Humanity Forbidden Island [Full Text] - 3

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Misunderstandings in the Night Stream

No matter the situation, if there's danger, I'll protect them both immediately. Perhaps suddenly standing up from the stream, my erect and arrogant member between my legs might frighten Luya and Yiliang, but such impulsive actions should be seen as endearing; men sometimes suffer.

The force of the stream was perfect for washing the wound on my back. I felt like an eel struggling to break free was tied between my legs, swaying back and forth with the current, which greatly eased the pain.

Luya and Yiliang always spent a little longer washing their private parts. The Creator must have endowed women with the same patience when creating things, so that they wouldn't feel bored or tedious when washing their complex and beautiful organs. The soft flesh inside and out, cleansed by feel, was pleasurable if the pressure was controlled.

"Let's go give that big crocodile a bath," Luya said to Yiliang with a smile. The two girls approached me with smiles. The way my body lay prone in the stream, with only half its head above water, resembled that of a crocodile. Seeing the two girls approaching, I could only remain motionless, nowhere to crawl; standing up would only frighten them. The starry sky cast a soft moonlight, and the two graceful young women's bodies waded closer and closer through the stream. Below her snow-white belly, Luya's curves were smooth and flawless, while Yiliang's were already lush and vibrant, possessing a mysterious allure.

Two pairs of white-pink knees softly pressed against my shoulders, one on each side. Yiliang said tenderly, "Lift your back, we'll help you wash." I slightly raised my legs, which were straight in the water, so that my back floated to the surface. Luya was impatient; she was about to reach out with her delicate hands to wash me when Yiliang grabbed her arm, saying, "Slow down, don't touch the wound." Luya quickly hummed in agreement, her chubby hands gently stroking my back.

Yi Liang was a meticulous girl; she gently washed me with her chubby little hands, careful not to hurt me. Lu Ya knew she wasn't as steady as Yi Liang, so she only washed areas far from the wound. The flowing stream was erratic, the water level rising and falling, making my buttocks appear and disappear like a fishing float.

The two girls saw everything clearly, silently covering their cherry-like mouths and secretly laughing. The girls' laughter made me feel like a crocodile in a zoo, being directed by its trainer to be played with by curious children. Lu Ya finally couldn't resist her playfulness and began poking and pinching my buttocks here and there with her fingers, chilled by the stream water.

Seeing her playful antics, Yi Liang and the two girls giggled. My eyes remained on the water's surface, still observing the surroundings; my crotch, with the naked girls so close, swelled even more unrestrainedly. Yi Liang, aroused by Lu Ya's playful nature, would occasionally reach out and touch my buttocks, wanting to see just how fun it was to make Lu Ya laugh so happily.

A woman's gentleness naturally includes an intellectual care for a man. After scrubbing my back clean, Yi Liang put her hands in the water to wash my arms and chest. Seeing this, Lu Ya imitated her. My current position made it difficult for them to wash me properly; if I turned over, my lower body would probably burst out of the water like an enraged eel, swaying from side to side, ready to bite some young girl.

Lu Ya always wanted to wash me faster than Yi Liang; her slender hands barely rubbed my chest before moving on to my lower abdomen. If she were to bathe me alone, she probably wouldn't even get the mud off.

"Ah, a trout!" With Luya's scream, my lower abdomen and back involuntarily twitched. I felt my swollen, almost frantic member being gripped by several soft, slender fingers. The force was a little excessive, causing my erection to jerk twice, as if trying to break free of the soft, squeezing hand and leap out of the water.

Yi Liang was surprised and quickly looked at me, thinking I would suddenly squat down to grab the trout Luya had mentioned beneath me. I didn't move at all, remaining motionless in the water like a tamed crocodile. Luya, however, suddenly stood up and ran towards the edge of the stream. "Snake! There's a snake!" Seeing Luya's terrified expression, Yi Liang quickly got up and jumped to the stream bank.

The two girls stood naked on the bank, looking at me with eyes full of fear and confusion, wondering why I hadn't reacted defensively. "The snake's gone," I said dully. The two girls still hesitated, not daring to come any closer. “It was a trout, it's already swum away,” I said again. Only then did they hesitantly return to my side. Yi Liang's pretty, delicate face still showed lingering shock as she scolded Lu Ya, “Look how scared you were!”

Lu Ya chuckled sheepishly and continued washing me. On the way back to the cave, Yi Liang was ahead of me. She leaned close to Lu Ya's ear and whispered something. The two alluring girls whispered for a moment, then turned to look at me, laughing mysteriously.

Chi Chun was already asleep with the child. Yi Liang and Lu Ya, their fair and beautiful bodies naked, lay together on the bearskin. Lu Ya suddenly sat up, stretching out her delicate arms to me, begging me to come over and lie down, to hold her while we slept. I pulled up my pants, squeezed between the two cool girls, turned to my side, and wrapped my arms around Lu Ya, starting to sleep.

Yi Liang pressed her soft, elastic breasts against my back, keeping her lower abdomen away, afraid of touching my wound. The bathed girl was like a lotus emerging from the water, exuding fragrance.

The day's fatigue was washed away by the stream, but weariness quickly overwhelmed everyone, and they soon fell asleep. My ears were still perked up, and my rifle was held steadily in front of me. The sudden appearance of nearly two thousand pounds of fresh meat in the cave could easily attract new ferocious beasts. The giant bear skin was too damp, infested with lice and fleas, and needed to be dried and processed before I could sleep on it.

In the middle of the night, the wooden door rustled, startling me awake. I grabbed my rifle, released the safety, and aimed it at the dark cave entrance. My heart pounded as I looked behind me at the giant bear skin and the pile of fresh meat. I was terrified that another enormous creature would appear at the cave entrance, and even feeding it meat wouldn't appease its frenzied attack fueled by the strong smell of meat.

In the sudden flash of light from the fire inside the cave, two eerie green eyes appeared. A cold sweat immediately ran down my spine. Judging from the outline of its menacing eyes, it was definitely a leopard. My heart eased slightly; bullets from a jungle rifle were still quite lethal against a wild leopard with relatively thin fur.

If it dared to use its claws to carve a hole in the wooden door and crawl in to eat meat or hurt people, I could easily riddle it with bullets. I already had two thousand pounds of meat; adding another hundred or so pounds of this would be quite good, though the bullets would be too wasteful.

The sound of it clawing at the wooden door had only been heard a few times when a small, thin leopard head poked its head in. The fear instantly vanished from my body; I had been startled by a leopard cat. It

was probably the same one that had followed us all day. Being too small, and seeing the fresh meat readily available on the three large sleds without being able to eat it, the thieving creature had finally resorted to stealing. I slowly picked up a wooden stick from beside the fire. If it got its head stuck in the crack of the wooden door, or sneaked in timidly along the wall, I'd smash it to death with the stick, so I wouldn't be scared by it again.

This leopard cat was small and agile, its head small but surprisingly shrewd. Seeing me pick up something, it immediately crouched, tail raised, ready to leap back at any moment. This annoyed me. Was I really going to spend the night with this night owl? At dawn, it could find a big tree to lie down and sleep, while I had many urgent things to do.

Human wisdom and imagination can sometimes be cruel and terrifying. I really wished I had a trap, with a small piece of meat on it. If it dared to risk everything for such a meager treat, its spine would be crushed by its sharp teeth, and even if it was lucky, it would escape with half a leg. But for now, that was all I could imagine. As for tools, there were countless. These days, having an axe and a saw was more precious than a car for a farmer.

Not a single piece of meat could be fed to the leopard cat. If it got too fond of it, it would come every day, turning the cave into a charity. Besides, I was afraid its breath would attract more leopard cats or even large predators. In the dim light, I found a stone and held it in my hand. If I could smash it on its head, the pain would lessen the cat's greed and let it know that instead of confronting me, it would be better to go to the woods and catch a few squirrels to eat.

Just as I thought the leopard cat was distracted, I swung my arm and threw the stone at it. While the stone was still in mid-air, the leopard cat nimbly pulled its head out of the way and dodged. It hit the wooden door hard, but missed a little. With the sound of the impact, I heard the leopard cat's shuffling footsteps as it fled. It had at least been startled; these creatures have thick, soft pads on their paws, making them incredibly quiet when hunting small birds and mice. But now, in its escape, it had lost all the elegance of a light hunter.

Although the leopard cat had disturbed my sleep, teasing it added a bit of fun. Luya and Yiliang were sleeping soundly; only Chichun was awakened by the sound of the stone hitting the wooden door. I went over, stroked her hair, and kissed her forehead to comfort her. I told her about the cat that wanted to steal food. Perhaps she had a pet cat in her past life and knew that such animals were not very aggressive, which eased her fear. She smiled at me, then closed her beautiful, alluring eyes and fell asleep again.

I was also incredibly sleepy and didn't want to be bothered by such a small animal. If it really had the courage to come and steal food again, it meant it was truly hungry, like the feeling of hunger we had when adrift at sea. As long as it didn't harm the sleeping people, it wouldn't matter if it stole a few bites of meat. —Chapter

Twenty-Nine: The Wild-Eyed

Leopard Cat didn't return to steal food. The early-rising seabirds had only been calling for a short while when I struggled to open my leaden eyelids, grateful that it hadn't rained. The women were still sleeping soundly, and waking Luya and Yiliang now wouldn't be of any help. I pulled a large piece of fresh meat from the high stack of meat and chopped it with a dagger, hoping to get everything ready before the sun began to shine, just waiting to dry.

The firewood was running low, and constantly burning dry branches and leaves wasn't a long-term solution. When it was time to cut down trees for the wooden wall, the trimmed branches and twigs could be dried into firewood, which would burn longer and produce less smoke. By the time the sun started to shine, over 500 pounds of meat slices had already been cut. Yi Liang and Lu Ya were still fast asleep. I went over; perhaps because the air was still cool in the morning, the two girls' delicate bodies were chilled, their naked bodies huddled together. If I squatted at the feet of the two sleeping girls, their soft feminine curves would easily guide my gaze, sliding down to the mysterious cleft of their buttocks, revealing a pitiful beauty.

Yi Liang turned over in her sleep, mistaking Lu Ya's body for mine. Her slender, beautiful arms embraced Lu Ya, and her captivating left leg was raised, resting on Lu Ya's buttocks. The stream water from last night, combined with the heat emanating from Luya's round bottom, made the soft flesh between Yiliang's buttocks particularly exposed, the pink cleft edge fluffy with soft, fine black hairs.

I picked up the foxtail grass that Luya had used to tickle me yesterday and teased them both. Yiliang murmured a few times, woke up, saw it was me, and gave a silent, sweet smile. Luya, however, was slow to wake up. One hand, like a cat's paw, instinctively slapped the brushy foxtail grass, blinked a few times, her red tongue darting out, licking left and right a couple of times, then retreating back, still stuck in her dream.

Seeing Luya sleeping so soundly, Yiliang couldn't bear to see me tease her anymore. Feeling the ticklish itch, she nudged Luya, waking her up. Luya blinked her big, sleepy eyes a few times, frowning as she looked left and right, unable to tell who had woken her. Seeing the foxtail grass in my hand, she immediately understood, but remained silent.

"It's getting late, we need to hurry and dry the meat. If it spoils, it'll be a huge problem." Yi Liang and Lu Ya returned from washing up in the stream near the cave entrance and started baking breakfast, while I continued slicing the meat. Chi Chun woke up wanting water, so Yi Liang used a simple wooden cup to scoop some from the stone basin, cooled it, and gave it to her. Seeing how attentive Yi Liang was to her, Chi Chun reached out and stroked her pretty cheek, smiling sweetly at her.

After breakfast, the sunlight felt warm; in another two or three hours, the light would intensify and become scorching. I carried all the sliced meat out of the cave and placed it on the dry rocks by the stream. Lu Ya and Yi Liang began to use their soft, white hands to spread the meat slices neatly on the rocks, arranging them in squares.

After only a third of the meat had dried, the varying shades of purple raw meat covered the rocks on both sides of the stream in a dark, dense mass. This was caused by the giant bear and crocodile not draining their blood properly before they died, which then clogged their blood vessels. The meat was of poor quality and wouldn't fetch a good price in a shop; it would also taste terrible after cooking. But for us stranded on the island, as long as it filled our hungry stomachs and provided the energy to survive, we weren't picky.

I moved all the remaining meat from the cave and placed it by the stream to cut, so I could protect Yiliang and Luya in case any predators came to steal it or attack them. Right now, I had my jungle rifle and three pistols strapped to my body, and even my long-range sniper rifle, capable of easily killing someone at a kilometer range, was intentionally positioned at the cave entrance.

If a leopard or wild boar appeared in the distance, lurking and waiting to attack, I would use that rifle to kill it. Trying to drive them away with sticks or stones at low cost would be a foolish and dangerous approach. Around noon, all two thousand catties of meat had been cut up and piled up in a long line on both sides of the stream by Yi Liang and Lu Ya, a truly magnificent sight from afar.

Only when this food could be safely dried and stored in the cave could they finally have it and put their worries at ease. I grabbed my rifle and climbed to the top of the ten-meter waterfall cascading down the stream, observing the surroundings through my scope. I was terrified of seeing wild leopards or bears in the mirror, rushing towards us from the distant woods or valleys.

If only I could be in two places at once—one of me could remain on the cave roof to observe, and the other could go down and cut down trees. But it was still early; I couldn't afford to be idle. I had to make the most of the time and ensure the best possible safety. So, I climbed down from the cave roof to gather timber from the grove by the stream. Although it was dangerous, and the appearance of wild beasts was unpredictable, since we arrived on the island, what day, what event, hadn't involved risk?

The large patches of meat along the stream were more likely to attract wild beasts than before. Instead of locking Luya and Yiliang in the cave to avoid the greater potential danger, they came with me to work in the grove. After I knocked down the trees, they broke off the thin branches and carried them back to the cave entrance to dry and store firewood. To survive on this primitive, deserted island, Luya and Yiliang couldn't be like pampered princesses, constantly needing protection.

They needed to adapt quickly, both physically and mentally, adjusting the inertia and alertness they had developed in human society to their primal survival instincts, participating in activities in their surroundings, and relying on their strong, brave, and optimistic personalities to survive in the long run. If

a person were stranded on such a deserted island, the cause of death would often not be hunger or attacks from wild beasts, but rather talking to stones, receiving no response, and becoming so lonely that they were about to go mad, ultimately choosing suicide.

The sun shone fiercely, its rays illuminating my back, and the two girls' delicate skin turned red from the heat. A large patch of food by the stream was steaming with moisture, so the mood for work was pleasant. Even if a few more clouds appeared in the azure sky, obscuring the scorching sun, it would immediately make us uneasy, not to mention a light drizzle; we wouldn't even have time to cry, let alone indulge in any romantic thoughts.

