Petru was bound hand and foot and thrown into a dark room. His clothes had been stripped off, leaving him without even underwear. Rough ropes made of some kind of vine were tied to his flesh, making him extremely itchy.
The house was built of wood, but the ground was hard and dry. The gaps between the wooden stakes were sealed with mud and thatch, and there was a small window in the wall. He was standing near the window and could see the open space outside, which looked like a yard. Although there was no yard wall, it was surrounded by wooden houses of varying heights.
The door to the house was open, and a savage guarding him was sitting on the ground, fiddling with a military dagger. The dagger easily sliced through a rope as thick as a thumb. The savage, clearly unaware of how sharp the blade was, used too much force and the blade nearly sliced his own face. Startled, he looked up and glared fiercely at Petru, then cautiously blew on the blade.
Apart from the knife, all of Petru's weapons were taken by the old man with the scepter.
Thinking of the old man, Petru still felt lingering fear. He had never seen such terrifying Mental Power, overwhelming and surging, the mental pressure alone was enough to make one want to kneel down in worship.
He still feels a lingering fear. These savages were cannibals; he had personally witnessed a half-eaten, roasted corpse in the forest. When he was captured, he thought his fate was sealed.
Fortunately, the Crow and the cat shielded him, giving him time to throw the grenade. The grenade's power shocked the savage and piqued the old man's interest in this extremely powerful weapon, preventing him from killing him immediately.
The savages accidentally discharged the gun several times while playing with it, killing one and injuring several others. This instilled in them a fear of guns, and their gazes towards Petru became even more vicious.
Last night, he was hypnotized by the old man and had no ability to resist. In his dream, he demonstrated how to use all the weapons, including those he hadn't brought from the ship.
When he woke up, he had nothing left on his body except for a tightly bound rope.
He secretly rejoiced; thankfully, he still had a boat, and thankfully, there were many heavy weapons on it. The old man didn't say it in his dream, but he knew he wanted that boat. Otherwise, he would probably have become the savages' midnight snack last night.
Several shouts of savages came from outside the window. The door of the house opposite the courtyard creaked open, and two savages came out carrying a naked woman.
They crossed the courtyard and went into the wooden house next to Petru.
The wooden walls weren't very soundproof; rhythmic vibrations and strange noises came from next door, like someone repeatedly banging on the wall. Then, Petru heard a man's heavy breathing and a woman's moans.
The savage playing with his knife at the door also heard the noise, stood up, made a shrug at Petru, and then grinned evilly.
After a while, the sounds stopped, and the two savages came out of the wooden house, crossed the yard, and went elsewhere.
The savage at the door put down his knife, looked around for a while, glared fiercely at Petru as if to warn him, and then strode into the house next door.
That sound started coming from next door again.
Petru saw the woman last night. After he was hypnotized and told how to use the weapon, the old man held a bonfire party in the yard. They probably didn't know that the guns had a limited supply of bullets, and they used the automatic rifles like fireworks, firing off a bunch of bullets until one magazine was empty.
So they dragged Petru out, seemingly convinced he'd deceived them and wanted to tear him to pieces. To avoid being roasted alive, Petru taught them how to change magazines.
After they changed their magazines, they started firing again, emptying the remaining magazines, which pained Petru to watch.
At this moment, they pulled the woman out and threw her onto a haystack by the fire. The old man began to walk around the fire with his eyes closed, pointing his staff randomly. When he stopped, the staff was pointing at a strong, savage man. The man, as if he had received a reward, excitedly stood up and pounced on the woman on the haystack.
The old man continued walking in this manner, and whoever his scepter pointed to would walk towards the haystack. There were also women among the savages, and if the scepter pointed to a woman, the people would laugh, and the woman would stand up, walk to the haystack, lie down, and wait for the next man to come.
However, the female savage only needed to have intercourse with a man once to pass the test and return to her seat, while the female slave remained lying on the haystack, without even the right to rest.
The old man continued walking around the fire, and pointed his scepter again, this time aiming it squarely at Petru's forehead.
The courtyard suddenly fell silent. Even the old man himself seemed surprised by the coincidence and was stunned. Everyone was at a loss for what to do and looked at him.
The old man mumbled something, and then a savage came over, untied the ropes binding Petru, dragged him to the haystack, gave him a hard shove, and kicked him in the buttocks.
