Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

After Lin Yi spoke, everyone's eyes turned to Redbeard.

Those who have spent a long time on this sea know that the rotation of the treasures on Terror Island only happens between the three major pirate crews, and this time, it just so happens to be Redbeard's turn.

In other words, the token that allows someone to reach Terror Island is currently on this man with a fiery red beard.

Redbeard felt those gazes falling on him—some curious, some gloating, and some simply there for the spectacle.

He took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the wall.

He walked slowly, and when he reached Lin Yi, he stopped and took out a long, narrow wooden box from his pocket.

The wooden box was about the length of an adult's forearm. It was completely black and had no decorations on its surface. Only a layer of dark red wax mud was sealed in the gap of the lid, with a blurry mark pressed on it.

Redbeard held the wooden box, his hands trembling slightly.

It's not fear, it's reluctance.

He kept this thing in his hands for three whole years, and he studied it countless times.

He knew this thing was a key, a key to Terror Island, but he wasn't qualified to use it, nor did he have the courage.

"Sir, this is a nautical chart pointing to Terror Island. This is the only one available in this rotation."

He placed the wooden box on the table in front of Lin Yi, withdrew both hands, took half a step back, and stood with his hands at his sides.

His dark face was expressionless, but there was a hint of regret deep in his eyes that was hard to hide.

Lin Yi glanced at him and reached out to pick up the wooden box.

The moment my fingertip touched the lid, the sealing wax cracked silently, and dark red fragments fell from the edge of the lid, scattering into a small pile of powder on the table.

Inside lay a roll of parchment, yellowed in color, with badly worn edges, and in some places the creases were so deep they were almost torn.

The surface of the parchment has a faint oily sheen, a mark left from countless touches.

Lin Yi took out the parchment and unfolded it.

The chart drawn on the paper was not an ordinary nautical chart.

There is no coastline, no island markers, no ocean current direction, only a thick expanse of ink, stretching from the upper left corner of the paper to the lower right corner, like a solidified darkness.

In the center of the ink-black canvas was a faint dot of light. The dot was not painted on, but rather a kind of luminescent pigment that shimmered slightly in the dim room, like a lighthouse in the deep sea.

The position of the light spot is constantly changing.

It wasn't Lin Yi's imagination; it was really moving, like a living thing.

To be honest, if Lin Yi hadn't established a good relationship with the sea tribe as soon as he landed, finding Terror Island wouldn't have been so easy. After all, a moving island is definitely not a simple territory.

The notification sound of the Reincarnation Paradise rang in Lin Yi's ears.

[Hint: The Hunter has obtained the Soul of the Raging Sea.]

【Soul Forged in the Raging Sea】

Origin: Viking Sea, Terror Island (Exclusive)
Quality: Holy Spirit level
Category: Scroll/Trial Item
Durability: 1/1
Prerequisites: Willpower 83 or higher, Soul Strength 100 or higher.

Equipment Effect 1: After the hunter arrives at Terror Island, he can use this certificate to perform the "Soul Refinement of the Raging Sea".

Rating: 972 points (Holy Spirit level items have a rating of 700-1000 points)
Synopsis: This is a trial for the brave; there is only one chance in 15 years.

Selling price: Soul Coins (Tier 7) × 35.

The value of this item was much higher than Lin Yi had anticipated.

Based on Paradise Coins, this thing is worth over five million.

Moreover, the purchase price in the Samsara Paradise is always ridiculously low. Apart from a few special items such as Black Maple Tree or Phoenix Sun Tree, most items are not very valuable in the Samsara Paradise's assessment, especially equipment and skill scrolls, since the Samsara Paradise can produce these things itself.

Even so, this thing still has a score of 972 points, only 28 points away from the perfect score of Holy Spirit level.

According to Lin Yi's estimate, this skill trial is worth about 400 soul coins, which is already a considerable fortune.

He put it into his storage space, and when he looked up, his gaze shifted from the red-bearded man to Agati standing to the side.

Agati felt that gaze and his body stiffened slightly.

Her hand holding the teapot paused in mid-air for less than a second before she casually placed it back on the small round table, her movements still elegant and composed.

But her heart was beating faster than usual, and she could feel her ears burning.

She had indeed thought things through very thoroughly when she planned this. By sending Lin Yi and the others to deal with the Bone Sheep, she wouldn't lose out regardless of who won or lost.