Fifty or sixty trees, as thick as an arm, lay on the ground, all first chopped down with a dagger, then kicked down. Every ten trees I broke, I would climb to the top of the cave and use my scope to spy on the valley and the woods. Seeing nothing unusual, I would return to the grove to chop down more trees. Branches as thick as fingers were chopped down by the two girls, laughing and joking. The thicker ones were broken or kicked off by me, while the two girls ran around carrying them, their bodies drenched in sweat. The firewood at the cave entrance was already piled high, like a small mountain. Yi Liang and Lu Ya worked with great enthusiasm, and I kept praising their achievements, letting that feeling of joy sustain us through the fatigue.

I cut a lot of flexible and sturdy hemp vines, and tied seven trees together in a row. When they lay on the ground, they looked like a raft, but once upright, they could only serve as a door or a plank. At the top of the route I had chosen for the wooden wall was the rock face of the mountain. I moved those large stones, each weighing a hundred or eighty pounds, and began stacking them against the rock face, leaving gaps in the middle. Every meter I stacked the stones, I inserted a tied plank, and then filled any loose spots with small pebbles. Building a wooden wall this way was like grabbing a handful of mahjong tiles and setting up one tile first.

Estimating, the distance from this rock face, across the stream, to the other side is at least fifty meters. Seven arm-thick trees, bound together to an average length of one meter, would require about three hundred and fifty trees to reach the end. This vast grove, even if only a thousand trees were felled, would look almost identical to its original state.

Luya and Yiliang weren't idle either; they were squatting on either side of the stream, turning over the dried meat slices to help the bottom layer dehydrate quickly. Looking at the sun's height, I gave Yiliang a dagger and told them to pick out the already dried meat slices, poke a hole in the middle, string dry hemp vines together, and put them into the holes. If they waited until sunset to finish, it would be too late, and the sniper scope wouldn't be able to detect anything in the dim light, making it difficult to pinpoint the slowly approaching, lurking dangers.

As I was moving stones by the stream, building the fifth plank, Luya suddenly shouted, "Leopard! Wild leopard!" Without looking around, I dashed towards her and Yiliang like the wind, hooking them both into my arms and pushing them inside the cave. Grabbing my sniper rifle, I lightning-fast released the safety and, relying on my instincts, moved towards the likely locations of the jungle leopard, searching for its target to kill from a distance.

These leopards are incredibly fast when attacking. Reaching within ten meters of their prey, they leap, their two sharp claws tearing flesh to the bone. In that instant, their agile head is already close to their prey's face, viciously biting the throat and pulling hard. Using this pull, the leopard's rump jerks upwards, its front claws digging even deeper into the flesh, holding on until it feels its prey is completely dead, then dragging the carcass to a tree or bush to gnaw on it.

After scanning the stream with my sniper scope for a while, I still couldn't find the leopard Lu Ya had mentioned in the exposed section. However, I spotted a leopard cat atop the cliff. Judging from its color and size, it should be the same one from last night. It was probably sound asleep, perhaps slumbering in the shade of a large tree, awakened by the aroma of meat drying by the stream. Then, its lewd eyes gleamed as it appeared eerily on the cliff top.

I was immediately annoyed. This lewd creature had already startled me once last night; its constant, unsuspecting appearances were quite irritating. Despite my anger, I couldn't bring myself to shoot it. Instead, I looked down, picked up a rock, and swung it at the leopard cat. With a crisp "crack," the stone struck the rock face in front of its paws, sending dust flying and a puff of white smoke rising. A small clump of powder embedded itself in the impact point, forming a white dot, like a bump on a person's forehead—

Chapter 30: The Cage that Tempts Creatures.

The leopard cat, seeing the stone flying towards it, showed no instinct to dodge, seemingly anticipating that it wouldn't hit it. However, the sound of the impact startled the leopard cat, causing it to take a step back. Indeed, it was a cunning cat; its eyes, fixed on the meat by the stream with a greedy, obsessive gaze, revealed its utter disdain for this kind of human attack—throwing stones.

Perhaps this was the leopard cat's first encounter with humans, seeing our lack of claws and teeth, our slow, inaccurate stone-throwing when we were in a rage, yet possessing such abundant dried meat—it must have been filled with envy and resentment for a long time.

If this were back in the mercenary camp, with so many guns and bullets, I'd really like to give the leopard cat a good whack—not on the head, but on its hind legs—to really let it taste the power of technological civilization. The leopard cat was perched high on the rocky peak; even with its agility, it could only watch from afar, drooling with envy. I called Yi Liang and Lu Ya out of the cave and told them it was a false alarm. Everyone got back to work, busy as ever.

As the red sun sank into the valley, all the fresh meat on the rocks had dried and curled up, soft and slightly moist in my hands. After another day of sun-drying, it would be fine for storage. Even if it rained, these wilted pieces of meat could be preserved for three days. The construction of the wooden wall had been progressing rapidly, but overall, the progress wasn't significant. We were sore all over from stacking, and we'd only managed to build five meters.

Chi Chun grilled dinner for us. After putting the children to sleep, she stretched out and did what she could. Luya and Yiliang ate with gusto, it was a pity there was no rice, oil, or salt; otherwise, they would have truly praised Chichun's cook's skills. After sealing the cave entrance, everyone worked inside. Luya and Yiliang continued to skewer the remaining dried meat with hemp rope, while I carried over thirty logs into the cave, tied them up, and prepared them for use with the existing planks the next day.

Although the firelight inside the cave was dim, it didn't affect visibility for the rough work. Compared to being exposed in the wild during the day, we felt much more at ease. Everyone chatted and laughed, and although the wooden wall was only partially built, everyone's sense of security increased significantly. After tying up four planks, we ran out of hemp rope, so we'd have to make more tomorrow. Luya and Yiliang skewered all the dried meat and stacked them in circles on the stones.

The two girls must have been very tired after working with me all day, so I urged them to go to sleep. Luya lay on the bearskin, constantly looking up at me. The youngest, Luya, used to be so scared that she needed me to hold her to fall asleep, but now it's become a habit. I used to pat her head and tell her and Yiliang to rest early, as there was still a lot to do tomorrow, and that I needed to make some tools before sleeping. Luya blinked her big eyes, a little reluctant, so Yiliang held her head and coaxed her. Luya then obediently stopped looking at me and fell asleep quickly.

I whittled the remaining thinner wooden poles into many one-meter-long sticks, and using them as stepping stones to hold the meat, I stuck them into the high rock crevices. The skewered meat slices, after drying for another day to completely remove moisture, could be lifted by the long sticks and hung securely on them. This provided ventilation and good preservation, and also prevented small animals from sneaking in and eating them; they could only sniff and look, reluctantly giving up the idea of stealing other people's food.

The fresh meat had been sun-dried for a day, greatly reducing its strong, fishy smell, making it harder for wild animals in the distance to detect. Only that wretched leopard cat could smell it; it had witnessed the attack several times. To easily get rid of it, the best course of action was to kill it. Swinging sticks and throwing stones seemed like slow-motion scenes in a movie to it; the leopard cat gracefully dodged my attacks.

Humans are invincible when they have no desires, but animals with desires are doomed. I used the chopped sticks to make a sturdy, square cage, leaving an opening on one side. Inside, I placed a small amount of meat as bait. If the leopard cat went inside, it would surely grab the bait and run off to eat elsewhere. I simply tied a hemp vine to the meat, the other end to a slanted stick, which would then rest against the wooden panel that closed the cage door, its surface larger than the opening.

Once the leopard cat realized what was happening, its struggles and scratches were futile. Unless its claws transformed into tiny, sharp fingers to lift the wooden planks, it would have to wait for the trap's creator to decide its fate. I doubted the leopard cat could mimic human actions like circus animals; if it possessed such intelligence, it wouldn't have recklessly walked into the trap. This pristine island, and its animals, were perhaps encountering a trap designed by humans for the first time in history.

If this deserted island was inhabited by many natives who frequently used traps to hunt them, then the cage I was making would be utterly laughable. After finishing the wooden cage, I used one hand to mimic the leopard cat, rehearsing the entire capture process and imagining how it would be trapped.

At dawn, Luya and Yiliang woke up earlier than me, each holding a blade of grass, waking me from my sleep. As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw fragrant roasted meat on a stone basin. Hearing the melodious calls of seabirds outside the cave, I knew it was another beautiful day, and a feeling of joy welled up inside me. After breakfast, the three of us began carrying the semi-dried meat out of the cave to continue drying. By dusk, the meat would be completely dried.

On days with torrential rain, we could hide in the cave and enjoy it to our hearts' content. The other furry animals on the island might not be as comfortable as we outsiders. The giant bear skin and the white python with its smashed head had been soaked in the trout pond for a day and a night. Presumably, all the lice and fleas on the skins had drowned by now. I pulled the bear skin out of the cave to dry as well, to prevent any more reptiles. Luya and Yiliang's bodies are different from mine; if they don't pay attention to hygiene, their skin and urinary tracts are easily infected.

I tied the white python's tail to a fixed wooden stake. With my left hand supporting the heavy python's body, I inserted a dagger into its abdomen through the small opening for excretion, making a vertical cut down to its head. As soon as the white-spotted, yellow-striped skin opened, the thick layer of fat and scarlet flesh immediately spilled out. The dark, foul blood that had been trapped inside all day flowed down the cut into my left hand, which was holding the python, and dripped into the stream.

Seeing this color was far more reassuring than seeing its skin color. Before the cut, I had goosebumps all over, but now, seeing the bright red blood spreading across most of the python's body, the hairs on my body naturally folded back into my skin, forming a uniform line.

The white python's meat was very tender; I sliced it into strips and mixed it with the dried meat. The pure white python skin always made me uncomfortable; in a market, this kind of thing would be a delicacy. Chi Chun had been sleeping naked from the waist down, mostly lying down or sitting to recover from her injuries. It didn't seem awkward at

first, but once her injuries healed in a few days and she stood up to walk, she would feel embarrassed. The soft python skin was perfect for Chi Chun's delicate skin, but on this deserted island, there was neither a tailor nor needle and thread, which stumped me. Thinking of this, I recalled the woman I slept with in the small town, and a

wave of sadness washed over me. Chi Chun's plump buttocks bounced up and down as she walked. If the python skin were made into trousers, it definitely wouldn't be enough to cover her full, delicate body. A simple short skirt would suffice, but when she sat or squatted, the downy hair in her genitals would be very exposed, and if her two fair, soft thighs were to part slightly without her noticing, the pink buds between the dark brown folds would peek out.

But then I thought, I'm the only man on the island, and Chi Chun and I have a deep, ambiguous relationship. The weather on the island is so hot; wearing this python skin does seem contradictory. But the inertia of human civilization makes me feel that covering my private parts is better than nothing. After

butchering the white python, I took my rifle and climbed to the top of the cave to observe the surroundings. Not seeing any of the ferocious beasts I was worried about, I could safely go and cut down trees. A little strange, I wondered where that elusive leopard cat had gone; it shouldn't be nearby. So, I cut off some tender python meat as bait and placed it in the specially made wooden cage from last night. I climbed back to the top of the cave, circled around to the rock where the leopard cat had appeared yesterday, set up the trap, and placed it there.

The leopard cat's nose is very sensitive; it sensed the bait in the cage and walked right into the trap. Back at the place where the wooden wall was being built, I inserted the woven wooden planks into the gaps in the rock, securing them firmly. With yesterday's experience and some new insights gained today, the efficiency of building the wooden wall improved significantly.

Yi Liang and Lu Ya continued to gather firewood and carry it back to the cave entrance to dry. Stocking up on firewood on sunny days is a necessary precaution, providing warmth in cold weather, lighting at night, and most importantly, baking food.

Around noon, Chi Chun baked food for us again; it seems her injury is healing quickly, which makes everyone happy. Once Chi Chun is fully recovered, she will not only provide extra labor but, more importantly, offer us comfort. Although Chi Chun's communication with me is limited by language, her delicate thoughts perfectly compensate for the rough and careless side of men.

I want to finish building the wooden wall before Chi Chun recovers, so she can hold her child, walk in the yard, breathe fresh air, and comb her beautiful hair at any time. She can also, like Lu Ya and Yi Liang, squat in the stream, dip one hand in, and patiently wash, showcasing the gentle beauty of womanhood.

The scorching sun beat down on my back, and sweat poured down my face like water being poured from a bucket. When the heat became unbearable, I lay down in the stream for a while to cool off. Just as I was enjoying the cool water, I suddenly heard a rustling sound in the woods, as if something was rushing towards me in a pack. With a whoosh, I jumped to my feet, grabbed my forest rifle from the stream, and ran towards Luya and Yiliang.

They were startled by my actions, unaware of the commotion in the woods. I scooped up the two frail girls and ran quickly towards the cave entrance. At this moment, the sounds from the woods became more urgent, and Luya and Yiliang's eyes showed fear; they also sensed a murderous aura approaching—

Chapter Thirty-One: The Small Beasts Snatching Meat

. The low shrubs and wormwood under the trees trembled. I stood at the cave entrance, ready to lower the wooden door and hide inside. The scene resembled the ferocity of a pack of crocodiles pouncing in a deep swamp, but with old, gnarled roots and branches crisscrossing the trees, it couldn't be a reptilian predator moving at such speed.

Dilated pupils, fixed on the impending danger, unable to discern what it might be, suddenly surged forward, bypassing my previous observation. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—several brightly colored leopard cats leaped from the trees, stopping at the edge of the thicket, shaking their heads left and right, surveying the surroundings. Then, the leopard cats that had been running behind darted forward, stopping and crouching, sniffing the air like rabbits, trying to identify something. A

dense swarm of leopard cats, crouching in the low bushes at the edge of the forest, seemed like a battleground in the age of cold weapons, ready to attack at any moment. Only then did I realize that the leopard cat that had been harassing us wasn't just after food; it had been like a scout, lurking near the cave for two days, occasionally revealing itself to test our aggression.

I went back and summoned a large group of my kind, launching a lightning-fast looting spree. This cunning beast, I actually thought I could catch it with a makeshift cage. Humans can be so naive and overconfident sometimes. This treacherous leopard cat group surveyed for a moment, then, seeing me hiding at the cave entrance, assumed the large cat army had frightened us.

Countless eyes gleamed, and with a "whoosh," the entire group leaped up and darted towards the drying meat. Their running and leaping movements resembled toads migrating across the road, completely ignoring pedestrians and vehicles. This truly terrified me; if I didn't stop them immediately, the food I had worked so hard to obtain would be snatched away in an instant.

