As soon as Charles entered the Explorers Association, he saw an unexpected scene. The previously deserted hall was now bustling with activity.
Various sofas and coffee tables were placed randomly, and men and women in various maritime attire were standing or sitting in groups of three or five, with a lot of noise.
There were quite a few people in the crowd who obviously did not make a living at sea, and they were whispering around the captains.
Charles walked past the crowd and headed to the counter to hand over the task. The voices in his ears told him that those people were there to entrust him with tasks.
"Hey! Charles! Come here." William, inexplicably excited, waved the bottle of wine in his hand at him. Around him were several captains whom he had met once.
Seeing Charles looking over here, Elizabeth snorted coldly and turned her head to the other side.
As soon as Charles walked over, William hooked his shoulder enthusiastically. "My friend, your knife is really effective!"
The pungent smell of William made Charles feel a little uncomfortable. He pushed William's arm away and said, "Is it a powerful relic?"
He had sold two unidentified relics of William last time. It looked like William had made a fortune.
"Well, it's very powerful, it couldn't be better! I pretended to accidentally give the knife to my enemy, and guess what? He killed everyone on his ship, hahahaha!!!"
Looking at William who was laughing wildly, Charles felt a little absurd. Could the relic be used in this way
The fat man next to him came over and nudged Charles with his arm, "I heard that you went out to sea again? Did you encounter anything interesting? Tell me about it."
Charles subconsciously recalled the arm that stretched out from the bottom of the sea, and he forced a smile on his face. "There's nothing to say. Some crew members died and the mission failed."
"Tell me, tell me. Why did you come here instead of talking to me? Wouldn't it be better to go to the casino and win a lot of money?"
Charles couldn't persuade them, and finally began to tell them everything that had happened before, the giant butterfly, the palm, and the Dark Crystal Island.
After hearing what happened to Charles, the other captains marveled at his good luck, for he was able to come back alive despite encountering so many thrilling things.
"Alas, Stark is not so lucky." The fat man said casually.
"Who is Stark?"
"If that guy knew you didn't even know his name, he would probably be so angry that he would come back to life. It was him and Elizabeth who kidnapped you before. Have you forgotten?"
Charles immediately remembered the cheerful strong man, and his pupils shrank slightly. "He's dead?"
The fat man nodded, grabbed the blue fruit with his hand, took a bite, and continued: "It's normal for people to die. In fact, this month is not bad. Only 7 people died."
Charles scanned everyone's faces and found that there was no sadness on their faces and they were chatting with natural expressions.
Charles had a deeper understanding of the concept of paying with one's life.
After a moment of silence, he turned to the other captains and said, "Everyone, how much do you know about the city of Sodom?"
This was the purpose of his visit today. He had only heard of the name of that unknown place, and now he needed more clues.
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone turned their eyes to the middle-aged man with a gloomy complexion and a hooked nose in the corner.
"Charlie used to be a pirate, you can ask him." William tilted his head back and took a sip of wine.
"I can only tell you that the place is a mess. Don't go there unless you have nothing to do. If you are weaker, you will die if you go there." Charlie's voice was as low as ever.
Hearing Charles' question, Charlie shook his head.
"No?" Charles asked nervously.
"I'm not sure, maybe there is, maybe not. They sell anything there as long as you have money. When you get to Sodom, you can go to the Anchor Bar and ask the bartender, and tell him that Sea Dog introduced him to you. He's my friend."
"Thank you." Charles looked at Charlie with a hint of gratitude. Most people probably didn't know this kind of information, so it was a favor that he was willing to give it to him.
The fat man next to him nudged Charles with his elbow, leaned over and whispered, "He's optimistic about you. For someone who can meet a 'god' and come back alive, your future is limitless."
Charles laughed dryly. Who could say for sure about such things? Who could guarantee that he could survive to the end in such a hellish place? As an ordinary person, he was just living a desperate life.
The lively atmosphere returned to its previous state. Charles drank and ate snacks with these people, and their relationships became much closer.
He picked up a round cake on the table and took a bite. The soft bread and sweet cream tasted surprisingly good. It was the first time he had eaten such exquisite food in all the years he had been in this world.
After finishing the food in his hand, just when Charles was thinking about retreating, a young man with ordinary appearance approached him. "Captain Charles?"
Charles turned his head and looked at the visitor. The guy was wearing a red robe with a bright white triangle painted on his forehead. His dress was completely different from the other captains around him.
"Who are you… ?"
"My name is Songni, and I'm an explorer like you."
Elizabeth, who had been ignoring Charles, cleared her throat, dipped her finger in the wine, and drew a few horizontal and vertical lines on the table.
When Charles saw the flag signaling that danger was far away, his alertness instantly increased.
"I heard Mr. Charles was looking for the bright place? Why haven't I seen you at church services?"
The Church of Light? Charles immediately stopped pretending and stood up to leave.
The next second, Sonny's body flashed and blocked Charles.
"Mr. Charles is a radical Protestant? Actually, you are wrong. You have misinterpreted the oracle of the sun god. The original teachings are the truth. The land of light is empty and cannot be found. We must pray devoutly and hold prayer ceremonies frequently, and then the sun god will return again."
Listening to these ridiculous words, Charles really didn't know how to communicate. He didn't know where the oracles these guys were talking about came from, but he was sure that the oracles definitely couldn't have come from the big fireball in the sky.
"I'm sorry, you didn't teach me this, please move aside."
Songni looked a little surprised, "If you are not a member of the Sun God Cult, why are you looking for the Land of Light?"
"I won't look for it now. Goodbye." Charles said, and walked around Sonny towards the door.
The white mark on Sonny's forehead lit up, and from inside his robes, a ball of translucent bruise-like fluid quickly enveloped Charles. "How about we go talk somewhere else?"
Charles' face turned cold, and the revolver in his right hand was already pointing at his head.
(End of this chapter)