What did you do with the dice?

After he finished speaking, he walked to the empty seat reserved for Phoenix and reached out to touch her head in the air: "Little Bao Si, give me a smile."

The black fog spread, and it swung out a tail to hit him, then rolled up the plate of fruits and snacks on the table along with the milk tea pot, and disappeared into the air again.

Sani Tieta: Damn, even though I expected it, it still sounds too outrageous.

Verek:?

After taking a sip of milk tea, Rusalka slowly put down the cup. "Actually, what I mean is, if I have this strength, I can light the beacon fire every day for fun, and beat up anyone who doesn't come. Steamed bun, are you not convinced?"

Rusalka acted so wildly, but Virik was not angry at all. Instead, he felt it was justified.

After all, in the stereotype, the nobles of Snidi are supposed to be arrogant and domineering with big bellies rushing around on the streets full of beggars. If they are dissatisfied or their way is blocked, they will use the whip in their hands full of enchanted rings to beat the poor people. They are accompanied by a few ferocious "guard dog" guards who kick people away like garbage. This is the image they are supposed to have.

It’s just that in reality, there was no protagonist who came out to rebel against them.

However, the environment of this Silver City was quite good, which surprised him. There were no slums, beggars, children or thieves on the road. He originally thought that there might be something wrong with the intelligence, but now he thought that he was a Grand Duke after all, so it was normal for the main city to be better.

"On behalf of Estren, I sincerely apologize for any offense I may have caused you."

"Are you worthy enough to represent Esterlun?" Rusalka rubbed her fingernails. "I know it was that councilor named 'Yali Qiweiya' who sent you here, right?"

When Verik heard Rusalka say this name, he was immediately shocked. He didn't know where he had heard the top-secret information. Even he himself didn't know which congressman had assigned this mission. But he knew one thing: it was indeed one of the congressmen who assigned the mission, and that Qi Weiya had personally predicted that "the mission target would be in Silver City."

Many things do not require a conclusion and can be completed by imagination. Weirik actually thinks that it is a task issued by Qi Weiya.

But his well-trained expression didn't betray the slightest flaw, and even his response and tone seemed perfectly natural: "Of course not. Why would the Senators care about such trivial matters? To be honest, the mermaid next to you is actually a wanted fugitive. We're only here to track her down. She should be aware of this."

After taking a few bites, Weishas looked around. It seemed like she was the only mermaid in the room. She pointed at herself uncertainly and said, "I'm wanted? Why? I haven't done anything wrong."

Verik had expected her to offer some kind of excuse, but her response embarrassed him, so he could only nod. "Yes, my mermaid lady, you've caused domestic unrest by illegally crossing the border, and you're also suspected of carrying state secrets. You're wanted by Esterlen on charges of espionage. Your words are unfounded, and you need to be investigated. If you're willing to return with us, even if the tribunal finds you guilty, it will be treated as a voluntary surrender and your punishment will be reduced as appropriate."

Weishas was so frightened that she even stopped chewing. "Really? I'm innocent. I just secretly took some food from the small buckets that the humans left outside at night when no one was around. I'll pay them back with shell coins when I get back."

"What are you afraid of?" Rusalka slammed the table and interrupted Vishas's words, which frightened Virik so much that he quickly pulled his chair back and half-stood up vigilantly.

Rusalka pointed at Weishas and said, "Such a beautiful mermaid, just because she picked up some food in your Esterlon, you want to take her to the court. Is there still law? Is there still law? All of you Esterlon council members have to give me, Rusalka, face, otherwise you won't be able to hold on to your positions. Don't you know me?"

Seeing how Rusalka was protecting Vishas, ​​Virik thought that Vishas was actually captured by his slave-hunting team. After all, according to the information, Rusalka was very lustful and had strange tastes. He did not like human women, but liked those rare and exotic people.

"I'm sorry, we didn't know she was bought by you, the Grand Duke of Sneidi."

"I bother!"

Rusalka had some manners. Instead of spitting, she threw the remaining fruit core in her hand at the person opposite her.

Of course, Weirik subconsciously dodged to the side.

Rusalka seemed to have anticipated this. As soon as he threw the core, he drew his sword from the air. When the core landed on the ground, he was already holding the sword. "Yo ho? You dare to hide?"

Rusalka: (I'd give you a few points for your efficiency in jumping right into action.)

Sani Tieta: (Minus ten points! Stiff transitions, aggressive offense, and bad memes!)

Weirik had no idea that his words directed at Weishas would cause such a big reaction from her. The situation had taken a sudden turn for the worse. His first reaction was to try to ease the situation. "Isn't it okay if I don't want this Yuyu anymore?" he asked. "Wait a minute!"

"It's no use even if you treated me to dinner, Cat!"

