"No matter how difficult it is, we must find it. If we don't look, we'll never find it. Taking action at least gives us hope of finding it."

Wang Zhifan immediately responded to the One-Eyed Dragon's pessimistic attitude towards finding Forbidden Fruit Island, showing his firm determination.

"Also, I won't let you work for nothing. During the island search, I'll cover all the costs of food, drink, and entertainment, ensuring you won't have a miserable time."

Wang Zhifan then offered a financial incentive, giving them a taste of sweetness. Otherwise, relying solely on force would make this cooperation difficult to proceed smoothly.

"You're not deceiving an old man like me, are you? Although many on our ship were killed by you earlier, there are still over two hundred of us in total, including those in the cabin. This expense is not a small amount."

The One-Eyed Dragon squinted slightly upon hearing Wang Zhifan's boast, expressing his skepticism.

His gaze swept over Wang Zhifan's impressive gear under the oil lamp light, and the four rings on his hands, leading him to judge that this powerful young man was surely of extraordinary origin, but whether he could afford a pirate ship was uncertain.

"Rest assured, money isn't an issue."

Without much elaboration at this point, Wang Zhifan reached theatrically into his pocket under the table and took out a large handful of heavy Jinlan gold coins, tossing them all onto the table.

"You two split these gold coins first, consider it an advance payment for hiring you to find Forbidden Fruit Island. If things go smoothly, there will be more gold coins for you later. However, let me make this clear: if you're working for me, you must work honestly. Anyone with other ideas, or thinking of running away with the money, don't blame me for being ruthless. I'm skilled at tracking people, and if any of you dares to try, you're welcome to test it."

Having shown a hint of his financial resources, Wang Zhifan added a threat. The reason for spending so much effort on these two was that he truly valued them, hoping they could cooperate smoothly with him, as one of them had previously searched for Forbidden Fruit Island, thus having experience, and the other was a resident of the Storm Sea, naturally very familiar with the area.

While he was saying this, the crocodilian giant listened fairly carefully, but the One-Eyed Dragon was different. As he eyed Wang Zhifan, he reached out and grabbed several gold coins from the table, impetuously biting them with his teeth, impatiently verifying their quality.

"Ah... such beautiful little guys, I haven't seen Jinlan of such quality in years... It seems you're definitely of noble birth."

Once the old guy verified the high quality of Wang Zhifan's gold coins, he couldn't help but praise, also speculating that Wang Zhifan's identity must be quite unusual.

"Alright, old man, stop pondering over my identity. Start thinking about how to locate Forbidden Fruit Island. Didn't you have experience in this area? Come up with a plan."

Wang Zhifan straightened his expression and spoke to the One-Eyed Dragon, having given him a sweet incentive, the pressure couldn't be lacking.

"And you, big guy, you must be very familiar with the Storm Sea. You'll mainly serve as our guide in the upcoming actions."

Wang Zhifan then looked at the giant crocodilian, who seemed to be of the typical big and taciturn type.

"Sir, the Storm Sea is vast. I only know my homeland well and not much about other places. I'm certain there's no Forbidden Fruit Island in my homeland. Our crocodilian islands are very barren, and none can grow fruit trees. Even if there were, the storms would destroy them..."

The crocodilian giant answered in his deep voice, emphasizing that there could be no such island in his homeland.

"What about under the sea? Has your tribe explored thoroughly? Perhaps the island I'm searching for is hidden underwater, making it hard to find."

Wang Zhifan suggested, recalling a player's theory that the quest target might not be on the surface, which he thought was quite possible.

"It's even less likely underwater."

However, the crocodilian brother immediately shook his extraordinarily thick neck.

"Our tribe spends more than half our time underwater searching for food. There isn't a section of the sea bottom in our territory we haven't explored. I'm very familiar with it myself. If there were an area under the sea full of fruit, I would know."

The crocodilian continued to explain.

"Hmm... so Forbidden Fruit Island shouldn't be within your tribe's domain."

Wang Zhifan could sense the big guy wasn't lying, nodding slightly.

Then he glanced at the old man beside him, still immersed in fondling the Jinlan coins, and the old man's sharp perceptiveness kicked in. As soon as Wang Zhifan averted his gaze, the old man snapped back to reality. His greedy expression vanished in an instant, and his single eye turned back to him:

"Sir, according to the rumors I collected back then, Forbidden Fruit Island should be in the Storm Sea, but its location is quite hidden, making it hard to find. So we do need to embark for the Storm Sea... However, the edge of the Storm Sea is a month's journey from here. Our ship's food and fresh water won't last that long, so we need to dock and resupply... We also need a shipyard to repair this vessel. Although it has some blessings from the Sea God and is not afraid of ordinary storms, the Storm Sea is truly terrifying. If we don't prepare everything, we might sink before finding Forbidden Fruit Island..."

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