Six-Armed Serpent Demon

Page 52

As a result, fishing companies began to suddenly go bankrupt for various reasons, and the seagoing qualification certificates they issued became invalid.

In order to go out to sea to fish smoothly, boat owners must re-register with other fishing companies and obtain a license from the new fishing company.

During the most intense period of gang warfare, a fishing boat owner had to constantly register with new fishing companies, with a record of forty-three registrations in one month.

Over time, the boat owners could no longer tolerate it and simply started paying money directly to the "Fire Harbor United Fisheries Union," which was formed by the gang that controlled the fishing industry. The gang would then pay taxes to the dock in the name of the fisheries union.

Since the fishing company and offshore qualification system have become virtually meaningless, the registration and filing of fishing vessels has been abolished for who knows how many years.

She carefully searched for a long time, but still couldn't find any registration information about the White Claw.

Just then, Xiong Gu, who had been quietly lying on Ivy-Beate's desk in the next office, suddenly started making two short and one long "gu-u-gu" alarm sounds, following the agreed-upon code.

Upon receiving the signal, she immediately stopped flipping through the files and slipped behind the shelf where the files were stored.

Just as I turned behind the shelf, I heard the lock on the archive room door click.

The next second, the office light shone into the dark archives room, a figure appeared in the doorway, then strode in and began frantically searching through the files on the shelves.

It was actually the dragon-born paladin, Beric.

The six-armed serpent demon never expected things to turn out this way.

Before leaving the office, she did indeed telepathically instruct Bear Cub to call out twice short and once long if Berlik or anyone else came to open the door.

This early warning system was just a last resort; she never expected it to actually come in handy.

Moreover, she discovered that the Dragonborn Paladin also seemed to be searching for something in the archives without permission: Berlick was quickly searching the files on the shelves while occasionally glancing up towards the office door.

If she wasn't mistaken, he should be on guard against either her or the port authority suddenly returning.

She saw him glance around, then hurriedly walk to the shelf, reach out and pull a file folder from it, completely unaware that in the fleeting moment the folder was pulled out, a glimpse of his emerald green vertical pupils flashed and disappeared behind the shelf.

Unaware of the spy just a shelf away, Berlik eagerly opened the file folder and began to examine it in the light streaming in from the archives doorway.

The six-armed serpent demon discovered that the documents in this file were all about a bankrupt and abandoned fishing company.

She moved.

—In recent years, the system of fishing companies and offshore qualification certificates has become a mere formality, and the registration and filing of fishing vessels has also been abolished.

—When the fishing companies were powerful, did the White Claw ever register with or affiliate with these abandoned fishing companies?

She used a little of her mental power to remotely control the office door in the distance, gently shaking it.

The wooden door creaked open.

Berlik snapped to attention, quickly restored the file folder to its original place, strode out of the archives, and closed the door.

She heard the sound of a key turning in the lock.

The archives room was pitch black again.

She knew Berlik probably wouldn't come. The Dragonborn Paladin had applied to work the night shift in the office tomorrow night. By then, he would have more time to review the materials without risking being discovered.

The six-armed snake demon reached out and easily took the file bag that Berlick had just pulled from the shelf. He saw that the bag was labeled "Barracuda Fisheries Company (abandoned), No.".

Upon inspection, it was discovered that the abandoned company, named "Pike Fishing Company Limited," had been bankrupt for over twenty years. In that era, it was a small company that once owned three large fishing vessels.

Her eyes lit up, and sure enough, the information on the fishing boats that had once been affiliated with these abandoned fishing companies was in their files.

However, all three ships were marked as "sunken," and there was no information about the White Claw.

However, this suggests that the information about the White Claw might be hidden in these vast collections of files.

If that's the case, then another question arises: How did Dragonborn Berlick manage to pick out this abandoned company file folder so easily?

The six-armed snake demon carefully examined the dossier bag.

Finally, she discovered a string of symbols and numbers she couldn't understand on the bottom corner of the bag, written in purple pen. She recognized the numbers as Tvordo's handwriting.

It dawned on her.

Therefore, Berlik must have found the information by observing the markings left by Tvordo on each file folder, based on the file management notes he left behind.

and so…

She tried to find another file bag by following the markings. The markings on the bottom corner of this bag were the same as those on the "Barracuda" file, but the numbers were different.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be another abandoned fishing company!

After checking six file folders, his emerald green vertical pupils lit up.

"Salt Marsh Fisheries Co., Ltd. (now defunct) No."

Salt Marsh Fisheries Co., Ltd., established in [year], went bankrupt and was abandoned six years ago. At its peak, it owned more than 30 large fishing boats and more than 200 medium and small fishing boats.

The first large fishing vessel listed in the registration information of this "salt marsh" file is the White Claw!

But the next second, her excited expression froze on her face.

The owner's column for the White Claw was conspicuously empty.

In other words, six years ago, the White Claw was not owned by a private owner, but was the property of this Salt Marsh Fisheries Company.

