Chapter 398 "Golden Cod", Sudden Situation

Xia Nan was extremely satisfied with the culinary skills of the Three-Legged Sea Dog's kitchen.

He had never tasted anything like it. The seafood-flavored cream of mushroom soup perfectly combined fungi and aquatic ingredients. It retained the original fresh sweetness of the mushroom soup while adding a wonderful taste from the depths of the ocean without overshadowing the main flavor.

The side dishes of lemon-roasted oysters and a cold-cut bacon platter were also above average, allowing Xia Nan to enjoy the unique delicacies of this world for the first time in a long while.

After such a hearty meal, even the Sugar Tangerine served as a post-meal dessert seemed a bit sweeter.

He peeled the skin off, casually popped two segments into his mouth, and gently pressed them with his tongue. The plump flesh dissolved into a refreshing, slightly tart juice that washed away the last lingering greasiness on the tip of his tongue.

After filling his stomach and sorting out his accommodation, Xia Nan decided to take advantage of the fact that he had just spent a lot of money here to cut to the chase and ask the tavern owner for information about "Algae Scale" Dodd.

His gaze subconsciously swept over the wall behind and to the side of the counter.

Similar to the quest boards at the Adventurers' Association, a massive, light-colored wooden board was pinned to the wall with rusty iron nails. Layers upon layers of bounty notices were plastered across it. Some looked as though they had been there for a long time, their edges curled and yellowed. Even the portraits in the center of those bounties had blurred from the pervasive stench of alcohol, yet that only made the long string of numbers representing the bounty amounts below them stand out even more.

As a colossal organization whose sphere of influence covered the entire Aifala Continent, the Adventurers' Association cooperated with various factions, so bounty and wanted commissions were common.

But that didn't mean bounties could only be issued through the Association.

Often, especially for vicious thugs who had a severe negative impact on the organizations themselves, major factions would issue their own bounties and hunt them down, in addition to using the Adventurers' Association.

And for a place like the Three-Legged Sea Dog, with its high turnover of people and a motley mix of fish and dragons, it was a prime location for such notices.

It was safe to say that a new batch of bounties went up on the tavern's wall every few months, and adventurers who were short on cash and confident in their strength frequently looked for prey there.

Xia Nan had an idea.

He wasn't in a rush to make money; he just wanted to find a chance to memorize the portraits and names on all the wanted posters on the wall.

At the very least, he wanted them to look familiar.

That way, if he ever ran into enemies wanted by other factions in the future, he wouldn't miss the opportunity.

He could chop off their heads, bring them back to claim the bounty, and earn some extra cash.

Pondering this, he scanned the bounty board twice, but Xia Nan couldn't find the name "Algae Scale."

This left him with no way to start the carefully crafted script he had prepared in his mind.

He glanced again at Hera, the tavern owner wiping the cabinets behind the counter in front of him.

'I'm not good with words to begin with,' he thought. 'For a shrewd operator like Hera who has run a tavern in Barracuda Bay for years, clumsily fishing for information might only backfire.'

'It would be better to be direct, state my request, and let her name a price.'

'If the price is right, I'll accept it. If it's beyond my expectations, we can negotiate slowly.'

'This plays to my strengths and avoids my weaknesses, making the most of my 6 points in Charm.'

Pondering this, he ordered another glass of chilled ale.

Taking advantage of the moment Hera handed him the drink, Xia Nan spoke very directly.

"Hello, I'd like to buy some information from you."

Hearing this, Hera paused her steps, her emerald eyes subconsciously sweeping over Xia Nan twice.

She remained expressionless on the surface, but her heart suddenly skipped a beat.

'So it's finally coming?'

Seeing how much he enjoyed and was satisfied with his meal just a moment ago, she thought she had misunderstood the black-haired young man before her—who likely already had a Class Level—and assumed he was just an ordinary passing diner.

She hadn't expected him to be so patient, waiting until now to reveal his true intentions.

However, the Three-Legged Sea Dog had always been a gathering place for all sorts of local information, so it was perfectly normal to come here asking around.

Although his approach was much more direct than other adventurers visiting the tavern for the first time, it would, in a way, save both of them some time and effort.

