Chapter 106 - Black Sail XI (2/2)
Seeing that Marvin wanted to embark on a separate path, Zhang Heng was more than willing to give him his share of the money – a total of 25 silver pesos.
It appeared that Marvin wasn’t about to honor the deal with the old pirate. Now that he had the money for a ticket home, he would not hesitate to do so.
Having no baggage to tie him down, Zhang Heng went to check out the small town on the island. During the 18th century, Europe did a great job of maximizing their production rates. Since the Renaissance had just come to an end, aesthetics of buildings and their decorations had found favor among the elites and n.o.bles.
Unfortunately, this place was in stark contrast to other parts of Europe, where Zhang Heng’s first impression of Na.s.sau was that it was a largely disorganized city. There were no theaters, churches, or bell towers, nor did he see any well-dressed folk moving around to attend dance parties as well.
All he could see were rotting wooden huts and dilapidated stone cottages. Na.s.sau was a place filled with palm trees as well. This place increasingly looked like a ma.s.sive slum to him.
Scantily dressed hookers roamed the streets in search of prospective clients, deliberately revealing more skin whenever a man pa.s.sed them by. There were urchins running barefoot on the unpaved roads, and it was in places like these that a traveler had to pay close attention to their wallets. Armed pirates terrorized the streets in groups. A few of them were seen exiting their taverns heading for the local gambling den.
There were also the local fishermen and hawkers, lining up along the busy street to sell their produce. Lastly, Zhang Heng saw a young priest talking about his G.o.d on a pedestal by the road, relentlessly preaching about how their sins could be washed away.
Though the place might seem impoverished at first glance, there were traces of prosperity and vitality streaming beneath the crowded chaos. The current quest was the longest amongst all the other quests that he had completed. He was required to stay in this world for 300 days.
Combined with the extra 24 hours that he had every day, it meant he would need to stay here for a whopping 3,900 days, more than the all the days in his previous quests combined.
This was going to be a long journey, and he had no idea what challenges lay beyond him. He could only continue moving forward since the game had already begun.
…….
Zhang Heng organized his belongings and took out the items he had hidden under the wooden plank in the galley. Other than that, he had been given a gun with the words FH engraved on its stock. Its previous owner had probably been reunited with his maker. Besides that, he was given a dagger as well. Judging by its appearance, it should only be able to yield a few pennies if it were to be sold. Then, there were the 25 silver pesos from his reward. This was the common currency of Spain, and was widely used among its colonies.
That was basically all the wealth he had for now, and he even had a debt waiting to be settled. After entering a few taverns, Zhang Heng finally found the old pirate in the fourth one. This tavern was located on the west side of the city, near the giant reef.
The old pirate was watching an exotic dancer as she bounced her curvy body across the stage.
“If I’m not mistaken, I remember that I made a deal with two persons. Where is your friend? When will he come?”
“He’s not coming anymore.”
“Haha… that is unwise, my friend. I think he doesn’t know what big troubles lie ahead of him. I hope Owen captures him and not Phoebe. Otherwise, the word suffering would be an understatement for him.”
“When can I start work?”
“You start now. See that s.h.i.+rtless muscular guy on your right? He’s Knight Errant’s gunsmith. Last year, he borrowed 200 silver pesos from me. With interest, he now owes me 300 silver pesos. Ask him to return the money to me.”