bookpub Chapter 4159 Inquiry
Chapter 4159 Inquiry
Chapter 4159 Inquiry
In a cramped room in the underground alley of the town of Moranti.
The stone walls were sticky and damp, and the light from the fluorite lamp cast dappled shadows on the face of the homeless man, Ronno.
He stood in the corner, watching the trafficker scrutinize the woman with the cup-shaped hairpiece using a magnifying glass. The lens moved back and forth across her porcelain-white skin, then he turned to his subordinate and gestured for him to flip through the tattered racial atlas, comparing page by page, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.
"It's not even in the common encyclopedias..." The trafficker clicked his tongue, his tone revealing surprise, but his eyes grew brighter and brighter. "The head is shaped like an artifact, the body is like a human's, and the skin even has a glazed sheen..."
Although we don't know which race they belong to, since they're not listed in the common encyclopedia, they must be a rare race!
"Exchange for a rare illustration." The human trafficker waved his hand behind him.
This sound made Rono's eyes suddenly light up.
They're even bringing out the rare item encyclopedia? And the prices...
His clenched fingers tightened unconsciously, his knuckles turned white, and even the dirt under his fingernails became more deeply embedded.
A moment later, his subordinate brought over several thick books with blackened covers, flipped through them for a while, and finally shook his head. The trafficker's expression gradually became subtle, his fingertips tapping lightly on the table, the rhythm becoming faster and faster.
Upon seeing this, Rono's heart began to pound uncontrollably.
The longer the investigation goes on, the rarer it becomes.
The rarer it is, the more valuable it is!
Forcibly suppressing his turbulent emotions, Rono looked at Cuphead lying unconscious on the bed. A trace of guilt flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a surge of desire.
“Don’t blame me…” he murmured to the air, as if trying to convince someone, “Blame the world.”
"The Red Moon is coming. If I don't do this, I won't live more than three days..."
"I did it to survive."
His Adam's apple bobbed as he continued to try and salvage the situation: "Besides, I saved you. If I hadn't pulled you out of the sewage, you and that kid would have been eaten by rats in the sewers long ago. I spared that kid's life, and for you... at least you're still breathing. You should be thanking me."
Rono's murmurs did not reach the traffickers' ears, but they did calm his restless heart slightly.
Time passed by minute by minute.
When the fifth rare item guide still didn't include the Cup-Headed Women's tribe, the trafficker waved his hand, indicating to his men that they didn't need to investigate any further.
He turned to look at Rono.
"I'll take this one."
Rono's eyes lit up, and he took half a step forward: "What do you think of... this price?"
The trafficker slowly picked out five soul coins from the tin box, twirled them in his palm, and made a soft, tinkling sound: "Is this enough?"
"Five?!" Rono's voice rose instantly, his surprise vanishing completely. "Are you kidding me? This is a race that can't even be found in the Rare Encyclopedia! You yourself just said..."
"What did I say?" the trafficker interrupted him, his gaze behind his glasses suddenly turning cold: "I said she's rare, not that she's valuable."
“But rarity doesn’t mean value…” Rono tried to argue his point.
But the traffickers ignored them completely, simply raising their chins slightly: "If you don't agree, I can give you other options."
"Either you take these five coins and leave."
"Alternatively, I'll give you fifty coins, but I'm a little short on cash right now and will have to wait five days to give them to you."
Rono suddenly looked up, a flash of shock in his eyes: "You know..."
"Of course I know." The trafficker pointed to his eyes, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "My eyes are more accurate than a ruler. With your physique, you won't last three days until the red moon."
"These five coins are enough for you to spend the night at the Mist Bay Hotel."
"I'm saving you."
Upon hearing his words, Rono's face instantly turned a deep purplish-red.
The other party not only saw through his predicament, but also set their sights on him.
His physical and mental state was simply unable to withstand the erosion of the Red Moon; this had firmly grasped his weakness!
"If you choose neither, I have another option." The trafficker changed the subject, his tone becoming light and casual: "For example, refusing the deal."
Rono suddenly looked up.
The trafficker smiled casually: "If you just refuse, then I've wasted my time today. You have to compensate me and my men for their wages, not much, just two coins will do."
"If we can't afford to pay it back..."
He coughed lightly, and his men immediately stepped forward, their muscular chests heaving under the oil lamp, their fists clenched so tightly they cracked, the shadows of their muscles almost engulfing Rono.
