The voice was slightly weathered and hoarse, like an old man’s.

Everyone stopped and turned to see another person disembark from the boat. Not very tall but spry on his feet, with his pant legs tied at the knees like an old sailor who regularly worked on boats.

Those young men all followed behind the old man with very respectful attitudes.

The old man walked ashore and said to Bai Youwei with a smile, “Little girl, don’t be afraid! Our island is very safe—no dolls, no man-eating fog. You’ll be very safe there. You won’t need to worry about lodging or food. Apart from no internet signal, it’s basically the same as life before.”

Bai Youwei continued her act, asking with an anxious expression, “But… if we go to the island, will anyone bully me and my brother?”

She seemed truly afraid, looking pitiful and helpless, one hand clutching Shen Mo’s shirt corner and not letting go.

Shen Mo could feel that small hand touching his waist through the thin T-shirt…

He warned her with his eyes: Behave yourself.

Unfortunately, she was so immersed in her acting that she didn’t look at him at all.

The old man waved his hand with a smile. “No one will bully you.”

The burly man behind him also spoke up to explain, “Although we’re just a private organization, as long as you work hard and perform well, you’ll have a chance to go to the officially established safety base! So you can rest assured about safety on the island—absolutely no one will deliberately make trouble for you.”

Shen Mo imperceptibly pressed down that mischievous hand and asked calmly, “What kind of safety base? Can you tell us about it?”

“It’s established by the Suzhou rescue agency, on West Mountain Island. It’s larger than Three Mountains Island with more abundant supplies. However, because nearby rescue teams all love to send people there, they’ve now limited the admission quota.”

Shen Mo: “Is there a way to contact the people over there?”

The burly man: “You can submit your information tomorrow. If you’re lucky, you might be selected and can naturally go to the base.”

Shen Mo asked again, “Who do we submit the information to?”

“Just give it to Uncle Zhao.” The burly man pointed to the old sailor beside him.

So everyone understood—this old man called Uncle Zhao was currently the only person who could contact the official agency, no wonder these young men were so respectful toward him.

Shen Mo wasn’t very interested in the private rescue organization, but the officially established safety base piqued his interest.

If there really were official personnel there, perhaps he could use this to contact the local department of the Public Security Bureau.

He still couldn’t believe that a completely operational, orderly large institution could so easily disappear after the doll invasion.

The four discussed briefly and decided to board the boat.

They left the SUV at the service area, took their personal luggage and some food, and boarded. On the boat, they learned more specific details about the island from the burly man—

For instance, everyone on the island had their own duties. Some were responsible for fishing, some for chopping firewood, some for cooking. Even the elderly, women, and children could be assigned work suitable for them.

In short, one sentence: you reap what you sow.

If you were lazy, hindered others’ work, or bullied the weak, you would be immediately expelled from the island upon discovery.

Therefore, the atmosphere on the island was excellent. Everyone united together in friendship and mutual aid—truly a breath of fresh air in this apocalyptic world.

Of course, this was all according to what the people on the boat said. Whether the facts were truly like this would only be known after Shen Mo and the others reached the island.

…

The lake surface was vast and tranquil. Under the night sky, mountains surrounded them on all sides, continuous and undulating, majestic and magnificent. Who knew what kind of beautiful scenery it would be in daylight.

In the distance, they saw a few points of light in the darkness.

As the boat drew nearer, those lights gradually grew denser, connecting into a sheet. Though not quite achieving the effect of “myriad lights,” it wasn’t far off.

Especially against the desolate and uninhabited surroundings, these lights couldn’t help but give people a feeling of coming home.