Shrouded Seascape

"So you're saying that if the price is right, the thousands of people that your ship can accommodate will all stay on our island?" Sika asked. He was the highest authority in the Comoros, and he was seated across from Anna.

He was a dark-skinned man of short stature. He was so small that even Anna was a head taller than him.

Anna sitting sideways smiled and raised her wine glass to Sika.

"It's not going to be just this once. If things go smoothly, I can make this place a regular stop for my around-the-world ocean liner. Once that happens, you'll have to renovate your pier."

Sika couldn't contain his excitement upon hearing that. If the deal went through, it'd be like having a goose capable of laying golden eggs! He couldn't even imagine just how much foreign money and how many jobs the deal would bring to the island.

Sika never doubted Anna's words. The fact that she owned a massive cruise liner was enough proof of her capabilities. Sika couldn't imagine that someone like her might play a joke on him.

"Please rest assured, our island has been in the tourism business for many years now. We'll definitely provide you with the best service possible, and I hereby declare that from now on—all excursions availed by your passengers are tax-free!"

If an uninitiated third party were here, they'd say that Sika was being too subservient in exchange for such modest profits. However, the islanders of the Comoros were all too aware of just how important tourism was to them.

Tourism was their only industry, after all.

There was a myriad of tropical islands suitable for tourism, but people all over the world only knew the Maldives and Hawaii. To make matters worse, their number of tourists had been steadily decreasing year on year.

They had to seize this opportunity, or they'd have to live the life of their ancestors—sail out for fish and barter goods for a livelihood.

To be honest, Sika was having a hard time managing the poor islands. He was genuinely envious of wealthy people like Anna.

"I can feel your sincerity, Mr. Sika, and I'll think about this carefully." Anna raised her glass to Sika's glass. A light clinking sound echoed, and Anna downed the blood-red liquid in the glass.

The two discussed the details of their cooperation for a while.

Sika even offered to personally guide Anna around the island's attractions. Of course, Anna politely declined, but she promised to take him up on the offer tomorrow.

In the end, Sika left the hotel with a satisfied look, and he left just as Anna's spies returned to the latter's side.

"High Priestess, Roy didn't do anything suspicious. He was genuinely helping you check the island's radio stations, broadcast towers, and base stations."

However, Anna inwardly snorted in response to the report. The spies whom she had sent out to secretly follow Roy were the first ones to receive Fhtagn's blessing, so they were core members of the congregation.

In other words, there was no way they would lie. However, Anna remained vigilant about Roy. She was at a critical moment, and she couldn't afford to be careless. Any variable could lead to a complete loss. ř𝖆𝐍ö𝔟Ɛᶊ

At the moment, Anna was extremely vulnerable against that unknown organization, and all she could do against them was be careful, be careful, and be even more careful.

Anna pondered briefly over her next course of action before looking up to Wang Sheng, saying, "Pass down an order in my name—everyone from the ship must move in groups.

"It is a serious offense to visit the island alone, and I don't want anyone to use any of the island's communication facilities."

Unfortunately, this was a band-aid solution. If there were really more moles among them, this solution wouldn't stop them. However, a band-aid solution was enough for now.

Regardless of whether there were more moles among them, any issue would be resolved once the people on board had received Fhtagn's blessing.

When night fell, Anna and her group returned to the Narwhale by boat. To retain his valued guests, Sika was extremely hospitable, sending many fresh fish for them to consume.

On that night, the devotees enjoyed a sumptuous dinner.

Everyone enjoyed the food, and their faces showed delight as they savored everything, including Roy.

On the outside, Roy appeared to be enjoying his lobster, but his heart was burning with anxiety. As a highly professional agent, Roy was extremely good at counter-surveillance; he had immediately noticed that he was being followed earlier, so he decided to avoid trouble by staying put.

However, he couldn't be happy about it at all. No matter how good he was at pretending, it was clear that Anna had no plans of believing in him. Considering his predicament, contacting the IMF was harder than swimming the seven seas.

What do I do? Time is running out. Once that woman takes over the entire island, its population will quickly become fuel for her expansion. Things are going to become irreversible by then, Roy thought while chewing on his lobster.

Just then, a cigarette appeared before him.

"Want a smoke?"

Startled, Roy looked up and saw that the hand belonged to the old captain, Roger.

"Thanks," Roy said. He swallowed the food in his mouth and accepted the cigarette.

"Let me ask you something, young man. Since this ship has reached its destination, isn't it about time we leave?" Roger asked. He took out a filtered cigarette, tore off the filter, and pulled out the yellow tobacco inside.

Then, he stuffed it into his pipe and stared at Roy, waiting for the latter's answer.

Roy couldn't answer the old captain's question and could only reveal an awkward smile.

"Huff~" A puff of white smoke emerged from Roger's mouth. "I should have known it before I accepted that deal. I should have known that it's going to be hard to get off once we're on board.

"Alas, we're all in the same boat now. And don't even think that I don't know what you people are doing on the deck at night."

Hearing that, Roy moved according to his fabricated persona, asking, "Captain, why don't you join us? The great Fhtagn can fulfill all your wishes."

Roger stared deeply at the man before him. Then, he gripped his pipe strongly and turned around to leave. "You can try and try, but you're dreaming if you can make me become a part of your shitty cult. Hmph!"

Roger left without looking back.

Roy sat down to continue his dinner but froze after a few bites.

Dreaming? He recalled something just then, and his eyes lit up. However, he didn't do anything and simply proceeded with his meal like the other believers around him.

Once dinner was over, Roy returned to his quarters and picked up the palm-sized wooden sculpture on the table. He stroked it gently, seemingly ruminating over something.

The next day, Anna woke up feeling groggy. She felt something amiss. She touched her forehead with the back of her hand and discovered that she was having a fever.

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