From Robinson Crusoe

July 28, 1663, marked more than a year since the natives were captured, and was also four days before the island's second festival of 1663.

After a long period of preparation and nearly a month of intensive training, the three-person team was finally ready to set off before Chen Zhou's "birthday".

……

On the afternoon of the 28th, the entire beach was deserted.

The other indigenous people are working in the fields on the mountain. They have a lot of work to do today and may not be able to go home until it is completely dark.

This was arranged by Chen Zhou on Saturday, as he didn't want anyone other than the three-person team and Saturday to know about it.

The sunlight was fading, and the beach was shrouded in a slightly dim golden hue.

The wooden and stone walls cast shadows in the distance, and below the western cliff, a newly built sailboat was anchored, bobbing up and down with the tide.

Sunday, Kulu, and Kosu stood ramrod straight as they said goodbye to Chen Zhou.

All three were dressed in military green digital camouflage, wearing helmets, backpacks, and raincoats.

Although they were short and had not received formal military training, the three did not look as energetic as professional soldiers.

But clothes make the man, and as long as they put on these identical outfits, even if they didn't look like American soldiers, they still resembled Vietnamese veterans to some extent.

"Have you brought all your equipment?"

Looking at Sunday's determined gaze, Chen Zhou, like an old father worried about his child, asked for the umpteenth time.

……

"I've brought it."

Sunday pointed to his backpack.

The three carried roughly the same equipment, except that Sunday, the person Chen Zhou valued most, had slightly different equipment.

Kuru and Kosu brought multi-functional military knives, infrared night vision devices, a disassembled American recurve bow each, and 15 real feathered arrows each.

Meanwhile, Kosu, who was in charge of guiding the way, also brought professional instruments such as a compass and sextant to determine the direction. Despite his repeated statements that he was very familiar with the routes between the big island and the small island, Chen Zhou still insisted on bringing these things for him.

Kuru's backpack contained food and medicine, including very dense, unleavened buns, high-sugar chocolate, hemostatic agents, and disinfectant.

As the main combat force and the commander of a three-man squad, Sunday is best equipped.

A flintlock pistol was tucked into a secret compartment on the ship, specifically for Sundays.

In addition, on Sunday, he also brought Chen Zhou's "precious treasure" - the Chen Family 1662 rifle.

Compared to the version originally manufactured by Chen Zhou, the Chen-style rifle at this time had been improved.

Although Chen Zhou has not yet created bullet primers, he is already able to manufacture copper bullets with the help of two machine tools.

Compared to lead or wooden bullets, copper bullets have stronger penetration, greater stability, and greater accuracy. Chen Zhou made a total of more than thirty of them and handed them all over to Sunday.

If it weren't for the fact that there were still some natives on the island who needed a weapon for self-defense, Chen Zhou would have even considered giving the revolver to Sunday.

After all, what Sunday was doing was a major undertaking of territorial expansion. If the first operation succeeded, the island's population would continue to increase.

To increase the chances of success, Chen Zhou was willing to provide all the help he could.

……

In terms of weaponry, both the American recurve bow and the Chen rifle were powerful weapons capable of overwhelming the natives and even the Spanish.

Among melee weapons, the multi-functional military knife is clearly not suitable for direct combat.

However, Chen Zhou never intended for the three-person team to confront the native warriors head-on.

Their job was to infiltrate, capture, and evacuate. If it came to a real battle, three people who had only landed on the island would not be a match for them.

But there are always unexpected events. Since they had entered the natives' stronghold, no one could guarantee that there wouldn't be any unplanned conflicts. After much consideration, Chen Zhou decided to put bayonets on Kosu and Kulu.

As for Sunday, he still preferred his longsword, even though its material was far inferior to that of a bayonet, it was the most suitable for Sunday.

If someone with a gun is forced into close combat, they are probably at their wits' end.

In this regard, Chen Zhou did not insist on what weapon Sunday had to use, as long as he could grip the gun tightly and calmly aim and fire.

Putting aside the power of firearms, for the indigenous people, the loud gunshot itself was a weapon of intimidation.

……

"Yes, remember what I told you."

Chen Zhou's gaze drifted almost imperceptibly towards Kulu and Kosu.

He reminded Sunday that if things really came to a head, he should not be reckless and, if necessary, could abandon the two people, as long as he could return safely.

Sunday nodded, raised his wrist, looked at the time on his watch, and whispered.

"Time is up."

"Then let's set off! I wish you a successful mission."

Knowing it was getting late and worried that delaying would affect their island-landing time, Chen Zhou waved to the three-person team.

