Mystery: I Married the Queen of Mystery

The "Punisher" coldly looked at the laughing crowd, and after the laughter subsided a little, he said, "Anyone who provides useful clues will receive a reward of 500 pounds;

"If the clues provided can determine the other party's whereabouts, a reward of 3,000 pounds will be given."

The laughter stopped immediately, and everyone was seriously memorizing the blurry face on the portrait, preparing to mobilize all their resources to search after returning.

It's rare to have a bounty as high as this for a missing person task, and providing clues alone can earn a reward. Everyone wants to try their luck with such a task.

Audis thought to himself: The Storm Church is really going all out this time. "Sea King" must be furious.

After the "Punisher's" mission was announced, the trading began again.

As the information exchange meeting was coming to an end, Audis received another note. He opened it and glanced at it: I will return twenty minutes after the meeting ends, hoping to seek your help.

Audis put away the note and said to the person who gave him the note, "Okay."

Soon, the information exchange reached the last row, where a man in his thirties with red hair said, "I'm selling information about a small island where ancient ruins were discovered."

Immediately, someone asked, "What magical items or valuable things were found there?"

"It seems to have been looted once, and only a very sturdy wall was found," the red-haired man said.

This answer didn't cause uproarious laughter, but some people chuckled, and others mocked, "Are we going to transport that wall back and build a wall in Bayam?"

Another person said, "It's not impossible, after all, you can't buy bricks in Bayam's North and East districts."

This remark made many people laugh, because Bayam's industrial area is in the South district, and you can only buy building materials such as bricks and cement there.

The red-haired man blushed and said, "That wall is very strange. I've used many methods, but I can't cause any damage to it.

"Moreover, many 'Ancient Giant Writings' were found on it."

Everyone was slightly stunned, and then someone said, "But, it's still just a wall, isn't it?"

A wall really doesn't have any investment value.

After hearing that there were "Ancient Giant Writings" on it, Audis was somewhat interested: "Are you sure those are Ancient Giant Writings?"

The red-haired man quickly said, "Yes, 'Captain.' I asked a professional to look at it, but he only knew that they were 'Ancient Giant Writings' but didn't know what the words meant."

Audis smiled and said, "I've been studying this kind of writing recently. Sell me this information, and I'll take a look when I have time."

"Okay," the red-haired man said, "15... no, 10 pounds."

Everyone thought this guy was really lucky to have met a buyer who was interested in "Ancient Giant Writings", otherwise, no one would want this ruin information at all.

"15 pounds," Audis said generously, "But besides writing down the specific coordinates, you also need to tell me what precautions to take when exploring? What methods did you use to try and break down the wall?"

"Okay, okay, okay," the red-haired man took the pen and paper and immediately began to write furiously.

While the information exchange continued, seven or eight minutes later, Audis obtained the information he bought for 15 pounds: The specific location is southwest of Tiana Island, about 320 nautical miles away.

Audis recalled the nautical charts he had recently seen. It belonged to the western end of the Rosed Archipelago, and this distance had not yet reached Mid-Range Island.

During the Age of Great Navigation more than a hundred years ago, a total of three routes were opened up from the Furious Sea.

One is on the westernmost side, passing through Thanos Island and Bodo Island, reaching Caesar Harbor in the Southern Continent.

This is the first route opened up by Emperor Rosell and is currently mainly controlled by the Intis Republic.

The central route starts from the western part of the Dici Bay, passes through Mid-Range Island, and reaches the Southern Continent.

Although the northern section of this route is in southern Rune, the Kingdom of Rune rarely takes this route because there are fewer ports for supplies.

Ships from the Fenebort Kingdom and some small countries in the Northern Continent will take this route.

The third route is the eastern route controlled by Rune, starting from Plitz Harbor, passing through Damir Harbor, Bansi Harbor, Tiana Harbor, and other ports, and arriving at the Rosed Archipelago.

At this time, there are two choices: one is to sail east to Bayam, the capital of the Rosed Archipelago.

After years of operation by Rune, this place is a relatively prosperous area among the colonies.

Or continue south, passing through Dilius Harbor, to reach the Southern Continent.

