Chapter 1 The Interjection

Fang Senyan's heart was indeed filled with astonishment at this moment.

Without radar or aerial reconnaissance, how could these Vikings so easily find his people? The Sam was practically useless, only able to sail close to the shore. And with most of his main fighting force gone, if the pirates found them, his remaining men would likely be hanged and slaughtered by Armand, none spared, and the ship burned to ashes.

The pirate said in astonishment:

"Armand didn't find us. It was the seven Vikings who came. They said they could sense it – that although the aura of their tribe's sacred artifact had disappeared, it had last been present where we docked the ship, so they easily found us."

In that instant, many thoughts raced through Fang Senyan's mind, and he immediately said:

"What was their attitude towards you?"

The pirate thought for a moment and said:

"It was normal, I guess."

Fang Senyan and Mogansha exchanged glances, finding this even more unusual. Viking pirates were known for their brutality and madness. Fang Senyan had brazenly killed their tribal leader just the day before, yet these Vikings could treat Fang Senyan's men with a normal attitude. It was as unbelievable as not wearing a Qi B short skirt! After thinking for a while, Fang Senyan instructed:

"Go back and tell Philip that if those Vikings want to find me, they'll have to wait. Also, don't give them any special treatment. Just treat them normally. Our ordinary crew members eat what they eat. No special treatment."

The pirate opened his mouth but finally nodded and said:

"Okay, boss, I'll definitely deliver your instructions."

Fang Senyan turned to Black Sail:

"You need to go back. I'm afraid Philip can't handle it alone."

Black Sail nodded:

"Okay, boss, I'll go back now."

While pondering the Vikings' intentions, Fang Senyan walked towards Sheffield Trading Company. The old butler of the governor's mansion was gone, replaced by a man with a weathered face, whose thick calluses on his tiger's mouth clearly showed he had spent a long time at sea, gripping a knife. Yet, this man wore a wig popular among the upper-class nobles and a light blue cardigan with a Chinese-style buttoned front, looking quite incongruous.

After the man saw the token Fang Senyan brought, he asked if Fang Senyan had anything to auction and then asked Fang Senyan to provide proof of at least five thousand pounds in liquid funds. Finally, he told him that he could only bring two people inside and led Fang Senyan towards the back.

A row of carriages was parked behind the trading company. The man instructed the coachman, then closed the carriage door and pulled the curtains tight over the carriage windows, instructing Fang Senyan and his companions not to open the curtains, or they would lose their qualification to participate. Then, he let them get into the carriage.

The carriage didn't travel for very long, probably just circling around a few times, before stopping in what seemed to be a very spacious courtyard, surrounded by high walls made of thorns. The buildings in the courtyard were somewhat old.

However, after walking along the path, they saw that the inside was decorated quite nicely, somewhat like a church, but the atmosphere was more like a cocktail party, with a touch of a social salon. The surrounding windows were also tightly covered. Silver candlesticks inside held candles, but the wooden chairs were replaced with two-seater or three-seater sofas.

After Fang Senyan sat down, a maid came over specifically. She placed a set of silver coffee utensils in front of them. To be honest, Reef, who could be considered from a wealthy family, was stunned by the complex set of utensils.

It turned out that the coffee here was not brewed directly in a coffee pot but in a special drip coffee cup, with an old-fashioned printed glass cup underneath to catch the drips, letting them savor the wonderful time. When making it, the glass cup was placed under the drip cup, coffee grounds were placed in the drip cup, and a metal plate with holes was pressed on top. Then, hot water was used to brew the coffee, letting it drip slowly into the cup.

And when making hot coffee, the cup was placed in a large bowl filled with boiling water to keep it warm, because it could take ten minutes to drip a cup of coffee, and the hot coffee would cool down. At the end, the drinker was asked whether they liked it bitter. If so, they would drink the original coffee directly. But if they wanted it a little sweeter, then a layer of very sweet condensed milk would be added to the bottom of the cup. After all the coffee had dripped into the cup, the black coffee and white condensed milk would be mixed together to drink.

Just drinking a cup of coffee was such a display, which showed that the person holding this auction had put a lot of thought into it and definitely didn't want to be careless. The other participants also relaxed and slowly tasted their coffee, talking and laughing loudly. About half an hour passed, during which they could still see people carrying heavy boxes to the back, obviously still working hard to prepare various tasks.

