It was indeed an awkward situation to be sunk by a mine during World War I because no one knew whether the mine was laid by the enemy or friendly forces.
At that time, there was no sonar, and the technology of charting and making mines was relatively outdated. Britain and Germany had laid 310,000 mines in the First World War, and who knew where they were all laid.
If the iron chain fastening the mine broke, the mine would drift with the waves; if there was a problem with the fuse, it would explode immediately once in the water. Even before early magnetic mines appeared, sea turtles could hit them and die.
There were many problems.
The defending side's ports would dispatch minelayers to lay mines extensively outside the ports, leaving only one channel open. This made it convenient for defense and prevented enemy landing operations. The attacking side, on the other hand, used submarines to lay mines on port channels to block supply routes or delay enemy action.
So it remains a mystery whose side sank Bird's ship.
Speaking of World War I, it was somewhat better. During World War II, Britain and Germany laid a total of 1.1 million mines. The British records for laying mines were just one sentence — deployed in the English Channel, the Mediterranean Sea, and the North Atlantic.
What's the difference between such a broad range of records and having none at all?
In this era, British sailors were deeply superstitious about a theory that if the ship was gone, so were the people; if the ship sank, the captain must go down with it as a gentleman.
The captain of the Titanic was like this, and so were countless navy captains.
After Britain defeated the Spanish Armada, it became the dominant maritime power for hundreds of years. Countries wishing to develop a navy would go to Britain to learn. Naturally, this ethos gradually influenced the world, and going down with the ship became a trend in the naval world.
Until the United States Navy broke this rule during World War II.
The American approach was that if a ship sank, they would build a new one. As long as people were unscathed, the Army and Air Force would surrender if they could rather than fight to the death.
Why? Because experienced military personnel are more valuable than weapons.
From when the United States joined World War II in 1941 to when Japan surrendered in 1945, America launched over 140 aircraft carriers in four short years, manufactured 40 billion rounds of various bullets, 300,000 aircraft, and 200,000 tanks.
Once, the British Army lost 500 tanks in the Battle of El Alamein in 1942, but before the troops could pull back for rest, the Americans had 600 brand-new Sherman tanks ready for them.
Of course, the design of the Sherman tank had some issues and was called a 'mobile oven' or 'lighter' by soldiers. Its characteristic was that it would catch fire if hit, and sometimes it even caught fire without being hit... but having a tank is better than not having one, right?
American naval captains all knew that a ship sinking wasn't important; as long as you returned alive, they would give you a new one. The military arsenal operates with such indulgence, and this is the victory of production capacity.
So later, other countries no longer followed the code of people going down with the ship.
It's just that as for 1925, those things in Su Ming's memory hadn't happened yet.
This period was quite awkward; World War I was over, and World War II hadn't started. What should Su Ming do? Speaking of which, at this time, Captain America was just five years old, so I might as well go find him.
Bird noticed Su Ming seemed a bit absent-minded, thinking he was staring at his prosthetic leg, so he candidly rolled up his trouser leg, exposing the somewhat darkened wooden material to the sunlight.
"I originally intended to go down with the ship, but unfortunately, an explosion blew off a leg, and I fainted from blood loss. By the time I woke up, I had been discharged and was lying in a military nursing home in Liverpool."
So he couldn't gloriously die as a naval captain. Even committing suicide would only be as an ordinary person; war was no longer relevant to him.
He took his severance pay and crossed the ocean to Hawaii, where a sailor friend once told him it was a good place, intending to spend the rest of his life there.
Hawaii was annexed by the United States in 1898, and English could be used here as well. This isolated island in the ocean was like a Peach Blossom Spring, just suitable for a disheartened old man like him.
Su Ming probably guessed his thoughts, but as a Transmigrator and Future Person, he knew this secluded utopia was not long-lived.
How far is Pearl Harbor from here? 50 nautical miles? 70 nautical miles?
Perhaps not even that far. Once World War II breaks out, the British Navy will summon retired officers back to the army to take up positions. Relying on his previous rank as a destroyer captain, at least a major, there is a good chance there will be a new ship by then.
Missing a leg doesn't affect naval combat effectiveness. He could even miss an eye, or a hand, and it wouldn't matter.
Put on a hook, maybe get a parrot or a monkey, and his combat capability might even increase.
Especially the parrot, it has to be the red-feathered kind, with a mouthful of standard Caribbean accent, very impressive.
Su Ming smiled while helping him roll down his trouser leg. This British guy was just unappreciated now; he actually wanted to return to the sea, but failing to die when he wanted to surely left him feeling lost.
"By the way, let's not talk about the past, what is the name of this island? Hawaiian is a bit hard to remember."
"Hehe, I couldn't remember it when I first got here either. This island is called Kahoolawe, the eighth largest volcanic island in the Hawaiian Islands."
Bird laughed as he wiped his mustache, which was a thick, white, straight line and appeared to be well-maintained.
Alright, now Su Ming knew his exact location.
Only Kahoolawe, rather than being a future tourist destination, was where the United States tested bombs after 1950.
Although atomic bombs were not tested here, several hundred thousand conventional bombs were tested until it stopped after President Bush took office in 1995.
Because this sizable island had no water source, it lost its value.
So, to say....
"You're the only ones on this island?" Su Ming was somewhat curious. In Deathstroke's memory, Kahol Island was an empty island, though historically there were indeed people who lived on it, he didn't expect they were British.
"Yes, I bought it from your Governor for two thousand pounds." Bird smiled and nodded. He liked it here, so he bought it.
An island without fresh water is not valuable. There are tens of thousands of such islands in the Pacific Ocean, and though this island is somewhat larger, in this era, 2,000 pounds was already considered a fortune.
Pounds were a gold-standard currency, and after World War I, the pound remained stable, equivalent to 7.3 grams of gold.
Bird now seemed to be around fifty, but he should have only been in his thirties or forties when he became captain. Somehow the calculation doesn't add up; this should be related to his background or family, or else the retirement benefits of just a discharged officer surely wouldn't be enough to buy an island.
"And these people?"
Su Ming pointed at the people carrying stuff on the dock; their skin was darker, and he originally thought they were natives.
Bird nodded: "They are my butler, gardener, and hired workers. We need to buy enough food and water every week from Honolulu, otherwise, it is impossible to survive on this island."
He wanted to play at isolation, yet he brought along a butler and gardener.
Truly... He knows how to live.