Traveler in the Pirate World

"I was born in a swamp filled with stench and decay. Crime in your eyes is a skill I have acquired since childhood to survive.

Plundering and killing are my daily routine, which is not very uneventful. I am a beast and a monster. I have never been treated well by this world, nor have I ever been truly regarded as a human being by anyone. After all, they prefer to call me a devil.

You have the light and justice that I hate, which makes me feel disgusted and uncomfortable. After all, you didn't show up when I needed light the most. When I had already become darkness, you were judging my sins from a high position.

You want to judge a beast, a monster, a demon with human morality and justice? What a joke, Actophide Caesar, who do you think you are! "

"Please don't kill me... If I could live in peace, I wouldn't have come to this point. I don't want to do this, but I have no choice... I just want to live, live like a human being. Is it possible that such a small wish cannot be realized?"

"I used to have a happy family, but the new king came to power and imposed harsh policies and taxes, which made my family gradually wither away. My wife left me, and I ended up living on the streets.

In my confusion, I didn't know when my hands were already covered in blood. How many families have I destroyed? Kill me, Caesar! There is no need to continue this life of a walking corpse. "

"You killed my father, you killed my mother... No matter what they did, they did it all for me! If you let me go today, Caesar, I swear, I will spend the rest of my life avenging you!"

"The world never gave me a chance to choose..."

"You don't represent justice, Caesar!"

……

Actophie Caesar sat on the simple wooden table used for registration. He opened his palm and the golden pocket watch fell down and unfolded, revealing an oval picture with dried blood and mottled images. "Have you seen this girl?"

Dido, whose body and neck were bound by light golden chains, looked carefully at the figure in the picture with his neck stiff. It took him a while to recognize the figure. His face suddenly turned pale, without any blood color.

His body was shaking uncontrollably, his voice was trembling, and his eyes were filled with fear, "She...she was not killed by me. When the Kingdom's Ministry of Finance sold her to me, she was already breathing more than she was breathing... I...I tried my best to save her, but unfortunately she didn't make it...

I say, hero, you can't blame me for this. I do business honestly, and every slave I have is purchased legitimately. I have never had any slave-catching teams or ships under my control..."

A businessman's instinct to seek profit and avoid harm made Dido mix lies with the truth. When the girl came into his hands, she had indeed been tortured beyond recognition. He had witnessed this kind of thing many times. Instead of spending a lot of effort to save her, she would probably become stupid or disabled in the future. Death was actually a relief.

Of course, the main reason is that it is already a loss-making business where you have to help others clean up their mess, and it would be simply not worth it to invest more.

Every year, there are many people who are sold as slaves because they cannot pay the full amount of heavenly gold. Some kingdoms generally have unified political institutions for this type of people.

Those who were capable, skilled, or good-looking were mostly either directly intercepted by local nobles or sold to large slave trading teams, among which the Don Quixote family was considered the leader in the industry.

Those slaves who were not particularly outstanding would be packaged and sold to small merchants like Dido. Overall, it was still very profitable, but it was inevitable that some of the goods would be damaged by the old hands at the bottom. They would just grit their teeth and pretend they didn't see anything and help deal with it, which would also facilitate future transactions. It was a normal thing during their purchasing period.

Actofi Caesar did not expose the other party's obvious half-concealed lies, nor did he listen to the other party's ghostly nonsense. He was a little dazed at the moment, shocked by the other party's words about serious business.

Yes, I seem to have forgotten that the slave trade is a legitimate profit, and it is a law supported by the World Government and the Celestial Dragons. I am the one who has violated the law. To these slave traders, I am a plunderer, robber, thug and criminal no different from those pirates.

Although the joint regulations of the member states of the World Government do not explicitly support the slave trade, the vast majority of nobles, led by the world's nobles, instinctively believe that this is a normal phenomenon and there is no need for any discussion.

……

In order to maintain world peace and stability, the royal families of all member countries of the World Government will always own and inherit the kingdoms. Without special circumstances, the World Government has no right to interfere in the internal affairs of the member countries.

The World Government will establish the Navy, Army and CIPHERPOL agencies to maintain world stability and safeguard the interests of member states, while establishing and maintaining stable trade routes and strengthening economic exchanges and trade security among member states.

Therefore, each member country must assume the obligation to support and maintain the descendants of the twenty kings who created the era of peace, as well as the costs of the normal operation of the world government.

……

The fees in this joint treaty between the member countries of the World Government are actually the so-called heavenly gold.

The gold in heaven is not only used to honor the 19 highest families of the Celestial Dragons in the world, it is also the fund to maintain the operation of the World Government, the funding of several major violent agencies under the World Government, and the material basis to support all research of the World Government.

The high amount of Heavenly Gold has put a sharp increase in pressure on many kingdoms that are not considered wealthy. When all citizens are exploited to the extreme, when groups within the member states are unable to afford the cost, their only surplus value is themselves.

But not a member state? According to the Treaty of the United Nations of the World Government, it is not recognized or protected by the World Government.

