From Robinson Crusoe

Just past noon, the clouds in the sky had already dispersed.

Although the sun was slightly tilted to the west, its light did not diminish in the slightest.

The port was bathed in bright sunlight, but unlike usual, the long wooden sunshade along the beach was crowded with islanders watching.

The departure of the Steelbone was big news on the island. Although Chen Zhou concealed the specific date of the mission, the islanders learned about the Steelbone's functions in advance through various means, including from Chen Zhou himself, from the very beginning of its construction.

Everyone from the elderly to children knew about the capture of the island and the defeat of the outsiders.

Therefore, when the Steelbone was not lingering in the near sea but instead sailed far away and had not returned for a long time, the islanders quickly received accurate information from relatives and friends who "knew the inside story"—

The Steelbone has begun its operation!

After finishing work in the afternoon, which should have been their personal rest time, they came to the dock one after another, estimating the time, chatting and looking at the sea, looking forward to the triumphant return of their big ship.

The wait didn't last long. With a long, drawn-out whistle, like the roar of some giant beast, the silhouette of the Steelbone, sails fully extended, appeared on the distant horizon.

Despite being too far away to see Sunday standing at the bow of the boat immediately, the islanders still cheered in unison.

The return of the Steelbone as scheduled signifies victory.

Although the islanders have been led by a leader who seems like a god since they arrived, and successes have been frequent, the successful return of the Steelbone has still stirred up great emotions among the islanders.

It is said that bouquets are gifts for the victors, so the islanders gathered many wildflowers from the forest, tied them into bouquets with tender vines, and waited for the sailors to return so they could personally deliver them.

However, the heat was more intense than people imagined. During the waiting period, the bouquets wilted and withered from the heat, no longer as fresh and beautiful as when they grew in the wild.

Some islanders looked at the gifts they had brought to celebrate their victory, and their faces showed a hint of embarrassment.

Such a bouquet is hardly presentable.

Some islanders have taken a different approach, preparing gifts such as brown sugar or chocolate. Although these gifts may melt due to the weather, it does not diminish their value.

Of course, apart from the "elite islanders" represented by zebras, even if the lower-class islanders wanted to give such a gift, they wouldn't be able to afford it.

……

At this crucial moment, which has garnered much attention from the islanders, the most key figure—

The island's leader, Chen Zhou, did not go to the scene in person. Instead, he stayed in his office on the second floor of the cement factory, drinking chilled juice and flipping through books.

He had no doubt that the operation would be successful.

His confidence stemmed from the superior performance of the Steelbone, the ship's weaponry, the training the sailors received, and the meticulously planned schedule.

If such a fully armed commando unit couldn't take down a mere few hundred natives and at most a few dozen Spaniards using arquebuses, it could only mean that the unit's leader was utterly incompetent.

Sunday is clearly not that kind of person.

Therefore, Chen Zhou only needed to stay in the office to avoid the scorching sun outside and enjoy the rare coolness without having to worry about anything else.

……

Just as Chen Zhou had predicted, under Sunday's command, the sailors easily captured the island without losing a single soldier.

When the hour hand of the clock inside the office pointed to 3, the sound of footsteps came from outside the office, followed by a knock on the door from Sunday.

After receiving permission, Sunday pushed open the door and entered the room.

Despite his calm demeanor in front of his subordinates after achieving a complete victory, a rare, uncontrollable joy appeared on his usually stern face when he was in front of Chen Zhou, who was like a father to him.

Seeing his tense expression, as if he wanted to laugh but was trying to hold it back, Chen Zhou put down his pen and couldn't help but laugh out loud first.

On Sunday, seeing the people he respected most laughing heartily about this, he couldn't help but laugh along a few times before reporting the details of the operation to Chen Zhou.

……

After returning to the island with a ship full of prisoners, he immediately contacted the guards who were waiting for him at the port.

The guards were not equipped with Chen rifles and could only be considered a police force. Most of their weapons were cold weapons, and only a few "police chiefs" had matchlock guns.

Although the guards' weapons cannot compare with those of the sailors on long voyages, their numbers are significantly greater.

