Chapter 1 The Seventh Island

The next morning, a little after ten o'clock, about half an hour's journey from Seventh Island, Su Tiannan sat at the bow of a small speedboat, staring intently at the seagulls soaring freely in the sky.

Beside him, Zhang Taotao looked at Su Tiannan with cold eyes, asking in a low voice, "Are you panicking inside?"

Su Tiannan turned his head. "What do I have to panic about?"

"I could just shout, and you'd be thrown into the sea to feed the sharks." Zhang Taotao didn't try to hide her resentment towards Su Tiannan.

Su Tiannan looked at her. "I'm not panicking, because if I go into the sea, your brother won't live. A nobody like me, traded for a relative of a big corporation's vice president—sounds like a pretty good deal."

"Putting on airs." Zhang Taotao scoffed and turned her head to look at the beautiful scenery of the coastline.

The two fell silent as the helmsman steered the speedboat, rapidly approaching Seventh Island.

After resting in Washington yesterday, Zhang Taotao contacted her connections on Seventh Island and reluctantly chose to bring Su Tiannan here. She didn't know what they wanted to do, but she had no choice because her brother, Zhang Wen, was her only family.

About twenty minutes later, Su Tiannan saw dense floating warning signs on the sea, all with the same message.

"Private island, no passage."

"Armed control, approach at your own risk."

Looking at the dense signs, Su Tiannan knew they were close.

After a short while, the speedboat passed through the area with the floating warning signs and officially landed on the shore.

Su Tiannan looked around, seeing that the island was large, stretching as far as the eye could see, and the entire edge of the island was surrounded by a three-meter-high electric fence. Inside were dense watchtowers and security rooms, and various military vehicles could be seen everywhere on the roads, even defensive fortifications with machine guns.

Before coming, Su Tiannan had thought it would be strict, but he didn't expect it to be this strict. This didn't seem like a civilian island at all, but rather a strategic military transit base.

"Director Zhang, this way, please!"

As the speedboat landed, a Chinese man in a suit came over and greeted Zhang Taotao with a smile.

"Sorry for the trouble." With the man's help, Zhang Taotao stepped onto the shore from the boat.

Su Tiannan was a high-level member of the Tongji Association. Although he wasn't a household name in Dragon City, he was definitely a familiar face in certain circles. So before coming, he had specially put on makeup, bought a high-quality ponytail wig, and stuck a thick beard on his face. He also wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, dressing himself up like an artistic creator.

As they went ashore, Zhang Taotao casually introduced him: "My new secretary, Tom Su."

"Hello, Tom!" The man shook hands with Su Tiannan briefly, then walked beside Zhang Taotao, accompanying her to the guardhouse at the entrance to the island.

After the three entered the room, the man stood aside, handing Zhang Taotao and Su Tiannan over to the island's security department.

What followed was a series of security checks that even surprised Zhang Taotao. The security department first had them pass through a metal detector, walking back and forth three times to make sure they didn't have any contraband on them before letting them into the second room.

Once inside, men and women were separated and asked to leave an image record.

This request baffled Zhang Taotao. She frowned and argued with them, "You better know who I am! I am the honorary chairwoman of the board of directors of Huihong Pharmaceuticals. What are you doing? Is it necessary to check like this?"

The security personnel glanced at her coldly and said faintly, "Even if the chairman of the board of directors came in person, he would have to accept the inspection. Madam, this way, please...!"

Zhang Taotao was speechless.

Thus, Su Tiannan and Zhang Taotao were each photographed and signed detailed visit records in separate rooms, including the purpose of their visit to the island, who they were looking for, what time they entered, and what time they would leave.

Su Tiannan wasn't afraid when facing Zhang Taotao's questioning just now, but after getting on the island, he did become nervous. Because his wig and beard were glued on, if the other party had a brain fart and did a manual check, it would be easy to expose him.

Fortunately, Zhang Taotao's status was what it was, and she had shown her shrewish side just now, so although the check was very strict, it didn't go as far as a strip search.

After messing around for more than ten minutes, the two finally passed the check and followed the man who picked them up, taking a shuttle bus to the center of the island.

On the way, Su Tiannan and Zhang Taotao passed through two more checkpoints. The soldiers on the island carefully checked their passes and specifically called the main gate to inquire, confirming their identities before letting them go.

At this moment, Su Tiannan had figured out the general terrain of the outer island. Simply put, going from the outside in, there was a high wall and wire mesh every three kilometers or so, and there were almost no buildings in the middle area. The only people he could see were soldiers patrolling in cars.

In addition, no matter who entered the island, the main gate would give them an electronic pass with a number. The card was divided into four colors: blue, green, red, and black. Blue was the lowest level and could only be used in a small area. Black was the highest level and could pass through most areas.

The island implemented a policy of tight security on the outside and looser security on the inside. After passing three posts, the checks inside were not so strict.

In the car, the man turned to look at Zhang Taotao and said, "Director Zhang, your red cards can be used in most areas of the island. You can go to restaurants, play, gyms, exhibition halls, etc. Just swipe your card where you need to swipe it, and if someone is guarding the place, just let them swipe your card."

"Why is this place like a military fortress?" Zhang Taotao frowned and asked.

"This... please don't ask," the man said with a smile. "It's not convenient for me to say. And if Dr. Pang weren't your friend, I guess you would have to apply in advance to get in. Alas, to put it bluntly, this place is a super-large prison, oh, no, it's stricter than a prison. I haven't been home in over a year."

Zhang Taotao nodded slowly, not asking any more questions.

"Oh, yes, you can't go to the area on the south side of the island that's been isolated. You can go anywhere else," the man reminded her again.

"I don't want to go anyway. I have something to talk about with Dr. Pang."

"Okay!" The man nodded with a smile.

About an hour later, inside a villa.

Zhang Taotao reached out to an old man and said, "Long time no see, Uncle Pang!"

"Long time no see!" The old man nodded with a smile. "Come and sit, Xiao Zhang!"

"Uncle Pang, I really need your help this time."

"Oh, do I not know you? You're a busy person. If you didn't have something to do, you wouldn't have come to this place." Dr. Pang bent down and sat down. "Tell me, what is it?"

"I want to start a pharmaceutical company and want to ask you to endorse it..." Zhang Taotao had already thought of her excuse before coming.

Su Tiannan sat in the corner of the living room, looking at the two, but his mind was already wondering if Zhang Hao and Zhang Chao were also on this island.

...

Seventh Island Security Headquarters.

Wang Zhen looked down at his watch and asked softly, "Have you contacted Dragon City yet?"

"Aren't we waiting for you to call personally...!"

"Okay, after I finish dealing with the goods, I'll have time to meet with Su Tianyu." Wang Zhen waved his hand and said, "Bring me the phone!"