Chapter 1008: Chapter 502: Hogan Feels Lucky
Wildberry Cliff.
At the center of the camp, a temporary wooden house.
The leader of the Ebbtide Gang, "Carrion Vulture," sat on an overturned barrel, a thin fish bone dangling from his lips, used for picking his teeth.
After more than thirty years at sea, his skin was almost cured by salt water and sea breeze, rendering it a rough, dark, and shadowy hue;
Hair just a stubble close to his scalp, alternating between gray and white, cheekbones prominent, jaw thin and devoid of flesh, coupled with a sinister hooked nose and fierce triangular eyes.
At first glance, he truly gave off the feeling of a vicious sea eagle circling and seeking prey.
At this moment, standing before this Ebbtide Gang boss were three Sha Hua Fishmen with a pungent fishy smell.
The one at the front was particularly burly, muscles bulging under his scales, head nearly touching the ceiling when standing, two arms crossed over his chest, one arm hanging naturally, and the other clutching a heavy brown leather sack.
"Bam."
The sack was tossed forward by the fishman, landing heavily on the table, the clinking of coins inside making the little gangsters behind "Carrion Vulture" Gerry swallow involuntarily.
"The goods have been checked, enough in quantity."
The fishman’s gills moved, its mouth opened and closed, accompanied by their uniquely sticky accent, it sounded particularly awkward in the Universal Language.
"Need more, next month, at least seventy."
The logic and syntax of Sha Hua Fishman speak and Universal Language were vastly different, and this fishman elite was not very proficient in Universal Language, so it could only say some brief phrases.
Fortunately, considering the context, the meaning it wanted to express was not difficult to comprehend.
"Seventy? Don’t worry, I can get you up to three digits, what we’re lacking here is everything but people!"
Pulling the fish bone from his mouth, "Carrion Vulture" Gerry grinned, exposing a mouth full of yellow teeth, assuring.
In a sense, what he said wasn’t wrong.
After all, the living conditions of the Southern Islands were favorable, the climate not too harsh, without considering much else, going fishing every few days was already enough for an ordinary family to fill their stomachs.
A hundred plus people, just a remote island village could round them up.
If he wasn’t worried about causing too much noise and catching the attention of the Governor Mansion and the Church, he could easily add another zero at the end of the number.
However, the three Sha Hua Fishmen in front of him didn’t respond to his words.
Gills opened and closed, airflow surging with a sharp screech sound, the leading fishman elite stepped forward, the dark shark eyes under the thin membrane staring straight at Gerry.
"A few days ago, shouldn’t, merchant ship, plundering."
Still phrases that conveyed enough meaning, but the tone carried a thick dissatisfaction.
"Carrion Vulture" heard this, the smile on his face didn’t diminish in the slightest, still grinning with his yellow teeth, speaking easily:
"Oh, that, just a casual thing."
"Just a crappy piece of junk, not worth a few copper coins."
"Don’t worry, won’t interfere with the main business."
As he said this, the amplitude and frequency of the fishman’s gills flared up even more, along with the fins on its back slightly rising, seemingly expressing the discontent within.
"Agreement... didn’t have this."
"We pay Gold Coins, weapons, you just do what’s in the agreement."
The arm clutching the money sack was raised disdainfully, webbed fingers pointed directly at Gerry.
"Don’t do extra things, will cause trouble."
Clap ——
It was the sound when the fish bone was tossed to the ground.
Although the Ebbtide Gang and Sha Hua Fishmen were in a cooperative relationship, the latter’s power greatly surpassed the former.
But the animosity and hatred between humans and fishmen remained ingrained in the hearts of the people of the Southern Islands.
Undoubtedly, at least now, the Ebbtide Gang was not as weak as imagined.
Gerry suddenly stood up.
He might not have been as tall as the fishman in front of him, but he was equally imposing and robust, even more savage due to his identity as a gang leader and experiences.
"I say, we’ve been mixing on the sea for so many years, what trouble haven’t we seen."
"That ship didn’t even have a banner, surely not belonging to the Church or the Governor Mansion, or the Gulf Chamber of Commerce."
"In the Southern Islands, if you don’t provoke these three forces, what kind of trouble can there be?"
Faced with an aggressive Gerry, the fishman was undaunted, stepping forward again, allowing the shadow of its stout body under the lamplight to envelop the opposite side, deep red gill filaments exposed as its gills opened and closed.
"Again, the agreement nullified, cooperation terminated."
"Our patience, limited."
Silence lingered in the air for a moment.
"Hahaha." Gerry suddenly laughed, retreating half a step to show weakness, raising his hands in a placating gesture, "Alright, alright, we’ll do as you say."
"In the future, we won’t touch anything else, only carry out the business we’ve agreed on. Sound good?"
Seeing this, the fishmen glanced at each other, nodding slightly.
The leading Sha Hua Fishman quietly lowered its dorsal fin, again pointing at the money sack on the table ahead.
"Remember, next month, seventy."
"..."
Watching the fishmen disappear behind the wooden door amid guttural sounds and heavy footsteps from their throats.
The natural smile on "Carrion Vulture" Gerry’s face vanished in an instant.
He spat out a mouthful of phlegm onto the ground, letting himself fall back, sitting onto the barrel again.
Without speaking, merely raising his hand, and his henchman understandingly handed over a smoking pipe to his hand.
