Super Righteous Player
Chapter 1036 - 94 Rope or Iron Hook

Chapter 1036: Chapter 94 Rope or Iron Hook

"Come, children. Lift your heads, look."

The stall owner, wearing a pure white smiling mask, wrapped his arms around the shoulders of the two children, uttering a voice as deep as the abyss, "Take one last look at your father.

"This is the man who brought you here... who bet you at the gambling table and lost you to us. He’s also the coward who broke the rules—leaving you behind and running away himself."

Hearing this, the little girl instantly cried even louder.

And the boy’s eyes also reddened slightly.

But still, he stubbornly kept his head up, trying hard to gaze at the middle-aged fat man who had been dragged along and had now fallen into unconsciousness—or perhaps, had been dead for some time.

As if to etch his image into his own memory.

"So, the usual rules. Children,"

the stall owner uttered in a low voice, speaking slowly and deliberately, "Once you’ve seen enough, send him on his way."

As he finished speaking, a tall and fat man emerged from behind. The fat man wore a fancy shirt, but even so... with the shirt buttons tightly fastened, it was stretched tight, revealing his sweaty and corpulent belly.

He held a string of cable in his left hand, and a hook in his right.

He just spread his hands, standing silently in front of the stall owner.

The little girl let out a bird-like wail and quickly looked away.

Annan quietly asked Isaac, "What is this rule about? Are the children supposed to kill their father with their own hands?"

"It’s not that outrageous."

Isaac similarly lowered his voice, "It’s ’mercy or not’."

"What does that mean?"

"This man has fallen so low as to gamble his children away, it most likely means he’s dead anyway. He’s using his own children, gambling for a chance to turn things around—to see if he can save himself with his children."

Isaac’s gaze slightly dropped.

Perhaps because of the dim surroundings, his blue pupils revealed a wolf-like indifferent, pale green hue, "Like that man... even though he himself had no debts and hadn’t broken any rules, he sold me off just for money—or rather, he bet me on a gambling table just to get rid of me, which is very rare.

"As the ’person’ used as a chip must legally belong to him. That is to say, only parents can gamble their children away. Even though not a penny that belonged to him was spent on me, he still counted as my ’father’.

"Any human being should not be capable of such an act."

Saying this, Isaac scoffed coldly, "As for staking his own life as well... it’s only because he’s an incurable fool. After achieving his initial goal—getting rid of me, he couldn’t stop in time.

"Or rather, the gambling table does have that kind of magic power. It can effortlessly destroy a person’s spirit and rationality, making them howl in despair as they plunge into hell. Not even a Transcendent’s curse could do it as easily as the gambling table."

"... So you’re saying that man is as good as dead?"

"Those two kids are obviously his own. And that fat man, he looks like a merchant."

Isaac placed his hand on Annan’s shoulder, nodding his chin at the two children, "If I’m not mistaken, that man must have lost his goods."

"In our area, a fleet has to pay protection money to pirates to be allowed passage through the controlled waters. Generally speaking, it’s one gold coin per person on board. It’s not a small sum.

"Thus, naturally, there are some trade caravans that pay a large sum to pirates all at once to obtain passage rights for an extended period. And this cost is a lot less."

...Annan raised his eyebrows.

Protection money on a monthly or yearly subscription?

"Because transporting goods requires a hefty protection fee, some captains try to avoid this situation—they end up cooperating with pirates.

"They smuggle certain items for the pirates controlling the area while transporting their own cargo, to offset the protection money... Generally, these are large ’jobs’ that can’t pass through subway security checks."

...Large ’jobs’?

Annan was curious, "Like what?"

"Like the ’Portable Poison Barrels’ that keep releasing poison mist once wet, the Dwarves’ powerful explosive ’Blasting Dust’ used for mining, and bound Wizards of destruction. These were common in my era."

Isaac narrowed his eyes, "Nowadays... there’s Black Fire, Honey Lips, a variety of strange curses, and even cannons."

"...Cannons?"

"Yes. Cannons are weapons that can sink a ship hundreds of meters away without the need for enchantments, only some gunpowder. Previously they could only be mounted on land, but now they can be made smaller and fitted onto ships.

"For Transcendents, the speed of that kind of bombardment doesn’t mean much, but it’s a sharp tool for the pirates—because in combat, their goal isn’t to kill, but to destroy ships."

Isaac explained.

A pirate’s control over a marine area depends on the number of their ships. As for the pirates themselves, they can be seen as a resource... As losers, the skilled among them joining the victor’s ranks is a common form of talent acquisition.

"If I’m not mistaken... this guy must have been smuggling contraband when another group of pirates who got wind of it robbed him."

According to Dennisiowa and the whole Mist Continent’s maritime trade process—ships that can’t provide a "merchant ship certificate" and don’t have the official "armed permit" are subject to strict cargo weight limits. Moreover, the cargo on the ships must be inventoried when setting sail and docking.

Every month, they exchange information to confirm whether it matches.

This is to ascertain where the key goods were lost when critical cargo goes missing, so that the nobility of Dennisiowa can trace which area’s pirates lost the items and retrieve them from them.

So, those smuggling contraband must disguise their cargo—usually, by preparing many empty water barrels on the ship before leaving port. Then, before transporting the apparent cargo to its destination, they’ll first go to another pickup point to drop off the "contraband," fill the empty barrels with ballast water, and then head to the destination port to unload.

—In other words, if the pirates received the message. Then they come and steal your contraband, but don’t touch the main cargo, the shipowners can’t do anything about it, and have to obediently fill up the water themselves.

Since the contraband was never registered openly. It’s considered "non-existent goods." As illegal goods, if pirates steal them, it’s considered a fair game.

Even if you complain to the mayor about another group of pirates, there’s nothing you can do.

Because it’s impossible to prove that it was another group of pirates who stole the cargo, not that the shipowners embezzled it.

"So, no matter the truth... in the end, it’s always up to the merchant to compensate for the losses."

If they can’t clear their debts, they have to pay with themselves—they will be executed as a form of deterrence.

This is also the last use of their lives.