In this situation, even if she wanted to check the Huoshaogang Residents Register by the ship owner's name, she wouldn't be able to find it.

—Perhaps we should interrogate the port authority chief, Burktura? He must know something.

While lost in thought, the six-armed serpent demon rummaged through the other documents in the file folder, hoping to find some relevant clues.

After all, there have always been rumors at the docks that the fishing industry in Fire Harbor is now the port authority chief, Burktura's, private domain. He and the dock pickets are a separate group, backed by high-ranking municipal officials, and they have a firm grip on the fishing industry at the docks.

Even a powerful group like the Bronx couldn't get their hands on it.

Furthermore, since the port's main revenue comes from commercial taxes rather than fishing taxes, and given that Bektura has powerful backers, the municipal authorities turn a blind eye to this.

Just then, her attention was drawn to a document that she had just pulled out of the file bag.

This is a report on the reasons why Salt Marsh Fisheries Limited was abandoned.

The abandonment of the Salt Marsh Fisheries Company had nothing to do with its operations or financial situation. Rather, it was because the company's management was suddenly attacked by unidentified individuals in the lower town, and all of them were killed.

The company was abandoned because no one was running it or had anyone to inherit it.

Strangely, the report also included a letter, which was an explanation of the Paladin City Guard.

The gist is that the Paladin City Guard has repeatedly discovered heretical beliefs and signs of missionary work in the Lower City and the Lower City within the Salt Marsh Fisheries Company. They have begun to monitor the movements of all members of the company around the clock and have applied to the High Priests for their arrest.

In other words, while the city guards were monitoring key members of the company, submitted arrest warrants, and were waiting for the approval process, all those under surveillance were killed, and the company was destroyed.

—Of course, the trail of "heresy beliefs" also went cold.

At this moment.

Ivy Beatrice strolled along the pier, enjoying the sea breeze.

The White Claw was almost there.

—A heretical belief…

She walked slowly, humming a song softly.

—Considering that they've even come up with something like the "Dragon Madness Lock," it's quite normal for these demons to be judged as heretics.

This bizarre and heretical company was founded in 1949, the year of Blue Plague. At that time, the twin worlds of Abel and Toril had swapped lands, and the "Dragon's Madness Lock" experiments were thus transported to the world of Abel…

The six-armed serpent demon suddenly had a guess.

—Could it be that the original intention of establishing this salt marsh fishery company was to target "Dragon Madness Lock"?

When she left the archives using advanced teleportation, she habitually flipped through the archives' retrieval register to see who had paid attention to this "salt marsh."

As a result, two familiar names were found in the case file register.

One of them is El, the paladin squad leader, who registered two months ago.

She had initially assumed that Berlik's demotion to the city was to hunt down the six-armed serpent demon and seek revenge. But now it seemed that the dragons might also be secretly investigating this company.

And the last name…

The six-armed serpent demon paced around the dock several times before finally stopping in front of the White Claw. It looked up at the large fishing boat in front of it, lost in thought, and stood still.

Bear Gu, who was following behind her, accidentally bumped into her leg and fell on his bottom instead.

The last person whose name was retrieved from the "Salt Marsh" file was registered three months and three days prior.

The handwriting is beautiful.

She knew every single letter perfectly.

——"Ivy Beatrice"

Chapter 62 The Dragon King's Pearl

A tall, red-haired beauty strolled among the crowds at the dock, humming an unnamed tune.

The chubby owl bear cubs ran around in front of and behind her.

Not far behind "Ivy Beatrice," Lanara lowered her headscarf, concealing her light brown face, a feature inherited from the Sanrachi indigenous people. She had never heard the song the red-haired beauty was humming before, yet it had unknowingly touched her heartstrings. The melody and lyrics were rhythmic, yet carried a faint languor and melancholy:

Corn sugar and caffeine

I feel like my body is in two different places.

Still serving for both sides simultaneously

Sometimes I feel like I was born with two faces.

I felt the smoke rising on my cheeks.

I heard the joke and sensed the humor in it.

I lay in bed, battered and bruised, for weeks.

My room is too dark, and my bed is in an earthquake zone.

I feel like I can't let it go.

I feel like I can't let it go.

I feel like I can't let it go.

I feel like I can't let it go.

I feel like I can't let it go.

I feel like I can't let it go.

Unable to let go

Sing a heartbreaking song

Do you know the sweet taste within sorrow?

I gave each of my worries a name.

How much do you know about the edge of madness?

I need a new character and new lines.

Anyway, as long as it's good for your brain

You can donate your heart to a cause.

But greatness can't bring you back to life.

I feel like I can't let it go.

I feel like I can't let it go.

I feel like I can't let it go.

I feel like I can't let it go.

I feel like I can't let it go.

I feel like I can't let it go.

Unable to let go

As Lana listened, she began to waver for a moment.

—Could a woman who can sing such a song be a demon?

She turned to look at Tusu.

But he found that the tall native was no longer beside him.