Everything had been settled—the rendezvous point, precautions, and the exact payment.

Neither side had any doubts left.

During the meal, the servant opened the two copper coins worth of cheap rum that Li Site had brought for the Count’s family to drink. The expressions of the four were quite priceless;

it was their first time tasting such a harsh and poor-quality liquor.

Li Site was not lacking in discernment;

his group of fugitives could not stay overnight at the Count’s residence. After the meal and dessert, they had to leave.

This was the first meeting with this Count, and likely the last.

Li Site and his group bid farewell with their gold dragons. If fate allowed, they could cooperate again in the future.

After the Black Sails crew left,

the Count’s son stared dumbfounded at the empty long table.

On the Western Continent, hosting a feast was the same as in Li Site’s hometown—whether the food was finished or not, the display had to be grand. It was normal for a great noble to serve twenty or thirty dishes.

Li Site, unwilling to lose out, even packed the leftovers to take back. The cattle and horses on the ship were the kind of Beima Principality commoners who only dared to eat meat on festivals and New Year’s. After this meal, they would be utterly loyal.

“Is it really worth it? One hundred gold dragons a day...”

The Count’s son thought his father was overly generous. Adding the thirty gold dragons from the sheriff previously, the hundred gold dragons yesterday, another hundred just now, and the upcoming thousand gold dragons to be sent over, this was astronomical for commoners—enough for several lifetimes. Even for the entire family, it was a huge expense, like cutting off a big chunk of flesh.

“People who have reached their level are not stupid. They know in their hearts this mission is a gamble with nine chances to die and one to survive. This isn’t money for work—it’s money to buy their lives.”

The Count walked over to the window, still holding a half-full glass of the harsh rum. He carefully tasted the biting spiciness. Pirates were indeed strange creatures—people shaped by their environment, and the sea, a completely lawless place, gave rise to madmen who danced on the edge of death.

“Are pirate lives really worth this much?”

The Count’s son also understood the gravity of the matter, but the letters of marque were not just handed out on a whim or friendship. Gifts had been prepared beforehand, and all combined, it was still not enough.

“You still have much to learn. You should know that our Secret Port has been running at a loss. Docking fees from smuggling ships and pirates are just a drop in the bucket. The avoided tariffs are also quite limited—not as much as the money I spend greasing palms and bribing the Admiral. Do you understand why I keep it open?”

The Count asked his son.

After a moment’s thought, he guessed, “Because other nobles in Linden City also have Secret Ports, and if we don’t run ours, they’ll only get bigger?”

“Hmm... not bad. But that’s only part of it. It’s like a big hotel in the inner city—if they grow all their own vegetables and raise their own livestock, they’d save a lot on ingredients. But only fools would do that. You have to understand, when business grows big, new difficulties arise. Some things must be handled by others, some money must be earned by outsiders, and some unnecessary expenses have to be paid. Money not spent on the blade ends up being spent on the blade.”

The Count stopped talking. The son was too young to understand what this meant. Even if that person safely reached Lavender Town without any pursuers, they must never use their own ship to send him out. They had to completely sever any connection. If there was the slightest link, the whole family would be doomed.

Moreover, there was no way there were no pursuers;

the Black Sails crew surely understood this as well.

The Count’s son was confused—was that money spent on the blade or not? Was it necessary to buy a probability or something? After all, the Count’s favorite saying was that the world was a complete chaotic gamble, and all people could do was keep improving their odds of winning and accumulate the cost of trial and error through chips.

The latter was often more important than the former.

More than an hour later.

Secret Port.

Tonight’s ship meal was awful, prepared by the swamp chef Wolman. The complicated cooking process was quite particular: first, boil a large pot of water, then dump in uncut vegetable leaves and sprinkle some seasoning. The worst ingredients often required the simplest cooking methods.

The whole process took old man Wolman only two minutes.

After the luxurious lunch, everyone was quickly brought back to reality. The sailors stared blankly at the boiled vegetable leaves in their bowls.

“Raised like pets, and still picky eaters?”

Wolman was displeased. Archer had collapsed into a heap again. The fruit wine brewed by the wood elves was a bit too cold for him;

he was now lying in the ship’s infirmary receiving fluids to sober up.

“How’s Archer?”

Wolman asked as Micah came out. It would be best if Archer died so they could recruit a new cook. Archer was like a brain-damaged roommate at school who never bought basic supplies like soap or toilet paper, always using others’. Not necessarily bad, just disgusting. On top of that, he was a drunkard, stubbornly showing off without regard for the occasion—annoying everyone and nearly filling his talismans.

“He’s okay. I don’t know how his liver is built.”

Micah used a special diuretic to check Archer’s liver function, and the indicators were surprisingly normal. He was born to be a drunkard.

At this moment, Li Site and his group returned.

“Damn! It’s done!”

Ren shouted excitedly. No one came to kill Li Site’s group—they were all alive and kicking. They knew the deal was made, big job activated!

“Why are they carrying things back again?”

Shadi took a closer look and saw they were carrying boxed leftovers.

“This is to bring back something fresh for everyone to try.”

Li Site’s group set down the boxes and called all the sailors over.

Though cold, the food was still edible. When the boxes were opened, the whole crew had never seen such rich ingredients, their eyes almost popping out.

Several volunteered to make some mashed potatoes to go with the dishes.

“Looks like there are more people again.”

Li Site looked at the people on the deck. Since the large open sleeping quarters below the ship weren’t well ventilated, everyone preferred to stay on deck before setting sail.

“We recruited eight people today. They’re from the same group, mountain bandits from the north. Their old base was raided by a local Viscount. Only eight survived. They have experience escaping death, so they should be reliable in a fight.”

Ochs told Li Site and briefly tested the newcomers’ skills. Among minor characters, these were the best fighters. Getting silver-level adventurer status wouldn’t be a problem.

“Captain! I heard there’s a big job coming up. Whatever needs doing, just order me around!”

Suddenly, a big bald man with a skull tattoo appeared, catching Li Site off guard.

Li Site had a deep impression of this tattooed bald man—he was full of spirit.

“Not yet, no rush. You’ll go to Linden City to stock up these two days and get familiar with the process. Starting tomorrow, keep an eye on the orders that haven’t been shipped yet. Everything must be restocked on the ship within ten days. We sail within half a month. This is not a joke;

it’s serious. If supplies are missing during the voyage, lives will be lost. If you do well, you’ll be promoted. Like the navy, a private soldier gets eight silver coins a month, a skilled first-class soldier ten silver coins, a top soldier thirteen silver coins, and a squad leader with ten sailors twenty silver coins. With your build, you should be a squad leader.”

Li Site judged that the core members would be busy with the big job. These minor characters wouldn’t match Kill-brother in strength, so the grunt work of stocking could be handed to this tattooed man. He was quite proactive and clearly wanted a position of some rank.

The tattooed man laughed immediately.

“If I don’t do well, cut off my head.”

He said this boldly.

Li Site was deeply impressed. Damn, this young man.

“Then it’s yours. The ship isn’t just about a fixed salary. Like every pirate ship, there are bonuses. And that’s calculated in gold dragons. You understand what I mean.”

Li Site patted the tattooed man’s shoulder.

Next, it was time to gather the backbone crew and discuss the business with the Punisher and the Moonwheel Swordsman.