked them, Lowengren had to set up another deception to lure the WGP and the Aragarians away.
As such, they actually rode a train towards another city and left the station to travel to a certain home where one of Harker's Programmed Slaves served and changed their disguise into another one before entering the same train station and traveling to another city in Africa. After traveling back and forth and going through the many cities in Africa, they finally disembarked on a specific station. It was very early in the morning, but since the train was interconnected with several cities across the African Continent, the station as critical as this one remained open. And although there were very few people in it as the various exits and gates empty with the lights shot off.
"Alean, let's split up now. Follow the arrangements I've made."
"You haven't told me what you will be doing." Alean furrowed her brows.
"It's best that you don't know. After all, the more genuine your reactions, the better. Just play it by ear." Lowengren shrugged.
The two separated and Alean went off and sought for a security guard in the station.
"Where is your manager? I want to speak to him." Alean spoke seriously. Her disguise was that of a middle-aged woman who had unremarkable features.
The tall black man wondered.
"I've come with orders from the WGP. As you may have heard, something happened on the middle cities which we believe to be a battle. Because of that, we are in search of potential suspects and require to check all the security cameras in the building. Speak to your supervisor if you don't know what I'm talking about." Alean's voice was calm. The look she had however made the tall security guard treat her seriously and immediately contacted his superiors.
It wasn't long until several black men arrived and started talking with Alean.
In truth, as Alean and Lowengren suspected, the battle they had at the park sparked attention and alarm to the African Government. Security on most public transportations was on high alert to identify people who weren't detected in their system or who have traveled illegally.
Alean maintained her serious expressions and followed the group into the large security room where all video feeds are being displayed and even broadcasted to several other areas of the Government.
"As this station is a hub that connects its too other stations, we need to properly identify all personnel. My own identity should have also surfaced in your systems. I will be frank. I've been sent on a secret mission. We do not know the organization which has caused that attack on the Middle Cities." A grave expression surfaced on Alean's face as she continued to explain the details of her mission.
Almost immediately, the security team sprang to action. Their computers were all working at top-notch speed as all the faces of people entering and exiting the station were shown.
Alean was secretly looking at the camera feeds and sending it to Lowengren.
Somewhere, in the dark corners of the large train station, Lowengren was studying the feeds carefully analyzing the position, direction, and movements of the cameras.
"This should be good. Alright. Just act out accordingly to what you see." Lowengren gave Alean some instructions before going silent.
Alean was curious just what this deception was?
Soon, the answer to her question was shown on screen.
Her jaw dropped open as she stared in shock at the scene.
"Hm? Sir! Look!" One of the guards pointed.
As the guard's eyes were drawn to the screen they were stunned.
"What is going on?! Who is that?!"
"I don't know! Should we let him in?" A guard was so confused at the scene that he asked a strange question.
"Let him in? Are you insane!? Guards! Head to the north entrance! I want to capture a madman!" The leader announced angrily as he rushed out of the room.
Alean was dumbstruck that she couldn't speak.
"Why does that person look familiar?" One of the guards suddenly murmured.
Alean noticed it as well. There had to be a reason why Lowengren revealed his true face.
"Isn't that… Lowengren?" Alean guessed.
At that point, the guards who were looking started to have shock faces.
They reviewed the tapes, again and again, to see and zoom at the face of Lowengren.
Lowengren's face was never fully shown in the camera. The angles they could only manage could at most show only half of his face.
Alean bid her farewell after confirming that there were no individuals who were able to escape the Blockchain network. Alean walked out calmly but still inwardly shaken with what she saw. The place where Lowengren had chosen as his stage to reveal his madness was one of the least used exits as it directly led to the main highway, and since there were very few buses commuting at that time, no one would pass by that area except the occasional drunks.
Alean moved to avoid the CCTV and finally waited at the other end of the station which was similarly unused as of this hour. It was the exit at the opposite end where Lowengren revealed himself.
Lowengren rushed towards the dark alleys careful to evade all the cameras in the city that are used for the government to monitor the area.
Alean continued to wait in the area where Lowengren left her. The waiting made her grow more impatient.
Soon her expression was sour. She constantly grumbled and wanted to tear Lowengren apart.
Lowengren finally appeared and immediately rushed towards Alean to wear the disguise he used to wear.
"What the hell was that?!" Alean cursed.
"SHHH! Be quiet. We don't know if they can hear us!" Alean and Lowengren had been speaking at a speed that was faster than to what a normal human could understand.
