Chapter 107: The Trap

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Lin Xiaofeng glanced at the young man but said nothing.

“My name is Guoguo. What’s yours? What brings you here at this hour?” Guoguo asked curiously.

“Lin Xiaofeng,” Lin Xiaofeng replied, giving his name once before turning his gaze back toward the distant horizon, lost in thought.

“Lin Xiaofeng… That’s a lovely name! You look older than me, so I’ll call you Brother Xiaofeng. Brother Xiaofeng, are you waiting for someone? Were you captured and brought here too? You’ve been staring in that direction the whole time!”

When Lin Xiaofeng remained silent, Guoguo continued pressing him.

“Were you captured and brought here?” Lin Xiaofeng asked in return.

Guoguo shook his head. “No! I’ve been here since the day I was born! But a lot of the people who come to the island are brought here against their will. You must be one of them too!”

Lin Xiaofeng smiled without either admitting or denying it.

“I knew it! You must have been brought here. Otherwise, why would you come to the island at a time like this?” Guoguo said happily, convinced that he had guessed correctly.

“Have they brought many people here recently?” Lin Xiaofeng asked.

“I’m not entirely sure. I only heard about it from others. They said those people had been captured and brought here. It was probably about a year ago. A group of people suddenly arrived, claiming they wanted to develop this place. They brought in construction crews and built this city. But just as the city was nearing completion, they drove out the Baral people who had originally lived here and took over the island. After that, more and more people arrived. I know that many of them didn’t come willingly. They hardly ever speak…”

Guoguo poured out everything he knew in one breath.

Lin Xiaofeng had wanted to ask who exactly “they” were, and whether Guoguo knew why they were capturing people. But after reconsidering, he felt that asking so directly would seem too deliberate. Besides, the young man named Guoguo probably knew nothing about it.

Still, saying nothing at all would have seemed strange, so he casually remarked, “How do you know they didn’t come here willingly? I came here of my own accord.”

Guoguo stared at him in astonishment, unable to believe his ears. His eyes widened as he regarded the strange man before him. This was a deserted island far from the mainland. Guoguo himself was nearly going mad from being here—so how could anyone be foolish enough to come voluntarily?

Seeing the disbelief on Guoguo’s face, Lin Xiaofeng pointed toward the ship approaching in the distance.

“Look. Another boatload of people is coming.”

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The ship Lin Xiaofeng had pointed toward was the very one carrying Damin and Brother Long. It was bound for Chile in Latin America, transporting supplies to its final destination. The Ghost Island Archipelago and Easter Island were crucial supply stations along the route, and according to custom, the ship was supposed to stop here.

This time, however, there was an additional matter to deal with. Besides replenishing their supplies, they were also expected to find out what had happened on the island.

But Long and Damin had no time to think about any of those assignments. All they cared about was Lin Xiaofeng’s current situation—what had happened to him over the past few days, and whether he was safe.

Ever since the Ghost Island came into view, Damin and Brother Long had taken turns using the binoculars to observe the island. They knew there was little chance of actually spotting Lin Xiaofeng. But that was the way it was with brothers: they might say everything was fine, yet their hearts remained filled with worry.

The pier where the ship would dock and the place where Lin Xiaofeng had gone to clear his head were separated by a jutting peninsula. Thus, Long and Damin were unable to see Lin Xiaofeng waiting for them by the sea.

The moment the ship docked, they hurried down the gangplank, taking three steps in two. Without even pausing to adjust to the solid ground beneath their feet, they ran toward the city. They had to find Lin Xiaofeng before anyone else did.

Meanwhile, as the ship drew closer, Lin Xiaofeng had already determined approximately where it would dock and began running in that direction. Naturally, he did not head straight toward the pier in such an obvious manner. Instead, he ran to a secluded spot nearby and waited there for Brother Long and Damin.

When he saw Damin and Long running toward him, Lin Xiaofeng began discreetly signaling them. Damin and Long had just reached an intersection and were uncertain which way to go when they heard Lin Xiaofeng’s whistle. They looked in the direction of the sound and, sure enough, saw that rascal Lin Xiaofeng waving at them.

Brother Long rushed toward him. The moment they met, the two men embraced tightly.

“So it really is you, you little rascal! You snuck over here by yourself and caused a huge disaster. Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” Long scolded him, his voice tinged with anger.

Long was squeezing him so tightly that Lin Xiaofeng coughed several times, signaling for him to let go.

Zhang Xingmin glanced around. Fortunately, no one had noticed them. He pulled the two men aside to what appeared to be a safe corner, and they began discussing their next move.

“Discussing” was perhaps not quite the right word. They had already worked out most of their plan. This brief meeting was mainly for exchanging information.

The exact details of their conversation remained unknown. One thing, however, was certain: the three Falcon brothers unanimously believed that they had fallen into a trap laid by the enemy. They decided to use their wits to turn the enemy’s scheme against them and win back the upper hand.

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The meeting was extremely brief. Once the three men parted, they went their separate ways and behaved as though they had never met.

Lin Xiaofeng returned to the seaside, pretending to be out for a stroll, and found Guoguo, who still had not fully recovered from his surprise. Lin Xiaofeng had to make sure Guoguo did not grow suspicious—and, more importantly, that he would not tell anyone about what had happened. Lin Xiaofeng had left in such a hurry that he had forgotten to warn him. It should not yet be too late to remedy that oversight.

Damin and Brother Long walked in the opposite direction, toward the center of Ghost Island. Night had grown deeper, and fewer and fewer people remained active on the island. The streets appeared increasingly deserted.

Before long, the people who had disembarked from the ship spotted Zhang Xingmin and Yang Dalong wandering through the streets.

“So this is where you two were. We’ve been looking all over for you!” said a man who looked like an officer, greeting Damin and Long.

“We came down to take a look around and see whether we could find anything,” Damin quickly explained.

“It feels wonderful to have your feet firmly on solid ground again,” Long said, changing the subject.

“You two are looking for Lin Xiaofeng, aren’t you?” The officer was no fool. Ever since they had heard that something had happened to Lin Xiaofeng, the worried expressions on their faces had given them away.

“No! Of course not! Why would the two of us be looking for that traitor?”

“That’s right! If I ever catch him, I’ll beat him until he’s spitting teeth! After all the trust I placed in him!”

…

The two men exchanged several more meaningless remarks. Their message was simple enough: Lin Xiaofeng was a thoroughly rotten traitor, and they intended to sever all ties with him.

The officer, however, had no interest in their performance. He shook his head and walked away. Before leaving, he gave them another meaningful shake of the head.

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