If Lin Yi and his group win, she will take the opportunity to bring up the matter of Terror Island and let them deal with Redbeard.

Redbeard has a token; if you want the items on Thriller Bark, you have to deal with Redbeard.

Regardless of how the negotiations go, she can maneuver between the two sides and win both sides.

But who knew so many things would happen next?

The bone sheep died so quickly that she didn't have time to prepare at all.

That old fox with the red beard was even more slippery; he surrendered without even meeting her and handed over the token.

Agati felt a pang of sadness, but dared not show it on his face.

Lin Yi withdrew his gaze and looked back at the red-bearded man.

Redbeard met his gaze, and a bitter smile appeared on his dark face.

He knew what Lin Yi meant by that glance—Agathe's thoughts were impossible for others to hide.

But he didn't care about any of that. All he wanted now was for these killing gods to know that he, Redbeard, was there to cooperate sincerely, not to play tricks.

“Sir.” He took half a step forward, his voice low, “There are quite a few people eyeing this thing lately.”

“Over the past few months, people have been infiltrating my territory one after another. They don’t seem to be here to cause trouble, but rather to scout the area. My men have captured a few, but we couldn’t get any information out of them, except that they were looking for the location of Terror Island.”

"Over a hundred people have already died on my side because of this godforsaken island. Those guys who appeared out of nowhere are killing each other, and nobody knows what they're planning to do."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yi exchanged a glance with Su Xiao.

Those people were not pirates, nor were they spies of the kingdom; they were outsiders like them.

The contestants in this round of the battle for supremacy are not just a few of them. Those from other paradises and those sent by various forces in the void are all now eyeing the same target.

Terror Island is the end of the third round, a place everyone must reach.

But those are just the basic requirements. The truly valuable things are the trials hidden on the island, and the opportunities that can transform a person.

The scroll in Redbeard's hand is the key to opening that door.

And this key is now in Lin Yi's hands.

Lin Yi's gaze swept across the room.

The representatives were still standing by the wall, heads bowed, not daring to breathe.

Their expressions seemed honest, but who knows if anyone among them had colluded with the outsiders, or if anyone had been paid to keep an eye on things here.

He turned his gaze to Mond sitting beside him.

Mond was leaning back in his chair, picking at his nails with utter boredom.

He felt Lin Yi's gaze, raised his head, and a look of confusion appeared on his rugged face.

Lin Yi didn't speak, but simply tilted his head slightly towards the window.

Mond paused for a moment, then grinned.

He stood up from his chair, stretched his shoulders, and his bones cracked with a series of popping sounds.

He turned and walked toward the door, his steps heavy and thumping on the floor.

As he reached the doorway, he punched through the wall and looked down at Shangyue, who was sunbathing below.

"Aren't you coming?" Shangyue raised her eyelids and glanced at him, but didn't move.

Mond didn't care and pushed open the door to go out.

Baha flew off Su Xiao's shoulder and landed on Mond's shoulder. The man and the eagle disappeared into the corridor outside the door.

The representatives standing by the wall didn't know what was happening, but none of them dared to ask.

They just stood there, staring at their toes, their ears perked up, trying to catch every sound coming from the corridor.

About ten minutes later.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor, a sound of someone dragging something.

The door was pushed open.

Mond was the first to walk in.

He was holding a man by the back of his collar. The man was about thirty years old, dressed in ordinary coarse cloth clothes, his face was bruised and swollen, and there was blood at the corner of his mouth. He was being dragged on the ground like a dead dog.

Baha flew in from outside the door, carrying a small cloth bag in its claws. It landed on Su Xiao's shoulder and threw the bag onto the table with a dull thud.

Shangyue followed Mondstadt in.

Her hands were clean, without any blood or even dust.

But the people behind her weren't so lucky.

Behind Shangyue were three men, or more accurately, three men who were tied up.

Everyone had injuries on their faces, and one of them had his left arm hanging at an unnatural angle at his side, clearly broken.

They were tied up and dragged into the room by Shangyue, staggering and kneeling on the floor, their bodies trembling, but they dared not raise their heads.

Redbeard's pupils contracted sharply when he saw the faces of those men.

He recognized one of them, the one-armed fellow, who had been a sailor in his fleet three days ago. He was efficient, quiet, and never caused trouble.

He thought he was just an ordinary crew member, but now he realizes that the person had come for the nautical chart from the very beginning.