"I can find a way to take you to see the councilor!"

Just as the black mist dagger was about to pierce the back of his neck, Rusalka raised her hand and said, "Stop!"

Only then did Weirik realize that there was a "Filin Clan" behind him. His body began to frantically send out alarms, making him realize that he was only a moment away from death. If the other party really wanted to kill him, he would not even have time to rescue him.

Now he knew why the "Chaser" team was wiped out and there was no news. The intelligence report only described the woman in the Grand Duke's family as "a head maid proficient in assassination skills", but after experiencing it himself in reality, he realized that this woman could not be simply described by the word "proficient", but was actually a terrifying ace assassin!

Following Sanita's instructions, Rusalka asked slowly, "I want to see your councilor. Do you still need me to lead the way?"

"It's different, Your Majesty, the seven members of the Tribunal are usually scattered around, appearing and disappearing like elusive creatures. Very few people know their true identities. They often stay in the Twin Towers, and it's extremely difficult to meet them in person. All orders are issued from the top down, and it's almost impossible to get them up from the bottom. If you want to see a particular member, you'll only get a replacement, or someone using remote communication to contact you, not the real person."

"But there is one exception: unless our Scavenger Organization privately introduces them through special channels and hands them some top-secret intelligence that cannot be made public, forcing them to choose to handle it personally."

Sanita had a question, so she asked Rusalka to ask it for her: "What makes you think I would go to Esterlen to see your councilor?"

"Because you know Yali Qi Weiya, in Esterlun, there are no more than twenty people who know her name and identity. I believe there is indeed a connection between you and the members of our Supreme Court."

He was not wrong. Rusalka met with Libra almost every month. She had heard a lot of inside information about Estren, except that she didn't know who he was sending it to.

"And you didn't arrest me right away, but instead specifically received me. I think you probably wanted to go over there and discuss something with them, so you wanted to get something out of me."

"In that case, I might as well make amends by being honest and telling you what I can in exchange for a glimmer of hope. To be honest, if you go directly, it might be a wasted trip."

Verik swallowed. "I'm saying this because it's a win-win for us. You don't have to hand the mermaid over to us. I can report that the negotiations are complete, and you'll bring her to visit us in person to try to exchange some benefits. That way, I won't be derelict in my duty."

Sanitta thought it was feasible, and living people would definitely be more useful than dead people in the early stages of doing things.

"Then why did you come to see me if you thought you might die?"

Verik smiled bitterly. "Life is full of difficulties, and we have to take risks. Don't you have any family in this world that you would risk your life to protect?"

Rusalka answered immediately: "No."

Verek was silent.

La is really awesome, he feels that he has nothing to lose by admitting defeat.

Chapter 353 The Past is Gone

The members of Beacon Tower were eventually allowed to leave.

Because Sanita is not a person who cares about face, he prefers to exchange face for more favorable conditions.

As for Rusalka, you can't expect him to care about something he might not even have on Earth.

However, before evacuating, Sanita blackmailed Virik and made him sign a ransom agreement. After returning to Estron, he had to pay a very heavy compensation to redeem those members of the "Chaser" troops.

Of course, they can also choose not to pay the ransom, go back on their word, and choose to let Rusalka kill the hostages. This possibility is extremely high. After all, the high-ranking congressmen may not want the pursuit team to return alive after the mission fails and give them an excuse to accuse them.

But Sani Tower would certainly not leave such a loophole in the contract, so it wrote: "The two parties signed a contract in Sinidi, and the contract needs to be executed in accordance with the laws and regulations of the place where it was signed. With this IOU contract, if the Estern Scavenger Organization chooses to default on its debt, then the Lord of Pearl Tears has the right to collect the debt from the members who claim to be the Scavenger Organization in Estern in accordance with the local laws where the contract was signed."

After sending Verik away, Rusalka, though always confident in her brothers, still felt the contract was inappropriate. She couldn't help but ask, "Once they return, this shady organization will definitely default on their debt. If they go underground, and the local court delays the trial for a year or two, and ultimately comes out with a ruling that 'usury isn't protected by law in this country, and the jurisdiction lies with the place where it was signed. So if you want to follow the terms, please return to Snidy to enforce them,' wouldn't that be practically useless?"

Sanitieta was surprised that Rusalka was willing to think about such things. "Rusalka, Martial God, when did you finally get it?"

Rusalka jokingly called him "idiot" and explained, "Actually, one of the things I enjoyed about surfing the internet when I was on Earth was watching cases of debt defaulters being prosecuted and executed. The most famous ones were 'The Debtor's Disappearance Technique' and 'This is Not Our Local Authority.' I watched them enough that I could even memorize some of the laws. It's what they call practice makes perfect."

Well, it fits his bad cyber personality quite well.

"Is it possible to put what I have learned into practice in the future?"

