Chapter 1 Max's Unease

Naturally, Max did not keep Jue Ge and the others waiting for an hour. Under his command, the six pirates arrived at the stream within twenty minutes.

The six men acted methodically. After discovering the bodies, they cautiously searched the nearby woods first. Then, they sent two men forward to inspect the area, while the remaining four remained hidden, observing. After more than five minutes passed without any anomalies, the remaining four revealed themselves and stepped into the open.

And all of this… fell into Jue Ge and Xiao Tan's eyes.

"See… that's why I chose to hide at this distant high point," Feng Bujue said, staring at the figures of the pirates in the distance. "If we had ambushed them up close, they would have found us by now…"

"Mm… and if we opened fire as soon as someone appeared, we would have exposed our position… even if we succeeded in the sneak attack, we would still be ambushed by the remaining four," Xiao Tan frowned, continuing.

"Heh… isn't it interesting?" Feng Bujue wore an expression of great interest at this moment. "These pirates themselves don't have any outstanding skills, but… within their group, there's a very clever fellow… acting as a strategist." He tilted his head slightly and gestured toward Xiao Tan with his eyes. "You can tell from the frequency with which those pirates are using their radios… that strategist is directing the six men's actions in real time, and is meticulously controlling every step…"

Unknowingly, Feng Bujue's true nature revealed itself again. Being able to play a game with intelligent people always filled him with endless joy.

"This isn't a good thing, what's with that excited look on your face…" Seeing Jue Ge's expression, even Xiao Tan couldn't help but complain.

Just as they were talking, a familiar voice suddenly rang out from behind them, "Hey! Stephen, Osama."

Jue Ge and Xiao Tan were both startled, because the place they were hiding was very concealed. Neither of them expected… that someone could approach them from behind so silently.

*Ka-chak, ka-chak—*

In the next second, the muzzles of two AKs had turned around like lightning.

"Don't panic, it's me," James, facing the gun muzzles, remained calm and composed, speaking in a steady tone. "Put the guns down, be careful of a misfire."

"Whew… it's you, Bell," Xiao Tan breathed a sigh of relief, casually moved the gun muzzle away, and continued, "No wonder you could approach us secretly without me noticing…"

"Mm… I say… how did you find us?" Feng Bujue immediately asked a question he couldn't figure out. "With the current situation on the island, you shouldn't be able to find us."

He was right. The pirates' arrival had complicated the situation. They would leave behind numerous footprints and other traces wherever they went. Plus, the monitoring terminal on the ship was already damaged… even for James, it would probably be difficult to track a specific target's whereabouts in such a chaotic situation.

"Heh… your analysis is correct," James smiled. "Indeed, in the current situation, it's very difficult to do precise tracking… so, I didn't find you by tracking traces, but through this…" As he said that, he picked up an instrument in his hand and waved it in front of Jue Ge's eyes.

Although this thing was a piece of electronic equipment from the twenty-fifth century, its basic function was obvious, so Feng Bujue quickly recognized it: "GPS tracking device…" As soon as he said this, a series of deductions flashed through his mind, and his gaze instinctively swept toward the scabbard on his waist. "Oh~ the knife you gave me, it turns out it has this kind of use?" In just a second, Jue Ge deduced where the tracker was hidden.

"That's right," James had nothing to hide at this point. "This was James's intention, I hope you can understand… because your previous behavior was a bit…"

"Made him feel… a bit out of control, right?" Naturally, Feng Bujue wasn't angry. He could completely understand James's actions. In fact, he quite admired the other party's approach. "Heh… it's okay, I would have done the same if I were you. And…" He tilted his head and glanced at the device in James's hand, "...if it weren't for this thing, we wouldn't have met up so smoothly. Objectively speaking… it did come in handy."

"Mm, it's good that you understand," James replied. He then glanced at Xiao Tan again. "Anyway… you two, please come with me. I have a major discovery… I'll tell you the specifics on the way." After saying that, he lowered his body, turned around, and started to move forward.

Jue Ge and Xiao Tan simply exchanged glances, then followed without saying a word.

They were both highly capable people, and generally wouldn't blindly follow others, but in the current situation, they were both very happy to accept James's arrangement to be the leader. The reason was simple—want to defeat a group of fully armed pirates in the wilderness? Follow Bell.