Shooting indiscriminately with a rifle was useless; even if I ran out of bullets, I would only kill forty or fifty cats—a negligible effect. In desperation, unable to think of a better strategy, I picked up a thick, long wooden stick, swung it through the air, and shouted as I charged towards the cats. A dense swarm of leopard cats pounced on the meat coiled on the vines. Seeing me approach, they showed no fear, tearing and swallowing as if they hadn't eaten in ages. Aiming at the densely packed group of leopard cats, filled with the fury of being robbed, I slammed the stick down with all my might. The swarm, like millions of ants rolling and biting at a ball of food, piled together in a dark mass, only concerned with opening their mouths and grabbing at the readily available food. Their agile bodies couldn't dodge in time, and they were struck solidly by the stick.

A piercing scream rang out as five or six were hit hard by the stick, lying on their sides on the stones. Their spines must have been badly broken, their internal organs severely ruptured; they trembled and kicked in pain, their eyes rolling upwards, white foam gushing from their mouths, like thick milk from a baby's spit. The rest howled in terror and scattered in all directions.

I stood in the middle of the drying meat, gesturing with a stick to signal these creatures to stay away, or they would suffer the same fate as those dead cats. The meat was spread out to dry over a large area, yet the leopard cats still managed to snatch quite a bit of jerky. Frightened, they munched away at a distance, occasionally glancing sideways, both afraid of being hit by the stick and thinking of taking a few more pieces. They were truly eyeing what was in their bowl while coveting what was in the basin, their greed outweighing their fear.

I felt a pang of heartache for the jerky; the leopard cats were numerous, and if each one took a piece, it would mean a loss of over a hundred pounds of food. Several leopard cats, having finished their jerky, were still persistent, tentatively approaching the drying meat further away from me. If I went to strike them, the meat at the other end would be eaten by other leopard cats.

Now, even picking up a stone to throw at them seems ridiculous. I think one of those scouting leopard cats must have told its kind about my clumsy stone-throwing attack, and then they all laughed, thinking I was easy to bully. That one blow, though it only killed a few, relieved a lot of the frustration I'd felt from being bothered by a leopard cat for the past two days. That blow served as a deterrent, catching the leopard cat off guard and making them more vigilant.

The large group of leopard cats, seeing my agility and the whooshing sound of my wooden stick, dared not approach and instead began to maneuver around me. A few larger ones, closer to the front, were more impatient and even hissed at me. They arched their backs high, the fur on their backs bristling, their tails curled and hooked, deliberately exposing their fierce teeth for me to see. These teeth were also very sharp, the fine, white tips gleaming coldly. If my body were shrunk to one-tenth of its original size, even the size of a goat, these larger creatures would tear me to pieces in an instant.

These large, fat creatures must usually be the leaders of the leopard cat pack, and now they wanted to show off and display their power in front of their fellow cats. However, seeing my enormous size and strength, they were also quite afraid, and could only feign hissing at me and show off a few fancy squirrel-catching moves.

If it's really so proud and tries to show off, I'll smash it to death with my stick. Its small size compared to other leopard cats makes it easy for me to hit it. Behind the few large, fat leopard cats is a large group of smaller ones, males and females, old and young, families all coming together.

There might even be some beautiful females mixed in, or kittens admiring the big, fat cats. Four or five hundred cat eyes are all fixed on the large cats in front. This invisible force and pressure urges these large cats to keep moving closer to the sun-dried meat I'm protecting. From their increasingly raised tails and perky back fur, you can tell they're cowardly.

These guys only know how to scramble for food; they don't have the awareness to fight together. If they did, and pounced on me all at once, they could instantly turn me into a bloody skeleton. I wasn't sure if small leopard cats possessed a high degree of cooperative instinct. My impression of cats was that they were solitary creatures, and these leopard cats raised in the wild, untamed environment of a deserted island seemed closer to the nature of wild leopards.

During my years fighting in the jungle, I'd seen leopard packs; sometimes, driven by hunger, they would hunt large yaks or crocodiles together. One leopard cat that came closest to me had

round, young ears, a thick, long tail, and large, bright, mesmerizing silver-gray eyes. Its fur was strangely pale white, resembling a leopard cub from a traditional Chinese ink painting, except for large black spots on its cheeks, as if it had just crawled out of a stove, its nose covered in soot.

This creature roared fiercely at me, and its appearance was indeed somewhat frightening. It probably mistook me for a giant rodent, while I mistook it for a small leopard. However, the destructive power of our attacks was different. Even if it were much larger and roared more fiercely, if it pounced, it would at most tear my skin, far less terrifying than a true forest leopard. If I grabbed its tail and slammed it against a rock, it would be dead instantly, far more violently than that giant bear that grabbed my thigh and slammed it against the rock.

Seeing the large leopard cat slowly approaching, the cats immediately became agitated. I had to control this momentum; these little beasts could also become enraged, and if they all pounced on me, the consequences would be dire. "Capture the leader first" is a tactic used between humans, but not with small animals. I picked up a skewer of dried meat, and the act of bending over startled the cats, causing them to retreat immediately. It wasn't a retreat out of fear of being hit, but rather a poised, ready-to-fire stance. My guess was right; they really did want to swarm and attack me.

I tossed the skewer of meat forward four or five meters, giving them the illusion that I was giving in and offering to feed them. The leopard cats swarmed forward, biting and scrambling for it. The strong leopard cats naturally fought fiercely and ate the most, while the smaller leopard cats barely got a few bites. The larger cats even snatched meat from their mouths. The initial fervor of unity was immediately intensified by the conflict of the survival of the fittest.

Seizing the opportunity, I leaped forward, gripped a wooden stick with both hands, and smashed it down on the group of cats fighting for food. They were preoccupied with their internal conflict and hadn't anticipated my attack. Unable to dodge, they were torn to pieces, howling and screaming in pain. The feeling of smashing the cats was like pounding on a thick quilt, making a dull thud.

The sound wasn't particularly satisfying, but it was incredibly cathartic. I shouted loudly for Luya and Yiliang to come out and collect the meat that was drying in the sun. I grabbed another wooden stick and began sweeping, jabbing, and poking at the cats, attacking from both sides. At this point, I didn't care about the older or younger cats, the kittens or the young ones; I killed them all. Those who were slow to run were doomed.

This brutal beating killed over a hundred leopard cats, big and small, white, gray, and black, their corpses lying strewn along the stream. Some, struck on the head, curled up in pain, circling on the ground, blood gushing from their mouths, eyes, noses, and ears. Those hit on the spine, though still upright, trembled and struggled for their lives, knowing they wouldn't live much longer. Those hit on the tail or hind legs let out a strange howl, leaping high into the air, but before they could even land, I struck them horizontally with the wooden stick in my other hand, sending them crashing against the rock wall, their brains splattering and blood gushing like a fountain. It was like swatting flies with chopsticks, a satisfying, precise, and ruthless thrill welling up within me.

The leopard cat pack was finally scattered; those that escaped the beating ran into the woods to escape, looking back to see the cat corpses strewn across the ground. Yi Liang and Lu Ya, like village girls on a wheat field before the rain, were still desperately trying to pull the meat back into the burrow. I told them, "No need to rush to harvest anymore. Take them out and dry them quickly. As long as they're dry before dark and hung on the cave walls, they won't be easily stolen by these leopard cats anymore."

Looking at the dried meat on the ground, over two hundred pounds had been eaten, and I felt a pang of heartache. When we first brought it back from slaughtering, the meat had a high moisture content, weighing nearly two thousand pounds. Now, dried into jerky, it would weigh about a thousand pounds, a fifth less. It seemed our food supply for the month would be a bit tight.

But looking back, most of the leopard cats on the ground were plump and strong, the smaller ones around ten pounds, the larger ones nearly twenty pounds. The fur wasn't anything special; the dried meat would weigh three or four hundred pounds, so in terms of weight, we weren't losing out. It was just a matter of how it would taste—

Chapter 32: Intimacy in the Middle of the Night.

Luya was the most frightened; it was the first time she'd seen so many leopard cats. Yiliang and I had been through many dangers together, so the panic wasn't as intense. I washed the cat blood off my body in the stream and quickly built the wooden wall. The wall construction was already progressing quickly, and efficiency couldn't be increased further. However, after the leopard cats' scramble for the meat, I felt a bit anxious.

By nightfall, the meat was thoroughly dried and stored in the cave. The wooden wall had reached ten meters in length; a few more days and the secure, enclosed courtyard would be complete. The giant bear hide had dried beautifully, its surface soft and smooth. I used it to make a third large bed, which I slept on alone at night—it was both relaxing and comfortable. Heaven was truly kind to us; the day after we had stockpiled food, it rained heavily on the island. But we had nothing to worry about; there was firewood and dried meat in the cave. After a good meal, we all sat inside and talked.

I couldn't rest. In the rainy weather, building the wooden wall outside meant I didn't have to endure the scorching sun, and many animals would stop moving, basically ceasing their foraging. I could take advantage of this opportunity to do more work. The rainwater was hot air rising from the sea, drifting over the island and falling vertically. The abundant streams indicated that the island received a lot of rain.

When chopping wood, the trees were slippery, and kicking them to break branches made it easy to slip and fall. Getting injured during this crucial construction period would be a huge problem. Rainwater felt like a kettle constantly pouring down from above, getting into my eyes and affecting my vision. I whittled thin strips of wood, woven them into a hat, and put it on my head to shield my eyes from the raindrops, then squinted and continued building the wooden wall.

Yi Liang and Lu Ya were always worried about me, constantly peering out of the cave to see if I was alright working in the rain. Every day at mealtime, Chi Chun would roast the meat until it was crispy, comforting my weary body and soul. Not a single seabird could be seen on the island; they had all retreated to their warm, dry nests. Most of the nests were on steep, slippery cliffs; judging from the number of leopard cats that day, it was unlikely any birds would build their nests in the branches.

The rain continued from morning till night. By afternoon, we couldn't build the wooden wall for long before visibility became too poor, so we had to return to the cave early. Every night, Luya would quietly come over and snuggle into my arms, leaving Yiliang alone to sleep on the old bearskin. I felt this wasn't good for Yiliang; she was only sixteen, and my fiancée, so I couldn't neglect her. I joined the two bearskins together, and they slept on top of me, listening to the rain at night. The rain was washing over the entire island intensely, which also made it difficult for the scent of food to spread inside the cave, making it almost impossible for wild animals to find this place. This made me feel much more at ease.

Five days of continuous rain had made the island's streams even more abundant, and the waterfall at the cave entrance was much louder. The three women spent their days in the cave, grilling food and chatting together, their moods much better than before. Chi Chun was walking like a healthy woman now; she often carried the baby, strolling back and forth in the cave, humming traditional Japanese tunes, her soft, sweet voice filled with beautiful feminine melodies.

Yi Liang didn't mind Lu Ya occupying my arms to sleep every night; she was content just having her arms around my back. I would always gently turn around and hug her in the middle of the night, when Lu Ya was fast asleep. Yi Liang's body was increasingly filled with sexual desire; when she was in my arms, she often trembled with excitement, her breathing becoming more rapid than before. Whenever I hugged Yi Liang in the middle of the night, she would immediately find my mouth, offering her sweet tongue for me to suck and nibble on, or nibble and suck on me.

Her soft body was always unusually excited after I touched her, rubbing herself vigorously against me. I loved kneading her soft, elastic breasts, but I stopped when I was worried that her moans would be too loud and wake the sleeping Chi Chun and Lu Ya. I only dared to knead them again after Yi Liang's excitement from her unconscious state subsided slightly.

These past few nights, when Yi Liang and I were secretly intimate, her body was exceptionally hot, especially between her lower abdomen and buttocks. Whenever I kneaded her breasts, the moist heat from her lower body would immediately radiate intensely. I used my rough fingers to rub her private parts under her thin clothes, and she would passionately bite my tongue, her breath exhaling a warm current filled with the scent of a young girl.

This warm current would stimulate my groin to swell rapidly, and my eel-like erection would push my pants high, rubbing against Yi Liang's soft lower abdomen, sending waves of pleasure through my spine. After feeling my impulsive thrusts, Yi Liang's warm little hands would also unconsciously reach down and caress that thirsty hardness.

I'm a man with a rich sexual history, having been with many women. It's difficult for my penis to ejaculate without penetrating a woman's warm, moist genitals. Perhaps a woman like Chi Chun would more easily arouse my desire, but the pure, virginal aura emanating from Yi Liang's body also makes me unable to resist.

Whenever Yi Liang is overwhelmed with excitement, she brings her warm, sweet lips to my ear, mumbling, "Take me, take me." Her warm, soft hand eagerly gropes along the edge of my waistband, her delicate fingertips slipping between my pants and skin, accurately grasping my erect penis and squeezing it incessantly. Her

small, rounded thumb massages the urethral opening, which is oozing fluid from the stimulation. This action excites me to the point of unbearable urges, and I uncontrollably use my large hand to touch her lower back, reaching inside her belt to grasp her pert, sweaty buttocks. My middle finger goes straight for her warm, moist crevice. A woman's vulva is much larger than a man's, and the moisture it contains, like the abundant streams on the island these past few days, gushed out and gathered at the edge of the crevice.

Before my nerves could even register it, my middle finger involuntarily slipped into the warm, soft crevice. This was perhaps the first time a young girl had experienced such deep exploration by a man; a soft "ah" escaped her throat, making me immediately stop. After a moment of surprise, Yi Liang adjusted to my finger and began to frantically nibble at me again.

I couldn't take things any further with Yi Liang, even though she was my fiancée. For a sixteen-year-old girl to become pregnant and give birth on such a deserted island would undoubtedly be a risky endeavor.

The rain stopped five days later at dusk. The day's hard work had finally paid off. Looking at the high wooden walls, just as I had envisioned, they formed a courtyard. Leopards, wild boars, and bears couldn't see into the courtyard, thus avoiding provoking them to attack. The surrounding area is lined with high rock walls, the lowest point being thirty meters high. No wingless animal could possibly enter from the surrounding area to harass us.

The small waterfall is only ten meters high, so just in case, I made several more planks to block it. While this doesn't affect the cascading water and trout, it prevents other animals from squeezing through. The most crucial part is building a gate, allowing me to leave the yard while preventing wild animals from easily breaking in. Finally, I chose to build a wooden gate where the wooden wall crosses the stream.

I hollowed out the stones in the stream below the gate, creating a nearly two-meter-deep pit. When people go out, they can use a plank to step on it without getting wet, and when they come back in, they can use the plank placed outside. The island's animals don't have this kind of intelligence, so it's sufficient to defend against wild animals.

Next, I prepared the yard. After Chi Chun put the children to sleep, she, Yi Liang, and Lu Ya could come out and help me move stones. The women would move the small stones, leaving the larger ones for me. For the larger ones, I would use leverage to pry them up with wooden sticks. After two busy days, stepping outside the cave now feels like entering a rural courtyard.

Even if wild animals appear nearby, hearing our voices or smelling our scent, they might mistake us for some kind of plant or an even more ferocious animal because they can't see our appearance, and wouldn't dare to unleash their wild instincts and attack the wooden wall.