"Then forget it, unless it's to pay off your lawyer's fees. That way I'll teach you a lesson about meeting your match."

Sanita shrugged and brought the subject back: "You said it's possible that they won't pay back the money, but it's unlikely that we won't be able to find the 'scavenger members'."

"Why? What new magic have you learned? It sounds stronger than my divine perception. Mine can only sense specific races, and you have automatic force recognition?"

Sanitta replied calmly, "That's Soviet magic, of course: KGB interrogation magic. Its purpose is to ensure that the person captured is the intended target. If we discover that the person we've captured isn't a member of the Scavengers, it's likely that our interrogator's spellcasting ability isn't sufficient. The solution is simple: send in another one with sufficient skills."

Rusalka also loved to hear hell jokes, and immediately laughed out loud: "Six, is this legal?"

Sanitta: "Whether it's legal or not depends on whether their tribunal is willing to work overtime to handle this case for us. If they choose to drag it out for a year or two, and the final verdict is that it's illegal, so what? If you have the guts, send someone to Snidi to arrest our interrogator mage."

Rusalka couldn't help but raise an objection: "What if they expedite the case? For example, they declare your actions illegal the next day and then arrest and execute you."

Sanitieta felt like Rusalka's words were pure contempt for him. "Brother, how long have we known each other? I've almost finished reading the latest version of Esterlen's laws. They need a week of investigation time from filing a case to the trial to reaching a conclusion. This is called the 'evidence collection period.' In just one week, I feel like they could turn everyone in their city into members of the Scavengers."

"Besides, as long as the contract isn't violated, divine punishment won't come immediately. Even if they declare it illegal, I have plenty of ways to circumvent and delay it. Without the influence of divine punishment, what does Esterlun's strength mean in front of you? As long as they remain human, they'll be a stinking, overbearing piece of fermented bean curd like you."

Rusalka loved to hear this and was as happy as Vishas, ​​who was bringing a water jar, adding salt, soaking in it and drinking iced juice.

Sanita didn't think Esterlun was a threat, feeling he wasn't as threatening as a creature like a dragon. "To put it bluntly, this is just a country with a flawed half-rule, half-divine system. It's hard to deal with people who try to be civilized but can't enforce it, and ultimately, the gods have to step in to save them. I have plenty of trump cards. All you have to do is go over and chop him down cleanly when I give the order, and make sure the corpse doesn't have a chance to testify in court. That's all. Why overthink it?"

Very good, brother, this is an implementation plan that is very much in line with Rusalka’s wishes. Listen to Manli.

----

After Virik led his team back to Esterlun, he handed the letter with tears on it to the guild to complete the task of finding someone.

He said to the guild member in charge of handing over and keeping the materials, "Please tell the anonymous client that our team encountered unexpected travel losses while carrying out the mission. We hope he can provide the difference of 237 Order Coins as compensation. It would be best if it arrives by the day after tomorrow. Otherwise, our team will not accept the subsequent part of this commission."

The guild member nodded, wrote this down on a nearby note, and attached it to the document Verik had submitted. "Okay, I understand. Anything else to add? Honorable Mr. **, Captain of the B-rank Exploration Team?"

"No, that's all. Thank you for your help."

......

A day later, in the early morning of the third day, Verik sat in a tavern called "Sweet Dreams" which had closed.

He ordered a table full of snacks and fine wine for himself and savored them slowly.

"Dear Mr. **, our first-floor pub closes at 2 a.m. and will no longer offer extras or other services. We also need to rest. Please understand. If you have finished your meal, please leave the remaining plates and other items on the table. We will come to clean up for you when we resume business."

"Okay, go to bed early."

Verik was staying on the fourth floor of the tavern. The owner didn't chase him away. He closed the door, leaving only a small light that could barely illuminate the hall, and then went up to the second-floor room to rest.

Weirik waited slowly for a long time, and when he felt that the time was almost up, he raised his head and drank the last sip of wine in the glass. He lowered his head and glanced at the watch he was carrying with him. The time displayed was 2:37.

The space in front of him rippled, and a person wrapped in a black robe sat opposite him.

"Is there anything you would like to report to the Council independently? Leader of the Beacon Tower?"

The voice of the man in black robe was very vague, and the cloak was so large that it was impossible to tell whether it was a man or a woman.

"The intelligence the central government gave us was incorrect. The lord of 'Pearl Tear Territory', Rusalka, the Lord of Silver City, is a 'Grand Duke', not a Baron, and he has given his target complete protection. Based on the current intelligence, it's very likely that he was the one who sent people to capture Sneedi."

"In other words, the mission has not been completed, and the news I received is that all members of your Beacon Tower are required to return. Please explain."

coming!