"You showed yourself to the world! The WGP is watching over us! They'd pick up on you!"
"It's a deception." Lowengren easily.
"That wasn't deception! That was insanity!"
"Exactly. That was the point."
"How was that the point?!" Alean was so angry.
"Think about it. I want to make myself seen by the Aragarians. The problem is that the World Governing Powers are also watching. So how do I deceive one party and not alert the other?!"
"I don't know! But definitely not what you just did!"
"Think! My actions have to make the WGP doubt it's me so they can ignore it! But on the other hand, our recent deception has made Pridgeon extremely obsessed with exterminating the Jews, remember? So that action of mine is perfectly reasonable!"
"The hell it was!" Alean cursed angrily.
"Relax! Have faith in my Path!"
Alean gave Lowengren a quiet stare. She had to admit, Lowengren has yet to fail with his path.
"Explain how you did it."
"All I have to do is deceive the WGP into thinking that it's not me. I don't need to deceive the highest officials who control the world. I may get the attention of several army leaders, but they'd probably not bother with it. In fact, most of the people working with the WGP would probably ignore it and not report it to the higher-ups. But even if they do, I'm still confident that they wouldn't think so much of it. That's why I had to do that."
Just as Lowengren predicted, the various bases of the WGP had been notified of the video from the train station.
"You wanted me… to see this? What's wrong with you?" A network manager of one of WGP's bases reprimanded.
"But Sir! The system detected that it's Lowengren!"
"No, it's not! Don't bother me with this useless reports!" The manager angrily stormed out of the room.
Similar scenes were played out on different parts of the world. Lowengren however, failed to realize one possible loophole from his deception.
On the depths of an undisclosed part of the Pacific Ocean, a large structure that was as wide as a mountain kept crawling on the ocean floors. Apart from the distance and the various interference that other nations used to mask signals, this underwater structure had technologies that surpassed the world. This deep traveling base was one of the many 'Atlantis' mobile bases deployed around the world.
Having jurisdiction and unrestraint freedom, the World Governing Powers were now more aggressive in their hunt for the terrorist organization that attacked China.
This particular Atlantis would patrol the regions in the South Pacific as the ongoing wars against Australia continued to rage.
One particular soldier decided to report the incident to the higher-ups. His immediate supervisor was surprised at the scene but decided to bring it up to the Fleet Admiral.
"You sure Admiral would like to see this?" The soldier questioned helplessly.
The supervising officer frowned.
"You're the one who showed this to me. If you didn't think this was something worth alerting me, then why are you worried if I showed it to Fleet Admiral Margantae?"
"With all due respect, Sir. I was merely following protocol. You can choose to ignore this report." The soldier gave an embarrassed reply.
"Well, Fleet Admiral did say I should bring anything odd or strange. And I would have ignored anything but this really does look like Lowengren. And she values him that much."
"She really thinks he's alive?" The soldier had a strange expression.
"You know how fans are. Anyways, Fleet Admiral's choices on which team or player she would fan over is her decision. As for me, I'll just do my job." The officer shrugged and took the file containing the video and left the room.
The officer and soldier belonged to one of the more skeptical and guarded military bases of the WGP.
The officer walked and rode several elevators and walked along various transportation routes to get to the main chamber of the various commanders in the base.
During the Third World War, most wireless communications and devices were easily detected, interrupted, manipulated and even blocked with the various technologies of each nation. Because of this, the need to deploy highly trained soldiers who would have the insight of a General was necessary on each major battlefield. These new rank was adopted by several countries and it continued to be so even after the war.
Field Commanders, Naval Commanders, and Sky Commanders were frontline soldiers that had the authority to command and use a wide array of a nation's technological possibilities and were generally trained directly by a General or an Admiral. This was so that whenever technologies would interfere in communication, a battalion could still function and coordinate as these Commanders generally had the same flow and thought.
The General would generally spend the majority of their time training with these Commanders for various scenarios to make these Commanders coordinate well with the General's plan.
The officer approached the main training area of the Commanders of the Pacific Atlantis. This was the most guarded and protected area in the entire mobile fort as the most powerful officials were gathered here.
"Fleet Admiral! We have reports that need your immediate attention." The officer called out respectfully.
Several high officials turned to see why the soldier had interrupted their daily training.
"Report." A tall, and cold woman ordered. She had short hair that would mistake her for a man, and several burn wounds on her face.
"We have a video feed of what we believed to be Lowengren!" The officer reported.
