"Chairman, why don’t we just have the Beaked Eagle fly out and open a Node on their side?"

"Let’s observe for now." Qin Ziwen narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t sure yet if the other group’s mission for this second map was similar to the one for our Gated Community.

If it was, then a group that could complete ten tasks on the Celestial Ladder List was definitely no pushover.

After all, successfully hunting two Level 2 targets meant they likely possessed some powerful, wide-range attacks as well.

"They’re looking over here. Keep the Beaked Eagle hidden for now. We can’t let them know we have the ability to carry people while flying," Qin Ziwen said, looking at Zou Jianghe beside him. "Chairman Zou, what do you think?"

Zou Jianghe was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Qin Ziwen to actually ask for his opinion.

For a moment, he actually felt a rare sense of honor.

But as soon as he noticed the feeling, he stamped it out in annoyance.

He mulled it over for a moment before saying, "Chairman Qin, I think we should try to make contact with them. See what their intentions are. If they want a fair competition, we can each go our own way and hunt freely. If not, then we settle it with a real fight."

Qin Ziwen remained noncommittal but offered a friendly reminder, "I was just watching them. They don’t exactly look friendly."

"Thank you for the warning. In that case, how about you let me be the one to make first contact?" Zou Jianghe asked, feigning nonchalance.

Qin Ziwen nodded. "Be careful, then."

Once Qin Ziwen was gone, a flicker of excitement flashed in Zou Jianghe’s eyes.

He went back and found Huang Tao, then told him what he and Qin Ziwen had just discussed.

Huang Tao was incredulous. "Chairman, you want to discuss a ’fair competition’ with them!?"

He stared at Zou Jianghe as if he were an alien. ’Old Zou, you’ve got to be kidding me. We’ve known each other for too long.’

"Of course not," Zou Jianghe said with a faint smile.

Huang Tao breathed a small sigh of relief, but his confusion immediately returned. ’If that wasn’t the plan, then what was Zou Jianghe plotting?’

"If I hadn’t said that, how could I have gotten the priority from Qin Ziwen to be the first to communicate with them?" Zou Jianghe said meaningfully. "For this mission, do you think there’s any chance our two sides can reconcile?"

Huang Tao mulled it over. "I don’t know. The hint the Home gave us is ’The victor may proceed to the next map; the vanquished will remain on this one.’ The definitions of ’victor’ and ’vanquished’ are very vague here.

I just don’t know if they could avoid that penalty by joining our Home.

If one of their ordinary people used a Card in one of our vacant houses, could they become a Lord of the Homeland in our Gated Community?"

Zou Jianghe said, "We’ve never tried that, but one person can’t activate two Homes simultaneously."

Huang Tao nodded. "So, fundamentally, the real, irreconcilable conflict is between those of us on both sides who have already activated a Home."

"Exactly." Zou Jianghe nodded. "The ordinary people who haven’t activated a Home might still have a chance. But for the group that’s already activated one, they’re bound to the Gated Community. There’s no way out for them. That’s why the leadership on either side will never agree to peace talks."

Huang Tao agreed. Those who had been able to activate a Home within the Gated Community were generally either people with superior living conditions or the high-level leaders themselves.

As a group with vested interests, facing an irreconcilable conflict, it was hard to imagine what kind of clash would erupt.

This made him even more confused. If that was the case, what was Zou Jianghe planning?

’He can’t possibly be planning to do things like in the Spring and Autumn period, where opposing armies would formally declare war, schedule a fight at a specific time and place, and then just go home to sleep when they got tired.

That would be utterly absurd.’

Zou Jianghe asked, seemingly to himself, "Would you want to be stuck here forever?"

Huang Tao glanced at the vast, boundless sea surrounding them and silently shook his head.

If one day, he grew tired of all this dimension-hopping, he might try to settle down on a map where it was peaceful and pleasant, a place to truly call home.

But it definitely wouldn’t be this ocean.

Just looking at the monsters on the Island’s Hunting Celestial List was enough to know this sea was no place to live.

Besides, the surrounding islands were all too small. The wide-open ocean might look refreshing, but he remembered feeling that the Gobi Desert was rugged and magnificent when they first arrived on the last map. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

But now, all he remembered of the Gobi Desert was desolation and scorching heat.

This chain of islands wasn’t as hot as the Gobi Desert, but the temperature was still high, and the UV rays were intense.

"Chairman, just tell me straight. What do you want us to do?"

Zou Jianghe leaned in close and whispered, "Find an opportunity to ambush them. We’ll start by kidnapping a few of their people to interrogate them and get a clear picture of their Gated Community’s situation."

Huang Tao agreed with that point. *Know your enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without defeat.*

Intelligence was crucial.

"Chairman, but there’s an entire island between our Gated Community and theirs. How are we supposed to launch a sneak attack?"

Zou Jianghe gave him a look, as if the answer were obvious. "We have boats, don’t we? It won’t work during the day—it’d be too conspicuous. We’ll wait for nightfall, row over, and look for a chance to make our move."

Huang Tao hesitated. "But the boats can’t carry many people, and bringing them back would be a hassle. It would be dangerous if a captive struggled on board."

"Who said anything about bringing them back? Once we’ve interrogated them and gotten what we need, we just ’take care of them’." Zou Jianghe clapped Huang Tao on the shoulder. "This is no time for soft-heartedness."

Although both sides were aware of each other, the stretch of sea between them prevented any immediate contact.

After a period of mutual observation, they each returned to their own affairs.

Qin Ziwen took a tour of the surrounding area and finally confirmed one thing.

There were very few animals on the island, possibly because the island itself was too small.