Chapter 559 - 62: Triumph (Part 2)
He only had the precious metals scavenged from the stranded ship, along with some luxury items received from mysterious rewards over the years.
While these things together already constituted a considerable wealth, every time he thought of the enormous treasure plundered by the Spaniards on a nearby island, Chen Zhou couldn’t suppress the greed in his heart.
Wealth worth tens of millions or even hundreds of millions lies within easy reach, and not only for him, but ninety-nine percent of modern people would find it difficult to remain calm.
From the moment he received the news of the treasure, Chen Zhou had been eagerly anticipating boxes of gold and silver to be placed before him.
Now, with Sunday bringing back news of victory and the return of Spanish captives, he finally saw the dawn of hope—
"All the property that challengers can obtain during the challenge" mentioned in the challenge rules seemed about to belong to him.
...
Sunday recounted the entire operation from beginning to end, and finally mentioned the native women given to the Spaniards by the Tribe Leader, deliberately stating to Chen Zhou that these people knew both Spanish and the native language, which could aid them in obtaining intelligence.
Chen Zhou was worried about the language barrier, unable to get accurate information from the Spaniards, and upon hearing this, he nearly jumped up in excitement, exclaiming "Heaven helps me!"
Restraining his excitement, he heavily patted Sunday on the shoulder, complimenting him: "Well done!"
Even though Chen Zhou wanted to immediately summon the "native translator" to interrogate the Spaniards with him in the interrogation room, he couldn’t act so hastily, whether as a Leader or as a mentor and father figure.
Sunday and the others had just fought a remarkable battle, and whether or not they felt fatigued or yearned for rewards, they should always be given adequate recognition.
Verbal praise, material rewards, and even a grand celebration banquet are all indispensable.
If those who have achieved merit don’t receive proper rewards, even if he is the dictator of the island with supreme status, the islanders would gradually become indifferent to his orders.
When the natives receive education, learn the modern social ways, and increasingly become normal members of human society, they are no longer the simple-minded cattle and horses.
Despite everything, they are also human beings. Unlike the Spaniards, Chen Zhou always held basic respect towards the natives from the start.
...
On the night of May 16, 1666, the islanders held a grand feast on the beach.
The triumphant sailors, along with their leader Sunday, attended the feast.
The newly victorious young men appeared somewhat restrained, like wooden poles stuck in the sand, staring blankly at the blazing bonfire.
The young ladies looked at these men who sailed the seas and made their mark, and their eyes shimmered with soft affection.
The girls who approached them, even boldly expressing their affection, caught the sailors off guard.
Unlike the middle-aged tribe members, who were used to primitive sexual expressions, the sailors had established another moral perspective due to the education received after arriving on the island—
They valued the traditional views of love and family from Hua Xia, and the monogamy instilled by Chen Zhou.
Thinking of the responsibilities they would bear once they have wives, and even children, some sailors knew they should refuse. Yet human reproductive instincts and the natural attraction between the sexes made it difficult to let go.
Among shy sailors, there were naturally bold and passionate ones, who during the celebratory joy couldn’t help but embrace the waist of the girls who approached them.
...
Stars twinkled as wood burned in the bonfire, the flames flickering.
This night was filled with sparks of desire and the abandonment of drunkenness.
However, human joys and sorrows aren’t the same; while the islanders reveled in wild joy on the beach, they spent their first night on the island inside cells—
A particularly long night.
...
To prevent a Spanish escape, Chen Zhou personally designed and constructed the cell using reinforced concrete.
Having read The Count of Monte Cristo and watched several series like Shawshank Redemption or prison break, Chen Zhou had always valued human wisdom, especially the insights of modern humans.
A group of Spanish sailors clustered together could easily escape from a wooden cell if not careful enough.
Reinforced concrete buildings eliminated these concerns, or rather minimized escape risks.
...
Havier crouched in the corner of the cell, with a beam of moonlight streaming through the window at the top of the wall behind him, casting a narrow strip of light on the ground.
Though it was the dry season, this cramped room, made from unknown materials, felt somewhat cold.
He stared at the greyish-white light strip, tapping the floor with his fingers.
The friction of nails against the cement felt exceedingly hard, like some kind of rock.
Sighing deeply, Havier stood up and walked around the cell—
His small three-square-meter room contained nothing but two ceramic buckets for waste, not even a bed to rest on.
The floor and walls were extraordinarily smooth, showing no traces of brick assembly.
A thumb-thick steel bar framed window was cut into the outer-facing wall, two meters above the ground, letting in moonlight.
The entire cell resembled a solid small cube, enclosing Havier within.
The dim light inside the cell, combined with the enclosed and narrow space, naturally created a strong sense of oppression.
Fortunately, Havier was the first ’guest’ of this prison, so the two buckets in the room hadn’t been used yet, and thus lacked odor, sparing him some distress.
...
Since disembarking and being escorted to this room, Havier hadn’t drunk a drop or eaten a bite.
Afternoon found him forcing sleep on the cement floor, only to be woken by hunger at night.
His companions were held in adjacent and opposite cells, but their view was blocked by the thick walls, rendering them unable to see each other.
Alone in such a place, even with his relatively tough spirit, Havier struggled with solitude, silence, and hunger.
He thought of calling out to communicate with his companions but hesitated, fearing noise would attract guards’ beatings—
Though the steel wire around his wrists was removed, the deep marks on his flesh and the lingering pain reminded Havier that these islanders were far from benevolent.
Ultimately abandoning the thought of calling out, he first closely examined the entire cell and, reassessing the building’s toughness, made sure he couldn’t dig through it and then turned his attention to the window.
Then, he tiptoed to the door and pressed his ear against it, listening for outside noises.
Confirming that no guards patrolled outside the cell, he walked to the window and jumped up to try and grab the ledge.
However, the window inside the cell was too high; 17th-century diets lacked the nutrition found in modern diets, creating significant height differences from modern humans.
Despite being relatively tall among sailors, Havier couldn’t grasp the windowsill through jumping alone.
Still, the room provided usable tools.
Havier quickly thought of an idea—he moved the two ceramic buckets under the window and stepped on their solid rims, finally managing to grasp the windowsill and gaze outside the cell.
Although he never really hoped for a successful escape, Havier was desperate to understand external conditions.
Staying in this oppressive environment, his greatest difficulty stemmed not from pain or hunger, but blocked view.
Even if holding onto the windowsill amounted to little, merely catching a glimpse outside the cell—rather than staring at the grey and white room—would offer relief.
...
The island was bathed in pale moonlight at night.
The cell, previously a jungle, saw its trees cut down to clear space for construction.
Looking out the window, thirty yards ahead spread nothing but flat ground, with sparse grass clusters punctuating bare soil.
Yet despite this, viewing grass and observing insects fluttering above was much more intriguing than cement floors.
Havier exhaled deeply, planning to search for anything more noteworthy, when suddenly, a bright beam in the dense woods beyond the clearing lit up, resembling some miracle mentioned in folklore.