Chapter 200: 176, Catch Someone and Then Go_1
A special item, a ticket.
Wu Heng realized it in an instant.
No wonder, he could transport so much goods here, and all purchases made must be settled with readily available silver coins.
Employing metal too, a large amount of silver coins can also be burdensome due to their weight.
Silver coins could meet over 90% of trading needs in the market.
The appearance of gold coins chiefly resolved the problem of the difficult transportation of weighty silver coins.
They did not need normal transportation means that having this ticket.
They could directly take the Phantom Train and leave this place.
Meanwhile, Wu Heng noticed that the ticket’s final line of description revealed it as a crucial item to solve the mystery of the Phantom Train.
A secret? A crucial item?
This ticket is also a preconditioning item for a special mission.
Wu Heng quietly pondered this on the side.
He then used “Communicate with the Dead” on the corpse.
The body of Scarface bolted upright from the ground, the greyish-white eyeballs looking towards him.
Wu Heng asked, “After you board the train with this ticket, how do you travel to your desired destination?”
The corpse replied, “As long as you tell the train the city you want to go to, or the specific direction and the distance, the train will set off.”
“What is the price for using the special item?” Wu Heng continued.
Any special item comes with a price.
But no price was written on the ticket at hand.
The corpse replied, “The ticket has no price, but you will lose all your senses when you ride the Phantom Train.”
Wu Heng was taken aback.
That is to say, the ticket is a special item, as is the train.
The ticket itself comes without a price, but there is a price for using the train.
He pondered this carefully.
He then asked his third question, “What is the secret of the Phantom Train?”
The corpse stopped to think, then replied, “I don’t know.”
It seemed he had asked the wrong way.
He continued, “Other than taking it myself, how else can this ticket be used?”
Again, the corpse paused, then replied after a moment, “I heard that if you board the train but do not arrive at your designated destination, the train will take you directly to the Phantom Station.”
Yes!
If you get on the train and don’t mention your destination, it will return.
There is only one question left.
Wu Heng continued, “Are all these your goods? Is there anything else?”
“There’s nothing else, everything is here.”
After the answer, the corpse fell back to the ground with a loud thump.
…
At this time, Mata also came from afar.
He said, “Captain, I suggest you come and see, the amount of goods here is immense.”
Wu Heng walked in the direction of Mata’s voice.
He entered a room on the side.
He saw stacks of leather cloth and some unknown seeds, the quantity not few at all.
Wu Heng couldn’t help but widen his eyes in surprise.
These people actually brought such a large batch of goods to be sold in the city.
No wonder those gangsters couldn’t handle it.
Mata said, “Captain, moving these goods might cause trouble.”
If he wanted to transport these goods out, it would be quite a hassle.
If it was to be hauled out by the wagon load, it might attract the local gang’s attention again.
By then, more trouble would arise.
Wu Heng thought about it and then said, “Mata, you go find Laisia from Snake Badge Consortium and tell her I want to borrow the storage pouch.”
“Alright, Captain.”
Mata excitedly walked out.
…
After a while, a mercenary team arrived in a horse-drawn carriage.
They stopped in the alley.
The local head of the Snake Badge Consortium, ‘Laisia’, dressed in leather armor, slowly descended from the carriage.
Following Mata, she entered the courtyard together.
Wu Heng was slightly surprised to see her.
After all, it wasn’t a big deal. So, someone personally paying a visit seemed a bit much.
“Miss Laisia actually personally made the trip.” Wu Heng took the initiative to greet her.
Laisia walked to his side, gave him a look, lowered her voice and commented, “Do you think the consortium’s items can be easily borrowed? You just sent a member over and expected to borrow it.”
Wu Heng was taken aback, “Ah? I suppose I didn’t consider it thoroughly.”
“How do you plan to use it? I’ve personally brought it to you.” Laisia said.
Wu Heng felt that Laisia was quite considerate towards him.
Apart from his two team members, not many members in the consortium would regard him so highly.
He thought for a while then said to her, “I thought you might be busy earlier, but now that you’re here, why don’t you come check it out personally with me. If the consortium is interested, you can have priority.”
“Oh?” Laisia followed him towards a room on the side.
The door opened, revealing the goods piled up inside.
“Are these yours?” Laisia asked.
Wu Heng explained, “We captured a wanted criminal. These goods were his, and now they’re our spoils of war.”
Laisia raised an elegant eyebrow and continued, “Though the consortium doesn’t deal in such business, I do have some sales channels. But it really depends on what price Captain Wu Heng is willing to give me.”
Having finished, she cast a meaningful, flirtatious glance.
As if to say, given our friendship, if you charge me a high price, that would be somewhat of an overstep.
Wu Heng directly said, “For you, it would be 30% less than the market price.”
Laisia leisurely strolled two steps into the warehouse. When Wu Heng caught up with her, she affectionately linked arms with him, lowering her voice to say, “Captain, if I pay that price myself, it would be a bit difficult for me to digest. Give me a lower price, and I can make it up to you within the consortium. Neither of us would suffer a loss.”
Well, that’s one way to do it.
Whether we’re talking about the director of the association or the local head of the consortium.
Once they reached a certain level, there were many ways to make money.
