They All Ran Away

After all the crew had disembarked and entered the forest, Vice Captain Dick went to the bow and glanced toward the woods. He hesitated for a moment, then lowered a small boat from the ship's hold. He climbed aboard and quickly left.

His actions made it clear that Vice Captain Dick was running away.

Yes, Vice Captain Dick was running away. Many treasures had been stolen from the ship, including all the captain's favorites, and there was little chance of getting them back.

Once the boy slipped into the forest, finding him would be very, very difficult.

Without finding the boy, they couldn't get the treasures back. When that happened, the captain would surely fly into a rage. No one knew better than Dick how terrifying the captain was, because he had been the first to follow him.

Dick had followed the captain all this time and seen everything he did. If anyone dared displease him, he would kill them on the spot, whether they were his own men or outsiders. There were no exceptions.

What was more, his methods were vicious. Every one of his victims was tortured to death.

Dick had no desire to be tortured to death by the captain, so his only option now was to run, as far away as possible. That way, the captain wouldn't be able to find him, and he would be safe.

"Haha, I'm finally free! I spent every day on edge following that madman of a captain. Now that he's gone, I can finally escape!" Vice Captain Dick was thrilled.

He had first thought of running away a long time ago, after the captain had butchered one of his own crew. That incident had completely chilled his heart, and he worried the captain might do the same to him someday. So he had prepared to leave.

But he had never found the chance. The captain was powerful, and Dick worried that instead of escaping, he would be caught and brought back. If that happened, he would be finished.

This time, though, the captain had gone far away. It was a rare opportunity. Besides, something serious had already happened here, leaving Dick with no way out. So he had decided to flee this time.

As he watched the distance between himself and the ship grow, Dick became so excited that he couldn't help bursting into laughter.

A few minutes later, he abruptly stopped laughing, opened the throttle, and drove the small boat away at speed. Before long, he disappeared into the distance.

In the forest, the crew split into groups of three and ventured deep into the woods, searching for the little black cat and the boy.

They searched carefully, turning things over wherever they went to see whether anyone was hiding there. Only after making sure no one was hidden did they move on.

Though they searched eagerly, the forest was simply too vast. Even with several hundred men, they could cover only a small area, leaving a much larger expanse beyond their reach.

After searching for several hours, the crew saw the sky gradually darkening. With no other choice, they withdrew from the forest, planning to continue the search tomorrow.

The forest was full of wild beasts, as well as many nocturnal creatures. At night, their vision would be limited, and if they encountered those ferocious nocturnal creatures, they would be in trouble.

So they had no choice but to retreat.

After leaving the forest, they headed straight back to the ship, intending to report the results of their search to the vice captain.

But they searched the ship inside and out without finding a trace of him. It was as though he had vanished into thin air.

"Where's the vice captain? Where did he go?" The crew gathered at the bow, every one of them frowning in utter bewilderment.

The vice captain was the one they relied on. Without him, they had no idea what to do. If things went on like this until the captain returned, every one of them would be finished.

"He probably ran away," said a very young, delicate-looking man, stepping forward to face the others.

"Oh? What makes you think that?" someone asked, puzzled.

"The captain is ruthless, and the vice captain was the first to follow him. He knows the captain's character better than anyone. After something this serious, the captain will definitely go berserk when he gets back. The vice captain was in charge here after the captain left, and he failed to keep things in order. Instead, he let someone loot all the treasures. Do you think the captain would spare him? Absolutely not. The vice captain knows that if he doesn't run, he'll definitely lose his life when the captain returns."

The young man gave a cold smile. "So he tricked us all into leaving, then took a small boat and fled by himself."

"That makes sense. That bastard abandoned us! I'm furious!" After hearing the young man's explanation, everyone thought it over for a moment and nodded, finding it reasonable. Then they couldn't help cursing the vice captain. If he had been there, they would surely have rushed over and given him a good kicking.

"Then what should we do? Keep looking for that boy, or leave now?" a crewman asked.

It was a crucial question, and they had to make a choice now. Their chances of finding the boy were slim, and they definitely wouldn't complete their task before the captain returned. When that happened, the captain certainly wouldn't let them off lightly.

But if they stopped searching and left now, they would be doomed if they were unlucky enough to run into the captain.

"Personally, I think we should stop looking. With just our numbers, it's absolutely impossible to find that boy and a cat in such a vast forest," the delicate-looking young man said. "We're wasting our precious time. Rather than wait here to die, we'd be better off leaving now."

"Although we might run into the captain, the chances aren't high. As long as we head somewhere remote, we may not encounter him."

"That's true. I'm leaving," someone replied.

"Right, right. Stop looking and leave at once. If we wait until the captain gets back, we'll all be done for."

The crowd buzzed with discussion. Before long, more and more voices called for leaving, and even those who had been too afraid to leave immediately changed their minds.

"All right, in that case, let's get the ship moving. We'll leave together, and hurry! Otherwise, if the captain comes back, we won't be able to leave even if we want to," the delicate-looking young man said at once.

The crew nodded in agreement. Without further hesitation, they took their positions and sailed the ship away.

They had all been members of the same pirate crew, yet now every one of them had fled, betraying their captain. If word got out, people would probably laugh their heads off.