"Since you want to join us, behave yourselves, or don't blame me for showing no mercy."
I fired a shot at the feet of the remaining man, a warning.
Even if they pledged allegiance, associating with these ruthless individuals was akin to seeking a tiger's skin. I could never let my guard down.
"We understand. From now on, we will obey all your commands."
The man lowered his head respectfully, obscuring his expression.
I hoped it was true!
With a blank expression, I nodded and pulled the two of them up.
"Alright, now tell me, who are you and what are you doing here?"
Although I already knew they were from the company, I decided not to call them out directly and instead try to glean information from them.
"Brother, we're not bad people. We're a scientific expedition team, dispatched by the government to collect plant specimens..."
The woman spoke with utmost sincerity. If I hadn't known their true identities, I might have believed her.
"Oh? A scientific expedition team?"
The woman had been talking for quite some time, almost convincing herself, but seeing my indifferent reaction, she started to panic slightly.
*Smack!*
Without any warning, I slapped her.
Caught off guard, the woman couldn't dodge and took the full force of the blow, leaving a bright red handprint on her face.
Even in this situation, they were still trying to lie to me!
"I'll give you one more chance. What are you doing here?"
I casually fiddled with the revolver in my hand, the threat evident.
"We really are a scientific expedition team!"
Tears welled up in the woman's eyes, her expression innocent.
With such a skillful performance, if I hadn't known their background, I would have believed her long ago.
Since they wouldn't take the offered goodwill, I wouldn't be polite either.
Without further ado, I cocked the pistol and fired a shot at her companion's thigh.
The man, completely unprepared for my unconventional approach, stared in bewilderment as he clutched his leg and collapsed.
I imagined he had a million questions, wondering why he was being shot when it was the woman who lied.
"I don't want to waste time with you. For every lie you tell me, I'll shoot your companion. Let's see who runs out of words first, you or his life!"
The woman's face contorted through a myriad of emotions. I had never seen so many feelings flicker across a person's face simultaneously.
Finally, she gritted her teeth and slowly opened her mouth.
"We are from an NGO in Europe, ordered to go to a mysterious island..."
I inwardly scoffed as I listened. Only when faced with blood did they start speaking the truth.
"Mysterious island? What's on that island?"
I continued to subtly probe the woman for information, my mind racing. All the intelligence I had about that deserted island came from Hathaway and Qu Xiangyun, but they never revealed much.
Now was the perfect opportunity to extract more details from this woman.
"I don't know the specifics. We were commissioned to find something on that island. Only the client knows what we're supposed to find. Our boat capsized earlier, and the client was swept away somewhere, perhaps dead..."
The woman rattled off a lot of information, much of which I already knew.
Despite hearing her account, I remained suspicious of certain details.
After all, she had managed to distance herself from the situation, pinning all responsibility on the client who was neither seen nor heard from again. Who knew what else she was hiding?
Moreover, when I observed them killing their companion earlier, I noticed that although the man appeared to be in charge, both of them instinctively protected the woman, suggesting her identity was crucial.
She was definitely not just a low-level operative as she claimed.
Regardless, she wasn't going anywhere now. I could slowly extract more information from her at my leisure.
After she finished speaking, the man lying on the ground cried out in pain.
"We've told you everything. Can you bandage my leg now?"
I gave him a cold glance, then threw a roll of gauze from my backpack to the woman, instructing her to bandage the man's leg.
My objective had been met for now. Even with her skills, with an injured companion, she wouldn't be able to easily turn against us.
Once the bandaging was complete, I patted the woman's cheek.
"Now tell me, how do we leave this sea?"
My face was smiling, but my eyes glinted with coldness.
If these two had no idea how to leave, they would be useless, and I wouldn't bother with any more stratagems.
They seemed to sense my impatience and quickly tried to prove their worth.
"Our navigator said that our current position is already near the edge of this sea. We just need to keep heading east to leave!"