Seeing these guys start cooking, I also had an idea.
Since I didn't know their purpose, I would find someone to ask!
I unleashed my Shepherd God's power, enveloping my body and minimizing my movements as much as possible.
Then, I crawled all the way to the edge of their camp.
There, two men were preparing to gather firewood. However, these two were extremely vigilant and did not head towards my defensive fortifications.
I quietly followed behind them, trailing them into the woods.
I glanced back, confirming that the people on the beach had not noticed this side, before approaching the two men.
"How strange, it looks like someone has been active here. This isn't a deserted island at all..." one of them said.
The other was about to speak, but seemed to sense something was amiss behind him. He turned abruptly and saw me standing there.
My sudden appearance startled both of them, and they instinctively prepared to scream.
But my hand was faster!
I delivered a chop to the neck of one of them. The chop, carrying my Shepherd God's power, allowed for better control of force.
The man struck immediately fainted.
At the same time, I covered the other guy's mouth with my hand and made a shushing gesture: "If you dare to make a sound, I'll kill you!"
The guy nodded frantically, but the fear in his eyes did not dissipate at all.
"I have a few questions for you. Answer me honestly. If your answers are satisfactory, I can let you go. If not..." I smiled, and a dagger appeared in my hand, "You know the consequences!"
The guy nodded quickly, indicating he would cooperate, and only then did I release my grip.
"Speak, who are you people?" I asked.
"We... we're just a group of retired mercenaries. We were hired to come to this deserted island to find someone," the mercenary whispered, his eyes fixed on my dagger, afraid I might strike if I wasn't paying attention.
"Find whom?" I asked.
This retired mercenary fumbled in his jacket pocket and pulled out a photograph. He glanced at it instinctively, then his gaze locked onto me, a hint of fear in his eyes, "This... this..."
"Is the person you're looking for me?" I asked, reaching out to take the photo.
It was a hand-drawn picture, and one could tell the artist's skill was superb. The depiction was as lifelike as a photograph.
The person drawn was me, but not as I am now, rather as I was when I was with Vixi and Richard.
At the very least, my hair was not as long then, and in the picture, my hair was short like that.
In that instant, I could almost confirm that the person who sent them was Vixi!
"Congratulations, you've found your target," a smile touched my lips. "Were you ordered to kill me outright?"
"No..." the mercenary quickly replied, "Our orders were to find you and restrain you as much as possible, even if it meant breaking your limbs, but not to kill you..."
"Oh?" I sneered. It was Vixi indeed, as I suspected.
The reason for not killing me was for the other half of the Tree of Life on me!
As long as I was alive and captured, Vixi would have countless ways to extract the whereabouts of the Tree of Life from my mouth.
If I died, and the Tree of Life wasn't on me, Vixi would never obtain the other half.
"Who sent you?" I still asked, curious about Vixi's current identity.
"We don't know the boss's name," the mercenary said.
I believed this. Mercenaries only carried out missions; they didn't concern themselves with who their employer was.
"I understand," I said.
"You... you let me go. I promise, I will never reveal your whereabouts!" the mercenary pleaded.
I pondered for a moment.
Honestly, I wasn't fully prepared right now, and I didn't particularly want to engage in conflict with them. So, an idea formed in my mind!
"How about this, I'll let both of you go, but you have to spread a message for me!" I said.
"Please, tell us," the mercenary replied. To remain so calm in such a situation showed they had decent psychological fortitude.
"Go tell them that you saw me, and say that I don't wish to conflict with them, and they should leave this place," I chose my words carefully. "If they are obstinate and try to use force..."
"I won't mind taking their lives!" I said.
The mercenary looked at me, his face grim. "The employer offered a very generous reward this time. They won't leave without a very good reason!"
Hearing this, a cold smile appeared on my lips. "Is that so?"