Chapter 1011: Chapter 503: Warehouse_2
Is this the third time already?
Wave-breaking Pier, coral reef, and now Wildberry Cliff.
If not for the fact that his keen perception hadn’t picked up anything unusual about the man, just an ordinary little gangster, Xia Nan would have suspected this man named Hogan of having followed him all the way here.
"What, do you know him?"
Beside him, the dwarf Habi casually grabbed a corpse with a smashed skull off the ground and threw it into the bushes nearby, his face full of doubt as he asked Xia Nan.
"I ran into him a few times at Suo Yu Bay before, didn’t expect to bump into him here again."
Seeing no need to hide it, Xia Nan briefly introduced his two previous encounters with Hogan to his nearby teammates.
As luck would have it, the group of five had come here intending to catch a pirate and interrogate them about the location of Aurie’s hidden goods.
Coincidentally, Hogan and his men passed by and were caught by Xia Nan and his team.
In just a few seconds, the once lively little gangsters were now becoming cold corpses.
Only Hogan remained, kneeling and begging for his life.
"Tell me, where were you planning to go?"
The gray-black blade of the Ash Fall sword reflected the moonlight overhead as Xia Nan looked at the little gangster at his feet, slightly gathering his energy, and asked with a bit of intimidation.
"The warehouse! We... we were headed to the warehouse, Master Haiya."
Without the slightest hesitation, almost the moment Xia Nan finished speaking, Hogan confessed his original destination without any backbone.
"Gerry asked me to take some men to the warehouse to switch shifts!"
"The warehouse?" Before Xia Nan could ask, the human ranger Seli in the group caught the key information in Hogan’s words and raised an eyebrow, "What’s inside?"
"Materials collected from villages on nearby sea islands, some food and drink supplies, oh, and goods hijacked from a cargo ship a few days ago."
Hearing Hogan’s words, the dwarf Habi and Seli couldn’t help but exchange glances.
Even they themselves hadn’t expected such luck, that simply catching a pirate could lead to such progress.
It went so smoothly that they even began to suspect for a moment whether Xia Nan had colluded with the pirates to set a trap.
In contrast, Xia Nan didn’t think too much about it, he just raised his leg and kicked the frightened little gangster in front of him.
"Lead the way."
"Yes! Yes, Master Haiya!"
Regardless of the dirt on himself, Hogan climbed up weakly and respectfully, taking the lead with a lantern to guide the way for them.
Despite having become a small leader within the Ebbtide Gang after several encounters, given his recent joining, Hogan felt no sense of belonging to the Ebbtide Gang itself. Facing life-threatening danger, he had no loyalty to his gang boss, Carrion Vulture Gerry.
He had carefully inquired about the deeds of the "Haiya" in front of him, knowing that this person had personally wiped out the former Corner Shark Gang with great strength and a violent personality.
And to be honest, in Hogan’s view, there wasn’t much difference between the Corner Shark Gang and the Ebbtide Gang in essence.
If the other side could erase the former from Suo Yu Bay, they could just as easily replace the Corner Shark Gang with the Ebbtide Gang.
If he insisted on staying loyal and keeping his mouth shut, not only himself, but the entire Ebbtide Gang might become history.
Instead of dying for an organization he felt no belonging to, Hogan figured it was better to survive for himself.
After all, with several knowledgeable gang members already dead on the scene, no witnesses remained. Who would know it was him who spilled the secret?
Hogan eagerly led Xia Nan and the Iron Rock Shield Team, his mind racing under the will to survive, contemplating how to seek a path to survival once they reached the destination.
...
It was exactly fifteen minutes after the group of six left there.
A rush of footsteps suddenly came from the woods.
Amidst the swaying bushes, a mature-looking middle-aged man jogged out.
He was the gang member sent by Carrion Vulture Gerry, the leader of the Ebbtide Gang, rushing towards the warehouse to retrieve items for the boss.
His steps suddenly halted.
