Chapter 275, Rich People Are All Fools
"Battling pirates?"
Hearing this, Wu Heng glanced at the elf Deputy Steward beside him, who had a slight frown.
That is to say, the corpse lying here was killed by pirates while at sea.
Sheila Grey continued to ask, "Which pirate group?"
The corpse answered, "Not sure."
Sheila Grey looked at the corpse and asked again, "Is Shanaila still alive?"
"Not sure!"
The corpse answered both questions with uncertainty.
The elf's expression became even more serious.
After a brief silence of a few seconds, "How many enemies were there?"
The corpse replied, "A lot, close to a thousand."
"What are the characteristics of these pirates?"
"There are many people, and they fight fiercely."
After answering the last question, the corpse lay back on the iron slab.
Sheila Grey's brows were still furrowed.
A total of five questions.
Besides confirming that it was done by pirates, there was no other information.
Sheila Grey looked at Wu Heng, "Let's go, we'll head back first."
"Not going to ask the other corpses?" Wu Heng said.
"No, the others aren't related."
Sheila Grey said, then led him out.
Exiting the mortuary.
Two coroners were still standing at the door chatting.
When they saw them coming out, they bowed slightly.
Sheila Grey said, "Sorry for disturbing you."
"Not at all," the coroner said.
Sheila Grey nodded, and the two walked away side by side.
After walking a distance.
Wu Heng said, "If there's nothing else, I'm heading back."
Sheila Grey immediately said, "Don't go back, this isn't over yet, let's visit the Steward."
"Oh!" Wu Heng didn't quite understand what was happening.
He followed her to the Steward's study.
......
A light knock on the door, and after receiving a response.
The two walked straight in.
Steward 'Imiro' was sitting at the desk reading a document, he looked up at the two, "Sit."
Sitting on the sofa, the elf assistant brought tea.
"How is it?" Steward 'Imiro' asked.
Sheila Grey recounted the results of the corpse interrogation.
After listening, Imiro nodded, then turned his gaze to Wu Heng, and asked, "Did Sheila Grey tell you about this?"
"Not yet!"
Imiro glanced at the assistant beside him, who then spoke softly.
"The body found at the port two days ago, after verification, was confirmed to be a servant beside 'Shanaila'. During the autopsy, a piece of human skin with writing was found in its mouth, demanding fifty thousand gold coins to exchange for Shanaila herself."
Wu Heng raised an eyebrow.
Kidnapped.
This person called 'Shanaila' was hijacked by pirates at sea.
They tossed a corpse over, demanding fifty thousand gold coins.
This amount... this person called 'Shanaila' must have a high status.
Earlier, Sheila Grey specifically asked if Shanaila was still alive, to confirm this matter.
"Uh, I understand, so what's next...?" Wu Heng asked.
Not quite understanding why this was being told to him.
He didn't have that kind of money.
Imiro said, "The merchant group is raising the money; you two will be responsible for bringing her back. You'll earn Tier 3 merit points."
Wu Heng frowned, "Pirates will release her for the money?"
Pirates keep their promises and release captives after getting paid.
He didn't believe it.
Sheila Grey said, "We are just preparing; rescuing her is the only current course of action. Otherwise, we wouldn't even know who they are. What other choice do we have?"
"Whether the money is raised or not, it's just a breakthrough point," Wu Heng continued.
Sheila Grey shook her head,
"To prevent the pirates from planting spies who might be secretly watching us."
Imiro nodded and said, "That's the situation. Prepare yourselves, each of you leads a squad. When the time comes, follow along to exchange the hostage, prioritize safety."
"Understood!" Sheila Grey responded, Wu Heng also nodded in agreement.
Leaving the Steward's study.
Sheila Grey said, "Once the funds are ready, I'll have someone notify you."
"Alright."
The two parted ways and returned to their respective offices.
......
Returning to his office.
Andviel was sitting at the desk working.
Seeing Wu Heng come in, she immediately smiled, "Did Deputy Steward Sheila Grey need something from you?"
"Asked for help with corpse interrogation," Wu Heng replied briefly, then continued, "Check if Squad Three has any tasks, if not, have 'Olin' come over."
"Oh, okay!" Andviel got up and walked out.
She quickly returned.
Followed by a bearded dwarf.
Unlike before, this time his beard had three silver clasps with red gems on them.
"Deputy Steward!" Olin bowed slightly.
During the last two missions, Squad Three followed Wu Heng and gained quite a few benefits.
A Tier 3 merit, and they also cracked the case of imprisoned girls.
This boosted the reputation of Squad Three.
Now meeting him, the dwarf's attitude was even more respectful.
"Have a seat!"
The dwarf sat down beside him.
Wu Heng continued, "Does Squad Three have any tasks today?"
"Not currently. If Deputy Steward has orders, we will do our best to complete them," Olin said.
Wu Heng nodded, "The Steward issued a mission, Tier 3 merit points, if you have time, come along."
The dwarf didn't hesitate and agreed immediately, "No problem, we can set off now."
"No rush, I'll notify you when we depart."
"Understood."
After confirming the plan.
Olin bowed again and left.
Andviel sat down next to him, saying, "I'll accompany Master, so I can take care of you."
Wu Heng put his arm around the fox girl's shoulder, smiling, "It's just a simple mission, not dangerous."
Pirates can't be trusted to keep their word.
But Wu Heng had his own ways to protect himself. If there was danger, he could use the Gate or the Phantom Train to escape.
Taking Andviel along would mean needing to protect her too.
It might even cause problems.
"Alright, but please be careful, Master."
"Yeah!" Wu Heng gently patted the fox girl's shoulder.
She looked up, and her tail curled up.
Wu Heng took out a wooden comb and began brushing her fluffy tail, Andviel blushed and snuggled beside him.
