Sir! Don't close the net!

Jones was taken aback, and Alma's eyes widened even more.

"It should be at least 400,000 gold coins."

Jones's lips twitched, then he nodded in agreement. "I think Mr. Li Yili is right. Miss Alma, the ransom is 400,000 gold coins."

"How long am I going to be locked up by you?" Li Yili then asked.

"Uh...it's not far to go to the city center and back, and you won't get locked up..."

"I've been kidnapped by you! Shouldn't I be locked up?"

……

“You’ll probably be locked up for one or two hours,” Jones said, his lips twitching.

"Alright, Alma, tell Aino to prepare another 20,000 gold coins for lodging. We can't just occupy someone else's land for an hour or two without paying for it."

As she spoke, Li Yili turned around, hooked her arm around Jones's shoulder, and gave Alma a thumbs up.

The pirates looked around blankly before giving Alma a thumbs up.

Although they didn't understand the scheme, they seemed to have made a lot of money for free, so they didn't need to think too much about it.

Alma's cheek twitched.

It seems that she is the only one who has been kidnapped.

Chapter Nineteen: You don't need to be this dedicated!

Alma left, stormed off in a huff.

What angered her was not being kidnapped by pirates, but that her current boss and the pirates who kidnapped them stood together on the edge of the pirate ship, waving towels at her in farewell.

On my second day working at Yangcun Logistics, I wanted to quit.

Watching Alma's retreating figure, Li Yili put down her towel. The pirates who had been waving towels with her gradually composed themselves and distanced themselves from her, their sharp eyes fixed on her intently.

“As expected of the head of logistics at Sheep Village, you’re willing to go to such lengths to ensure your secretary’s safe departure,” Jones said, tucking the knife into his waistband and patting it on the shoulder. “Without a doubt, you have a noble spirit. No wonder that petty Austin made the newspapers write about you like that.”

Li Yili's shoulders slumped.

"What are you talking about? Why don't you just lock me up in jail?" Li Yili turned around and scratched her ear.

"..."

Jones remained silent for a while before raising his hand to his forehead. For some reason, he suddenly understood why Alma had stormed off in a huff. Anyone would react the same way if they had such a heartless boss.

But now he's making money off Li Yili... so it's not really appropriate to say anything.

"Uh, um, this way."

Jones raised his hand and beckoned Li Yili to follow.

Li Yili nodded and followed Jones, looking around curiously like a child, carrying the poker.

The pirate sailors looked at Li Yili with subtle expressions, as if she were a tourist visiting the Mercury Queen.

Although they could tell from Li Yili's skillful bargaining that her way of thinking was different from ordinary people, it was clear that Li Yili was even more abnormal than they had imagined.

Jones reached out and pushed open the door, heading down the stairs. The cold, damp air made Li Yili subconsciously rub her arms. The wooden steps were covered with shellfish, which opened and closed with each step they took.

Many spheres hung from the ceiling above, glowing faintly, somewhat resembling the organs of an lanternfish's head used to lure prey.

“Mr. Jones, how do you usually sail?” Li Yili asked casually.

The Mercury Queen was very similar to the pirate ships on Earth that he remembered, with sails and cannons.

Li Yili found it very strange. The ocean in this world is different from the ocean on Earth. The seabed is above the horizon, and the entire ocean is above the horizon. Therefore, it is impossible for ships to set sail on the sea in this world. The way ships go out to sea is the same as the way ships dive in the deep sea on Earth.

He could understand if it were a submarine, but so far he couldn't see anything special about this pirate ship; it was just an ordinary pirate ship, and a wooden one at that...

“Uh… well, just normal boat sailing,” Jones said, somewhat speechless. “Mr. Li Yili, your question is as strange as asking us how to walk.”

"I'm sorry, this is the first time I've ever seen the sea."

Li Yili reached out and poked the sphere above her head that emitted a faint light. It felt soft, and before Li Yili could feel the texture of the sphere further, it slid back into the gap between the wooden planks with a whoosh.

That thing is alive.

Li Yili narrowed her eyes.

“You’re really lucky, Li Yili, to be kidnapped by pirates the first time you see the sea,” Jones laughed and pushed open the wooden door in front of him, a few seaweeds falling to the ground with a thud.

"Yeah, I really am... um?"

Just as Li Yili was about to go in, she noticed Jones standing motionless in front of the door. Instinctively, she turned to look inside. Wooden barrels used as chairs and tables were haphazardly piled up in the center of the cell. On the barrels used as tables were several playing cards, obviously props used by the pirate sailors guarding the hostages to pass the time. Several iron bars divided the remaining space into three simple cells, and in two of the cells, several deformed skeletons were shackled to their chains.

The third cell, however, made Li Yili's eyes widen. A woman with silver hair, dressed in clothes that looked no different from rags, was curled up in the corner with her long, white legs hanging down from the wall. The shackles connecting her neck and limbs made her look incredibly fragile and desolate.

"Oh dear, we forgot to clean up those idiots' skeletons. Hey—come down here quickly and clean them up. Mr. Li Yili, would you like to visit another place first?"

Jones roared and turned around with a bright smile, raising his hand to pat Li Yili's shoulder, but Li Yili bent down and dodged it.

"It's okay, it's okay, I don't mind."

As Li Yili slipped under Jones's arm and slipped into the room, she reached out and hooked the keychain from Jones's waist with her little finger. Swinging the keychain and whistling, she walked toward the third cell.

"Wait a minute, Mr. Li Yili! You only need to be detained for two hours! You don't need to be so dedicated!"

Just as Jones raised his hand to stop her, Li Yili opened the door to the third cell, went inside, and locked it with a key.