In the Sunia Sea, there is also a route that can reach the Southern Continent, starting from Sunia Island, passing through the Gargas Archipelago, and then sailing all the way on the Sunia Sea, which can also bypass the Furious Sea to reach the Southern Continent.

But the problem is that after supplying at the Gargas Archipelago, there will be no ports for resupply before reaching the Southern Continent.

The Fursack Empire once wanted to use this route to establish a colony in the Southern Continent, but because it was too far and difficult to supply.

Although the Sunia Sea is calmer than the "Furious Sea", it is also the sea. Affected by the "God War Ruins" in the eastern part of this sea area, there are often bad weather conditions.

On such a vast sea, once a ship is injured in bad weather, it is basically difficult to reach its destination.

At the same time, the carefully trained sailors also sank with the ship.

Soon, the Fursack Empire realized that this route was not worth the cost. Therefore, the Fursack Empire still passes through the Misty Sea, bypasses half of the Northern Continent, and then takes the eastern or central route to enter the Southern Continent.

Of course, the so-called route being controlled by a certain country only means that the country has built naval bases there.

But the sea is too vast, and those military bases cannot completely block the entire route.

Usually, not only ships from other countries sail on the route, but pirate ships also often shuttle through it.

Only in wartime can the naval vessels there wantonly attack ships from other countries, but they can only intercept a part of them.

At the information exchange meeting, the island location provided by the red-haired man is between the central route and the eastern route.

There are no safe routes there, no large or famous islands, and many sea areas with "furious" weather.

But those places are a paradise for pirates and adventurers, because there is not too high economic value, the navy rarely patrols those places, making these places almost a power vacuum.

Below this information is the red-haired man's detailed description of the island: There are no large beasts on the island, so there is basically no need to worry about this aspect of danger.

But one very strange thing is that the vegetation in one area will suddenly disappear and reappear after two or three minutes.

We have tried to dig down, but found nothing.

But be careful not to stand in that position all the time, because after people disappear for two or three minutes and then return, they will turn into monsters.

To prevent accidents, we marked that location.

The wall is in front of the island's only mountain. Not far away, there are some ancient buildings, but most of them have collapsed, and everything has been moved away.

Strangely, that thick wall is built close to the rock wall, as if it blocked an opening in the mountain.

We used many methods, even powerful explosives, but none of them caused any damage to the wall.

This must be an unusual wall, but unfortunately we don't understand why it is so unusual? And what treasures are hidden inside?

After Audis finished reading the other party's description, he also felt that this place was very unusual and worth taking the time to explore.

A dozen minutes later, when the last participant had completed the transaction, the information exchange session officially ended.

Everyone felt a little unsatisfied. They had never imagined that exchanging information could be such a simple matter, and that the efficiency could be so high.

They will definitely participate in such an exchange meeting next time.

Audis smiled and said, "This has been a successful gathering. I think many of you have obtained the information you need, or sold the information for a good price.

"Such gatherings will become the norm in the future. Pay attention to the news in the GG column on the third page of the 'Rosed Daily'. As long as you see a GG published for the large-scale purchase of herbs, there will be news about the gathering time in it.

"The third number appearing in the GG plus 2 is the date of participation, the fourth number plus 2 is the hour of participation, and the last number ignoring the 0 appearing in it is the minute of participation."

The reason why Audis still uses the GG for purchasing herbs to summon the gathering is because there is generally no large-scale purchase of herbs.

Moreover, herbs have fixed sales and purchase channels, and almost no one else would choose to publish such GGs in newspapers.

So this is almost Audis's exclusive channel.

"In addition," Audis paused and then said, "I also sell some 'low-sequence' extraordinary materials here. For example, I currently have 'Tongue of the Azure Toad', 'Fruit of the Colorful Poppy', and 'Tail Feather of the Firebird'.

"The prices are all 150 pounds. Those who need them can contact me after the meeting ends.

"Well, as I just said, there will be someone on duty here, and the person on duty can contact me.

"If you need other extraordinary materials, you can also try your luck here, but currently I only have 'low-sequence' materials."

The participants were all stunned, not expecting that the "Captain" had such channels.

At this time, the "Punisher" member immediately said, "I want the 'Tail Feather of the Firebird'."

That is one of the main materials for becoming a "Glorifier." Generally, members of the Storm Church who encounter the main materials for the "Glorifier" pathway will buy them immediately.

