"Hey! Answer me."
Sif said anxiously as she shook the arm of Jobtran, who was staring at the ceiling in a daze.
Joe Butron came back to his senses, looked at the still confused duo, and couldn't help laughing.
"What? You guys don't understand such an obvious hint?"
Joe Butran raised his eyebrows and looked at the two bewildered people with a playful smile.
"hint?"
Sif asked dumbly.
To Sif, Dallai's appearance was more like a malicious stranger coming to provoke her rather than to hint at something.
When the second mate Paul heard this, he slapped his head.
"I see."
"Ah? You understand?"
Sif turned to Paul and asked.
"I may understand. I may not have mastered everything. Mr. Dallai should be here to remind us that there are risks ahead."
Paul said uncertainly.
"Nonsense, if that's the case, can't you tell by looking at the thumbtacks in the captain's room?"
Sif thought of the thumbtacks of different colors. Now thinking back, the time when each case occurred was almost related to those thumbtacks of different colors.
Joe Butran looked at the two people bickering and said with a smile,
"It can indeed be understood as a reminder, and there is nothing wrong with saying so."
"But according to what you said before, aren't beings like the Old Ones malicious?"
Sif asked in confusion.
“Actually, this statement is not entirely correct. The Old Ones are more advanced than humans.
Just like we casually step on two small ants to death, we don’t care too much.
The terrifying reason why the Old Ones are so terrible is that there is such a huge gap between our life levels and theirs.
But Mr. Dallai’s position is very delicate.”
Jobtran took out another cigarette from the box left by Dallai and studied it in his palm.
"Oh, there are two more beads. If you press them, maybe the taste will get better."
"The position is very delicate? How delicate is it?"
Paul noticed the deliberate pause in Jobtran's words and raised a question.
"He is the will of Chaos, and in Chaos there is no good or evil.
If you can understand this, you can understand his current behavior.
In addition, Mr. Dallai himself said very clearly that he symbolizes pleasure, and the ultimate pleasure is to abandon any moral concepts and follow his own will.
He will pay attention to everything in the world that is interesting to him, including human activities.
On the other hand, in order to make his life less boring, he would set some interesting challenges for some interesting people. "
Joe Butran gently crushed the two beads on the cigarette holder, and when he lit it with a match, he found that the fruity flavor was even stronger.
"Not bad, not bad. This kind of cigarette is quite interesting."
"From what you said, it seems that you have some feelings towards Mr. Dallai?"
Sif asked.
“I can’t say I have a good impression of him, but I can feel his kindness.”
Joe Butran took a puff of the cigarette with a strong fruity aroma and answered dimly.
"Good intentions? Don't you think that's a threat?"
Paul thought of poor old Gary, who had been manipulated by Dalry from beginning to end.
"As long as you are strong enough, no matter how difficult the problem is, it won't be a threat.
Mr. Dallai said that our next journey will be very interesting, so it is definitely not for us to face things at his level. One-sided massacre must be boring for him.
This also means that we may need to face some things that will put us in a tough battle.
Now that we understand this, what we need to do now is to relax and be prepared to win this battle and make ourselves more interesting.
After all, no one wants to watch a boring play, right? "
After saying that, Jobtran raised his hand holding the cigarette toward the ceiling as a salute.
Faintly, everyone in the restaurant heard a laugh.
——
"Dear passengers, the Cyclops is about to dock.
The stopover is Iceland, and passengers are free to explore while ashore, but are required to return to the ship within seven days.
In addition, if passengers want to explore the ice field, they must find a local guide to accompany them and try to avoid exploring alone to avoid accidents.
I hope all passengers can enjoy their leisure time during this week.”
The crew knocked on doors all over the ship and informed the passengers that the Cyclopes was about to dock.
People are delighted by this. After all, if you are always on the sea and look at the same scenery every day, you will feel aesthetic fatigue.
Some passengers with more irritable tempers had already been clamoring to disembark quickly. They were fed up with the delicious but monotonous food on the ship.
