In Aran territory.

Chenxi Port.

At a high-end inn where the Gione nobles were staying, Liszt, posing as an attendant of Isis, could move unimpeded within Aran, even though his identity was concealed.

Yet roles were reversed, with Isis more like his own attendant.

A noble young miss like her was definitely unaccustomed to bloody, horrifying scenes; she had not only never seen a killing, but had never even watched fish being slaughtered backstage in the kitchen.

Under Liszt's exaggerated tales, he described how he had turned his fortune from being a salty fish, started from scratch, and skipped all the dirty tricks to paint an extraordinarily righteous picture.

Robbing trains was for world peace, to slow down Aran's pace and save the Western Continent's people from desperate plights—the money stolen was likewise distributed to the poor.

Put it this way, the Western Continent had its own stealthy predator.

With abundant sunlight.

Walking onto the high-rise suite's scenic balcony with vine plants hanging from the pot stand next to transparent glass tables and two chairs—Liszt and Isis were having afternoon tea on a leisurely summer's day.

At the same time, Liszt glanced over the latest newspaper, his attention caught by news of Mulong being a jewel of Aran, and unrest in the Beima Duchy.

Isis, wearing a wide sun hat, chattered incessantly beside him. She loved traveling, else she wouldn't have ventured to the Southern Continent eight years ago, and she had always wanted to visit the East Sea, even the Far East Islands, but the lawlessness there had delayed her plans.

For the common folks of the Western Continent, the Far East held an allure similar to snow for the southerners or the sea for the northerners—it was mixed with a rare and special sentiment.

But now there were no safety concerns; her old acquaintance was the big shot in the East Sea area, and she could roam wherever she liked.

"I always hear the name 'Iron Soul Island'. They say the island is full of gold mines; is that really true?"

Isis's dark brown eyes sparkled with longing for the undiscovered New Continent, promising an interesting journey.

The greatest wealth of Iron Soul Island was indeed in Garscek's hands, though this was not for public disclosure, lest it ruin the Black Sail's reputation by lacking hotspots and crowd attractions—who else could fulfill that role?

Liszt unscrupulously deceived and ambushed all the Gold Seekers.

Isis was a betrothed woman, still weighing whether to defy her family and sabotage her own marriage, but taking some time away was allowable.

She had also heard that Heaven Port was a refuge for people from all over the world; hiding there, far from the Emperor's reach, meant no one could find you.

Liszt was heartlessly dismissive, with only a brief encounter with Isis, and taking Sharon back was already a stretch; bringing another, the mad woman might just explode.

"Have you ever cut someone? Seen a dead body?"

Liszt shook his head, putting down the adventurer's guild published Gazette, and picked up the Aran Epoch Weekly, rejecting Isis's suggestion.

"Aren't you the boss?"

Isis mumbled dissatisfied, feeling that Liszt lacked pomp and was short on manpower. Her own bodyguards were keen-eyed, quickly discerning that those around Liszt were merely unremarkable nobodies.

This puzzled Isis; he must be in some trouble.

"Being the boss is just a front. It wouldn't matter who took this position. It's not because the people of the East Sea respect me that I sit here, but because the powerful interest group with me at the helm benefits from keeping me, reaping perks. The day I run out of money and can't pay salaries, I don't know how many would turn on me."

Liszt couldn't help but think of the one-legged pirate, Asenxiuo, driven mad in isolation, his body gnawed by his own pet cat—it was a similar situation.

On the pages of the Aran Epoch Weekly, Liszt spotted a small, unobtrusive piece of news that caught his eye for reasons unknown.

The Eternal Sect established a new team called Time Sword to support the missionary work of the believers in the Foreign Country.

Frankly speaking, mixing with a Triad Gang and getting involved in a religion are similar, both need people to look after the place, maybe Time Sword's new team is just for that.

The church... really takes charge of looking after the place.

Liszt pondered that by allying with the local resistance forces of Mulong Duchy, as well as the Seventh Amendment, they would inevitably have to face the Aran Official Army.

In Liszt's plan, the railway would definitely be finished, and he and his people were just delaying and blocking the road to give Lostra and potential competitors in Aran time to breathe.

There was no need to go too extreme, blasting the railways along the way, killing a few senior officers, and continually harassing them until the end of the year would be enough.

The current highest responsible person in Mulong Duchy seemed to be called something like Crocodile Island, chopping him down would more or less settle it; turning in his Oath of Loyalty for Lostra, Celeste's supervisors would also make the payment, Fafna's child support, and a new round of investment.

Only, he didn't know if Boss would change personnel, from Crocodile Island to someone else; this new Time Sword team supporting the mission work for the believers in Foreign Country, wouldn't be coming for the railway, would they?

This news was somewhat suspicious.

Liszt was really annoyed by these priests; Marcus was from the Eternal Sect, tough as hell, and if the Church Court got involved, it would be a complete madness.

Thinking of this, Liszt grew even more concerned about Sharon's safety, Yutong's speculated Mu Ran No.2 was still in Aran Imperial City, and Sharon was right under that person's watch.

Moreover, Liszt did indeed tell Sharon that she could ask Marcus for help if she was in trouble, but the process seemed a bit too smooth; Marcus introduced her and she became a Priest.

The implications were worth pondering.

He continued reading the newspaper; the weekly also had other news, the New City Industrial District in the Imperial City, the launch time of some civilian products would be delayed by half a month.

While Liszt was engrossed in reading.

A knock came from outside the room.

It was Galen coming over.

Liszt asked him to handle something, there was a response now; the stay at Chenxi Port would take longer than expected, and there had been no news about Mika's family until now.

They almost thought Mika was an orphan.

"Did you find anyone?"

Liszt asked Galen slightly excitedly, to be honest, the family on board usually act like they owe nobody anything, boasting arrogantly, and he just needed to catch some handle to make them embarrassed.

"Yep, found someone, she's a woman doctor running a private clinic,"

Galen replied.

"A woman doctor?" Liszt raised an eyebrow, "Is she Mika's mom, or a sister or something?"

"Neither, Mika's teacher's mother has long passed away, his father died from tuberculosis three years ago, it was something like that. That woman doctor, told by that new adventurer, used to be a private tutor for Brookner's house, right in Chenxi Port, wanna go check it out? That clinic is open 24 hours."

Galen told Liszt all the information he got from that adventurer.

"Three years ago... so that's it."

Liszt wasn't too sentimental, three years ago, although Black Sail had some influence, it was still small scale, lacking the capability to enter Aran proper, their identities were also criminals, communications could lead to guilt by association, it was irrevocable.

"Which location, take me there immediately."

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