Even if it's left to mold in the warehouse, they will buy it without hesitation.

Audis nodded: "Okay."

As he spoke, he took out the materials stored in the wooden box and completed the transaction with the "Punisher" member.

"Now we will proceed to the final part of this gathering."

Audis smiled and said: "I will designate six official members."

"For the next gathering, these six official members can directly participate without needing to purchase admission tickets."

"Moreover, at the end of the next gathering, two more official member slots will be added, and I and the six official members will decide which two applicants to admit."

At this time, Audis brought up the rules for "official members" again. Now, the participants were no longer as indifferent as before, and they all began to hope that the "Captain" would choose them.

Next, Audis quickly selected six people, including the first seller and buyer to initiate a transaction at this gathering, as well as four participants who were obviously backed by an organization.

For example, the "Punisher" member. At sea, everyone needs the power of the Storm Church.

Moreover, this member was very active in the transaction process, completing five transactions alone.

The code name chosen by the "Punisher" member for himself was "Wave."

After everyone had confirmed their code names, Audis announced the official end of the gathering.

Many people, because they did not become official members, left with obvious disappointment, forgetting their previous disdain for the so-called "official members."

They also forgot their previous determination: to definitely not participate in a gathering that required a 5-pound fee.

At this time, they felt that just asking the "Captain" to identify the authenticity of the information was well worth the 5 pounds.

After everyone had basically left, Bishop Deanne stepped forward and smiled: "Such a gathering is definitely the most efficient information exchange gathering I have ever seen."

Audis also smiled and said: "Soon, this place will become the information exchange center of the Rosed Islands."

"Looking forward to that day."

Then, Bishop Deanne said goodbye and left.

After all the participants had left, Audis said to Bazel, who was cleaning up the venue: "You don't need to do these tasks."

"In the afternoon, please help me find two clever male servants, and pay them a higher salary, after all, this job has certain risks."

"Also, here, take this first."

Audis took out a round button: "As long as you press the button, my pocket watch will light up, and I will know that you have something to look for me for."

Bazel carefully took the button: "So convenient!"

"Don't be so careful."

Audis smiled and said: "To prevent accidental touches, I deliberately made it so that it requires force to press down."

Bazel nodded, but still carefully put it away.

Audis added: "I will not be in Bayam for the next few days. If there is an emergency, use this button to contact me."

"However, I will be here this afternoon and this evening."

Because he had to deal with the follow-up matters of the gathering.

At this time, the man who had handed over the note earlier, hoping to come back to meet with Audis after the gathering, knocked on the open door: "Hope I didn't disturb you."

"No."

Audis said: "Come in."

As he spoke, he sat back in the seat belonging to the "Captain."

The man entered from the side, took off his mask, and spread his arms exaggeratedly: "My friend, I didn't expect you to have planned such a grand event."

He was Rupert Sean, who had dark brown hair and looked very talkative.

Rupert was one of the few people in the venue wearing a mask, and he had barely spoken throughout the entire event. Audis had not recognized him.

This made Audis wonder: I don't know if the sociability he showed was a disguise, or if his taciturnity was a disguise?

He stood up and smiled: "I didn't expect you to participate in the gathering either."

Overall, Audis had a good impression of Rupert.

After the two shook hands and sat down facing each other again, Rupert looked at Bazel: "What I didn't expect was that you actually became the 'Captain's' assistant."

Bazel just smiled and said nothing.

Rupert did not continue this topic, but instead asked Audis more seriously: "Can I ask you for a favor? Um, it has certain risks."

Audis also became serious: "What kind of reward can you pay?"

It's nothing to treat someone to a drink sometimes, but when it comes to serious matters, you definitely have to talk seriously.

"A charm that can temporarily make oneself lucky or make the target unlucky."

Rupert smiled helplessly: "But I don't have it in my hand. I can only get it after helping you."

"I hope my credit will make you believe me, and temporarily pay the reward with a 'promise'."

Audis pondered for a moment and then said: "Tell me what you want me to help you with first."

"My teacher is in danger, and this danger comes from some extraordinary people with good strength."

Rupert described: "However, before that, we had agreed that if he suddenly disappeared, I would go to a farmer named Claire Collin."

