I have recovered from my illness and just came out of the hospital.
I didn't pay much attention to it at first. I didn't expect that a cold could become so serious. Alas, the weather is cold. You should also pay attention to your health and be careful of getting sick.
I just watched the backstage and suddenly realized that the update has been suspended for seven days.
I don’t know much about the APP investment rules, but it seems that if updates are interrupted for more than seven consecutive days, the investment will automatically fail. I wonder if anyone has chosen to pursue the investment.
I'm worried that the book friends who follow the investment will lose money, just in case, so I'll post this chapter today.
It's the content of another book of mine. You don't need to read it. Tomorrow this chapter will be removed and thrown into the work-related content, and normal daily updates will begin. It will be completed before the end of the month!
It must not be a bad ending and will be completed smoothly!
good night everybody.
————No need to look below————
————Update will be resumed tomorrow————
At dawn, the sea train stopped at Pulang Town Station.
Although the sea train has been developed for many years, it only entered the public operation stage last year. The lines and transportation range are quite limited. This town, more than 300 kilometers away from the water capital, is the easternmost point that can be reached along the track.
.
Earle Island, where Branch 78 is located, is still hundreds of kilometers away, so you need to change trains at the station and take a merchant ship instead.
The station is open-air, and the cold wind blows, making it look even more empty and deserted.
Colonel Heike got out of the car in a daze, stared blankly at the sky for a while, and then stared blankly at Vito and others with a smile and waved goodbye to the old driver, watched the sea train turn around, and embarked on the return journey to the Water City.
Everything that happened last night was like a dream. Heike even felt that he was not awake yet. Otherwise, why would he always feel that the five crows on the tree opposite the station sign were staring at him?
They were five large black ravens, as if carved from a template. Heike walked to the left, and the five crows slowly moved to the left of the branch. As he walked to the right, the crows all followed.
Traversing back...
There was not a single scream from beginning to end, and the black eyes never blinked.
The silent scene is full of weirdness.
"What the hell."
There was a feeling of fear in his heart, and when he was hesitating whether to draw his gun to drive away the crows, footsteps suddenly sounded behind him, but it was Vito and others who said goodbye to the driver, passed him and left the station, heading straight towards the small town.
Walk to the pier at the other end.
Heike hurriedly followed.
He knew that his current status was no different from that of a half-captive, so he was very self-conscious all the way, with his eyebrows lowered and his head hanging at the end.
But when they were approaching the pier, Vito and others in front suddenly stopped and moved apart to let him move to the front.
"Lord Vito?"
Heike was stunned and just raised his head full of doubts when he suddenly heard a warm greeting coming from a distance:
"Colonel! Colonel Heike, this way, this way! Oh, I have been waiting here for a long time, and you are finally here!"
Heike followed the sound and discovered that on the shore of the port, a tall, thin, middle-aged man in simple clothes was smiling and waving to him while striding towards him.
do not know.
No matter how hard he racked his brains to recall, Heike could not find the face corresponding to this middle-aged man in his memory, but the other party called out his identity accurately. Could it be someone from the 78th branch base?
As if he saw his doubts, Vito chuckled from behind:
"Don't think too much, Mr. Colonel, this is the merchant ship steward I sent my subordinate to contact last night. He happens to be from the business family on Earl Island. They stayed here for an extra day in order to take you to 78
Go to the branch base."
"oh oh."
Only then did Heike wake up. He glanced at Vito from the corner of his eye without leaving any trace. The latter seemed to be fine, standing silently with his head lowered and standing behind him, as if he really was the subordinate he brought here.
.
This guy... was able to arrange for people to work at Pulang Town Station in advance. How many people did he bring out from the mountains? The other party claimed to have tens of thousands of subordinates. Although it was certainly impossible to bring everyone out, no matter what
No matter what, there must be far more than just the few around you, right?
Thinking again about the details of his resume, which had been checked by the other party early on, Heike's mood was complicated and heavy. He felt like he had accidentally boarded a pirate ship and would never be able to look back.
"Lord Colonel!"
At this time, the thin middle-aged man also arrived and bowed humbly to Heike Ju. After Heike looked him up and down for a moment, he just hummed shyly and reluctantly responded.