Petru dared not resist, lost his balance, and fell onto the woman. Looking at the woman beneath him, he was momentarily at a loss for what to do.
The woman's hair was disheveled, and her pale face was covered with bits of grass. By the firelight, Petru could see her features clearly; they were distinctly different from those of the savages, clearly indicating they were not of the same race.
The woman wasn't particularly beautiful, and she was clearly quite old, not a young girl. But her skin was exceptionally good; although it was covered in bruises, it was still smooth to the touch, a hundred times more delicate than those rough, wild women. This was probably what attracted the wild men the most.
The courtyard was eerily quiet, with the savages watching them. Petru felt like he was being pricked by thorns, his whole body incredibly uncomfortable. He dared not get up, fearing that if he displeased the savages, he would be roasted and eaten. But he also couldn't bear to do anything to the woman beneath him; in reality, under these circumstances, he couldn't do anything anyway, because his body wouldn't react at all.
"Come on, do what you're supposed to do. If you don't, they'll kill you!" the woman suddenly said.
Petru was startled. "You... who are you? How do you speak English?"
The woman said, "My name is Larry Yeg, and I'm an archaeologist. They all call me Mrs. Larry."
"Oh, Mrs. Larry... you?" Petru didn't know what to say.
Mrs. Larry said, "Are you trying to say, 'How could I have survived after they've treated me like this?'"
Petru did not deny this. He felt both pity and contempt for the woman beneath him. In his view, it was better to die than to live such a hopeless and painful life. He believed that if a person was determined to die, there would always be many ways. No one could stop a person who wanted to die from doing so, except that person himself.
Mrs. Larry said, "I've also thought about dying. Choosing death is easy, but once you're dead, there's no value. Only by living can you think, and the living are more worthy of respect, aren't they?"
Petru was unsure how to judge the lady's words. Was it an excuse to cling to life, or did she possess immense courage that transcended life and death? But if it was truly her courage, where did it come from?
"I'm an archaeologist. In my eyes, the changing of the world is but a fleeting moment in the eternal universe." Mrs. Larry looked up at the sky, where not a single star shone. "We are all grains of sand in this universe. The human body is so fragile and insignificant; only the spirit is immortal! The meaning of life is to let the spirit shine with its due brilliance!"
The night was as black as ink, with no stars in the sky. The firewood crackled in the bonfire, and the firelight illuminated Mrs. Larry's face, making it appear red.
Surrounded by a group of savages, Petru, naked, had a woman beneath him who had been defiled beyond recognition. This woman, like a philosophy professor lecturing in class, spoke in his ear about the spirit of the universe and the meaning of life.
He couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine and his hair stand on end, wondering if he was still in someone's dream.
"But madam..." Petru didn't know how to put it, "Living like this is too painful!"
"Pain is merely a neural response of the brain." Mrs. Larry's lips were cracked, her voice dry, yet her tone was gentle. "All great people have experienced suffering; suffering is the cradle of human civilization. If I can contribute even the smallest amount to the progress of human civilization, I am willing to sacrifice myself to suffering!"
Petru was speechless. In front of this woman, he felt like a lowly insect. He couldn't understand what contribution Mrs. Larry could make to human civilization by living like this.
"What's your name?" the lady asked.
My name is Petru.
How did you end up on this island?
"We're here to find..." Petru suddenly remembered something, "I know, madam, aren't you from the Discovery 'Exploration'?"
"Yes! Could you be...?" Mrs. Larry's eyes lit up. "Have you seen Alice? She's a beautiful girl!"
"I guess he was rescued by my companions." Petru didn't know where Alice was; he only said this to comfort Mrs. Larry.
"Oh, that's wonderful! God bless!" Mrs. Larry seemed a little excited. "Tell me, how many people did you save?"
She's already tormented herself like this, and she's still thinking about others. Petru really doesn't know what to say.
"Maybe two or three, I'll have to ask my friends. Don't worry, they'll come to rescue us." He sounded very unsure when he said this.
Mrs. Larry realized what was going on and said, "Don't worry about me. If you have the chance, try to escape as soon as possible. Food is scarce on the island, and all the captives will be eaten. The females might be used as sex toys to prolong their lives."