"But the problem is, I've been looking for several days, and although there is a farmer named Blair around Bayam, his last name is not Collin."

"However, I learned from a slave trader that he recently transported a batch of slaves to the central part of Blue Mountain Island, including a farmer named Blair Collin."

He paused and added: "The reason why the slave trader remembers so clearly is because few slaves have a first and last name, and it's also called Blair, which sounds quite pleasing to the ear."

"Just as I was preparing to go to the central area of Blue Mountain Island, I suddenly learned that the slave trader had been killed."

"Obviously, my teacher's enemies are also looking for him, which made me realize that it's best to find a helper before entering the central area. I hope I can get your help."

After a large number of traitors suddenly appeared within the "School of Life," Rupert did not dare to trust those friends within the "School," as they were likely to be traitors, or had already been co-opted by traitors.

And previously, "Potion Professor" Beverly failed to catch Rupert, which made the traitors post a high reward for Rupert at many extraordinary gatherings!

This made Rupert not very relieved about those friends outside the "School."

After all, those friends are basically bounty hunters, and it is impossible to ignore such a reward.

Finally, Rupert thought of the "Gourmand" named "Gale". First of all, the two have some friendship, and "Gale" also seems to belong to an extraordinary organization. As long as he reveals that he can get a charm that makes people "lucky", the other party will likely open up a channel for the organization and will not take himself to exchange for a reward.

But Rupert suddenly discovered that he couldn't even contact the other party.

At this time, Rupert's passive ability as a "Lucky One" helped him again. He heard people say that someone was going to hold an information exchange meeting here.

Originally, he wanted to post a task here to find "Gale", but he didn't expect that after the exchange meeting had been going on for a while, he noticed that the convener of the exchange meeting, "Captain" was "Gale"!

So Rupert handed "Gale" a note, hoping to meet after the gathering.

After Audis carefully listened to Rupert's description, he thought for a moment before asking: "You are an extraordinary person of the 'Monster' pathway, right?"

Rupert was slightly startled: "Yes… Yes, I am."

Audis asked again: "Is your teacher a 'Councilor'?"

Rupert was immediately very surprised: "You…"

Then he laughed and said: "I should have realized long ago that you are not an ordinary extraordinary person."

In fact, Rupert had realized this when he saw Audis using a sealed artifact with "Travel" abilities.

Now, he just said that to be polite.

Bazel, who was listening, could tell that "Captain Gale" had seen through Rupert's details, but Rupert didn't know "Captain Gale's" details.

He smiled slightly: With such a well-informed captain, you can completely avoid initiating battles that misjudge the enemy's strength.

Rupert considered for a moment and then said: "My teacher's teacher is a 'Councilor'."

A Councilor of the "School of Life."

Audis slowly nodded, then pondered again before saying: "The reward I want is for you to get on my ship and be my first mate."

Rupert was slightly stunned: "You… You have your own ship?"

"I'll have one soon."

Audis smiled: "When the time comes, I will go to sea as a pirate while holding information exchange meetings."

This answer surprised Rupert a bit. Originally, he thought "Gale" was a representative or intelligence officer sent by an organization to Bayam.

He pondered for a moment and then asked: "What are your specific plans for going to sea? Or, who are your specific robbery targets?"

"Pirates and merchant ships."

"You don't rob passenger ships or ordinary people's ships?"

"It's boring, I don't rob them."

Audis said: "And I'm also very interested in finding treasures at sea."

Rupert smiled: "Fighting pirates, robbing merchant ships, and finding treasures."

"Haha, this is my long-cherished goal! Okay, I'll join your pirate group!"

Audis smiled slightly: "Then, this time, I won't charge any reward for helping you find your teacher, but all the spoils of war during the action belong to me."

Rupert nodded: "Thank you, Captain!"

"You can call me Captain Gale from now on."

"Okay, Captain Gale."

Audis pointed to Bazel: "This is our ship's first mate."

"Hello, First Mate." Rupert said politely, "I've heard many stories about you."

Bazel smiled and said, "I've also heard about you, and your recent bounty."

"But don't worry, I'm not a bounty hunter anymore."

Rupert scratched his head with a smile: "Then I can rest assured!"

Audis asked, "When do we leave?"

"Next Thursday, or the Thursday after next."

