Surrender the Supplies or Face War

"The supplies were all on the ship before we disembarked. They must have been stolen by the people from the base," a man nearby exclaimed angrily.No wonder they refused the peace negotiation; turns out they were plotting behind our backs.

Ignatius saw that they hadn't left the ship since boarding it and was about to assign someone to continue monitoring them when he noticed the pirate leader disembarking once again. The fire in his eyes was unmistakable.

Furrowing his brow, Ignatius waited for the pirate leader to approach before asking, "Why haven't you left yet?"

"The Base Commander has some nerve. You don't need to play dumb. Surrender the supplies, or we'll go to war," the pirate leader gritted his teeth, his face contorting with rage. In these times, resources were the most crucial; refusing to surrender them would only lead to conflict.

Ignatius was taken aback for a moment and responded irritably, "I don't know what you're talking about. Speak plainly."

"Our supplies on the ship are missing. You must have taken them," another pirate accused.

This time, Ignatius understood. He hadn't expected these pirates to be so shameless. "You're quite amusing, pretending to offer two empty ships for peace. When we refuse, you switch tactics to framing us. You're even worse than your ancestors. If you had any guts, you'd claim that two people went missing and then start a fight."

The onlookers from the base also found the pirates despicable, especially those who had initially supported plundering the two ships. Before they could act, the pirates had turned the tables.

On the pirates' side, they believed Ignatius was lying and playing games, and neither side was willing to back down.

As tensions rose, Ignatius was prepared for a confrontation.

Hurley stepped out from the crowd, his gaze cold as he stared at the pirates. "Who knows if there were any supplies on your ship? If you're so sure, then provide evidence."

The pirate leader's face turned from red to pale in an instant. They weren't fools, especially when they couldn't comprehend how the supplies could disappear without a trace. Even if it was the work of the base's people, there should have been some commotion.Wanting to empty the supplies from two ships in a short amount of time without drawing attention was nearly impossible. Logically, it could be ruled out that the base's people were responsible for the disappearance of the supplies. However, since the supplies were missing, they couldn't simply let it go. Regardless of whether it was the base's people who did it, as long as the probability of them being the culprits was high, the suspicion was on them.

After waiting for a while and seeing that the other side couldn't provide evidence, Ignatius could only regretfully shake his head. "Since you're not sincere about making peace, there was no need for you to come here. It's exhausting to watch this self-directed drama."

The pirate leader suddenly stepped forward, drew the gun from his waist, and pointed it at Ignatius's forehead. "I'll say it again, bring out the supplies."

Hurley positioned himself behind Ignatius, also drawing his gun and aiming it at them. "Back off."

The naval guards also aimed their guns at the pirates, both sides pointing weapons at each other, neither side daring to fire the first shot. If a real fight broke out, neither side would gain an advantage.

Although Alice didn't come out, she watched from the crowd. She was prepared, and if it came to a fight, she would do her best to protect Ignatius. The supplies were taken by her and Hurley, and Ignatius shouldn't bear the consequences.

Fortunately, it didn't come to blows in the end. The pirate leader knew they didn't stand a chance and left with a glare.

Ignatius ordered his men to stand down and increased the defense around the perimeter.

Back at home, Ignatius continued to curse the shamelessness of the pirates. "Can you believe the audacity of these people? They accused us of stealing the supplies from two ships. Why didn't they mention that we took all the supplies from their island?"

Hurley followed him silently, "If those people come back, what do you plan to do? The people from country R are notorious for being shameless and extremely difficult to deal with.""Shotguns are ready, let the wolves and tigers come, I'll treat them to peanuts," Ignatius exclaimed angrily. "Just wait, evildoers will get their comeuppance. Whether it's a tsunami or a major earthquake, we won't need to lift a finger to deal with them. They'll bring about their own downfall."

The Allen family also heard about the incident. Blanche didn't doubt Alice at all; she saw it as a trap set by the people from country R.

"No wonder they suddenly became generous. They must have anticipated that we wouldn't agree to their peace offer and planned to find another excuse to attack us," Blanche remarked.

Arnold pondered for a moment. "I can't shake the feeling that something's off about this."

After listening to their discussion for a while, Alice ultimately sided with Arnold. "Big brother is right. This situation does seem suspicious."

"You're all overthinking it. It's definitely a ploy by the people from country R. Don't give them any excuses," Alexander countered.

"What if I told you that the supplies were taken by me and Hurley?" Alice's revelation left them speechless, prompting them to take a moment to process the information.

Blanche widened her eyes. "I heard there were dozens of pirates. How did you manage to get up there?"

Alice recounted the events, feeling a bit embarrassed. "No need to doubt. It's your daughter's handiwork."

"Why didn't you say so earlier? You had us analyzing the situation for so long," Atticus sighed in exasperation.

"I wanted to hear your opinions. It's enough that our family knows about this," Alice reminded them.

With such occurrences becoming more common, maintaining secrecy became second nature. They no longer had to be as cautious as before, constantly worried about saying the wrong thing.

"Little sister, how much supplies were on that ship?" Alexander asked curiously.Alice happened to count as she stored the supplies into the space. "There are several thousand pounds of rice alone, and hundreds of pounds of flour and noodles. The rest of the items are quite varied, so I won't list them all."

The Allen family members were delighted to hear this. Who would have thought that anyone would complain about having too much wealth before? Now, who would complain about having too many supplies?

Blanche, in her joy, prepared another lavish dinner that evening.

The next day, Alice went to the vegetable garden to check on the seeds she had planted and watered them with a few buckets of water. Tired, she sat on a nearby rock and leisurely enjoyed a chocolate bar.

Suddenly, she noticed two suspicious figures sneaking into the vegetable garden next to her, plucking two vegetables before darting away.

Shortly after, the owners of the vegetable garden arrived, a middle-aged couple. Upon seeing that two vegetables were missing from the garden, the woman became furious and began to curse loudly. "Who's so shameless as to steal someone else's vegetables? Stealing from Darlene's garden, they must be sick of living."

"Don't let me catch you, or I'll skin you alive," she threatened angrily.