58 Coastal Floating Bridge-Day 7

◎Meet Captain Jack Again◎

However, Yan Lan did not let these emotions show on her face. She still kept smiling and said in a relaxed tone,

"Captain Jack, you're too polite. It's just a small favor, alright? I'm just curious. You left without saying goodbye yesterday, and you suddenly came back today, bringing so many people with you. Is there any special reason?"

As she spoke, Yan Lan turned her gaze towards the other pirates, with a questioning look in her eyes.

Seeing this, Captain Jack's face was embarrassed for a moment, and then he explained,

"Oh, yesterday our ship was finally able to sail after undergoing emergency repairs. We saw you were soundly asleep at the time, so we didn't have the heart to disturb you. So, today we came back just to take you with us, as a way of repaying you for saving our lives."

As he spoke, he pointed to the blond man and the other pirates beside him and added, "These are my companions. We came here together to ensure your safety."

"Let's go together?"

Yan Lan's mouth dropped open slightly, a flicker of surprise in her eyes, as if she hadn't expected Captain Jack to extend such an invitation. This NPC's IQ seemed to have increased significantly overnight; it was truly unexpected.

"Yes, we have a base in the sea not far away. The scenery there is pleasant and the resources are rich. We specially invite you to visit it." Captain Jack smiled sincerely, as if he was really grateful.

Yan Lan's face instantly blossomed into a naive smile, and she clapped her hands excitedly: "Really? That's fantastic! I've been staying on this little island the whole time, and I'm almost going moldy from boredom!"

Seeing Yan Lan's cooperation, Captain Jack proudly exchanged a knowing look with the blond man beside him, then turned around and prepared to lead Yan Lan towards the sailboat.

However, just as they were about to take a step forward, Captain Jack seemed to have thought of something important. He stopped and looked around in confusion: "Hey, where's the ball? I remember it always following you."

Yan Lan knew he was talking about Snowball, and her heart tightened. However, she pretended to be sad. She sighed and said, "Alas, that little guy was too playful. He went swimming in the sea when I wasn't paying attention, and ended up being swept away by a wave. I'm still worried about him."

Captain Jack frowned upon hearing this, as if he was surprised by Snowball's disappearance. But he didn't dwell on it too much, and instead asked, "Where's the raft?"

He remembered that Yan Lan took out a lot of food from the raft.

Yan Lan secretly complained in her heart, these pirates are really smart, they don't miss any details.

She sighed again, pretending to be even more sad.

"Don't mention it. The raft was also in trouble. The strong sea breeze blew it away last night. Luckily, I'm a good swimmer and swam back. I'm really penniless now. I have nothing."

Yan Lan's eyes suddenly showed deep gratitude. She turned to Captain Jack standing in front of her and said sincerely:

"I'm so lucky you arrived in time. I worked hard to save you yesterday and shared food with you. I believe you won't ignore such friendship."

The scene fell into silence for a moment. Captain Jack forced a smile and replied in a slightly stiff tone, "Of course not. We are very loyal."

The surrounding pirates exchanged subtle glances upon hearing this. Meanwhile, the pirates who had gone out to investigate the island returned, shaking their heads slightly, as if silently conveying some kind of message.

This action seemed to put everyone present at ease. Afterwards, without saying anything more, the group surrounded Yan Lan and sent her onto the boat.

After going up, Jack specially arranged her to two young and strong pirates. They took her to a small cabin with expressionless faces and said calmly,

"It'll take us a whole day to reach our destination. You can sleep here during this time. The conditions on the boat are limited, so just make do with it for now."

Yan Lan's eyes quickly swept across the small room in front of her. There were no windows around it, and only faint sunlight came from above. The room was full of weeds and was not a place for people to live at all.

But she still smiled: "Okay, thank you guys."

After closing the door, Yan Lan keenly noticed that it was not completely quiet outside. She gently put her ear close to the wooden door. Sure enough, the two pirates did not leave, but stood outside the door at a certain distance, as if they were watching her secretly.

She curled her lips, turned around, and sat back down on the weeds. To pass the time and find solace, she opened the game panel. Whether in the group chat or the world channel, no one else had the same experience as her. It seemed the map was random, and everyone was a unique adventurer.

As the last rays of sunset gradually faded, the sky was deeply dyed by dusk, and the weed hut was shrouded in a thick darkness.

Just when the quiet and depressing atmosphere reached its climax, heavy footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door, followed by a creaking sound from the door hinges, and the door was slowly pushed open.

The two pirate guards with indifferent expressions came in again. They seemed like a part of this dim environment, carrying an irresistible aura.

One of the pirates, holding a gleaming sword casually in his hand, was leaning against the door frame, looking both lazy and alert.

