It was already the afternoon, and the setting sun gradually slanted westward, casting an increasingly orange-yellow glow that seemed heavy, as if the flames were burning out.
On the vast expanse of azure sea, a fishing boat with triangular sails moved forward at a steady pace, its hull bombarded by the clear oncoming waves making a rustling noise.
Inside the captain's cabin, upon hearing Colin's words, Ante's face immediately showed an uncontrollable delight.
Beside him, Old Jack and Anna felt the same… They had thought they were doomed to remain here, with the hope of the Basa family's continuation resting solely on Ante.
But they had never expected the situation to take such an unexpected turn...
"Ante, so the reason you've always wanted to retrieve the pendant from Lian, besides it being our father's legacy, is also because it's the token for activating the transmission array?"
Anna gazed at her brother, couldn't help but ask with a hint of complaint in her voice.
"Sister Anna, I was worried that the more people who knew, the easier it would leak… Well, the main reason is that we simply couldn't meet the conditions to activate the transmission array. Plus, father always regretted mentioning it to me in the first place, so he continuously instructed me not to talk about it with anyone. Over time, I just got used to burying it in my heart…"
Ante hastily explained.
After listening to the explanation, Anna's resentment gradually faded. She glanced at Colin and then continued to ask:
"And that deserted island, is it the Stone Island we used to visit together when we were kids?"
Colin sat in the captain's seat, silent, letting Anna continue to question.
Whether Anna truly had doubts or was deliberately asking for his benefit... In any case, Colin needed to understand more clearly about the transmission gate.
"Yes, exactly, that bare island that's often struck by lightning." Ante nodded vigorously.
Feeling like he'd perhaps neglected Colin, Ante turned his head to address him:
"Wizard, although I have never seen my father use that transmission array, I did accidentally witness it appear once. And after much pestering, my father told me nearly all the requirements for the transmission array and precautions… In fact, if it weren't for my lack of personal strength and not having the Lightning Pendant, I would have already tried the transmission array myself."
Colin nodded imperceptibly.
Feeling that his persuasive power might still be insufficient, Ante added:
"Wizard, I can assure you that as long as we get the Lightning Pendant and meet the other three requirements, we will definitely be able to teleport to where the Wizard is! There's no exceeding the maximum number of people that the array can transport… The transmission array is maintained every two years. Father had just maintained it half a year ago. It also has its own concealment; it should still be in perfect condition..."
"Alright… I understand." Colin nodded noncommittally, looking around and saying:
"Since the transmission array is definitely feasible, then we should not waste any more time. Now you need to devise a perfect plan to get the Lightning Pendant."
His words fell, and the captain's cabin fell silent for a moment.
The next second.
"Yes."
The three of them answered in unison.
Standing rigidly behind Anna, Old Jack paused before taking the lead to speak:
"The Yellow Potato fishing boat's trips out to sea typically last at least three days, and occasionally, when weather conditions are poor, we might even wait until the morning of the fourth day to return."
"But sometimes when the weather is really bad, we may return on the second day," the young man Ante added. "So, if we want to get the pendant as soon as possible, we could return to the island right now."
His heart was filled with anticipation, wishing he could immediately go back to the Pahama Islands and get the pendant in hand, returning to the familiar deserted island and the Wizard's civilized world!
But Anna's words quickly negated his suggestion.
"Everything is normal now, and returning too abruptly would be suspicious; we wouldn't have a way to explain it to the other sailors."
"But the longer we delay, the more likely it is that something unexpected will happen…" Ante argued.
Old Jack frowned, turning his head subconsciously to look at the Colin seated behind the captain's desk.
Colin folded his hands, resting his chin on them and spoke calmly after a pause:
"The sailors all know that Monk Lian boarded this ship. It's impossible for us to let them off now, so there's no need to worry about them anymore."
"Yes…" Ante replied in silence.
Among the three of them, he had the most contact with the sailors. Although they were all Divine Believers, like ordinary people, outside of their prayer times, they acted no different from anyone else.
