Finding the Ship

Meanwhile, Luo Jun climbed over hills and mountains at noon, crossed over from the south slope of that big mountain, and arrived at the northwest slope. He climbed onto a big rock on the mountain and hid behind a short tree.

Using his telescopic sight, he observed the distant valley. Dense trees grew around the valley, making it very difficult to directly observe the river.

However, he could infer that there was a small river flowing there based on the boundaries between the trees.

Luo Jun did not intend to get close. Instead, he decided to keep observing here until he discovered their daily lives and determined their location before deciding whether to approach and investigate.

In fact, Luo Jun did not intend to confront them directly, let alone confront them indirectly. After all, he was the only one with combat ability. If they did not provoke him, he had no need to confront them.

Moreover, the intelligence disclosed by the observer revealed that there were other enemies hiding in the woods. If he fought with these people, the side that hid would benefit in the end.

In addition, Luo Jun did not believe the number of personnel stated by the observer.

He stated 33 people accurately in extreme pain. This number was not credible. Luo Jun did not even think those people lived by the river.

However, although he lied, Luo Jun could still deduce some core intelligence from his words.

Because when lying during interrogation, in order to make the interrogators believe, one must have some factual parts to form a bridge supporting the entire lie.

As a member from the special forces base, Luo Jun was well versed in interrogation and interpretation techniques.

The observer said 33 people. Often the number would be reduced by more than half, because he also wanted company on his way to death. Underestimating the enemy's number could lead to Luo Jun's death.

And saying they were by the river was often not by the river either, because claiming they were by the river was more convincing. 33 people must have adequate water and food sources.

It was logically convincing to the interrogator.

So Luo Jun believed the enemies could exceed 66 people!

If more than 66 people lived by the river, there would definitely be a lot of smoke and fire.

This was Luo Jun's purpose for this reconnaissance - to see a lot of smoke and fire and thus confirm the enemies' location.

But Luo Jun kept watch until 3 pm and still did not see any smoke and fire in the northeast direction.

With so many of them, it would be unrealistic for all to use smokeless stoves. Plus, their scouts looked truly like people living on a deserted island, very unkempt. Whereas the killed snipers and observers were well-dressed, even their hair waxed.

This was very strange.

Luo Jun was very unwilling to have made this trip in vain. So he did not intend to leave and instead decided to climb this tall mountain to get a broader view.

He now had a bold conjecture.

But he needed to confirm his guess before taking action. So he could not return to the shelter tonight.

He moved along the ridge to avoid his silhouette being seen moving atop the ridge against the sky.

After four hours, Luo Jun finally reached the summit. It was very windy and colder than the shelter. But with these clothes, Luo Jun did not fear the cold at all, though his ears were a bit uncomfortable from the wind.

There were few trees on the summit, mostly bushgrass, and if not for the steep slope, many rocks, and scattered trees, at first glance it looked like he was on a prairie.

The sun had sunk to the horizon, the ocean and sky blending together.

Overlooking the seaside, Luo Jun's gloomy mood improved slightly.

"Looks like I'll have to stand guard here tonight."

Luo Jun shook his head self-deprecatingly. He sat on the flat rock between two big boulders, drank a big gulp of water, then took out chocolate from his pocket and started eating.

Luo Jun had originally intended to give the chocolate to the little girl Li Shi to satisfy her craving. But thinking of his reconnaissance mission and needing calories, he kept it for himself and would give her whatever was left when he returned.

After eating, Luo Jun began observing the northwest seaside through his scope.

Because Luo Jun believed, with so many people coming to this island, they must have a big ship. Without a big ship, the mothership would not anchor near shore either.

At night, the lights on the mothership would easily expose their location.

If this was the case, Luo Jun felt it very necessary to cooperate with them to leave here. If unable to cooperate, they would have to fight.

Otherwise they would never be able to leave this island.

In addition to too many people, Luo Jun inferred the existence of a mothership because they came to the island to look for some metal. That metal was definitely not ordinary.

It was likely radioactive, which was why electronic devices near the island all failed.

Of course, Luo Jun could not fully believe his ramblings either. A metal or thing that disabled all electronics was too bizarre. Luo Jun only knew electromagnetic pulse bombs could damage electronics within a certain radius instantaneously when exploding. But such sustained disabling was unheard of!

Too many mysteries left Luo Jun unable to think further. He only wanted to quickly verify his first conjecture.

As night fell, the evening mist also gradually dissipated and the starlight became clear, visibility improving.

Luo Jun began observing intently with his scope.

Ten minutes later, Luo Jun finally saw flickering light appearing gradually near the coast, the light hidden behind trees. That light was definitely not a reflection of starlight, more like a swaying searchlight.

After careful observation, Luo Jun confirmed - it was a searchlight mounted on the bow of a ship!

"Damn! There really is a mothership!"

Luo Jun verified his first guess and was very excited, because once this guess was confirmed, his subsequent guesses were also likely valid.

Now he just didn't know how big the ship was, whether it could sail, and why their scouts looked so unkempt like savages.

For the latter, Luo Jun guessed those scouts were likely other survivors who had previously been adventurers or fishermen lost on the island, captured by the people on the ship, and forced to scout this dangerous island in exchange for food and clothes.

After all, winter was coming. To survive, the island survivors had to trade with them!

With this inference, investigating the rest would not be too difficult for Luo Jun.

He just needed to confirm whether they had found the location of the so-called metal, and whether they were transporting it. If the ship could not sail, how did they plan to leave!

These all needed investigation. Missing one useful piece of intelligence could cause them to miss the chance to leave the island.

Although making a small boat themselves was also a chance to leave, the risk was extremely high. Plus, with the various secrets on the island, it was highly likely it would become a nuclear blast site and be completely destroyed after the metal was transported away!

As a victim of war, Luo Jun had to make bold conjectures in that direction.

"Looks like I'll have to reconsider everything tomorrow."