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At dusk, a group of people who had been drunk the night before gradually came back to life. After washing up and tidying themselves, they each carried their empty stomachs and walked toward the beach at Coast, where a bonfire had already been lit, laughing and chatting. The main party had gathered, and unlike the past with their military uniforms and steel guns, today's event was still a carefree celebration filled with food and drink.
As the host, Jin Bo naturally couldn't just sit back and relax. He presented one image when he was with Song Yao and another when he faced the Islanders. Over the years, Swordmaster had not wasted his time; aside from his exceptional skills in combat, his ability to change his demeanor was quite impressive, which made things rather challenging for him.
After a lazy day, Song Jiu and the others gradually regained their spirits. Although there was no need to worry about a Zombie invasion on the island, after years of struggle, their vigilance could not be completely washed away by a single feast.
Wu Wentao was most concerned about one issue that had now been resolved. Song Jiu had taken the initiative to find Jin Bo. He remembered when they first met in the desolate mountains; every one of Jin Bo's subordinates was armed with steel guns, indicating that their military strength was not lacking. At that time, he hadn't had the chance to ask, but he assumed that there must be some supplies available. Jin Bo did not disappoint Song Jiu, smiling mysteriously as he took advantage of the crowd at Coast to sneakily lead Song Jiu and Wu Wentao away from the throng and back to his residence in the Stilt House.
By this time, the sky had darkened, and without lights on, visibility inside the Stilt House was poor.
Jin Bo wasn't in a hurry to explain. He peeked outside a few times to ensure there were no onlookers before securing the door. He then led the two into the inner room, lifted a strange carpet from the floor, and pried up a wooden partition bound together with iron wire.
Song Jiu and Wu Wentao exchanged glances, feeling as if they were not inspecting arms with the Island Master, but rather sneaking around like thieves.
Turning back to look at them, Jin Bo chuckled and said, “Didn’t Fang Fei tell you? Life on the island may seem easygoing, but it’s not entirely harmonious; you still need to keep your wits about you.”
“I understand,” Wu Wentao nodded lightly. There was no need for further explanation; everyone knew what was at stake.
Returning from their leisurely lives to face the current serious situation, Song Jiu felt much more alert. Remembering something that Fang Fei had once mentioned, he asked, “What do you mean by saying it’s not safe on the island?”
“Half and half,” replied Jin Bo, grunting as he lifted another partition from beneath the floorboards. After feeling around for a while, he twisted something, and suddenly dim yellow light illuminated from below.
Raising an eyebrow in surprise, Wu Wentao clearly did not expect this turn of events; despite appearing carefree, it seemed that Jin Bo was quite reliable when it came to serious matters.
With a grin, Jin Bo admitted, “This is all thanks to ideas from Fang Fei and Qingmei.”
Hearing this made Song Jiu smile. He remembered seeing Qingmei, the girl who welcomed them at the Sea Surface. She had short hair that reached her shoulders and looked lively and youthful. He vaguely recalled that even back then, Yang Chun Yue had mentioned her name; it was said that their Sea Chart had been redrawn by Ye Qingmei. Though she seemed like just a young girl, she was actually one of the core figures of the island.
With both hands bracing himself, Jin Bo jumped down. Following suit, Song Jiu and his companion descended as well. “Just so you know,” he continued as they moved downwards, “when I arrived on this island with fewer than twenty people total, think about how many trusted subordinates I could have.”
“The main thing is that life here is comfortable; I’ve kept control over firearms all along. Plus, I still have some residual influence from before—it’s not hard to keep them in line. With food and drink available here along with electricity, no one wants to ruin their own livelihood.”
“At first, I didn’t want too many people involved, but Fang Fei and Qingmei pointed out that on such a large island, a dozen people could only struggle tightly. Only with more people could we form a scale and get on the right track. Back then, I didn’t understand these things, and slowly it just turned into this.”
These thoughts had likely been buried in Jin Bo’s heart for a long time. He didn’t speak about them, but once he started, he found it hard to stop. So, he decided not to rush off to eat and instead led the two back to the Stilt House. The three men sat on the dimly lit floor and lit their pipes, passing them around.
“At first, I was the boss of the island. Back then, to establish my authority, I did some things to set an example. But as more people came, I couldn’t just act recklessly, right? Fang Fei and Qingmei have always helped me manage other matters. As you’ve seen, from food and drink to accommodation and transportation, everything is basically in order with clear divisions of labor. According to her, this is called maintaining balance. I still hold the title of boss on the island, but as time passed and life became more comfortable, those who came later didn’t take me seriously anymore. Everyone knows what’s what; as long as we get along well enough on the surface, there aren’t any major issues.”
