Chapter 404: Celebration
Mud splattered all over as police officers in their boots rushed to establish a cordon around Golden Fairy. A cordon tape was quickly wrapped around the perimeter of Golden Fairy, and the sight created a grim air above the desolate harbor district.
The idle laborers stood up one after another, and their curiosity drew them closer to Golden Fairy. Of course, they dared not approach too close and only whispered among each other at an appropriate distance from the cordon.
"What's going on there?"
"What did the tavern owner do? Did he traffic slaves or something? Why are the black dogs making such a big fuss?"
"I have no idea, but I guess he has committed a great crime. I'm sure we'll soon find his corpse strung up at the docks as a warning. Though it has been a while since I saw that kind of scene, it became rare since the police department welcomed a new police chief."
The idle laborers soon saw people emerge from the Golden Fairy. At a glance, they seemed to be workers of the Golden Fairy.
The arrested workers had their heads covered tightly, and in addition to a handcuff, they were chained as well as the police dragged them away. Strangely, the workers were trembling like aspen trees, as if they had seen something terrifying.
Once the arrested workers were shoved into the police cars, a white strip of paper was slapped on Golden Fairy's doors, and the word sealed was written on the strip of paper.
"Cheers! We did a great job today!" someone exclaimed in the exclusive cafeteria of Hope Island's Police Department, and it was quickly followed by the clinking of beer mugs.
Dipp threw his head back and downed the entire mug of beer before slamming it onto the table, exclaiming, "How refreshing!"
Dipp ate heartily while chatting, laughing, and cursing with his subordinates. They were calm, as the source of the brain-eating phantom had been eliminated along with their carriers.
Of course, the other members of the police force would still have to deal with the clean-up. However, District 3 believed that those worms were nothing and could be dealt with easily by the other districts. When necessary, they could also borrow troops from the Navy.
In other words, District 3 truly had nothing to worry about at this point.
District 3's job was to handle "special" cases. More specifically, they were responsible for handling cases such as cult sacrifices, relic possession cases, and so on.
The members of District 3 were busy discussing today's events.
"My god, I'm telling you guys! Those thin worms can get really long! I'm not sure if some of you saw it too, but I saw around eight worms poking out of a woman's skirt earlier!"
"I'm over forty, but I've never seen such a creature before. Those noodle-like creatures are definitely not native to the Northern Seas. They must have come from the Southern Seas. I heard the Southern Seas have every single disgusting creature imaginable."
Aliya's meal was noodles in tomato sauce, and she had just brought her fork to her mouth when she promptly put it down upon hearing what the members were talking about.
"Why are you guys talking about disgusting things when there's someone eating here? And you! Get your feet off the table!" Aliya exclaimed.
A scaly arm nudged Aliya's shoulder, and she heard Dipp's voice next to her. "Don't be such a wet blanket, Aliya. Coming across such a huge case and resolving it at that is a rare occurrence; we've clocked out as well, so we should all relax."
Aliya turned to the fishman eating meatballs next to her. "Boss, when will you get reinstated?"
"What do you mean? Why should I get reinstated? Isn't James doing a better job than me? You shouldn't worry about things you can't influence," Dipp replied, looking completely indifferent.
However, Aliya clearly didn't share the same sentiment as Dipp. "It's a position that clearly belongs to you. If you hadn't warned us ahead of time, we would have been unable to fend off the Deep Dwellers' attack.
"Despite that, you haven't received any rewards at all. It's really unfair."
The fins on Dipp's head flared up, but they immediately calmed down as Dipp replied, "Forget it. Just look at me. My appearance is already creating bad rumors about District 3, so what do you think would happen if I were to get reinstated?
"Things would surely become troublesome for the Captain if that were to happen."
"So what? The Governor owns the entire Hope Island, so who would dare to oppose him if he were to say something on your behalf?" Aliya asked.
"It's really okay. To be honest, the Captain had basically forced me into becoming the Chief of Hope Island's Police Department. I've had a good three years as the Chief, and I've long gotten tired of that position.
"Yeah, going out on voyages is still more exciting than staying here."
Upon seeing that Dipp had no intentions of advocating for himself, Aliya could only let out a helpless sigh and return to eating her pasta.
"You're really considerate of the Governor, but I don't think he's as considerate of you as you are of him." Aliya pointed out.
"He doesn't have to be considerate to me. I just hope that he brings me along whenever he goes on a voyage. The Narwhale is my home, and the Captain's goal is my goal," Dipp said before downing another mug of beer.
Aliya put down her fork just then and fished out a cigarette from her cigarette case. Aliya placed the cigarette between her lips and lit it up with a match. Then, she shook the match to extinguish the tiny flame before throwing it away.
"Boss, I wasn't really going to ask this question, but I really just don't get it. Do you really have to be so loyal to him? You should live for yourself, you know? It's not like you're his shadow, attached to him forever," Aliya said.
"If the Captain hadn't saved me, I would have long starved to death in some random gutter out there."
"But you've already done so much for him. I'm sure that life-saving grace from back then has already been repaid."
"All right, stop it. Let's not talk about that for now," Dipp said and flipped his hand, revealing three dice sitting on his palm.
Dipp's expression then turned into that of excitement as he roared, "Just drinking is so boring! Anyone here wants to gamble with me?!"
Everyone cheered at the declaration, and the stifled atmosphere was let loose once more, eventually leading to everyoneaside from those on night dutydrinking until they were dead drunk.
Aliya supported a drunk Dipp as they staggered toward an exquisite two-story villa. Aliya pushed open the doors to reveal an exceptionally messy living room.
A variety of objects that were not supposed to be in the living room were scattered about the living rooman overturned box of apples, several books lying face down on the floor, and a piano. Aliya also found several crude paintings on the wall.
Aliya looked around for a while before stepping over the tangled window blinds and dragging Dipp over to the bedroom. A click rang out, and the bedroom door was pushed open.
Aliya then slipped the key back into Dipp's pocket before dragging Dipp toward the bed.
"Bet big or small! Three bottles if big!" the fishman roared a bunch of nonsense.
Aliya eventually managed to toss Dipp onto the bed. Panting lightly, Aliya couldn't help but look around and realized that the bedroom was as messy as the living room outside.
However, there were several books on the bedside table.
"I thought Boss is illiterate? Why did he buy so many books if he can't read?" Aliya muttered and grabbed one of the books, flipping it open. It turned out to be a school-issued book, issued to children for them to learn more vocabulary.
A few basic words had been enclosed in a circle, which meant that the owner of the book had already memorized those words.
Aliya returned the book to the bedside table and grabbed another one. However, the book contained not even a single worda stark contrast to the school-issued book that Aliya had just returned.
A book containing nothing but explicit illustrations was reflected in Aliya's eyes.
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