Otherwise, how could Yazde accumulate such a large sum of money in such a remote place like Black Stone Town, and even purchase property in the inner city of Lundham City?
The money-making methods increase along with one’s status.
“So, how much do you want?”
“Drop it by another 20%!”
Cough, cough~! Wu Heng softly coughed and said, “You’re crazy! These goods aren’t just mine, my team members have also seen them. If I sell to you at such a low price, they’ll think I’ve made a fortune on it.”
“Your two team members, they just started, right? Without your say-so, they wouldn’t even be able to lay a hand on the criminals at this level, you’re the one who calls the shots.” Laisia tightened her hold on his arm and continued, “Let’s meet halfway then, drop it by 40%. I’ll take care of the consortium’s commissions for you in the future, you won’t make a loss.”
“Wait a moment, let me consult my team.”
“You’re the captain and you can’t make decisions on such trivial matters?”
“What are you saying? I’m the captain, not a bandit.”
Wu Heng walked out of the warehouse, called over the team members who were quietly chatting at the door, and explained the situation to them.
“If we agree to give the goods to her, we wouldn’t have to worry about these goods anymore. But the price will be lower compared to selling them to gangs. It’s quicker and more efficient, though. If we don’t sell to her, the profit will be slightly higher, but it will be much more troublesome to transport the goods and find a buyer.”
“Captain, we’ll follow your decision, whatever you decide,” Duke directly said.
Mata added, “Captain, we’ve had a lot of things going on in our team lately, it might be best to let the consortium handle this. Earning a bit less is not a big deal.”
Wu Heng nodded, “Mata, have you taken inventory of the goods?”
“I’ve made a rough count, didn’t get into the details.”
“That’s fine, I’ll let her know that these goods are hers to deal with, and have her send the money over in the next couple of days.”
“Alright.”
The two men were quite excited.
This batch of goods was enough to give them quite a sum.
Wu Heng reentered the warehouse where Laisia was examining the goods.
She turned to look at him, “How is it?”
“These goods are yours.”
Laisia broke into a radiant smile, “Thank you, Captain Wu Heng. I’ll have my men count the inventory tonight and send the money to you by tomorrow morning.”
“Alright, we’ll leave this to you. We have other matters to attend to, so we’ll take our leave.”
“Sure, it’s a pleasure doing business with you.”
Wu Heng nodded, ordered his men to load the bodies onto a cart, and headed for the association.
They delivered the bodies to the morgue at the association and made the necessary registrations.
…
The sky gradually darkened.
In a mansion located in the central district.
The residence was incredibly spacious, with front and back gardens, and high pavilions. It was among the top-tier buildings in the entire central district.
Every ten steps, a burly guard dressed in silver armor stood, maintaining an icy expression and vigilance at their posts.
‘Gianluca’, with his tan wooden cane, sat in the living room couch, perusing the documents handed to him.
Before long, a slightly disheveled figure staggering in.
Seeing the white-haired elder in front, he bowed slightly and said, “Mr. Gianluca, my portrait is now up in the association, and several gang members outside are looking for me, I need to leave here. Could you prepare a carriage for me? I want to leave tonight.”
The black cloak was taken off, revealing the figure of a middle-aged man with messy hair and beard. He was Anel, who had failed in his assassination attempt on Wu Heng.
Gianluca gestured him to sit down and had the maid prepare some pastries.
Anel, with his somewhat dirty hands, grabbed the food and started stuffing it into his mouth, devouring it rabidly.
His image had lost the elegance and restraint it once had.
Gianluca took a small sip of the red wine in his hand, continuing, “Having been a captain for so many years, how could you fail in assassinating a mage?”
“He’s different….” Anel forcefully swallowed the food, continuing, “He’s problematic. When Yazde failed, I planned to kill him directly and frame him for it, but his close combat capabilities aren’t inferior to mine. I’m not talking about skill, but his strength and reflexes.”
“Oh? The intelligence says he’d only become a professional recently.” Gianluca swirled the wine in his glass.
“Otherwise, why do you think Yazde chose him? There must be something special about him.”
Gianluca nodded, “That makes sense.”
“Prepare a carriage for me, I need to leave here, this kid is too strange.” Anel continued, speaking between mouthfuls of food.
Gianluca looked at him and said, “Help me do one more thing, and after that’s done, I’ll prepare a carriage for you to leave tomorrow.”
Anel looked up, somewhat anxious in his tone, “The whole city is looking for me, I can’t wait that long, I have to leave tonight.”
“I don’t need you to lay a hand on him, just kidnap his two maids for me. Once that’s done, I’ll prepare the horses.”
“I can’t wait….”
Gianluca added, “Five thousand silver coins, go somewhere remote and live the rest of your life in comfort.”
“Are you crazy? You’re asking me to kidnap people in the inner city area?” Anel was tempted but remained sceptical of the feasibility of the task.
“I’ll arrange everything, you won’t be alone. I’ll assign some people to you, get in and out quickly. Remember, don’t kill them, I want them alive.”
Anel fell silent.
He finished the food on his plate.
Lying back on the couch, looking at the ceiling.
It was a while before he casually spoke.
“Prepare the carriage and the gold coins, I’ll leave as soon as the task is completed.”
“Agreed!”