“Last time I left the island—yes, that was when I ran into you guys—some restless ones on the island jumped out. They were dissatisfied and wanted to stir up trouble; they talked about elections and democracy. I was a bit annoyed and had a few drinks. In a moment of loss of control, I took two heads off, and after that, they all went quiet.”
Song Jiu and Wu Wentao exchanged glances, speechless.
“Fang Fei said I shouldn’t have done that. But once someone is dead, regretting it doesn’t help.” Jin Bo shrugged his shoulders with a wry smile. “When I’m out there boasting with you guys, I actually feel uncertain inside. Now that you’re here with me, I feel more grounded.”
Song Jiu lowered his head and pondered for a moment. He seemed to grasp Jin Bo’s meaning and said softly, “I understand now. On the surface, we are your new Islanders brought back from the Surface; specific matters will be discussed among us. I’ll talk to the others and try not to let any other Islanders sense anything unusual.”
“Right, there’s no need to be overly anxious. I’m just giving you both a heads-up; after all, finding The Establishment isn’t like going out fishing. Whether we can come back is still uncertain; at least we should prepare more.” Seeing their expressions darken slightly, Jin Bo worried that his complaints might influence their judgments or decisions and added, “While Yao Yao and the others are preparing for the wedding, let’s sort out the manpower issue among us three. Remember what I said about the Trade Port? We can take a yacht there; they have big ships available for us to use.”
“Okay. Later on, introduce me to your current crew; during this time, I’ll keep an eye on both inside and outside the island as well as Huihui.” Wu Wentao quickly got into the groove of things and clarified the current situation on the island in his mind while developing some plans. He also felt a growing admiration for Fang Fei.
“Good.” Jin Bo nodded in agreement.
“Then it’s settled; let’s avoid drinking for these few days and make sure everyone is informed.” Song Jiu exhaled a series of smoke rings before tucking his pistol into his waistband. He stood up and walked over to the window to look outside; night had completely fallen. The coast was ablaze with light and bustling with people; he could see their faces glowing red with excitement amidst laughter and chatter—a scene of peaceful bliss reminiscent of paradise.
Song Jiu sighed helplessly; whether it was hardship or comfort, only Roundabout felt like home.
“Let’s eat! Let’s drink!” Jin Bo extinguished his pipe and got up, shaking off his troubling thoughts as he pulled Wu Wentao toward the door. The machine gun couldn’t be carried around easily; for now, it was hidden in Jin Bo’s room under a blanket.
The three men set aside their worries and donned smiles ready for hearty drinking and conversation as they left the Stilt House.
The beauty of the island was not an illusion; although the sky was dimmed, illuminated by the coast's firelight, Mangrove appeared particularly elegant—the branches swayed in the wind while whispers of breeze danced through the trees. The fragrant air wafted from the coast—it truly felt like a paradise where one could forget worldly troubles.
“To be honest,” Song Jiu said while smacking his lips as they passed patches of Saddle Vine facing Mangrove Sea with dense forests behind them under a starry night sky—it was breathtakingly beautiful—“I really have this urge to settle down here.”
“When we return, we’ll all put down roots here,” Jin Bo laughed broadly. In his leisure time before, he loved lying on top of Stilt House watching over this view of red trees against the night sky and mountains; he never expected Song Jiu shared such similar tastes in aesthetics.
"Old Wu, you've been on the run for many years. Have you ever thought about settling down?" Song Jiu glanced at the Field Captain, who now seemed more agreeable, no longer wearing that deadpan expression he used to have, and was talking more.
"In our line of work, anyone who talks about settling down usually ends up dead," Wu Wentao replied flatly, dousing the two young men’s hopes with a bucket of cold water.
Their beautiful dreams shattered by his words, the two threw out a few curses and turned to leave.
Song Jiu let out a bitter laugh, suddenly missing the incessant chatter of the Fake Taoist.
"Hmm," Wu Wentao suddenly stopped in his tracks, a look of confusion crossing his face.
Following Wu Wentao's gaze, Song Jiu and Jin Bo looked over to see two figures walking into the swaying sea of trees not far away.
"A young couple looking for some peace; there's no need to be so jumpy," Jin Bo chuckled, giving the two a nudge. "If I had known, I wouldn't have brought it up with you guys and made everyone so paranoid."
Song Jiu remained still, his eyes narrowing as he whispered, "No way, that girl looks like Yuan An."
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