As if a feast.

Although the food was average, it was enough to fill their stomachs, and there was plenty of wine. If they dared to fight and kill, they could even get shares from the spoils... Even for pirates, this kind of treatment was far superior to many armies among the Thousand Islands.

Even if they had to risk their lives constantly getting into fights and having people die was a norm, still, countless people flocked to them.

At this moment, as the vanguard sent to Hai Province, they were on the verge of devouring their first slice of fat meat. Everyone was impatient and, after getting drunk, abandoned all restraint.

A songstress, whose origin was unknown, trembled as she sang on stage, only to be pulled down by pirates who were drinking heavily. Amid laughter, she was dragged to the back, her cries drowned out by drum beats and music.

Tu Sihai glanced expressionlessly, and instantly the atmosphere at the banquet stalled. He was too lazy to bother with these cannon fodders, heading straight to the front.

"Is Old Four back?"

At the table, a burly man, full of drink and excitement, took a deep drag, his eyes glazed over, let out a long breath. Seeing Tu Sihai return with a grim expression, he grinned and waved enthusiastically, shouting in the local dialect of Thousand Islands, "Goods just arrived this afternoon, pure stuff, have some! Quit the gloomy face, you'll scare the puppies."

The person next to them gave way. After Tu Sihai sat down, he threw a box on the table, "Colonel, did you send people to Xinquan?"

"Sent the pups, where there's meat is where they go, crazy like rabid dogs, who can control them?" The 'Colonel' casually shook his head, then suddenly realized, "Did those beasts cause trouble for you?"

"Causing trouble maybe not, but screwing up for sure."

Tu Sihai sneered, skillfully processed the powder with a credit card, meanwhile recounting everything he saw and heard without embellishment, pointing at the box, "The gifts are all here, think about how to explain to the General."

The Colonel's face gradually darkened.

Silence spread, even the music lowered, throughout the banquet, not a peep was heard, only the cries and groans coming from the back.

The Colonel picked up a dining knife, flinging it without turning back.

Instantly, the vanished knife returned, streaked with a trace of blood. Scarlet flowed on the knife, dropping onto the Colonel's tongue; as he licked, his eyes turned crimson.

The entire world seemed to quiet, leaving only the hum of mechanical wheels running.

"Impressive, really damn impressive."

The Colonel grinned, crushed the knife in his mouth, crunched it up, swallowed, exhaling hot breath, bloodshot eyes turning vicious, "A craftsman dares talk to his father this way... I'll hang his entire family from his ship's bow!"

"Don't be rash."

Tu Sihai advised, "Perhaps that's what they want, maybe they've already set up a trap, waiting for you to walk into it."

"Who said we have to go personally?"

The Colonel sneered, having plundered and burned at sea for so many years, those easily impulsive had long perished, how could those who survived not sense the meaning beneath? "Does he think he's blocking only our way? Many ship clans are out there, those hyenas, starved experts, who lose all reason when they see meat; let them scout first.

And those settlements, aren't they complaining our prices are too high?

Send someone tomorrow to tell them, prices are doubled, as long as that Ji is alive, nobody else can have peace! I want to see how long his head stays on his neck!"

When the Colonel finished speaking, Tu Sihai finally caught his breath and, after a groan, sighed, pointing at the box on the table, "And these things?"

A sound of splintering and twisting erupted instantly, amidst a burst of blood red, three skulls turned to ashes, burning up in an instant.

Tu Sihai breathed a sigh of relief.

"Wine! Where's the wine?!"

The Colonel drank the spirits on the table, grinned, shouting, "Damn it, one or two of you want to die? Make some noise for me! Keep singing!"

Immediately, the feast continued, the atmosphere higher and more intense than before.

After Tu Sihai finished eating and drinking, he turned and headed back to the cabin to sleep. However, seeing the chaotic banquet, he turned around and instructed the sentries, doubling the manpower tonight, to stay alert.

After visiting the control room, confirming that the route was still safe and the location concealed, he finally drowsily returned to the cabin and fell asleep fully clothed.

Yet, for some reason, he suddenly woke in the middle of the night.

A nightmare.

In his dream, it was as if he had fallen into Hell, flames burning everywhere, among the cries, charred, skeletal arms emerged from the flames, pulling at him.

Until they dragged him into the deepest depths of Hell, burning and tormenting, consumed entirely under countless malicious, resentful mouths!

He opened his eyes.

Breathed heavily.

After going to the bathroom and drinking a glass of water, he returned to bed, closed his eyes to try and sleep again, but suddenly opened them...

Something felt off!

But when he climbed up to the window and looked outside, all he could see was the vast fog over the sea, enveloping everything, obscuring all observation.

Under the interference of geomagnetism and alchemy creations, not even satellites could locate them.

While on the sea surface, searchlights routinely patrolled, sweeping through the fog vigilantly. Double the usual sentries, with surveillance dropped into the sea around the disguised fishing ship.

On the deck, patrol silhouettes were occasionally visible; under the Colonel's harsh military law, no one dared to slack off or laze.

Tu Sihai picked up the walkie-talkie, "Hey, report the situation."

Soon, a familiar voice from the radar monitoring room, speaking in Thousand Islands dialect, said, "No abnormalities, everything's normal."

Instantly, Tu Sihai relaxed, smiling self-mockingly.

Scaring himself.

Yet, there was always a feeling that something was not quite right, like a flea crawling into his collar, itching maddeningly, unable to locate or identify it.

Until he suddenly realized, discovering the oddity...

Silence!

Such silence.

Instantly, he was horrified.

—Since when had these pirates turned into a disciplined elite force under orders? Not only was there no whispering or gossip among them, but even the entire deck was void of any offensive cursing or commotion.

Only the faint humming from the engine room was heard.

What on earth had happened?!

Patrolling pirates continually passed from the deck, but the usual erratic footsteps were unknowingly synchronized. Yet, their postures, instead of looking pleasing, appeared rigid and unsettling.

Like zombies, or puppets on strings...

The more realistic it was, the more terrifying it became!

Out of his daze, his vision darkened, and a shadow outside the window appeared abruptly, covering his face. As if silently creeping in the quiet night, it approached, pressed against the glass, peering inside.

Watching him.

That stiff expressionless face twitching, viscous blood oozing from its nostrils and features, winding down the face wildly.

Slowly, it grinned, smiling.

Finally... found you!

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