The following evening.
Chen Jinzhao and Man Xiong rode a speedboat towards the island suspected of being a divine kingdom outpost.
The journey was long, requiring seven to eight hours even by speedboat, so the two could only smoke to ward off the cold sea wind.
Darkness had completely fallen, making the sea, devoid of any ships, feel exceptionally desolate, with only two blinking red lights visible.
Man Xiong looked out at the boundless dark sea and said, "I really don't know if we can survive this mission. I still have many things left undone."
Chen Jinzhao also mused, "Treading the green hills, the heart remains young, youthful ambition knows no sorrow."
"Let me reintroduce myself. My real name is Xu Jinsong. People are so used to calling me Man Xiong that I almost forgot my real name," Man Xiong chuckled.
In his words, if he were to die, at least someone would remember his name.
"Am I being a bit selfish?" he self-mockingly asked.
Chen Jinzhao, however, shook his head. "What kind of selfishness is that? If we're talking about selfishness, I'm definitely more selfish than you."
"Why?" Xu Jinsong asked curiously.
Chen Jinzhao remained silent.
It was because his heart was tied to many important people.
Seeing this, Xu Jinsong didn't press further. He stood up, gazed at the dark sea ahead, and said without looking back, "Chen Jinzhao, if I die, can you take my ashes back and scatter them on Changbai Mountain? I want to continue guarding our country for three thousand years."
Chen Jinzhao didn't want to dwell on such a heavy topic, but since Xu Jinsong had brought it up, he followed along. "Of course. But why suddenly mention these things? You're thinking such gloomy thoughts before we've even started. It's like boosting the enemy's morale."
"Death is an unavoidable issue for people like us. I always make arrangements for my affairs before each mission," Xu Jinsong said with a smile.
Then, he turned his head to look at Chen Jinzhao's face in the night.
He continued, "If you die, what can I do for you?"
Chen Jinzhao thought for a moment and replied, "If I die, split my ashes into two halves. Scatter one half on this sea, and bury the other half on the mountain behind my hometown, next to my father's grave."
Xu Jinsong was taken aback. "What is the reason for this?"
Chen Jinzhao said frankly, "The most meaningful thing I've done in my life is to protect my home and country. Half of my ashes scattered on the sea will serve to expand our territory wherever they go; as for the other half, I want to protect my family."
Xu Jinsong suddenly felt that Chen Jinzhao was also a flesh-and-blood person, not as mythical as the legends made him out to be.
He could be hurt, and he could die.
Thinking of this, Xu Jinsong's gaze became more complex.
"Oh, right," Chen Jinzhao remembered something. "If I die, remember to tell Yu Mengzhi, the granddaughter of Old Master Li, that I can't be with her anymore and that she should forget me."
Xu Jinsong lit another cigarette for Chen Jinzhao and said with a wry smile, "Actually, I think you should tell her these words yourself."
Chen Jinzhao took a puff of his cigarette, exhaled a cloud of smoke, and said, "I can't bring myself to say it."
"I'm not good with words, I can't say such things."
Xu Jinsong was stunned for a moment, then grunted in acknowledgment.
The two fell silent.
After a long while, Chen Jinzhao broke the silence with a laugh. "Let's not talk about these things anymore. We might not die. Perhaps we can return alive."
"You should rest now. I'll wake you when we arrive."
The speedboat sped across the sea. This route had little merchant traffic. Xu Jinsong had made temporary arrangements before their departure, ensuring that no military vessels would be near this route for the next few days, allowing them to proceed to the island unhindered.
Time flew by, and it was soon four in the morning.
Chen Jinzhao woke Xu Jinsong up. According to the map, they were only one nautical mile away from the island.
One nautical mile is approximately 1.8 kilometers, a very close distance.
Xu Jinsong's dazed look vanished instantly. He scanned the horizon and, with the help of the dawn breaking in the east, spotted a dark island lying on the sea ahead like a coiled Xuanwu.
He hesitated. "How about we swim there?"
"I'm afraid of alerting them. After all, one nautical mile is quite close. If they become vigilant, we'll be in trouble."
"No need. It seems they are not on guard. Swimming would greatly deplete our stamina, and the cold weather would prevent us from performing at one hundred percent," Chen Jinzhao said. Xu Jinsong thought about it and nodded. "Alright, I'll listen to you."
He sat in the speedboat, cleaning his rifle barrel and distributing ammunition.
Each man had two rifles and two pistols.
With their strength, they could handle an armed force of a hundred people in complex terrain.
To avoid attracting the attention of the island's guards, Chen Jinzhao slowed down the speedboat, taking another twenty minutes to approach the shore.
The sky was already dimly lit.
After landing under the cover of dawn, Chen Jinzhao discovered several sentry towers on the island, which further confirmed his suspicion that this was one of the divine kingdom's research outposts.
"Hmm?"
"Don't you find it odd that there's no one in these sentry towers?" Chen Jinzhao asked hesitantly.
Xu Jinsong peered for a few moments and then nodded. "Indeed. Why do I feel something strange? Perhaps we should go back first?"
Chen Jinzhao pondered for a moment, then said gravely, "Since we're here, let's explore first before making a decision."
The two approached a sentry tower and found that it had previously been equipped with several cameras and infrared devices, but they had all been destroyed. The nature of the damage suggested it happened recently, possibly within the last few days.
"That's strange. Could it be that they knew we were coming and destroyed these in advance?" Chen Jinzhao was unsure of the exact circumstances but felt an eerie atmosphere pervading everything, causing him a sense of unease.
"I increasingly feel this island is peculiar, not in a supernatural way, but artificially so," Xu Jinsong said beside him.
His words clearly urged Chen Jinzhao to abandon the mission.
Chen Jinzhao thought for a moment and said, "If these devices were indeed destroyed by them, it means they might have already evacuated. We can go and see."
"Alright, but if the situation turns bad, we have to leave immediately, without any delay," Xu Jinsong conceded, unable to dissuade Chen Jinzhao.
The two headed towards the center of the island, traversing through overgrown grass and trees. After a few minutes, they reached the island's core.
A reinforced concrete structure appeared before them, its exterior painted with camouflage to make it difficult to detect via satellite.
Upon seeing this building, a thought struck Chen Jinzhao—
This must be the divine kingdom's research institute!