“It’s alright, it’s alright, I’m very clear about my position,” Li Yili tossed the keys to Jones, leaned against the wall and sat down unhurriedly next to the silver-haired woman, waving to Jones, “I think I can be locked up for two or three days.”

……

Jones swallowed hard. "I hope you won't regret this."

After saying that, Jones ran out without looking back.

Li Yili glanced in the direction of the door, whistled, and casually reached out to brush away the silver-haired woman's hair that was covering her face.

"Hmm~ I take back what I said earlier. I think I could be locked up for two or three years. Beautiful roommate, what's your name?"

Heidi Serra.

The silver-haired woman tilted her head to the side.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"What?! Minister Li Yili has been kidnapped by pirates!" Abu Rang's eyes widened. "How dare they! No! How can we let Minister Li Yili stay with those filthy pirates! I must go and rescue Minister Li Yili!"

“Wait a minute, Abu,” Al grabbed Abu Jean’s shoulder and narrowed his eyes slightly, “Do you think Minister Li Yili is the kind of person who is easy to catch?”

“Yes, he even said goodbye to me with those pirates and made you pay for their lodging,” Alma sneered. “The ransom was originally only 200,000, but your minister managed to haggle it down to 400,000.”

"Huh? Minister Li Yili is only worth 400,000?" Abu Jang roared, his voice even angrier than before. "Damn it! How dare these pirates humiliate Minister Li Yili like this!"

Alma's eyes twitched violently. Like boss, like subordinate. She now understood why Josephine called the Black Goat the most eccentric of all the cadres.

Because everyone in her department, from top to bottom, is so weird!

“Abu, go prepare the ransom. We’re going to ransom the minister,” Al straightened his collar.

"ah

"You just went to ransom them like that?!" Alma's mouth dropped open. "Shouldn't you have negotiated where to put the ransom first?"

"Why go through all this trouble?" El raised an eyebrow.

"Of course it's about saving face! Aren't you afraid tomorrow's headlines will be about your minister being kidnapped by pirates the very next day after arriving in Instas? Do you know how long ago it was when pirates kidnapped someone in Instas? Ten years! Pirates haven't kidnapped anyone in Instas harbor for ten years!"

"..."

"As expected of Minister Li Yili!"

Chapter Twenty contains no illusions; it's merely a consumable item that doesn't even qualify as a human being.

Li Yili found her time with Heidi Serra very enjoyable, and if you ask why...

Heidi's skin was very fair. Although she was curled up in the corner, Li Yili could still tell that Heidi had a very sexy figure. So sexy that her tattered clothes looked like they were hanging on her body. She also had a very fragrant scent. As for what Heidi said, he didn't care at all.

“Mr. Li Yili, someone from Sheep Village Logistics has come to ransom you,” Jones pushed open the door, pretending to be nonchalant as he walked to the cell, unlocked the cell door with the key, turned around and waved to Li Yili, never daring to look at Heidi from beginning to end.

Li Yili reached out and tugged at Heidi's shoulder, stood up and straightened her clothes, her gaze unconsciously drifting down to Heidi.

"Miss Heidi, by the way, does Miss Heidi have any favorite foods?"

Heidi followed Li Yili's gaze and it stopped at her chest. Because of Li Yili's sudden movement, the tattered cloth covering her chest was pulled open, revealing the stunning lines of her chest, which were dripping with water.

Heidi slowly raised the corners of her mouth, "Mr. Li Yili is so smart, he must be able to guess it."

Li Yili didn't answer, shrugged, turned around and hooked her arm around Jones's shoulder, who had already turned his back to them, and walked up the stairs. For a moment, Jones had the illusion that he was the hostage who had been redeemed.

This reversal of roles should have angered Jones; the roles of hostage and pirate should not be reversed. However, perhaps because Li Yili never seemed like a proper hostage from beginning to end, he couldn't treat it as a proper release of a hostage.

"Minister, are you alright?"

Upon seeing Li Yili appear, Abu Rang rushed to her anxiously. None of the surrounding pirates stopped Abu Rang; their attention was entirely focused on the chest filled with glittering gold coins that El had opened behind him.

"It's alright, I'm very satisfied, I'll come again next time."

Li Yili released Jones's shoulder, waved to the other pirates, and waved to El with Abu Jean.

El nodded thoughtfully, then turned and gestured for the other Cloud Clan members to prepare to retreat.

The pirates waved to Li Yili instinctively, only realizing what had happened after she left.

"Um... just now, didn't Mr. Li Yili say that he would come again next time?" A pirate shrank his neck.

"Uh...that's what he said."

"real or fake……"

"So, next time he comes, should we tie him up again...?"

All the pirates turned to stare at Jones. Jones's lips twitched violently, as if he had remembered something. He gritted his teeth and said, "Tie us up! What kind of pirates would we be if we didn't fleece these fat sheep that have come to our door!"

After saying that, Jones turned around and glanced at the door leading to the prison cell behind him.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Minister, there's a problem," El said, handing a list to Li Yili before Elma could even quip. "The Flame Elves have brought all the materials, but not a single fisherman is willing to help us measure the Dead Sea."

“Isn’t that obvious? All the fishermen in Instas depend on Austin for their livelihood. Now that Austin is clearly trying to mess with you, how could any fisherman risk losing their job to help with the Sheep Village’s logistics?” Alma found an opportunity to complain. “If you can’t solve this problem and still force the production of those peripheral products, you’re just blatantly trying to drag the Flame Elves down.”

"Secretary Elma, what are you saying! How could the minister possibly want to drag down the fire elves? All of the minister's actions are for the purpose of building the temple," Abu Jean said, his face full of displeasure.

Alma pursed her lips, too lazy to refute Abu Jean.