Chapter 115 The Price of Revenge

It was 11:30 AM.

On the beach on the eastern side of Cannibal Island, fifty fully armed pirates were neatly divided into two columns, standing as if they were a well-trained army.

In the middle of the two rows of soldiers, there was an open space about ten meters wide.

On the open space, there were three people. Two standing, one kneeling...

They were: the pirate captain, Edward Grey; the first mate, Max Grey; and... the famous director, former pirate, James Francis... Still-not-deaf.

At that moment, four cameras, operated by four professional cameramen, were aimed at the three people from different angles.

"Tch... in the end, we can only record it..." Greybeard stood there with a displeased look on his face, muttering to himself.

"If we want to broadcast it live, we have to turn off the signal jammer..." Max replied, "Now that our 'treasure' has been exposed, we must not let the outside world know what's happening here... at least, not before we finish transferring the inventory..."

"Hmph... if you ask me... we should just storm into the island and take back the treasure... they only have a few people and a few guns... how can they defend it?" Greybeard said.

"They can't defend it, but the base's defense system can." Max said, "With that guy's (Cap) ability, rewriting the system there is as easy as pie. Once we get in, we'll be trapped..." He sighed. "Besides... they're already monitoring the whole island, we can't possibly pull off any 'surprise attack'."

"Are we just going to swallow this?" Greybeard said, "Are we really going to trade according to what that 'Carbon' said?"

"I'm afraid... we have no choice..." Max said in a deep voice, "Actually... if we take all the factors into account... his proposal isn't so bad."

...

Let me explain here that the content of the deal that Feng Bujue proposed was: Greybeard could kill Still-not-deaf, however he wanted, but he had to let go of everyone else on the Dolphin and the survivors on the island. And Brother Jue would guarantee to "protect" Greybeard's "treasure" until the latter moved it away.

As for the specific operation method of this deal, Brother Jue had already arranged it...

The two parties agreed that before 12:00 noon, Greybeard's side would recall all the pirates from the island and complete his "revenge ritual."

At exactly 12:00 noon, the eighteen staff members on the island, as well as Clams, Asterisk, Not-Bob, Cap... a total of twenty-two people, would return to the cruise ship.

Feng Bujue... would continue to stay in the pirates' base.

After confirming that all remote communication equipment on the cruise ship (including those brought by the passengers) had been destroyed, the pirates would dissolve the metal slurry at the stern and let the Dolphin sail away from Cannibal Island.

After that, both sides would remain still, waiting for two hours...

This time was not enough for the Dolphin to sail to any land or island, but it was enough for it to escape the pirates' pursuit.

That... was enough.

After those two hours passed, Feng Bujue would, as promised, lift the base's defense system and welcome the pirates' arrival...

If this deal went smoothly, everyone on the Dolphin except Still-not-deaf and Stephen Carbon (Feng Bujue) could be rescued, and the pirates would have enough time to transfer their "treasure." Because the Dolphin had lost its remote communication capabilities, it would take at least seven or eight hours for the ship to reach the shore, sound the alarm, and the police to arrive... By then, the pirates would have already moved everything they could (anti-gravity catapult technology is very common in this universe, moving heavy objects is not a problem for humans here).

From the results, this deal cost Greybeard a mine, a large sum of ransom, and four subordinates (he didn't care much about this). Fortunately, he could still take away a large amount of inventory and avoid further losses.

Most importantly... he completed his revenge.

On the other hand, the vast majority of the crew and the Dolphin's crew members could escape from danger and save their lives.

Overall, this was indeed an acceptable outcome for both parties.

However... there was still a doubt that Max couldn't understand. That was... why did Stephen Carbon go to such lengths?

Obviously, this writer played the most crucial role in the whole incident. It was because he was willing to stay on the island, guarding the surveillance, using the destruction of the inventory in the base as a bargaining chip... to supervise the pirates' actions, that the deal could proceed smoothly.

He was like Harry, the protagonist in *Armageddon* (also known as *Deep Impact*), who willingly stayed on the meteorite alone to face the "end of the world."

Although Mr. Carbon would not be dramatically killed by a nuclear bomb, there was no doubt that his ultimate fate was very likely to be dismembered by Greybeard...

Max just didn't understand why a man who repeatedly said he didn't care about the lives of the hostages would do such a selfless act? Was he acting? But what was he acting out? Was he playing a hero as a villain? Or playing a villain as a hero?

...