With their help, none of the prisoners on board, whether natives or Spaniards, caused any trouble during the transport.

The indigenous people had temporary settlements, and the Spanish also had special prisons prepared for them.

There, they will be treated differently, and thus embark on different paths.

The indigenous people accepted the transformation, gradually integrated into the island, and began a new life.

Whether the Spanish sailors would survive and receive preferential treatment from Chen Zhou depended on what they could offer him.

Nearly seven years have passed since the challenge began, and Chen Zhou, through his own efforts and the help of a mysterious reward, has transformed the entire island.

From a barren wasteland, it is now filled with farmland and residential houses, even with neat stone-paved roads, factories, artisans, and children.

Although Chen Zhou may not be the one who put in the most physical effort, none of this would have happened without him.

The islanders, who had migrated from their native lands, gained everything they had ever dreamed of, yet Chen Zhou's challenge reward remained unchanged from its original form—

He only had precious metals scavenged from the stranded ship and a few luxury items that had been sent as mysterious rewards over the years.

These things combined certainly amounted to a considerable fortune, but whenever Chen Zhou thought about the enormous treasure plundered by the Spanish on a small island not far from him, he couldn't suppress his greed.

With wealth worth tens or even hundreds of millions readily available, let alone him, 99% of modern people would find it impossible to remain calm.

From the moment he received news of the treasure, Chen Zhou had been eagerly anticipating chests of gold and silver treasures being laid out before him.

Now, as Sunday returned with news of victory and Spanish prisoners, he finally saw a glimmer of hope—

It seems that all the wealth that the challenger can obtain during the challenge, as mentioned in the challenge rules, will belong to him.

……

On Sunday, he recounted the entire operation from beginning to end. When he talked about the indigenous woman who was given to the Spanish by the tribal chief, he deliberately mentioned that those people were proficient in both Spanish and the indigenous language, which could help them obtain intelligence.

Chen Zhou was worried about not being able to get accurate information from the Spanish because of the language barrier, but when he heard this, he almost sat up and exclaimed, "Heaven is helping me!"

Suppressing his excitement, he patted Sunday heavily on the shoulder and praised him, "Well done!"

Although Chen Zhou wanted to immediately call the "native translator" over to interrogate the Spaniard with him in the interrogation room, he couldn't be in such a hurry, whether as the leader or as a mentor and father figure.

Sunday and his men have just fought a very impressive battle. Regardless of whether they are tired or eager for a reward, they should be given sufficient attention.

Verbal praise, material rewards, and even a grand victory celebration banquet are all indispensable.

If those who perform meritorious service do not receive the rewards they deserve, even if they are the island's dictator with supreme power, the islanders will gradually stop respecting their orders. As the natives receive education, learn modern social skills, and become more like members of normal human society, they are no longer simple-minded animals.

No matter what, they are still human beings. Unlike the Spanish, Chen Zhou had basic respect for the natives from the very beginning.

……

On the evening of May 16, 1666, the islanders held a grand banquet on the beach.

The triumphant sailors, along with their leaders, attended the dinner on Sunday.

The young men, fresh from their victory, appeared somewhat reserved, standing like wooden poles in the sand, staring blankly at the burning campfire.

The young woman looked at the group of men who had already made a name for themselves on the sea, her eyes filled with tender affection.

The sailors were caught off guard when girls approached them, some even expressing their affections directly.

Unlike the middle-aged tribal members, although they were accustomed to the primal expression of sexual desire within their tribes, the education they received after arriving on the island instilled in them a different set of moral values.

This reflects traditional Chinese views on love and family, as well as the monogamous system instilled by Chen Zhou.

Thinking about the responsibilities they would have to bear after having a wife and children, some sailors knew they should refuse, but the human instinct for reproduction and the natural attraction between the sexes made it difficult for them to give up.

There were shy sailors, and there were also bold and passionate ones. When a girl came to them, they couldn't help but grab her waist and grope her, fueled by the joy of victory.

……

The stars twinkled, and firewood burned in the campfire, its flames flickering.

That night was filled with sparks of desire and drunken indulgence.

