Alligator's Ark of Tomorrow

“I’ve checked it out. That vein can’t withstand another mining tunnel. Otherwise, it could very likely cause a collapse, increasing the risk of mining in the Originium Mine.”

Muse shrugged helplessly.

"So now we only have two options: either find a new partner or help King Ibart expand the mining tunnels of the Origin Stone Mine."

"But don't even think about it in the Ibar region; no one would dare risk offending a king to help us."

"But once we leave the Ibar region, we'll have to take a long detour to get back to this hot land."

Mulseth's words made Serea frown. They had already negotiated terms with King Ibart before they came, and she had finally managed to get Gald to come at the last minute.

It turned out that the problem occurred at the very point where it shouldn't have gone wrong.

No, it can't be said that it shouldn't have had any problems. The chieftain of Salgon only cares about profit, and it's not the first or second time he's gone back on his word and demanded exorbitant prices.

Serea will consider other things as well.

Serea cannot agree with increasing the efficiency of mining veins at the expense of miners' safety.

After a moment of silence, Seraya asked, "If we leave the Ibart region now and start preparing again, how long would it take?"

"It will take at least half a month."

The kobold vice-captain spoke up.

"We need to prepare more things to enter this land from other regions, and we will face great resistance if the King of Ibar interferes."

In Salgon, the chieftains of each region are relatively independent, but the chieftains of neighboring regions are relatively united unless certain interests are involved.

“Actually, we can agree to King Ibart's request…”

Before the kobold vice-captain could finish speaking, Seria rejected him.

“Olba, don’t forget why we’re here. If we give in here, what’s the difference between us and those companies that sell themselves to capital?”

"...Yes, Director Seria, my conviction is not strong enough."

The kobold vice-captain lowered his head in shame.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Gard, our mission may take longer than expected. We hope you can give us a little more time. We will definitely resolve this trouble as soon as possible."

Finally, Seria looked at Gard.

In the meeting room, although they were all department heads, as one of the founders of Rhine Life, as long as it did not involve their own interests, once she spoke up, the others would generally accept it.

But Gald was different; he did not serve Rhine Life. Serea thought about it all night but still couldn't figure out what kind of reward Gald wanted after the matter was over.

However, Gard thought of someone who might be able to help them.

“Sera, I can…”

Just as Gard opened his mouth, preparing to let Serea go with him to meet someone and seek help from that person...

The phone rang in the meeting room from the security personnel on lookout duty.

“Director Seria, a man has come to our door. He calls himself ‘Shazu’ and is an agent of the underground black market. He says he knows about the trouble we’re in and can help us.”

Upon hearing this title, Gard immediately realized it.

The other party probably didn't come looking for Rhine Life, but for themselves.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have come earlier or later; he would have appeared right at the gate of Rhine Life's headquarters after arriving in Redhorn Town.

"Elliot, it looks like you've run into some trouble!"

……

Chapter 41 "Sand Soldiers"

"Elliot, are you in trouble?"

"King Ibart wants to consolidate the underground black market in the Ibart region, and three black market owners have already been murdered."

"They got some new weapons and equipment. Old Isin heard that the black market owner's hideout was found, blood splattered on the ground, and his body was hung on the gatehouse in front of the town."

"Not all the owners of the black market will be found."

With a muffled groan, the orange-haired Liberian man, biting on a log, used tweezers to pull out the shrapnel embedded in his calf. The intense pain contorted his handsome face, but he persevered.

What kept him going was hatred.

"The black market owners will unite; their information channels far exceed King Ibart's imagination. He will suffer a great loss here."

"But you are not satisfied with this."

Beside the young Liberian man is an elderly Safra (lizard) man. It's hard to imagine how old he is; it wouldn't be surprising if he died at any moment.

"It's not the right time yet."

The Liberi man was calm. He knew he was not strong enough to overthrow a king, even though he had become the master of an underground black market. He was well aware that it was all because of an encounter four years ago.

A crocodile-man is said to have emerged from the hot earth and found a treasure left behind by the nightmare army a thousand years ago, obtaining inexhaustible red gold.

The Lord of Qin Reef at the time wanted to find out the secrets of the crocodile people, but he was torn to pieces by the crocodile people and thrown outside the town to be fed to the sand beasts. When the body was found, the owner of the body could only be barely identified from the jewelry on the body.

As a result, the Qin Reef Black Market fell into a period of chaos that lasted for several years. After changing hands several times, it finally fell into the hands of the Liberi man, Elliot.

Elliott had not yet fully integrated the underground forces of the Qin Reef Black Market. The reason he was attacked today was because the former Black Mamba, who had been the master of the black market for six months, had his men launch a final counterattack.

He needed to lie low for a while. The gathering of the black market owners had nothing to do with him. If it weren't for the fact that the black market owners were always timid, he would have even suspected that the gathering was a trap set by the King of Ibart.

But perhaps he was overthinking it. How could that profit-driven old man be so shrewd?

“Elliot, old Isin heard that someone is asking about him. It’s no longer a secret that the Butcher has been to Hot Land.”

"He swore he would never set foot in the Foehn Basin again, and no one could force him to do so if he did not wish to."

