Chapter 149

Chapter 149: Bidding

On the dark and cold dock, silence reigned. The bloody slaughter had passed, leaving only a ground covered with corpses and two zombie puppets standing still, indifferent to the scene before them.

Dorothy, dressed in a white dress, slowly emerged from the shadows. She remained unperturbed as she looked at the bloody battlefield illuminated by the dim light, then commanded the two standing zombie puppets to begin clearing the battlefield and collect the spoils.

“What greedy folks…”

As she gazed at the lifeless Harude lying on the ground, Dorothy murmured. Before the great battle on Knight Road, she had already used the zombie puppets to monitor the entire battlefield, and she had certainly seen the gangs of louts huddled in corners, plotting for a long time.

From the mouths of the gang louts, Dorothy learned the details of this smuggling operation. She knew their financier was waiting for them at the dock and that, after completing this job, they would leave Igewent, evading justice.

With this information, Dorothy naturally wouldn’t let this so-called financier escape. It was only inevitable that she would reap the rewards.

Although harvesting these ordinary gangsters and nobles wouldn’t yield any extraordinary items, it could still provide other useful resources. For example, their firearms and ammunition could replenish Dorothy’s armory, their cash could fill her coffers, and their bodies could replenish her reserves of zombie puppets.

Whether it be ammunition, funds, or corpses, these were all high-consumption items of great importance to Dorothy, and naturally, the more she could stockpile, the better.

Before long, Dorothy had finished a preliminary sweep of the battlefield and counted her spoils—nine corpses, several rounds of ammunition, and £320 in cash. This money had seemingly been set aside as payment for the gang louts, but now it all fell into Dorothy’s hands.

“Three hundred or so pounds is enough to hire a good ten people for some killing work. Is this how the world works?”

Looking at the cash in her hands, Dorothy sighed. She then prepared to load the bodies and other materials onto the ship and send them upstream to St. Amanda School.

For safety’s sake, Dorothy had stored her reserves of zombie puppets in a warehouse near the school—an area she had rented from Audric for over £20, much safer than the dock’s warehouse.

“Ugh… Why don’t I have a spatial ring or something like those other travelers? It’s so inconvenient to find storage for my supplies… especially with these bodies taking up so much space…”

As she controlled the corpses to board the ship one by one, Dorothy complained. She had spent no small amount of effort on storing her materials, dreaming of some sort of fourth-dimensional pocket storage equipment.

After much effort, Dorothy finally got all the zombie puppets onto the ship. Just as she was about to command them to set sail, her eyes narrowed, focusing on the small ferry she was using for transport.

This ferry had been docked nearby; seeing its proximity, Dorothy had decided to use it for cargo. The engine and rudder were uncoupled, suggesting it was in a state ready to sail. It stood to reason that this was the very boat the financier had arranged for the gang louts to escape Igewent.

‘It seems… I haven’t searched this boat yet…’

Looking at the ferry, Dorothy thought to herself that she hadn’t examined it during her battlefield clean-up. Since the gang had been using it to flee Igewent, there might still be something left behind… and she wouldn’t let even a mosquito’s leg go to waste.

With this thought, Dorothy began to control the nearby zombie puppets to search the ferry. However, apart from finding two barrels of fish, there were no other results. Just as Dorothy was about to give up in disappointment, one of her zombie puppets found something peculiar in a hidden corner of the ferry’s lower hold.

It was a bundle of earthen-yellow sticks tied together, with the front end connected to a fuse, all the fuses extending forward and converging into one, ultimately linking to a suggested mechanical device that had a dial installed on it.

Observing this strange object through the vision of the zombie puppet, Dorothy murmured thoughtfully.

“What is this…”

……

As the moon set and the sun rose, the night faded away.

Morning sunlight illuminated the exquisitely crafted buildings of St. Amanda School. Countless lifelike stone statues in the campus bathed in the dawn light, exuding an atmosphere of solemnity and sanctity. Within the ancient corridors, the sounds of students reciting echoed, marking the start of a new day of classes.

In the spacious underground studio of the academy, Audric, dressed as a school worker, sat in a chair, looking somewhat surprised at the guest before him.

“It seems today is the first time in months you arrived at school right on time, Miss Meyshos. Is there something urgent?”

As he sipped his tea, Audric spoke while observing the young girl sitting across from him, and Dorothy smiled as she responded.

“I have a transaction here, a transaction you would find very interesting.”

“A transaction I would find interesting? Heh, how amusing. To be honest, I haven’t encountered a deal that piqued my interest in a long time, Miss Meyshos.” Audric chuckled, thinking she was jesting, while Dorothy casually replied.

“Don’t worry; this transaction won’t disappoint you.”

“It seems you are quite confident, Miss Meyshos. Have you decided to trade away the secrets behind you? That I really would be interested in.” Audric continued, while Dorothy shook her head as she spoke.

“No, no, no, Mr. Audric. What I want to trade is… information.”

“Information?”

A hint of confusion appeared on Audric’s face, while Dorothy, after a pause, focused and slowly continued.

“Mr. Audric, do you know… Lu Ke?”

Upon hearing Dorothy’s words, Audric’s expression froze in shock, and he stood there motionless, as if even his breath had halted, resembling a stone statue.

This lasted for a few seconds until Audric normalized, speaking to Dorothy as usual.

“I think I do need this information. Name your price, Miss Meyshos.”

Hearing Audric’s words, Dorothy paused, hesitated for a moment, and then held up five fingers.

“Five secret transmissions. If you have an extraordinary item that can conveniently store a lot of goods, then it’s two secret transmissions plus that extraordinary item.”

Dorothy deemed her asking price quite steep and then smiled, sitting quietly in her chair while waiting for Audric’s counteroffer.

After stroking his chin in thought, Audric replied.

“Deal. I will give you two secret transmissions plus one extraordinary item you requested.”

As soon as Audric finished speaking, the smile on Dorothy’s face froze.