After all, his identity is the captain of the naval branch. Although he has behaved like a grandson in front of Vito and others in the past two days, he is the top official on Earl Island, so naturally he will not rely on him on the island.
Why are businessmen so polite?
And this kind of airs and arrogance was taken for granted by the thin middle-aged man. When he straightened up, he didn't care at all about Colonel Heike's scorn, and his face was filled with a flattering smile:
"I heard Captain Vito say last night that you were going to change ships to take office on Earle Island today at Plan Town Station. I immediately took over the job without even calling the elders in the family for instructions. After all, I was lucky enough to take you there.
It is an honor for our entire family to be such a big shot like you. When we get back to the island, I guess the head of the family will know the news and they will praise me for my good looks..."
The tall and thin man was talking nonchalantly over there. Heike was interested in listening to his praise at first, but later he became a little impatient. He stretched out his hand to interrupt the conversation, looked at the man sideways and asked:
"Which family from Earl are you from?"
"Back to Colonel, I am from the Hansen family. Our family is engaged in the tobacco and cloth business. We trade with several islands on the south side of the Grand Line along fixed routes every year."
The tall and thin man who was interrupted was not angry. He cheered up after hearing Heike's words and said with a flattering look on his face, "Young man is the leader of this merchant ship. You can just call me Sweet."
He had the idea of getting close, but Heike didn't want to pay any attention to it. After a simple hum, he asked straight to the point: "So, have our rooms been arranged?"
"Don't worry! I arranged for people to vacate them overnight last night. They are definitely the best rooms on the ship!"
"What are you waiting for."
Heike waved his hand and said impatiently, "Let's go now, I don't want to stay in this damn cold place any longer."
"Hey, hey, okay, you come with me."
The tall and thin man hurriedly agreed, but when he turned around to lead the way, he remembered that Heike had just said that it was cold at the open-air dock, and a strange look appeared on his face.
This big man with a delicate body and a noble body is really used to staying in Marineland where spring is all year round. Does he feel cold now... Then if he goes to Earle Island, won't he have to spend the whole year complaining?
Heike followed behind and did not notice the change in the expression of this little man in his eyes. In fact, his mind was not on boarding the ship at all, but he was thinking about the name the tall and thin man used when he mentioned Vito.
Captain Vito.
What is this? Do you reserve a position in advance before you have any disagreements with yourself?
Heike was a little entangled in his heart. It was not easy to get the salary for this position. After all, he was only one step away from the position of school officer. He could be considered a middle-level elite in a branch base.
He had never thought of arranging several of his followers to such positions before. Even the thin monkey man whom he relied on most - the first unlucky guy whose head was shot - was only intended to be given to a lieutenant.
The title, captain and lieutenant is only one level lower, but the difficulty of operating in the dark is more than a little bit different.
But the situation is stronger than the person. Now he is just a prisoner. Apart from doing what Vito wants, what else can he ask for?
Heike had no doubt that as long as he showed even the slightest bit of disobedience to Vito's plan, the big man named Seti would repeat the scene that happened in the sea train and take his head off like an eagle catching a chicken chick.
Pick it up.
As expected, the tall and lanky man did not lie. After Heike brought Vito and others to the ship, he immediately arranged for several people to move into the most luxurious bedrooms on the second floor of the ship.
This guy was quite sensible. After instructing the kitchen to prepare breakfast, he bowed respectfully to Heike and left the second floor. He had no intention of continuing to get close, so as not to disturb Heike and others' rest.
This made Heike, who was originally scornful, couldn't help but look at this man.
"ah……"
After closing the door and lying on the soft velvet bed, Heike groaned comfortably and looked at the ceiling, feeling like a naval captain again for the first time in a long time.
Although this has been a long absence, it is actually only a day or two, but there is nothing I can do. Ever since I bumped into Vito yesterday, my experience has been too miserable. My status in this bandit gang is even worse than that of the cat.
Not as good as...
It makes me sad just thinking about it.
So... what's the next step?
