Why Take the Risk

The points earned from work were not substantial, but they were enough for a comfortable life. So, why take the risk?

Alice listened attentively, and after Ignatius finished speaking, she continued, "I understand. Where can I rent a boat?"

Ignatius sighed inwardly; all his advice seemed to be in vain. He reluctantly took her to the place where boats were rented, ensuring that the fishermen there wouldn't take advantage of her.

Some clever fishermen had given up going out to sea and instead chose to rent out their boats. Of course, they required a deposit, and if the boat came back damaged, the deposit would be withheld.

"Base Commander, why are you here?" A few fishermen were chatting while lying on chairs. When they saw Ignatius approaching, they immediately stood up, wearing smiles on their faces. They owed their peaceful days, free from pirate disturbances, to Ignatius, and the people in the base were grateful to him.

Ignatius pointed to Alice, "This is my nephew's girlfriend. She wants to rent a boat to go out to sea. Pick a good one for her."

Alice: "..." What kind of relationship explanation is this?

The fishermen looked at Alice with surprise. "Young lady, I suggest you reconsider. Even big, burly men are afraid to go out with dozens of people. Wouldn't you be giving yourself away?"

There weren't many women in the base, and attractive ones were even rarer. The thought of Alice falling into the hands of pirates saddened them.

Ignatius helplessly added, "I've said everything I needed to say. If she insists, let it be."

After hearing this, the fishermen stopped trying to dissuade her. The ones renting out boats were experienced old fishermen, and they knew the ins and outs of each boat.

However, they were cautious and mentioned to Alice, "This boat is the best, with strong endurance, but the deposit is high."

Especially considering that Alice might not return, they naturally set a high deposit.

Alice straightforwardly asked, "How much are the deposit and rent in total?"

With only four hundred points in her account, she might need to exchange more points if it wasn't sufficient.The fishermen pondered for a moment. If it were someone else, they wouldn't recommend such a good boat unless the price was extremely high. However, Alice had been brought by the Base Commander, and they couldn't easily deceive her.

The fishermen were slow to decide on a suitable price.

"If you're worried about me not coming back and losing money, how about this? Can I buy the boat instead?" Alice quickly understood the dilemma the fishermen were facing.

This suggestion struck a chord with the fishermen. Their idea was to sell the boat to Alice, and whether she could come back or not would be none of their concern.

"That works, but it's a bit expensive. This boat has the best configuration. I haven't sold it even when others offered two thousand points. Considering you're related to the Base Commander, I'll sell it to you for fifteen hundred points," the fisherman said.

Alice didn't haggle and readily agreed, "Alright, I'll need to go back to exchange points. Can I give you four hundred points as a deposit for now?"

The fishermen looked at her in disbelief. Did Alice really have the capability to buy it?

Fifteen hundred points was not a small amount, enough for an ordinary person to live in the base for several years. The fishermen's gaze towards Alice became even more pitiful. Easily producing so many points, she clearly didn't worry about food and drink. Why would she choose to go out to sea?

Those pirates were extremely ruthless and impoverished, terrifying everyone. Those who ventured out to sea either did so out of necessity or sought wealth in danger. Successfully catching fish and returning once could exempt them from work for a year or two, depending on the quantity of fish caught. Most people earned quite a bit.

Alice didn't explain further and simply swiped her card, transferring four hundred points to the fishermen. She arranged to come back the next day at noon to pay the remaining amount.

After settling the boat rental, Alice went to other places.

...

At night, Ignatius returned home and saw Hurley improving weapons. He sighed softly.

Hurley looked up, puzzled, "What's wrong?"

His old uncle had always been optimistic, and he had never heard him sigh like this even in difficult situations.

"You better go and deal with your girlfriend," Ignatius said."What's wrong with Alice?" Hurley asked without hesitation. He was so anxious that he directly ignored the fact that Alice wasn't his girlfriend!

Ignatius glanced at him and snorted, "Yesterday you didn't admit she's your girlfriend, and now you're worried about what your old uncle will think."After a pause, he continued, "I saw her on the hill today. Alice said she wants to go to sea. I told her about the pirates, how dangerous it is, but she wouldn't listen. She insisted on renting a boat, no, later Alice just bought a boat. It seems she's serious. Go talk to her. Don't be so reckless. Although there are survivors in this world, if you run into trouble, it's a matter of life and death."

How could a young girl have such great courage, braver than many men?

"How many points for that boat?" Hurley asked immediately after hearing Ignatius' words.

"Fifteen hundred points. She paid a deposit of four hundred," Ignatius replied. He paused for a moment and added, "Go talk to her. If she changes her mind, it's fine. I'll help her get the deposit back."

Hurley, upon hearing this, immediately set down the weapon he was working on and turned to leave.

Thinking that he was going to talk to Alice, Ignatius reminded, "The girl has thin skin. Be careful with your words, no mocking, understand? Everyone has naive moments."

Hurley nodded and left with determined strides.He arrived at the parking lot, looked around, and seeing no one, he took out a bag of high-quality rice weighing a hundred kilograms from his space.

Then, he drove to the exchange hall. Yesterday, he had waited for a while, but the place became crowded, and he left without exchanging anything.

When he arrived, the staff was preparing to finish work. Indifferently, one of them said, "We're closing, come back tomorrow."

"I have high-quality rice," Hurley said.

The staff, about to leave, immediately changed their expression. High-quality rice? Why didn't you say so earlier!Several staff members poured out to inspect it, confirmed there were no impurities, and promptly credited him with two thousand points.

With the points in hand, Hurley went to the boat rental place.

A few fishermen were about to have their meal, and seeing him, they asked, "Are you here for a fishing boat?""No, is there a girl who came to buy a boat today and paid a deposit of four hundred points?" Hurley inquired.

"Yes," a few fishermen looked him over and smiled, asking, "You're the Base Commander's nephew, right?"

Hurley asked in confusion, "How did you know?"

The fishermen chuckled, "The Base Commander said that the girl is his nephew's girlfriend. You're about the same age, both good-looking, a perfect match."

Hurley: "..." This misunderstanding was hard to explain. He wondered what Alice was thinking.Thinking about it made him uneasy.

"Did your girlfriend change her mind, and you're here to get the deposit back?" one fisherman asked.Actually, they all thought Alice would eventually regret it. Sometimes decisions made in the heat of the moment led to regrets later, and they understood that. Moreover, with Alice having connections with the Base Commander, they were willing to accommodate her.

Hurley just sighed, unsure of how to clarify the situation.