"But this Wang Lan Island is different. The pirates are secretly lurking here, not openly occupying it!"
"The Senluo Kingdom will never admit that there are pirates on this island!"
"If we launch an attack on Wang Lan Island, they will accuse us of attacking civilians!"
"By then, we will face the condemnation of everyone!"
"Then our trip would have been in vain?"
Liu Yuqian said somewhat unwillingly, "We finally found the pirates' whereabouts, but we can't make a move!"
"Of course, it won't be a wasted trip!"
Liu Kai Xuan replied calmly, "We need to understand the pirate forces thoroughly!"
"Now, our game has just begun!"
As he spoke, Liu Kai Xuan beckoned everyone to stand up and walk towards the bottom of the valley.
Although Liu Yuqian was nervous, she gritted her teeth and followed the team, thinking that Liu Kai Xuan was with her.
Tie Long and Qing She walked in front, guarding against any surprise attacks, with the others closely following.
As the group walked halfway up the mountain, they were stopped by two armed men.
The armed men pointed their guns at Tie Long and shouted, "Who are you?"
Tie Long replied with a smile, "Brother, we are fishermen from the sea!"
"We released a few goats on Wang Lan Island earlier this year, and now we've come to see how they've grown!"
The armed men laughed wildly and said, "So the goats on this island were released by you!"
"We already know about this matter, you can get lost now!"
Tie Long asked, "Brother, I haven't seen my goats yet!"
The bald pirate retorted sternly, "The goats are all in my belly!"
"Considering your offering of mutton, I won't kill you today. Get lost!"
The bald pirate held his gun against the group and motioned for them to leave immediately.
However, Liu Kai Xuan could sense the murderous intent emanating from the bald pirate.
He likely intended to make Liu Kai Xuan and the others turn their backs so he could shoot them at close range from behind.
This way, Liu Kai Xuan and his group would die under his random gunfire before they could react.
Liu Kai Xuan secretly gave Tie Long a look. As Tie Long turned, he suddenly lunged forward and knocked the bald pirate to the ground.
Realizing something was wrong, the bald pirate instinctively reached for the trigger to warn his comrade.
Tie Long struck his neck with a palm strike, and the bald pirate immediately died.
"Ah... he's dead?"
The bald pirate's immediate death startled Liu Yuqian.
At this moment, Liu Kai Xuan said righteously, "These people are all bloodthirsty pirates, and there's no need to show them mercy!"
"If we hesitate, we'll be the ones who die!"
"Oh, oh..." Liu Yuqian nodded repeatedly, indicating understanding.
Liu Kai Xuan reminded her, "From now on, you should stay by Rem's side, she will protect you!"
"At the same time, try to speak as little as possible unless necessary!"
...
Tie Long hid the bald pirate's body in the bushes by the roadside.
Then, everyone continued towards the valley and encountered a few suspicious-looking men along the way.
However, these men were not carrying any weapons.
They merely glanced at Liu Kai Xuan and his group with a look of caution, and the two sides did not interact.
At this point, Liu Yuqian couldn't help but ask, "Kai Xuan, who were those people who just passed by?"
"In this wilderness and on this isolated island, they don't look like respectable people!"
Liu Kai Xuan whispered, "Undoubtedly, those people are also members of the pirate gang!"
"But not all pirates are bloodthirsty beasts, are they?"
"We didn't provoke them, and it was fine to just pass by!"
Liu Yuqian was about to say more, but suddenly remembered Liu Kai Xuan's reminder from earlier.
She immediately covered her mouth with her hand and stopped speaking.
At the bottom of the valley, in the river valley, there was a narrow river bend.
On the other side of the river bend, it connected to the sea.
A large number of tree trunks lined the sides of the river bend, with dense vines growing on them.
This completely concealed the river bend below with lush forest.
Unless one landed on the island to investigate, the pirate ships below could not be seen.
Other than that, it was impossible to see the pirate ships.
On the side of the river valley, there was a temporarily constructed small pier.
Two armed pirates stood guard on the pier, and these two did not attack Liu Kai Xuan and his group.
However, the cordon they set up prohibited anyone from freely entering or exiting the pier.
Liu Kai Xuan merely took a long-range glance at the pirate ships docked at the pier and had no intention of attacking.
After brushing past and leaving this small river bend, Liu Kai Xuan and his group arrived on the other side of Wang Lan Island.
On the other side of Wang Lan Island, there was a temporary settlement camp where a large number of people resided.
Liu Kai Xuan and his group passed by more than 100 meters away from the side of the camp and were forcibly driven away by armed personnel.
All areas where pirates operated were heavily guarded with many visible and hidden sentries, making it almost impossible to infiltrate.
It was impossible to continue gathering intelligence on the island.
Liu Kai Xuan decided not to linger on Wang Lan Island any longer and took everyone to the Senluo Kingdom.
The border inspections in the Senluo Kingdom were not too strict.
With a passport, one only needed to complete a detailed identity registration before entering.
The place Liu Kai Xuan and his group arrived at was called Zhulai City.
According to administrative classification, Zhulai City was equivalent to a prefecture-level city in the Eastern Continent's domestic system.
However, the actual situation of this city was beyond surprising.
This city was a true depiction of hell and heaven in reality.
Near the coastline, a large number of luxurious and opulent villas had been built.
The villa district was surrounded by many high-end hotels and premium shopping centers, exuding a modern urban atmosphere.
But on the opposite bank, separated by a river from this luxurious wealthy district, lay a smelly slum.
As a coastal city, the primary means of survival for the populace was fishing.
Some fishermen could only eat fish for all three meals a day.
Farming? Absolutely not.
This was because the land in the Senluo Kingdom basically belonged to the feudal lords.
Farming required paying taxes to the lords.
Of course, even fishermen had to pay taxes for their catch.
The fish caught were mainly sold to the lords.
Unfortunately, there were many fishermen and few buyers, and coupled with the hot weather, many fish rotted before they could be sold.
"This damned place is truly a human purgatory, it's so depressing!"