Others who are weaker in body are looking forward to the brief period when they can stand on solid ground instead of rocking around in the boat.
The shadow of land slowly appeared on the seemingly endless coastline, and the people standing on the deck excitedly discussed what to do first after going ashore.
Some people clamored to see the unique scenery of Iceland after going ashore, some people clamored to visit various red-light districts to experience the exotic customs, and some people looked at their wallets worriedly, worried that they did not have enough cash.
With the sound of the whistle, the Cyclops approached the pier on the shore.
There are also several small passenger ships and merchant ships docked nearby that come to the port for supplies.
The sailors lowered the ladder to the ground, and people set foot on this strange land one by one with different feelings.
In front of the tavern on the dock stood a few street prostitutes dressed in fancy clothes, looking at the men getting off the boat with seductive eyes, while exposing their bodies, hoping to squeeze some money from the pockets of these temporary visitors, enough to live a good life.
Jobtran was wearing a windbreaker and a gray hat to cover his conspicuous silver-gray hair.
Second mate Paul stood beside him and winked and said,
"Don't you want to go and have some fun?"
“The one on the left looks young, but he’s actually over 35 years old, and there are obvious signs of repairs on his clothes.
Although the one in the middle tried hard to suck in her belly, you could see that her clothes were tight and would probably crush you if she took them off.
The scariest one is the one on the far right. See? She is scratching her arm. There are red spots on her arm.
These people usually live in the same place, do you still dare to go and play with them?"
Joe Butran turned and said to Paul with a smile.
“But it’s okay to go to the bar and have a drink.
Come on, it's my treat."
Joe Butter Brown patted Paul, who was stunned by Joe Butter Brown's amazing observation skills, and walked ahead alone.
Sif was going to accompany the old man who was originally traveling with her, Professor Margery, to visit a local university, so this incident happened.
"No, no, I still have to keep an eye on the repair work on the ship. Aldridge is useless.
Until now, I haven't left the room.
It left me with a huge mess.
Why."
Paul sighed and said distressedly.
"Thank you for your hard work. Adults always have to take on more responsibilities."
Joe Butran said with a smile.
He then blended in with the crowd and slipped into the local bar unnoticed.
This bar is called Ice Flame Bar.
The style of the Ice Flame Bar is completely different from that of the Black Pepper Bar in Umr City. Compared with the neatness of the Black Pepper Bar, the Ice Flame Bar seems more messy and noisy. You can already hear people in the bar clinking glasses and partying outside the door.
In broad daylight, a sailor walked out of the bar drunk and hugged a street girl at the door and kissed her violently.
Seeing such an impatient scene, Jobtran couldn't help but get goosebumps all over his body.
"warrior!"
Jobtran thought to himself.
Pushing open the door of the bar, Joe Butran casually made way for a few men who were holding up their glasses and singing strange music, and sat down next to the bar.
"What would you like to drink?"
The bartender with a ponytail is a woman with a unique flavor. Although there are some crow's feet at the corners of her eyes, the black and white bartender's uniform cannot hide her curvy figure.
She has a heroic face, with her sideburns trimmed to the perfect length.
Joe Butron and the bartender looked at each other.
"What suggestions do you have?"
“My advice to you, stranger, is to leave here.
This is not the place for you.”
The bartender rolled his eyes and spoke softly.
"Oh? How did you figure that out?"
Joe Butran raised his eyebrows, feeling that the female bartender opposite him seemed quite interesting.
"No local would wear a cross accessory. We don't believe in it.
And you don't look like someone who would enjoy a day at our Ice Flame Bar.
After you finish this cup, you should go."
The female bartender handed Jobtran a glass of gin and tonic.
"Okay, but I want to ask a few questions before I go."
Jobtran took out a few large-denomination Icelandic kronor bills that he had exchanged in advance from his pocket and put them on the table, then gently covered them with his hand.