......
Night fell.
A medium-sized cargo ship drifted on the sea.
The sea wind howled, waves splashed against the ship like raindrops on the deck.
Tap tap~!
Footsteps sounded, and Olin came down, "Deputy Steward, Deputy Steward Sheila Grey has informed us that we're nearing the exchange location. Please come over."
"Oh, alright!" Wu Heng got up and, accompanied by his skeleton servant, walked onto the deck.
Water droplets kept falling overhead.
Wu Heng glanced around and headed towards where Sheila Grey was.
Beside her was another elf, the captain of Squad One.
"Deputy Steward Wu Heng." The captain of Squad One saluted.
Wu Heng nodded and walked to Sheila Grey, asking, "How is it?"
"No sign of the pirates."
"Since they arranged this, they'll definitely show up." Wu Heng said.
"Yeah."
The cargo ship continued forward a bit.
Someone shouted, "We've reached the exchange spot."
Splash~!
As soon as the words were spoken.
Countless small speedboats burst out of the darkness around them.
They started approaching the cargo ship.
Pirates stood crowded on the boats.
Some held weapons and shouted, others swung grappling hooks in their hands.
"Call out!" Sheila Grey said.
Someone with a megaphone called out, "We brought the ransom to exchange for the hostage. Is President Shanaila safe?"
......
"Haha! They really brought the money."
"Anyone who believes this must be out of their minds."
"Attack, kill them, and take the money back."
The surrounding pirates laughed loudly.
They didn't expect these people to be so easily fooled, bringing a whole ship to ransom.
Boats rapidly closed in from all directions.
Sheila Grey leaned over the railing, watching both sides below.
Her eyes scanned all the boats in sight.
She confirmed that there was no sign of Shanaila.
"Fight, kill them all!" Sheila Grey said directly.
Everyone immediately sprang into action.
Swish swish swish~!
Crossbow bolts and arrows shot down from the ship.
Pirates used their shields to block, occasionally shaking them while mocking and laughing.
The small boats quickly reached beneath the ship.
Clang clang clang~!
Grappling hooks were thrown onto the cargo ship, hooking onto the railings.
Pirates began climbing up from all sides.
Squad Three members drew their weapons, staying close to Wu Heng.
"Deputy Steward, what should we do?"
"Go help out, don't panic, these guys are no threat."
"Oh, got it!"
Squad Three immediately rushed down, starting to chop off the grappling hooks.
......
"This side's a pretty boy, brothers, board here."
"Isn't he that woman's little lover?"
"Don't kill him, I like his ass."
Wu Heng glanced down, and the pirates immediately shouted loudly.
Compared to the rough-skinned sailors, this side didn't seem very strong.
Wu Heng looked away.
He pulled out a machine gun from his spatial ring.
He hefted the weight in his arms, set the machine gun on the railing, pointed the muzzle down at a shouting boat of approaching pirates.
Amidst the pirates' shouts about what they wanted to do to him.
He pulled the trigger.
Bang bang bang~!
Explosive gunfire roared, a torrent of bullets poured down.
In an instant, the laughing, cursing pirates were blown apart, their wooden boat shattered into splinters and slowly sinking.
The gunfire stopped.
Silence fell over the ship and the sea.
Everyone stared in shock at where the boat had disappeared.
"Keep fighting, what are you looking at me for?" Wu Heng said directly.
The rest immediately resumed chopping hooks and shooting arrows and bolts.
Wu Heng shifted the machine gun to one side and continued to aim at the next boat.
Bang bang bang~!
Gunfire exploded, tearing through boats and people.
Wu Heng didn't stop, sliding the machine gun along the railing, sweeping it over the boats below.
One boat after another shattered.
The pirates felt terror.
Whenever the gun pointed at a boat, they would jump overboard without hesitation, diving straight into the water.
Bullets continued to tear into the sea, shredding the pirates.
Seeing they had no chance to fight back, the pirates started planning a retreat.
Wu Heng cast [Dancing Light], illuminating the sea while bullets kept firing.
Every pirate boat was destroyed.
......
Wu Heng stowed the machine gun back into his spatial ring.
The surroundings gradually quieted, and the smell of gunpowder was blown away by the sea breeze.
Wu Heng glanced at everyone and said, "Retrieve the bodies, get them all up."
"Go, lower the small boats and get all the bodies up." Olin shouted loudly.
Besides Squad Three.
Both Squad One and the merchant group personnel.
Were all still a bit dazed.
The pirates came to attack us, and it's over this quickly?
Moreover, not a single person on our side died, while the sea was covered with pirate corpses.
After Olin's repeated loud urging, the others snapped out of it.
One by one, small boats were lowered from both sides.
They began retrieving the pirate corpses.
Sheila Grey walked over and looked at Wu Heng, "Aren't you a Necromancer? Why not use spells?"
"A mage's strength is in their mind, not in any specific spell."
"You're right." Sheila Grey agreed at first, then realized, "Wait, are you mocking me?"
"I didn't say that."
Soon, some bodies were retrieved.
Wu Heng walked over and selected two relatively intact corpses.
"Take them to the cabin!"
......
Inside the cabin.
Wu Heng cast [Speak with Dead], and the corpses sat up.
"Is Shanaila still alive?" Wu Heng asked.
The corpse answered, "Should be alive!"
The two of them were stunned.
Wu Heng pressed on, "What do you mean 'should be alive'?"
"When I left, that woman used some kind of tool to seal herself, she was alive then."
Meaning the corpse wasn't sure if she was still alive now.
Wu Heng continued asking, "Which pirate group are you from?"
"Blood Hand Pirate Group."
Hearing this name, Sheila Grey's brow furrowed again.
Wu Heng continued, "How many of you are left?"
"About five or six hundred people on the island."