“Oh?”
John’s face, radiating a cold light, froze for a moment.
His translucent brow furrowed as he asked in return:
“You know Edward Crowley?”
“Answer me first.”
Elias interrupted him, his tone grave and carrying an unquestionable pressure.
“Based on the severe information asymmetry between us previously...”
“I believe it is now absolutely necessary for me to re-evaluate our partnership.”
This was no joke.
If this rat who stole top-secret documents from the Seventh Agency was trying to hide something while using him...
Then Elias had to seriously consider whether he wanted to continue wading through these muddy waters!
“Hey!”
Hearing Elias’s tone, which suggested he was ready to turn hostile at any moment, John suddenly let out a long breath.
“I thought it was something serious!”
His expression relaxed, and he waved his translucent arm dismissively.
“Don't worry, man!”
“Whatever you want to ask, I can tell you everything exactly as it happened.”
John spread his hands, putting on an expression of total transparency.
“I’m already a dead man anyway; it’s not like this is some top-secret information that absolutely can't be told!”
He even turned around to comfort Elias:
“Don't be so serious!”
“You’re making it feel like an interrogation!”
“Oh? Such honesty?”
At that moment, Old Ed immediately joined the group chat.
The old man gave a cold laugh, his tone full of mockery.
“And here I thought you, a Storm Thief, had some little secrets you were hiding from us.”
“What little secrets could I possibly have?!”
John began to complain with an exaggerated expression.
“Since I turned into this ghostly thing, what secrets are left to speak of?”
“As long as it's someone from the Seventh Agency or anyone with a bit of connections who looks into it, isn't it all just public knowledge found on every street corner?”
At this point.
He dropped the playful grin and looked at Elias seriously.
“I do indeed know of the man Edward Crowley.”
“But only in the sense that I ‘know’ the name.”
John emphasized the word.
“I don't know him personally.”
“Hmm?”
Hearing this answer, both Elias and Old Ed in his head voiced their confusion.
This seemed far removed from their previous conjectures.
The feedback from 【Spirit Sensing】 was very calm.
There were no emotional fluctuations of panic, concealment, or lying.
At least regarding this statement, John was being very honest, without a hint of falsehood.
“What do you mean you know him but don't know him?”
Old Ed’s curiosity was thoroughly piqued, and he couldn't help but press further.
“Isn't that obvious?”
“Literally what I said!”
John shrugged, his tone matter-of-fact.
“You know I’m a thief, that's true.”
“For money, I do occasionally take jobs through the Society of Freemen.”
He changed the subject and pointed to his own nose:
“But I'm not the kind of lunatic who goes looking for death!”
“Think about it. I wouldn't just randomly decide to do something so stupid...”
“As to steal some damn confidential carriage being escorted by the Seventh Agency, would I?”
John looked innocent.
“I'm not freaking insane!”
“Hard to say.”
Old Ed added a subtle jab.
“Given the miserable way you died, whether or not you're insane is still up for debate.”
John rolled his eyes and continued explaining:
“Besides, I already have a thick stack of priors on the Seventh Agency's most-wanted list.”
“Who in their right mind would voluntarily go dancing wildly in someone else's minefield?”
“Wouldn't that be wishing for a short life?”
Hearing this.
The clues in Elias's mind instantly linked together.
“So, you were hired.”
He spoke suddenly after a calm analysis.
“Smart!”
John gave Elias an appreciative look.
“Talking to smart people really saves energy!”
“That's right.”
A glint of memory flashed in his eyes.
“About two months ago.”
“A guy named James Crowley approached me through a middleman at the Society of Freemen.”
Crowley?!
The moment that surname was mentioned.
Elias's nerves became sensitive.
So, this whole mess of John's...
After all that circling, did it really all have to do with Captain Crowley?!
“He had somehow obtained an extremely top-secret piece of internal intelligence.”
John didn't notice Elias's reaction and continued talking.
“It said that the Seventh Agency would soon be receiving a batch of important secrets from the Storm Inquisition in Hastings Port.”
“It included a collection of historical documents and records regarding Moon Bay.”
“As well as a dangerous containment object.”
“Furthermore, the Hastings Port Branch of the Seventh Agency would definitely send a heavily guarded confidential carriage to transport this batch of data to the Landon headquarters.”
“After that guy named James found me, he immediately put down an extremely generous commission.”
John's eyes began to shine; even as a spiritual body, the greed of a thief was still etched into his soul.
“It was truly generous!”
“So generous that it was simply impossible to refuse!”
“His commission was very specific: he wanted me to intercept it mid-route before the carriage reached Landon.”
“To steal all the historical records concerning the Moon Bay area inside that confidential carriage.”
“As well as that damn containment object.”
John skillfully recited a string of code:
“The designation is E-032.”
“Actually...”
He curled his lip.
“I didn't want to take this suicidal job at first.”
Hearing this.
Elias suddenly felt an ill omen for no apparent reason.
Why did these words sound so much like that peacock showing off his feathers tonight?!
“But he called me a master thief!”
John sighed, looking up at the carriage ceiling at a forty-five-degree angle, striking a pretentious pose as if the heights were too cold and lonely.
“...”
Elias's eye twitched violently.
As expected!
This guy had set all this up just to take the opportunity to show off his meager skills as a gentleman of the rafters!
The guy was dead, yet he still didn't forget to talk himself up!
“I should have seen this coming...”
Old Ed let out a weak complaint through their mental channel.
“These guys from the black market are all drama queens who'd rather die than lose face.”
“He spoke so highly of me, and his attitude was so sincere.”
John continued his story.
He spread his hands as if he were the victim forced into a difficult situation.
“I could only reluctantly accept.”
Next.
He held up two fingers.
“20,000 gold crowns, brother!”
“A full twenty thousand gold crowns in cash bearer checks!”
“If it were you, would you freaking take it?!”
What?!
Elias's eyes, which had been filled with a bit of disdain, instantly experienced an earthquake!
His eyes widened like copper bells, shooting out the sharp light of a miser.
How much?!
Twenty thousand gold crowns?!
Some guy named Crowley just pops out and can casually throw down twenty thousand gold crowns in cash just to hire someone to steal something?!
Is that the kind of money someone can just pull out?!
The Crowley family...
Were they actually this rich?!
Elias felt his worldview being completely shattered at this moment.
What?
And after all that, the old man still owed Redbeard money?!
He buys things without paying, enjoys running up tabs—is he just playing around?!
Oh, so if Old Crowley didn't work hard as a supply ship captain, he'd be forced to go home and inherit the family fortune?!
Damn it!
So sailing is just a hobby, and being a rich guy is his actual life?!
Rate on N.U.