The three of them then knelt on one knee, bowed to him, turned around, stepped into the shallow water, weighed anchor, raised the sail, and sailed away into the distance as twilight fell.

……

Watching the sailboat sail away, Chen Zhou felt a mix of emotions he couldn't quite describe.

Although he knew very well that Sunday was very different from his modern peers, this native boy had experienced hardship, life-and-death struggles, and a hellish life.

But in his view, Sundays are no different from those of his younger relatives or even his own children.

This guy, who was so loyal to him and willing to go through fire and water for him, didn't actually receive much in return.

On the island, he had to work, study, and train. When it came to crucial matters, he had to shoulder heavy responsibilities with his thin shoulders. Sometimes Chen Zhou even felt that he was being too harsh on Sundays.

But what can the natives do when they are born in the 17th century? In that backward and barbaric era, most people have no choice.

Compared to children who have long since died of hunger, disease, or conflict, Sunday is perhaps fortunate enough.

……

The three-person team had no idea what their leader was thinking.

At this moment, they are controlling the sails, cutting through the waves, and moving forward on the azure sea.

As the team's eyes and ears, Kosu was the most focused. He took off his backpack and put it in the cabin, occasionally looking up at the sky and then at the compass in his hand.

The indigenous people rely heavily on the sun, moon, and stars to determine their location, and Kosu is no exception.

However, this period of study taught him how to use constellations to determine directions, and then, based on the directional information he knew, to deduce the location of the island.

This knowledge, combined with a compass, would prevent them from getting lost at sea.

While studying on the island, Kosu felt he had firmly memorized how to use a compass.

However, when it came to actually using it, his mind went blank. He fiddled with the compass, only able to see the red needle spinning around, but he lost all sense of direction.

……

The small boat with its sails raised has been sailing on the sea for a while now.

On Sunday, I sat at the bow of the boat, leaning against the side of the boat, and closed my eyes to rest.

The sounds of the wind billowing the sails and the surging sea were incessant. The ship rocked like a cradle, and the sounds were like a lullaby, making one feel sleepy.

However, on Sunday, he was preoccupied with the details of the operation and felt no sleepiness at all.

He waited for a long time, but Kosu didn't say anything to correct the course, and he couldn't help but wonder—

"Could it be that we've always been heading in the right direction?"

He then denied his speculation.

"It's impossible for such a coincidence. What on earth is Kosu up to?"

……

He suddenly opened his eyes and stood up on the ship. Sunday's steps were not affected by the ship's rocking at all, and he walked to Kosu's side.

"Are we heading in the right direction? Why aren't you adjusting the sails?"

Kosu was still fiddling with the compass in his hand with his head down. Hearing this, he raised his head and asked with a mournful face.

"Where is north?"

"Oh shit!"

Seeing Kosu's state, Sunday felt a surge of anger rising to his head, wishing he could kill Kosu and throw him into the sea to feed the fish.

He was fine in training, but he messed up in actual combat.

Knowing he was like this, I should have advised the "gods" to let the zebras follow along.

……

He snatched the compass from Kosu's hand and waited for the needle to stop before Sunday pointed out the direction to Kosu.

He then dared not conserve his energy any longer, so he stared intently at Kosu, asking him questions while helping him adjust his course.

Before he started, he had considered many possible failures, but he never thought that he would fail because he got lost.

As the leader of the squad, Sunday could not allow such a basic mistake to happen. He would rather die in battle against his own kind than accept such a defeat.

……

The leader has a basic understanding of all the details of the entire operation.

Before the operation, Kosu had told Chen Zhou and Saturday and Sunday about the island's exact location. Saturday and Chen Zhou even drew a rough map of the island's location based on his description.

While at sea and under pressure from the operation, Kosu only momentarily panicked. With Sunday's help, he quickly regained his composure.

By the time he calmed down, the sun had completely set.

The sky was cloudless, and stars hung in the night sky.

The sea was pitch black, with only faint glimmers of light reflected on the crests of the undulating waves.

It was so dark on the ship that the compass was almost invisible. Kosu looked up at the night sky, preparing to continue using the stars to guide him, when he saw Sunday pull a short stick out of his backpack.

He gently pressed the short stick, and it immediately emitted a bright yellow light.

The light was somewhat dim, not nearly as bright as the lights on the second floor of the factory, but it was enough to illuminate the compass and provide the three with a view.

Looking at the oddly shaped lamp in Sunday's hand, Kosu didn't say much, but just stared intently at the compass and silently adjusted the sail.

Of course, as he adjusted the sails, he was thinking—

The leader is really good to this kid; he even gave him this glowing artifact.