Heike was a little confused. He didn't know whether he should cooperate to the end, act as a puppet colonel and wait for the man to climb to the top of the navy step by step, or secretly look for opportunities and seek help from the top of the headquarters.
The former is a bit too frustrating, but the latter is not a safe choice. Maybe after the senior management of the headquarters learns the truth, it will not be difficult to send people to encircle Vito, but his own life will be at stake.
It's better to play it safe and wait and see for a while.
Heike sighed. He felt that this was the most appropriate way at the moment. After all, it seemed that these guys were not really vicious thugs. After all, just now, they graciously let the driver of the sea train go.
.
The old driver was in his sixties, and his eyesight and memory were not very good.
The moment the steam locomotive exploded, the old man was knocked unconscious. When he woke up, the carriage had already been cleaned. The number of Vito and others happened to correspond to Heike's followers, so he didn't notice anything wrong.
place.
I thought I had been intercepted by train robbers, but no one was injured, and the robbers were all driven away by the colonel from Marineland.
then.
After repairing the locomotive, the old man whistled and drove the car again. After a night of sailing, he sent them to the Pulang Town Station. With Vito personally waving to see them off, he happily turned around and drove the train back to the Water.
The journey of the capital.
Heike himself couldn't do this, but if he were from Vito's perspective, he would kill the old driver no matter what, eradicate the roots without leaving any possibility of risk.
He just thought about it silently, gradually becoming sleepy. He was frightened all night in the carriage last night and really didn't sleep well. Now that he was lying on the soft bed, fatigue came over him like a tide, and soon his body was covered with fatigue.
Swallowed by consciousness.
And while he was half asleep and half awake, he seemed to vaguely see the reflections of several birds on the window from the corner of his narrowed eyes. They were dark and motionless, a bit like crows.
…
Wait, crow?
A chill suddenly rushed from his spine to the back of his head, and Heike's consciousness suddenly became clear. He turned over and sat up, staring at the porthole with wide eyes. He saw five identical black ravens staring at him intently.
What a familiar scene.
Heike felt his scalp numb for a while, and fine goosebumps appeared on every surface of his body.
What the fuck is going on?
He stared at the row of ravens standing on the window lattice, and his heart felt cold. But soon, as if he realized something, he suddenly raised his voice and shouted angrily towards the window:
"Who sent you guys!"
"The person who controls you is hiding around here, right? Get out of here. What kind of man is he who hides? If you can, show up. I want to see what your intentions are after following me all the way!"
Naturally, he was not overly courageous in doing this. Shouting loudly might not scare away the strange group of crows, but it would alarm Vito and others in the next room.
However, what made him despair was that even though he had raised his voice, there was no movement from the next door. Instead, the five black ravens rolled their eyes and flew into the window together, landing on him.
bedside.
"Don't... don't come over!"
Heike was so frightened that he rolled around and shrank to the end of the bed. He was hurriedly trying to take out a gun from his waistband when he heard a somewhat sarcastic old voice coming from the bedside:
"Hey, hey, hey, after all, you are a person who has been in the Navy Headquarters for more than ten years. Why do you panic like this when you encounter danger? Did you really come from a place like Malinfando?"
Who is speaking?
Heike raised his head and searched the room and outside the window for a long time, but he didn't see a single figure. Just when he was confused, he saw the five black ravens sneered and opened their mouths at the same time:
"Where are you looking, kid? You are as stupid as a pig. Isn't I right in front of you?"
The sounds produced by the five mouths were exactly the same, and for a moment it had a stereo effect.
Heike was a little dumbfounded. He stared blankly at the five crows close at hand. After staring at each other with big eyes and small eyes for a long time, he swallowed and said in a slightly trembling voice:
"You... what on earth are you? Are you the... thing in horror stories?"
"What nonsense? You are already in your thirties or forties after all. Why do you still believe in these things to coax children?"
The black ravens looked at him with disdain, "Of course I am a human, a human who ate the animal devil fruit."
As if to verify the authenticity of this sentence, as soon as he finished speaking, five black ravens suddenly came closer and merged. After a moment of distortion of the light, they disappeared from the place, replaced by a man with white hair and a white beard, wearing a loose old white suit.