Black Sail
Chapter 113: CXIII. Matrix Style Play

Chapter 113: CXIII. Matrix Style Play

From the look of Taylor’s office, it was clear he was self-made, favoring functionality without any pretensions of elegance.

Though he didn’t manage countless affairs daily, a lot still passed through his hands, leaving him no downtime.

He was a maturely handsome man; even with streaks of grey at his temples and wearing a black eye patch over one blinded eye, the strong family genes were still apparent. Despite his disability, his handsomeness was undiminished. His natural authority and the chilling aura he emitted gave off the air of a formidable kingpin.

The atmosphere in the space was extremely oppressive.

Fen didn’t know what game Liszt was playing by having him sit in the guest seat, with Liszt himself on a lower sofa to the side, which placed him even further from Taylor.

When Liszt said he wasn’t afraid, that was obviously a lie. Anyone who got involved with the daughter of a big shot from Heaven Port would be scared after the fact, and Liszt was just putting up a brave front.

The island’s outsiders boasted cruelty, thieves with gold belts who killed and set fires, but ultimately, they were nothing more than pirates with broken ships. When the naval frigates appeared, cannons bristling, they’d run like dogs.

But the man in the room was capable of going head to head with the navy without flinching, captaining the infamous Rolls-Royce.

Taylor’s icy gaze passed over Fen and fixated on Liszt on the sofa. This caveman had taken shamelessness to the extreme, using his own first officer as a shield. But in a way, it was good—it showed he was still afraid.

Of course, Taylor had heard about the incident in the frozen meat warehouse; nothing on the island escaped his notice.

The kid had indeed made it big, with a bunch of capable people under him. Taylor himself had thought about poaching a few of his key members. With such a team, big things could be accomplished. Apart from one drunkard who always caused trouble on the island, Black Sail was now quite poised to dominate all pirate gangs.

But for a pirate, Liszt had reached his ceiling. Without considering a change, that was as far as he’d ever get.

"My daughter will be coming home for the new year."

Taylor closed the file on his desk and said this abruptly.

Liszt almost spit blood. Boss, why would you start with such a dangerous topic right off the bat?

"Is that so? Your esteemed daughter has been studying in Aran, and her return upon completion is indeed a great blessing."

Liszt replied with the standard answer.

"Has she ever written to you?"

Taylor’s tone grew even colder.

"Boss, not a single letter, ah, we are now... like shadows on a cold river, acquaintances from the past, unrelated."

Liszt immediately clarified their relationship.

"You... are asking to die, aren’t you?"

Taylor was truly getting angry.

"Related! Definitely related! Just give your consent, and when the New Year comes, we can bring in the clergy, have a feast, and from then on, wherever you point, I’ll strike—even if it’s against the Emperor, I’ll go up and slap him for you."

Liszt pledged solemnly.

Taylor took a deep breath. No matter where you were, speaking of the Emperor was taboo, and this guy mentioned him all the time—he really didn’t know the meaning of death.

"Marriage, huh? Do you think you’re worthy?"

Taylor poured himself a strong drink and gulped it down. If it weren’t for the fact that Liszt could indeed make money, he would have killed him long ago. But that was secondary. What curse had this man put on his treasured daughter? Taylor hadn’t laid a finger on Liszt, but as soon as he let the news slip, the girl was so frantic she was threatening to jump from buildings and into the sea—who would dare touch him?

Liszt accepted his fate. Damn it, he was in a no-win situation either way, so he stayed silent as if he was being scolded. Lao Deng, now’s your turn to swagger for a bit.

Taylor eyed Liszt’s first officer. It was a real shame that someone like that was working under Liszt, but he had no choice—he couldn’t take him in.

Someone like Fen could only be a desperado; no place dared to take him in. If Fen didn’t cause trouble, Taylor would have been more than willing to marry his daughter off to him—a million times over.

But that kind of good fortune wasn’t meant for him. You’d have to be Royal relatives.

What a pity, especially since a misstep could ruin everything.

"You’ve been very bold lately. Everyone knows you’re biased towards me, and when negotiations come up, they all tell me to rein you in. Either let go of all your businesses or reduce your domain and raise your prices to market value. Dissolve your alliance with Qi Li sooner rather than later—that’s the way it is. No room for discussion. You can leave now."

