That's right—for the past two days, all their food had been delivered by others.
Every country's coastline isn't that long, and seventy percent of the earth is ocean. Hans, out here in these ungoverned waters, really is living wild and free.
"And the key point is, Miles Gu and Ethan Yin are both heirs to your families, right? You can give them all the resources and connections, but do you have the right training environments? I do! My base has every terrain—desert, forest, urban combat, rural maneuvers, sea, air, land, you name it. Why do you think I recruit so many weapons experts? It's for my all-round development!" Hans's pitch instantly moved Charles Yin and Earl Field.
That offer was really tempting—almost impossible to refuse.
"Don't worry, my base has top-notch medical facilities. They'll never be in any real danger. And don't forget the Yun Family! They're both Cecilia Gu's sons, and with her and the Yun Family around, nothing bad will happen to them. Plus, there's Jiro Hirayama! He's so close with Miss Mu now, they're basically family. Even though he's the second son of the Hirayama Family, he's still important to them. With so many people watching out for these boys, what's there to be afraid of?" Hans added, making his pitch even stronger.
Of course, now Rona Muir, once so proud, felt her reputation was in tatters.
Jiro Hirayama thought regretfully that he hadn't even used the special medicine he’d prepared, and it was already over—
Rona ran over to the room where Ethan Yin and Miles Gu were staying and knocked on the door. It was open, and as she walked in, she saw her two good boys sitting on the floor, drawing and writing, clearly working on something together.
If Hans was really that responsible, maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.
The fleet regrouped, loading all the storm-damaged ships onto one vessel. Then, everyone boarded the same boat and set off triumphantly toward Hans's Island Complex.
Miles Gu and Ethan Yin just bowed their heads and kept drawing.
Seeing Rona's determined curiosity, Miles Gu exchanged a look with Ethan Yin, then said, "Aunt Rona, you have to promise to keep this secret, or we absolutely won't tell you!"
While the kids were busy in their room, Captain Hans, having successfully recruited Ethan Yin as his student, went off to pitch his offer to Earl Field and Charles Yin: "Honestly, I think I could take on another student. Miles Gu and Ethan grew up together, so why not let them study with me?"
Earl Field gave him a sideways glance. "Miles Gu is destined to inherit the Field Family. Do you really think I'd let him travel thousands of miles to learn from you? Besides, our family isn't lacking for teachers."
Hey, what kind of examples are those?
"So, are we really going to Hans’s base? Just a few days ago, we were enemies," Rona said, feeling like the world had changed during her three days in bed.
Weren't we supposed to be at each other's throats?
With everyone getting along so well, are these really the same people?
Now we’re close enough to visit the other side’s stronghold for a sea tour?
Miles Gu's red eyes sparkled, almost melting Rona's heart. "Aunt Rona, in just over a month it'll be Mom's birthday. Ethan and I want to design a little house for her as a birthday present."
It's like North and South Korea, always at odds, suddenly becoming best buddies and announcing to the world: 'We're teaming up to go to the moon!'
Just thinking about it is kind of creepy.
But as bizarre as it seems, that's exactly what's happened.
Rona could only sigh deeply. "A day in the mountains, a lifetime in the world."
"Mountain hermit, want some ice cream?" Cecilia grinned, playing along. "We brought in a master chef straight from the Häagen-Dazs Flagship Store. It's absolutely delicious."
"You eat it yourself," Rona rolled her eyes. "Alright, I'm going to check on the boys."
Cecilia nodded and happily continued eating.
Rona ran over to the room where Ethan Yin and Miao Gu were staying and knocked on the door. It was open, and as she walked in, she saw her two good boys sitting on the floor, drawing and writing, clearly working on something together.
Curious, Rona leaned in, but the boys quickly hid what they were working on behind their backs when they saw her.
"Why so secretive?" Rona was even more curious now!
What are these two up to, that they need to hide it?
Seeing Rona's determined curiosity, Miao Gu exchanged a look with Ethan Yin, then said, "Godmother, you have to promise to keep this secret, or we absolutely won't tell you!"
"Mm-hmm, don't worry! Your godmother is like a little safe—any secret you tell me gets locked up tight." Rona patted her chest to assure them, determined to find out what her good boys were up to.
Only then did Miao Gu and Ethan Yin carefully pull out a blueprint from behind their backs to show Rona.
It was a simple ink drawing.
Though the drawing was simple, the basic outline was all there.
Rona knew both boys had received formal art training since they were two, so their skills were quite impressive.
The picture was of a very beautiful castle.
But why would they need to hide a drawing of a castle?
