Chapter 143 - Alliance (2/2)

“You can have it if you want it,” said the mysterious lady suddenly.

Once she woke up, she found out that her hands and legs were bound. Still, she managed to stay calm. Her behavior did not match her age and family background. Unfortunately, she expressed her kindness to Anne in the wrong way.

“I don’t need someone to give me something I like. I will take it from the person myself!” exclaimed Anne with a burst of laughter as she placed both of her legs on the table with her chair leaned back.

Noticing that Zhang Heng was glaring at her, she instantly removed her legs from the table.

“I believe that you are the captain of the Jackdaw, Mr. Zhang. I have to admit: you are way younger than I thought.”

The mysterious lady then took a good hard look at Zhang Heng.

“Who are you? Why are you in my house?”

“I’m so sorry. Forgive me for breaking into your house without permission. I bear no ill intention. I just want to discuss some business proposals with you. I’m left with no other option because this is a special period for me.”

“Special period?”

“My name is Carina Portman. I’m a businesswoman. I think the people of Na.s.sau prefer to call me a black-market merchant. Anyway, I do business on this island, and I have worked with many pirate s.h.i.+ps before. Captain Fuller from the pirate vessel Archer and Captain Randall from the Duke are my customers. Oh, and Elwin from the Flying Fish too. They are all my good partners.”

While talking, Carina was observing the reaction on Zhang Heng’s face. Unfortunately, she did not manage to read anything from him.

“I heard that you had spent a lot of time at sea, and you just got back today. You might not know the island as well as you think. Four months ago, all the black-market merchants were talking about forming a trade alliance to solve the chaotic way of trading on this island. This alliance is coming to an end soon, and so they have come up with a few unanimous decisions. That includes lowering the share s.h.i.+ps led by new captains. I believe that you looked for a few back market merchants this afternoon, right? And you are not happy with the outcome.”

“A similar thing happened three years ago, right? I heard that the alliance did not end well.”

“I know what you are thinking. I’m afraid that the alliance won’t be dismissed that easily this time. The old alliance was formed by a couple of powerful black market merchants. So, they were the ones that made the rules. It’s different this time because pirates are invited to join the alliance as well.”

“Huh?”

“I’m not sure if you have heard of the name, Frazer. They say he was highly respected amongst the pirates, being the person to convince other pirate groups to join the alliance. The merchants have increased their buying price in exchange for a long-term partners.h.i.+p. The value that the black market merchants generate can buy up 70% of the loot that all pirates bring back to Na.s.sau. With that being said, the merchants that are not part of the alliance will be unable to buy any valuable loot. All those who initially refused to join the alliance will now change their minds. Right now, there are only a couple of merchants left in Na.s.sau that refuse to join the alliance.”

Finally, Zhang Heng understood the reason why the other black market merchants treated him in such a cold manner earlier. If Carina was telling the truth, then the alliance would have absolute power over the market once it was officially put in place though they would need to pay to buy off the pirates’ loot. One should know that being a pirate wasn’t precisely the most stable and safest of jobs. As time pa.s.sed, pirates who were promised with a high price became lesser and lesser and, young pirates like Zhang Heng would emerge.

The merchants would then design a new contract for them where they could buy off their loot at a lower price. In other words, the profit they gained would only increase over time. By that time, the alliance would have dominated the entire market, and the pirates would have no choice but to accept the price offered by the alliance.