Ding!
The gold coin bounced lightly, flipped, and fell, landing steadily in Klein's palm.
Lowering his head to glance at whether the result was heads or tails, Klein spun on his heel and smoothly turned into a quiet, dark alley.
The sea wind was cold and fierce, creating a draft in the alley's terrain, causing his wool greatcoat to billow behind him and nearly knocking off his semi-high silk hat.
Suddenly, Klein stopped, turned around, and said in a low voice:
"Come out."
His gaze was sharp as he stared fixedly at the shadows at the corner.
After a silence of four or five seconds, a figure "grew" out of the darkness. He let out a light laugh and said:
"Pretty sharp."
The man was wearing a black cloak, appeared to be around thirty years old, had tawny eyebrows, deep blue but bright eyes, and not very prominent features. He seemed to be from the southern part of Intis, Loen, or the Segar region.
The moment Klein saw him, a flashback appeared in his mind.
When he entered the "Flying Fish and Wine" bar, he had professionally scanned the room, looking for anyone who might require attention.
The answer at the time was no. The man had been drinking heavily and watching curiously, no different from the other patrons, and he didn't have very distinctive features. But the black cloak had left a certain impression on Klein, allowing him to instantly recognize his pursuer.
"What do you want?" Maintaining his persona, Klein slightly lowered his back, as if he were a large feline beast coiled to spring.
The man in the black cloak laughed again. "The fighting skills and methods you just displayed are very much to my aesthetic. I chased after you to ask if you're interested in joining us?
"Although that guy named
"You're an adventurer, so you must dream of treasure. We are a group of partners gathered together to find treasure, chasing legends like the 'Ghost Empire,' '
He cleared his throat and said, "To be honest, we're a group of pirates, a pirate crew made up of adventurers. But we only rob merchant and passenger ships when we're particularly poor, and we don't hurt the innocent. Our main focus is on finding treasure, and we often find some. Seriously, I've slept on a bed made of gold coins. If we encounter other pirate ships, we'll hit them too, to get supplies.
"By the way, our captain has a rule: before recruiting someone new, we have to explain our program and benefits."
Program? Your captain is interesting... Klein deliberately relaxed his tense posture a little to see if the other party would attack.
The man in the black cloak smiled lightly. "That was the program. Now I'll talk about the benefits."
This guy has a lot of confidence... Although Klein wasn't a "Spectator," he could tell the man was very confident, completely unbothered by the current situation.
"We don't have weekly wages or annual pay, but whenever we find treasure or plunder wealth, we distribute it according to status. Normally, if our luck is decent, even the lowest-ranking sailor can earn two or three hundred pounds a year. I heard that's like being middle-class on land? Hehe, if we can find the 'Sunk Moonette,' all of us will become rich!" the man in the black cloak introduced casually. "Depending on status, we also get different amounts of vacation days each month, but they can only be accumulated and taken together."
As he spoke, he suddenly cursed under his breath: "Shit, two years ago, it was because the captain was on vacation that we missed the best chance to find the 'Ghost Empire'!"
Pirates have annual leave? Klein was a bit surprised.
He only felt that the pirate crew this man described gave off a strong comedic vibe, reminding him of a parody Somali pirate recruitment ad he'd seen in his previous life.
Seeing that the other party seemed intimidated by his words, the man in the black cloak smiled and added, "As an adventurer, are you still chasing powers beyond nature from the legends?
"Just join us, and you'll have the chance to possess them!"
Having said that, he coughed and said, "I forgot to introduce myself."
His expression turned serious, no longer as humorous as before: "A subordinate of 'Vice Admiral of Ice'
After announcing his alias, real name, and identity, Danitz patiently waited for the other party to show panic and fear.
A second passed, and he heard the adventurer, who looked refined and polite but acted slightly crazily, speak in a low voice:
"'Flame' Danitz, with a bounty of 3,000 pounds?"
Danitz was about to answer when he suddenly had the illusion that the man standing in the dark alley had transformed into an indescribable, ravenous monster, drooling over his soul and flesh.
Danitz suddenly clenched his fist, his body losing its previous ease, tensing up until he was slightly trembling.
His intuition told him he was facing an abyss full of madness and bloodlust!
In such a state, Danitz completely lost track of how much time had passed until the other party spoke again:
"Why are you here?"
"I... I'm on vacation..." The dignity of "Flame" Danitz made him disdain to answer the question, but his instinct forced out the reason.
As soon as he said it, he felt the other party's gaze withdraw, and the ravenous hunger that wanted to devour his flesh and soul disappeared.
He stood there, watching the young adventurer in the black wool greatcoat and semi-high silk hat turn around and walk toward the other end of the alley. Just as he was about to turn the corner, he paused and turned his head slightly:
"Where is 'White Shark'?"