Audis was slightly stunned: "It has to be a Thursday?"

"Yes," Rupert said with a smile, "This is my teacher's instruction, and it's said to be my teacher's teacher's instruction. They are very sensitive to numbers or things like that."

Audis slowly nodded. Could it be that their spirituality senses that departing on this day will increase the probability of success?

Then he thought: Upon reaching the demigod level of the "Monster" pathway, they seem even more like charlatans than the "Seer". Rupert's statement just now could also be interpreted as: This old man has calculated that Thursday is an auspicious day for travel, suitable for teacher-student gatherings, avoiding petty people, with noble people assisting, and great things can be accomplished.

Of course, the two elements of sunglasses and a goatee are also indispensable.

Thinking of this, Audis smiled slightly and asked Rupert, "Do you want me to send you to another island to avoid trouble for a while?"

"No need." Rupert said, "I think staying in Bayam is safer."

After all, this is the largest city in the Roston Archipelago, very suitable for concealing one's tracks.

After discussing the specific departure time, Audis asked Rupert to leave first, and if he encountered any difficulties, to seek Bazel's help here.

Next, Audis and Bazel continued to wait for people to come seeking help.

…

Bayam, Church Street.

In the building opposite the Sea Breeze Church, "Sea Wave" Tier, who had returned from the intelligence exchange meeting, couldn't even bother with lunch. After briefly organizing the information, he came to the captain's office: "Captain, look at this."

He handed the five pieces of intelligence he had traded for to the captain of the "Punishers".

The captain glanced at it and suddenly looked up: "This is all the intelligence you traded for at the intelligence exchange meeting?"

"Yes!" Tier smiled and said, "I didn't expect there to be so much information about wanted criminals at this gathering."

The captain immediately said: "Summon all team members for a meeting… Wait a minute, we can't catch so many people. You summon the team members first, and I'll report this matter to the deacon."

Tier was slightly stunned: "Captain, it's lunchtime now."

"Knowing the whereabouts of five wanted criminals who once caused losses to the church, and you're still in the mood to eat?"

Tier was stunned: "That's true."

Immediately, he went to summon his colleagues, and in the subsequent brief meeting, he was appointed by the church's deacon as "Intelligence Specialist", specifically to participate in future intelligence exchange meetings.

…

Kent Lane, Wizard's Affairs Office.

Around one o'clock in the afternoon, the first person to trade for fake information arrived.

It was a man in his thirties, dressed neatly, with a clear difference in clothing and temperament from the information peddlers.

After entering the door, he saw that "Captain" was still there, and immediately took off his hat and said, "Mr. 'Captain', I traded for false information at the morning gathering."

Audis recalled slightly and said, "I remember you. You traded a message about the navy purchasing supplies with another participant."

"Yes." The man said with a wry smile, "Biddes told me that the navy was going to purchase a batch of tables and chairs recently. Besides being an adventurer, I also do some business."

"I only found out when I contacted the navy's logistics department that they had already purchased that batch of tables and chairs."

"And Biddes sold this information for a full 10 pounds!"

Doing business is a way for many adventurers to make money, or rather, most adventurers make money by exploiting information differences at sea, or by looking for opportunities to get rich everywhere.

Not every adventurer is as crazy as Gehrman Sparrow.

Audis asked, "Do you know the person who sold you the information?"

"I didn't know him before the gathering." The man said somewhat uneasily, "I asked someone to inquire about him just now. That person is called Biddes."

Moreover, he is a well-known local bully. After thinking for a long time, the man didn't dare to argue with him, but he didn't want to suffer this loss, so he came to "Captain" to try his luck.

The reason why he was uneasy was because he didn't ask "Captain" to help check the information at the time. He didn't know if "Captain" was willing to help with this matter? Did he dare to help with this matter?

The reason Audis stayed here was to deal with similar matters.

He had already realized through recent observations that exchanging information in Bayam was easier than in Backlund.

Because there are many people here who hope to obtain some information. Some are intelligence officers of pirates, and some are informants of the church, navy, or secret organizations.

Therefore, in this place, there are several times more information peddlers than in Backlund, because in this place, the commodity of "information" has a market.

