From Robinson Crusoe

After interrogating people overnight and obtaining information about the scale of the Inca Empire's treasure, Chen Zhou, who had initially appeared very calm, began to feel uneasy.

If he weren't unable to leave the island's waters, he would have loved to personally take a boat there to dig for treasure; those chests of gold and strings of jewels sounded more tempting than anything else.

In this world, they can transform a group of rude sailors into nobles, into people of high status.

In the real world, in his 21st century, these treasures can play an even greater role.

With money, you can buy luxury houses and cars, eat the finest delicacies, enjoy the admiring glances of others, explore cutting-edge technologies, and become sworn brothers with the most influential people...

Chen Zhou is someone who rarely fantasizes about the life of the rich, but when he was about to possess a fortune worth tens or even hundreds of millions, he couldn't help but fantasize, even though that dreamlike life would not come for more than twenty years.

……

After immersing himself in the image of being embraced by gold and silver for a moment, Chen Zhou finally regained his senses and asked Juan how much of that enormous Inca treasure was still left on the island.

Juan's answer chilled Chen Zhou to the bone—

Kylian was a cunning and cautious man. He knew the nature of the sailors well, so when loading and burying the transshipment treasure, he did not first transport all the treasure to the island and then transport it from the island to Spain.

Each time a ship was loaded with treasure at a South American port, Kylian would prioritize sending about three-fifths of the treasure to the island, while the rest would be shipped directly back to Spain.

It is said that half of the other two-fifths of the treasure disappeared after it reached the shore, and everyone speculated that this part of the treasure was embezzled by Killian.

Rumor has it that Killian has a noblewoman mistress who helps him manage several businesses on land, including a plantation in Brazil, a ranch, a tavern, and some loan sharking.

Most of Kylian's treasure ended up in the hands of this noblewoman, since Kylian needed her to climb to a higher position.

Upon arriving in Spain and unloading the treasure, Kylian would purchase a large quantity of supplies. On his return to South America, he would unload some of the supplies onto a small island before heading back to South America to move the treasure to a temporary hiding place of their choice.

Juan said the treasure was hidden in a cave by the sea. The entrance was narrow, but the interior was very spacious. Most of the looted treasure was stored in the cave.

However, the waters around the cave are full of reefs, and only small boats familiar with the terrain can navigate through them. It would be difficult for a Spanish galleon like theirs to dock nearby.

Therefore, whenever the treasure was transported, the sailors had to carry empty boxes on foot to the cave overnight, put the treasure into the boxes, and then carry them back to the port.

There are many Spaniards operating at the border, and some of them are considered enemies of the Kylians.

Especially Monidez, a greedy and ruthless old bandit. He had close ties with the Spanish royal family and owned a fleet of seventeen galleons. Any treasure that caught his eye would eventually fall into his hands.

Kylian was terrified of Monidez. Before moving the treasure overnight, if he found that Monidez's fleet was also docked at the port, he would take his sailors inland under the pretense of buying spices or other local specialties, and then return with empty chests. At night, he would fill the empty chests and send them back to the ship.

Because of this cautious approach, the amount of treasure on the island has never been very large.

Moreover, whenever the buried treasure on the island reached a certain number of chests, Killian would transport it away directly to prevent the sailors on the island from hoarding it.

Juan said that Killian even had a spy on the island, but they had already sent that spy away.

The man went out to sea with the natives to search for someone and never returned.

Killian was furious when he heard the news, but he was a selfish man, and his anger was only because he had lost a reliable informant. As for the man's death, he didn't care at all.

……

Hearing this, Chen Zhou finally understood that the brown-haired man he had executed was actually a spy left on the island by Killian.

Spanish sailors are all thieves by nature; how could they resist keeping the treasure for themselves? They probably wanted to kill the brown-haired man a long time ago.

The indigenous tribe provided an opportunity, and they took advantage of the situation to put the brown-haired man on the canoe.

Looking back now, it's no wonder that the brown-haired guy only came to the island alone. It turns out that he had long been a thorn in the side of the sailors on the island. Even if he hadn't been sent to the island, he might have died in an "accident" at any time.

As for the Spanish retaliation, it was indeed a low-probability event, just as he had predicted.

