Chapter 418

Chapter 336: Contact

In the daytime of Tivyán, thick clouds loomed in the sky, casting an oppressive shadow over the entire city. Light rain had just ceased.

On a street in the East District, the wet road after the rain still glistened. A few passersby held closed umbrellas in their hands, and only a few carriages moved on the chilly road. The cold, damp wind discouraged many citizens from venturing out, turning what was once a bustling street into a desolate one.

Inside a high-end restaurant near the street, at a window-side seat where one could see the street outside, Maxi, a man in his fifties wearing a well-fitted brown suit and a long beard, sat with a serious expression. On the table in front of him was a lavish meal: steak, roasted chicken, sausages, cake, fine wine, and more. However, he showed no interest in the food, his eyes fixed on another man sitting across the table.

The man, appearing to be in his early thirties, wore a trench coat and had a pale complexion with deep-set eyes. His hat lay beside him. Unlike the serious-looking Maxi, he calmly enjoyed the dishes and sipped wine occasionally, each bite bringing him satisfaction. After eating a cookie, he shifted his gaze to Maxi and spoke.

“Mr. Maxi, there’s no need to be so tense. Let’s eat first.”

Maxi paused slightly upon hearing this, took a breath, leaned back, and responded to the man across the table.

“We can hold off on eating for now. Sir, I think we should discuss business first. You mentioned wanting to buy my goods?” Maxi said to the man, who nodded in agreement.

“Yes, forty-five boxes of premium tobacco from the North Coast of the New World are currently en route to Tivyán by sea. I want to purchase them immediately.” The man repeated what he had said earlier. As a merchant, Maxi looked at him peculiarly and then continued.

“How did you know I have goods at sea?”

“That’s none of your concern. If I know, I must have my own sources.”

“If you want to buy my goods, I have them ready here; you don’t need to wait for the ones at sea.”

“No, I don’t need the ones already available. I want the ones being transported. Mr. Maxi, please name your price.” The man addressed Maxi, who, as a merchant, became wary upon hearing such unusual words.

“To be honest, sir, you don’t seem like someone who does business. Although I am a merchant, I don’t engage in every kind of transaction. Sorry… your behavior makes it hard for me to trust you. Business without trust comes with risks…”

Maxi seriously told the man before him. The man’s insistence on buying a specific batch of goods seemed suspicious, causing Maxi to doubt his intentions. The man remained unperturbed and interrupted Maxi.

“Five hundred pounds…”

“What?”

“I said I’ll offer five hundred pounds for your goods, Mr. Maxi. Is that enough?”

The man softly told Maxi, who looked incredulous. This price far exceeded what Maxi expected, even if he sold all his goods at the current market rate in Tivyán.

“Five hundred pounds… Are you serious?” Maxi asked, still uncertain about the strange situation. Seeing Maxi’s hesitation, the man silently took genuine pound notes from his pocket and placed them on the table.

Driven by the allure of profit, Maxi’s reservations vanished. His serious expression turned into a bright smile, making the rest of the meal enjoyable.

…

At this moment, some distance away from the restaurant, a regular carriage parked by the roadside. Inside, Dorothy, feeling the scene transmitted by a zombie puppet, sighed in relief and murmured to herself.

“It seems settled. Ordinary merchants are easy to deal with as long as the money is right.”

Dorothy quietly added, “The merchant named Maxi isn’t anyone else but the owner of the tobacco shipment in the New World warehouse used to swap essences. Using the information on the label, I found Maxi and made the transaction.”

Currently, the cargo sealed with the tobacco label and containing Wood Hoof and dozens of essences was being transported by the Endeavor towards Tivyán. It would arrive soon. Dorothy needed to become the official owner of this shipment to legitimately transport it after its arrival. Since it involved over forty large boxes, simply picking it up wasn’t feasible. Thus, becoming the legal owner was the best option.

“Forty-five boxes of premium tobacco… settled for five hundred pounds. The original market price was around three hundred pounds, equivalent to the cost of a secret transmission. Indeed, financial investments in the extraordinary world are bottomless pits…”

Dorothy thought to herself. Such transactions would inevitably raise suspicions, so to ease Maxi’s doubts, she offered a premium of five hundred pounds directly. Now, she had only 1,850 pounds left.

“Sigh… I didn’t expect to invest so much to help Kapak. If we don’t extort more from the Underworld Coffin Cult, it will be a loss.”

Dorothy continued, reflecting on her efforts to help Kapak. She used three bl**d-Eating Sigils, spent three “Cups,” and used two “Cups” to control the living puppet Tom for some time.

Moreover, Dorothy had incurred the wrath of the Underworld Coffin Cult, who discovered the switch and immediately initiated divination to find her. They performed three divinations, and after failing to get results three times, realized they were up against a tough opponent. To conserve spirituality, they stopped further divination, but Dorothy also expended three “Shadows.”

With five “Cups,” three “Shadows,” and 500 pounds in cash, Dorothy had invested considerable resources into this matter. Her next goal was to use the Underworld Coffin Cult to earn back these resources.

‘It’s been three days since the cargo set sail. If those guys really wanted to make a deal, they should have contacted me by now. I’ll check with Beverly when I return…’

Dorothy pondered, manipulating the zombie puppet from afar to finalize the transaction with Maxi. After signing the contract, she only needed to wait for the Endeavor to safely dock.