The savage who had been watching them suddenly started yelling and shouting, and the quiet courtyard began to become noisy.
" Petru— " Mrs. Larry looked at him, her eyes full of encouragement, "These savages are getting impatient. You have to get moving; you know what they want you to do."
"But..." Petru certainly knew what the savage wanted him to do, but how could he possibly do it?
"This is a very primitive people who believe in ancient oracles. The fact that you were touched by the shaman's staff means you've been chosen by the gods to do this. You must complete it, or you will blaspheme their gods, and they will kill you in extremely cruel ways! Listen—"
Mrs. Larry gestured for him to listen to the savages' noisy chatter. "They're discussing whether to roast you and eat you, or tie you to a fire tree and offer you to the gods."
"My God, you can understand them?" Petru exclaimed in surprise.
Mrs. Larry said, "I am an archaeologist and a linguist. I am interested in the writing systems and languages of ancient civilizations around the world, including the Sumer civilization. I have also studied animal languages, such as the characteristics of chimpanzee speech."
After I was captured, they tortured and abused my body every day, but it also exposed me to many things related to the island, including their language. I analyzed the characteristics of their language from their speech and can now understand most of it. I also saw some symbols that looked like writing in the old man's house and on the scepter. I can't yet determine if they belong to their writing system, but this suggests that the race on this island may not have a single origin, but rather branched off from another ancient civilization.
Petru was stunned. What kind of woman was she! In such a harsh living environment, enduring immense physical and mental torment every day, she was still studying the language of the savages and contemplating the origins of civilization.
He was beginning to understand the meaning of life that his wife had spoken of.
The savages finally couldn't wait any longer. One of them picked up a thorny vine, walked over, and whipped Petru hard across Petru back, yelling loudly.
Petru gritted his teeth against the excruciating pain shooting through his back, frowned, and gasped for breath.
Mrs. Larry said, "Don't hesitate, it's okay, just do as they ask!"
Petru gritted his teeth, grasped Mrs. Larry's breasts, which were already distorted from being grabbed, and slowly moved his body against hers. He felt that Mrs. Larry's lower body was sticky, just like the blood gushing from his heart at that moment.
The savage's whip continued to lash, but Petru's inner pain far surpassed the physical agony.
Mrs. Larry saw his predicament and said, " Petru, don't let them see through your act. They won't tolerate your feigned obsequiousness before the gods. Come on, don't worry about my feelings, I can handle it!" A bleak smile appeared on her lips. "Remember, you must live! Only by living do you have value!"
The once proud and great Redbeard felt like crying, "Madam, I really can't do it!"
Mrs. Larry raised her hand and touched his cheek. "Do you have a lover?"
"A lover?" Petru thought of Lawiye, who was imprisoned in Egypt. "There was one, but we haven't seen each other for many years."
What's her name?
" Lawiye! Her name is Lawiye."
"She must be very beautiful!"
"Yes, she's beautiful!"
"Now, close your eyes and pretend I'm Lawiye!"
" Lawiye..."
Petru slowly closed his eyes, imagining Lawiye's appearance—soft, pale blonde hair, long, flowing eyelashes over blue eyes, full, sensual lips, a slender neck, a full, firm chest, and a flat, smooth abdomen...
He saw Lawiye walking gracefully towards him from afar. Hand in hand, they walked through the streets of Rome, entered the Santa Maria Church, and were married under the guidance of Pastor.
They embraced tightly, kissing on the Tiber River, their bodies falling amidst the blooming roses. His back was stung with rose thorns, but the sweetness of love soothed the wounds, and happiness drove away the pain.
He poured out all the longing and desire he had felt for Lawiye since their separation...
After the storm subsided, the clouds dispersed and the rain ceased.
Lawiye's figure gradually disappeared into the distance, waving to him from the window of the Egypt prison.
Petru opened his hazy eyes and saw the woman beneath him, breathing softly—thin, pale, and withered...like a fallen leaf, deprived of nourishment and its former vibrancy.
A tear welled up in his eye and fell onto Mrs. Larry's face, like a dewdrop under the starry sky landing on a withered leaf.
Petru, the King of Pirates in the hearts of countless outlaws, the invincible Redbeard, the man of steel, suddenly lost his strength and collapsed onto Mrs. Larry, weeping like a child.