With sturdy fortifications, Luya and Yiliang can chase and play in the yard, and if the moonlight is good at night, they can even come out alone to bathe and count stars. Since recovering, Chi Chun felt she had received too much care from everyone, so she took on the job of cooking every day, and besides, her cooking was indeed better than others'. Whenever the

two girls and I praised Chi Chun's cooking skills, she would smile and squint her eyes, displaying a charming and alluring mature woman's demeanor, quite tempting to men. The cage I made a few days ago to catch leopard cats was still standing empty on the rock top, a testament to my presumptuous ideas, so I climbed up and took it back, intending to use it to trap trout later.

Chi Chun told me her idea: she wanted to hold a celebration for the newly completed mansion. Yi Liang and Lu Ya applauded her idea. The three women decided on the details of the event. That evening, a lot of firewood was added to the bonfire in the cave, creating a festive atmosphere. I had a similar celebration when I was in the mercenary camp: we'd pour oil on an old tire, throw it into an empty gasoline drum, and set it on fire, while the soldiers laughed and shouted.

Chi Chun was a woman with a great appreciation for art. She picked many large banana leaves in the courtyard outside the cave and made them into simple kimonos and fans, performing a Japanese dance. Her dance was beautiful and delightful. Yi Liang and Lu Ya couldn't resist joining her. I sat by the fire, watching the three beautiful women perform with a smile. Chi Chun swayed provocatively, watching me slowly approach, circling around me, striking poses of a woman seeking a man's favor—alluring and seductive. My fatigue from the past few days instantly dissipated.

That night, Luya fell asleep in my arms, and Yiliang also had sweet dreams. In the middle of the night, Chi Chun woke me, wanting me to accompany her for a walk in the yard. She was now a healthy and beautiful woman, and I knew that if I tried to please her, she wouldn't refuse—

Chapter Thirty-Three: The Untouched Girl.

Chi Chun held my hand, her face radiating a charming smile, her bright eyes sparkling. Our conversation was mostly based on mutual understanding. She led me to the large rock where we used to bathe, pressing my shoulder to make me sit with her. Our feet soaked in the cool stream water, and she rested her head on my shoulder, her mature, dark hair cascading over my shoulders, exuding boundless tenderness.

From the time she was bruised and battered by villains to now, she had regained the beauty of a stunning woman. She placed one hand on my chest, gazing at the stars in the night sky, lost in thought, as if longing for her hometown or recalling a beautiful past romance. In our current situation, no one can go back to the past. In a practical sense, Chi Chun is already my woman. Perhaps she foresaw this fate, like an unfinished destiny from a past life.

Women always invest feelings in the relationship before giving themselves to me. Chi Chun's previous ambiguity towards me stemmed from gratitude and affection. Now, she wants to formally start a relationship with me, to give me her heart and body. Like the woman in the small-town tailor shop, she truly loved me, and only then would she offer me her beautiful body whenever I needed it, satisfying me and melting my heart without expecting anything in return.

Under the bright moonlight, Chi Chun, like a little girl, nestled beside me, her fair and sensual feet kicking and splashing in the stream. This was a rare, feminine beauty in a woman, and it would be wrong to betray her tenderness at this moment. I raised my strong, muscular arms and pulled her into my embrace, feeling her and giving back to her.

Perhaps Chi Chun had many tender words to say to me, but unable to communicate verbally, she could only convey them through actions and eyes. Her lower body still bore traces of pain, and her heart had already ignited a fire of love for me; to hastily engage in sexual intercourse at this moment would be harmful to Chi Chun, a married woman. In Hayashima, Japan, at night, beautiful fireflies and falling cherry blossoms add a romantic atmosphere to lovers under the moon, allowing them to experience the peace and beauty of life, and inspiring the younger generation to hate fascism and abhor the era that brought suffering to the Japanese people and other nations.

Although this island lacks romantic scenery, it has bestowed boundless blessings upon us, a few lost outsiders, allowing us to quickly establish the material foundation we have today and survive comfortably. Deep down, I always try to find the shadow of the seamstress in Chi Chun, to soothe my longing. Perhaps Chi Chun also imagines me as her husband, filling the sudden void in her life.

Living on in the long run, we can multiply our population on the island. However, natural childbirth for women is too arduous and dangerous; if something goes wrong, I, a rough, strong man, will be helpless. The crocodiles in the swamp will eventually be eaten, and the large rock, like a safe haven, has been pushed over by a giant bear, making trapping crocodiles even more dangerous.

I've had the idea of building a large ship to leave the deserted island. But without the proper tools, it remains just a dream. Using a crudely made raft, taking women and children to the vast ocean to gamble and seek a chance to return to human society is too risky. The only hope for survival was to remain on the island and strive to become the strongest at the top of the food chain.

Chi Chun nestled quietly in my arms, her gentle, pounding heart conveying a message of female belonging to me. I knew nothing of Chi Chun's past; this moment of merging was like a blank sheet of paper, long since detached from the mundane world. This captivating woman had suddenly entered my life, like a dream. And in her life, my intrusion was yet another dream. The night was growing late; tomorrow I wouldn't have to work so hard, and I could finally rest and recover from the fatigue of arriving on the island.

Stroking Chi Chun's soft hair, I realized she had fallen asleep in my arms. A woman's embrace could melt the hearts of countless men. Gently, I picked up the sleeping Chi Chun and slowly walked back to the cave, placing her on the soft rubber raft. The baby still slept soundly, her little mouth pursed. A fatherly love I had never felt before welled up within me.

Luya and Yiliang were nestled in a sweet dream, their soft legs crossed. Now that everything was in place, and my tense nerves finally relaxed, I realized I was utterly exhausted. Lying beside the two well-behaved and adorable girls, I drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, the three women had cooked some food. Luya, again, teased my face with that foxtail grass, trying to wake me to eat. As soon as I opened my eyes and tried to sit up, I felt weak and sore in my limbs, wanting only to continue sleeping. The three women, thinking I was ill, rushed over, touching my forehead. Luya even put her ear to my chest to listen to my heartbeat, which was both funny and exasperating.

I told them I was just tired and nothing serious, and they were relieved. Chichun even took my pulse! This superb and miraculous medical skill originated in China; how did a Japanese woman learn it? After taking my pulse, she smiled at Lu Ya and Yi Liang, indicating that they didn't need to worry about me. Their tense expressions relaxed, and they believed I was just exhausted and nothing serious, only needing rest.

Later, we learned that Chi Chun was an obstetrician who had studied in several countries and was proficient in traditional Chinese medicine. This was a happy thing for everyone; I had been worried about what would happen if anyone got a headache or minor illness. Chi Chun's identity was such a coincidence, like fate deliberately testing us, turning the wheel of destiny, throwing us onto this primitive and mysterious desert island, and then, out of compassion, placing a woman there to help us survive.

I lay on that huge bear skin for three whole days before regaining my strength. The three women stayed by my side, feeding and watering me. Once outside the cave, I felt like a fox awakening from hibernation, my whole body unusually agile. Seeing that I was getting better, Lu Ya started pestering me to go catching trout with her. Only then did I remember the empty pit, which hadn't been stocked with fresh food.

I found the two wooden cages, took Luya out of the yard, and blocked the door from the outside. To catch more trout, we tried to go downstream as far as possible. This time, I felt much more at ease, firstly because we had a strong defense, and secondly because we were gradually adapting to the island environment. Encountering strange animals and plants didn't make me as nervous as before.

When we reached the patch of water plants where we used to catch trout, many of the trout swept down from upstream were hiding under the thick water plants due to the rising water level. The two narrow sections of the stream where we had blocked the trout last time were submerged by the torrential rain and couldn't be seen. Luya blinked her big eyes at me, wanting me to make a decision. I asked her, "If you come up with a good way to catch trout, I'll carry you on my back when we get back." Upon hearing that I wanted to carry her, Luya immediately beamed and clapped her hands in praise, without considering whether she actually had a good idea.

"If I can't think of anything, you can help me think of something, and I'll consider it a win," Luya said to me with a smile, like a spoiled little girl. “If I think of a good idea, you’ll sleep with me right here,” I replied sternly. “No, you’re teasing me again,” she said nonchalantly, her eyes fixed on the water plants, her mind racing, eager to think of a way to catch fish before I could. “This time it’s for real. Chi Chun is an obstetrician, she can deliver babies. I’ll get you pregnant right now, have my baby, and just like Chi Chun, hold the baby every day,” I said, still stern.

“I can’t, but Yi Liang can. Don’t you get her pregnant every night?” she said, equally serious. I was startled, a memory flashing through my mind: when Lu Ya first came to my attic, I mistakenly thought she didn’t know her mother had slept with me. Now, a similar misunderstanding was being exposed in front of this little girl.

“You little devil,” I said, lunging at her. She didn’t try to run away, her eyes still fixed on the thick water plants floating on the stream, thinking of a way to catch fish. I grabbed her slender arm and pulled her into my arms. She showed no surprise, just as naturally as she always snuggled into my arms to sleep each night.

Lu Ya pouted, gently pushing away from my embrace, saying coquettishly, "You're teasing me, I won't fall for it." The last time this girl came out with me alone, she was anxious and uneasy, but now she's nothing like before, and I can't amuse her at all. I let go of her and said, "You little devil." She gave me a sweet smile and said, "I really don't know how to catch a trout. Help me think of something, and if it's a great idea, I'll kiss you, okay?" Hearing her grown-up words, I laughed out loud.

"Giving you a kiss feels the same as being kissed by Chi Chun's child." As soon as I finished teasing her, she immediately jumped into my arms, hooked her soft arms around my neck, and jumped up to give me a big kiss on the cheek. "The same?" I was stunned by this eccentric little girl; I never expected her to do something like this. Like being suddenly checkmated in a game of chess, I was momentarily at a loss, regretting my earlier careless play.

"Alright, let's hurry up and catch the fish," I changed the subject, and Luya didn't press further. This time, catching trout took a little more effort. Luya and I rolled up our trousers, first diverting the stream water from upstream to reduce its force, then using mud to enclose the thick patch of water plants, preventing the trout from escaping. Because the enclosure was quite large, it took us quite a while to complete. Luya's pretty face was splattered with mud, making her look like a calico cat, comically cute.

"There's so much water in the enclosure, and the trout are all hiding under the thick water plants. How are we going to catch them if we can't see them clearly?" Luya was rather impatient, assuming that once we were done, I would use a wooden basket to enter the enclosure and catch the trout. "Silly, with your approach, you'll only catch water plants, not fish." Luya laughed at my words, a row of neat, white baby teeth peeking out from her rosy lips, her beautiful eyes sparkling with surprise as she watched my next fish-catching method—

Chapter 34: The Confusion Under the Waterweeds

After assessing the enclosed puddle, I poked a small opening at the lowest point with a stick to let water out. To prevent the trout from swimming away with the current, I placed a wooden cage at the drain, acting as a filter. Luya finally understood the method for catching fish and excitedly said, "Great idea! Once the water in the enclosure is drained, we don't need the basket; we can just pick up the fish directly."

The water wasn't draining very quickly, so I poked a second opening nearby. I had Luya hand me the wooden cage to block the drain. This doubled the drainage speed. Luya happily jumped into the enclosed puddle, poking here and there with the small stick. Under the thick waterweeds, the trout, thinking they were hidden, immediately panicked and darted left and right. Seeing so many trout below, Luya was overjoyed and giggled incessantly.

"Stop grinning like an idiot, come with me and scoop water out." With that, I stepped into the puddle, cupping my hands together and splashing water outwards with a "splash, splash, splash." Lu Ya found it amusing and quickly moved closer to me, mimicking the action and excitedly splashing water outwards. "If only we had a wooden basin, one splash would do the work of dozens of splashes!" she exclaimed excitedly as she scooped water.

"If the basin were the same size as the puddle, we could scoop it dry in one go," Lu Ya replied, chuckling as she playfully splashed water, not realizing I was teasing her. "Such a big basin, I can't lift it, and neither can you. The best way is to use a water pump like those used for irrigating rice paddies; we can just sit by the stream and watch." Her naiveté made me chuckle again. I teased her further, "Hmm, that makes sense. Lu Ya can be in charge of generating the electricity."

"You're making fun of me again," Lu Ya scolded me playfully, her small, nimble hands suddenly changing direction as she scooped water, the cool stream water splashing against my back. "If you dare splash me again, I'll really sleep with you!" Before I could finish speaking, several more streams of water splashed onto my face. "I won't let you sleep with me, I won't!" Luya retorted defiantly, splashing more water at me. I had difficulty opening my eyes, and seeing me getting flustered, she became even more playful.

"Splashing water on me is a waste of your time, save your energy for splashing outwards." I advised her, shaking her wet hair, and water droplets scattered, hitting Luya's pretty face. She pouted again, unhappy, and said, "Splash it outwards, otherwise it's a waste of time." Then she giggled.

"Happy now, look how pleased you are, save your energy for catching trout later." Although I was joking with Luya, my hands kept splashing water outwards, trying to dry the puddle as quickly as possible. The slender, lush green water plants that had been floating on the surface looked both fresh and beautiful. Now, the water level had dropped by half. The aquatic plants, like noodles fresh from a dough-making machine, clung together limply and drooped with the current.

Large groups of trout, hidden beneath the plants, sensed the drop and, unable to bear it any longer, thrashed about wildly, their clumsy antics on full display. These trout floating on the surface still looked the same old goofy creatures, their plump bodies swaying, their eyes listless, their mouths poking out of the water as they breathed and ate the floating bits of vegetation. Just as Luya and I approached, the trout darted away, creating countless whirlpools, before disappearing into the dense aquatic plants. Five days of rain had given them a significant advantage; each one was agile and looked quite arrogant.

The trout, with their small and simple minds, were destined to be a tragic symbol of hunger on this island. They even resorted to hiding and evading, foolishly believing that if they couldn't see Luya and me, we shouldn't have seen them.

The water level had dropped considerably, and some, thinking they could hide under the seaweed and escape unnoticed, hadn't swum with the rising water. Now, they were all buried under the thick seaweed, desperately turning over. "Why didn't you do this earlier, you big silly fish, hehe," Luya laughed, amused by the many trout trapped under the seaweed, at those who couldn't understand language.

"Alright, let the remaining water flow naturally, now let's start catching fish." Hearing that she could catch fish, Luya was even more excited. She ran to the center of the water plants, used a stick to pry open a thick patch of vegetation, and several dark blue-black trout immediately coiled their translucent tails and slapped hard against the now-floating plants. They couldn't swim like they were in the water; they could only bounce and thrash about like sieves of beans, wishing they could be amphibious frogs. Several trout stared wide-eyed in fright, mouths agape, gasping for breath, looking like children suddenly discovered while playing hide-and-seek or people suffering sudden heart attacks.