Perhaps it was because of his age, or perhaps it was because he could feel the sadness of life's withering after becoming a waiter, but when Actophrenia Caesar set foot on the sea again, he was no longer as determined to uphold his own justice as he had imagined.

Caesar was no longer as swift and decisive as he had been in the past, nor was he as passionate as he was in his youth. Whenever he was alone, the resentment of the dead always made Caesar unconsciously recall the people he had killed. For the first time, he learned to reflect and to no longer look at the world from a self-centered perspective.

But there are some things he can't figure out, or rather, even though he has figured it out, he is unwilling to admit it. No one is willing to deny his own life.

"My friend, if possible, I hope you can let go of my brothers and Mr. Dido." The voice of the middle-aged man came from behind the crowd. A figure who was not very tall came from behind the bound people. Beside him, followed a group of guys holding pistols and with fierce eyes.

The middle-aged man did not shout as fiercely as Caesar had expected. Instead, he walked calmly in front of him. The young men behind him who dared not speak out were obviously warned in advance and controlled their tempers, not shouting and making noises.

"My name is Ike. I'm the controller of this area. What do you call me, friend?" He wasn't very enthusiastic, nor was he tense. Ike looked at Caesar calmly, and it was obvious that he didn't regard this as a conflict.

"Actophaeus Caesar!" Caesar's words were brief, his pronunciation clear, and magnetic, matching his neat suit, and he looked quite polite.

"Then I'm sorry to ask, Mr. Caesar, why did you interfere with the transaction?" Standing in front of the tall Caesar, Ike's figure was a little petite, but his tone was sharp. Avoiding unnecessary armed conflicts does not mean giving in blindly. Appropriate strength can reflect one's attitude and position.

"Looking for someone!" Caesar's words were still brief. He lowered his head and looked at Ike. "In a sense, I think I found him."

"In that case, Mr. Caesar, there should be no reason for you to interfere in this transaction anymore, right?" Ike smiled and asked Caesar to leave.

"No, I think I should do something else. After all, I saw some children here who are not very willing." Caesar also smiled, and the cold light in his eyes made people feel cold in their hearts.

"You don't have to do this." Ike was not frightened by his eyes, his face remained calm, "Although Dido said mostly nice things because of his businessman's nature, it is undeniable that those are also facts.

If they are lucky, they will indeed live a much better life as slaves than they do now. As for bad luck, there is nothing they can do. They are already living in hell. If they fall a few levels lower, there is no need to continue struggling to survive. "

Ike pointed at those ragged people and said, "They are actually quite stupid. They know that it is difficult for them to even survive, but they keep giving birth to children one after another.

Whether it is because of the biological instinct of reproduction or the desire to continue bloodline, these children have been born into this world.

They don’t have many choices in their lives. They can either live with their heads down like their parents, or become a villain or pirate like me and oppress others for the rest of their lives, or take a gamble by becoming a slave. If they are lucky, they can become a servant or maid of a rich noble family. If they are smart, they can become a loyal servant trusted by the other party for generations, which can also change the fate of their descendants.”

"Your words are just as unconvincing as that of the businessman." Caesar grinned and looked down at Ike, his white teeth neatly white and cold. "If this is their own choice, I will not interfere, but how many of them are willing? I can see clearly whether they are the chips in your transaction or the gamblers standing at the gambling table.

Don't try to mislead me with such words, Ike, this is much more dangerous than you think."

A pale golden chain emerged from the void, and the cold touch pressed against Ike's skin, causing him to involuntarily get goose bumps, but his expression remained solemn.

"So what can you do? Kill us, or let my cargo go?

Mr. Caesar, I have to say that this so-called heroic behavior is boring and ridiculous. I admit that you are powerful, which is why we can choose peaceful negotiations in such a situation.

But simply killing us won't change anything except plunging the area into greater chaos.

When I appear next, they will most likely still repeat everything I am doing now, because this is the law of survival in the land of disorder, unless a strong man like you is willing to stay here and rewrite the new order?

As for letting them go? Look at their appearance. They will either be bullied for their whole lives, or become assholes like us. In the end, it's just a new cycle. Nothing you do will change anything."

"You have convinced me a little." Caesar slowly stood up from the table. His upright figure blocked the sunlight. The huge shadow cast a shadow on Ike's heart, causing him to still feel a little uneasy. "But you are wrong about one thing. It's not that nothing has changed. No matter what they become in the future, at least at this moment, their right to choose is back in their own hands.

Release the children you kidnapped and send them back to where they came from. Believe me, I will keep an eye on you. You are a smart person, you know how to choose, business and life must have a more valuable one. "

"Damn it, I've tolerated you for so long." Gunshots rang out behind Ike, and he finally couldn't help but explode again.

Unfortunately, the price came much faster than he had imagined. The sound of breaking bones and splattering flesh and blood made everyone's legs tremble.

The man bloomed behind Ike like a flower, white and blood intertwined, swaying and falling under the golden chains, bringing a chill to people's bones.

Some people in the crowd screamed, but because of the cold chains on their bodies, they were unable to move and almost fainted.

"Okay, you have the final say!" Ike nodded, biting his back teeth. He knew he had no choice, but the other party would not do anything unnecessary.