Seeing this, Rono already understood what the other party was planning.
They said they gave him three choices, but in reality, there was only one.
You either accept the five coins, or you die now, or you die in three days...
He looked at the human trafficker's fat head and big ears, which were smirking, and then at the several burly, muscular henchmen behind him. In the end, he lowered his head in humiliation and nodded.
"Very good, I like people who know when to yield."
The trafficker smiled and pushed five coins in front of Rono.
"No delivery."
After making a gesture of seeing him off, several of his men came up to Rono and waved their hands, saying, "Please."
Rono grabbed the coin, said nothing more, turned around with his back taut like an iron plate, and strode out of the room.
The door creaked shut.
The henchmen inside immediately swarmed around the trafficker, their faces plastered with fawning smiles: "Boss, you're amazing! You got this rare item for just five coins. You can easily make ten times that price by reselling it!"
"Ten times?" The trafficker sneered, glancing at the cup-head lying on the bed. "I won't sell it for less than fifty times. And if I find a suitable buyer, it could even be worth a hundred times!"
"And who told me I won her over with just five coins? I have no intention of handing over my precious Soul Coin to a homeless man..."
The trafficker paused, then turned his gaze to his subordinates.
His subordinate was taken aback, then his pupils contracted slightly, as if he understood the boss's unspoken meaning: he stretched out his hand and quickly gestured towards his neck.
A clean and swift chop to the neck.
The human trafficker raised an eyebrow in satisfaction and gestured towards the door with his chin.
The burly men immediately understood and stealthily slipped out, their footsteps as light as cats, chasing after the direction Rono had gone.
……
Heart Space, Live Streaming Area.
Although Angell and the others couldn't hear what they were saying, they pieced together the general direction of events through lip reading, eye contact, and gestures.
The homeless man wanted to sell his wine glass, but he didn't expect to encounter a heartless dealer who only offered him five soul coins. More importantly, judging from the eye contact and actions between the dealer and his henchmen, he clearly didn't intend to give the homeless man even those five coins.
"This is truly... exhilarating." Luigi couldn't help but burst into laughter as he watched this scene.
Although the wine glass is still trapped, it doesn't matter; the worst that can happen is death.
Seeing this wicked homeless man punished by even more unscrupulous merchants, he felt incredibly satisfied.
The only regret was that he wasn't the one to punish. He really wanted to reach into the screen and act on behalf of heaven.
"Speaking of which, the wine glass has now been sold to human traffickers and remains unconscious..." Luigi sighed, "It seems we'll have to reopen it."
Luigi turned to the water clone: "Why don't you go ask on the 'forum' who's going to take the place of the wine glass in the windowed instance later?"
The water clone said, "If we need newcomers, the main body will arrange it. Besides, the wine glass might not necessarily die; perhaps a miracle will happen?"
Luigi curled his lip, neither agreeing nor disagreeing: "A miracle? Given their current fortunes, a miracle is practically impossible."
The water clone fell silent.
Indeed, the world's will has always targeted stowaways. People like Wine Cup are already in dire straits, and their chances of survival are slim.
At this moment, Angel suddenly spoke up: "The craving for wine can only be relieved by wine? If it's not relieved, will you remain unconscious indefinitely?"
The water clone nodded first, then shook his head: "Her addiction does require alcohol to relieve, but that doesn't mean she'll remain unconscious without it. If she experiences severe external stimuli, she will still wake up, but this awakening probably won't last long."
She paused, then added, "Ultimately, the alcohol is like fuel that keeps her going. But in the most critical moments, she can still unleash her power and briefly regain consciousness."
“I see… then there is still hope, though it is very slim,” Angell said in a low voice.
He asked about it because no one knew that the glass needed alcohol to revive. The only one who knew was the little boy, but the little boy couldn't possibly have come to the underground underworld.
Therefore, one can only look at the wine glass itself.
If the glass could sober up, even for just a brief moment, it could at least say that it "needs alcohol to maintain vital signs."
That way, at least there's a solution.
It's better than remaining unconscious and becoming a complete puppet, with no chance to save yourself.
"No matter what, it's been a series of disasters." Angell sighed helplessly as he looked at the wine glass on the live stream screen.