Seeing these creatures so terrified and flustered, Luya happily squatted down to catch them. Just as she grabbed one, its large tail lashed out, and with a "slip," it slipped from her delicate hand, startling Luya but amusing me. "Coward."

The girl didn't argue with me, and went to grab the trout that had escaped her grasp, wanting to prove she wasn't so brave with another attempt. When trout are in the water, their bodies secrete a layer of slippery mucus, which protects their scales and makes them less likely to get stuck or pinched. So, as soon as Luya grabbed it, the trout twisted and slipped out of her little hand.

"Stop grabbing it! You'll kill it! It won't survive being kept alive when we get back." She finally stopped being so excited, shook her head helplessly, and sighed, "Oh! I'm afraid to grab it too hard, I'm afraid of hurting it." Hearing her defend herself, I copied her, shaking my head and sighing, "Oh! I'm afraid to grab it too hard, I'm afraid of hurting it."

This time, Luya wasn't happy. She pouted again and said coquettishly, "You grab it, I'll turn over the water plants, let's see who's faster." The water in the puddle had mostly drained out by now, so I plugged up a gap, pulled out some thick water plants, and laid them at the bottom of the wooden basket to hold the live trout.

My hands were rough and much bigger than Luya's small hands, so I easily picked up the trout trapped in the thin water plants and carefully placed them in the basket. Luya used a small stick to poke around, searching for more trout hiding underneath, hoping to find another nest before I finished picking up all the ones I'd found.

"Haha, here!" Every time she found a few, she excitedly called me over to catch them. She laughed even harder when a trout slipped from my hand. Apparently, after the island's rains stopped and the water level rose, the trout that had been swept downstream would collectively migrate upstream during these few days. As dusk fell, the wooden basket was full of trout. I tied it with hemp rope, carried the heavy basket on my back, and then, holding the basket of trout, returned to the cave.

Luya had a wonderful day, running ahead of me, skipping and jumping along the way, picking a large handful of colorful wildflowers, which she held up to show me. Her innocent and carefree girlish joy, reflected in the rosy sunset, was exceptionally serene and beautiful. Upon reaching the cave entrance, I poured the two baskets of trout into the pool. The black, swarming creatures immediately foamed at the surface.

That evening, I grilled three plump and tender trout. They had been eating dried meat for seven or eight days, and now, changing their palate and enjoying freshwater trout again, they were all happy, chatting and laughing. Luya shared the wildflowers she had picked along the way with Yiliang and Chichun. The three women tucked them into each other's hair, their smiles resembling those of beautiful women in portraits.

The air had been humid these past few days. That evening, I used the remaining small piece of python skin to wipe the disassembled guns, preventing them from rusting. Chichun came up to me and said that when she went to the island, she saw many precious herbs growing along the road and wanted to pick some to keep for later use. All three women knew that none of them could leave the hospital alone without my accompaniment. I promised to go with Chichun the next day, and she was very happy. Being cooped up in the cave and courtyard all the time was indeed a bit boring, and going out for a walk under the guise of gathering herbs was a good thing.

The next day, Chichun entrusted the children to Luya and Yiliang's care, and when she left, I left them two pistols. Leaving the courtyard, I took Chi Chun's hand and walked back in the direction we had come from to reach the island, searching for the herbs Chi Chun remembered. This area was a valley with rolling hills, unlike the forests we usually saw, and the view stretched far, so the two of us walked easily. Chi Chun hugged my arm and rested her head on my shoulder, just like when she strolled with her husband on the streets of Tokyo; passersby could immediately tell they were a couple.

After walking downhill for an hour, we arrived at the shrubbery with small red and yellow flowers we had passed before. Stopping to admire the beautiful island scenery, Chi Chun suddenly rushed into my arms, hugging me tightly. The sea breeze gently blew, tossing her beautiful long hair against my cheek, and I hugged her back just as tightly. After a while, I released her, and she took my hand, continuing towards the bushes.

There were many plants here that I hadn't noticed before. Chi Chun plucked a clump of green grass with small white flowers, telling me that it could be boiled into a medicine for treating colds. She also picked some yellow flowers with pink spots, saying that they were a wound medicine to be chewed and applied to soothing wounds.

That day, we seemed less like we were gathering herbs and more like lovers strolling through a flower garden, looking here and touching there, our love overflowing. I picked a delicate orange-red flower and placed it in Chi Chun's hair, making her look even more charming and captivating, enough to steal a man's heart. Under Chi Chun's guidance, I began to gain a new understanding of many herbs, and the wooden basket I brought was filled with the herbs Chi Chun had collected.

Whenever I looked at the sea, countless thoughts welled up in my heart, and Chi Chun must have felt the same way. Neither of us were prone to falling in love rashly; the love that blossomed between us in such a short time was like the herbs in the basket, healing the pain of losing our lovers in each other's hearts—

Chapter 35: The Boat That Fired in the Rainy Night.

Chi Chun wanted to watch the sunset with me at the beach before returning, but I didn't agree. Although this area was a gentle valley, and the journey back at night was much less dangerous than the forest leading to the muddy swamp, I was still worried about encountering trouble. Lu Ya and Yi Liang were left alone in the cave, and I was also worried about them, so I carelessly went out to play in the yard.

Today's harvest was quite good; I brought back a full basket of herbs. In the future, besides taking care of the children, Chi Chun could also brew medicine, which she was very interested in. It not only helped pass the time but was also of great significance to her life. The island has no winter; it's mostly subtropical, with temperatures only slightly cooler on rainy days.

Fortunately, a stream flows past our cave entrance, providing cool fresh water that not only quenches our thirst but also helps cool us down, making life much easier. I was still a little uneasy. Our food would run out in about ten days, and in a couple of days we'd have to go to the mudflats to hunt crocodiles again. The worst thing about wilderness survival is having free time; you can't think of what to do, and by the time you realize you're short of something, it's too late to prepare, and it can even threaten your survival.

Every day when the sun was hottest, Chi Chun would pick the herbs she'd gathered, chop them up, and dry them. Yi Liang and I continued to cut wood in the grove. Their task was still to gather firewood and carry it back to the cave entrance to dry. I had stockpiled a lot of wood, planning to make some more tools. For example, I planned to build a large wooden cage underwater in the water pit under the gate, similar to the design I used to use to catch the leopard cat. If a wild bear or leopard tries to dive through the wooden wall and crawl forward, a wooden plank will immediately fall from behind it, trapping it and drowning it. Every morning after waking up, I'll poke the underwater cages with a stick, like a hunter, to check for any animal carcasses.

If there are, it's like food delivered to my door, without any risk. It would be a waste to let the carcasses rot in the water without checking them. The day to hunt the crocodiles is fast approaching, and I've already sharpened many wooden spikes. I even asked Chi Chun if there were any plants with anesthetic properties. If I could apply them to the spikes and pierce the crocodiles' bellies, putting them into a coma, I wouldn't have to go through the trouble and risk blinding them.

I'm always worried that the leopard cats will come to harass us again, or that a nimble leopard will use its sharp claws to scale the wooden wall and leap down. For safety's sake, I also placed a dense row of traps along the inner side of the wooden wall, within an area about eight meters wide. The wooden stakes varied in thickness, with the spikes pointing vertically upwards. Whether it was a large leopard or a small leopard cat, if it jumped off the wall and its belly hit the spikes, its intestines would spill out, and it would die instantly.

The trout in the pit, perhaps due to over-breeding, had one or two surfacing each day, half-dead. This was perfect for the women to eat—easily digestible trout—while I ate bear meat. Perhaps it was the approaching rainy season, but many dark clouds were gathering where the sea met the sky, which made me a little worried.

There were many wild animals on the island. They didn't come out often when it rained, but most of them didn't store food. When they were desperately hungry, they would still brave the rain to hunt, and their aggression would be several times greater than usual. I was constantly on guard against this possibility, and at midday I would brave the heavy rain to check the sturdiness of the wooden wall and see if the traps were loose.

The rain poured down from the sky, splashing into the stream, making it seem to boil and bubble endlessly. I shook the gate and poked at the water tank below, finding them sturdy enough to satisfy me. As I checked the wooden splinters securing the wall, I suddenly heard a deafening boom, and quickly crouched down, fearing a lightning strike. But the wispy rain continued to fall densely from the sky, blurring my vision, and I didn't see the lightning that ripped across the sky. A chill ran down my spine, and I considered several possibilities.

The rocks on the island, scorching hot under the sun, might be weathering and cracking under the sudden downpour; a larger force could cause a landslide, though the island's sinking was unlikely. The most worrying possibility was artillery fire—someone was shelling the island.

Negligence and overconfidence are both fatal flaws in this environment. I quickly ran back to the cave, grabbed the sniper rifle I'd just cleaned the night before, grabbed the thick hemp vines hanging from the wooden door at the cave entrance, and climbed up the slippery rock face to survey the cave and verify my predictions—which one was most likely.

As soon as I reached the top, I saw an unfamiliar island in the distance, near the sea, standing in the misty rain. Suspicion arose, and I immediately opened the scope to examine it more closely. The rain had blurred the lens, making aiming impossible, but the long-range vision was still usable. From the blurry outline in the scope, I could clearly see that it wasn't a suddenly rising island, but a large ship.

I could have grabbed the women in the cave, run to them for help, and escape this prison-like island. But now, I didn't know why the ship was firing at the island, nor what kind of people were on board; many factors were impossible to determine. If we were careless and boarded a ship like the Bassadi's, or even a pirate ship like the Sea Demon, we would be walking into a trap. Luckily,

the ship fired at the island in the rain. If it had approached stealthily during the day, it would have certainly seen the smoke rising from our cooking fire. This unintentional exposure could have led to danger. If the rain had continued like this, I wouldn't have been able to confirm whether the large ship posed a threat. If it were a regular warship from some country conducting military exercises, and I hadn't found out in time, missing the chance to leave the deserted island, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life, and the women and children would have to live like savages for the rest of their lives.

Back in the cave, I told them what I had seen. They were both happy and terrified. I told them to start cooking for tomorrow now, and after dawn, only keep the embers burning, not burn it as usual. If the large ship hadn't left, it would easily have noticed the smoke rising from the island. They started doing as I said, their faces beaming with excitement, hoping it was a ship that could take them all away from the island.

I took out two thick, woven hemp vines, along with a dagger and a pistol, and left the cave. I needed to use the darkness and the noise of the thunder to get closer to the large ship and see what was going on. If it wasn't a pirate ship, I would come back, take the women, and leave this island forever. Even if we unfortunately encountered a pirate ship, I would be prepared and able to figure out their motives.

The light was already very dim. To reach the sea, if I had to traverse the rain-soaked forest again, my eyes would feel like they were in an inkwell; I could only see clearly for a few moments during flashes of lightning, barely managing to take a couple of steps before my vision darkened further—it would be extremely difficult. I struggled to climb back to the top of the cave. This was my planned escape route; if one day leopards and bears attacked in packs like leopard cats, knocking down the wooden walls, and I were forced to cower and resist through the cave entrance, I would surely die.

I had also planned to teach the women how to use the hemp vines to climb the cave roof in a few days, but it seemed I wouldn't need to in the future. I tied a hemp vine securely to the largest tree at the top of the cave and threw the other end into the valley facing the sea. Every meter along the vine, I made a knot, with a 20-centimeter wooden stick threaded through each knot. My original plan was to combine it with the hemp vine wrapped around my shoulders to make a rope ladder, making it much faster for the women to climb.

However, there wasn't enough time to make a rope ladder to help me safely and easily climb down the almost vertical 50-meter-high mountain wall. I had considered twisting two hemp vines together for greater safety, but I would need them to climb onto the deck of the large ship later. So, I had to take the risk and climb down little by little along a thick, long hemp vine, stepping on the knots. The vine was soaked with rainwater, making it much more slippery and prone to breaking.

At the top of the valley, I tied several tight knots in the trees, hoping for continued good fortune and a safe return to the ground. On the way back, unless there was a special reason, I would go through the woods to circle back to the cave. Although the route was longer, I had a much greater chance of survival than climbing up the vines.

I tried to slowly tighten my grip on the rope, keeping my center of gravity vertically attached to it. I couldn't be like the firefighters or armed police officers on Bangkok TV, gracefully leaping down like frogs hanging from the walls of tall buildings. Such movements, in my mercenary camp's training base, were the most basic and simple—good-looking but impractical.

Rain, carried by the sea breeze, lashed wildly against the rock face, making it extremely slippery. A flash of lightning, accompanied by a clap of thunder ahead, illuminated the rainy night, and I felt as if I were sliding sideways down the back of a massive, mountain-like mudfish, clinging to a rope. At that moment, a fancy, sprawling jump would easily cause me to slip, my face and chest slamming heavily against the rock face, causing dizziness, and my limbs to give way, resulting in a fatal fall to the bottom of the valley.

Before sliding down, I had put on white python-skin gloves. I had intended to make a short skirt for Chi Chun, but she was very averse to the color of python skin and refused to wear it, preferring to show me her bare lower body. To avoid wasting resources, I disassembled the python-skin skirt and made three pairs of gloves, which I distributed to the women when carrying stones or gathering herbs, to prevent their delicate hands from getting cut.

Now, however, I was wearing them, and they came in very handy. I stood with my feet together, body straight, hands gripping the rope, and without any extra movements, slid vertically down. It was a standard helicopter-dropped descent; the speed was controlled by the strength of my hands and feet gripping the rope. During the day, I had carefully observed the rock face, seeing no abrupt edges or vegetation. Relying on my memory, I adjusted my descent speed, slowing down where the rock surface was rough to avoid scratching myself.

Although the rainwater was cold, the friction still made my hands and feet burn. With a "thud," the moment my feet touched the ground, I crouched down and rolled forward, dissipating the downward force of my weight and protecting my ankles and hips from injury.

In a clear daytime weather, the lookout on that ship would easily spot me; if it were an enemy warship, the sniper would easily shoot through the rope halfway down, watching me fall to my death, followed by cheers from the soldiers and the triumphant killer.

Therefore, this moment, quietly approaching the ship, was the perfect opportunity. The raindrops were still pattering against my shoulders and face. In my vision, I could only vaguely make out the ship at sea, blurry like a drifting island—

Chapter Thirty-Six: The Feast in the Wolf's Den

. Seaweed, riding the giant waves, piled up along the long coastline. Along the glossy black seaweed layer, I crawled forward, running. The instant lightning illuminated the night, I immediately lay down, concealed by the thick seaweed surface, to avoid being seen by the sailors on board.

The large ship was about a hundred meters from the shoreline, its heavy anchor already dropped, securing it to the swaying sea. "Boom boom boom!" Several more cannon shots rang out. From the dark ship's gun barrels, fiery red balls of fire shot out like inflated balloons. I adjusted my weapons and the ropes, waded through the slippery seaweed, and plunged into the swaying seawater, swimming towards the large ship.