A professional smile unconsciously appeared on her lips. Hera leaned her hands on the counter, leaning slightly forward, subconsciously adopting a body posture that signaled her desire to control the situation in preparation for the upcoming quote.

"Oh?"

"What kind of information? Let's hear it."

His sharp Perception instantly alerted Xia Nan to the subtly shifting atmosphere between them; they were no longer simply "merchant" and "customer."

Of course, he also noticed the tavern owner's inadvertently altered stance.

His resilient mind, high-intensity disciplined training, and confidence in his own strength allowed him to maintain his composure under the influence of her body language.

His expression remained unchanged, his tone calm.

"I need detailed information on 'Algae Scale' Dodd, including but not limited to his actual combat capabilities, professional info, combat techniques, faction distribution, and frequent hangouts."

'What are you trying to do!?'

If she couldn't guess his motive after such a blunt request for information from Xia Nan, Hera's years of working at the tavern would have been for nothing.

Recalling his lingering gaze on the bounty board just earlier, there was no doubt that this exceptionally young, black-haired adventurer had already marked "Algae Scale" as his target.

But—

Hera's face showed a rare expression of hesitation.

Truth be told, she actually did have information on "Algae Scale" Dodd.

She even knew far more about "Algae Scale" than Xia Nan could have imagined.

But that didn't mean she had to hand the information over just because Xia Nan made an offer.

As the owner of the Three-Legged Sea Dog, a very unique entity caught between the major factions of Barracuda Bay, she had to weigh the pros and cons.

Her emerald eyes shifted slightly, scrutinizing the black-haired young man before her with newfound seriousness, her gaze lingering on the two longswords on his back and the necklace around his neck that dipped deep beneath his armor.

Hera, with her dark green hair, looked thoughtful.

When it came down to it, there was really only one question:

Was Xia Nan worth investing in?

If he was just an arrogant fool who didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth, vainly hoping to use "Algae Scale" as a stepping stone to fame;

Or if he had some sort of grudge against Dodd and had rushed over to his death without figuring out his enemy's strength;

Selling the information on "Algae Scale" to him would undoubtedly be sending him to his death, and it would bring trouble to herself as well.

After all, if "Algae Scale" didn't kill him and captured the kid alive, interrogating him and finding out the info came from her—

While it wouldn't pose an immediate threat to her life, it would earn her a powerful enemy in these waters.

However, if Xia Nan truly had the ability to take care of "Algae Scale"—

It was important to note that as a great pirate wanted by the kingdom for years, "Algae Scale" Dodd controlled a fleet of ships, and his own strength was quite formidable. He had long since crossed the Level 5 threshold, completed his dual-classing, and was marching straight toward the Transcendent Tier.

Given that the black-haired young man before her didn't even look twenty, if he possessed the strength to kill an expert like "Algae Scale" head-on...

His future would be limitless.

With such potential and youth, even if he simply grew steadily step by step, never mind the Transcendent Tier—he might even be able to touch the Legendary rank above it.

And when that time came, she, having invested early on, would reap a tenfold or even a hundredfold return.

In a daze, for some unknown reason, just like that rainy night over twenty years ago when she inherited the tavern, Hera felt as if her life had suddenly split into two branching paths at this very moment.

An indescribably absurd premonition inexplicably surged in her heart, seemingly warning her from the unseen world that her next choice would likely bring a drastic change to her life.

"This—"

Hera's lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something.

But her rapidly spinning brain, urgently analyzing a massive amount of information, left her speechless, and her entire demeanor betrayed extreme hesitation.

Meanwhile, although Xia Nan, sitting at the counter, didn't know what she was thinking at that moment, he could tell the tavern owner was weighing some kind of decision.

He popped two segments of Sugar Tangerine into his mouth and waited patiently.

Time quietly slipped by.

It could have been five seconds, or maybe twenty.

Just as Hera was trapped in the quagmire of her thoughts, struggling to make a choice and wondering if she should just bite the bullet and let her intuition decide, a rush of fast-approaching footsteps suddenly broke the stagnant silence between them.

"Boss Hera, they need you to take a look over at the Golden Cod."

The newcomer was a bald, burly man, two meters tall, radiating a fierce aura.

He was shirtless, revealing a hideous sea beast tattoo that covered his entire back and extended all the way to the back of his head.

