Chapter 122 A High-Ranking Mastermind

Naturally, Max didn't make Jue Ge and the others wait an hour. Under his command, six pirates arrived at the creek within twenty minutes.

These six moved methodically. After discovering the bodies, they cautiously searched the nearby woods before sending two people forward to inspect. The remaining four remained hidden, observing. After more than five minutes passed without any anomalies, the remaining four revealed themselves and came into the open.

And all of this… fell into the eyes of Jue Ge and Gu Xiaoling.

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

"Yeah... and if we had opened fire as soon as someone appeared, we would have exposed our position... Even if we succeeded in a sneak attack, we would have been caught in an ambush by the remaining four," Gu Xiaoling frowned, adding.

"Heh... isn't it interesting?" Feng Bujue's face was filled with great interest. "These pirates themselves are nothing special, but... within them, there's a very clever guy... acting as a strategist." He glanced sideways, signaling to Gu Xiaoling with his eyes, "You can tell from the frequency with which those pirates use their walkie-talkies… That strategist is directing their actions in real-time, down to every step..."

Unconsciously, Feng Bujue's true nature revealed itself again. Being able to play games with smart people always filled him with endless joy.

"This isn't a good thing. What's with that excited expression on your face..." Seeing Jue Ge's expression, even Gu Xiaoling couldn't help but complain.

As they were talking, suddenly, a familiar voice sounded from behind them, "Hey! Stephen, Osama."

Jue Ge and Gu Xiaoling were both startled, because the place they were hiding was very concealed. They never expected… someone could come up behind them so silently.

*Click, click*—

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

"Don't panic, it's me." Despite facing the gun muzzles, Hama Dage was still calm and composed, his tone even. "Put the guns down, be careful they don't go off."

"Whew... it's you, Bell," Gu Xiaoling breathed a sigh of relief, smoothly moving the gun muzzle away and adding, "No wonder you could approach without me noticing..."

"Yeah... I say... how did you find us?" Feng Bujue immediately asked a question he couldn't figure out. "Given the situation on the island right now, you shouldn't have been able to find us."

He was right. The pirates' arrival had complicated the situation. They would leave many footprints and other traces wherever they went. Plus, the monitoring terminal on the ship was damaged... Even Hama Dage would have difficulty tracking a specific target in such a chaotic situation.

"Hehe... your analysis is correct." Hama Dage smiled. "Indeed, in the current situation, it's hard to do precise tracking... So, I didn't find you by tracking traces, but through this..." He said, holding up a device in his hand and waving it in front of Jue Ge.

Although this thing was a twenty-fifth century electronic device, its basic function was still obvious, so Feng Bujue quickly recognized it: "GPS tracking device..." As soon as he said this, a series of inferences flashed through his mind, and his gaze instinctively swept to the scabbard on his waist. "Oh~ The knife you gave me, so it had this purpose?" In just one second, Jue Ge deduced where the tracker was hidden.

"That's right." Now that things had come to this, Hama Dage had nothing to hide. "This was James's intention. I hope you can understand... because your previous performance was a bit..."

"Made him feel... a bit out of control, right?" Feng Bujue was not angry. He fully understood Hai Mei Long's actions. In fact, he admired the other party's approach. "Hehe... If I were you, I would have done the same. And..." He tilted his head, glanced at the device in Hama Dage's hand, "... If it weren't for this thing, we wouldn't have been able to meet so smoothly. Objectively speaking... it did come in handy."

"Well, I'm glad you understand." Hama Dage replied, then looked at Gu Xiaoling. "Anyway... you two, come with me. I have a major discovery... I'll tell you the details on the way." After saying that, he lowered his body and turned to move forward.

Jue Ge and Gu Xiaoling only exchanged a look before silently following.

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

…………

9:20 AM, Dolphin cruise ship, Captain's cabin.

"Something's wrong..." Max paced back and forth in front of the control panel, his fair face furrowed with worry, muttering to himself, "No matter how I think about it, something's wrong..."

Graybeard, standing next to him, also looked nervous. He was getting more and more anxious as he watched. "Son... what's wrong? What's wrong?"

"There are a lot of things wrong..." Max replied. "For example... from the start of the sweep until now, we haven't captured a single member of the crew, but four of our people have died..." He turned around. "Also, that Stephen Carbon actually cleaned up his and his companion's footprints when leaving the gunfight location... This cautious way of doing things is clearly the opposite of his previous provocative actions..."

"Maybe... one of his companions is a very cautious person?" Graybeard tentatively suggested.

"There's that possibility... but..." Max continued, "How do you explain their ridiculously strong fighting ability?" He walked up to his father. "Tek and Lightning (two pirates killed by Gu Xiaoling, ps: their names are also character names in *Tom and Jerry*) were both shot in the head with one shot from an AK. Judging from the angle of the bullets and the state of the bodies (the six pirates who went to search for Jue Ge were carrying video communication equipment, so Max could directly see the scene), 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 sharpshooter-level kill... He's a writer. It would be good if he knew 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." Hai Mei Long, sitting to the side, interjected with a smile. "That just shows... in his companions, there is someone with very high marksmanship, and someone who acts very carefully. Hehe... This is just the beginning, there are many more surprises waiting for you..." He shook his head slightly, looking triumphantly at Graybeard. "I said long ago... who is cleaning up who, let's wait and see..."

"You bastard..." Graybeard didn't even bother to go over and stomp on him, because judging from Hai Mei Long's face, his feet were probably already numb with pain. "... You're really arrogant beyond compare..." He glared at the other party with his one eye. "In this respect, I have to express my admiration for you... Even after so many years, you still act like a true pirate."

"Heh... You're too modest, Schweide. I remember, when I chopped off your hands and feet, you didn't show any weakness either... Every curse and insult that popped out of your mouth is still fresh in my memory..." Hai Mei Long raised his pale face, which was covered in cold sweat and a miserable smile. "'Chop 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 sentences of Graybeard's curses back then. "Heh... Schweide, real 'villains' like you and me will never submit, even to death. This is also the only dignity left for people like us."

"Ha! Don't joke around, James." Graybeard sneered. "You're not qualified to say such things to me in that tone..." He bent down and glared at Hai Mei Long. "Remember! You have already abandoned this dignity!" He roared, "'Caribbean Mad Shark' is history, and now you're just a despicable, despicable, cowardly runaway!" He waved the hook at the end of his right arm, and said fiercely, "You have no right to choose how you die, 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 time, "I think... we have more realistic problems to solve right now..." He came to Hai Mei Long's side. "Mr. Hai Mei Long, we are all smart people, so I will be direct... I hope you can immediately provide me with a list of the people on the island."

"Hmph... You think I'll answer just because you ask? Hahaha..." Hai Mei Long sneered back. "This isn't elementary school, kid."

"Excuse me, I didn't go to full-time school, so I don't understand your joke, Mr. Hai Mei Long." 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 course says—'everybody_talk'..." He bowed slightly, staring into the other's eyes. "Of course, I can basically guess... you yourself have made considerable psychological preparations for torture and torment. But... I don't think those crew members and staff can accept being thrown into the sea to feed the sharks." He said, word by word, "Listen, Mr. Hai Mei Long. 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..."