The night was dark, and only the dim stars twinkled.
Bang-
A box full of goods landed on the dock.
"Idiot, be careful. If you break the goods, I'll skin you alive!"
"Sorry, sorry, we'll pack it up right away!"
In the "New Haven Harbor" at night, there were still many ships operating. It was unknown which merchant's crew had a problem, but it attracted the scolding of the manager.
It also caused a commotion in the dark.
Unlike Gabred, which was only a military and merchant, the situation here was much more complicated.
As the headquarters of the Faletis Kingdom's Adventurer Association and Sea Hunter Union, the "New Haven Harbor" also accepted people with different backgrounds from all over the place, as well as the "rare treasures" brought back by these navigators, explorers, sea hunters, speculators, and even down-and-out seafarers.
The complexity of the personnel, the wealth, and the occasional commotion were the norm here.
At this moment.
An exploration ship with a lot of damage on its hull that had obviously gone through a thrilling journey slowly docked at the berth under the guidance of the navigator.
Bang-
Before the ship came to a stop, a group of dozens of people rushed down from the ship, their footsteps were hurried, as if something was chasing them from behind.
After a simple meeting with the port staff.
This group of people was quickly led by a contact who had been waiting on the dock and quickly disappeared into the darkness.
Although the port staff was curious about the behavior of these people, they did not think much about it. There were many mavericks in this city, and they were not so curious to get to the bottom of it.
As long as they paid the management fee on time, they could go wherever they wanted.
.....
"Todd, how's the buyer you contacted? We have to get rid of this thing as soon as possible. " The leader, a muscular man in a long trench coat, strode forward as he asked the contact who followed closely behind him.
"Boss Stanley, I've contacted the person, the agreed time is tomorrow night." The contact, Todd, who looked smart and capable with short hair, moved closer to the boss and whispered.
"Aren't they a local force? Can't we trade immediately? Why wait until tomorrow night? "
He spat out a series of questions in one breath.
At the same time, the middle-aged man known as Boss Stanley unconsciously glanced behind him. One of his subordinates was carrying a box that was tightly wrapped in black cloth.
"We went against the client's request and didn't hand it over to the designated person. We took such a big risk. Can't they be more flexible?"
It was obvious that the things in the box had given him a lot of pressure. His voice was no longer as calm as before.
"Boss, this won't do. There was more than one power that wanted this item. The buyer with the highest bid said that they had to find a way to quickly transport the item away after receiving it. Even the local tyrant had to arrange a backup plan. Tomorrow night was the fastest time.
If they can't guarantee the safety of the item, they'd rather not have it! "
Todd explained to his boss with a bitter face. This was already the result of his best efforts, but time was too tight and he had no other choice.
In fact, Stanley wasn't in a hurry. Although he had accepted the commission to deliver the item to the designated person, violating the contract and waiting for a better offer was as simple as drinking water and eating to him. He didn't need to care about the employer's request at all.
However, that box, that extremely evil box, underwent a strange change when the agreed deadline arrived.
He swore that he had been a Sea Hunter his whole life and could be considered to have seen a lot. He had come into contact with all kinds of strange things, but he had never seen such an evil thing.
This box … It had its own consciousness!
It wasn't the consciousness of a muddle-headed low-level monster, but a clear and agile intelligence. That's right. Stanley felt that it could only be described as intelligent!
If it had intelligence, it would naturally be able to communicate with others. However, the process of communication wasn't that wonderful. Recalling everything that had happened, Stanley couldn't help but shudder despite his many years of experience in the sea.
Because it was like a high and mighty master, or perhaps it was the creator of the rules of the game. It had given out its extremely strange and absurd request, which was also the rules of the game.
The holder had to act according to the rules it gave out. Otherwise, it would eat a living person alive every twelve hours! Until it ate up all the Sea Hunters on the ship!
Faced with the threat of the box, everyone had scoffed at it in the beginning.
However, after that, even if they gathered the strength of their entire team, they couldn't do anything to the small box. They couldn't block it, destroy it, or throw it away. Eight of their companions were eaten by it without being able to put up any resistance.
They had compromised.
From the moment the mission deadline came to an end, they seemed to have become the slaves of this box.
Stanley even had a crazy thought. Perhaps there wasn't any client from the beginning to the end, and it was all this strange box that was directing and acting on its own.
Until now, after repeated trials with blood and flesh, both sides could barely coexist.
He felt that they could only truly get rid of this thing if they found another force that was willing to accept it and hand it over to them. Moreover, after paying a huge sacrifice, they really couldn't bear to part with the large sum of Gold Lions promised by the buyer.
"Quick, quick, time's up. Get someone else!"
A young man in the team behind him who was holding a pocket watch suddenly screamed. Hearing this, a figure quickly rushed out from the team and took over the box.
The companion who was holding the box quickly retreated as if he had been pardoned. It was as if it was not a box, but a large alchemy bomb.
The person who took over was not selfless. If this damn thing went out of control, everyone who had been on the same ship with it would be unlucky. More than a dozen of their former companions who were not even left with their bones were proof of this.
Now, everyone could only hope that their boss would find a way to find the next buyer and trade it away. While getting rid of this terrifying box, it would be best if they could get a large sum of Gold Lions.
This was also the original motivation for them to cooperate so actively.
The rules of the game that the box proposed today were that the holder must be in a constant state of movement. If the holder was not changed, they would have to fulfill a request of the box every hour.
Whether it was answering a question or doing a random thing, the difficulty of the event would gradually increase. If they could not fulfill the request at any time, they would be swallowed by it directly …
As soon as the shift was completed, the sound of a clockwork gear turning came from the box.
"Kekeketa …"
Then, like a music box or an aria, an indescribable gloomy aura came from the box. "Ayaya, you dodged it. What a pity!"
The box made a dissatisfied sound, and the Sea Hunters around it broke out in cold sweat.
Hearing that terrifying sound, even though Stanley was an official Knight of the Extraordinary level, he could not help but shiver.
"Don't care about that damn buyer. Todd, find us a safe place to stay first."
"No problem, boss. It's ready. Follow me."
Todd bowed and agreed. At the same time, he lowered his head to hide the flickering light in his eyes.
He led the way away from the bustling port area and led the group to the empty factory area in the dead of night.
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