…………

9:20 AM, Dolphin Cruise Ship, Captain's Office.

"Something's not right…" Max paced back and forth in front of the console, a worried look on his fair face, muttering to himself, "No matter how I think about it, something's not right…"

Graybeard, standing next to him, also wore a nervous expression. The more he looked, the more anxious he became. "Son… what's wrong? What's not right?"

"There are too many things that are not right…" Max replied. "For example… from the start of the sweep to now, we haven't captured a single member of the film crew, but four of our men have already died…" He turned around. "Also, that Stephen Carbon actually cleaned up his and his companion's footprints when he left the gunfight location… this cautious way of doing things is clearly the opposite of his previous provocative actions…"

"Maybe… there's a very cautious person among his companions?" Graybeard tentatively continued.

"That's possible… but…" Max added, "How do you explain their ridiculously strong combat capabilities?" He walked up to his father. "Tech and Lightning (the two pirates killed by Xiao Tan, PS: their names are also characters from *Tom and Jerry*) were both killed with a single headshot by an AK. Judging from the angle of the bullets' entry and the state of the bodies (the six pirates who went to search for Jue Ge carried video communication equipment, so Max could directly see the situation on site), they were both killed by the same gun from the same direction." He paused. "I don't think a writer can make that kind of marksman-level kill… it's good enough if a book writer knows how to use a pistol, he probably hasn't even touched an assault rifle, let alone have any marksmanship…"

"Hahaha… there's nothing incomprehensible about that," James, sitting to the side, interjected with a smile. "That just shows… that among his companions, there is someone with very high marksmanship, and someone who is very meticulous in his actions. Heh… this is just the beginning, there are many more surprises waiting for you…" He shook his head slightly, looking smugly at Graybeard. "I said it a long time ago… let's see who eliminates who, we'll wait and see…"

"You guy…" Graybeard was too lazy to go over and stomp on him, because judging from James's face, his feet were probably already so painful that he had lost all sensation. "...you're really arrogant beyond compare…" He glared at the other party with his one eye. "On this point, I have to express my admiration for you… even after so many years, you still act like a genuine pirate."

"Heh… you're too modest, Edward. I remember, when I was cutting off your hands and feet, you didn't show any weakness either… every curse and scream that came out of your mouth is still fresh in my memory…" James raised his pale face, his face already covered with cold sweat and a miserable smile. "'Cut it off, I can still crush you with my left hand', 'You can take this leg home and have it for Thanksgiving dinner, you bastard'…" He wasn't lying, he really repeated two of Graybeard's curses from back then. "Heh… Edward, real 'villains' like you and me will never submit, even until death. That's also the only bit of dignity that people like us have left."

"Ha! Don't joke around, James," Graybeard sneered. "You're not qualified to say those words to me in that tone…" He leaned over and glared at James. "Remember! You've already abandoned that dignity!" He roared, "'Caribbean Mad Shark' has already become history, the current you is just a despicable, lowly, cowardly runaway!" He waved the hook at the end of his right arm, snarling, "You have no right to choose your way of dying, and you have no right to receive any respect… no matter how the outside world sees it, in the pirate world, you will be forever despised…"

"Uh… Dad, I don't want to interrupt your reminiscing, but…" Max interjected at this moment, "I think… we have more realistic problems to solve right now…" He came to James's side. "Mr. James, we're all smart people, I'll be blunt… I hope you can immediately provide me with the list of personnel on the island."

"Hmph… you think I'll answer just because you ask? Hahahaha…" James sneered in response. "This isn't elementary school, kid."

"Forgive me for not attending full-time school, I don't understand your joke, Mr. James," Max's tone suddenly turned cold. "But I'm sure you'll eventually tell me what I want to know, just like the CIA training courses say—'everybody_talk'…" He bowed slightly, gazing into the other party's eyes. "Of course, I can basically guess… that you yourself have made ample mental preparations for torture and torment. But… I don't think those sailors and staff members can accept being thrown into the sea to feed the sharks." He continued, enunciating each word, "Listen, Mr. James. From now on, every five minutes, someone will be dragged out of the monitoring cabin and beaten to death, until… you give me the list…"