"So, you finally remembered to call me, you rascal? With all those companies to manage, you instead spend money on a boat to go play around on the ocean. You’re just asking for trouble!"

"And another thing—how do you manage to drop a perfectly good phone into the ocean? You’ve really outdone yourself. Where are you now? How many more days until you’re home?"

Hearing his mom’s nagging, Fang Chenyi froze for a moment before it dawned on him: she obviously didn’t know he had been missing.

’That’s for the best. At least I don’t have to make them worry.’

He took a deep breath, composed himself, and then spoke in a deliberately lighthearted tone.

"Ah, I wasn’t paying attention, and next thing I knew, the phone was in the ocean. As for where we are... uh... I’m not sure. Xiaotian and the others have been navigating, but we should be getting close. Ten days at the most, maybe eight."

He chatted for a little while longer before hanging up. By this time, the group had reached Vajra’s location.

From a distance, they saw a massive gorilla, a roasting rack in each hand, constantly flipping and turning them.

Everyone was instantly dumbfounded. ’Holy shit! Is that gorilla... roasting whole lambs?! This is just too...’

Meanwhile, Vajra had spotted Fang Chenyi approaching with a group of people.

Fang Chenyi had already explained the situation to him, so when Vajra saw the group arrive, the big guy became exceptionally excited.

He started hooting loudly. If his hands weren’t busy with the whole lambs, he undoubtedly would have started pounding his chest.

"B-Brother Fang, is that... Vajra? He’s huge! And... what’s he doing?"

Qi Xiaotian, standing beside him, gulped audibly and pointed at the behemoth, his voice filled with disbelief.

It was no wonder he was so shocked. When Fang Chenyi mentioned a gorilla friend, Qi Xiaotian had imagined a small, young ape. As far as he knew, a beast that large was impossible to tame, let alone communicate with.

Seeing their shocked expressions, Fang Chenyi looked rather pleased with himself.

"Yep, that’s Vajra. See? He’s making you all some roast lamb. Haha, he’s a very hospitable fellow."

Watching the gorilla and hearing from Fang Chenyi that it was cooking for them, the group’s wariness began to fade.

Half an hour later, Vajra walked over with the roasted goats.

When the men had first arrived, some had offered to help, but the big fellow insisted on doing all the cooking himself, refusing to let anyone else touch the spits.

The intelligence he displayed was on par with that of a human teenager.

As such, the men were becoming less and less surprised by his behavior.

Walking up to the group, who were sitting in a circle, Vajra casually placed the two goats on a large, clean rock.

He then grabbed one of the goats and, with a casual flex of his hands, ripped the carcass clean in half.

He didn’t stop there. His hands kept moving, and in moments, the steaming, freshly roasted goat was torn into a dozen or so portions.

After tearing the goat into pieces, Vajra let out a couple of hoots at the group, then pointed to the meat on the rock.

The gesture was a clear invitation for everyone to come and eat.

At the invitation, the men all got up to grab a piece of meat, making sure to toss a few words of praise Vajra’s way. This made Vajra absolutely thrilled.

He pounded his chest with his huge hands, creating a loud THUMPING sound.

Even after everyone had grabbed a large piece of roast goat and started eating, Vajra’s excitement hadn’t faded.

Seeing the men eating with such relish, the big fella simply grabbed the other whole roasted goat, and without a second thought, lifted it to his mouth and began to chow down.

He made loud smacking and chewing noises as he ate.

With their military backgrounds, the men ate quickly, finishing their portions in about five minutes.

Seeing this, Vajra, who was only halfway through his goat, paused. After a moment’s thought, he tore a chunk of meat from his own portion and offered it to Mu Tou, who was sitting beside him.

Mu Tou was taken aback for a second. Realizing the big fellow’s kind intentions, his perception of the gorilla shifted completely, and he found himself fully accepting this lovable giant.

Earlier, Qi Xiaotian had already relayed the news of Fang Chenyi’s discovery back to the *Ocean Harmony*. Upon receiving the message, Liu Yishou let out a long, heavy sigh of relief.

He immediately recalled all search-and-rescue speedboats and helicopters and ordered the *Ocean Harmony* to proceed at full speed toward the coordinates Qi Xiaotian had provided.

Back on the island, after the meal, Fang Chenyi boarded the transport ship with the others. He carried the still deeply sleeping Bai Menghan to a room and placed her on a bed before changing into a clean set of camouflage fatigues.

「Three days passed in this manner.」 While waiting for the *Ocean Harmony*, the dozen or so men had become fast friends with Vajra.

With his new helpers, Vajra led the men to the pool at the base of the waterfall to exact a large-scale, retaliatory strike against the fish within.

Watching the large fish being hauled up one after another in a big net, Vajra jumped and danced with glee.

That evening, using the seasonings from the transport ship, they naturally prepared an all-fish feast.

Vajra, who was used to grilled fish, tasted braised fish for the first time and found it even more delicious. He also tried the Sichuan-style spicy fish, which was so hot it made him stick out his tongue, drool, and feel like his mouth was on fire.

「At noon that day, the long-awaited *Ocean Harmony* finally arrived!」

Impressively, the waters around the small island were deep enough that a massive cruise ship like the *Ocean Harmony* could dock right up against the shore.

Once the *Ocean Harmony* was securely moored, a foreigner immediately descended from the gangway.

The man spotted Fang Chenyi waiting on the shore and immediately strode toward him with open arms.

He called out as he approached:

"Oh! My dear Boss! It is so wonderful to see you again! You have no idea, Boss. After I heard you’d lost contact, I started to wonder... does this mean I can keep the money for that painting? Haha!"

The man was none other than Demo Did, who had been helping with the search all along.

Having already learned from Qi Xiaotian just how much the man had helped them, Fang Chenyi was deeply moved.

He gave Demo Did a heartfelt hug. As for his words, Fang Chenyi knew it was just a joke.

’If he really didn’t want to pay for the painting, as he’d joked, there was no way the man would have mobilized all his resources to help with the search.’

’As far as Fang Chenyi was concerned, their friendship was worth far more than any painting.’

Following closely behind Demo Did were Liu Yishou and several crew members.

’Words couldn’t express his gratitude.’ Looking at these brothers who had never given up the search for him, Fang Chenyi made a silent vow: ’I will give every single one of them the brightest possible future.’

After greeting everyone, Fang Chenyi turned his gaze back to Vajra, who was still thrilled by the commotion of the crowd.

He strode over and, standing on his tiptoes, raised a hand to pat the massive gorilla on the head. Then, in a very serious tone, he asked:

"Vajra, I’m leaving this place. Are you going to come with me, or will you stay here?"

Through his interactions with Vajra, Fang Chenyi had learned that the gorilla was all alone. In other words, Vajra was the only one of his kind on the entire island.

That was why Fang Chenyi asked. If there had been any other gorillas on the island, he never would have considered taking the creature away from its home.

Vajra understood Fang Chenyi’s words and their meaning. All at once, the previously excited gorilla fell silent.

He turned his head to look out at the island’s forests and mountains, his eyes filled with a deep reluctance to leave.

’A part of him wanted to stay, but the man beside him, Fang Chenyi, was now the closest being he had.’