"Hmph... so be it." Greybeard spat. "Life has its gains and losses. Today, I've avenged my great hatred. I don't care about anything else."

"Heh..." Still-not-deaf, kneeling on the beach, had a look of indifference on his face. He smiled and said, "Your life is truly sad, Edward..." He raised his head and glanced at Greybeard. "After killing me, what else will be left in your life?"

"Ha! Seeing that your life is coming to an end, you're starting to get sentimental?" Greybeard sneered, "James, I don't need you to worry about my life. When I went to sea at the age of seventeen, I knew that I wouldn't have a good end... I can tell you now that I will continue to drift at sea for the rest of my life, spending it on wine, women, and wealth, and finally die a violent death... But in any case, I still have a son that I'm proud of."

"Is that so... is that what you think..." Still-not-deaf looked at Max. "Forgive me for speaking frankly... you should blame yourself and feel guilty for him becoming like this, not proud. Your pride just reflects your stupidity and selfishness." Due to his injuries, his voice was lifeless, but the words he uttered... were still sonorous. "You have turned a genius who could have been remembered in history into someone like you... You have made his ending as miserable as yours..."

"Shut up!" Greybeard waved his right arm, and a piece of flesh was already on his iron hook.

Even though the flesh on his cheek was scraped off, Still-not-deaf only hummed. It seemed... he was already numb to the pain.

"On the verge of death... you still want to provoke our father-son relationship? You despicable bastard..." Greybeard said, taking half a step back and drawing the saber from his waist.

It was a very ornate pirate scimitar. The hilt was curved in a wave shape towards the end of the handle and connected together, forming an arc-shaped handguard. The golden handle was embellished with bright rubies, and the sharp blade gleamed in the sunlight after being unsheathed.

"Everyone... everyone watching this video, listen up..." Greybeard raised the scimitar high with his left hand and said loudly to the camera lens, "This execution... has nothing to do with politics, nothing to do with justice, nothing to do with right and wrong, nothing to do with good and evil..." He paused. "Perhaps most of you think... this man kneeling on the ground is a good man, an upright person. He's a great director, a good father, a good husband... Heh... hahahaha..." He laughed, followed by a roar, "It doesn't matter!"

The bright scimitar was raised higher and higher, and Greybeard's figure limped to the side and rear of Still-not-deaf: "My pirate colleagues, as long as you can understand what I'm saying... today... I, Captain Greybeard, in the name of revenge, will kill the Caribbean Great White Shark!"

Whoosh—

In the next second, the knife fell, and blood splattered five steps.

Greybeard had been single for ten years, and his right hand was a hook, so I don't need to elaborate on the strength of his left arm. This knife was clean and neat, and the head fell to the ground.

Because the knife was fast, the blood from Still-not-deaf's neck spurted out all at once. The scene was quite spectacular...

The two cameramen responsible for the frontal shooting (both crew members from the ship, forced to shoot the execution) were so frightened that they fell to the ground, their faces pale.

"Haha... hahahahaha..." Then, Greybeard laughed, laughing loudly at the sky.

This laughter symbolized a release, a liberation... as if all his humiliation and hatred disappeared with the laughter.

There are countless stories describing revenge, but... the end of revenge is often destruction, not rebirth.

When the laughter stopped, what was left, I'm afraid only the person involved knows.

...

11:45 AM, in the pirate base.

"Have you made up your mind? Stephen." Clams was the last one to walk out (the remaining twenty-one people had gathered and were waiting in the outside gully). He looked at Feng Bujue, who was staying in the base, and asked with a solemn expression.

"Of course." Feng Bujue said, "Don't worry, although this plan is risky, it's not difficult to implement." He shrugged. "Besides... only in this way can everyone leave safely."

"Okay..." Clams nodded, took a deep look at him, "Good luck."

"Heh... see you later." Feng Bujue replied.

As soon as he finished speaking, Clams had turned around and walked out of the base.

A moment later, the group of twenty-two people set off towards the beach...

And Brother Jue, who stayed in the base, leisurely walked to a table and put the props on the table into a backpack one by one.

"Very good... you left me all the props in my inventory before leaving, and even gave me a bag. You're really generous." He said to himself, "According to the surveillance... there is a kind of ore called Juese Ore (in this universe, Juese Ore is something similar to coal, many people can recognize it, and Brother Jue has just asked others how to identify it) nearby, I can take some time to dig a piece down... In this way, only the last item is left in the challenge..."