Taylor was fuming with anger when he saw Liszt and had no intention of offering him a meal, instead he issued a clear order to leave.

Fen’s gaze fell on Liszt; it was inappropriate for her to overstep, so she came over to ensure that Liszt wouldn’t mess things up.

"I want the dish, and I don’t want to raise the price, I have no room for negotiation here,"

Liszt replied calmly.

Taylor thought the outcome of this conversation couldn’t possibly go wrong. If Liszt didn’t understand the situation and didn’t know when to advance or retreat, he wouldn’t have made it to where he was today.

This wasn’t about the protection money; it was about the whole island’s ecosystem. One surpassing three strong ones, all recognized the big picture and didn’t touch this piece of flesh. It was to feed the wolves below, and it would be fine if you, Liszt, swallowed it all, if your performance alone exceeded the total of all others, then there would be nothing to say.

But was that possible? No matter how formidable the solo operation, it couldn’t beat casting a wide net.

If things really escalated, it wouldn’t be the gangs and Pirate Gangs going after you; even we three big heads would take the field to pluck you out.

"You’re crazy, this isn’t a place where you can joke around. I’ve said my piece, what you do is up to you, and you know the consequences. Get out, before I have someone throw you out,"

Taylor was still nonchalant, treating it like nothing.

Liszt decided he had to show this old Lao Deng some color. From now on, he needed to take the lead, otherwise, they’d still be competing for supremacy after chopping off the Boss’s head.

He stood up from the sofa, leaned with both hands on Taylor’s desk.

"You’re old and useless now. You’re sending your daughter to Aran to keep her away from this place of trouble. Let’s be clear, there’s no future on this island, even for you, as you’re also being taxed by someone in the castle. How much, of course, I don’t know, but that person is wealthy beyond measure, probably squeezing quite a bit out of you three."

Liszt began.

Taylor, ever the oddball, laughed instead of getting angry, sparing Liszt years ago because he saw real guts in him.

"You really want to turn the world upside down, huh? Do you even have a thousand Golden Dragons on hand to talk big?"

Taylor, the sly fox, had already caught the gist of Liszt’s words. His main argument was dissatisfaction with the current situation of Heaven Port and the person in the castle, trying to incite similar discontent in him.

"One thousand Golden Dragons? Ten thousand Golden Dragons!"

Liszt was well-prepared, retrieving a folded newspaper from his coat pocket—a gift from Dreya—and unfolded it forcefully on Taylor’s desk.

"I’m here to give you a surprise."

For angel investors.

Naturally, Liszt had to create a PowerPoint presentation to hook them in.

"The times are chaotic; Heaven Port must also look to the future, reassess the industry ecology, find powerful leverage for the sustained life cycle of Heaven Port, to put an end to the dark ages of the sixty-forty head tax, we must seize the traffic dividend, lay out online new retail, and implement full-chain deep marketing with a matrix-style approach."

Liszt spoke in what sounded like alien language.

Taylor understood each word, but put together, he was lost.

"What surprise?"

Taylor was dumbfounded by this granular sensation of a closed-loop combo. What the hell?

"The surprise is, before the New Year, I’ll pull off the ultimate heist, highjacking Old Aran’s Upper Three Flags during a passenger trial run, a guaranteed ten thousand Golden Dragons, not a coin less, offering it all up to hang the boss of Heaven Port’s head high atop Yanyang Building for you and me to be in charge."

Liszt spoke confidently.

He had no idea that to Taylor, at this point, Liszt seemed as unreliable and utterly crazy as a Madman.

"You’re not brave... you’re psychotic."

Taylor, of course, kept tabs on international developments and was aware of the train incident.

"No jokes. Qi Li formed an alliance with me because he too wants to achieve great things. How could the Great Knight of the Imperial Guard be content with just a corner of the island? Some captains on the island also understand the situation and now are under my command, daring not to disobey."

Liszt didn’t care; he blurted it all out first.

Even Fen was shocked; Liszt truly seemed Divine. Qi Li was sitting at home, and trouble came out of the blue. Unknowingly, Liszt had dragged him into the Abyss, and at least in Taylor’s eyes, he had already been branded a dangerous individual.

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