Chapter 978: Warships Seal the Island

Although they were in a desperate situation where life and death were uncertain, when everyone saw the glittering jewelry, dazzling gemstones, and piles of gold ingots before their eyes, they still couldn't help but instantly perk up, their eyes lighting up.

Bureau Chief Zhang spoke first, saying half-jokingly: "Is Heaven rewarding our tenacity? After tossing us around so miserably, it throws out a pile of wealth like this; this is like giving a slap and then a sweet date!"

Deputy Director Li didn't have much interest in these valuables, but seeing everyone in high spirits, he felt relieved and smiled encouragingly: "Comrades, actually these things aren't that important to our current situation, but if you look at it from another angle, it's like telling us—when Heaven closes a door, it always opens a window. Our luck is about to turn around; everyone keep your spirits up, don't lose heart."

Deputy Bureau Chief Long took over the conversation and chimed in repeatedly: "Deputy Director Li is right. Looking at it this way, our luck really isn't bad; just by landing on an island, we can dig up these treasures. This isn't a blessing everyone can have."

Bureau Chief Zhang nodded and continued: "Factory Director He also gave instructions when he went down earlier; let's simply categorize these things first, and then distribute them to everyone. Even if it's just to calm everyone's nerves, it's a bit of a windfall in this disaster of ours."

Inside the cave, the Deputy Chief Pilot had not rested, tirelessly continuing his "treasure hunt."

He hunched his waist, touching here and knocking there, as if he wanted to turn the entire cave upside down.

He Yuzhu didn't stop him, but he swam out of the cave entrance alone; he also wanted to see what kind of mystery this place held.

Once outside, he discovered that this was indeed a good place.

The area around the cave was surrounded by steep, almost vertical stone walls covered in mottled moss, green and gloomy; if one hadn't walked right up to it, it would have been impossible to discover that a slit-like passage was hidden here.

Nature's uncanny workmanship had managed to hide this place perfectly.

At the Pentagon, William was listening to Hunter's report in his office while impatiently tapping the table; the sound of his knuckles striking the tabletop was particularly harsh in the empty room.

Although Hunter had only been in charge for two days, he no longer had the sharp spirit of pointing out the country from yesterday; even his voice sounded hoarse and exhausted, and his eyes were bloodshot.

"General, this group of Huaxia people doesn't play by the rules at all. We had targeted a suspicious merchant ship and were preparing to board and inspect it, but the ship suddenly exploded—all thirty-some brothers on our patrol boat are gone, and we couldn't even recover a complete corpse. I suspect they were hiding on this cargo ship earlier but evacuated in advance, leaving behind a timed bomb before they left, intentionally trying to give us a warning. These people are truly too cunning and too ruthless; they simply don't take us seriously. General, I implore you to exert pressure on the Huaxia side from a higher level; they are simply unscrupulous."

General William slowly raised his head, his cold gaze sweeping over him: "Hunter, everything you just said is your subjective speculation, without any real evidence. Can you produce even a shred of hard evidence? Our interception of merchant ships is unsustainable and won't last long; tell me why you suspect that ship?"

Hunter explained: "That ship was a smuggling vessel of the Yamaguchi-gumi, a Japanese criminal organization; both the ship's registration and route were very suspicious. I judge that it must have been intercepted by those Huaxia people... It's just a pity that both that ship and our patrol boat were blown up and sank directly into a deep-sea trench thousands of meters down; we can't get evidence, and we can't even salvage the wreckage."

General William snorted coldly, his tone becoming increasingly impatient: "I don't want to hear these post-incident reports; the matter has already happened, what's the use of saying these things? I just want to know, what method do you plan to use to drag these people out for me? You can't just let them disappear into thin air, can you?"

Hunter said nothing, strode to the nautical chart on the wall, pointed to one of the coordinates, and said in a deep voice: "In my opinion, they likely went to this place called Jinyin Island. Pirates used to haunt that island; the terrain is complex and the area is small, but there are many hiding places. As long as we dispatch two or three warships there, we can seal the entire island tight; not even a bird will be able to fly out."

General William pondered for a moment, finally nodded, his voice low but with a touch of decisiveness: "Fine, do as you say. I understand now too; if you want to fight these Huaxia people, being anxious is useless. You need to come up with a more perfect plan; I don't want to hear any more bad news."

Hunter hurriedly bowed and said: "Thank you for your understanding, General; I will definitely not let you down this time."

He Yuzhu carefully circled outside the cave, confirming that the vicinity was sufficiently hidden and could accommodate the patrol boat, before turning and ducking into the cave.

Once inside, he saw that the Deputy Chief Pilot had finished his work, with a bulging backpack piled at his feet; there were quite a few things inside—seven Ming Dynasty blue and white bowls, though most were chipped. They were precious enough. There were also some rusty remnants of firelocks.