However, human joys and sorrows are not the same; while the islanders revel on the beach, they spend their first night on the island in prison.

An exceptionally long night.

……

To prevent the Spanish from escaping, Chen Zhou personally designed and built a prison cell that specifically used reinforced concrete.

Having watched The Count of Monte Cristo in his early years, as well as many TV series such as The Shawshank Redemption or Prison Break, Chen Zhou has always valued human wisdom, especially the wisdom of modern people.

A group of Spanish sailors were gathered together, and if they were in wooden cells, they could easily slip away if they weren't careful.

Reinforced concrete buildings do not have this concern, or rather, they can minimize the risk of prison break.

……

Havel crouched in the corner of the cell, a beam of moonlight shining through the window at the top of the wall behind him, casting a narrow patch of light on the ground.

Despite it being the dry season, the cramped room, whose construction method was unclear, felt rather cold and damp.

He stared at the grayish-white patch of light and tapped the ground with his finger.

The friction of his fingernails against the concrete floor gave Havel an extremely hard feeling, like some kind of rock.

With a sigh, Javier stood up and paced around the cell twice.

His small room was only three meters square and contained nothing but two earthenware buckets for holding excrement; there wasn't even a bed for him to rest in.

The floor and walls were exceptionally flat, with no trace of brickwork.

On the outer wall of the cell, about two meters above the ground, there was a window with a steel bar as thick as a thumb embedded in it, through which the moonlight shone in.

The entire cell was like a single, solid cube, imprisoning Havel within it.

The dim lighting in the cell, combined with the enclosed and cramped space, naturally created a strong sense of oppression.

Fortunately, Havel was the first "guest" in the prison, and the two latrines in his room were unused, so there was no odor, which meant the prisoner would suffer less.

……

After being taken to this room after disembarking, Havel did not eat or drink a drop of water.

He forced himself to sleep on the cement floor in the afternoon, but woke up hungry in the middle of the night.

His companions were imprisoned in the cell next to and across from him, but their view was blocked by thick walls, and they could not see anyone else at all.

Being alone in such a place, even with Havel's relatively resilient nature, was somewhat unbearable after enduring loneliness, silence, and hunger all at once.

She wanted to shout to communicate with her companions, but she was also worried that making a noise would attract a beating from the guards.

Although the steel cable on his wrist had been removed, the deep marks on his skin and the faint pain remained, reminding Havel that these islanders were no benevolent people.

Havel eventually gave up the idea of ​​making a sound. He first carefully observed the entire cell, tested the sturdiness of the building, and after confirming that he could not dig through the house, he turned his gaze to the window.

Then, he tiptoed to the door, pressed his ear against it, and listened to the sounds outside.

Once he was sure there were no guards patrolling outside the cell, he walked to the window and tried to jump up and grab the windowsill.

However, the windows in the prison cells were too high, and the nutrition in the diet of people in the 17th century was far less than that of modern people, and their height was also significantly different from that of modern people.

Even though Javier was considered relatively tall among sailors, he couldn't grab the window ledge by jumping.

However, there are always tools available for use in the room.

Havel had a sudden inspiration. He moved the two clay buckets to the window, stepped on the thick rims, and finally managed to grab the windowsill, casting his gaze outside the cell.

Although he never expected a successful escape from the beginning, Javier was still eager to learn about the outside world.

In this oppressive environment, what was most unbearable for him was not the pain or the hunger, but the obstructed view.

Even if clinging to the windowsill couldn't do anything, just being able to see the outside world instead of staring at this gray and white room would make him feel much better.

……

The island was bathed in a pale moonlight at night.

The location of the prison was originally a jungle, but the trees in the forest were all cut down to make room for the area.

Looking out the window, all that could be seen for more than 30 yards ahead was flat land, with nothing on the soil except for a few clumps of short grass.

Nevertheless, looking at the grass and observing the insects flitting among it is much more interesting than staring at the concrete.

Havel breathed a sigh of relief, and was about to look for anything else noteworthy when he suddenly saw a bright light shining from the dense forest outside the clearing, like some kind of miracle mentioned in mythology. (End of Chapter)