After disembarking from the submarine, Muda took two subordinates back to the speedboat and headed toward Ring Island.
They had stayed in Port Fries for too long. If they did not return to hand over their shift soon, they might arouse suspicion.
And before handing over, he needed to speak with the brothers taking the next shift and make suitable adjustments to the patrol zone.
He could not arrange something this significant in a single day. He needed enough time to prepare his subordinates mentally.
Recalling the conversation aboard the submarine, the subordinate standing beside him hesitated again and again before finally speaking.
"Sir..."
"What is it?"
"Are we... collaborating with the enemy?"
He was not the only one concerned about that question.
The patrolman in the cockpit also looked over toward the deck, waiting for his officer's answer.
Staring at the rolling waves in the distance with a complicated expression, Muda pondered for a long time before shaking his head and speaking firmly.
"No."
"But..." The sailor still looked hesitant, but when Muda turned to look at him this time, his gaze was much firmer.
"The real enemy is those people who, for their own ambitions, dragged us toward an abyss of eternal damnation. It is absolutely not those who would risk their own lives to pull us out of that abyss. They are different from those cultists from the Coast Province. They truly intend to end the wasteland on this planet. Perhaps that was why Mr. Sun Yuechi wrote that letter for them."
"We have never betrayed the survivors living in these waters. Not now, and never in the future."
The two sailors exchanged glances. Though their eyes still held confusion and uncertainty about the future, they felt somewhat better inside.
Whether this counted as betrayal or not,