Chapter 1 A Remote Island

The Qiandao Archipelago, on a remote little island.

Su Tianyu and Hou Guoyu were quietly lying prone in a tranquil forest.

Affected by the climate, the island had many trees and even more mosquitoes. Su Tianyu squinted, enduring the mosquito bites as he gazed out at the sea.

On the distant horizon, many ships without markings were crisscrossing the waters. Besides speedboats, he also saw large cruisers circling around the Qiandao Islands.

Watching their movements, Su Tianyu was almost certain that they were coming for him.

Soon, a speedboat sliced through the waves and appeared nearby.

"Heads down."

Su Tianyu gave the order, and he and Hou Guoyu remained motionless in the forest, keeping silent.

"Tat-tat-tat…"

The sound of the speedboat's engine rang in their ears. The speedboat circled outside the island. Several men with East Asian faces glanced around. Not finding Su Tianyu and his companion, they turned and headed towards other islands.

Hearing the engine fade away, Su Tianyu slowly raised his head and glanced at the sea.

After a moment's thought, he said in a low voice, "Let's go, let's head back first."

Hou Guoyu nodded and followed Su Tianyu, crouching low, back to the cave.

Inside the cave, An Qiqi saw them return and sat up gently, asking weakly, "How is it?"

Su Tianyu supported her and shook his head. "Not good."

An Qiqi didn't speak, she just nodded.

At that moment, Su Tiannan walked over and whispered in Su Tianyu's ear, "Xiao Yu… everyone's in bad shape. Several people's wounds are festering."

Su Tianyu nodded and reached out to touch An Qiqi's forehead.

Very hot!

Su Tianyu's heart ached, but he couldn't do much at the moment. He could only use the dirty ship cover to scoop some boiled stream water and said, "Have some water."

An Qiqi waved her hand and forced a smile at Su Tianyu, "Don't worry… I'm fine… I can hold on."

"Sigh!"

Looking at her condition, Su Tianyu felt anxious and worried about his comrades and companions.

Turning his head to look around, he saw many people lying on the ground of the cave. Members of the delegation and guards were among the injured. Many were unconscious and in extremely poor condition.

Dai Quan was also lying on the ground, the wound on his back festering, a shocking sight.

After thinking for a long time, Su Tianyu turned to Hou Guoyu and said, "Okay, push all the boats that we moved up last night out of the woods and put them behind the island. Be careful to do it when the patrol boats are not around, and push them far out into the water."

Hearing this, Hou Guoyu was stunned for a moment and hurriedly asked, "Sixth Master, isn't that walking right into their trap?! There are so many people searching outside. If we release the boats, they will quickly pinpoint our…"

Su Tianyu waved his hand and explained, "There are very few supplies on the island, and there's a shortage of medicine. We can't afford to delay any longer. If we delay, we'll all die here. The enemy is looking for us, but the Hua region must also be looking for us. Giving them information is also giving the Hua region information."

"I agree." At this moment, Liu Sheng also walked over and said in a low voice, "We definitely can't continue like this. Let's take a gamble… We have to believe in the Hua region."

Hou Guoyu nodded.

Su Tianyu added softly, "I took a rough look. The area of this island is not small. Split our people up and have each person carry a signal gun. Have everyone hide, and don't move or leave any signs of life. Even if they land on the island first, it will take them a long time to find us."

Hou Guoyu responded, "Alright, I understand. I'll go take care of it now."

"I'll call a few people, let's go together." Seeing Hou Guoyu's condition, Liu Sheng offered to help.

The group left the cave and did as Su Tianyu instructed.

…

About three hours later, on the sea.

"Tat-tat-tat!"

Two rescue boats sliced through the water, heading along the Qiandao Islands.

At that moment, a crew member holding binoculars suddenly shouted in Japanese, "Over there! Look, over there!"

The others on the boat immediately looked in the direction he was pointing. They saw several small boats drifting quietly on the sea between two islands, swaying with the current.

"Quick! Contact the higher-ups!"

"Hai!"

A crew member took out a walkie-talkie, turned it on, and shouted into it, "Report! This is Waterbird Team! We have found the ships in distress! Repeat, we have found the ships in distress!"

"Well done, Waterbird Team, report your location immediately!"

"Between islands B11 and B12 of the Qiandao Archipelago!"

"Received, we are heading over immediately!"

On the sea, more than a dozen speedboats were quickly approaching the two islands. Two cruisers were also slowly approaching.

…

Fifteen minutes later, Kyoto's capital.

Xiao Ke was sitting on a tatami mat, fully equipped. All the firearms had been checked, and magazines and grenades were hanging on his tactical vest.

"Knock knock knock!"

At that moment, there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Snap!"

Xiao Ke reached out and pulled out a pistol from his waist, quietly walked to the door, and cautiously looked out through the peephole.

Two Korean men were standing outside the door, wearing baseball caps and casual clothes, waiting for the door to open.

After confirming that there was no one else nearby, Xiao Ke reached out and opened the door.

The two Koreans nodded at him and stepped inside.

Xiao Ke looked outside before closing the door. But his hand was still holding the gun.

The two Koreans didn't seem to mind. One of them, speaking with a thick Korean accent, said to him, "The people have been found. But you only have three hours."

As he spoke, he took out a piece of paper with latitude and longitude written on it and handed it to Xiao Ke, "Also, your actions will not be acknowledged, and your safety will not be protected. We will not have had any form of contact. Once you are discovered by the Hua region, we will immediately issue a warrant for your arrest."

Xiao Ke was not surprised by this procedure and nodded, "I understand."

The Korean reminded him again, "After the mission is completed, leave immediately from the eastern part of the Qiandao Archipelago, and do not enter the country again!"

Xiao Ke nodded again, "Since time is tight, I'll set off."

"Please."

After the exchange, the two Koreans left quickly. Xiao Ke also took out a walkie-talkie, gathered all the team members, and prepared to depart.

…

Half an hour later, Hua region, Lu province.

Fu Zhen was walking quickly in a building, wearing plain clothes, holding a phone, and said to Jiang Zhou, "It has been confirmed, it's near the B11 and B12 islands."

Jiang Zhou asked anxiously, "Is the information accurate?"

Fu Zhen smiled, "My intelligence network will definitely not make mistakes on this kind of thing."

Jiang Zhou couldn't help but say, "However, we haven't received any notification from the Alliance of United Nations on the diplomatic side."

Fu Zhen cursed, "There's no need to think about it, the other side must be wearing the same pants as Area One, they won't notify you in a short time, or…"

Jiang Zhou hurriedly said, "Uncle, don't worry, listen to me, I'm going to apply to the higher-ups."

The two ended the call. Jiang Zhou sat in a car, holding his phone, thought for a moment, and immediately dialed the personal phone of Meng Xi, the chief commander of the Hua region, and quickly explained the matter.

On the other end of the phone, Meng Xi pondered for a long time, and slowly said, "Diplomatic negotiations are a matter of face. Military means are a matter of strength. No need to contact them again, order Fu Zhen to immediately launch a military operation in the Qiandao Archipelago area! Notify the Yandao Fleet and the Riyue Island Naval Fleet to approach the target location! Ignore the other party's verbal obstruction, and directly strike against actual obstruction!"