RNP Chapter 178 The Approaching Unexpected Event
Chapter 178 The Approaching Unexpected Event
Chapter 178 The Approaching Unexpected Event
Danitz practically fled back to the safe house. As soon as he entered, he slammed the door shut, leaned against it, and gasped for breath, his face etched with shock.
"What's wrong?" Lorne, who was studying those pages of Russell's diary in the room, immediately stood up alertly when he saw him like this.
"Something terrible has happened!" Danitz took a big gulp of wine to calm his wildly beating heart, and complained to Lorne in an almost tearful tone:
"Bullshit! I—I'm wanted too! Seven thousand pounds! Dead or alive!"
"What?" Lorne was also a little surprised.
Although he had long anticipated that once the "stand-in plan" was exposed, Alger would definitely betray Danitz immediately.
But Tracy's reaction still exceeded his expectations.
The reaction was a bit excessive.
Offering a private bounty of seven thousand pounds for an "accomplice" is not just a simple case of "misplaced anger," but rather an almost insane act of revenge.
This clearly shows they don't even respect Captain Edwina.
Is it really necessary?
"It's over! It's over!" Danitz paced back and forth in the room in frustration. "I'm in more danger than you now! My bounty is higher than the official bounty on the second mate's head!"
He knew very well what would happen to a pirate in the extraordinary world if the bounty was disproportionately high to his own strength. He would become a sitting duck, the top hunting target for all desperate men who craved money and fame!
"Have the captain and the others reached the vicinity of Bayam?" Lorne asked calmly.
With a look of despair, Danitz told Lorne that the captain and his crew would still be some time away from arriving.
The room fell silent.
Lorne also fell into deep thought.
"How about we move back to the Wave Church?" Danitz suddenly said. "At least those bounty hunters and pirates won't dare to act recklessly on the church's territory."
But as soon as he said that, he contradicted himself.
Such an unusually large and unusual private bounty would certainly attract the attention of the church. Moreover, compared to Lorne, who was still considered an "adventurer," this pirate on the list would be easily recognized by any ordinary citizen, and even if the citizen didn't dare to act, they would definitely rush to the church to report him immediately. In that case, they would also be able to share a substantial portion of the bounty.
Seeing Danitz's bewildered state, Lorne made a decision.
"I need to go out and buy some things."
"Buying supplies? You're going out?!" Danitz looked at him like he was crazy. "Have you forgotten you have a ten-thousand-pound bounty on your head?!"
"But I'm not a pirate," Lorne replied calmly. "As long as I'm careful, the risk of being exposed is much smaller than if you went out."
Lorne has no official bounty, and an adventurer of unknown strength is far more daunting than a pirate with a minor reputation but known abilities.
He looked at Danitz and said, word by word, "We're in a really passive position right now. We need to prepare some extraordinary items that can save our lives in critical moments; otherwise, we won't be able to protect ourselves in case of an emergency."
Just as Lorne was about to leave, Danitz stopped him.
"Wait a minute!" He sighed as if remembering something, and said, "If you really want to buy something, you can go to a place. Things have calmed down a bit in Bayam recently, and that special exchange seems to have reopened."
"An exchange?" Lorne asked doubtfully. "Is it reliable?"
"At least—the captain thinks it's a safe place," Danitz replied. "It's supposedly the property of 'the sea merchant' Victor."
"It's a semi-membership system there; you need a referrer—"
"I've been there a few times. The food there is pretty good, but it's a bit pricey."
"You're expensive..." Lorne's lips twitched.
Never mind, it's a small problem compared to my life.
"Go there, and give your name?"
Danitz shook his head, a very strange expression mixed with helplessness on his face.
He sighed and said:
"No. Just say—'Lady Wise' introduced you."
"Lady Wise?" Lorne paused, then asked, "Captain?"
Bayam, the rooftop of a dilapidated residential building.
Katarina appeared silently. She looked down at the maze-like, intricate streets below, a playful smile on her face.
To be honest, she thought finding the "little guy" named Brando would be a very simple matter.
To this end, she even "borrowed" Brando's canvas satchel from her daughter, who was blinded by anger, as a medium for divination.
However, to her surprise, her profound and highly skilled divination skills failed her when faced with this young adventurer.
All the divinations about "Monkey Brando" disappeared without a trace, like stones sinking into the sea.
"What a little guy, full of secrets."
But Katarina shook her head, a mocking smile playing on her lips.
It's well hidden, but—it's still not careful enough.
She brought the handbag to her eyes, stretched out her slender fingers, and carefully rubbed the rough canvas lining of the handbag.
Soon, she plucked out a few extremely fine orange cat hairs, almost blending into the fabric, from the seam.
"let me see."
She placed the few cat hairs in her palm.
Soon, a blurry, constantly swaying image appeared in her mind, along with a general, directional location.
Although precise location is still impossible, it is sufficient for a "high-ranking assassin".
Following the address given by Danitz, Lorne, carrying his bag, walked through several bustling streets and finally arrived at a building in a less-than-ideal location.
In front of the small building sandwiched between a bakery and a tailor shop.
He looked up at the somewhat faded signboard—[Wiz Antique Shop].
After briefly surveying the unassuming building, Lorne adjusted his top hat and trench coat.
I pushed open the door and went inside.
"Ring ring ring"
The crisp sound of wind chimes rang out. The shop was dimly lit, and the air was filled with the smell of old wood and copper paint. Various antiques that looked quite old were haphazardly displayed on the shelves, including porcelain, oil paintings, and some local-style bone utensils.
"Welcome to Wiz Antique Shop, sir. How can I help you?"
A young man wearing a short-sleeved shirt, who looked like a local apprentice and had a slight mixed-race appearance, walked out from behind the counter with a warm, formulaic smile on his face.
Lorne gave him a brief greeting, then lowered his voice and uttered the code Danitz had taught him:
"I'd like to go to the back room on the third floor to see your new stock."
Upon hearing this, the young man's smile vanished instantly. His previously somewhat naive eyes immediately became sharp and mature.
He looked Lorne up and down, his expression shifting, but he eventually nodded and gestured for him to follow. He then led Lorne toward the narrow staircase leading upstairs in the depths of the shop.
As they went upstairs, the young man casually asked, "Sir, you look a little unfamiliar?"
Lorne didn't turn around, but simply replied in a calm tone:
"I was introduced by 'Lady Wisdom'."