The Deputy Chief Pilot patted the backpack and asked in a hushed voice, his eyes filled with both excitement and anxiety: "Factory Director He, do you think if I carry these things up, Deputy Director Li and the others will have any objections? After all, this was discovered by everyone together..."

He Yuzhu waved his hand, his tone very casual: "As for these things of yours, I think most people won't look twice at them; just keep them yourself, don't mention it, so as not to cause trouble."

The Deputy Chief Pilot hadn't been very warm to He Yuzhu before, and had even been somewhat distant, but upon hearing this, his eyes actually grew hot, and he bowed solemnly to He Yuzhu, his voice choked with emotion: "Factory Director He, if we can return safely this time, my daughter's tuition will be covered... I really, thank you; I will remember this favor for the rest of my life."

He Yuzhu hurriedly helped him up and laughed: "Don't be so polite. If these things were left here, they would eventually be fished out by those treasure hunters; whoever takes them, takes them. You taking them can be considered making the best use of them."

Having said this, he paused, his expression suddenly becoming serious: "However—that sentence you just said actually reminded me. I want to have the delegation members come down into this cave."

"I said so, right? Such a good place, it would be a pity not to use it," said the Deputy Chief Pilot.

He Yuzhu nodded and said: "When I swam out of the cave entrance, I was constantly pondering one thing. M Country isn't short of smart people... They will likely guess that we might have landed on this small island. By then, a few warships could surround this island of ours, and we would be finished. Hiding in this cave can be said to be both offensive and defensive. I looked carefully just now; this sea exit is hidden very deep, and the outside is all cliffs and precipices; ordinary people wouldn't discover it without walking right up to it. Moreover, with this terrain, large warships can't sail in, and their cannons can't reach us at all. If you ask me, this is the best place for us to escape; it's practically a retreat left for us by Heaven."

Upon hearing this, the Deputy Chief Pilot didn't pay attention to He Yuzhu's strategy, but thought about how he wouldn't need to carry his things up, and couldn't help but grin: "Factory Director He, you mean—I don't need to carry this backpack up?"

He Yuzhu nodded, his tone crisp: "Find a hidden place to stash it first. When there's a chance, I'll help you bring it out. You work hard now and tidy up these stone rooms; I want to arrange for the delegation members to move down and live here. Later, get some dry firewood and dead branches to light a fire down here to roast away the dampness; the cave will be much drier and more comfortable to live in."

The Deputy Chief Pilot nodded repeatedly: "Who would think that we would be hiding in such a cave? Besides, this cave is spacious and connected to the sea, and the ventilation is good. Even if the enemy wants to use fire attacks or throw smoke grenades, they might not be able to do anything to us; we can just dive into the water and run."

Hearing this, the corners of He Yuzhu's mouth curled slightly, revealing a confident smile: "Rest assured, I won't give them the chance to throw poison gas or smoke grenades down here."

This wasn't bragging. He Yuzhu knew in his heart that just by him guarding the cave entrance alone, not to mention actually holding off an army of thousands, even if a few hundred people came, they wouldn't be able to get in.

After He Yuzhu finished arranging everything below the cave, he returned to the surface, and what greeted him were smiling faces and warm greetings; the atmosphere was completely different from before.

He Yuzhu understood clearly—in the end, although he had led everyone to escape death along the way, the process had been too bitter and dangerous, and there were always people secretly harboring complaints, feeling that they had been dragged into the water by him, with a fire in their hearts that had nowhere to vent.

But now it was different; just now everyone had been distributed some gold and silver jewelry and antique items, and with them tucked heavily into their bosoms, that bit of dissatisfaction had long been suppressed, replaced by faces full of satisfaction and joy.

Looking at He Yuzhu now, there was more gratitude in their eyes, and their attitudes were obviously much kinder; some even took the initiative to talk to him, their tones carrying a bit of closeness.

He Yuzhu didn't delay and laid out his concerns to Deputy Director Li, Deputy Director Shi, and Deputy Director Long, explaining the analysis of the M Country people potentially surrounding the island clearly.

After the three finished listening, they looked at each other; they had no objections and nodded in unison, approving his plan, and the expressions on their faces changed from relaxed to solemn.

Having received the confirmation, He Yuzhu immediately took action, having Bureau Chief Zhang be responsible for passing the people down the cave entrance one by one, with tents and supplies following closely behind, passed down one by one; the order was not chaotic, and although everyone was flustered, it was methodical.

After everyone had been safely sent down into the cave, He Yuzhu didn't rush to rest; he had to act like an experienced hunter and wipe away all traces.