A large merchant ship would not attack a target for the sake of an ordinary sailor unless that sailor possessed a secret of paramount importance, and clearly the brown-haired man was not that valuable.

Of course, while past precautions may have been unfounded, future precautions might not be so necessary.

Chen Zhou knew he would soon take away all the buried treasure on the small island, which was Captain Killian's lifeline. Once he understood the situation, he would definitely attack the large island.

This time, however, he had a strong ship, powerful cannons, plenty of manpower, and plenty of weapons, so he wasn't going to give "Captain Killian" any face.

……

The morning after the night trial, Sunday, after only four hours of rest, led the sailors to the island as the sun rose and the ship sounded its long whistle.

Juan, a reliable guide who had passed the "organization's" test, went to sea with the sailors.

While in the cell, Juan suspected that the ship didn't need sails to sail, and this time, by Sunday's side, he confirmed his guess.

Even without raising its sails, this massive, steel-built "monster" can still cut through the waves and roam the ocean with its familiar roar.

Moreover, its speed is in no way inferior to that of a sailboat. After a process similar to "accumulating energy", the speed of the large ship will become faster and faster, which is truly unbelievable.

Juan was very curious about what the strange rumbling thing below the deck was. He suspected it was a huge sea monster, or he thought it was some kind of machine.

However, Juan was not a craftsman, and in this era before the steam engine, his thinking could only turn to gunpowder.

Juan speculated that there must have been a row of huge cannons mounted on the bottom of the ship, and that several sailors would continuously load gunpowder barrels into the cannons and then ignite them while the ship was sailing.

The immense thrust generated by gunpowder enabled the ship to travel at high speeds, which is why it was constructed using steel.

Wooden hulls cannot withstand the power of gunpowder and are prone to catching fire, making them unsafe.

Of course, Juan's speculations could only remain in his mind. He was not allowed to leave Juan's sight on Sundays, nor would he be taken into the power room for a look.

In Juan's mind, how the ship moved remained a mystery.

……

Upon arriving on the island, Sunday did not immediately begin digging for treasure.

Firstly, the treasure is buried in a fixed location and won't run away, so there's no need to rush. Secondly, they don't have enough manpower; digging up the treasure piece by piece, carrying it to the shore, and transporting it to the Steelbone in small boats would take a lot of time.

Moreover, this time when they landed on the island, they were not only taking away treasures, but also various supplies left in the sailors' temporary settlement, including seasonings, wine, clothing, canvas and other resources that were scarce on the island.

Thirdly, on Sunday, he was still thinking about the large tribes that had been scattered on the island.

The chief of the large tribe, the one named Risobun, received the same treatment as the Spanish; he was locked in a concrete cell and is probably sleeping on the concrete floor right now.

Risobben's loyal men were almost all killed or wounded in yesterday's conflict.

A large number of the remaining people in the tribe were taken away, leaving those who were left with neither the ability to protect themselves nor the enmity with the surrounding tribes, putting them in a precarious situation.

Chen Zhou specifically instructed that people are a more precious resource than gold and silver, especially the adult labor force on the island.

In this world, with steamships and cannons, if you want money, you can simply plunder at sea or "borrow" from your neighbor, but people are different.

It takes at least fifteen or sixteen years for a usable laborer to grow from birth to working age, making each native in the archipelago extremely precious.

For Chen Zhou, the treasure would indeed be useful, but that would have to wait until the challenge was over and he returned to the modern world.

Currently, labor force remains the most needed resource on the Big Island, especially the indigenous people, who are like blank slates, without a clear belief or cultural "contamination." Chen Zhou can use education to forcibly imprint his own mark on them.

As for the Spanish, British, or Dutch, although they were smarter and more knowledgeable than the natives.

But it is precisely because they are smart that they cannot gain Chen Zhou's trust.

Knowing too much can lead to a possessiveness of knowledge, and coincidentally, the knowledge on the island is so groundbreaking that Chen Zhou doesn't want this technology, which is ahead of its time, to spread to the world too early.

He only saw himself as a butterfly, a butterfly flitting across the world, gently flapping its wings, rather than a hurricane that would shake the heavens and the earth.