“That’s right, and this is just a wine glass. I can’t imagine what the situation is like for Na and the Milk Dragon,” Luigi chimed in.
There is currently no news about Na and Nailong, but it is highly likely that they have been captured by the Bloodstained Faction.
According to the fortune spiral, their situation might be even worse than that of the wine glass.
Unless they happen to meet... Edward.
But given their current fortunes, it's practically impossible.
In comparison, the Mud Duke, which was originally the most dangerous, now seems to be the safest...
All I can say is that it’s fate.
The live stream continued while they were discussing it.
The trafficker continued to examine the wine glass with a magnifying glass, occasionally recording some data.
His men then brought out several large illustrated books, all of which, judging from the text on the side, were "Illustrations of Rare Races".
He recorded the information while having his men look through the catalog.
More than half an hour passed. When the trafficker reported the last set of data, he turned around and saw that all the illustrations had been rejected by his subordinates. He stopped what he was doing and stared silently at his wine glass.
“It’s not even in the Rare Races Compendium, so is it the only race?” Through lip reading, Angel and the others guessed his murmur.
When he said "the only ethnic group," his face did not show the expected elation; instead, he frowned.
“Rare groups might be able to find buyers, but unique groups… I simply can’t handle that.” The trafficker paused for a moment, seemingly making a decision.
He turned and gave a few instructions to his subordinates, who then left the room.
A moment later, they returned carrying large and small bags, and under the direction of the human traffickers, began to set up rituals around the flatbed where the wine glass lay.
First, a dark purple velvet cloth was laid out and placed directly under the wine glass, like a mysterious and luxurious bed sheet. The cloth was embroidered with intricate circular patterns in silver thread, spreading outwards in circles, and the ends of all the patterns seemed to be drawn together by an invisible force, ultimately pointing to the wine glass in the center of the velvet cloth.
Next, they placed seven bronze candles in order beside the wine glass. The candles were engraved with indistinct prayers, with dark red marks still visible between the characters.
Finally, the trafficker bent down and adjusted the position of the wine glass, making her lie flat with her hands folded over her abdomen, and then gently placed a palm-sized crystal ball in her palm.
After doing all this, he dismissed all his men and stayed alone in the room.
The human trafficker stood in front of the bed, holding a yellowed manuscript and reading it aloud in a low voice. Although you couldn't hear what he was reading, you could sense that the atmosphere in the room had subtly changed.
After reciting the prayer, he struck a flint and lit seven copper candles. As the pale blue flames rose, he began to mutter to himself again, as if praying to some unknown being.
As he chanted, the crystal ball placed on the belly of the wine glass began to shimmer with a dark purple mist. This mist eventually formed a purple cat face that shimmered with green light—its pupils were vertical, and its mouth was stretched into an eerie arc, as if it were watching everything through the crystal ball.
The moment the "cat face" appeared, the human trafficker immediately knelt down with a thud, his forehead almost touching the ground, and muttered something rapidly.
Because he was looking down, Angell and the others couldn't see his lip movements, but they did see the feedback on the crystal ball.
After flashing for a moment, the crystal ball slowly revealed the word: [Rare].
Seeing this, everyone could roughly guess what this human trafficker was up to.
He arranged some kind of ritual, which should be similar to an "inquiry" ritual.
This kind of inquiry ability also exists in the wizarding system. For example, if a prophetic wizard believes in the "Bell of Inquiry" school, he can obtain some hidden answers through inquiry.
The cat face in the crystal ball gave the answer "rare," and considering the previous behavior of the human traffickers, we can probably guess that he was asking: "Is the species of the wine glass unique or rare?"
Upon seeing the answer, the trafficker's tense shoulders visibly relaxed. He then bowed to the crystal ball again and continued to ask questions.
A moment later, the crystal ball displayed another answer: [Misfortune].
Upon seeing this answer, the human trafficker's face turned deathly pale. He shrank back a few steps in terror, his knees scraping against the ground with a screeching sound.
Angell and the others frowned, secretly wondering what the trafficker was asking: Was he inquiring about the wine glass's abilities? Or perhaps what the wine glass might bring?
A moment later, the trafficker seemed to grit his teeth and kowtow again.
This time, the crystal ball gave an even more ambiguous answer, leaving Angel and the others completely baffled, because the text that appeared on the crystal ball this time was—
【wait】.
(End of this chapter)