The Terror of the Pirates

Unable to afford the knives in the store and unwilling to consider the ones on the third shelf, Alex decided to make a trip out.

Before leaving, he returned to his room, unloaded his weights, and brought all his equipment and Bailey with him.

Going downstairs to the store, Alex pretended to walk back and forth, gradually leaning toward the door.

"Stop."

Sunny glanced coldly at Alex's now unloaded legs. She could easily tell that Alex was trying to sneak out again.

Alex stopped and looked back at Sunny, first with a puzzled expression, then as if he had noticed something, his face instantly turned flustered.

"Sunny, Bailey broke free of his chains! Quick, catch him!"

"Huh?"

Sunny was startled.

Bailey represented a large amount of money, and it would be a significant loss if he escaped.

She quickly turned to look behind her.

What met her eyes was a confused Bailey.

"..."

Sunny realized she had been duped. When she turned her head again, Alex was already gone.

Bailey, keenly aware that the atmosphere was not right, crawled away, trying to distance himself from Sunny.

Alex, having cleverly exploited Sunny's implicit obsession with money, had smoothly slipped out.

Alex intended to first investigate the news about Abbey and Cazette.

He initially thought of going to the tavern and spending some money to inquire but suddenly remembered the Night Bar.

"Tatamu might know something."

With that thought, Alex decided to go to the Night Bar first.

Half an hour later, Alex arrived at the Night Bar.

Inside, Tatamu saw Alex push the door open, and a hint of a smile appeared in his otherwise mute demeanor.

"Welcome."

"Give me a glass of the same as last time."

Alex sat down at the bar and scanned the store, noticing the absence of the wolf rats.

Tatamu nodded and began mixing the drink.

Alex leaned on his chin, watching Tatamu work.

Before long, Tatamu pushed the mixed drink in front of Alex.

Alex raised his glass, took a light sip, and went straight to the point.

"Tatamu, I want to buy some information."

"What kind of information?"

"Do you know Abbey and Cazette?"

"Yes."

"I want to buy recent information about the two of them."

Hearing Alex's request, Tatamu wasn't surprised. He pulled a piece of letter paper from the drawer, pressed it on the bar, and slid it toward Alex.

"The wolf rat left it."

"Huh?"

Alex was a bit surprised. He picked up the letter paper and read it.

The content was concise but informative.

Soon, Alex finished reading and suddenly had a dazed look on his face.

"Two defeats? No wonder there's been no news these past few days."

It turned out that after escaping from the tavern that day, Abbey and Cazette had fought.

It seemed they had fought out of anger, and in the end, they had clashed directly.

The casualties among their men were minimal, but both captains had been severely injured.

At the time, to prevent being picked off by competitors, both sides had quickly declared a truce and left the Tomahawk Tavern with their injured captains.

"A violent temper can lead to easy losses."

Alex's smile was filled with gloating, completely lacking the self-awareness of the one who had started it all.

If it hadn't been for his perfect dodging and the heavy slap that shattered Abbey's confidence, none of this would have happened.

Tatamu looked at the smiling Alex and calmly said, "The town has spread the word."

"About this?" Alex shook the letter paper in his hand.

Tatamu nodded.

"That's a bit troublesome. Never mind, let it spread."

The smile on Alex's face slowly faded. He personally didn't want any fame, as it would only hinder his hunting operations.

"By the way, how much for this information?"

"No need for money."

"Then I'll be polite."

Currently short on funds, Alex wasn't about to refuse. He pocketed the letter and took another sip of his drink.

"Tatamu, I want to buy a knife, but I don't know which weapon store is reliable. Do you know anything about this?"

"To buy a knife?"

"Yes."

"One moment."

Tatamu looked at Alex with some surprise, then stepped out from behind the counter and headed to the second floor.

Alex didn't know what Tatamu was doing and eyed him suspiciously as he walked toward the stairs.

After a while, Tatamu returned, holding six knives.

Alex was surprised. "Tatamu, do you sell knives here too?"

Tatamu didn't explain and simply placed the knives on the bar.

These knives had been left behind by previous customers.

Two were collateral for unpaid bills, and four were forgotten by patrons who had caused trouble and been thrown out by Tatamu.

Seeing that Tatamu didn't want to elaborate, Alex didn't press further. He focused his attention on the six knives and immediately took a liking to one of the red and black long knives.

The hilt was red, and the sheath was black.

However, neither the handle nor the sheath had any intricate patterns, making it less flashy but still appealing.

Alex picked up the knife, feeling its weight in his hand.

Clang!

He drew the blade and held it up to his eyes.

The sharp, straight-patterned blade reflected Alex's face clearly.

"Tatamu, how much is this knife?"

"Six hundred thousand."

Tatamu wasn't aware of the knife's true value; this amount was simply the collateral price at the time.

Alex sniffed and subconsciously touched the money in his pocket. Without hesitation, he said, "Expensive. How about 400,000?"

"Deal."

Tatamu answered simply.

"..."

Alex suddenly felt like he had overpaid.

It seemed that even if he had offered 300,000, Tatamu might have agreed just as easily.

But at least he had bought a knife that caught his eye.

Alex took out 400,000 and handed it to Tatamu.

The deal was done.

Tatamu took the remaining five knives back upstairs, while Alex swung the knife around in the bar, testing its feel.

Watching Alex chop the air with the knife, Tatamu considered reminding him to be careful but held back.

After a short while, Alex finished testing the knife and put it away with great satisfaction.

"Let's call you Dark Raven."

In an instant, Alex had given the newly acquired long knife a name.

With the information in hand and the knife purchased, a satisfied Alex was ready to go home.

Just as he was about to bid farewell to Tatamu, the door of the bar was pushed open.

The person who entered was Lafayette, wearing a black bowler hat and holding a walking stick.

Looking at Lafayette, Alex's eyes changed slightly.

Last time, he hadn't expected Lafayette to be in Mad Hatter's Town, so he had been very surprised. This time, however, he was psychologically prepared and didn't react as strongly.

Alex averted his gaze, treating Lafayette as a stranger.

Lafayette went straight to the bar, pulled out a large stack of berries, and placed them on the counter.

Tatamu took the money, pulled a piece of paper from a drawer, and handed it to Lafayette.

On it was written the information Lafayette had requested.

Lafayette took the paper, glanced at it for a few moments, and promptly put it in his pocket.

This was something he had asked Tatamu to investigate the day before yesterday, and now he was paying for the information.

After getting what he wanted, Lafayette wasn't in a hurry to leave. He inclined his head, looking at the long knife Alex was holding, and then turned to study Alex's face.

After a moment, Lafayette revealed a faint smile.

"Mr. Mortician, we meet again."