From the moment he arrived in this world and began to encounter these unfamiliar things, Chen Zhou never considered this place to be an illusion or a game instance.

He hoped that after he left, the world would not fall into endless war and destruction because of the "Pandora's Box" he left behind.

Therefore, within the limits of his control, he will try to gain as much benefit as possible for himself, but he will not excessively pursue wealth and drag the whole world into war.

This is something he figured out early this morning.

Although he didn't expect the Time and Space Administration to actually exist when he replied "participate in the challenge," to be honest, he was indeed tempted by the so-called 72.

Now, let alone 720,000, even 72 million would be within easy reach. Chen Zhou couldn't even imagine how he would squander such a huge sum of money after returning to the modern world.

He recalled chatting with the older generation in his hometown. When they talked about those corrupt officials who had embezzled hundreds of millions or even billions of yuan, the old folks would always say, "What's the point of embezzling so much money? You can't spend it all. You have food, drink, a house, and a car. Isn't that a good life?"
Chen Zhou had never lived the life of the rich, and he used to feel that this was a regret. However, during the half-night he spent thinking in his office, he was somewhat glad that he was not rich.

Perhaps the more one possesses, the greater one's greed will become. Although he has never possessed wealth, he does not have such a strong desire for money.

At least for now, Chen Zhou is willing to exchange a 65-pound gold statue for ten years of Lai Fu's life. He hopes that this partner who has followed him from the very beginning can live on until he truly leaves this world.

……

Sunday is different from Chen Zhou.

After a difficult decision, Chen Zhou chose to give up the ruthless plunder of the world's wealth, but he never had any desire for money from the beginning.

The indigenous world operates solely on barter; currency is a completely foreign concept to them. This simple mindset is far more reliable than the Kylian's meticulous efforts to plant spies to monitor the sailors.

Chen Zhou had no worries that Sunday would embezzle his treasures, and Sunday remained as loyal as ever, handling important matters methodically.

Perhaps due to the island's isolation and infrequent communication between tribes, the large tribe suffered heavy losses yesterday, and other tribes have still not taken any action today.

The former center of the tribe was the residence of the tribe's best warriors, and the tribe's most secure shelter was built there.

Now that the chief has been captured, the native warriors are either dead or have fled, and the other natives who originally lived at the bottom of society have a new home and have moved into the small houses. One of the bolder ones even moved into the chief's room.

Sunday was happy to see the indigenous people living better lives.

However, another scene in the tribe enraged him—

Most of the indigenous warriors who were shot dead yesterday were taken back to their tribes by the indigenous people and became food for them.

More than a hundred corpses were piled up in a corner of the village, all naked, their skin stained with mud and blood, forming a small mountain that exuded an aura of death.

The sight was horrifying even to those accustomed to cannibalistic Sundays.

Juan, who had killed many Inca warriors, was a man of strong will. But when he saw the dismembered dead and smelled the strong stench of blood and entrails, his legs went weak and he leaned against a tree to vomit.

"Cannibalism" has always been an inviolable taboo in the education of the island, and Chen Zhou has never hidden his deep abhorrence of this behavior.

On Sundays, he followed Chen Zhou around like a son. He was influenced by what he saw and heard, and naturally he also loathed this behavior. He even often reflected on his past actions late at night.

Enraged, he led his sailors to drive all the people from the center of the tribe out, making them gather together and identify who was the mastermind behind the idea of ​​moving the corpses to eat.

Sunday Japan assumed that such an important decision should be made by someone of higher status, but to its surprise, the "mastermind" identified by the natives turned out to be a skinny boy.

The boy was awakened from his sleep. When he walked to the center of the tribe, he was still carrying a roasted human leg bone in his hand, and his dark skin was stained with congealed blood.

His eyes, glistening in the morning light, held only the desire for food and the fear of hunger.

Looking at the boy's distinct ribs, Sunday recalled how he was first rescued and Saturday.

Clutching his spear tightly, he was filled with rage but had no idea where to vent it.

"Should we blame the boy, or the island that survives by eating people?"

I think about it on Sunday.

He pressed his lips together, ultimately swallowing the words "Take him away and kill him," which turned into a heavy sigh. (End of Chapter)