In the dark of the night, the moonlight's soft glow illuminated the beach.
While Catherine caught a few fish, Jonathan started a campfire.
On the surface, it appeared as if they had gathered on the beach for a picnic. Alas, the looming threat of death lingered in their hearts.
The fish cooked quickly. Although they had no seasoning, the fish smelled fragrant and tasted delicious.
Jonathan handed one to Catherine, then Lesley and Elijah. Finally, he took one for himself and began eating.
Since Catherine had caught eight fish in total, there was enough for two each.
Hence, they moved the four remaining fish to the side while they ate.
While they were tucking in with gusto, Simon suddenly appeared and started walking toward them.
Jonathan quickly shouted for Catherine to get to her feet.
He dared not let his guard down for even a second around Simon. We may have set the time and place for our fight, but what if Simon breaks his word? I'd better be cautious. It's not like I can reason with him after I'm dead.
Lesley and Elijah remained seated as they gazed at Simon warily.
Under the faint moonlight, they could see that Simon was clad all in black. He radiated a cold and intimidating aura.
Simon approached slowly and stopped about three meters away from them.
He cast his gaze over the grilled fish they had set aside, then turned toward Jonathan abruptly and asked, “Could you give me one of them?”
He focused his attention all on Jonathan because, in his eyes, only Jonathan was his opponent.
Jonathan was momentarily stunned, but he quickly replied, “Sure. No problem.”
He reached out to grab one of the fish and tossed it toward Simon.
Simon caught it deftly, then continued in an aloof tone, “As soon as the sun rises, it'll be time for us to fight to the death and see who walks away alive. Nonetheless, there's no deep-seated grudge between us, so I don't see why we can't sit and talk now.”
With that, he sat down without waiting for a response.
By doing so, Simon was as good as dead letting his guard down and exposing his weaknesses.
If Jonathan and Catherine had chosen to attack him at that moment, he would most likely end up dead.
However, Simon's actions also showed his sincerity.
Jonathan was slightly taken aback. Naturally, he had no intention of attacking Simon.
Jonathan was someone who returned the respect he received in kind. He would not retaliate unless provoked, and when he did, he would make sure the other party paid dearly.
After a short pause, Jonathan and Catherine sat down cross-legged.
Simon ate silently and quickly finished his fish. Turning to Jonathan again, he asked, “May I have another?”
Jonathan reached for a second fish and tossed it at Simon without saying a word.
Once again, Simon caught the fish deftly and finished it just as quickly.
Jonathan shot him a somewhat bitter smile and said, “If you want more, I'm afraid that's all we have.”
“I've had enough,” Simon answered coolly.
Jonathan and the others continued eating.
In the end, Elijah and Lesley only had one fish each as they wanted to leave the two remaining fish for Jonathan and Catherine.
Not bothering to stand on ceremony, the couple promptly ate the rest of the food.
Jonathan felt much better after satisfying his hunger.
After a while, he glanced at Simon and said, “I don't think you're here simply to eat grilled fish, am I right?”
Elijah and Lesley also looked at Simon curiously, wondering what the true reason for his visit was.
Previously, Jonathan and his companions had always thought of Simon as a ruthless and bloodthirsty murderer.
At that moment, they finally saw that he was also a regular person just like themselves.
Suddenly, Simon asked Jonathan, “From your perspective, what kind of person am I? Do I seem like a good person or a bad person?”
Jonathan could not help thinking that was a strange question.
Is he a bad person? He did everything in his power to kill all those people earlier. That means he should be considered a bad person. However, he was only following the competition's rules, so how does that make him a bad person? Then, does it mean he's a good person after all? It doesn't seem like it either.
“Why do you ask?” Jonathan enquired after shooting Simon a glance. When the latter said it was merely a random question, Jonathan responded, “Do you care what others think about you?”
“Not at all. I was just curious,” Simon replied.
“Well, I think you're a good person,” said Jonathan.
Dumbfounded, Simon did a double take. “Oh? Why?”
Jonathan explained, “How does one define whether a person is good or bad? Is someone who does good deeds a good person? Is someone who does bad things a bad person? Within the food chain, the animals eaten by humans will surely think of us as bad people. Vicious, ruthless, and downright evil. But to humans, the animals are merely a food source, and they don't think they're bad people for slaughtering the animals.”
“Hmm, that's an interesting way of looking at it,” Simon mused.
Smiling faintly, Jonathan added, “That's why I think you're a good person. At the very least, you're someone who follows your heart. Therefore, you're a good person to yourself.”
“What about you? Do you think you're a good person or a bad person?” Simon asked.
“I'm not a good person. I think of doing many things, but I can't because I'm bound by my conscience. To myself, I'm not a good person,” Jonathan replied with a bitter smile.
After a brief pause, he continued, “But why should that matter to me? A good person or a bad person, a gentleman or a villain. These labels mean nothing to me, and I don't care what others think of me.”
“You're a man with a clear conscience, an open and honest gentleman. Indeed, you're not one to care about what others think,” Simon declared.
Jonathan merely smiled as he listened to Simon's accurate description of him.
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