Upon hearing Official Liam speak, Ethan Harris instantly thought of something. Without saying much, he simply turned his gaze toward the direction where the Wave Rider was located.

As the cargo ship carrying Official Liam gradually drifted away, the people who had been hiding beneath the Wave Rider also grew restless.

Having just received a hundred thousand Mysterious Cores, Dong Tianyu was anxious to get back and see if he could upgrade his Companion Spiritual Treasure, so he didn’t want to stir up any more trouble.

Just as those people prepared to climb up the hull of the ship, Dong Tianyu suddenly activated the attack Formation engraved on the Wave Rider.

A pale aqua-colored seam instantly appeared on the hull of the ship, swiftly dividing the climbing survivors into several pieces.

From the moment Dong Tianyu activated the attack Formation to when those climbing outside were dissected into chunks, the whole process took less than three seconds.

As the bodies of the climbers fell onto the water’s surface like building blocks, their blood instantly dyed the surrounding seawater red.

Although the Wave Rider was a Magical Weapon refined by Dong Tianyu, it did not have the ability to repel the creatures in the water like the Companion Spiritual Treasure did.

The reason no aquatic creatures were present was that this area was close to the Lakeside Base’s controlled waters. Although there were no survivors’ Companion Spiritual Treasures nearby, these creatures avoided the area because of its proximity to the base.

But as blood seeped into the water, especially now, with the intensely strong smell of blood from over ten people, the aquatic creatures that had been keeping their distance were swiftly attracted.

With more and more sea creatures gathering by the ship, some small ones like rainworms tumbled and fought over the chunks of flesh in the water.

Of course, some of the sea creatures tried attacking Wave Rider, only to find that even if they shattered their teeth, they couldn’t inflict any significant damage to the ship.

The attackers who had been preparing to climb and ambush were actually equipped with concealed communication devices, but the Wind Blade attack made no sound, and furthermore, it killed all those people simultaneously and with great speed.

Although the concealed communication devices carried by the climbers were destroyed by the Wind Blade’s attack, those responsible for monitoring did not initially notice any anomalies.

However, when the time for the prearranged check-in came, and the infiltrators did not send any messages, and after several attempts to reach out, the monitoring party finally confirmed that the infiltrators had been wiped out.

After getting the report from the monitoring room, the others sitting in the Conference Room looked at each other, none speaking, creating an awkward atmosphere.

Suddenly, someone angrily said, "Since they’ve made the first move, it seems we need to get serious. Otherwise, they’ll think we’re easy targets."

Hearing this proposal, the others in the Conference Room nodded in agreement. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Following the orders issued in the Conference Room, suddenly three speedboats emerged from the Inner Harbor of the Lakeside Base.

As soon as they left the Harbor, the speedboats slowed down abruptly. They glided over the water, barely touching the surface before skimming aloft again.

Sitting on the cargo ship, Official Liam and Ethan Harris noticed the three speedboats racing toward them. Official Liam smirked disdainfully and said to Ethan Harris, "See, I told you someone would be unable to resist making a move."

The three speedboats quickly passed by the cargo ship. Ethan Harris recounted the people on the speedboats and exclaimed incredulously, "Six people per speedboat, they’ve sent eighteen people over?

No matter how you look at it, Dong Tianyu’s ship is at least a midsize cargo vessel of a thousand tons. Although only Dong Tianyu appeared during the trade, no matter how you count, even just to navigate the ship normally, it would require dozens of crew at least.

How could they only send eighteen people?

We’ve been involved in the trade for a whole day, and in all this time, they haven’t devised a proper raid strategy? How arrogant, how much do they underestimate the other party?"

Disagreeing with Evelyn Harris’s take, Official Liam retorted, "It’s not necessarily the case. After all, times have changed, and nowadays high-Cultivation Level Martial Artists can overwhelmingly crush those with lower levels, not to mention the Awakeners who contract various exotic entities.

In any case, we can no longer gauge the disparity in combat strength between the two parties based on numbers alone. Besides, while Dong Tianyu’s cargo ship may be large, we don’t know how many people are actually hidden inside.

But, ultimately, our trade is concluded, and our mission is complete. All we have to do now is get back safely, and regardless of the outcome over there, it doesn’t concern either of us much.

Anyway, we’ve already got our merits in hand. To tell you the truth, I’d rather Dong Tianyu come out victorious. After all, if those people win and bring back all the Mysterious Cores we’ve traded away,

we might end up toiling away for nothing all day, and even if we are given some credit, it will probably be minimal."

After listening to Official Liam’s thoughts, Ethan Harris pondered seriously and realized it was indeed the case.

If the people who drove the speedboats from the base could retrieve the Mysterious Cores they had traded away,

then even if they had painstakingly transported the traded goods safely back to Lakeside Base, the base’s higher-ups were unlikely to credit them; rather, they would probably appreciate more those who had reclaimed what had been paid.