"Only… it's a bit troublesome." The officer continued with an embarrassed expression.
The commanders in the room were shocked. Some even stood up in surprise.
"Oh? That kid? Show it to me." The woman contained her shock but everyone knew that this news greatly affected her.
The name Lowengren was a legend amongst Commanders and Generals. The World Governing Powers had deemed this person a threat and due to the inconclusive reports of his death, the WGP had to check if Lowengren was indeed dead. Secretly, several of the Commanders in this fleet including the Fleet Admiral herself had faced Lowengren in the massively multiplayer game, Generals. It was there, that they tasted defeat.
"Show us the video." A Commander ordered on behalf of the Admiral.
The video was replayed in front of all of them.
"The video was taken from the CCTV camera of a public train station in Nairobi." The soldier reported.
The commander had a strange expression and pointed to the video and asked the soldier with dread in his eyes.
"What the hell is this?"
The officer didn't know how to react and started explaining.
"We've confirmed the identity using facial recognition. Although only one half of his face was clearly seen, we matched it with the recent pictures that Lowengren revealed during the Australian Avarice."
"Is it a 100 percent match?" The Commander continued to ask.
"There were some inconsistencies. But over 76 percent of that revealed area matched with Lowengren's known face. Also, his eye color doesn't match. But our experts believe that this could be due to some special contact lenses. We've already ordered a special team to investigate the area and see if there are any trails that this man left."
"You've left out the most important question." A Commander impatiently replied.
"Commander… I am well aware that this video shows his… his might… and this shouldn't be news that I can… easily show you… But I simply… thought…"
"You simply thought what? Answer the damn question! Why is he naked?" The Commanded then turned to ask.
The officer was silent and simply shook his head.
The video he showed was a recorded CCTV video where the person they believed to be Lowengren had emerged from the staircase and was drunkenly walking carrying a bottle of Gin. Only his left side was revealed but he had no clothes on. This pathetic sight which showcased the drunk teens 'Might' had unknowingly stunned these powerful men and women."
"Well to be fair… a 70% match could be something we have to look into. Our facial recognition system is almost perfect." Another Commander asked.
"Almost. But why would Lowengren appear in a public train station in Africa? And why would he be naked?" Another commander inquired.
"I don't know. Maybe he met some trouble?"
"That bottle his holding… it appears to be some liquor? Maybe Lowengren got drunk." Another Commander sarcastically added.
"You're actually discussing whether or not this is Lowengren? The man who brought Australia to its knees, a man shrouded in mystery even to his alleged death! He was that man who defeated several of us! He was at the peak of intellect, the paragon of cunning, the very definition of cautious! Why would allow himself to be seen publicly?" A Commander who was a well-known fan of Lowengren shouted in defense.
The other commanders could not answer. They knew of Lowengren's potential and this action seemed absurd.
"Maybe he's an exhibitionist?" A commander guessed.
"Please keep it professional." The Admiral gave a silent comment but every Commander became silent.
"Maybe to deliver a message?" Another commander guessed.
"Then why show his face? Why risk showing it to us? If it was to send a message to someone, what's the message?"
"Indeed. The more important question is why would you reveal something that can make us easily identify him?"
"Are you talking about his face or his groin?" Another commander couldn't resist but joke.
The Commander gave an angry glare at the joker.
The joker gave a dry laughed and avoided the eyes of this strict commander.
"This was taken in Africa? A pity that the Fleet Admiral assigned on that continent hates my guts. I guess I have to go." The Fleet Admiral sighed.
"Admiral?" Several surprised voices echoed.
"Although all of this it doesn't make sense and it is most likely not him, this is something he would definitely do."
"Get drunk and walk around naked?" A Commander could not help but reply.
"All that I know is, we cannot take the wisdom of that brat lightly. If he is alive, we should consider all possibilities. Commander Lioner, Aura, Lockhard, and Reinfield. The Atlantis is yours to command. The rest, prepare for departure. We leave for Africa tonight." A rare smile emerged as she gazed hopefully at the screen.
The Commanders around her turned elsewhere.
The Admiral realizing the strange timing of her smile as she looked at the video feeds immediately retracted her gaze and coughed as she walked out.
"It is as Admiral Tanya says. This is so random and so pointless that it couldn't be Lowengren. But of course, we should still send someone there to confirm. Look for someone who would match Lowengren appearance on the right side of the face." Another commander quickly gave a summary to change the topic.
"Let's get ready." He continued as he followed the Admiral.
