Survival Plan

The captain was an American man in his late fifties, but he had a head of white hair. His weathered face bore deep lines, and his eyes had become clouded, though it was unclear whether it was due to lack of rest in the last couple of days.

He fell silent for a long while after Luo Jun asked his question.

Evidently, there were some things he couldn't say in front of everyone. After a moment's contemplation, he said, "He was only smuggling goods on my ship to make ends meet. I knew he was a hitman, but we rarely pried into each other's backgrounds, or else we could never have become friends."

The captain spoke in a roundabout way.

From his words, Luo Jun could discern that Jones had indeed concealed a great deal from him.

But as friends, Jones had never betrayed him.

Although Jones had taken the ship this time, it wasn't directly related to their relationship, for if it hadn't been these survivors, but others taken as hostages, Jones would have seized the ship and fled all the same.

After all, his capabilities were limited to ensuring his own survival, with no means to rescue everyone.

Moreover, before entering the forest, Jones had already warned him about how to avoid future risks.

And events had unfolded just as he'd said – had it not been for Jones' warning, the captain and first mate would never have survived. The others were simply too rash, trying to grab the mercenaries' guns from their corpses. Otherwise, they could have all made it out alive, too.

So Jones couldn't be entirely blamed for what happened.

If anyone was to blame, it would be Luo Jun, for it was he who had utilized Luo Jun's abilities to solve his problems, even hoping that he could save those survivors.

"In any case, now that we're rid of the threat from the mercenaries, we need to plan carefully for the next six months' living and actions."

Luo Jun glanced at the women here. There were twenty survivors in total – eighteen women and two men.

Adding Luo Jun's group of four, that made twenty-four people altogether.

Twenty-four mouths to feed was no small number, and the provisions they'd brought down would last them half a month at most!

Moreover, having lived on this island for two months already, these survivors were severely malnourished. Another six months might see them dying of malnutrition.

And with their scanty clothing, the increasingly cold weather meant they could also freeze to death.

The captain also understood the meaning behind Luo Jun's glance. For so many people to survive would be no easy feat – hunting and fishing alone would not suffice. They would need ample food reserves and rationing.

Otherwise, more than half could starve to death within six months.

"I don't think we should relocate into the deep mountains, unless there are sturdy houses there and more readily available food sources – which is clearly unrealistic," the first mate interjected.

The captain nodded. "I agree. With so many of us, transporting these provisions into the mountains would be extremely difficult. The biggest issue is still the food supply. Being near the sea at least gives us a chance to catch fish or seabirds. In the old forest depths, we'd have no way to procure substantial food."

The captain voiced his opinion.

Luo Jun pondered the matter. He concurred with this approach, the only concern being enemies landing on the island from this location.

But that problem could be solved – they only needed to build a lookout tower on higher ground and have people take turns keeping watch.

Additionally, Luo Jun felt some of the younger survivors could be trained to have talent, with the mercenaries' firearms being enough for him to train them into a small female troop.

Then, if an opportunity arose, they could emulate Jones and seize the enemies' ship to escape the island.

Pondering these possibilities, Luo Jun felt a renewed sense of hope.

"Then let's settle on this plan. We'll clear a flat area by the riverside and build a shelter there, erect a lookout tower on the hilltop, and find a way to resolve the future food crisis."

Luo Jun looked to the captain. "Captain, do you have any suggestions regarding the food crisis?"

After all, the captain was an experienced seafarer with superior organizational capabilities, just as Jones had previously organized the survivors through him.

Thus, on certain decisions, having the captain take charge would make things more acceptable to the others.

But the captain turned to the first mate, letting him voice his opinion first.

"For now, we have no means to replenish our food supply. We can try to ration these provisions minimally to keep us going while hunting or finding crops we can cultivate. Apart from that, there's no other way," said the first mate.

The first mate, too, was a grizzled middle-aged man, about five or six years younger than the captain.

Having gone unshaven for a long time, thick curly beards covered both his cheeks.

When he spoke, his mouth couldn't be seen moving, but the motions of his beard indicated the words.

"That's a good approach. We can look for high-yield crops like wild yams and arrowroot to cultivate. But venturing into the forest is risky – we'll need some experienced people to go, at least ten."

The captain seemed quite mindful. By saying this, he was effectively deferring to Luo Jun, allowing the other survivors to accept Luo Jun's authority more readily.

Otherwise, internal conflicts could easily arise.

"I can train seven or eight young people to become skilled hunters. It all depends on how hard everyone is willing to work and cooperate in order to survive," said Luo Jun, once again deferring to the captain – implying he should persuade the young women to join this team.

The captain nodded.

"Leave that to me. I'll select the people, and you can train them."

"Alright, then let's start building the shelter tomorrow. Also, I have three more survivors on my side who will be joining our extended family."

Luo Jun addressed this to everyone. Naturally, they would have no objections, since Luo Jun had just rescued them.

Otherwise, if Luo Jun had simply added his people without explanation, these women would undoubtedly have refused to share their food provisions.

Women who had faced life-and-death hardships would become extremely selfish, especially viewing food as their own team's resources, with outsiders' inclusion seen as plundering.

Luo Jun could have resorted to robbery, but he saw no need to commit such inhumane acts over mere sustenance.

By maintaining respect towards them, it would allow Lorna and the others to better integrate into this group. To these survivors, Luo Jun's identity was a mystery not to be trusted, yet he couldn't reveal his true identity to them.

So he could only interact with them in this manner.

After conversing for a while, the captain and Luo Jun went to the rocks and lit up cigarettes, clearly having something to discuss privately with Luo Jun.