Homo Sapiens

The Amazon Rainforest is our homeland.

The Andes Mountains are our sacred land.

Who are we?

We are the Three-leaf Oak, who weep white tears.

— *The Three-leaf Oak*

「North America.」

「California.」

Black Ship Headquarters was located in a small town near San Francisco.

BANG! Jack Hudson, the Grand Admiral of Black Ship, slammed his fist on the oak table, his expression grim. ”Find their exact location. I want these scumbags to regret ever being born.”

Chadra, the Vice Admiral in charge of cyber intelligence, pushed up his glasses. ”Their IP address was located within the Redwood Federation in South America, but by the time our people arrived, all they found was a Three-leaf Oak symbol.”

”Vengeance from the Indians? I think someone is trying to divert our attention,” guessed Gwen Charlotte, who was in charge of intelligence analysis.

Jack Hudson clenched his fists. ”I don’t care who’s behind them. If they dare to provoke us, we will destroy them. Since they’ve appeared in South America, it means they have members there. Investigate with all our resources. I refuse to believe they’re a monolith. We just need to capture one of them, and it’ll be their doom.”

The Black Ship executives present all agreed with Jack’s idea.

After discussing the details of the investigation for a while, the tone was set.

Then, Gwen Charlotte brought up another matter. ”Jack, regarding the situation in Luzon, I think we need to readjust our plans.”

Jack’s expression turned just as ugly at the mention of Luzon.

If the sudden Pine Tree Valley incident hadn’t diverted Black Ship’s attention, they wouldn’t be giving the Cianlan Island matter the cold shoulder like this.

Chadra reminded them, ”The chances of them surviving are slim. The key issue is that we don’t know what cards Luzon is holding. Without being able to wage a direct war, we’re in a very passive position.”

Just as Chadra said, America was now in a very passive position.

After all, they had instigated the Kawit Clan and dispatched the Seal Team with the aim of creating a pretext to stir up trouble within Luzon and interfere in its internal affairs.

Now, the plan had failed, and they had lost contact with everyone.

They couldn’t exactly announce that two hundred of their people had gone missing on Cianlan Island, could they?

People who entered a country without any entry records were, according to unwritten international rules, illegal immigrants. To put it more bluntly, they were spies.

Under these circumstances, Black Ship could only try to find the men through clandestine channels or abandon them altogether.

It would be very difficult to demand their return through official channels.

Besides, the Black Ship executives present were already mentally prepared for the fact that these men would most likely have to be sacrificed.

Jack knew he couldn’t protect Victor anymore; someone had to take the fall for this. ”Revoke Victor’s position. He’s made too many mistakes over the past few years. Who do you think is suitable to be the next Governor of the Southeast Asian Black Ship?”

”What about Joshua, the Vice Governor of the West Asian Black Ship?” Gwen Charlotte suggested with a smile.

Jack looked at the others. They exchanged glances for a moment and agreed that Joshua was the most suitable candidate.

On one hand, Victor had been part of Jack’s faction. With the incidents at Pine Tree Valley and Cianlan Island, Jack, as the Grand Admiral of Black Ship, definitely needed to make a concession.

On the other hand, Joshua, who had served for many years in the West Asian Black Ship, was currently the most qualified candidate to become the Governor of the Southeast Asian Black Ship.

Seeing that there were no major objections, Jack went with the flow. ”Then let’s appoint Joshua as the new Governor of the Southeast Asian Black Ship.”

Black Ship Headquarters was discussing countermeasures and adjusting its internal personnel.

...

Meanwhile, in the Amazon Rainforest of South America.

A fierce confrontation had inevitably erupted.

Amazonas, the Redwood Federation.

This place, along with the nearby Amazon Province of New Granada, the Loreto District of the Inca Kingdom, and the eastern inland region of the South American Equatorial Country, collectively formed the world-famous Silver Triangle Region.

Chaos was its watchword, coca was its common crop, and gangs were its law and order.

Saint Paul Town was situated beside the mighty Amazon River. Upstream lay the Loreto District of the Inca Kingdom.

Its convenient waterways and crucial geographical position hadn’t brought it wealth. Instead, they had turned it into one of the Silver Triangle’s underground transport routes.

The local gang boss, Malik, had lost all his usual swagger. He didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly.

Because the man standing before him was Philis—the great tyrant of Amazon Province and the puppet master of this stretch of rainforest.

”Where are the men from Three-leaf Oak?”

Malik swallowed. ”Boss Philis, they went to the Inca Kingdom the night before last.”

Taking the cigar from his mouth, Philis’s eyes glinted like a cunning rat’s. ”Gone to the Inca Kingdom? Which route did they take?”

”I... I don’t know. I’ll... I’ll send men to find out right away...” Malik grew even more nervous. He snatched up a nearby phone, dialed one of his underlings, and hurriedly ordered them to find Three-leaf Oak.

Philis took another drag from his cigar and exhaled. ”Find them for me. And remember, it’s best to capture a few of them alive.”

”Understood! I’ll definitely...”

”Definitely what?”

Philis’s men instantly drew their revolvers. ”Who’s there?”

Malik, scared witless, quickly raised his hands. ”Boss Philis,” he said, his face a mask of misery, ”I didn’t arrange for anyone else to come here.”

Philis was already surrounded by a few of his men, warily scanning his surroundings.

The men, armed with revolvers and submachine guns, crept toward the door and any potential hiding spots in the room.

The next second.

THWIP! Several of the men’s heads hit the floor, spraying blood across the tiles. Philis’s pupils contracted in shock.

RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT... One of the gangsters squeezed the trigger of his submachine gun, spraying bullets everywhere.

But before he could gloat for even a few seconds, his head was blown wide open, and he collapsed into a pool of blood.

Terrified by the scene, Philis had lost all of his earlier domineering presence. He roared, his voice cracking, ”Indiscriminate fire! Shoot anywhere there’s no one!”

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Gunshots, shouts, and the shattering of glass echoed not just in the room, but throughout the entire building.

But in the next instant.

Philis and the five henchmen protecting him were all sliced in half at the waist. Guts and blood covered the floor.

Not yet dead, Philis reached out with trembling hands, his eyes filled with disbelief and terror.

”How could I... possibly... GHH!”

A large boot, covered in some sort of dark green, leather-like material, stomped on his head. ”Weren’t you looking for us? I thought all of Black Ship’s lapdogs were supposed to be like James Bond, but it turns out you’re all just this pathetic.”

Before Philis could get a clear look at the figure before him, he breathed his last, his eyes wide with indignation.

The figure retracted several specialized nano-cutting spider threads, then collected the cell phones and communication devices from the bodies.

Using their blood, the figure painted the symbol of a three-leaf oak on the wall.

That day, more than thirty shootouts erupted across the Silver Triangle Region, leaving over six hundred gang members dead.

Meanwhile, at Black Ship’s South American branch, even the branch Governor was blown up in his villa. A large number of key personnel were annihilated by Three-leaf Oak.

Jack had originally planned to send reinforcements to the Southeast Asian Black Ship, but that was out of the question now. Black Ship had been utterly routed in South America.

With a major crisis brewing in South America, Black Ship had no choice but to divert a large number of personnel to prevent their ”backyard” from spinning completely out of control.