The female bartender looked around, then subtly took away the Icelandic krona from Jobtran.
"ask."
"What is your faith?"
"Nature spirits, and the Norse gods."
"Has anyone been missing or seeing strange things lately?"
After hearing this, the female bartender raised her chin, looking a little arrogant, and leaned forward with her hands on the edge of the table.
"Outsider, many people go missing on the ice field every day, and they are just like you, curious about everything."
Joe Butran didn't care about what the female bartender said. He held the glass of gin and tonic and took a sip.
The aggressive female bartender and Joe Butran's indifference formed two different auras.
Joe Butran put down his glass, tapped the bar counter with his fingers a few times, and whispered to the female bartender,
“The Ice Flame Bar is the property left to you by your ex-husband. You had a son, but he died young.
In order to make a living and maintain the property left by your loved one, you, a kind-hearted person, have to act strong to protect it.
As you are not good at business, you must have suffered a lot of losses in your accounts, and you are also very troubled by this, so you accepted money from the street girls at the door and allowed them to solicit customers at the door.
Am I right?"
The female bartender's face changed and her voice became unnaturally higher.
"Who are you?"
“A passing private investigator, as you say, a stranger.
Because I didn't want to get lost on the ice field, I chose the crowded Ice Flame Bar to search for information.
Are you willing to believe me now?"
Jobtran lowered the brim of his hat and raised the corners of his mouth mysteriously.
"Even though what you said is all right, why should I believe you?"
The female bartender said warily.
"How about I help you catch the thieves in the bar that you haven't caught yet, and the hooligans who are going to mess up the place?"
Joe Butron drank the gin and tonic in the glass in one gulp. The slightly sour liquor mixed with the ice cubes created a refreshing taste and slid down his throat.
Joe Butran did not wait for the bartender to answer his questions. Instead, he stood up, cracked peanuts and walked to a table of people in the crowd with a sly look.
He pretended to be drunk, his body swaying and his steps unsteady, and he pretended to be casually searching for his keys while keeping his right hand in his pocket.
This action was deliberately made by Joe Butran towards the table of guests that he felt was suspicious when he entered the door.
That thick stack of Icelandic krona contained more than thirty hundred-dollar bills.
This money is enough for those alcoholics to swim in wine jars.
The thieves who were greedy for money exchanged glances with each other.
"Mouse, you go."
"Okay."
The man called Rat had a thin mustache and a lewd smile on his rat-like face.
He walked leisurely towards Jobtran, whistling, with a knife in his hand for cutting purses.
Of course, this knife can also be used to cut a person's throat when necessary.
Joet Brown had clear eyes and naturally noticed the person coming. He pretended to be unstable and fell towards the place where the mouse was.
When Mouse saw Jobtran's actions, his eyes lit up, and he took the initiative to step forward with a smile to support Jobtran.
"Hey, bro, you okay?"
The mouse held Joe Brown's left shoulder with one hand, pretending to be smiling warmly, but the other hand quietly reached for Joe Brown's pocket where he hid his money.
"Hiccup, I... am not drunk... hiccup..."
The smell of alcohol made the mouse relax his guard, and the large stack of Icelandic kronor was immediately in his hands.
The mouse began to fantasize about himself holding a large stack of Icelandic Krona in his hand and with several beautiful women lying beneath him.
But what he touched was a cold, hard object, and from the touch of his hand, the mouse realized that it was a flintlock.
At this time, Jobtran exerted force and leaned forward to suppress the mouse's movement.
"If I were you, I would just follow me. Otherwise, I don't know if I would pull the trigger."
The hard metal touch on the mouse's lower abdomen reminded him all the time that this was a real gun.
"The madman in front of me should not be drunk yet. I'm in trouble!"
The mouse thought.
Just as he was about to scream, Jobtran pulled out his left hand that was pinched by the mouse and hugged the mouse tightly.
"Shh! I'll pull the trigger before you even yell, got it?"