The seawater was icy cold, and the rain pounded down from the darkness. I could only shake the water from my face before taking a deep breath and continuing to swim forward, rising and falling with each stroke. As I slowly approached, I saw many strange patterns on the ship's hull, but I still couldn't identify which country it belonged to.

I circled the large ship, found the anchorage, and, gripping the cold, slippery iron chain, quietly climbed aboard. Several sailors were firing cannons on one side of the ship, and no one seemed to notice my infiltration. The ship's deck was very large and long, about ninety meters, with a high, protruding platform in the middle, on which were mounted several mortars and machine gun mounts for shooting paratroopers.

My initial assessment was that this was most likely not a passenger ship; to properly operate this semi-military medium-sized ocean-going vessel, at least sixty or seventy sailors would be needed. A flash of lightning, like a match struck in the dark night sky, and in that instant, I immediately lay prone on the wall, like a gecko that had just fallen from a wall, rapidly moving towards the base to avoid detection.

Finally, I could see one side of the large ship. Several men in raincoats stood there, one of them peering through binoculars around his neck towards the mudflats. He then waved a small flag, signaling the gunners below to adjust their positions and fire again.

Their raincoats, soaked and glistening with rain, obscured their clothing. I desperately hoped they wore naval uniforms from some Asian country, so we could reveal ourselves and return home with this warship.

Having survived the Bassadi pirate ship, I was more cautious than ever. A moment of carelessness now could cost me more than just my life. I had to get down to the cabins to get accurate information. The hatches were located on either side of the deck; the one on the starboard wing was dangerous to slip inside from.

The other hatch was oddly shaped, like a snail's head emerging from its shell. I gripped the two snail-horn-like steel pillars beside me and pushed hard. I dared not use too much force, yet I couldn't relax either. If I made a sound, they might mistake me for a sea monster climbing onto the deck and shoot me indiscriminately. I tried for a while, but the heavy hatch remained unmoved; it must be locked from the inside.

It seemed that to get down to the cabin, I had to sneak in through the hatch behind the gunner—a risky gamble was inevitable. I had to buy time, to get inside before they stopped firing and locked the hatch, otherwise this risky voyage would be in vain. The cannon fire resumed, raindrops pounded on the hard deck, the water droplets bouncing and leaping like beans falling from the sky. "Hahaha! Blow up those damned beasts!" a man with a Northern Irish accent shouted.

I was immediately startled, not understanding what he meant by "beasts." Was he referring to crocodiles in the mud with expensive cannonballs? Judging from the ship's military equipment and facilities, hunting crocodiles for food would be as simple as taking a heavy machine gun to the island, finding a safe spot, and firing at the crocodiles. Even with their thick hides, the crocodiles would be riddled with bullets, so why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut?

Unless there were other humans hiding on the island, it was either a military exercise on a rainy night, targeting trees and rocks for bombing. These questions swirled in my mind, further fueling my determination to go deeper.

I crouched down, approaching them, stopping about ten meters away, waiting for an opportunity. The man with the small flag started looking at the island through binoculars again. In that instant, like a cat seeing a mouse dart into the hatch, I darted inside. The hatch was half-open. As I passed underneath, I paused, afraid of bumping into it or encountering other sailors emerging from inside.

If lightning had flashed then, it would have exposed me, and several sailors would have pounced on me immediately. Resisting their capture would require force, injuring innocent people and inevitably causing misunderstandings. Surrendering was also dangerous; by the time I was bound hand and foot and realized I'd encountered bad guys, it would be too late.

Like the first wild bear, invading a cave in the dark, unable to distinguish friend from foe. So, I was in a similar predicament now.

The cabin was luxurious, resembling a passenger ship. Descending the stairs from the hatch, I heard a noisy commotion, like a banquet, which made me even more suspicious. A dirty, wrinkled piece of clothing was draped over the stair railing, probably left there by someone on deck changing raincoats. To better conceal my identity as an intruder, I picked up the clothing, gripped the railing tightly with my left hand, and leaped sideways down the stairs, hiding beneath the stairs to put on the clothing.

The cabin was lit, powered by the ship's engine. Since the internal combustion engines stopped working after the ship docked, to avoid depleting the power reserves and preventing the ship from restarting, the voltage was lowered to the minimum, making the light as dim as a torch. Following the sounds of laughter, I walked along the bulkhead. Although I was disguised with clothing, the chances of being recognized were still high.

I pushed open a finely carved wooden door in the middle of the partition, first peeking through the crack to make sure no one was watching, then slipped inside. Now I understood everything: a large group of shirtless, burly men were gambling around six large tables. Many of them were cursing and swearing, taking a sip of alcohol, biting into roasted meat, and spitting out bones onto the floor with a "pui!" Many naked women were mixed in with the crowd; the closest woman would immediately come over, squat down, and clean up the floor soiled by the men spitting out bones.

A burly man, his chest and back covered in Nazi and skull tattoos, had just lost a round of tarot cards. He rummaged through his pockets but found nothing, presumably out of money, and looked around for someone to borrow from. Looking down, he saw a naked woman behind him, wiping flesh and bones on the floor. A lewd grin spread across his face. He pulled down his pants, knelt behind her, and thrust his penis inside her.

The woman didn't react much, continuing to carefully wipe the floor. Even after she was clean, the man holding her buttocks was still not finished and couldn't stand up, so he could only wait. The other burly men continued gambling; those who won laughed loudly, while those who lost kept muttering "fuck" and "shit," their cries of exhaustion incessant.

Next to the six large gambling tables were smaller tables, where several naked women were laid flat on top of each other, their legs draped over men's shoulders, being forcefully penetrated. The men and women here were of mixed races, including people of European and American descent, and a dozen or so Southeast Asian people. Most of the naked women were abducted and forced onto the ship, subjected to intimidation and torture, becoming the servants of these thugs and serving as sex objects for the men's lust.

Now it seemed this ship was not only not a legitimate military vessel, but also teeming with these filthy men—a typical pack of vicious pirates. Fortunately, I didn't call for help rashly, or the consequences would have been unimaginable. To avoid attracting attention, I sat down in a dimly lit corner of the cabin. At that moment, a naked woman approached me, stood before me, and remained motionless, her face expressionless. She held out a tray to me, waiting for me to eat the meat and wine on it.

She was an African girl, with dark, shiny skin, thick lips, a full bust, and a shapely bottom, about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. Among Black people, she was considered beautiful. Seeing that she hadn't been on board long, I assumed I was also one of the pirates.

The food was certainly not a problem, so I ate heartily, but didn't drink a drop of wine. Whether I could leave alive was uncertain; I had to stay conscious.

The beautiful Black girl kept her head bowed low, not out of shyness, but like a tamed lamb. She was definitely not a prostitute. If I were to lay her down on the wooden table and have sex with her now, she would obediently accept it, just like the white woman who had been scrubbing the floor earlier, letting me release my pent-up desires with a blank expression.

I didn't know which language was the dominant language in this cabin, and trying to coerce a naked woman into revealing anything might not be effective. Just then, a tall, thin man who had just finished gambling approached me. I immediately felt panicked, afraid of giving myself away and arousing his suspicion. The tall, thin man didn't look at me. He had drunk a lot and was somewhat incoherent. He staggered towards the Black girl, forced her onto the table, and after a long struggle, finally pulled out his semi-erect penis, rubbing it between her buttocks, searching for the entrance. The tall, thin man, with disheveled hair and a filthy drunken demeanor, immediately beamed with pleasure upon entering the room with the black girl. He spoke broken, ill-spoken English with a South African accent.

The black girl only whimpered when the white South African man roughly grabbed her glistening breasts. The tall, thin man completely ignored my presence, relentlessly pinching the girl until she groaned, reveling in the stimulation.

The meat on the tray was delicious, similar to the jerky I ate in the attic of the small town. This luxurious ship, brimming with wine and women, was supporting a group of men who committed lewd acts. I wanted to plant several frog bombs on the ship, so that when I jumped into the water and swam ashore, the villains would be blown to smithereens. However, doing so would harm innocent women and damage the ship.

In this environment, the ship was undoubtedly more important than any treasure.

The tall, thin man finally finished venting and released his grip on the girl's neck, allowing her to lift her right cheek from the wooden table. Between her two round, pert black buttocks, a stream of thick, white fluid slowly trickled down her thighs.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Take One Down First.

These pirates might have stopped here for food, drink, and entertainment, or perhaps to fry some crocodiles for food. My biggest worry is that once the weather improves, they might come ashore to hunt. If they discover us in the cave, they'll undoubtedly treat us like animals, killing the men and taking the women back to the ship as sex slaves.

It seems this was originally a passenger ship, converted into a semi-military warship, used for piracy and robbery. This entertainment hall alone has forty or fifty people. Roughly estimating, there are five standing on the deck, and over ten more in the lower deck kitchen and warehouse—a total of over seventy thugs.

Moreover, the military equipment on the ship, as well as their own weaponry, must be related to arms dealing; otherwise, they wouldn't have used cannons so casually to bombard the floating island. If I were to fight these beastly bandits on the island, with my three pistols and two rifles, each holding less than fifty bullets, I would have no chance of winning. I'd be blinded by their machine gun fire, let alone able to shoot them.

I stood up, trying not to expose my face, and slowly approached the next door. Peeking through the crack, I saw a pile of old, broken items; tables and chairs were haphazardly stacked like a small mountain, with an expensive piano squeezed underneath. The tall, thin man who had just finished venting was now limp and lying on the floor. The burly men were still enjoying themselves and ignored me. Taking advantage of the dim light, I went over, helped the tall man up, and dragged him into the cluttered room. The tall, thin man, drunk as a half-dead pig, mistook the naked woman supporting him. He grinned lewdly, muttering obscene things: "Dare to disobey, and I'll stuff rats down there for you bitches, hahaha."

I helped him into the room and gently laid him on the floor. Under the piano lay a heavy curtain. I used a dagger to cut it into strips, tied knots to make a rope, and bound the drunkard's feet to the piano legs, to prevent him from kicking me in the back of the head when I sat on his stomach.

I slowly separated his hands, laying him flat, and stepped on his wrists with my feet. He immediately felt pain, thinking it was his accomplice or a woman stepping on him. Just as he was about to open his eyes and curse, I squatted down and slammed my fist into his chest, making him gasp for breath, his voice hoarse and muffled.

My rough, strong hand quickly covered his mouth, while my other hand, holding a dagger, pressed the tip against his terrified eyes. I said in English, "Don't make a sound, or I'll gouge your eyes out." The man was startled at first, terrified by my words. His two deep blue eyes, sunken into their sockets, kept turning and retracting, as if afraid of the sharp blade touching his corneas.

He had high cheekbones, a large, straight nose, though slightly crooked, and a long face resembling a camel's—he looked like a vicious man. "Where's the ammunition depot?" The man, initially somewhat frightened, immediately sensed my hostility upon hearing such a sensitive question. He seemed to instantly realize he was a desperate pirate, unafraid of death, with a relentless, unyielding spirit, and his expression turned fierce towards me. "

I'm pressed for time, I have zero patience now. Will you talk or not?" "I pressed him anxiously in a low voice. The fear he had shown me earlier vanished from his eyes, replaced by a meaningful mockery. He thought he had been a powerful man for many years, having committed countless acts of arson, murder, and robbery at sea. He considered my threats to him to be child's play, treating me as a burly fisherman or a petty thief who would soon fall into his hands."

I slammed my left hand down on his mouth, while my right hand, pressed the knife tip against his eyeball, swiftly plunging down to stab the hand I was pressing down on with my right foot. With a "crack," I severed the joint of his middle finger, then pressed the dagger tip diagonally, completely separating the severed finger from the flesh clinging to his palm.

The burly man immediately convulsed, writhing in agony like a lizard with its tail severed. His feet, bound to the piano, trembled violently, his pale forehead turned ashen, veins bulging, and his sunken eyeballs bulged outwards exaggeratedly, like inflated rubber. I pressed my right hand down even harder on his mouth to prevent a scream from escaping.

"If you want to talk, blink repeatedly, and I won't ask you anymore." With that, I swung my arm again, stabbing him once more, his index finger instantly disappearing from his palm. His eyeballs bulged like those of a dead bull, the whites of his pupils bloodshot. After a sharp pain, I looked at him and, seeing he showed no sign of blinking, raised my dagger again, ready to cut off his thumb. The man completely broke down, his bulging eyeballs immediately sunken in, and he blinked frantically.

"You don't need to say anything, just point me to the location of the ammunition compartment." Saying this, I released my foot from his mangled hand. The tall, thin man trembled, raising his bloodied hand with only three fingers remaining, and pointed shakily to the wall behind me. It turned out there was a side door next to the stacked tables and chairs, hidden by a wooden panel similar in color to the wall; it was difficult to spot without careful observation.

I pressed down on his hand again, stuffed a strip of cloth into his mouth, and tied his hands tightly. I stood up to verify if the man was telling the truth. Pulling back the wooden panel, a large warehouse appeared before me, but the iron bars were locked, preventing me from entering. Peering through the small hole in the gate, I saw many green wooden crates piled up inside. The numbers on them were illegible, but the rows of gleaming rifles wrapped in parchment leaning against the corner confirmed that this was an ammunition depot.

Crouching back down in front of the tall, thin man who was still lying on the ground convulsing, I whispered, "How do we get in?" He frantically shook his head, his eyes wide with terror. At that moment, I was also incredibly anxious, terrified that another man might suddenly burst in. This guy was my only source of information; whatever he knew, I had to force it out of him.

Grabbing his ear, I placed the blade of my dagger on it. "If the gate doesn't open, I'll keep cutting flesh off you until you figure out a way." With that, I cut half a centimeter from his ear, and blood began to gush from the cut. He nodded rapidly, signaling me to stop. With his bound hands, he pointed to the iron gate. Understanding his meaning, I immediately jumped over and slowly ran my finger along the door frame to see if I could find a metal object like a key. Sure enough, I found a 20-centimeter-long steel key.

Opening the gate and entering, I was immediately stunned. One side of the warehouse was piled high with various weapons: heavy machine guns, mortars, semi-automatic machine guns, light rifles, and the latest international sniper rifles. There were 280 boxes of grenades alone, each labeled with 50 rounds; and about 500 boxes of ammunition, each labeled with 10,000 rounds. As for the rifles and pistols, I couldn't count them all at once, as some were still inside, but judging from the surface, there were probably over 4,000.

This was clearly not a simple pirate ship; it was definitely colluding with some international arms organization to smuggle weapons to the Middle East and the African coast. The warehouse lights were dimmer than outside. I could vaguely see many racks in the corner on the other side, with several naked women strapped to them. As I slowly approached, a chill ran down my spine. Several white women were suspended there, their bodies covered in whip marks. A red-haired woman was chained to an iron bed resembling an operating table, her limbs spread wide. Several cages nearby held many white rats. The red-haired woman's genitals were mangled and bloody from torture; her pupils were already dilated when I opened her eyelids—she had only recently died.