With a sniff, as if he caught a whiff of the strong scent of blood lingering in the air.
The middle-aged man’s gaze swept across the ground.
In the bright moonlight, the grass showed clear signs of trampling, and the soil was soaked with blood.
His expression immediately tensed up.
But with his extensive experience backing him, he didn’t panic or lose composure; instead, he cautiously crouched down to carefully examine the traces left on the scene.
And eventually, he discovered a familiar disfigured body in deep bushes not far away, confirming his suspicions.
Gulp—
His heart pounded violently, almost bursting from his chest.
He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, casting a distant glance towards the dark forest.
But then he abruptly turned, refraining from venturing further.
Instead, he sprinted madly towards the Ebbtide Gang’s stronghold at Wildberry Cliff.
He had to report everything that happened here to their boss!
...
...
Meanwhile, a bit farther in the woods.
Xia Nan and others were led by Hogan towards the Ebbtide Gang’s warehouse on the island.
Unexpectedly, the other side cooperated so well, without a shred of resistance.
Xia Nan then began to inquire about more details regarding the situation on the island from Hogan.
"Indeed, it’s the Sha Hua Fishman, Mr. Xia Nan."
Hogan nodded respectfully.
Wishing to save his life under these adventurers, he held no secrets.
Whenever asked, this little gangster practically spoke everything he knew, eager to even disclose his lunch menu today.
"Carrion Vulture Gerry, the boss of the Ebbtide Gang, has recently been conducting large-scale transactions with the Sha Hua Fishmen."
"I don’t know through which channels they made contact."
"But the deal involves the Ebbtide Gang kidnapping civilians from remote islands’ villages and trading them to the Fishmen for the resources needed by the gang."
"I heard Gerry mention that the Fishmen need so many human slaves to conduct some kind of sacrificial ceremony."
Just as expected!
Hearing this, Xia Nan’s earlier suspicions were instantly confirmed.
The human villagers he saw in the dungeon were indeed preparations made by the Sha Hua Fishmen for the sacrificial ceremony.
Unconsciously recalling those powerful and troublesome shark beast monsters, he questioned:
"Has the ceremony been conducted yet?"
"At least until last night, I hadn’t noticed any signs of such ceremonies on the island," Hogan recalled, "Since I was in the patrol for the past two days, I remember this clearly."
That’s good.
Upon hearing this, Xia Nan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Right now, Embers Resonance was in cooldown, leaving him with one less trump card.
If they encounter shark beast monsters with the same strength as those in Twin Canyon again, even with a fair improvement in armor, there’s no guarantee of an easy win.
Not to mention that his teammates in this mission are unreliable, hard to trust enough to cover his back.
If such enemies reappeared, Xia Nan believed he’d have to be flexible in his battle strategy, focusing more on his own safety.
In contrast, the members of the Iron Rock Shield Team were more concerned about Hogan’s talk of the warehouse.
During the journey, they repeatedly questioned him, confirming whether the hidden items inside belonged to Aurie and if there were any spare valuable goods.
Evidently, these adventurers were aiming to earn some extra cash.
They weren’t concerned about the sacrificial ceremony of the Sha Hua Fishmen, nor how many civilians died as a result; all they cared about was the dazzling Gold Coin.
"Stop."
The person with the highest Perception Attribute in the team, Xia Nan, suddenly spoke.
The group halted accordingly, their gaze following the direction Xia Nan was looking at.
In the dense woods ahead, they could faintly see a crudely built yet particularly large wooden warehouse.
In front of the warehouse was the glow of a campfire and a small temporary campsite.
"Hey! Go up there and chat with them."
The dwarf Habi kicked Hogan, who was leading the way, from behind.
"Stay relaxed, don’t reveal anything."
"Can you understand?"
Hogan, instinctively, glanced at the edged hammer in the other’s hand, and the wooden arrow already gripped between Seli’s fingers.
Nodding repeatedly.
"Understood! Understood!"
