Chapter 3639: Refining
Chapter 3639: Refining
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Cao Ge’s group of players disembarked and immediately began taking countermeasures.
Cassbin had made it clear that the person who issued the material seizure order behind the scenes was Duke Windy.
They had not known Duke Windy before. Earlier, Cao Ge had tried sending gifts several times to establish contact, but although the other party accepted the gifts, nothing was done in return, and the favorability rating did not increase at all.
Helpless, they could only go to their own backer.
The Empire’s Grand Princess Willow.
Willow was upright in character and had previously led Imperial soldiers to repel pirate invasions several times. She was deeply respected in the military, and this Chamber of Commerce had also obtained its entry qualification through her recommendation.
After hearing the report, Willow’s first reaction, like the harbor guards, was disbelief.
The strength of Cao Ge’s team was indeed good, and that was precisely why Willow had recommended them to join the Imperial Chamber of Commerce.
But it should not have been strong enough to wipe out the Skeleton Guild, right?
"I understand. I will look into this matter in detail."
Willow immediately sent her subordinates to investigate.
Very soon, the subordinate hurried back and whispered a few words into Willow’s ear.
Upon hearing this, Willow’s expression changed slightly.
"Your Highness, what happened?"
"The Seth Chamber of Commerce was previously attacked by the Skeleton Guild and suffered a large loss of high-concentration sapphire crystals. They claimed that this batch of crystals was the missing shipment. They are now gathering evidence, and once the evidence is confirmed, all of you will face imprisonment."
"Your Highness, please believe us..."
"If this matter is indeed not done by you, I will not allow the Empire to wrongly accuse anyone."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
The players thanked her and left the palace, trying to find a breakthrough elsewhere.
Two hours later, the players regrouped at a seaside hotel.
Everyone looked at each other and saw helplessness in each other’s eyes.
In the past, NPCs whose favorability rating they had maxed out would run away immediately once they heard it was an order personally issued by a duke.
What should they do?
What evidence could the Seth Chamber of Commerce produce tomorrow to prove that this batch of ore had been stolen from them?
Just as everyone was feeling troubled, Howell rushed into the reception hall.
"We have a problem. Several crew members left under the cover of night. I checked, and someone saw them sneak into the cargo hold and do something before leaving."
It was over!
Cao Ge shot up from his seat when he heard the bad news, "Howell! What happened to you? Didn’t I tell you to keep an eye on them?!"
He had clearly anticipated that there was a mole in the team and had already instructed Howell to monitor everyone.
And yet they still got tricked!
"Sorry, we were understaffed, and the military forward troop base was attacked by unknown personnel not long ago."
Cao Ge gritted his teeth and forced himself to calm down, asking, "Did you find out what they did?"
"Not yet. I suspect the sapphire crystals on the ship may have been tampered with. We may be in trouble tomorrow."
"Cassbin! It must be that guy! Without his permission, those crew members couldn’t have boarded the ship at all!"
The more they thought about it, the angrier they became.
Cassbin usually took a lot of their kickbacks, and when trouble came, he was the first to stab them in the back.
Everyone realized this was a huge problem, but after thinking for a long time, they still could not find a way to turn things around. In the end, their eyes all turned toward Meng Qingyu.
They were out of options.
Maybe... they should ask Fang Heng for help?
Fang Heng had just returned from the dimensional world.
The overall situation of the zombie team was good. Constructology and summoning studies were steadily improving. He had slightly optimized the production line and even attended a preliminary round of the Martial Apex Tournament before slowly returning to the Black Sea World.
Then Fang Heng saw a group of players in the meeting room with furrowed brows and worried expressions.
"What? You ran into trouble?"
"Sorry, Your Majesty. We failed in our duties."
"Oh? What happened?"
Meng Qingyu briefly explained the situation.
Fang Heng frowned as he listened. "We spent quite a long time digging up those sapphire crystals. They really managed to get evidence?"
"It’s difficult to forge cargo manifests, but not impossible. We suspect they tampered with something on the ship, and we will be in a very passive position."
Cao Ge gritted his teeth. "The worst part isn’t even that. As long as there is doubt, our goods will be temporarily seized. We won’t be able to sell them, and our faction contribution points won’t increase."
"If the Imperial Chamber of Commerce selection ends in two days, even if we get the goods back, it will be too late."
Fang Heng understood.
So the other side not only wanted to steal the ore, but also wanted to block their qualification for the Imperial Chamber of Commerce.
Playing dirty, huh?
Fang Heng shrugged.
It seemed these people really couldn’t handle it.
Then he would try his method.
"Boss Fang."
Cao Ge suddenly felt a cold wind and shivered slightly. He said, "I personally suggest we avoid direct conflict with the Empire."
"Alright."
Fang Heng smiled faintly. "I understand your situation. Actually, we don’t need to worry about what they do. We just need to find a way to sell this batch of goods. Once it’s converted into money, they can’t possibly claim that money is theirs, right?"
Huh?
The players exchanged looks, confused.
It made sense.
But sell it?
The goods were still detained at the harbor.
How were they supposed to sell it?
Fang Heng took paper and pen from a subordinate and quickly wrote down a list of materials. He said, "I need these materials. How fast can you gather them?"
Meng Qingyu took the list, glanced at it, and passed it to Cao Ge.
"Most of them are ordinary materials, but the quantity you need is quite large..." Cao Ge thought for a moment. "I’ll buy them from the black market. I can get them in two hours."
"Go. As fast as possible. After you get them, pack them and send them there."
Fang Heng nodded and pointed toward a deserted stretch of coastline in the distance.
Huh?
Everyone looked in the direction he pointed, even more confused.
Send them to the shore?
What was he planning to do now?
...
Three hours later.
Midnight.
Under the cover of darkness, Howell led a group of sailors carrying supplies to the agreed coastline.
Looking at the barren shore, Howell was momentarily stunned.
Where was everyone?
They had rushed through the night and barely managed to gather the supplies within two hours, yet not a single person was in sight.
"Howell!"
Following the voice, Howell looked toward a figure behind a large rock on the shore and felt slightly relieved. He quickly walked forward.
"Commander, captains, mission accomplished. The first batch of goods has been delivered. The rest is still on the way. It will take some time to transport everything."