Chapter 419

Chapter 336: Contact

The New World has numerous tobacco plantations, and the tobacco trade between the New World and the Main Continent has always been very prosperous. At that time, there were many batches of tobacco goods destined for the Main Continent in that warehouse. They found it difficult to figure out where this batch of essences was originally supposed to be sent. Now, that batch of essences has completely disappeared for them.

Finally, after waiting for a while, Dorothy’s zombie puppet finished handling matters with Marcoxi. Then, Dorothy drove the carriage forward, recovered the puppet in a hidden place, and continued driving north.

After several hours of travel, Dorothy finally returned to Green Shade Town in the northern suburbs of Tivyán. During this period, it started raining lightly again. Upon arriving at Green Shade Town, she did not rush home first but went to Beverly’s place first. When she got off the carriage and opened her umbrella to walk towards Beverly’s door, she saw Beverly holding an umbrella, about to leave.

“Huh, I was just going to look for you to see if you were home. You’re here just in time. I hate rain, so it’s good that I don’t have to go out,” Beverly said with a raised eyebrow when she saw Dorothy. After hearing this, Dorothy asked:

“Looking for me? What’s the matter?”

“You recommended starting a postal service, which has become increasingly popular recently. Look, someone sent a telegram to ‘Thief K’ through us. Didn’t you say before that if there were letters or telegrams addressed to Thief K, they should be handed over to you?”

With a teasing tone, Beverly said this. After hearing these words, Dorothy thought to herself that it had finally come. She then smiled and spoke to Beverly.

“Heh, I’ve been waiting for it. Let’s not stand here; let’s go inside and talk.” Saying this, Dorothy walked straight into Beverly’s house without turning back, as if she were returning home. Beverly looked at this neighbor and thought to herself how it felt like Dorothy was inviting guests into her own house.

Dorothy entered Beverly’s house and skillfully used her automatic coffee machine to make a cup of coffee. She sat down in her usual spot and began drinking. Not long after, Beverly also came in, holding an envelope and placing it in front of Dorothy.

“Here you go. Miss Meyshos, who is both a detective and a thief, do you want to be a sheriff next time or a pirate?” With a teasing tone, Beverly said to Dorothy. Dorothy put down her coffee, shrugged, and took the envelope, opening it to carefully examine its contents.

The letter was typed by a machine, not handwritten. Dorothy knew this was not a letter but a telegram, a result of the content of a distant telegram being transcribed and printed out.

Dorothy asked the Underworld Coffin Cult to contact Thief K through the White Stone Craftsmen Guild within seven days. It was too late to send a letter, so the other party chose to convey the message via telegram.

Under Beverly’s promotion, the White Stone Craftsmen Guild had already expanded their postal service to many large cities. These guild branches could communicate with each other through telegrams and other means, even sharing information. To specifically receive letters from the Underworld Coffin Cult, Dorothy had opened a second account at the White Stone Craftsmen Guild, named “Thief K.”

Dorothy scrutinized the telegram in her hand. The content was simple, just one short sentence.

“To the most despicable thief, may your soul be cursed for eternity! We are willing to offer a certain reward to retrieve the soul stolen by you. Name your price.”

Seeing the message on the telegram, Dorothy’s heart stirred. Clearly, the Underworld Coffin Cult, after failing to find any other way, finally decided to try trading to recover those essences. This was exactly what Dorothy wanted.

Without thinking further, Dorothy placed the telegram aside and asked Beverly for paper and a pen, quickly writing a response.

“Esteemed members of the Underworld Coffin Cult, I am glad you noticed my message and contacted me proactively. Your goods are now safely in my hands. You only need to pay me 12,000 pounds, and I will return them to you without fail.”

After finishing, Dorothy handed the paper to Beverly, asking her to convert it into a telegram and send it back. Seeing this, Beverly’s expression turned playful, and she asked curiously,

“Huh… you’re quite capable. Just as I was gathering intelligence on the Underworld Coffin Cult, you managed to provoke them… 12,000 pounds, quite a hefty price. What did you steal from the Underworld Coffin Cult to demand such a high price?”

“Well… who knows?”

Dorothy picked up another cup of coffee, sipped it, and said with a mysterious smile. She did not expect the Underworld Coffin Cult to actually pay such a high amount; she was merely setting a high price.

Dorothy understood that it would take several rounds of negotiation to reach a final price. Since the Underworld Coffin Cult was willing to retrieve this batch of goods and they had already established contact, she had ample time to slowly negotiate with them.

…

After sending the reply to the Underworld Coffin Cult, Dorothy bid farewell to Beverly and went home to rest. The next day, she received a response.

The content of the response was straightforward, stating that Dorothy’s conditions were too high and unacceptable. They proposed their own bottom line. Dorothy was not in a hurry and, using the White Stone Craftsmen Guild’s telegram service, she slowly negotiated with the Underworld Coffin Cult.

In the following one or two days, Dorothy communicated with the Underworld Coffin Cult via telegrams, negotiating the terms. Their telegrams went back and forth, and after Dorothy spent around 100 pounds on telegrams, they finally reached an agreement.

The final transaction plan agreed upon was as follows:

The Underworld Coffin Cult agreed to give Dorothy 6,000 pounds in cash and three secret transmissions as collateral, in exchange for the forty or so boxes of essences in Dorothy’s possession. Among these secret transmissions, there needed to be content related to the Deity ‘King of the Underworld,’ and they must include a Holy Emblem of the King of the Underworld.

They also discussed the specific transaction methods. Under the strong insistence of the Underworld Coffin Cult, they had to meet face-to-face for the transaction, ostensibly to inspect the goods on-site and facilitate an immediate exchange of money and goods. Both parties had to appear in person and could not use any form of puppet. Neither party could hide their extraordinary abilities.

During the negotiations, the Underworld Coffin Cult deliberately proposed various detailed requirements for the transaction. In response, Dorothy seized the opportunity to determine the time and location of the transaction. According to her plan, they would conduct the transaction on the 15th in Tivyán. Initially, the Underworld Coffin Cult had hoped to set the meeting place in Dancdo.

Therefore, on the 15th, both sides would meet face-to-face in Tivyán for a direct “encounter.”