The other women looked up at me with panic and fear, thinking someone else was coming to torture them. They trembled and pleaded. "Hold on, someone will come to rescue you soon," I reassured them, but I knew in my heart that whether I would get out alive was still a question.

Suppressing my anger, I returned to the tall, thin man, pressed my hand against his Adam's apple, and smiled as I said, "How many men are on this ship? What are their backgrounds? How many snipers are there? You don't need to speak, just nod." Seeing my sudden docility, he relaxed, his fearful eyes turning into sincerity as he quickly nodded in agreement.

"Sixty men?" He shook his head. I continued, "More than sixty?" He nodded hastily. I tried to speed up the interrogation; every second of delay increased the danger. Finally, I obtained crucial information about the ship.

"As a reward, I'll tell you a secret: I am the most wanted mercenary in Southeast Asia, 'Horse Chaser' number 117." As soon as I finished speaking, his pupils dilated, his expression one of utter horror. "Don't be afraid, I won't kill you. The women in the ammunition depot were tortured by you, weren't they?" He both shook and nodded, indicating he wasn't the only one who had tortured the women.

"You put the rat into the red-haired woman's body, didn't you?" I asked, a smile spreading across my face. Tears welled in the man's eyes, streaming down his face, as if he sensed this was his impending doom. Actually, using finger-cutting to extract information was a very basic form of torture. When I was a sniper major in a mercenary camp, I also interrogated prisoners.

For those spies who had secretly infiltrated from developed Western countries, using finger-cutting to force them to confess was like an old mother beating her thirty-year-old child. Even if all the spies were cut off, they wouldn't utter a single word. That's a true tough guy, like the Chinese revolutionaries captured by the brutal Japanese army during the resistance against the Japanese invaders, who, despite the shameless Japanese soldiers using every kind of cruel torture, remained steadfast, fearless, and courageous.

This guy was just a desperate pirate; those little-known torture methods, let alone on someone like him, would be enough to terrify him into confessing everything after just one demonstration.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Gambling with Death in the Dark

"Alright, don't be afraid, I said I wouldn't kill you," I said with a smile. His eyes became even more suspicious, yet he was afraid that my distrust would anger me, so he quickly changed his expression and smiled at me.

I stepped on his hands, pulled the gag out of his mouth, and quickly covered it with my left hand to prevent him from suddenly screaming. "You like stuffing rats into women's genitals? I'll give you something similar to men like you." As soon as I finished speaking, I parted my left thumb and forefinger to create a gap in his mouth and forcefully stabbed the dagger into it. "Evil deeds must be repaid. Go in peace." "I stabbed him while trying to calm him down. After a series of fierce stabs, the guy's throat was a bloody mess from the dagger, his vocal cords were ruptured and he couldn't make a sound, so I slowly loosened my grip on him.

Crimson blood spurted from his dry coughs, spraying onto my face. In his constantly arching neck, it felt as if a nerve was desperately pulling his bloodshot eyes backward. A minute later, the guy stopped struggling, the bones in his legs seemed stiff, only the muscles under the skin were still twitching.

I used the tattered curtain to wrap the tall, thin body, dragged it into the ammunition depot, stuffed it behind the wooden crates containing weapons, then hurriedly came out, wiped the blood off the storage room floor, and closed the ammunition depot door back to its original position.

It turned out that these guys had come here to exchange ..." The weapons and ammunition in the warehouse were meant to be sold to the Sea Demon. The men firing the cannons on deck were preparing to land on the island tomorrow. This island had long been their trading base; the shelling of the large mudflat was to drive away the crocodiles, but more importantly, to warn the cannibals in the rainforest.

I never imagined that this primitive island held so many unspeakable secrets. Based on my short-term estimation, a fierce battle was inevitable. If we disembarked now, even if we returned to the island, we wouldn't survive long. These guys were going to hunt on the island for half a month. Killing those primitive animals would certainly be enjoyable, but even more enjoyable would be slaughtering intelligent cannibals. Using such advanced technology and weapons to slaughter primitive natives still stuck in the Stone Age was a remarkably cheap and pleasurable experience.

Based on the information gleaned from the interrogation, I began searching for the ship's engine room. Having experience unlocking the ammunition magazine, I carefully examined the surrounding walls and quickly found a similar door. Opening it and examining the interior, I went down the stairs; the next level must be the engine room.

It was extremely narrow, a long, narrow passageway filled with metal pipes of varying thicknesses. Some screws were loose, hissing white steam, making it feel stuffy and suffocating.

At the far end of the passageway, I saw the control panel for the machinery, with many buttons flashing red, yellow, and green. I figured these were the buttons for controlling the engines. Even if I used a dagger to destroy them, the damage wouldn't be significant; the ship's maintenance crew could repair it quickly, so I had to destroy them completely. I took out the three grenades I had put in my pocket, lined them up, and wedged them behind the control panel. Then I unscrewed the back of the dagger handle and pulled out about a hundred meters of piano wire, which I had been hiding inside. This was specifically used to connect the mine engines and set up explosive traps; it was similar to extremely thin fishing line.

I used a steel wire to attach the grenade's engine, then pulled down this extremely small, transparent device and laid it at the top of the stairs. Anyone who stepped on the wire would detonate the grenade, destroying the ship's starting mechanism. I initially considered hanging two more grenades at the entrance, faking a few deaths as I went, but I abandoned this greedy idea.

Firstly, I wanted them to mistakenly believe the equipment had malfunctioned and exploded naturally, giving me more time to escape. Secondly, and more importantly, I needed to accurately record every death. There were seventy-two surviving pirates and six snipers on board, mostly fugitives and retired mercenaries from various countries—mostly ruthless and experienced enemies. Therefore, I had to clearly record each death to prevent missing a single enemy and being caught in their sniper fire.

I fired seventy-one sniper shots at them. Even if I hit one every time, I would still be the final victor, because I could still be shot by the last enemy.

But if even one of them successfully killed me, I would be utterly defeated, and the woman in the cave would suffer endless torment.

The infiltration went smoothly. These guys were still playing cards and womanizing in the lobby; not a single vigilant person would patrol this area. They were immersed in decadent pleasure, long since losing their military discipline and keen sense of smell. After setting the explosive traps, I returned to the ammunition depot. Under several tables nearby were the guns and ammunition I had already selected.

The depot was overflowing with weapons, a feeling I'd experienced before. When I first fled to Cambodia, I worked for the Phnom Penh underworld, overseeing arms deals. In two years, I saw countless firearms and ammunition, from cutting-edge technology to World War II-era Mauser and Browning rifles—all top-notch rifles, instantly fatal if they pierced the upper limb.

I couldn't take too many weapons, so I could only choose the most refined and combat-ready ones, with sniper rifles being the preferred choice for island warfare. I noticed over forty brand-new Barrett M82A1s under the straw in the corner. These are among the most widely used large-caliber sniper rifles today, belonging to the hunting rifle category. The hunting purpose of this type of gun is not for killing wild boar or deer, but mainly for one-on-one single-shot kills and assassinations of special figures, such as battlefield commanders and international government officials.

There are also ten light sniper rifles, jointly developed by the US Army and Navy. In 1991, the US military designated this new M21 as the M25. It can easily kill targets within 900 meters, with the same lethality as shooting at someone with a pistol pointed at their body. Among various sniper weapons, it's like a reaper's scythe, more easily taking lives than other rifles. When I fled Thailand, the specially trained snipers selected from the mercenary camp used this same weapon as those used by the US Army Special Forces and Navy SEALs.

There is also the SVD sniper rifle, a new improved version with a new fiberglass composite stock and handguard, as well as a new magazine. There are threaded holes for mounting a bipod in front of the magazine well, but its range is relatively limited; beyond 600 meters, its lethality decreases significantly.

I hadn't originally planned to take any weapons, but after searching for a while, I couldn't find the ammunition for my Lef sniper rifle. I did have several boxes of ammunition for the jungle rifle, but they were all buried at the bottom and couldn't be retrieved immediately. Finally, based on the island's terrain and the fighting style the enemy on the ship would employ, I chose the M25 sniper rifle. It's 1.125 meters long, with a 0.639-meter barrel, weighs 4.9 kilograms, and has a magazine capacity of twenty rounds when fully loaded.

Pushing aside the tangled straw, I randomly pulled out a handful, tore off the sturdy kraft paper packaging, and found the brand-new, shiny barrel still smelling of metalworking, with a slightly sticky layer of machine oil on its surface. Finding the corresponding box of ammunition, I skillfully removed the magazine, loaded twenty rounds, and if all went well tomorrow, each one would take away a sinful soul.

If these guys found me at the cargo hold and I ran out of ammunition in my pistol and didn't have time to reload, I could use it for close-range blind firing, like a traditional rifle.

Actually, what I really wanted to bring was the heavy machine gun on top of the crate. When these guys land on the island tomorrow, I'll find a good spot and unleash a barrage of fire, like watering flowers. This heavy weapon is incredibly powerful; it can fire a thousand rounds per minute, killing over two hundred people. The soldiers call it the "Domineering King of Hell," which shows how terrifying its power is.

This machine gun weighs two hundred pounds even with empty cartridges. Carrying it would probably make it impossible to even leave the cabin, let alone swim in the sea.

I didn't bring any bags when I boarded the ship. Having a gun without ammunition is unacceptable. One crate of ammunition contains ten thousand rounds, weighing one hundred and fifty pounds. I already have a sniper rifle and three submachine guns slung over my shoulder.

I need to find a way to bring enough ammunition. I emptied two-thirds of a crate full of submachine gun ammunition and then poured about five hundred rounds into another crate containing sniper ammunition. Then I went back to the storeroom to get some strips of cloth, tied the box securely, and planned to carry it out of the cabin to the cave to prepare for tomorrow's battle.

If I imagined myself carrying a box of beer instead of a box of bullets through a group of ruthless bandits, I'd be instantly identified and stabbed to death. Like a trout in a stream, hiding among the weeds, thinking no one can see me, utterly foolishly burying my head in the sand. I then used my dagger to cut a piece of curtain, wrapped the brightly colored wooden box, and gently hid it behind the storeroom door.

In the engine room, there was a main switch controlling the ship's power. I crouched behind the door, pulled the piano string already tied to the switch handle, and the boisterous noise from the hall behind the door abruptly stopped. A moment of silence followed, then shouts of curses: "Damn it, go check the engine room! I'm sure to win this time!" The boastful words faded, and the previous commotion resumed in the darkness.

Just as a few men stumbled through the dark, pushing open the door to the storage room and rushing to the engine room for maintenance, I seized the opportunity amidst the darkness and chaos, grabbed the crate, and squeezed into the hall. It was still pitch black. Perhaps some men were groping a woman's body or doing something else in the darkness; the clamor of curses and screams mingled with the sounds of their commotion.

Imagine if, at that moment, the lights suddenly came on, and I, a stranger, appeared before these robbers, clutching a wooden crate wrapped in cloth. Like a magician in a circus, the dark stage suddenly illuminated, revealing a clown in the center—the feeling of being under everyone's watchful eyes sent chills down my spine; my heart pounded for a long time.

Relying on my memory of when I first entered, I deliberately hugged the wall, carrying the roughly sixty-pound crate, and inching my way towards the entrance. I wished I had the ability to pass through walls or become invisible, so I could instantly reach the deck and leap into the vast, rain-swept sea.

Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Insidious Searchlight

I felt like a blind man navigating a chaotic market, my bare shoulders rubbing against each other, back to back, inching forward through the crowd. The touch of skin told me whether I was next to a burly man or a delicate woman. Now, everyone's vision was gradually darkening. If any man dared to put his face right in front of my nose, his throat would be slit instantly by my dagger, a death before he could even scream. This risky act of silence was also to protect myself as I approached the hatch.

To prevent these guys from touching the box I was holding, when my arm brushed against the obscured flesh of a naked woman, I grabbed the box with one hand and pulled her over with the other, shielding her between our chests. This way, the burly men around me would have little chance of noticing me as I moved forward.

Three loud bangs followed—grenades exploded in the engine room. At that moment, I reached the exit, released the woman, and started climbing the stairs I remembered. At the top, something blocked my way—probably the hatch. I frantically groped for the metal bolt to open it. I felt like jumping onto the deck and into the sea.

"Boss, the engine room's broken down, this damn ship!" came a shout from behind from a lowly maintenance worker. "Stop talking nonsense and fix it!" a loud, gruff voice replied; this must be the boss. I put the wooden crate down, gripped the doorknob tightly with both hands, and tried to lift it up. It

took all my strength; I wouldn't even be able to turn the door open, I'd probably break my teeth. I squatted into a horse stance, regulated my breathing, and concentrated all my strength in my shoulders. The two massive muscles on my arms bulged and writhed incessantly. Desperation gives way to strength; with one final burst of energy, the door finally creaked open. A blast of cold wind and icy rain hit me, releasing the pent-up fear and suffocation in my chest.

Clutching the crate, I sprinted towards the anchorage at the stern. The four guns on my body clanged and rattled, thousands of golden bullets rattling and clattering inside the crate like a distorted accordion. The hatch opened loudly; the thugs mistook it for one of their men coming out for fresh air, not realizing it was me escaping.

I picked up the hemp rope I'd tossed aside in a hidden spot on the deck, quickly packed the crate of bullets into a backpack, tied it to my back, grabbed the cold anchor chain, and slid down towards the sea. I would never risk jumping into the sea unless they were pursuing and firing on me. The weight I was carrying weighed at least 80 or 90 pounds, and jumping from this high deck would be like throwing a boulder into the ocean. Even if I managed to float, my swimming speed would be very slow, and I would be vulnerable to machine gun fire from the ship.

What I was most worried about was this box of bullets; without it, my chances of survival would be even slimmer. There was no sound of pursuing footsteps on the deck yet. Although I was anxious, I tried my best to remain calm and slowly entered the water, using the slight buoyancy of the wooden box to swim desperately towards the island. I had to disappear from the rainy night sea as quickly as possible to avoid being tracked by searchlights and triggering a hail of bullets.

Their weapons were mostly heavy and highly lethal. Even if I swam underwater, it was only a psychological effect. The surface of the water was like seaweed hiding trout, a thin layer of paper that would tear easily in a bucket, completely unreliable. The bullets piercing the sea were like a discarded piece of chalk thrown by a teacher, drawing a white line across the water. If they hit me, they would easily pass through my spine, burrowing deeper and darker into the ocean depths, while the crates and weapons would drag along with my body, following the bullet.