Finally, an elderly man in a black swallowtail suit walked onto the trading platform in front. Fang Senyan recognized this man. He was the old butler of Sheffield Trading Company. No wonder he was qualified to invite Fang Senyan to participate in the auction. A beautiful woman also walked to the front.

Upon seeing this woman, Fang Senyan was immediately shocked. She looked very familiar, with eyebrows and eyes that bore a few similarities to Miss Elizabeth Swann from the governor's mansion. It was clear that she had been carefully dressed:

She wore a tightly laced whalebone skirt to make her waist more slender, but at the cost of difficulty breathing and a deformedly straight waist. It seemed that this era didn't pay much attention to the fullness of a woman's breasts, but she still showed it off slightly.

On top of her head was a sheer white round sunshade scarf. Her flaxen hair was braided and hung on the whiteness of her chest. Of course, she couldn't leave without a fan in her hand, with edges of white and colored light gauze as decoration.

"Hmm, the name on the card seems to be Yurina Swann. This woman should be a cousin of Elizabeth Swann, right? In that case, this old butler, McKinney Swann, should also be related to Governor Swann by blood. Sure enough, relatives are more trustworthy, so it's not surprising that the two sisters look alike."

As Fang Senyan was thinking, he suddenly saw a familiar face. This person was familiar, but not necessarily friendly to Fang Senyan. It was Mr. Cortel, who had clashed with Fang Senyan head-on in Tortuga and had his face slapped in public.

Surprisingly, when Mr. Cortel saw Fang Senyan, he was first embarrassed, then actually smiled and nodded warmly. The people beside Cortel at this time were two burly, thick-waisted guards, watching Fang Senyan vigilantly. Of course, the unlucky Arundel was definitely not among the guards.

Fang Senyan was also a person who knew how to take advantage of the situation. Seeing Cortel showing goodwill, he took the initiative to sit over. After greeting him, he said with a smile:

"I've been back in the country for ten years. After coming again this time, many people don't recognize me anymore. I wonder if Mr. Cortel can help me introduce me."

Cortel was stunned for a moment, then laughed heartily. He was a typical businessman. This kind of "guidance" could be said to be cost-free and could also ease the relationship between the two parties, so he readily pointed out and introduced people to Fang Senyan:

"This guy with a broken leg is also a pirate, called Blood Shark. He's self-sufficient and doesn't belong to any system. However, he seems to be very principled. As long as the merchant ship doesn't resist, he only takes 20% tax after boarding. Because of this, merchants usually pay directly when they encounter him..."

"That guy over there is Wahhab, from the Arab world. His identity is quite mysterious."

Upon hearing the words "Arab world," Fang Senyan was immediately stunned. This guy might be Armand's agent! The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and he couldn't help but take a few more glances. Wahhab's face was dull, silently looking at the coffee cup in front of him, as if the whole world was in that cup.

"That one should be the representative of the Roma people. Because she's wearing a veil, it's impossible to recognize which one it is specifically."

Fang Senyan looked at the woman wearing the veil and indeed found that these women among the Roma people were almost the same – mysterious, strange, and of course, the old age hidden by the veil. Their identities could only be distinguished by things like the size of their crystal balls or the color of their veils. However, the look in that woman's eyes was sharp as a needle, full of provocation and warning. When her eyes fell on Fang Senyan's face, there was an even more venomous meaning in them, as if every glance was a strong curse!

Fang Senyan didn't take it seriously and shrugged his shoulders. His transaction with the Roma people was originally a fair transaction. No one owed anyone anything, and these women had a very unreasonable, vicious, and domineering style. Fang Senyan didn't have any good feelings for them at all.

At this time, three more people walked in. The person walking in front had a curved beard and his clothing looked very gorgeous. There was also an unspeakable arrogance in his gestures, as if he would definitely hold his head up and raise his chin even after he died. Seeing these three people, Cortel's face changed slightly this time:

"Why is this guy here too? He actually dares to set foot on British soil?"

Fang Senyan asked curiously:

"Pirates can come, why can't this person come?"

Cortel said seriously:

"Because they are Spaniards. He's almost the leading wealthy merchant in Spain! Fernandez!"

Upon hearing this name, Fang Senyan immediately recalled the past vividly: the looting of this wealthy gentleman's merchant ship when he was under Armand, and that powerful Corrupted Corpse. He never expected that he could witness his true appearance here. ro!.