What he didn't know was that the "lamp" in Sunday's hand could not only emit light, but also make sound—

This is the Spark Lens that comes with the Ultraman suit. Its most basic function is to emit light. The real fun is when you press another button and the Spark Lens "sings" like sunlight shining through the darkness.

……

The indigenous people had never traveled at night; at most, they would set off at the crack of dawn to avoid the scorching morning sun.

For Kosu, this return to his old stomping grounds and raid on the tribe was quite a novel experience.

He made the best use of the knowledge he had learned in the tribe and the so-called "science" he had acquired from the chief, constantly correcting the course, adjusting the sails, and occasionally rowing.

The last of the three is Kuru.

Throughout the entire process, he remained silent, simply sitting in the cabin and watching Sunday and Kosu's every move.

If I hadn't happened to pass by him while walking around on the ship on Sunday, I probably would have thought that this guy hadn't boarded the ship at all.

Full of confidence before setting off, Sunday couldn't help but wonder when he was about to land on the island, thinking about Kosu's terrible performance and the taciturn Kulu. Could he really complete the mission smoothly with these two "oddballs" by his side?

……

Due to Kosu's initial oversight, the sailboat deviated from the correct course.

Fortunately, the error was discovered and corrected on Sunday, preventing them from getting lost in the vast ocean.

Nevertheless, some delay is unavoidable.

We were supposed to arrive at the island at 7 p.m., but because of Kosu's actions, it wasn't until 9 p.m. that Sunday, who was standing at the bow of the ship with a monocular telescope, was able to see the outline of the island.

Through Chen Zhou's education, Sunday had long understood just how vast the ocean was and how insignificant their island was relative to the entire Earth.

In this vast ocean, each island is exceptionally rare and cannot be found simply by wandering around.

Therefore, upon seeing the blurry, enormous shadow in the distance, he immediately concluded that the flight path had been successfully corrected.

Although they were late, they were not absent.

……

"Kosu, look, isn't this your island?"

He patted Kosu on the shoulder and handed him the monoculars on Sunday.

After receiving an affirmative answer, Sunday patted Kulu on the shoulder again.

"Tell me which part of the island your family lives in. Tell Kosu quickly, that's the only way we can hope to find your wife and children."

Also, quickly bring out the food. According to the plan, we need to replenish our energy and prepare for the operation.

Although Kulu remained motionless against the side of the boat, he was actually more anxious, more clear-headed, and more nervous than anyone else.

When Sunday's hand touched his shoulder, he immediately stood up like a taut spring.

After hearing the instructions, he quickly and calmly took off his backpack, took out high-calorie food and water, and divided them into three portions, placing them in front of Sunday, Kosu, and himself.

He then cleared his throat and, trying his best to speak in standard Mandarin, told Kosu exactly where his humble house was located on the island.

Although Kosu and Kuru were captured at the same time, the large tribe absorbed so many people in batches after its expansion that the two, who were in the middle and lowest levels, did not usually have much interaction.

Only after listening to Kulu's detailed account could Kosu determine the exact location of his house.

In fact, the plan Chen Zhou devised did not originally include finding Kulu's wife and children.

It's easy to capture a dozen or so natives on the outskirts of the area, but rescuing them with a specific purpose would be several levels more difficult.

Chen Zhou was afraid that Sunday might get him killed by helping Kulu, so he had already told him to consider things carefully within his capabilities.

The reason for asking on Sunday was to find out if there was any hope of rescuing Kuru's wife and children during this operation, as this would affect the subsequent route to the island.

……

Kuru understood this as well, and when he told Kosu about it, he repeatedly emphasized that his home was located near the coast, far from the center of the tribe, and was a relatively remote place.

As long as his wife and children are still living in that hut, there is absolutely no risk in rescuing them.

Moreover, he can personally persuade his wife and children, and his children will not resist or shout when they see him.

Kosu nodded repeatedly on this point, but remained noncommittal on Sunday.

he thought.

"Look at your current attire, how do you resemble a native at all?"

It would be strange if your wife and kids recognized you.

Once we get into the cabin, the best course of action is to knock them out and tie them up. Letting you talk to them will waste so much time.

However, he did not say this on Sunday.

At that moment, he had a steamed bun in one hand and chocolate in the other, chewing and swallowing with difficulty, and occasionally taking a sip of water to prevent choking. He had no time to pay attention to Kulu and Kosu.

Anyway, once we got ashore, we had to listen to him in everything.

How exactly to carry it out is not up to Kulu and Kosu. (End of Chapter)