He was the type of person ordinary people would detour to avoid if they saw him on the street.

But right now, he was acting panicked, and his fierce, fleshy face was dripping with sweat.

When facing the tavern owner Hera, he made no secret of his subordinate status.

Her train of thought abruptly interrupted, Hera frowned, her gaze turning to the bald brute walking toward her.

The expression on her face was stern, completely different from how she looked at Xia Nan.

"Hm?"

Just a single word made the bear-like bald man break out in a cold sweat.

Suppressing the fear in his heart, he hurried over, glanced at Xia Nan sitting by the counter, leaned in close to Hera, and reported the situation with extreme nervousness.

Compared to her parents, Hera, whose family had run the tavern for generations, had far more ambition.

The growth potential of the Three-Legged Sea Dog had long since reached a bottleneck following the intervention of the three major factions years ago and the gradual stabilization of Barracuda Bay.

She wasn't content to spend the rest of her life standing behind a tavern counter polishing glasses and acting as an information broker.

Therefore, she had been quietly laying the groundwork for many years.

Thanks to the vast amount of information she commanded, and an expansion plan that was safe and conservative compared to her ambition, she had achieved a certain degree of success over the years.

The Golden Cod casino, located two streets away near the core of the Saltwater District, was one of Hera's most significant gains in recent years.

The public manager of the Golden Cod was the sweating bald brute standing before her, but the actual owner had long since secretly changed to the owner of Barracuda Bay's most famous tavern.

Right now, the Golden Cod provided Hera with a substantial income every year, though the vast majority of it went toward exchanges of interest and maintaining her channels with the three major factions in Barracuda Bay.

But without a doubt, the casino had long become the most important resource in Hera's hands besides the Three-Legged Sea Dog.

Seeing the casino manager displaying such a rare look of panic, she couldn't help but swallow the reprimand that had reached her lips.

With a dark expression and icy eyes, she listened to his report.

"A customer—since this afternoon—hasn't lost a single time—"

"I had people go over and check him out at the time—no issues—"

"Now the customers in the casino are—it's getting out of hand—"

Although the bald brute deliberately lowered his voice, his frantic sprinting from two streets away left him gasping for air, making it hard for him to fully control his volume.

Combined with Xia Nan's increasingly sharp hearing bolstered by his physical attributes, he managed to catch a few key words intermittently while sitting at the nearby counter.

He guessed that the casino called the Golden Cod had run into some trouble and needed Hera to go over and handle it.

Though surprised by the tavern owner's connection to the town's casino, it was someone else's private business after all, and Xia Nan couldn't be bothered to interfere.

It was just a pity that with such an interruption, he probably wouldn't get the information on "Algae Scale" today.

Not in a hurry, he casually popped the last segment of Sugar Tangerine into his mouth.

Xia Nan wiped his hands, stood up from the counter, and called out to Hera, "You go ahead and handle your business. We can talk about the information later. I'm heading back to my room for now. See you tomorrow."

He intended to bid her farewell and leave it at that, but unexpectedly, upon hearing Xia Nan's words, the woman with dark green hair like sea algae seemed to suddenly think of something.

After a brief moment of thought, she led the bald brute straight over to him.

Hera's face showed an apologetic expression. Under Xia Nan's confused gaze, she probed, "I'm truly sorry, but we'll likely have to wait until I get back to discuss the information in detail. But I was wondering if you're free right now?"

"Is there something you need?" Xia Nan asked in return.

"It's like this. The Golden Cod is a casino operating under me, and right now—it's run into a little trouble. If you happen to have time right now, I'd like to ask you to come with me to take a look. Please rest assured, I don't mean to force you. If there are any unexpected situations later, you won't have to step in if you don't want to. Just consider it accompanying me on a trip, a simple commission. And as a reward, I'll offer a certain discount on the information fee for 'Algae Scale' Dodd."

Hearing this, Xia Nan raised an eyebrow, understanding the implication in her words.

"So, you agree?"

Hera nodded.

Feeling that he had just taken a massive step closer to finding the encryption keys for the [Dream Weaving Corridor], the slight pressure in Xia Nan's heart instantly eased.

"Then let's not waste time. Let's go."