The beautiful seaside, birds flying in flocks.
But upon closer inspection, they were pecking at corpses floating on the sea.
At least a dozen people had died in the water, all poor swimmers.
The white sand beach was also filled with people, some took a short rest and then stood up, but most were gasping for breath, unable to get up for a long time, and there were even those who were motionless, whether dead or unconscious was unclear.
Gao Xin was also exhausted at this moment. He was a good swimmer, but crossing hundreds of meters of sea still required his full effort.
Just as he took a couple of breaths, preparing to stand up, a hand suddenly reached out to him.
"Brother, I saw you swim pretty fast, what's your name?" said a bare-chested man, quite lean with muscle lines filled with beauty, followed by a dozen others.
"My name is Gao Xin, 'Gao' as in tall, 'Xin' as in hardship." Gao Xin grasped his hand, using it to stand up.
Then he added, "I didn't swim that fast, it was okay..."
"I grew up by the river, swimming for a day and a night is no problem, this was my first time crossing the sea, I'm not used to it and I had to slow down."
Gao Xin's initial reaction was to be modest, but seeing that the other party had already drawn a dozen people to band together with him in such a short time, he realized that this was no time for modesty.
This was an island, and being a good swimmer should count as a skill, it might come in handy.
"Oh?" the bare-chested man smiled, "Little brother, my name is Luo Yan. Since you're also Han, stick with me from now on."
"Everyone here is banished to this god-forsaken place at the same time, unfamiliar with life and land here, it's right that we should band together and help each other."
"Great!" Gao Xin nodded immediately, it was definitely good to have someone leading and organizing everyone.
Although these people were criminals, coming here they were all newcomers, no one knew the situation on the island, so it was always right to band together first.
This was probably the easiest group to blend into as well.
Luo Yan nodded, not saying much more. After recruiting Gao Xin, he immediately moved on to the next target.
The others hurried to keep up and soon recruited a few more.
Gao Xin noticed that he didn't just approach anybody, like the foreigners he didn't actively recruit, it was clear he only chose Han people.
As more and more convicts swam ashore, Luo Yan's team kept growing stronger.
A large group of people followed him, very conspicuous on the beach, and later on, he didn't even need to recruit personally, people naturally joined the queue.
Gao Xin roughly counted, there were about sixty people, nearly all the Han were gathered here.
The remaining two hundred or so convicts were scattered all over the beach, still very confused, of different tribes, although there was no obstacle to communication as the official language was widely spoken, but among them, no one stepped forward to organize them.
There were even more than thirty Radiations among them, and though they were Radiations, they seemed to be filled with fear for Crime Prison Island.
They all stayed on the beach, cringing and not daring to venture further.
After all, Crime Prison Island was a place with hidden dragons and crouching tigers, where all the terrifying criminals that could be caught over the past twenty years had been sent, who wouldn't be afraid?
"The scenery is really nice, worthy of being a famous tropical island in the Western Pacific."
Just as everyone hesitated, Luo Yan suddenly praised the scenery.
This caused everyone to turn their gaze towards him, after all, this was supposedly a place like Hell, and he still had the mood to praise the scenery?
Luo Yan bent down to pick up shellfish from the beach, first examining the quality, then breaking them open and eating them raw.
While eating, he remarked, "The food here seems to have suffered little pollution, at least much better than the seafood we get in the city."
"Try it!"
Hearing him say so, some people actually tried, and when Luo Yan inquired about the taste, those who tried it all said it was good.
Suddenly, the atmosphere began to ease, and some even started to forage, catching two coconut crabs.
If one didn't consider the reputation of Crime Prison Island, the place was quite scenic, with a warm climate and no apparent problem with the animals, rich in food resources—it almost felt like a holiday destination.
"What about this?" a blond, blue-eyed Radiation finally couldn't help but come up and ask Luo Yan.
Luo Yan smiled, "This coastline seems completely undeveloped, which means there might be a stable food source on the island, like something provided by the authorities."
"Or that there's simply no one around, and the exiles on the island have not gathered in this area."
"No matter what the situation is on the island, no matter what it's like when we encounter them, at least for now, we should be safe."
As everyone considered this, it indeed made sense.
Suddenly, other Radiations gathered around too, asking, "Then, brother, what are your thoughts?"
Seeing that everyone focused on him, Luo Yan immediately spoke up loudly, "I've already counted our numbers, this batch totals three hundred and three people."
"Before even setting foot on the island, we suffered a loss of fifteen people, leaving two hundred and eighty-eight, and it looks like there are thirty-eight Radiations among us who survived, but undoubtedly, those who lived are all good swimmers."
Hearing this, Gao Xin felt compelled to count again, only seeing thirty-seven Radiations.
Huh? Where was the other one?
Gao Xin looked around and finally, his gaze settled on Luo Yan, thinking to himself that it had to be him.
Because from the moment Luo Yan appeared, he was bare-chested, which meant his prison garment's tag wasn't visible, and neither was the name, number, or type of Radiation on it.
On further reflection, Luo Yan seemed to be the one who stood in the first row when jumping into the sea, the first to leap.
And at that time, he had already thrown away his clothes.
At a glance, it seemed normal to take off his clothes to swim, something nobody paid attention to back then, but now, since he was the only one who did it, it seemed a bit unique.