The bodyguards moved very quickly. Just as Cheng Shuang was about to take Xiong Baobao to cut down trees, they had already pushed the raft into the sea.
"Go to the right, there are many broken trees over there," Du Jun reminded him. He was referring to the trees that had been corroded by the jellyfish monster, scattered on the ground. Collecting them would be a bit troublesome, but it would save time from cutting down trees.
“I’ll go with the bear!” Lie Fu rolled up his sleeves and looked at Cheng Shuang for advice. “Let the bear carry it, and I’ll tie it to him, is that alright?”
Before Cheng Shuang could speak, a figure peeked out from behind a tree, tentatively waving and greeting, "Um... can I join?"
The four men recognized the burly, dark-faced man with a flat-topped haircut as soon as he appeared.
There was a moment of silence.
When the bodyguard leader surveyed the escape route, he did some cleanup work. Apart from people like Qing Nai and Cheng Shuang who were deliberately keeping watch, the other bodyguards ran in all directions. At least until now, Cheng Shuang has not encountered a third group of people.
Although the island wasn't large, it was big enough for the twenty-odd maintainers to run around freely.
"Just call me Tiger." Tiger smiled sheepishly.
Du Jun looked at him closely and couldn't see a trace of gloom and resentment from being betrayed on his rough and simple face.
Such a person is either deeply calculating or truly broad-minded. Judging from their previous encounter in the room, Du Jun immediately ruled out the idea that Hu Zi was a saintly father.
"I have a boat!" Tiger pointed behind him without hesitation, revealing a set of white teeth. "I used to be a carpenter, a twenty-year veteran carpenter, with a family tradition in the craft."
The boys exchanged glances and unanimously welcomed the new member.
Hidden behind the big tree was a rough wooden boat. It was more like a deluxe raft than a boat. The outer layer was made of logs, and the inside was lined with planks. The middle seat could accommodate five or six people. What was strange was that the boat was made without a single nail.
"Some of the connections use mortise and tenon joints." A hint of pride appeared on his honest face when he mentioned the craft passed down from his ancestors.
"What is mortise and tenon joint?" Hei Zishan asked blankly. Lie Fu pulled him along, and he scratched his head. "Hehe, I'm bad at studying, I'm uncultured!"
Cheng Shuang and Du Jun exchanged a quick glance. Hei Zishan was also a university student, so his information intake was not very narrow. He didn't know that the mortise and tenon structure was very likely a sign of the severe lack of ancient culture in his world.
Tiger smiled understandingly and changed the subject, "I've tested it out; I'm fine going into the sea."
The three boys, working together in perfect unison, chatted and tried to get information out of Tiger, before finally pushing the boat into the sea.
To show his sincerity, Hu Zi told the whole story without hiding anything, "I encountered trouble in my room, and Qing Nai saved me." He sighed, "This is fine, consider it repaying his life-saving grace."
One sentence perfectly explains his relationship with Aona.
"Ah, Brother Tiger, how could you encounter trouble with your skills?" There were at most two monsters in the room. Unless his companions were particularly unreliable, Tiger's abilities shouldn't have led him to the point of being unable to save himself. Kuroko suspected that Aona had set a trap.
Tiger gave a wry smile. "The monster in that room has rubber properties."
"They're really unlucky," Hei Zishan blurted out, then touched his nose sheepishly. Hu Zi, however, agreed without hesitation, "They really are unlucky."
Lie Fu calmly analyzed, "It's also possible that Qing Nai valued your skills, so she took the opportunity to save you." To say that Qing Nai was a kind-hearted person who liked to help others would be a huge joke.
Du Jun's idea was more practical: "We need to add one more condition: Tiger's task must be completed in accordance with his needs."
None of them asked where Tiger's original companions had gone. Too many people had died in the maze level, and asking would only cause more grief.
Tiger nodded. "Yes! The mission message says that those who suffer heavy losses will fail. But no matter what, he saved me." He scratched his head as he spoke. "I only made one set of oars. I'm strong, so I'll row."
At this moment, the four boys tacitly took out four flat table legs from their spatial storage. Lie Fu took one from Hei Zi Shan's hand. "Two people per group, take turns resting, and have another pair as a spare, how about that?"
Tiger, used to serving Aona, objected somewhat uncomfortably, "Isn't this a bit much? Anyway, I'm strong!"
“There’s nothing wrong with it; this way we’ll catch up with them faster,” Du Jun said.
"All right!"
By this time, experienced people knew that the existence of these natives was extremely abnormal. Coupled with the theme of the Gate of Reincarnation, going into the sea to drift became an inevitable and risky choice.
The drifting at sea was boring and long. Although Qingnai and her group set off first, their small wooden raft was ultimately too simple and had a large load capacity. Every time someone paddled, the raft would shake a few times. On the flat sea, the silhouettes of the two rafts could still be clearly seen in the distance.
As long as Cheng Shuang and the few others left to keep watch at night, they would naturally not lose track of them.
Of course, even if Aona was annoyed by being followed from a distance, there was nothing she could do.
Although his flintlock flares were powerful, their range was a major weakness.
"Qingnai's skills sacrifice ranged attacks in favor of precision." This was Hu Zi's observation. Although he was sometimes stubborn and loyal, and would never doubt anyone once he placed his trust in someone, he was not stupid. Otherwise, how could he have survived for so long in the Gate of Reincarnation?
He took off his suit jacket, pulled off the scarf-like collar of the fake shirt hanging around his neck, and carefully put it into his storage compartment. Turning his head, he saw the little girl looking at him curiously, and explained with a smile, "The world inside the Gate of Reincarnation is full of strange and wonderful things. It's always good to have some things that don't take up much space."
He then picked up the oar, tensed his upper arm muscles, and began to row.
Lie Fu followed behind, gliding along one of the table legs, which was polished to be flatter and thinner, following his speed.
"It's about right for us to keep a distance of about one kilometer." Tiger stopped to take a look after paddling for a while.
Qingnai clearly sensed that someone was following him and deliberately raised the fire-filled tube as a threat, but the person following him already knew the weakness of his skills and was naturally not intimidated by him.
Stopping for a while and then stopping again, unless Qingnai is willing to waste time staying in one place, the stalemate will not benefit either side. Besides, before long, several more rafts appeared on the sea, far behind Cheng Shuang and the others.
"Looks like there are still quite a few smart people." Hei Zishan chuckled. The 'Ultraman's Invisibility Pants' had expired. He discussed it with Lie Fu and gave Cheng Shuang a one-time card of the same level.
The young girl accepted the card readily, not caring what its purpose was. After all, she had voluntarily given the card to save the two of them, and she wouldn't refuse the kindness of Lie Fu and Hei Zi Shan, who wanted to compensate her.
Du Jun barely spoke after boarding the ship, only instructing Cheng Shuang to put the teddy bear away when the speed increased.
In fact, Cheng Shuang was also somewhat absent-minded. She could sense that the cycle of reincarnation was about to end, and this time they had truly found the right direction.
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