Just as he was about to seek revenge on the old woman, he suddenly noticed a rooster eyeing him from the side. With its comb raised and eyes reddened, it charged at him with a series of clucks.
The rooster's head swooped down.
Fourth Brother's eyes widened.
A sharp pain shot through him as he realized half his body was gone.
Looking up, he saw that the rooster had pecked away half of him.
Having tasted something delicious, the rooster clucked incessantly, then lowered its head again, and Fourth Brother's other half vanished as well.
But the most unfortunate of all were Second Brother and Third Brother.
Zhong Qing had just moved a stool to the riverbank, preparing to admire the Twin Peaks Mountain landscape. He had barely lit a coil of mosquito repellent, an invention of Yi Feng's from the past, when the two rushed over.
Yet both insects met their demise instantly.
At this moment, the leader of the group, the Man, also landed on the island.
After landing, he found a dark spot and huddled there.
"This island is indeed extraordinary," he thought.
Recalling what had just happened, he still felt a lingering fear.
Because he had been discovered by someone.
It was a young boy of just a few years old, still wearing open-crotch pants, who had spotted him immediately. The child reached out with both hands, trying to catch him.
The boy babbled foolishly, "Catch the little flying bug, catch the little flying bug."
The two struggled for a long time.
The Man employed his fastest speed, exerting tremendous effort to finally escape from the child's grasp.
"A child?" he thought to himself.
"Hmph, only a fool would believe you're just a child."
"Casually wielding spatial powers, you're probably not much different from that manure carrier."
"If I were deceived by your appearance, I'd be an idiot. You're likely an ancient monster who has lived for many years!"
"If it weren't for my cunning, I might have truly been fooled by your exterior and fallen into your trap."
"If that manure carrier was the first level of challenge on this island, then this child must be the second level!"
"Though I was targeted by this child, it undoubtedly drew away the fire."
"I assume Second Brother, Third Brother, and the other brothers have successfully landed on the island by now!"
"Very well, I don't necessarily need to investigate personally. I just need to keep this child's attention, preventing him from dealing with the others, giving them enough time to gather intelligence. That's not a bad strategy."
With this in mind, the Man began to regulate his breathing.
Over the next few days, the Man would occasionally appear before the child, attracting his attempts to capture him, thus buying time for his brothers.
After a full three days, the Man finally breathed a sigh of relief, a smile spreading across his face.
"The expert disguised as a child on the island has indeed had his attention drawn by me."
"But as the saying goes, 'The way is one foot high, the devil ten feet high.' You've ultimately been outmaneuvered by me. If I'm not mistaken, the others have successfully gathered the intelligence and are waiting for me on the southern shore."
"That being the case, I should go meet up with them!"
The Man, maintaining a cautious mindset, endured countless hardships.
He finally reached the southern shore.
The southern shore was a vast square, deserted during the day.
Of course, his brothers weren't there either.
In fact, there wasn't a single soul to be seen.
"What's going on?" he wondered.
"Could something have happened to them?"
"That powerful expert disguised as a child has been kept occupied by me. They couldn't have encountered any danger."
"Yes, they'll be back soon."
"Wait, I'll just wait!"
He had complete confidence in his brothers.
However, for safety's sake, he squeezed into a crevice in the cliff, keeping a close watch on his surroundings, waiting for his brothers to arrive.
His brothers hadn't shown up, but a large group of women arrived instead.