Bane picked up the RC Cell Injector from the suitcase, turning it over in his hands twice before asking, "How do I use it?"
"Stick it into your kidney and inject it," Frant explained. After hesitating for a moment, he added, "But I've never actually seen anyone use one. You'd better not use it lightly."
"Afraid I'll eat you?" Bane asked with a smile.
Of course, even if Frant had said nothing, Bane would not have injected it. Before eating the Dark-Dark Fruit, he might have considered it. But now, he had plenty of options and no need to take such a risk.
Still, the injector was not without value. Perhaps he could take it to Pirate World and find someone to test it on. If the effects were genuinely good and there were no unacceptable side effects, he could consider it then.
Bane put the injector back into the case and casually asked, "How many doses do you have?"
"How many doses? Do you really think this is some ordinary product? This is a stable superpower from another world. It has some side effects, sure, but plenty of people on the black market are willing to take risks," Frant said, looking at him as though he had asked a ridiculous question.
In truth, he had a point. Though it came with certain side effects, this sort of thing was bound to be highly sought after on the black market. Even if the side effect was eating people, there would still be countless desperadoes who wanted it!
But Bane did not respond. He tapped the ash from his cigar and asked again, "So, how many doses?"
"I can't believe you," Frant said. "Three doses. Want them?"
"How much?" Bane asked.
"Ahem, I bought these from someone else at a high price myself. I'm not trying to profit off you—eight hundred thousand per dose." Frant rubbed his hands together and looked at Bane with a smile.
"Fine. Including the dose you said you'd give me, that makes three doses for 1.6 million Peso. Deal," Bane said decisively.
Frant froze for a moment, then hurriedly wailed, "What Peso? I want Imperial silver dollars!"
"What silver dollars do we have in this damned place? Even if there were any, do you think people at our level could get our hands on that many?" Bane waved a hand, speaking with shameless brazenness.
Speaking of Peso and silver dollars, one had to mention the current state of affairs.
On this continent, there had once been two powerful empires in the east and west: Sodis in the west and Seris in the east.
Both empires had long histories spanning a thousand years. But more than three hundred years ago, a civil war erupted within the Sodis imperial family. The Seris Empire seized the opportunity to stir up plenty of trouble, forcibly dragging Sodis's civil war out for two or three generations—over sixty years.
Sixty years of bloodletting pushed Sodis's once-mighty national strength to the brink of collapse. Seeing the time was right, the Seris Empire launched a full-scale war against Sodis. That war lasted another twenty-odd years, and Seris essentially smashed Sodis apart.
Nearly half of the Sodis Empire's territory was occupied, while the remaining lands fragmented into several so-called "kingdoms" and "duchies." From then on, only one empire remained on the continent.
That was the Seris Empire. Over the following two hundred years, The Empire had to continuously absorb and consolidate its newly conquered territories, slowing its wars in the west. Conquering land was easy; holding it was difficult. To digest those new territories, The Empire paid a heavy price and expended considerable national strength.
Twenty years ago, The Empire had planned to launch a new war in the west and wipe out the remnants of Sodis once and for all. But not long after the war began, World-Crossing Gates started appearing across the world one after another. Chaos erupted throughout The Empire, forcing it to abandon a war in which it held the advantage.
From then on, the model of war gradually shifted from absolute military control to cooperation with civilian forces. This model was now known as the Westward Expansion.
The Empire encouraged civilian forces to steadily encroach westward on their own, seizing land, resources, and more. Those who performed exceptionally would be granted titles, ranks, legitimate territories, and status.
To a certain extent, it was also a way of redirecting the massive internal conflicts that had built up within the country—guiding ambitious and capable people into the Westward Expansion and letting them wreak havoc on the westerners instead.
The facts proved that the Westward Expansion had indeed achieved impressive results. New Dar City, where Bane currently was, had been seized and established by The Empire during the Westward Expansion over the past decade or so.
Precisely because this was an area where The Empire's control was weak and also a frontline region, New Dar City was so chaotic.