Meanwhile… Somewhere on the moon.
"IT REALLY IS LOWENGREN!" A shocked Pridgeon reacted after watching the same video feeds.
Near one of the largest train stations that connected all of the African nationsLowengren and Alean's retreat route going back to China through the Red Sea had to be altered. Because of the interference of the strange group that attacked them, Lowengren had to set up another deception to lure the WGP and the Aragarians away.As such, they actually rode a train towards another city and left the station to travel to a certain home where one of Harker's Programmed Slaves served and changed their disguise into another one before entering the same train station and traveling to another city in Africa. After traveling back and forth and going through the many cities in Africa, they finally disembarked on a specific station. It was very early in the morning, but since the train was interconnected with several cities across the African Continent, the station as critical as this one remained open. And although there were very few people in it as the various exits and gates empty with the lights shot off."Alean, let's split up now. Follow the arrangements I've made.""You haven't told me what you will be doing." Alean furrowed her brows."It's best that you don't know. After all, the more genuine your reactions, the better. Just play it by ear." Lowengren shrugged.The two separated and Alean went off and sought for a security guard in the station."Where is your manager? I want to speak to him." Alean spoke seriously. Her disguise was that of a middle-aged woman who had unremarkable features.The tall black man wondered."I've come with orders from the WGP. As you may have heard, something happened on the middle cities which we believe to be a battle. Because of that, we are in search of potential suspects and require to check all the security cameras in the building. Speak to your supervisor if you don't know what I'm talking about." Alean's voice was calm. The look she had however made the tall security guard treat her seriously and immediately contacted his superiors.It wasn't long until several black men arrived and started talking with Alean.In truth, as Alean and Lowengren suspected, the battle they had at the park sparked attention and alarm to the African Government. Security on most public transportations was on high alert to identify people who weren't detected in their system or who have traveled illegally.Alean maintained her serious expressions and followed the group into the large security room where all video feeds are being displayed and even broadcasted to several other areas of the Government."As this station is a hub that connects its too other stations, we need to properly identify all personnel. My own identity should have also surfaced in your systems. I will be frank. I've been sent on a secret mission. We do not know the organization which has caused that attack on the Middle Cities." A grave expression surfaced on Alean's face as she continued to explain the details of her mission.Almost immediately, the security team sprang to action. Their computers were all working at top-notch speed as all the faces of people entering and exiting the station were shown.Alean was secretly looking at the camera feeds and sending it to Lowengren.Somewhere, in the dark corners of the large train station, Lowengren was studying the feeds carefully analyzing the position, direction, and movements of the cameras."This should be good. Alright. Just act out accordingly to what you see." Lowengren gave Alean some instructions before going silent.Alean was curious just what this deception was?Soon, the answer to her question was shown on screen.Her jaw dropped open as she stared in shock at the scene."Hm? Sir! Look!" One of the guards pointed.As the guard's eyes were drawn to the screen they were stunned."What is going on?! Who is that?!""I don't know! Should we let him in?" A guard was so confused at the scene that he asked a strange question."Let him in? Are you insane!? Guards! Head to the north entrance! I want to capture a madman!" The leader announced angrily as he rushed out of the room.Alean was dumbstruck that she couldn't speak."Why does that person look familiar?" One of the guards suddenly murmured.Alean noticed it as well. There had to be a reason why Lowengren revealed his true face."Isn't that Lowengren?" Alean guessed.At that point, the guards who were looking started to have shock faces.They reviewed the tapes, again and again, to see and zoom at the face of Lowengren.Lowengren's face was never fully shown in the camera. The angles they could only manage could at most show only half of his face.Alean bid her farewell after confirming that there were no individuals who were able to escape the Blockchain network. Alean walked out calmly but still inwardly shaken with what she saw. The place where Lowengren had chosen as his stage to reveal his madness was one of the least used exits as it directly led to the main highway, and since there were very few buses commuting at that time, no one would pass by that area except the occasional drunks.Alean moved to avoid the CCTV and finally waited at the other end of the station which was similarly unused as of this hour. It was the exit at the opposite end where Lowengren revealed himself.Lowengren rushed towards the dark alleys careful to evade all the cameras in the city that are used for the government to monitor the area.Alean continued to wait in the area where Lowengren left her. The waiting made her grow more impatient.Soon her expression was sour. She