bite!
The gold coin leaped up softly, tumbled down, and landed steadily in Klein's palm.
Klein glanced down to see if it was the front or the back, then spun around and smoothly turned into a quiet, dark alley.
The wind by the sea was cold and fierce, creating convection currents in the terrain, causing his wool coat to billow backwards and nearly causing his half-high silk hat to fall off.
Suddenly, Klein stopped, turned around, and said in a low voice:
"Come out."
His gaze was sharp, fixed intently on the shadows around the corner.
After four or five seconds of silence, a figure emerged from the darkness, chuckled, and said:
"Very perceptive."
This was a man wearing a black cloak, who appeared to be around thirty years old. He had yellowish eyebrows, bright deep blue eyes, and a not particularly striking profile, resembling someone from the southern part of Intis and the surrounding areas of Lenburg and Segar.
As soon as Klein saw him, images flashed through his mind.
Upon entering the " Flying Fish and Wine " bar, he professionally glanced around, looking for anyone who might warrant his attention.
The answer at the time was no. The other person was drinking heavily, watching curiously, and was no different from the other guests. His appearance was not particularly distinctive, but the black cloak left a certain impression on Klein, allowing him to recognize the follower instantly.
"What do you want to do?" Klein, maintaining his persona, slightly lowered his back, like a giant feline creature poised to pounce.
The man in the black cloak laughed again:
"The fighting skills and approach you just demonstrated are very much to my liking. I came up to you to ask if you'd be interested in joining us?"
"Although that guy named Logan was indeed impersonating Ludwell's informant, ' White Shark ' Hamilton really does have connections with multiple pirate groups and plays a dishonorable role. You hit one of his men in his bar, which he'll definitely remember, and it'll cause some trouble later. But I can help you solve this problem."
"You're an adventurer, so you must dream of treasure. We're a group of partners who've come together to find treasure, chasing legends like the ' Ghost Empire,' ' Solomon's Legacy,' 'The Secret of the Fountain of Fountain of Youth,' ' The Death's Key,' ' The Sunken Laurel,' and ' Roselle's Hidden Treasure,' traversing the Five Seas. To this day, although we haven't accomplished one of our main objectives, we have found many missing pirate ships. Heh, that sounds pretty much like what that rat said, doesn't it?"
He cleared his throat and said:
"To be honest, we are a pirate crew, a pirate group made up of adventurers, but we only plunder merchant ships and passenger ships when we are particularly poor, and we will not harm innocent people. Our main focus is on finding treasure, and we often have some success. In fact, I once slept on a bed made of gold coins. If we encounter other pirate ships, we will also take advantage of the situation to get supplies."
"By the way, our captain's policy is that we must explain our principles and compensation package before recruiting new people."
Program? Your captain is quite interesting... Klein deliberately softened his tense demeanor to test whether the other party would take the opportunity to attack.
The man in the black cloak smiled easily:
"That was the outline; now I'll talk about the benefits."
This guy is really confident... Even though he wasn't a " Spectator," Klein could tell that the other person was extremely confident and didn't take the scene in front of him seriously at all.
"We don't have weekly wages or annual pensions, but once we find treasure and plunder wealth, it will be distributed according to rank. Under normal circumstances, with decent luck, even the lowest-ranking Sailor can get two or three hundred pounds a year. I heard that's equivalent to middle class on land? Heh, if we find the ' Sunken Laurel,' we'll all become millionaires!" the man in the black cloak casually explained. "Depending on rank, there are also different numbers of days off each month, but they can only be accumulated and staggered."
As he spoke, he suddenly muttered a curse under his breath:
"Damn it, we missed our best chance to find the ' Ghost Empire ' the year before last because the captain was on leave!"
Pirates have annual leave? Klein was somewhat surprised.
He felt that the pirate crew described by the other party had a strong comedic vibe, reminding him of the parody Somali pirate recruitment ads he had seen in his past life.
Seeing that the other party seemed frightened by his words, the man in the black cloak added with a smile:
As an adventurer, are you still chasing after those legendary powers that transcend nature?
"Join us and you'll have the chance to own it!"
At this point, he coughed and said:
"I forgot to introduce myself."
His expression turned serious, no longer as humorous as before.
" Blazing Danitz, fourth Sailor of the Golden Dream ' and subordinate to ' Vice Admiral Iceberg ' Edwina Edwards."
After revealing his nickname, real name, and background, Danitz patiently waited for the other party to show signs of panic and fear.
A second later, he heard the outwardly refined but somewhat reckless adventurer speak in a low voice:
" Danitz the ' Blazing ' with a bounty of 3,000 pounds?"
Just as Danitz was about to answer, he suddenly had a strange feeling that the other person standing in the dark alley had transformed into an indescribable, hungry Monster, drooling over his soul and flesh.
Danitz clenched his fists abruptly, his body losing its previous ease and becoming so tense that it trembled slightly.
His Spirit Intuition told him that he was facing an Abyss filled with madness and bloodlust!
In this state, Danitz had no idea how much time had passed until the other party spoke again:
Why are you here?