However, another stretch of land had recently been captured. It would likely become the new frontline, while this place would become a supply and logistics hub. Conditions should improve somewhat.
But even though the Westward Expansion had achieved decent results, rebellions had continued to spring up within The Empire over the years—especially in the western regions that had once belonged to the Sodis Empire.
Three years ago, a man named Tornis emerged from nowhere in The Empire's western territories. Claiming to be a descendant of Sodis high nobility, he controlled a World-Crossing Gate and sparked a bloody rebellion. He transformed many people in the region into vampires and established the Eternal Night Empire.
Though everyone regarded the so-called Eternal Night Empire as a joke and The Empire swiftly crushed it, the vampire remnants had yet to be completely eliminated. From time to time, they still emerged to stir up trouble.
And there were plenty of similar examples.
That was why, at first, Bane felt that The Empire's situation was even less promising than his own. Who knew when it might suddenly collapse?
So, the current situation could roughly be described like this: The Empire's military was suppressing rebellions everywhere, while ambitious people were either rebelling or joining the Westward Expansion. The country could not exactly be called precarious, but it was far from stable.
And these Peso were the circulating civilian currency in the Westward Expansion regions, where The Empire had relaxed its control. Naturally, they could not compare to the silver and gold currencies issued by The Empire.
After haggling with Frant for a while, Bane ultimately secured three doses of RC Cells for 2.6 million Peso.
Without selling his house, that had essentially emptied Bane's savings. In fact, even Frant had not expected Bane to spend so heavily on the injectors.
Once the deal was done, Bane asked, "The Westward Expansion has achieved results again. New Dar City probably won't have such a relaxed environment going forward. You're well informed—have you heard any interesting intelligence lately?"
"Does intelligence come free?" Frant instinctively tried to squeeze him for more.
But when he saw Bane holding the injectors he had just received, gesturing with them while his gaze occasionally swept across Frant's kidneys, he quickly smiled and said, "But with our relationship, talking about money hurts our friendship."
He was genuinely afraid Bane would give him a shot. The injection was expensive, but he did not think he had the fortune to enjoy it.
After looking around again and making sure no one was eavesdropping, Frant lowered his voice. "There is a rumor. I overheard it while working for a real noble."
"What intelligence?" Bane asked, unconsciously lowering his voice as well.
"I don't know whether it's true, but I heard that the Dragon Emperor in the imperial capital has finally run out of patience with the endless rebellions here in the west. He plans to send the Dragon Guard Imperial Army to completely wipe out all these disorderly rebel forces. That will be nothing like the intensity of the local armies' previous suppression campaigns. Everyone in the world knows what kind of ruthless man the Dragon Emperor is. He's a true iron-blooded emperor who slaughtered an entire other world," Frant said, clearly frightened.
Bane fell silent upon hearing that. After a moment, Frant continued, "So the situation in New Dar City may be worse than you predicted. When the Dragon Guard Imperial Army comes to suppress the rebels, they might sweep this place clean while they're at it."
After saying that, Frant added regretfully, "I'm only telling you this. We probably won't see each other for quite a long time after this."
"You're leaving?" Bane asked, raising a brow.
"Yeah. Why else would I sell all the goods I have? I need to turn them into cash quickly and run. Maybe when things settle down here, I'll get a chance to come back and take a look," Frant admitted with a nod.
Bane clicked his tongue, then said, "Actually, I'm planning to run too. The waters run too deep in The Empire. I'd better find somewhere to build myself up first."
"You're leaving too?" Frant's eyes lit up. "Where are you going? Want to travel together?"
"You can't go where I'm going. Better to take separate paths. If fate allows it, we'll meet again," Bane said, shaking his head and rejecting Frant's suggestion.
Given his relationship with Frant, it was not even worth 2.6 million Peso, much less entrusting him with a secret.
That was right. Bane planned to lie low in Pirate World for now and build himself up while he was there.
Before you continue