Virik suppressed his nervousness and casually took out the contract from his arms and handed it to the black-robed man in front of him. "The 'Chaser' team chose to storm his wedding day and were completely wiped out. He is a Grand Duke, and our team is no match for his guards. However, I have negotiated with him and agreed that he will bring his target to Esterlun. As a deal, he requires us to provide a large amount of resources as compensation. Please review it, sir."

The black-robed man glanced at the contract he handed over, carefully scanning it for a moment before placing it on the table. "There's no need to save the pursuer. How much did he offer for the mermaid?"

Cold-blooded, cruel, and merciless, they will abandon anything that has lost its value. These are the high-ranking councilors of Esterlun. In their eyes, there is only themselves and the gods.

Being abandoned is the fate of the scavenger team after the mission failed. He was very glad that he chose to compromise in the end. After all, no one cared about him walking on the edge of a knife, and he could only save himself.

Verik lied. "Well, he said I wasn't qualified to talk to him. He's the Grand Duke of Snidi, and only the Senators of Esterlen are qualified to negotiate with him."

But Rusalka did say something similar. He felt that he couldn't be completely lying, and if he were to take a lie detector test, there was a chance he would pass!

"He will definitely come visit with the mermaid within a year."

"Yes, it's clearly written in the contract."

"Haha, that's easy. Starting from the current border of the Kingdom of Snidi, and riding as fast as possible through Esdi, it would take at least half a year to reach us." The black-robed man said slowly, "If he brings a large number of troops and guards, supplies and baggage will definitely slow down the process. In this case, the one-year time limit stated in the contract will be very short. So he is likely to entrust someone else to escort the mermaid here."

"But he said he would visit in person."

"It's just a game of words. Using a sound transmission crystal or spell projection, I can use some sophistry to make it count as my personal presence. After all, the noble patriarchs of Snidi generally don't leave their territory in person." The black-robed man paused, raised his hand and stroked his neck, then said confidently, "Estren's airship has been listed as restricted export to Snidi. Snidi's magical technology is very backward, and he has no other way to get here except by land. I will provide you with certain conveniences and give you another chance. This time, eliminate the target near the border."

Verik nodded silently.

Verik glanced at the hand that was exposed because of the movement. On the white and slender jade fingers were several gem rings that sparkled with magical brilliance. The nails were painted a beautiful dark blue mixed with glitter powder, just like the starry night sky.

This was undoubtedly a woman's hand. According to his understanding, among the seven members of Estron, there were only two female members, one of whom was an elf. However, elves never used fancy decorations, and they would not wear so many rings on their hands to make it easier to draw the bowstring.

The other is the human mage, Yali Qi Weiya.

Could it be that the person who issued this mission and appeared in front of him was really the wizard Qi Weiya who gave the prophecy?

Although it was possible that the person in front of him was just a "stand-in", Verik would rather believe that the Lord of Pearl Tears really had more detailed intelligence than them, the scavengers: in the worst case scenario, the other party was really colluding with a member of the parliament, and the arrogant words he said before might really be the truth.

In this case, it is almost equivalent to the other party completely grasping the movements of the parliament. Qi Weiya's self-righteousness will only make her dig her own grave.

Verik pursed his lips, wanting to say something.

But then the black-robed man suddenly spoke, "Don't let me down a second time. You know the price. Your daughter will soon take the entrance exam. If she can study in the Twin Towers, she will surely be recommended to join the Local Arbitration Court in the future. Then her life will be smooth sailing."

The black-robed man closed his wide-sleeved robe and sneered, "But if she doesn't do well on the practical test—I mean if, after all, everyone has unexpected problems, like being too nervous and performing poorly—if her interview score isn't ideal, then she might have no choice but to return to her hometown. Perhaps you could retire early and teach her the craft of recycling magical parts. Or, become a huntress—that would surely be very popular."

"You're joking. Don't worry, I will definitely complete the task perfectly."

"That's good."

Feeling a little disappointed that Qi Weiya gave up the "Chaser", and the fact that his daughter's fate could be changed by her words, Weirik suddenly felt a sense of desolation in his heart.

He suddenly recalled the truth he understood when he joined the Scavengers: the current Estern is the Estern of the Parliament. As for whether it is burning, whether it will be subverted and infiltrated by foreign enemies, what does all this grand narrative have to do with him, a rat leader who never sees the light of day in the sewer?

As long as my little home in the sunshine is intact, that's enough.

He pinched the pocket watch containing the photo rubbing, and ultimately chose not to tell Qi Weiya this very important information, but instead swallowed it silently.

Watching Qi Weiya slowly open the portal and leave, he stared indifferently at the void, raised the cup to his lips and raised his head to take a sip, but found that it was already empty.

Verik smiled helplessly, cleaned up the plates in front of him, and went upstairs.