constantly grumbled and wanted to tear Lowengren apart.Lowengren finally appeared and immediately rushed towards Alean to wear the disguise he used to wear."What the hell was that?!" Alean cursed."SHHH! Be quiet. We don't know if they can hear us!" Alean and Lowengren had been speaking at a speed that was faster than to what a normal human could understand."You showed yourself to the world! The WGP is watching over us! They'd pick up on you!""It's a deception." Lowengren easily."That wasn't deception! That was insanity!""Exactly. That was the point.""How was that the point?!" Alean was so angry."Think about it. I want to make myself seen by the Aragarians. The problem is that the World Governing Powers are also watching. So how do I deceive one party and not alert the other?!""I don't know! But definitely not what you just did!""Think! My actions have to make the WGP doubt it's me so they can ignore it! But on the other hand, our recent deception has made Pridgeon extremely obsessed with exterminating the Jews, remember? So that action of mine is perfectly reasonable!""The hell it was!" Alean cursed angrily."Relax! Have faith in my Path!"Alean gave Lowengren a quiet stare. She had to admit, Lowengren has yet to fail with his path."Explain how you did it.""All I have to do is deceive the WGP into thinking that it's not me. I don't need to deceive the highest officials who control the world. I may get the attention of several army leaders, but they'd probably not bother with it. In fact, most of the people working with the WGP would probably ignore it and not report it to the higher-ups. But even if they do, I'm still confident that they wouldn't think so much of it. That's why I had to do that."Just as Lowengren predicted, the various bases of the WGP had been notified of the video from the train station."You wanted me to see this? What's wrong with you?" A network manager of one of WGP's bases reprimanded."But Sir! The system detected that it's Lowengren!""No, it's not! Don't bother me with this useless reports!" The manager angrily stormed out of the room.Similar scenes were played out on different parts of the world. Lowengren however, failed to realize one possible loophole from his deception.On the depths of an undisclosed part of the Pacific Ocean, a large structure that was as wide as a mountain kept crawling on the ocean floors. Apart from the distance and the various interference that other nations used to mask signals, this underwater structure had technologies that surpassed the world. This deep traveling base was one of the many 'Atlantis' mobile bases deployed around the world.Having jurisdiction and unrestraint freedom, the World Governing Powers were now more aggressive in their hunt for the terrorist organization that attacked China.This particular Atlantis would patrol the regions in the South Pacific as the ongoing wars against Australia continued to rage.One particular soldier decided to report the incident to the higher-ups. His immediate supervisor was surprised at the scene but decided to bring it up to the Fleet Admiral."You sure Admiral would like to see this?" The soldier questioned helplessly.The supervising officer frowned."You're the one who showed this to me. If you didn't think this was something worth alerting me, then why are you worried if I showed it to Fleet Admiral Margantae?""With all due respect, Sir. I was merely following protocol. You can choose to ignore this report." The soldier gave an embarrassed reply."Well, Fleet Admiral did say I should bring anything odd or strange. And I would have ignored anything but this really does look like Lowengren. And she values him that much.""She really thinks he's alive?" The soldier had a strange expression."You know how fans are. Anyways, Fleet Admiral's choices on which team or player she would fan over is her decision. As for me, I'll just do my job." The officer shrugged and took the file containing the video and left the room.The officer and soldier belonged to one of the more skeptical and guarded military bases of the WGP.The officer walked and rode several elevators and walked along various transportation routes to get to the main chamber of the various commanders in the base.During the Third World War, most wireless communications and devices were easily detected, interrupted, manipulated and even blocked with the various technologies of each nation. Because of this, the need to deploy highly trained soldiers who would have the insight of a General was necessary on each major battlefield. These new rank was adopted by several countries and it continued to be so even after the war.Field Commanders, Naval Commanders, and Sky Commanders were frontline soldiers that had the authority to command and use a wide array of a nation's technological possibilities and were generally trained directly by a General or an Admiral. This was so that whenever technologies would interfere in communication, a battalion could still function and coordinate as these Commanders generally had the same flow and thought.The General would generally spend the majority of their time training with these Commanders for various scenarios to make these Commanders coordinate well with the General's plan.The officer approached the main training area of the Commanders of the Pacific Atlantis. This was the most guarded and protected area in the entire mobile fort as the most powerful officials were gathered here."Fleet Admiral! We have reports that need your immediate attention." The officer called out respectfully.Several high officials turned to see why the soldier had