Turtel also recognized the other two.

He was a regular on Turtle Island, coming every few days to resupply. He was generous and never ran up a tab.

He even treated these people to drinks, calling them brothers and exchanging toasts.

Looking back now, I realize that when people were drinking with him, their eyes kept glancing towards that small building in the center of the island.

Mond threw the person in his hand to the ground, clapped his hands, and walked back to his seat.

"That's all. There were a few more lurking outside, but they ran fast and we couldn't catch them."

His tone was nonchalant, as if he were saying that the fish at the market today wasn't very fresh.

But the injuries on the people on the ground were enough to prove what had happened in those ten minutes.

Baha flew off Su Xiao's shoulder, landed on the table, and nudged the small cloth bag with its paw.

The cloth bag was opened to reveal its contents—a few gold coins, a simple hand-drawn nautical chart, and a note covered in writing.

Su Xiao reached out and picked up the note, glanced at it, and handed it to Lin Yi.

The handwriting on the note was messy, as if it had been written in a hurry.

The message is very simple, just a few lines: "Target confirmed, scroll in Redbeard's possession, Turtle Island's defenses as shown in the image, it is recommended to make your move after Redbeard leaves the island."

There was no name at the end, only a symbol.

Lin Yi didn't recognize the symbol, but he knew what it represented.

This was the work of one of the contestants, and not just one, but a group of them.

They had a clear division of labor: some kept an eye on Redbeard, some on Turtle Island, some were responsible for passing on intelligence, and some were responsible for taking action.

If Redbeard hadn't been terrified and handed over the scroll, he would have been surrounded and killed when he left the island.

Mond looked at the people on the ground and suddenly spoke.

"These few good-for-nothings dare to steal things?"

His tone was full of disdain, but Lin Yi could tell that he was acting.

These people are certainly not useless. They were able to infiltrate Redbeard's fleet, remain hidden on Turtle Island for so long without being discovered, and withstand Mondstadt and Twilight's attacks for ten minutes before being captured. Any one of these people would be a formidable character if they were outside.

They were just unlucky; they ran into the strongest group in this competition.

Mond walked over, squatted down, pinched the chin of the one-armed man, and lifted his face.

“Tell me, who sent you?”

The man gritted his teeth and remained silent.

His lips were trembling, and the pain from his severed arm contorted his face, but he refused to speak.

Mond wasn't in a hurry; he let go of his hand and patted his face.

"The bones are quite strong."

He stood up and looked at Lin Yi.

"Doctor, what should we do with these?"

Lin Yi's gaze swept over those people, and he raised his hand and waved towards the door.

Mond understood what he meant.

He picked up those people, one in each hand, as easily as lifting chicks.

The men struggled a few times, but Mond's grip was incredibly strong; their strength was no match for him.

Shangyue followed Mond out of the room and closed the door behind her.

The moment the door closed, a few muffled thuds echoed down the corridor, then it fell completely silent.

The heads of the people in the room bowed even lower.

Redbeard stood by the wall, his gaze fixed on the doorway, pondering something else.

If he hadn't handed over the scroll today, if he had been a step too late, would those people have made a move on his fleet, would they have taken his life when he wasn't looking?

Thinking of this, a cold sweat broke out on his back.

The representatives didn't dare to utter a sound.

When they arrived, some people did indeed have ulterior motives.

I want to see what these killers are all about, I want to find out their background, and I want to get some benefits out of it.

I don't want to think about anything else now, I just want to leave this island as soon as possible, go back to my own territory, and stay here obediently.

The bodies of those people still lay in the corridor, blood seeping in from under the door, leaving a thin line on the dark red floor.

No one dared to look twice, and no one even dared to turn their head in that direction.

Lin Yi sat in the chair, his gaze sweeping over the heads hanging low in the room.

Redbeard stood at the front, his face pale, his forehead covered in cold sweat, and his intact hand trembling slightly at his side.

His two trusted confidants behind him were in no better shape; their legs were trembling, but they managed to stay upright.

Foreign Secretary Hales stood next to the red-bearded man, his lips trembling.

The five gift boxes in his hands were soaked with sweat; the ribbons along the edges of the boxes were wet and crumpled, clinging to the surface.

Lin Yi felt the intimidation had worked enough; now it was time to reap the rewards from them. (End of Chapter)