Li Shi's reaction made Luo Jun very puzzled.
"What exactly happened?"
Luo Jun asked again, and Li Shi trembled all over. After a while, she said, "I heard someone talking last night... but I couldn't understand what those voices were saying..."
Upon hearing Li Shi say that, a chill ran down Luo Jun's back.
This was the old forest on a deserted island, so how could there possibly be anyone speaking here, let alone Li Shi overhearing them?
If there were truly people who came here, they would have definitely discovered Li Shi, because this cave was not very concealed. For Li Shi to hear their voices, they must have been close to this stone cave.
"Did you see them? Was there any light?"
Luo Jun asked, and Li Shi shook her head.
"No light, it was pitch black outside, nothing at all. I just heard two rude voices talking, but I didn't know what language they were speaking..."
Li Shi's words once again sent a chill down Luo Jun's back.
Li Shi spoke so convincingly, and her expressions were so real - she couldn't be lying!
Unless she was experiencing auditory hallucinations.
People could possibly experience auditory hallucinations when in extreme fear, but Li Shi spoke as if she was really eavesdropping on two people talking on the other side of the wall.
"How long did they talk for?"
Luo Jun asked.
"About half an hour, then they left."
Li Shi said. Luo Jun frowned and questioned, "How do you know they left and didn't just stop talking?"
Luo Jun countered, because Li Shi had not left the stone cave, so she should not have been able to confirm that they had left.
"I heard their voices getting farther and farther away, until they disappeared."
Hearing this, Luo Jun fell silent.
Were there really other people on this island?
And why would they appear on this hillside?
Were they tracking his footprints?
Then why didn't they discover Li Shi?
Luo Jun's mind was now full of questions. He was curious about this island, as well as the strange creature he had encountered before. As for mutations and such, Luo Jun did not really believe in their existence. Even with current biotechnology like gene editing and cloning, it would still be impossible to cultivate the kinds of monsters seen in movies and shows. It would be impossible to create even a tiny insect or flea.
Not to mention mutated species.
The evolution of species is so incredibly complex that humans have only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Creator's secrets.
Moreover, this island had been a forbidden zone for over a hundred years, when biotechnology was far more primitive.
As for why he saw that fully-armored monster creature, Luo Jun was also unsure.
Perhaps if he encountered that monster again, he could use his Barrett rifle to kill it and uncover the truth!
For now, Luo Jun needed to worry about how to survive on this island and whether a ship would truly come to rescue them in six months. He also had to prepare to potentially hijack that ship.
Furthermore, Luo Jun felt that Jones must have taken away some secrets from the island when he left this time. So whoever obtained those secrets from Jones would undoubtedly come to the island again.
When that happened, would they slaughter everyone indiscriminately?
"Don't be afraid, let's go back. Can you still walk?"
Luo Jun asked Li Shi, who was in his arms.
Li Shi nodded, "My foot injury has healed."
"Then let's hurry back!"
Luo Jun helped Li Shi up, and they left the cave, retracing their steps.
On the way back, Li Shi regained her usual resilience, as if she had not been the one afraid earlier. This drastic emotional shift made Luo Jun suspect that she might have some psychological issues.
So he tentatively asked her about her childhood experiences.
In the end, he learned that she did indeed have difficulties dealing with isolation. If that was the case, then the strange conversation she had heard could have been an auditory hallucination.
Therefore, for the time being, Luo Jun did not dwell too much on this incident.
After returning to their shelter, Lorna and Jenny both embraced Li Shi, happy that she had returned safely.
However, Luo Jun did not rest for long because he had to go to the beach to see if those mercenaries had returned.
So after escorting Li Shi back, he left again.
Li Shi could not stand the smell on her body, so she used the soap Luo Jun had made to bathe in the pool and changed into fresh undergarments.
Lorna and Jenny sat by the fire pit. After her bath, Li Shi ran over, shivering from the cold, to warm herself by the fire.
"The large ship has been taken away, but some of the mercenaries and other survivors have not all died. They could be anywhere on this island... Once Luo Jun returns, we should discuss building our own boat."
Lorna looked at the two women and shared her thoughts.
Because she really did not want to stay on this island any longer. Additionally, Luo Jun was exhausted from having to deal with those people. If they also had to accommodate the other surviving women, it would become even more difficult to leave in the future.
The simplest solution would be to use their existing tools to build a small boat, which could probably only fit five or six people at most.
And the inflatable life raft would need to be filled with food and fresh water, leaving no extra space to accommodate others.
So their living space was becoming cramped, and Lorna was the first to sense a deep crisis.
Jenny had similar thoughts, but as an injured person, she did not have much say. She was fortunate enough to be able to stay with them.
After her experiences from the past two days, Li Shi also really wanted to leave this place.
"But Uncle said that with a self-made boat, we might not be able to get away from here. Plus, we only encountered this island after drifting at sea. If we leave and drift for another month or two, we would definitely die."
Li Shi said.
"I don't understand seafaring either. Let's wait for Luo Jun to return and discuss further. But staying on this island is not a solution."
Jenny chimed in at this point.
Lorna could only nod. She had not mentioned it to Luo Jun earlier because he seemed very busy. Now that she brought it up, Luo Jun was unlikely to take it to heart and might even try to dissuade her from the idea.
Without Luo Jun, they could not go anywhere.
Like the three women, Luo Jun also wanted to leave this island as soon as possible. However, wanting to leave did not mean they could leave. Even with the life raft, it was useless because the weather around the island was too bizarre. There was also the possibility of an ambush by the U.S. military. If they found out that these people had escaped from this island, they would definitely not be able to get away, and might even be taken to a lab for live dissection experiments.
So if they wanted to build a small boat and use a life raft to escape, it was still extremely risky.
It could be done if there were no other options.
But the situation had not reached that point yet. Moreover, would they just abandon the other survivors here?
Although Luo Jun was an assassin, his identity was not a choice he could make, but his humanity was. Before nightfall, Luo Jun had returned to the beach. The women had gathered some firewood and built a fire on the sand, huddling around it to warm their bodies since they did not have enough clothes to protect them from the cold.
Luo Jun noticed that some ration packs and canned goods were placed at the entrance of one of the tents.
If those mercenaries had returned, they would have definitely secured these food supplies because they were the key to their future survival. They would not have left them lying around carelessly.
"They haven't come back yet? Or maybe they know I'm lying in ambush here?"
Luo Jun pondered. If he did not see those mercenaries show up tonight, he would have to change his strategy.