interrupted their daily training."Report." A tall, and cold woman ordered. She had short hair that would mistake her for a man, and several burn wounds on her face."We have a video feed of what we believed to be Lowengren!" The officer reported."Only it's a bit troublesome." The officer continued with an embarrassed expression.The commanders in the room were shocked. Some even stood up in surprise."Oh? That kid? Show it to me." The woman contained her shock but everyone knew that this news greatly affected her.The name Lowengren was a legend amongst Commanders and Generals. The World Governing Powers had deemed this person a threat and due to the inconclusive reports of his death, the WGP had to check if Lowengren was indeed dead. Secretly, several of the Commanders in this fleet including the Fleet Admiral herself had faced Lowengren in the massively multiplayer game, Generals. It was there, that they tasted defeat."Show us the video." A Commander ordered on behalf of the Admiral.The video was replayed in front of all of them."The video was taken from the CCTV camera of a public train station in Nairobi." The soldier reported.The commander had a strange expression and pointed to the video and asked the soldier with dread in his eyes."What the hell is this?"The officer didn't know how to react and started explaining."We've confirmed the identity using facial recognition. Although only one half of his face was clearly seen, we matched it with the recent pictures that Lowengren revealed during the Australian Avarice.""Is it a 100 percent match?" The Commander continued to ask."There were some inconsistencies. But over 76 percent of that revealed area matched with Lowengren's known face. Also, his eye color doesn't match. But our experts believe that this could be due to some special contact lenses. We've already ordered a special team to investigate the area and see if there are any trails that this man left.""You've left out the most important question." A Commander impatiently replied."Commander I am well aware that this video shows his his might and this shouldn't be news that I can easily show you But I simply thought""You simply thought what? Answer the damn question! Why is he naked?" The Commanded then turned to ask.The officer was silent and simply shook his head.The video he showed was a recorded CCTV video where the person they believed to be Lowengren had emerged from the staircase and was drunkenly walking carrying a bottle of Gin. Only his left side was revealed but he had no clothes on. This pathetic sight which showcased the drunk teens 'Might' had unknowingly stunned these powerful men and women.""Well to be fair a 70% match could be something we have to look into. Our facial recognition system is almost perfect." Another Commander asked."Almost. But why would Lowengren appear in a public train station in Africa? And why would he be naked?" Another commander inquired."I don't know. Maybe he met some trouble?""That bottle his holding it appears to be some liquor? Maybe Lowengren got drunk." Another Commander sarcastically added."You're actually discussing whether or not this is Lowengren? The man who brought Australia to its knees, a man shrouded in mystery even to his alleged death! He was that man who defeated several of us! He was at the peak of intellect, the paragon of cunning, the very definition of cautious! Why would allow himself to be seen publicly?" A Commander who was a well-known fan of Lowengren shouted in defense.The other commanders could not answer. They knew of Lowengren's potential and this action seemed absurd."Maybe he's an exhibitionist?" A commander guessed."Please keep it professional." The Admiral gave a silent comment but every Commander became silent."Maybe to deliver a message?" Another commander guessed."Then why show his face? Why risk showing it to us? If it was to send a message to someone, what's the message?""Indeed. The more important question is why would you reveal something that can make us easily identify him?""Are you talking about his face or his groin?" Another commander couldn't resist but joke.The Commander gave an angry glare at the joker.The joker gave a dry laughed and avoided the eyes of this strict commander."This was taken in Africa? A pity that the Fleet Admiral assigned on that continent hates my guts. I guess I have to go." The Fleet Admiral sighed."Admiral?" Several surprised voices echoed."Although all of this it doesn't make sense and it is most likely not him, this is something he would definitely do.""Get drunk and walk around naked?" A Commander could not help but reply."All that I know is, we cannot take the wisdom of that brat lightly. If he is alive, we should consider all possibilities. Commander Lioner, Aura, Lockhard, and Reinfield. The Atlantis is yours to command. The rest, prepare for departure. We leave for Africa tonight." A rare smile emerged as she gazed hopefully at the screen.The Commanders around her turned elsewhere.The Admiral realizing the strange timing of her smile as she looked at the video feeds immediately retracted her gaze and coughed as she walked out."It is as Admiral Tanya says. This is so random and so pointless that it couldn't be Lowengren. But of course, we should still send someone there to confirm. Look for someone who would match Lowengren appearance on the right side of the face." Another commander quickly gave a summary to change the topic."Let's get ready." He continued as he followed the Admiral.Meanwhile Somewhere on the moon."IT REALLY IS LOWENGREN!" A shocked Pridgeon reacted after watching the same video feeds.
