I stared in astonishment at the small, pocket-watch-like object in my hand. Chen Jian and Wang Ping, who had been trying to pull me away, were also stunned into silence.

The two men stared at each other, speechless, presumably both terrified by the scene before them.

After all, I was completely bewildered at that moment, because I never expected that this thing could grow bigger or shrink.

Wouldn't that be no different from Sun Wukong's Ruyi Jingu Bang?

After a long moment of stunned silence, I finally came to my senses. Chen Jian quickly came over, looked at the small pocket watch in my hand with surprise, and then exclaimed, "Brother Sihai, how did you know this thing could shrink? My goodness, you're amazing! If it were me or Brother Wang Ping, we probably would have just left this treasure here!"

Wang Ping, also looking bewildered, walked over and nodded in agreement: "Yeah, who knew this thing could shrink? But we shouldn't stay here any longer. I think we should leave this place first and talk about it later."

I nodded quickly. That was indeed the case. Staying here was too dangerous, and I needed to take this thing back and study it carefully.

Anyway, we have all the guns and ammunition we need. When we get back, we need to go over the security arrangements again, since who knows when the Utas tribe might attack again?

Now that we no longer have reliable manpower and resources in our camp, we can only try to make the security around us more comprehensive.

All that's left is to keep thinking of other solutions.

The three of us quickly returned to the camp and gave the gun to Bai Wei, Xiao Qiang, and the others.

Everyone was very surprised. Bai Wei held the gun and looked at it several times, his expression becoming uncontrollable.

"My God, where have you three been? I was just wondering why you weren't sleeping in the middle of the night, but you actually found this thing. Where did you find it? Is there some shipwrecked ship still at the beach?"

Xiao Qiang was also holding the gun, her expression one of shock and uncertainty. It took her a long time before she looked up at me.

"Yeah, you three, stop keeping me in suspense and tell me already!"

But we had already discussed it when we came back, and we agreed that no one could tell anyone about this, because telling anyone could cause panic or make more people feel uneasy.

Our current situation requires us to unite all our forces to succeed; if too many guns are allowed to circulate, we risk falling apart.

So we just kept quiet and said that we found it by the roadside.

Xiao Qiang and the others asked several times but couldn't get a clear answer, so they eventually gave up.

Muta was also very surprised when he got the gun; clearly, Muta didn't like it.

After all, those pirates, the very people Muta and Mucuo called devils, were dealing with these very things.

Moreover, their own people had died from gunfire before, so they were terrified of guns.

I explained the benefits of this gun to Mucuo several times before he finally translated it for his brother, Muta.

Muta reluctantly accepted the gun.

We went to bed early that night, and Xiao Qiang asked me again that night where we found the gun.

I knew I couldn't fool Xiao Qiang, so I briefly explained the matter to her, and even took out the shrunken pocket watch to show her.

"We also found this thing by the roadside. This thing can grow bigger and smaller. I also found some very strange people inside this pocket watch. Their clothes are very strange, making me feel that they don't seem to live on this deserted island or even in the city."

Xiao Qiang looked at me and moved closer to me. The fish oil lamp was dimly lit, and everyone around us was fast asleep, and it was quiet.

Xiao Qiang asked in a low voice, "So you mean you think those people are the ones you saw in that underground rock layer before?"

I shook my head: "No, I always feel like those people don't live on Earth."

Xiao Qiang's expression turned terrified upon hearing my words: "Don't scare me. Could there be aliens on this deserted island?"

I shook my head, unsure of what to say. After all, so many strange things had happened since I arrived on this deserted island. If you told me now that Earth had been destroyed, that we had reached another asteroid, or that there really were aliens in the world, it wouldn't be surprising, would it?

"I don't know either, but I think if we can't leave this place, then one day we'll find out what this thing really is?"

Xiao Qiang's nerves had been on edge lately, and now, nestled in my arms, she was getting sleepy. I patted her head, telling her to go to sleep early.

Xiao Qiang hummed softly and nestled gently in my arms, then fell silent after a short while.

I held Xiao Qiang in my arms, thinking about the pocket watch, and gradually became a little confused.

I don't know how much time passed, but I somehow drifted off to sleep.

I don't know how long I slept, but I suddenly heard a very strange crackling sound next to my ear.

I turned my head and found myself in a forest without realizing it. There were tall trees all around, and I was standing in an open space.

There was a screen-like thing in front of me in the open space. The words were moving very fast on it, but they were moving so fast that it looked like lightning to me, and all I could see in the end was a bunch of gibberish.

I paused for a moment, took two steps forward, and then suddenly noticed a figure appearing on the screen. The figure was surrounded by a faint blue light, and looked quite imposing.

I looked closely at the figure and realized that the person inside seemed to be looking at me as well.

I suddenly remembered the strange scene I saw inside the clock in the woods, and thought it was a reenactment. I peered over carefully and discovered that the thing inside was also poking its head out at me.

This action startled me. There was no one around. I didn't know where Chen Jian and Wang Ping had gone. The person inside was moving along with my movements. Could it be that he was imitating me?

But why are the people inside making such strange movements?