"But Elliott."

The elderly Safra looked at the Liberian man with his murky eyes.

"Oaths are meant to be broken."

"...Isin, did you dream about something?"

"Yes, old Isin had a dream, but it was just old Isin's dream..."

The old man Safra began to tremble as he began to recount what he had seen with his own eyes and in his dreams.

"Old Isin dreamed that someone was building a city in the desert. He raised his arm, and the earth began to tremble. Sand walls rose from the desert..."

“He built a city all by himself, a city more dazzling and prosperous than the legendary golden city… No, no, old Isin shouldn’t be so disrespectful.”

“But the Pasha of old Isin told him…”

Old Safra's tone calmed down again, as if he could see a very, very distant future.

"Sargon will thus regain its glory."

Elliott looked at old Safra for a long time before saying, "The person in your dream, was it Gard?"

"Old Isin doesn't know. Old Isin is too old. He forgets what he sees in his dreams very quickly after he wakes up."

Old Safra shook his head. His eyes would occasionally become dazed, as if he were daydreaming, or as if an old man's brain was slowing down and he was starting to forget things.

"It shouldn't be him."

Elliot muttered to himself.

"He doesn't know any Originium Arts."

But Elios knew that this land was far more mysterious than he had imagined, and that the so-called prophecies were not necessarily false.

Old Isin's words prompted Elliott to use his resources to inquire about the team that wanted to find the Crocodile Man, a company from Colombia.

He was once a Colombian and was proud to be one.

However, the betrayal he suffered in his childhood left him with absolutely no feelings for this country.

He learned that the company called Rhine Life had recently encountered some trouble. King Ibart had blocked some of Rhine Life's essential supplies, and those items were currently out of stock on the market.

And he happened to have stockpiled some.

However, Elliott did not show up immediately because he disliked Colombians, just as he hated the former soldiers and mercenaries.

If Rhine Labs fails to find the Crocodile Man, he will not show up; the fate of the Rhine Labs agents in Redhorn Town is none of his concern.

If the crocodile man really comes...

“Rhine Life, I know you’ve run into trouble, and I can help you.”

Elliott appeared in front of the building that Rhine Life was temporarily renting.

……

"An agent in the underground black market, Sha Zu? Olba, have you heard of that name?"

In the meeting room, Serea turned to ask, because she had gone to Akahura, the data for the Ibar region was being compiled by the vice-captain, Olba.

"Yes, I've heard of him. It's said that he recently defeated the previous owner of the Qin Reef Black Market and became the new owner of Qin Reef."

The kobold vice-captain pondered for a moment and then spoke.

“If we can’t get supplies from the King of Ibart, then in the Ibart region, only the black market owners can help us.”

"The premise is..."

"He was not afraid to offend the King of Ibar, the de facto master of the Ibar region."

If they cannot get help from the King in the Ibart region, then the only ones who can help Rhine's life are the masters of the various underground black markets.

Therefore, Rhein Life Sciences didn't really have a choice.

Without much hesitation, Serea tapped the table.

"Then let's see what this black market owner is up to."

……

Chapter Forty-Two: The Transaction

The last time I saw Elliott was four years ago.

At that time, Elliot got into some trouble, and Gard helped him out.

At first, Gard did not reveal that he knew Elliot. He followed behind Rhine Lab and his group, wanting to see what Elliot wanted to see him about.

Could it be because he saw the discord between King Ibart and Rhine Labs, and wanted to use Rhine Labs to get rid of King Ibart?

Gard thought it was possible.

Although he wouldn't be so blatant, Gard believed that Elliot would not hesitate to do so if given the chance to disgust King Ibart.

Because his teacher died in a trap set by the Salgon chieftains, he knew that if someone was going to stab him in the back, they would never hesitate.

In the reception room, Gard met Elliott, a young Liberian who was probably not yet thirty years old.

Among the many races of Terra, the Liberians are not particularly outstanding in physical fitness. Their strength is only slightly superior to that of ordinary people.

However, he is an infected person, a warlock, and a mechanic.

Otherwise, there would be no way to stand out in the chaos and become the master of the Qinjiao black market.

In fact, the black market owner in the Ibar region that Gard told Seria was Elliot. When Gard left the Ibar region, Elliot was just an insignificant intelligence dealer among the many in the Qin Reef black market.

But Gard believed that he would eventually become the master of Qin Reef.

Now it seems that Elliott has not disappointed him.

When Gard looked at Elliott, Elliott's gaze swept over him as well.

It's just different from Gard's blatant approach.

Elliott's gaze was much more subtle.

Gard's capriciousness stems from his strength, and as an intelligence broker, stepping into the enemy's safe house is inherently a very risky thing.

But Gard's appearance completely relaxed Elliot. In Elliot's more than twenty years of life, there were only two people he couldn't understand.

One is Kal'tsit, the woman who saved him when he was a child.

The other one is the crocodile-man Gard in front of us.

Both of them were his saviors, but they had completely different styles.

The woman who had once saved him seemed to know everything; she habitually calculated everything, whether it was an enemy or a friend.

The crocodile-man before them, however, was a completely different being.