"I... I'm on vacation..." " Blazing " Danitz's pride made him disdain to answer the question, but instinct made him blurt out the reason.
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt the other person withdraw their gaze, and the hunger that had been gnawing at his flesh and soul vanished.
He stood there, watching the young adventurer in the black woolen overcoat and top silk hat turn and walk towards the other side of the alley. He paused just before the turn, tilting his head slightly and saying:
Where is the ' White Shark '?
"He lives at No. 1 Seawall Boulevard, but he spends most of his time on the second floor of ' Flying Fish and Wine,' just like today." " Blazing " Danitz answered the question truthfully.
Only after the figure disappeared into the distance did Danitz straighten his back and tug at his cloak.
"A terrible fellow..." he sighed silently.
Then, he regained his composure and muttered to himself:
"I must inform the captain that there is a terrible creature at sea."
"This guy looks like a gentleman on the outside, but is Lunatic on the inside. Unless you're absolutely certain you can kill him, it's best not to deal with him."
Danitz pulled up the hood of his black cloak and decided to go back to the hotel to sleep, waiting for the telegraph office to Door Opening the next morning so he could pass the message on to the intermediary in the Rorsted Archipelago.
He didn't care at all what would happen to " White Shark ".
At the corner of another quiet street, Klein stood in the shadows, looking down at the black glove on his left hand.
He discovered that although Mr. Azik had sealed away the " Creeping Hunger " to some extent, the desire for flesh and soul still existed in its essence and was trying to manifest itself.
Under normal circumstances, Klein is not worried about anything happening to the sealed items, but when he himself has the urge to kill, he is affected accordingly, to the point that a hunger that can backfire on him spreads.
Just now, when he heard that the other party was a notorious pirate on the bounty list, his long-desired heart instantly surged with murderous intent, and his " Creeping Hunger " became as active as a fish in water.
Fortunately, Klein had always possessed excellent self-control in this regard. Judging from the other party's previous words, he realized that he was not the kind of pirate covered in sins, and easily restrained his inner impulse.
"With ' Creeping Hunger,' Gehrman Sparrow's character is flawless..." Klein paused for a few seconds, took out a gold coin, and performed two Divination: one on whether " Blazing " Danitz was lying, and the other on whether " White Shark " Hamilton could pose a threat to him.
The first revelation indicated that " Blazing " Danitz had no reason to lie, while the second showed that " White Shark " Hamilton was incapable of causing harm.
Klein put away the gold coins, and as he pressed down on the hat, he slid his hand down to touch his face.
He instantly changed his appearance, becoming blond with Blue Eyes and ordinary features!
Immediately afterwards, Klein unbuttoned his wool coat and pulled up his shirt so it was no longer tucked into his trousers.
After changing his clothes, Klein was without his cane, sweated and his lips were dry as he made his way back to the " Flying Fish and Wine " bar!
On the way, he encountered " Blazing " Danitz again. Danitz only glanced at him before looking away and walking towards the hotel on the other side of the bar.
After glancing at the bounty wall, Klein calmly reached out, pushed open the door, and went inside.
At this point, less than ten minutes had passed since he escaped.
Inside the bar, many customers had left, but a number of drunks remained, watching the commotion.
Their gazes all turned to the new customer, but then quickly returned to their own, and Klein made his way to the bar without any hindrance.
He saw the bartender standing fearfully next to a fat man, his forehead wrapped in a thick white bandage, his nostrils stuffed with tissue paper, and his face covered in bruises.
The fat man was tall and large, with fair skin, looking just like a real White Shark that had swum onto land.
He touched his shiny bald head and said to Elland was wearing a dark red coat and carrying a captain's straight sword, on the other side:
Someone told me you know that guy from earlier?
"There are three passenger ships arriving today. There won't be many unfamiliar strangers. Don't try to lie!"
Elland patted the hilt of his sword and chuckled easily:
Yes, he was my passenger.
"But the problem today is clearly with your people."
"So, all I want is for him to come back here, apologize to me, and pay for the damaged bar," the tall, chubby man said, frowning.
Elland laughed heartily and said:
" White Shark, there's a proverb in my hometown: 'Don't hate a stray Wild Dog just because of a rat in the warehouse.'"
"... Fair Elland, is this your attitude?" " White Shark " Hamilton narrowed his eyes.
Elland gripped the wooden handle of the pistol, stepped forward, and said in a deep voice:
Yes, that's my stance!
The captain is quite assertive... Klein was slightly surprised by Elland's performance.
After a few seconds of silent eye contact, " White Shark " Hamilton took a breath and said:
"You helped me before, so I don't need to apologize, but he must compensate for half of the losses, which you will then pass on."
"A good suggestion." Elland smiled.
" White Shark " Hamilton looked around with a gloomy expression.
He suddenly swung his hand and slapped the bartender across the face.
The bartender flew out, scattering teeth all over the floor.
Klein watched quietly from just five meters away, as if it were none of his business.
P. S.: It's the second to last day of November, please vote with your monthly tickets! It would be a waste not to!