The rain intensified, making breathing even more difficult while swimming. The guns and heavy ammunition crates behind me made my back ache. I felt like a kite lying on the surface of the sea, while the person flying it stood on the seabed, endlessly pulling it down with the string. We had all escaped from the cabin; was I going to drown in the churning ocean? I thought of Chi Chun, Yi Liang, and Lu Ya—they were my women. I couldn't let those villains put me on a rack.

An indomitable fighting spirit ignited within me, injecting anger into the blood in my limbs. I swam desperately towards the shore. When I saw the dark coastline, knowing it was sand below, I put my weary feet down. As soon as I stepped onto the soft sand, I immediately submerged my head in the water, face up, only my nose and mouth above the surface to breathe. The ship's alarm blared in the rain, and a thick beam of light shone wildly from the gun emplacement, accompanied by the overlapping sounds of machine guns and cannons.

It seemed those guys had already switched off the power, discovered grenade shrapnel and piano wire at the explosion site, realized they'd been intruded upon, and rushed onto the deck to hunt me down. But in the vast, rainy night, I had already drifted away from the ship. In their moment of frenzy and impatience, they indiscriminately bombarded the sea around the ship. Armaments in their hands were like wings for demons, slaughtering living beings.

The more frantic they became, the more it meant they hadn't found me, and they could only guess that I'd been killed in the water or taken to an island. In the pouring rain and darkness, chasing me to the island was impossible; they didn't know the situation. For the time being, these scoundrels could only stand on the deck, displaying their ferocity and menacing power. About an hour later, perhaps fearing excessive power consumption, the ship turned off the searchlights, or perhaps they had given up hope, realizing it was futile.

If it were daytime, I would have had to lie in that position in the water until nightfall; even the slightest movement would have been fatal, as the ship's Barrett M82A1 sniper would have blown my skull apart. Perhaps this was fate's arrangement, sending immense danger here on the wheel of destiny, only to be met with torrential rain and darkness as a form of protection after finding it too harsh on me.

Seeing no movement from the ship, I dared to slowly surface and crawl beneath the seaweed, the salty, fishy smell filling my nostrils. I grabbed some long seaweed and hung it around my neck, fearing that while crawling on the shore, those guys might use underhanded tactics, suddenly flashing their searchlights and then, "bang!", the sniper would shoot me dead the instant the light swept across my body. I knew all too well these treacherous tricks. Returning to the cave from the woods was impossible. Dawn would break in five hours; I had to hurry back to the cave to prepare.

I re-secured my weapons and ammunition, grabbed the vine that had carried me down from the valley top, and started climbing again. Climbing to the top was even more dangerous. I couldn't gauge the vine's strength; I could only use my body to sway it for a while. If it didn't break, I could risk climbing. The icy night rain poured down on me. At that moment, I desperately wanted a cup of hot soup to warm my body and give me the strength to climb.

This was a matter of life and death. The pirates on the ship must have discovered the tall, thin man's body and were now figuring out how many people were on the island, what kind of people they were, and what kind of battle they would wage against me. I knew their situation perfectly well now. I hoped they imagined the enemy on the island to be a hundred people; at least their arrogance wouldn't be too overwhelming, which would be advantageous for my battle.

Thinking about these questions, I unknowingly climbed halfway up the mountain, forcing my brain to think about tomorrow's battle. The intense thoughts eased my fear, and the pain in my hands and shoulders lessened. My suspicions were correct; a large lamp suddenly blazed on, its light sweeping across the shore. Thirty or forty men stood on the boat, firing wildly in the beam of light, sending sand flying. I immediately clung to the vines, too afraid to move. The seaweed wrapped around my neck concealed my body, making me look like a crooked tree peeking out from a rocky cliff.

These men were ruthless and cunning, firing indiscriminately like mad dogs, disregarding the cost of ammunition as long as I was killed. No wonder; the ship had five million rounds of ammunition. What were a few shots compared to that? They were deliberately displaying overwhelming firepower to intimidate the islanders, warning them against this unbearable game of cat and mouse.

Regardless of their true intentions, I had the intelligence and weapons. With these, I felt much more at ease and confident during the battle. The only thing holding me back was the three women and the child. How could I protect them without hindering the fight? This thought swirled in my mind as I continued climbing. Finally, I reached the top of the valley. My python-skin gloves were worn to shreds, and my palms were red, swollen, and burning. I thought about how pitiful this golden python was. Though its meat was for human consumption, at least its skin could be made into exquisite gloves and handbags, worn by some noblewoman or charming lady.

But in this environment, it was only fit for me, a lone man, to wear and tear from doing such dangerous work. Lying on the top, I knew that no bullets from the ship could reach me. They probably thought I had scurried along the coast into the woods, unaware that I had actually climbed up here. If they had known, they would have surely sent a shell flying, tearing me to pieces.

I lay there for more than ten minutes before I recovered. I lay on the ground and slowly pulled up the vines from the valley floor, then threw them back to the cave entrance. I didn't stand up, not because I was that weak, but because I was afraid that when lightning illuminated the sky, the people on the boat would see my dark shadow standing on the valley floor. If that happened, they would come rushing over and surrounding us as soon as it got light.

After descending into the cave, the women immediately gathered around me, their eyes sparkling with surprise as they helped me pull off the seaweed covering I was wearing as camouflage. I put down the crate and the gun I was carrying on my back and went to the fire to warm my frozen fingers. A dagger clattered to the ground. "Cut open the cloth covering the crate." They, unaware of what was happening, examined the crate with questioning eyes and began to work.

"That's a pirate ship," I said softly. The three women looked at me together. I removed my hands from the fire, stretched my fingers, took the dagger from Chi Chun, and pried open the wooden crate. "Ah!" they exclaimed in unison. "Lu Ya and Yi Liang, you two quickly sort out the different bullets. Chi Chun, quickly roast meat, the more the better. After dawn, we must extinguish all open flames; not a single wisp of smoke is allowed."

Chapter 40: The Ghost's Bullets

"What happened?" "Yi Liang asked me softly. I explained everything on the ship to them, and the remaining excitement in the women's hearts turned into tension; their hopes of leaving the island by ship were dashed. All the weapons were piled up by the fire, and Chi Chun put a large amount of dried meat on the fire. "You will learn to use the weapons now." I handed a brand-new portable submachine gun to Yi Liang and Chi Chun, telling them how to aim and fire, how to set the safety, how to change the magazine and load bullets. Then we fired live ammunition at the mountain wall outside the cave.

After firing two hundred rounds, the two of them had a basic understanding and mastery of the weapons. I then called over Lu Ya, who was grilling food nearby, and gave her a rifle and a pistol. I comforted her and let her learn about the relevant aspects of using guns, but I didn't let her fire too many bullets.

The three women had tense expressions on their faces, and I kept encouraging them, urging them to have the courage to fight. Inside the cave The baby started crying incessantly when the first shot was fired, making me even more aware of the weight of my responsibility and the urgency of time. There wasn't enough time to roast more jerky; just enough for two days' rations for everyone. My

biggest regret now is that I shouldn't have built the wooden wall in the yard. At dawn, the enemy on the ship could easily spot this depression in the valley with their binoculars and immediately detect signs of human habitation. With only a few hours left, it's too late to restore it to its original state. I can only lead everyone into the forest teeming with venomous snakes and wild beasts. This cave has now become a living graveyard, a trap for the enemy. Just like the fresh meat on our wooden sled was tempting to the leopard cat.

I charred the brown fur side of two bear skins over a fire, poked small holes in the smaller one with a dagger, and then tied it tightly with vines. This small bear skin was, of course, much smaller than a giant bear's, but when draped over my body, it perfectly covered my entire body, and when I lay on the ground, it could cover my head. With this homemade camouflage, I looked like a clump of weeds on the forest floor, or a cluster of lush foliage when perched in a tree. It served both as camouflage and to confuse the enemy, allowing me to shoot from the shadows.

Following my instructions, Chi Chun made two small handbags from the remaining python skin to carry bullets and food. In her haste, she couldn't find suitable needle and thread. Fortunately, all three women had long, glossy black hair. Chi Chun took a lock of hair from under herself and Lu Tayiliang, using it as thread, and then threaded it through the thorns of plant stems. A woman's long hair has nothing to do with her level of experience; often, they consider things from a more flexible perspective, while men tend to think more rigidly.

When Chi Chun handed me one of the handbags, her eyes were filled with tears, her beauty captivating, as if she were heading towards... The bride, given a gift of love by her husband on the battlefield. There was no time for sentimentality. I burned all the remaining dried meat to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. As I burned the meat, I urged them to eat more and fill their stomachs. There were still more than two hours until dawn. I needed to warm up in the cave. Having used the Leifu sniper rifle for a long time, I needed to quickly regain my proficiency with the M25. I had undergone high-level training with this gun during mercenary special training, but facing six snipers on the ship whom I had never fought before, I couldn't be careless.

Picking up the brand-new sniper rifle… He resumed his training drills, familiarizing himself with actions such as turning and firing, shooting while running and stopping, crouching and firing, jumping and firing, and shooting while running. Then he adjusted the sniper scope. There were two black caps on the front and back of the scope; opening them and focusing his gaze on them, any creature on the crosshairs was instantly within reach of his trigger finger.

This sniper rifle was far more technologically advanced than his old rifle, not just in terms of range, but also in its ease of accurately locking onto a target in the mirror image—0.3 seconds faster than any of his weapons. The sniper bullet left the chamber. The bullet, penetrating a person's body, takes only 0.25 seconds.

This minuscule difference in time is insignificant to ordinary people, but for a sniper, it's the time it takes to change their name on the death list. The pre-dawn darkness is rare on the island; as dawn approaches, the darkness is clearly felt receding.

We slung our python-skin bags, filled with ammunition and food, over our shoulders and left the cave. On this dark and damp island, the cave was our only warm refuge. But now, we were being forced into the gloomy and dangerous forest by those scoundrels who were hiding in the comfortable, dry cabins, indulging in food, drink, and women. The thought of all this ignited a fire of anger in my chest. This wasn't just a game where I was alone, facing the test of death; three innocent women and a baby had been dragged into it, suffering along with me.

Chi Chun kept her head bowed low, trying to shield the child in her arms with her body. Lu Ya and Yi Liang sandwiched Chi Chun between them, the three women huddled together under the giant bear skin, walking forward head to head. We had to thank the owner of this bear skin; its thick, sturdy hide had protected the three women from the torrential rain. My own bear skin, however, swayed back and forth like a straw raincoat covered in tall grass.

"Don't be afraid, let's go deeper into the forest. We have plenty of weapons and ample ammunition now." With that, I patted the several guns and two python skin bags hanging on my body. The bullets clattered and rattled, slightly cheering them up. "Are we going to leave the forest?" "Luya clung tightly to Chi Chun, looking up at me from under the giant bear skin.

"No, we're going to the high ground in the forest to take it over first. Whether the enemy comes up from the valley or the big mudflat, they'll be exposed to my line of sight, while our own terrain will be relatively concealed." I couldn't afford to worry them anymore and offer vague words of

comfort; I had to tell them the whole story so they would understand. "Can our guns reach them from the high ground?" Luya asked me again, asking about something she didn't understand. "Your guns are for self-defense; just protect yourselves. Never fire on the enemy unless you expose yourselves, or you'll be in danger. If you're in danger, it will affect my concentration during the battle, understand? Many of these bandits are well-trained mercenaries, just like me." "Ah! That's very powerful!" Luya exclaimed in surprise.

Her words put a lot of pressure on me. Perhaps in the eyes of these women, I am a strong man. I told them this not to increase their psychological pressure, but to let them know that if I were to die in battle, it wouldn't be because I wanted to abandon them, but because I had already done my best. Yi Liang understood the meaning behind my words, and tears streamed down her face, which she quickly wiped away.

Seeing this sixteen-year-old girl like this broke my heart. If a man's death depends on his ability to endure pain, then I will persevere until I have killed all the enemies on the island before I fall.

There were far fewer snakes in the forest than on a sunny day. Raindrops splashed on the leaves, and I used my dagger to cut at the branches blocking my path; they were becoming increasingly dense. After walking for about an hour, I felt my legs getting tired, knowing that I was beginning to climb the slope of the forest.

There was a patch of low bushes ahead; we walked towards it. Rainwater cascaded down the high ground, carving out numerous gullies. In a sparsely wooded area, several large, dense trees stood, their bases having been eroded into a large pit filled with rocks, from which rainwater gushed. I figured this was a safer spot to hide. Even if enemy bullets flew in a dense hail, they wouldn't hit them at the bottom of the pit. Besides, my sniping range covered this area; if the enemy searched this way, I could either snipe them or lure them away.

I broke off many thick branches, crushed them, and threw them into the pit. This way, their feet wouldn't be soaked in water when they went down, and they could rest on them if they got tired. After carrying them down one by one, I covered them with a giant bear skin to prevent rainwater from getting in, and then broke off more branches to camouflage the pit entrance.

Luckily, it was raining, so these camouflage branches wouldn't wither easily. As long as the women didn't move, even if enemy snipers spotted them, they would have a hard time noticing anything unusual.

"Eat dried meat if you're hungry, and open your mouths to catch rainwater if you're thirsty. Try not to drink the muddy water from under your feet. When I come back, I'll call your names first. Otherwise, if anyone moves the branches above their heads, shoot them as I told you." As I spoke, I added more branches and leaves to make the camouflage as realistic as possible.

"Also, when you fire, don't close your eyes. Bravely glare at the enemy, and don't let go or drop your guns, or you'll shoot yourselves." I squatted down again, patted their heads, and encouraged them to be strong. "Don't assume it's me just because you hear a noise. The enemy might search this area and walk past. Do not expose yourselves. Avoid them as much as possible. I'll protect you from a distance, watching you through my sniper scope, just like I'm crouching above you right now. Remember, I'm right beside you, don't be afraid."

After giving you countless instructions, the darkness of night had faded somewhat. I distributed two portable submachine guns to Chi Chun and Yi Liang, and gave the old jungle rifle to Lu Ya. Still feeling uneasy, I tossed Lu Ya a pistol as well.

I slung a python skin bag filled with ammunition and food over my shoulder, draped myself in a bearskin draped with vines, and carried a fully loaded portable submachine gun and an old-fashioned Rifle sniper rifle on my back. Two pistols hung from my back pocket, and sharp daggers were strapped to either side of my calves. Clutching this brand-new long-range sniper rifle, I began to run rapidly into the higher, denser mountains.

When I encountered logs or non-venomous tree snakes, I ignored them, leaping over or beside them, making the most of every second to run towards my chosen firing position. The rain didn't lessen as the night faded; it continued to pour, drenching my head and running down my neck. I felt every cell in my body awakening, the buried stench of blood surging within me. The rain from the sky and treetops pounded against my face and shoulders, making me run faster and jump higher, transforming me back into the killing machine I once was, traversing the jungle.

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