After Agin entered the cellar, he exchanged a glance with William, and both asked simultaneously, "What's going on?"
William was asking if something had happened outside, while Agin was curious about the situation inside the cellar.
Agin paused briefly before answering first, "I heard a gunshot just now..."
"It's nothing," William replied, watching Aramis approach the little girl. "There are just a few people hiding in here."
At that moment, the little girl who had been pretending to be invisible could no longer maintain her charade. She began crying loudly and tried to flee, but Aramis quickly caught her and tied her up.
"Mom! Mom!" The girl's heart-wrenching screams were piercing in the narrow cellar. The woman whimpered at the sound, but with her mouth gagged by Aramis, she could only weep silently.
Agin remained completely unmoved by this scene. In this world's oceans, besides the unpredictable weather that terrified those who made their living at sea, there were also various sea monsters—creatures William had never heard of or seen in his previous life. From a transmigrator's perspective like William, Agin's former life was akin to being a fisherman in horror films like Jaws or Piranha—not just courting death, but practically embracing it!
When encountering pirates, there was at least some possibility of communication between fellow humans, but facing ferocious sea monsters left no chance even to beg for mercy.
From childhood, Agin had struggled to survive on the sea in a crude small wooden boat. This upbringing had instilled in him a fierce disregard for his own life, naturally making him far from soft-hearted.
While Agin's expression remained unchanged, William furrowed his brow. Having spent time together, Agin knew something of his temperament. Seeing this, he said in a low voice, "William, if you can't bear to let them fall into others' hands, then perhaps..."
As he spoke, Agin made a cutting motion across his throat with his hand, his meaning unmistakable.
William didn't respond. During his months as a pirate, he had participated in several naval battles—against both pirates and Marines. But battlefield killing and murdering civilians afterward were two entirely different matters. Before his transmigration, William had been an ordinary person, not a serial killer.
Yet he couldn't bear to hand these people over to the other pirates either. Having lived among pirates for quite some time, he knew their character all too well.
Perhaps in this world there existed noble pirates or justice-loving heroes among the pirate community, but in essence, pirates were primarily a group of lawless bandits. When they chose to place their lives on the gambling table of the sea, living day by day without thought for tomorrow, the constraints of civilized society's laws and morals had little hold on them. Being able to exercise self-restraint and not kill indiscriminately was already a rare quality among pirates—with emphasis on "rare."
No one would overestimate the morality of people who lived by plundering others.
William knew that on this ship, apart from a few young pirates like himself who had only recently joined and still retained some semblance of moral conscience, the older pirates who had tasted the thrill of plunder could almost be described as capable of any evil. Their captain, "One-Eyed" Danton, was even more ruthless.
According to the older pirates on board, Danton had supposedly set sail at an age similar to William's. But his fortunes were poor—he was captured by enemy pirates who tortured him for information about his companions. Danton never yielded despite enduring terrible suffering, even having one eye gouged out. When he finally escaped, he discovered he had been abandoned by his pirate comrades. From then on, Danton's methods of dealing with enemies and captives grew increasingly cold-blooded. Regardless of gender or age, anyone who fell into his hands would find death to be the easiest release. This made the pirates on his ship both respect and fear him—respecting his strong will that could endure torture, while fearing his brutal methods.
Danton never hesitated to use cruelty to intimidate the pirates on his ship, nor did he worry that such management tactics would provoke negative effects. Therefore, if the woman, boy, and little girl—any one of these three—fell into Danton's hands, the boy might be the only one with some use, possibly being taken aboard the pirate ship. The other two would have no chance of survival, and their deaths would be horrific.
William glanced at the little girl, now gagged and bound by Aramis, and ultimately walked over to the struggling woman and crouched down before her.
Initially, William lowered his gaze slightly, appearing to look at the ground, but then he raised his head and stared directly into the woman's eyes, saying coldly, "If you don't want you and your daughter to die, then quietly listen to what I have to say."
William didn't know whether it was the threat in his words that worked, or if both were effective, but the woman quickly grew quiet, looking at him fearfully.
"I don't want to harm women and children, but I can't guarantee that others outside will follow my code of conduct. Once we take the wine from here and leave, no other pirates will come back. If you hide here quietly, you'll be safe once we're gone."
After William finished speaking, the woman showed no reaction, as if she couldn't believe her luck could be that good.
"Do you understand what I'm saying?" William asked as he stood up.
The woman's gaze had remained fixed on his face, so she tilted her head back dazedly. Hearing his question, she nodded instinctively.
William pulled the cloth from her mouth and looked toward the boy who had been knocked unconscious earlier and was still not awake, now also tied up by Aramis. He said, "When he wakes up, you'd better explain this clearly to him. I just don't want to kill you, but if you bring other pirates here and embarrass me, I will still take action."
The woman was already scared out of her wits and still didn't dare speak, fearing she might displease William. She just kept nodding, her face ashen.
William couldn't tell if he was merely making verbal threats or if he would actually follow through when the time came. People often speak of "holding" moral bottom lines—the word "holding" itself implies that moral boundaries aren't easily defended positions. One moment of carelessness, and they can easily be breached—by others, or by oneself.
Pirates were mostly a bunch of bullies who feared the strong but preyed on the weak, with short-sighted perspectives. In their worldview, compassion equaled weakness. William didn't want to display his mercy in front of these people.
William said nothing more to the woman in the cellar, gesturing for Aramis and Agin to help him move the wine out.
The three left the cellar, and William didn't mention untying the civilians they left behind. His earlier speech was primarily meant to prevent them from trying various schemes to escape their bonds; he wasn't naive enough to believe that if he untied them, they would definitely stay obediently in the cellar.
Once in the courtyard, Aramis suddenly spoke to William: "Even if you do this, they won't be grateful after they're rescued. You're smart enough to understand that, William. I really don't understand you."
William made no attempt to hide the disgust on his face as he responded, "I don't need their gratitude. I just hate living like locusts. Our way of life is truly despised by everyone."
Agin, who had been silent until now, said, "That's just how pirates are."
Aramis didn't speak, just shrugged his shoulders with an expression of complete agreement.
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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