The next day.
An island appeared ahead of the Black Knife.
The island was not large, merely a tiny dot on the map.
Hawkins knew this island. He had even once tried to raid one of the villages on it.
Pliskin Island was surrounded by waters rich in delicious shellfish prized by nobles. Hundreds of years ago, many fishermen had migrated here to cultivate these shellfish, and over time, two villages had gradually formed in the north and south.
The southern village was called Puli Village, while the northern one was called Jinsi Village.
The people of both villages were fiercely hardy. When Hawkins had attacked Puli Village, the raid had not even begun before Jinsi Village's villagers came rushing over with all kinds of weapons to help. Then the villagers of Puli Village also rose up with poles in hand and confronted Hawkins directly. In the end, wary of the sheer number of villagers from both settlements, Hawkins had no choice but to leave.
Whenever Hawkins thought of that memory now, he could not help laughing. The dignified Son of Pirates had actually been driven away by villagers from two villages. Yet he was also curious. Jinsi Village was several thousand meters from Puli Village, with a small forest between them. How had Jinsi Village learned that Puli Village was under pirate attack?
Fifteen minutes later, the Black Knife docked at a secluded beach, and several marines lowered the anchor into the sea.
"Captain, are we going to make a move against the people on this island?" Mark asked as he walked up behind Hawkins, looking at the cooking smoke in the distance.
Hawkins shook his head and smiled. "No. It's just been a long time since I last saw land, so I'm planning to take a walk around the island. If you're not interested, you can stay aboard."
In truth, Hawkins was very wealthy. Even if he went decades without plundering treasure, he could still live quite comfortably.
The Hawkins of the past had not been some crude brute. He had mapped out his life in meticulous detail. After turning thirty, he had planned to wash his hands of piracy, then find a remote island, buy a plot of land, build a luxurious manor, marry five wives, father eighteen children, and spend the rest of his life in leisure.
That was why Hawkins had not been like most pirates, who squandered money as desperately as they earned it. He had secretly saved his money. Those funds still belonged to Hawkins now, but Hawkins was no longer the Hawkins he had once been.
In the end, Mark decided to go ashore with Hawkins. Several marines controlled by Hawkins came ashore as well, tasked with going to Puli Village to buy daily necessities such as salt and oil.
When Mark stepped onto the beach, he could not help closing his eyes and sighing. "This is definitely the longest I've ever been away from land."
"How does it feel?" Hawkins followed him ashore and asked with a smile.
Mark tilted his head, looked at Hawkins, and smiled. "Not bad."
"Then let's go. We're heading to Jinsi Village," Hawkins said with a smile.
His appearance had changed drastically from before. Even those closest to him in the past might not recognize him. The villagers of Jinsi Village had only encountered him briefly before, so there was no way they could recognize him now.
Hawkins nodded in acknowledgment. "That's right. We're pirates who don't do our proper work. Do you really want to raid the poor villagers on this poor little island?"
"I just want to try being a villain." Mark casually plucked a flower from an unfamiliar plant beside him, sniffed it, tossed it away, and nodded.
Walking ahead, Hawkins analyzed, "That's a sign of lacking a sense of belonging. You've suddenly arrived in a strange place. There are no friends you know here, no family you care for, so you feel like you can do whatever you please. That isn't a good thing."
In his eyes, Mark was a young man who was both mature and innocent. He did not want Mark to indulge himself too much.
Holding fast to one's bottom line was never easy.
Hawkins had abandoned his own bottom line again and again. It was his endless life that had given him enough time to reflect, allowing him to pick it back up time after time.
"Captain, you really shouldn't be the one saying something like that. It feels far too strange," Mark could not help remarking.
Hawkins laughed. "Then what do you think I should say?"
"Obviously, you should support me in raiding the villagers—kill all the men and keep the women, that sort of thing. Aren't pirates supposed to be like that?" Mark replied.
Hawkins said regretfully, "If that's the kind of pirate you want to be, I'm afraid my ship can't help you fulfill that dream."
Though he did not mind inheriting Hawkins's identity as a pirate, he had no intention of continuing Hawkins's way of doing things. He had no interest whatsoever in plundering others. He was simply enjoying the pleasure of being human again.
"Sure enough, Captain, you don't resemble a pirate at all," Mark said helplessly. He had originally intended to spend three months experiencing a pirate's life, then kill Hawkins and wash his hands of it forever.
Walking ahead, Hawkins smiled. "Isn't that more interesting?"
Beyond the forest stood a suspension bridge, and on the other side was Jinsi Village.
When Hawkins and Mark reached the bridge, they stopped at the same time. Two villagers from Jinsi Village stood guard on the other side, seemingly not welcoming them across.
"Was it like this before?" Mark asked Hawkins beside him.
Hawkins shook his head. "The last time I came to this island was five years ago. Something may have happened in the meantime."
"Then should we force our way through?" Mark asked eagerly.
Hawkins rejected the idea. "Forget it. I'll gather some information."
His modifications to bacteria had been quite successful. He carried bacteria with him at all times, and wherever he went, he left behind bacteria to multiply. The sea breeze was currently blowing southward, and the bacteria had already drifted to Puli Village on the wind.
Without Hawkins's instruction, these bacteria were not deadly. They were used purely to gather information.
A moment later, Hawkins had collected enough intelligence and discovered that this matter had a little to do with him.
Because the two villages had joined forces to drive away the Blackblade Pirates five years ago, they had indeed enjoyed a honeymoon period. But since both villages depended for their livelihood on shellfish favored by nobles, business friction had been unavoidable. In the end, one side repaid kindness with hatred, while the other flaunted its favor and held it over them, until they completely fell out.
Especially in the past two years, friction between Puli Village and Jinsi Village had escalated. Villagers from Jinsi Village had even been beaten to death during conflicts. The two villages could no longer coexist peacefully.
After learning the situation, Hawkins turned around. "Looks like we can't visit Jinsi Village for the time being."
"Have we been exposed?" Mark asked in surprise.
Hawkins shook his head. Just as he was about to explain the situation between the two villages, his ears suddenly twitched, and he looked into the distance.
Several kilometers away, a wooden sailing ship was stopped on the sea. Several men and women stood on its deck. One enormous fat man held a huge meteor hammer in his hand, waiting for instructions from the woman beside him.
"Front right—yes, turn a little more to the right. Use eighty percent of your strength!"
The woman beside the fat man had long hair and many horrifying scars on her face. A Spider Ring was worn on her right index finger, and its pointer was aimed directly at Hawkins and Mark.
Having received the woman's instructions, the fat man immediately swung the meteor hammer in his hand. The hammer visibly turned red, then he hurled it with all his strength and roared, "You lowborn trash, all of you... blast into the sky!!!"
The meteor hammer broke free of its chain and flew straight toward Hawkins and Mark.