I slowly took the paper package into my hand, touched it, and found it was still a bit hard.
I took a closer look, and it was all grayish-white powder.
There's also a faint smell of seawater mixed in with it.
Will this even work?
I spoke with some skepticism.
To be honest, when I saw what this fat Zhou took out, my eyes went black.
Even if you told me this was just a lump of flour, I would believe it, let alone that it was unprocessed sea cucumber.
It just doesn't have any of the feeling I had in the pottery jar from the boss.
It was as if it were lifeless white flour.
"Don't worry about whether it's useful or not. You have a contract on you now. If you don't take this back and hand it over to Blue Armor in time to keep the agreement, there are probably other clauses that you haven't discovered."
Listening to what Fatty Zhou said, my heart pounded even harder.
What does this mean?
What other terms are we unaware of?
I couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, at that point, it might not be as simple as just dying here."
Fatty Zhou's words were very solemn.
"Why should we? We've come to see you as requested, so why are there additional conditions? Blue Armor didn't tell us any of this."
Fatty Zhou pursed his lips and tried his best to lower the corners of his eyes.
There was just a hint of sympathy in his eyes.
"I already told you, that was just for your benefit."
Such are the superficial rules: one set of rules is written openly, but all the hidden clauses are concealed underneath.
Blue Armor summoned you to see me not simply to have you complete a contract, but to lead you here.
Then, through certain individuals, we'll get rid of you.
Eliminate us?
I was completely bewildered.
"Using someone else to do the dirty work?"
I glanced at Yiyi, the girl took a step back, her voice trembling slightly, "We have no grudge against this blue-armored man, why would he do this!"
"No grudges or hatred?"
Fatty Zhou chuckled, his voice carrying a hint of coldness.
"A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime!"
Fatty Zhou just chuckled.
I understand, this is clearly referring to dew-covered branches.
However, according to Lan Jia, he clearly values this child quite a bit, and the things he experienced before don't fit his idea of stealing our Ninglu Branch at all.
I simply cannot reconcile the image of Lan Jia with that of a greedy apprentice.
However, what Boss Pang said did not seem to be a lie at all.
My heart skipped a beat. Could it be that this blue-armored guy had ill intentions from the very beginning when he approached us?
He helped us get into the shallows, helped us send letters, and contact this person, but it was all a pretense.
Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have included these hidden clauses, or even the other party to the contract, Zhou Pangzi, wouldn't have known the truth.
In other words, the blue-armored creature initially approached us because of the dew-covered branches.
But I still can't figure it out.
"If he wanted something from us, he could have just robbed us. Why did he have to go through all this trouble?"
"Just rob it?"
Old Zhou shook his head.
"You guys managed to break into this Dragon Palace and get to that dilapidated house, so I guess you came from the deep sea."
He's not stupid. If he had gone down from the shallows, he would have just died there without saying a word. But those of you who came back alive from the deep sea must have some tricks up your sleeves.
"Look at him, does he look like he'd actually fight you head-on?"
As he spoke, Old Zhou was also a little surprised.
Indeed, how could I not have thought of that?
If that blue-armored guy wants to take the Dewdrop Branch from us, he needs to have his own resources.
But given his appearance, he had no other offensive capabilities besides that cane.
If he were to confront us head-on, even disregarding the fact that I just came from the deep sea, he would likely see the lightning sword beside me.
Thinking about this immediately made me feel at peace.
At this moment, Lei Jijian was trembling with anger in my mind.
"That bastard is so cunning! Master, let's go now, let's go back and settle the score with him right now!"
At this point, I could tell from Lei Jijian's voice that he was very angry.
"Don't be impulsive!"
I quickly steadied the Thunderstrike Sword. "If we go to him now, we'll be playing right into his hands. We failed to save the Dewdrop Branch, which is probably due to one of his additional conditions—we're destined to die!"
At this moment, I was still looking at Fatty Zhou.
The game already contained a hint of pleading.
According to him, he should be completely unaware of anything, while Lan Jia is the mastermind behind it all.
Although I also have some doubts about whether this is something the fat man in front of me made up to put us in a dilemma.
After all, we have absolutely no idea whether the blue armor is good or bad.
If it's not a three-way standoff, there's no way to know who's telling the truth.
But what this fat man is saying is also impeccable.
"Mr. Zhou, since you know so much, why don't you just give us the usable sea marrow and we'll find someone to extract it?"
We're begging you!
And it wasn't just me at that moment; Yiyi also almost understood what I meant.
It also carries a pleading tone.
"Yes, we really have no other choice now. It's uncertain whether the sea marrow powder will even work. We're just sitting here waiting to die. Please, even if it's just to save us, share some of what we have with us!"
At this moment, Fatty Zhou sighed, took two steps toward the chef's door, and then looked back at us.
He seemed very troubled.
"It's not entirely hopeless. I sent that guy to dig for herbs. He also has the distress suit I gave him. If he's still alive, we'll definitely hear from him within three days. During these three days, you can stay here with me."
"And if that guy hasn't given me a message by three days, then I'm really out of options..."
Hearing this, I felt there was still some room for negotiation.
But if that guy really doesn't send a message back, or if he just runs out from the shallows, then we've been waiting for nothing.
Three days is enough time for many agreements to take effect.
It's not just about meeting Boss Zhou; there's another layer, including the terms and conditions.
Those additional things.
We can't just sit here and wait to die.
So I tried to persuade him with kind words and said a few words to that fat Zhou.
As I was saying this, I used the same trick again, took out a pack of cigarettes for him, and took one out to light it.
But Fatty Zhou kept refusing, saying that he was too fat and had given up this stuff a long time ago.
"Okay, if three days isn't enough, I'll go find it myself!"
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