"I can give you lots of money! My parents are rich! Really rich. They can give you a hundred million Beli," Ages pleaded urgently.
Don Krieg looked at Ages coldly, putting on a superior air. After hearing what Ages said, he raised a corner of his mouth and spoke.
"Kid, that little bit of money isn't enough for us to sail out and rescue your parents, is it?"
Don Krieg was a greedy man. He wanted more money, so he was using his words to push Ages, step by step, into the trap he had set.
Ages looked at Don Krieg's face and chuckled inwardly. When Don Krieg said that, an expression appeared on Ages's face, as if he had made a difficult decision. He gritted his teeth and continued.
"I can give you more money! My mom and dad are really rich... And... and... we found a treasure on an island. There's so, so much money in it! As long as you can save my parents, I'll split the treasure with you!"
Whoosh!
Hearing Ages's astonishing words, Don Krieg sprang to his feet and pressed him for an answer.
"Kid, you said you found a treasure? A treasure with lots and lots of money?"
Ages nodded, then began to describe the treasure in vivid detail.
As Don Krieg listened to Ages's description, he grew extraordinarily excited. He had never imagined that his attempt to pry out details of Ages's family fortune would uncover such an earth-shattering secret. Don Krieg was thrilled.
"Hahahaha! Good, good, good! Kid, do you know which island your parents are stranded on?" Don Krieg asked eagerly after his laughter subsided.
Ages shook his head dejectedly and said dispiritedly, "I don't know what that place is called..."
Don Krieg frowned at that. He was exceptionally concerned about Ages now; after all, a great treasure was at stake.
"Kid, where did you run into the storm? And describe the island where your mom and dad are stranded."
Ages nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "My mom and dad and I were going to visit Skyfall Island, but we ran into a storm the day before we were supposed to get there..."
"And the island where my mom and dad are stranded has lots and lots of trees, but there aren't any wild beasts. It's an uninhabited island."
Listening to Ages recall what had happened, Don Krieg hurriedly ordered the shifty-looking man to bring him a map of the East Blue. He studied it closely and said, "Kid, you said you and your parents were going to Skyfall Island, and then you ran into a storm, right?"
"Mm-hm, that's right."
"In that case, your parents should be stranded on one of the dozen or so islands near Skyfall Island."
Ages looked excited when he heard that. "Then let's hurry to those islands!"
The corner of Don Krieg's mouth twitched slightly, and he thought, Damn it, search a dozen islands? You think I've got a million men?
"Kid, think carefully. What's different about that island compared to ordinary islands? Think hard. Your parents' lives are at stake here."
Don Krieg's words seemed to have worked. Ages furrowed his brow and racked his brains, trying to remember.
After a while...
Smack!
Ages suddenly clapped his hands and shouted, "I remember! That island was really hot, and there were black rocks in some places."
Don Krieg raised an eyebrow and stared at the shifty-looking man, both of them looking completely baffled. "Really hot?? Black rocks?? How is that any different..."
Suddenly, Don Krieg thought of something and shouted, "Wait! It's winter now! How could it be hot?!"
After muttering to himself, Don Krieg turned his eyes to the area around Skyfall Island on the East Blue map and began to search it inch by inch.
Beside him, while the shifty-looking man and Don Krieg were focused on the map, the corners of Ages's mouth curved upward, and he chuckled inwardly.
Hehe... the fish took the bait.
After examining the map around Skyfall Island, Don Krieg narrowed it down to three islands.
The three islands had one thing in common: they were hot.
Don Krieg rubbed his chin with a satisfied look and muttered to himself, "Changsiluobai Island should be the closest match to what the kid described."
With that, Don Krieg gave the shifty-looking man an order.
"Notify everyone. Prepare to set out! I'll personally take a thousand men to Changsiluobai Island. Have Gin take two thousand to this island, and have Ba take the remaining two thousand to the other one."
"Yes, sir! I'll go right away!"
After the shifty-looking man hurried out, only Don Krieg and Ages remained in the room.
The two stared at each other, and for a moment, an eerie silence filled the room.
Ages still wore the expression of a child desperate to save his parents, but when he saw Don Krieg's eyes suddenly narrow, his heart skipped a beat.
Don Krieg narrowed his eyes and leaned back on the sofa, resting his cheek on his left hand. Without any apparent reason, he suddenly said, "Brat, you're still going to keep up the act? Do you really take me for a fool?"
Ages's expression remained unchanged, but his heart sank and he began to worry.
Have I been found out?
No, my acting shouldn't have given me away.
As Ages analyzed the situation at lightning speed, he tilted his head and asked in confusion, "What are you talking about, mister?"
Don Krieg kept his eyes narrowed. He sneered, then slowly rose and walked toward Ages, his voice icy. "You should know what I'm talking about."
Don Krieg walked toward Ages one step at a time.
Tap... tap... tap...
Crack... crack... crack...
The only sounds left in the room were Don Krieg's footsteps and the cracking of his knuckles as he clenched his fists.
Ages's mind continued to race. Scene after scene of the barmaid telling him about Don Krieg flashed through his mind.
"Little brother, when it comes to Don Krieg, I have to mention his intelligence..."