But at the same time, this has spawned a large number of information peddlers without professional ethics. The so-called "spirit of contract" is basically a product established under the joint control of law and violent institutions.

Most of the Roston Archipelago is a place without the rule of law, so don't expect the people here to talk about the "spirit of contract". For them, adventurers like the man in front of Audis, with no background and a little money, are easy to deceive.

Audis's opening of an intelligence exchange meeting in Bayam is to reorganize the intelligence industry in this city. Therefore, he must manage this kind of thing.

Only in this way can the intelligence exchange meeting become a benchmark in the industry in the shortest possible time.

Audis asked again, "Do you know where Biddes is?"

"It is said that he often haunts the Tuna Bar and is an old friend of the bar's owner." The man quickly said.

At the same time, he realized that "Captain" was going to take care of this matter!

This made him very happy, with a feeling of a stone falling to the ground in his heart.

Audis stood up with great initiative and said, "Let's go, let's go to the Tuna Bar."

He said to Bazel, "You stay here. If you encounter a similar situation, let them wait a while, and help them sort out their demands. It's best to be like this… By the way, I haven't asked what your name is yet?"

The man quickly said, "Benny, my name is Benny."

Audis "Mmm"ed and said, "It's best to be like Mr. Benny, to know, or to check the other party's specific location first."

Bazel said, "Yes!"

He watched the captain and Benny leave quickly.

…

Bayam West District, in a dilapidated local building.

Carter, whose code name at the intelligence exchange meeting was "Coconut", is telling the bishop about his experience attending the gathering.

The bishop of the Sea God Church was a little surprised: "He really said that? Was that battle between 'Sea God' and 'Sea King' before?"

Carter immediately said, "Yes, many people heard his description."

The bishop thought for a while and said, "Wait outside for a while, I will report this matter to 'Sea God'."

After Carter went out, the bishop devoutly prayed to "Sea God", and then told "Sea God" that someone knew about the secret battle a few days ago, as well as detailed information about the intelligence exchange meeting and the appearance and characteristics of "Captain".

He prayed again and again, and after about half an hour, he received a reply from "Sea God": Send someone to participate in every subsequent gathering.

Klein on the gray fog was initially still sighing that Bayam was a place where dragons and tigers were hidden, and someone could roughly sort out the truth of the matter through those seemingly ordinary clues.

But when he heard that the other party was wearing a mask, he felt something was wrong.

After thinking carefully, Klein felt that: This guy is very likely to be "Mr. Xal"! After all, he is also in Bayam, and "Mr. Xal's" other identity, "Leader", is the famous intelligence boss of Backlund.

Leaving "Above the Gray Fog" and returning to the real world, Klein came out of the washroom and saw Danitz had returned, sitting in a chair staring blankly at a glass of water.

"Cough." Klein cleared his throat.

Danitz was so frightened that he shivered, and the glass of water in his hand almost fell to the ground.

Klein, playing the role of Gehrman Sparrow, asked, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." Danitz smiled and said, "I'm thinking about what to eat for dinner."

Klein stared at the other party coldly, and Danitz felt sweat dripping down the back of his head: "I… I met a very well-informed person today…"

Klein immediately realized: "You went to that intelligence exchange meeting?"

"Yes." Danitz then reacted: "You… you also know about that exchange meeting?"

Klein ignored the other party's topic and said in a commanding tone: "Draw the appearance of the convener, and indicate the height, hair color, and pupils."

Danitz was about to ask what this madman was going to do, but was glared back by the other party's cold eyes, and obediently went to draw a portrait.

After getting the masked portrait, Klein, with the ability of "Faceless", immediately realized: This is Mr. Xal!

Thank you again for providing help.

The author-kun thinks that the name of the pirate group should be "Sword of Daybreak", which has the meaning of "Sword of Dawn", which echoes Bernadette's forces, and the implication is very good, which is in line with some of the things the protagonist will do in the future.

Just now, the author-kun seems to have awakened a new ability: off-site help.

When encountering important name problems, you can solicit everyone's opinions to avoid some inappropriate names from appearing again.

Everyone may not imagine that the previous inappropriate names were already the result of the author-kun's best efforts. The key is that the author-kun's level of naming is so high ━ ( ￣ ー ￣ * | | | ━ ━

Finally, thank you again for everyone's help.