The other one walked into the house carefully carrying a wooden bowl. The bowl emitted a faint glow in the dim light.

"Here, this is your dinner." There was no warmth in his tone, as if he was just completing a routine task.

Yan Lan silently took the seemingly simple wooden bowl, which contained white porridge that was so thin that it was almost transparent. There were no juicy green vegetables or delicious shrimps to garnish the porridge. Even the rice grains could be counted, making it look extremely shabby.

She stared at the bowl blankly. It would be better to just drink boiled water.

"Don't you want to eat?" The young pirate looked at the bowl in Yan Lan's hand with a watchful look.

Yan Lan raised her head slightly, a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, and she replied softly: "Eat, of course I eat."

She raised the bowl with a dramatic flourish, as if about to gulp it down, but at the same time, one arm elegantly crossed in front of her face, cleverly concealing her movements. The porridge slowly flowed over the edge of the bowl and slid silently into the compartment of her backpack.

"Gurgle, gurgle," Yan Lan made a few vague swallowing sounds and completed a series of exquisite fake moves.

Then, she turned the bowl upside down and faced the young man, her eyes full of "I've had enough" meaning: "I'm done, thank you."

The young man took the bowl, checked it carefully, and after confirming that it was correct, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"Then you should go to bed early and we won't disturb you." He said as he was about to leave.

Yan Lan yawned at the right time, fatigue showing in her eyes, and her body fell on the messy grass pile. She just waved weakly to say goodbye to the young man.

The two pirates exchanged a knowing look, then quietly exited the room, the door slowly closing behind them.

Silence soon returned to the room, and the only sound that could be heard was Yan Lan's deliberately slowed breathing, which seemed unusually steady.

"Are you asleep?" The voice outside the door was very low, but it still reached her ears.

Her eyes were closed, but her ears were like an alert cat, catching any slight movement outside the door.

Soon, the door was pushed open a tiny crack, and a faint light came in. Then one of them glanced around the room cautiously, confirming that Yan Lan was sleeping in the weeds in an extremely indecent posture.

The door closed silently again, and then the sound coming from outside the door became noticeably louder.

"Tsk tsk, look how bewitched she is. She's sleeping as soundly as a dead pig. The boss's knockout drug is really effective." A slightly sarcastic voice sounded.

Yan Lan's heart trembled, and she clenched her teeth. Sure enough, she had been drugged. Fortunately, she didn't drink it. She pricked up her ears and continued to listen to the conversation outside the door.

Outside, two pirates, seemingly bored, began chatting, their conversation gradually drifting off the subject and turning to everyday matters. Yan Lan suppressed her impatience and tried to filter out useful information.

"How much rice do you think we can get in return if we hand her over this time?" one of the pirates asked with a hint of anticipation in his tone.

"Rice..." Another pirate smacked his lips, as if savoring the long-lost aroma of food. "Well, judging by her figure, I guess she's only worth about five bags."

"Five bags? That's too little! Or it's too thin. If it's like the fat man before, we can at least exchange it for ten bags of rice!" The pirates were obviously not very satisfied with this "deal".

The more Yan Lan listened, the more creepy she felt. A chill rose from her spine and goose bumps appeared on her body involuntarily.

She realized that she might have become what others called "commodity."

"So what if we have ten bags? In the end, we can only get one or two pounds, and the boss pockets the bulk of it." A pirate complained, his tone full of dissatisfaction.

"That's right. Why don't we just work on our own? We'll never be able to fill our stomachs if we keep working for others." Another pirate echoed, with a glint of unwillingness in his eyes.

"But we have no other choice. The boss has maps and radar, which can accurately identify directions in the vast ocean. We don't have these, so going out is just suicide."

The two sighed and fell into a brief silence.

But the tranquility did not last long, and soon their topic turned to other things.

"Do you think human flesh is really that delicious? Why do those people like it so much?" A pirate asked curiously, his voice very low, as if he was afraid of being heard by someone.

"You'll know if you try it?" the pirate responded jokingly.

"Oh, no, no, I'm not like those cannibals. I'm only interested in fragrant rice and tender beef."

This conversation set off alarm bells in Yan Lan's heart, and she grasped a few key words: map, radar, and cannibals.

She secretly made up her mind to get this map. It was said that it was in the hands of their boss, and that boss was undoubtedly the blond and blue-eyed man.

As the night deepened, the lights on the ship became sparse and dim, and the whole world seemed to be immersed in a deep sleep.

Outside the door, the two pirates in charge of guarding had already lost their sleepiness and leaned against the wall, snoring.

At this moment, Yan Lan suddenly opened her eyes.

【Author’s words】

Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided me with nutrient solution between 2024-08-14 22:53:50 and 2024-08-15 22:35:58~

Thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: 1 bottle of Huang Suxi;

Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!