Miao Gu's red eyes sparkled, almost melting Rona's heart. "Godmother, in just over a month it'll be Mom's birthday. Ethan and I want to design a little house for her as a birthday present."
Rona's mouth dropped open. "You're going to design a house?"
Ethan Yin nodded. "Yeah, Dad said we just have to design it, and he'll take care of building it."
Rona's mouth dropped even further. "Charles Yin agreed to this?"
Miao Gu and Ethan Yin nodded together. "Yeah, Dad said he's going to make Mom a castle fit for a princess."
Rona bit her finger, suddenly feeling very jealous—what should she do?
Her own partner only ever researched human potential or cell activity. When would he ever do something so romantic?
Ah, never mind!
He'd probably just make a bunch of ugly, flammable fuel in the lab!
"Godmother, you have to keep this secret," Miao Gu and Ethan Yin said with big smiles. "It's a surprise—if we tell early, it's no fun!"
Rona gritted her teeth in secret. "Boys, my birthday isn't for another six months..."
Miao Gu and Ethan Yin just bowed their heads and kept drawing.
Aww, rejected by her boys.
While the kids were busy in their room, Captain Hans, having successfully recruited Ethan Yin as his student, went off to pitch his offer to Earl Field and Charles Yin: "Honestly, I think I could take on another student. Miao Gu and Ethan grew up together, so why not let them study with me?"
Earl Field gave him a sideways glance. "Miao Gu is destined to inherit the Field Family. Do you really think I'd let him travel thousands of miles to learn from you? Besides, our family isn't lacking for teachers."
Charles Yin looked devastated. "Losing one son already breaks my heart. Don't twist the knife any further!"
Captain Hans didn't care. "A stab's a stab—one or two, what's the difference? I'm not bragging, but no matter how powerful your families are, do you have your own weapons development base? I do! Can you manufacture weapons on a large scale at home? I can! Are you kings in your own fields? I am!"
Earl Field and Charles Yin exchanged a look. He made a good point—they were speechless!
No matter how powerful Earl Field or Charles Yin were, there were still some forbidden areas they couldn't touch.
But Hans really was much freer than they were.
Out here at sea, who could possibly control him?
Every country's coastline isn't that long, and seventy percent of the earth is ocean. Hans, out here in these ungoverned waters, really is living wild and free.
"And the key point is, Miao Gu and Ethan Yin are both heirs to your families, right? You can give them all the resources and connections, but do you have the right training environments? I do! My base has every terrain—desert, forest, urban combat, rural maneuvers, sea, air, land, you name it. Why do you think I recruit so many weapons experts? It's for my all-round development!" Hans's pitch instantly moved Charles Yin and Earl Field.
That offer was really tempting—almost impossible to refuse.
"Don't worry, my base has top-notch medical facilities. They'll never be in any real danger. And don't forget the Yun Family! They're both Cecilia Gu's sons, and with her and the Yun Family around, nothing bad will happen to them. Plus, there's Jiro Hirayama! He's so close with Miss Mu now, they're basically family. Even though he's the second son of the Hirayama Family, he's still important to them. With so many people watching out for these boys, what's there to be afraid of?" Hans added, making his pitch even stronger.
Charles Yin and Earl Field admitted they were convinced. But here's the problem: the boys still had to attend school at home most of the time, and the Pacific and Atlantic were just too far away!
Hans said, "I'm not asking them to stay with me all the time! Just a few months of intensive training here each year. They're still young—the perfect age to start from scratch. Training with the other kids at my base will help them build a loyal team."
That last point instantly won over Charles Yin and Earl Field.
Sure, they could plan out their kids' futures, but it's not the same as raising their own team from childhood.
If Hans was really that responsible, maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.
Hans was thrilled when they accepted his offer. "It's settled, then! No backing out!"
After Hans left, Charles Yin and Earl Field suddenly realized—they'd forgotten to ask Cecilia Gu what she thought!
If Cecilia Gu objected, no one would be able to take the boys away.
But they were overthinking it.
Cecilia just asked the boys one simple question: Did they truly want to go?
Once the boys gave a definite yes, Cecilia happily agreed.
As long as the kids were happy, nothing else mattered!
The fleet drifted for several days before finally reaching Hans's Island Complex early one morning.
When they arrived at the base, Cecilia realized just how formidable Hans really was.
No wonder the Mo Family always chose to cooperate with Hans rather than try to destroy him.
Taking down Hans was no easy feat.
Not only did Hans have multiple hideouts—his three interconnected islands were all bases—but the surrounding waters were incredibly complex.
With all the signal jamming and interference, it was basically a man-made Bermuda Triangle.
Trying to wipe him out was no simple task.
(To be continued. Click next page for more exciting content!)