Old Jack's brow furrowed slightly as he asked with confusion:
"But if these sailors can't return to shore, or if they even need to be disposed of, how should we explain that? Going out fishing is indeed very dangerous, but if all the sailors died... without encountering any natural disasters…"
"You encountered a natural disaster, or rather—an accident." Colin's expression remained unchanged as he gravely interjected,
"On your way back home, you encountered a danger that nearly resulted in the destruction of the ship and loss of lives."
"Only you—" he pointed at Old Jack and then at Anna, "Only you were fortunate enough to survive."
"And once back on the island, Old Jack, unwilling to accept the death of his own son, will set out to sea again with Anna the day after... or rather, the day he gets the pendant."
Old Jack and Anna exchanged glances upon hearing this and nodded.
Fishing was always a high-risk job; every couple of months, there would be a boat that wouldn't return... This was why Lian dared to make such a bold move.
So although Colin's plan was simple, it was also quite reasonable.
"Why am I the one staying behind..." Ante couldn't help but ask from the side, although no one paid him any attention.
"So, Sir, are you planning to deal with the sailors now?" Anna paused before asking. She added,
"We've just set sail for half a day now. If we return using the fishing boat's lifeboat, it will be much faster and with the wind in our favor, we should make it back to the Pahama Islands by midnight tonight."
"So, if we follow this plan, an 'accident' happening at this distance would be most suitable.
If it happened any farther, the lifeboat would be more difficult to maneuver, and as mere mortals without the protection of the divine idol, it would be hard to explain how we crossed such a vast distance."
"If we wait until the return journey, we'll be wasting time..."
"You're right, bring all those sailors over here."
Colin nodded and commanded gravely.
About two minutes later, all the sailors had been gathered outside the captain's cabin.
The next second, just as the sailors were bewildered, a deep red glow suddenly appeared above their heads.
The glow was not intense but remained firmly suspended above.
Colin, hidden in the shadows, swept his gaze over them, made sure all the sailors before him were Divine Believers and that all the Divine Believers on the ship were gathered here, and then he channeled his spiritual power.
A shallow mental shockwave formed instantly and fanned out towards the noisy sailors.
Thud.
Thud, thud, thud.
Like wind through wheat, the sailors collapsed to the floor one by one.
Meanwhile, Colin also left the window side of the captain's cabin and stepped out.
During the entire process, the divine idol located in the center of the deck showed no abnormalities—just as Anna and the others had said.
This so-called divine idol had only two functions: to collect faith and to provide some protection at night. Beyond that, it held no further divine aspects and was simply a standard instrument.
"Clean up the bodies... hmm, let me do it."
Colin retracted his gaze and spoke.
The next second, as if he had thought of something, he suddenly commanded,
"Ante, use the Sigh Blood Crystal to disguise as a believer."
He wanted to test if the Deep Red Marking Technique could detect the deception of the Sigh Blood Crystal.
After a moment, the test was over.
Colin continued with the plan—handling the corpses of the crew and the sloop.
He sighed slightly; the result was as expected, the Deep Red Marking Technique could not identify the disguise of the Sigh Blood Crystal.
His heart felt somewhat heavy…
In fact, even now, he still harbored a sliver of hope... hoping that the Wizard side had already seen through the deception of the Tree Elf Clan and were simply biding their time and playing along.
Although the test with the Deep Red Marking Technique didn't prove anything, it couldn't help but make him think of the Tree Elves...
'It seems the Deep Red Marking Technique needs to be prioritized for improvement... otherwise, not being able to distinguish friend from foe is far too dangerous.'
Colin thought to himself while watching the sloop behind him slowly sink.
By his side followed the young Ante.
At that moment, the youth was gazing worriedly at a spot not far ahead on the left.
There, a small sailboat was cutting through the waves, heading forward... They estimated that in half a day, when the sky turned completely dark, they would arrive—at the Pahama Islands.