Chapter 106: 106

The next morning, there was a noisy commotion among the pirates as they cleaned themselves up .

“Land ho!” shouted one of the pirates loudly as he came running down from the upper deck .

The pirates fell silent for a few seconds, followed by roaring cheers as they ran to get the first glimpse of land . Zhang Heng and Marvin were being pushed out of the cabin along with the happy mob, where they saw the harbor appearing on the horizon .

Throughout their time on the ship, this wasn’t the first time they heard the pirates mentioning the place .

There were those who praised this land, cursed this land, paid tribute to this land, and forsake the land . One magical thing about this place was that it seemed to have a curious magnetism, causing those who set foot on it never to stray too far, always yearning to return .

Behold, the city of Nassau, the capital of The Bahamas .

Located in the northernmost part of New Providence, the best harbor in the entire country could be found here . The indigenous people of the island were called the Lucayan, a fishing community that depended on their catch for income . In the year 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered the place, before the first Europeans set foot on the island in 1647 . They then started to develop it, subsequently making it their home .

“I’m sure all of you here will love this place, especially if you like freedom and adventure! There’s no way you will say no to this paradise . The place used to be colonized by Spain, and after that, the English came along,” explained Goodwin .

“What about now?” asked Marvin .

“Right now, it belongs to us, the pirates! Welcome to Nassau, the motherland of pirates . This is the land of freedom!”

Soon after that, the merchant ship and the Sea Lion approached the harbor at the same time . From the ships, the pirates dropped several wooden canoes to the ocean and started to sail towards their land of freedom . Now that they were here, all they could think of was to enjoy themselves to the fullest . Only pirates who had been given tasks remained on the ship to finish up their work .

Dufresne ordered Zhang Heng and a dozen pirates to help with the unloading of the ship’s goods . Marvin could not help but feel nervous, turning around to steal glances at the galley from time to time .

“Don’t worry about that barrel . Just do what you need to do right now . Come look for me at the tavern once you are done with everything,” the old pirate reassured Marvin as he patted his back once again .

With that, he climbed aboard the wooden boat and headed to the island . Zhang Heng and Marvin had to move all the items from the ships to the trade center of Nassau . It wasn’t before that afternoon that they finally finished their strenuous job . To their surprise, the pirate tasked with managing the ship’s items did not even go into the galley . The barrel was gone when Marvin proceeded to check it out .

“As a matter of fact, the raid we conducted this time had nothing to do with the two of you . However, it is not right of we just let you off with empty pockets, so, here are 50 silver pesos . It should be enough to cover your expenses for a few days in Nassau . Feel free to look for jobs around . Remember, do not sign any long-term contracts . One of us will inform you before we set sail again . ”

Zhang Heng and Marvin left the trade center after thanking Dufresne . The moment they were some distance from him, Marvin urged Zhang Heng to pass him his share of the money . It wasn’t hard to read what was in his mind .

When they were walking away from the trade center, Marvin was peeking at the boats parked at the dock . Nassau was, in fact, located close to the American colony . Getting to Boston was just a short journey away, and he knew that being home was way better than cooking for a band of pirates .

The thing was, Marvin had no idea that it would be impossible to make a run from pirates . Unwilling to let the two off the hook, they must have had eyes everywhere since they allowed them to roam around Nassau so freely . Zhang Heng had no intention to remind Marvin about it .

Seeing that Marvin wanted to embark on a separate path, Zhang Heng was more than willing to give him his share of the money – a total of 25 silver pesos .

It appeared that Marvin wasn’t about to honor the deal with the old pirate . Now that he had the money for a ticket home, he would not hesitate to do so .

Having no baggage to tie him down, Zhang Heng went to check out the small town on the island . During the 18th century, Europe did a great job of maximizing their production rates . Since the Renaissance had just come to an end, aesthetics of buildings and their decorations had found favor among the elites and nobles .

Unfortunately, this place was in stark contrast to other parts of Europe, where Zhang Heng’s first impression of Nassau was that it was a largely disorganized city . There were no theaters, churches, or bell towers, nor did he see any well-dressed folk moving around to attend dance parties as well .

All he could see were rotting wooden huts and dilapidated stone cottages . Nassau was a place filled with palm trees as well . This place increasingly looked like a massive slum to him .

Scantily dressed hookers roamed the streets in search of prospective clients, deliberately revealing more skin whenever a man passed them by . There were urchins running barefoot on the unpaved roads, and it was in places like these that a traveler had to pay close attention to their wallets . Armed pirates terrorized the streets in groups . A few of them were seen exiting their taverns heading for the local gambling den .

There were also the local fishermen and hawkers, lining up along the busy street to sell their produce . Lastly, Zhang Heng saw a young priest talking about his god on a pedestal by the road, relentlessly preaching about how their sins could be washed away .

Though the place might seem impoverished at first glance, there were traces of prosperity and vitality streaming beneath the crowded chaos . The current quest was the longest amongst all the other quests that he had completed . He was required to stay in this world for 300 days .

Combined with the extra 24 hours that he had every day, it meant he would need to stay here for a whopping 3,900 days, more than the all the days in his previous quests combined .

This was going to be a long journey, and he had no idea what challenges lay beyond him . He could only continue moving forward since the game had already begun .

…… .

Zhang Heng organized his belongings and took out the items he had hidden under the wooden plank in the galley . Other than that, he had been given a gun with the words FH engraved on its stock . Its previous owner had probably been reunited with his maker . Besides that, he was given a dagger as well . Judging by its appearance, it should only be able to yield a few pennies if it were to be sold . Then, there were the 25 silver pesos from his reward . This was the common currency of Spain, and was widely used among its colonies .

That was basically all the wealth he had for now, and he even had a debt waiting to be settled . After entering a few taverns, Zhang Heng finally found the old pirate in the fourth one . This tavern was located on the west side of the city, near the giant reef .

The old pirate was watching an exotic dancer as she bounced her curvy body across the stage .

“If I’m not mistaken, I remember that I made a deal with two persons . Where is your friend? When will he come?”

“He’s not coming anymore . ”

“Haha… that is unwise, my friend . I think he doesn’t know what big troubles lie ahead of him . I hope Owen captures him and not Phoebe . Otherwise, the word suffering would be an understatement for him . ”

“When can I start work?”

“You start now . See that shirtless muscular guy on your right? He’s Knight Errant’s gunsmith . Last year, he borrowed 200 silver pesos from me . With interest, he now owes me 300 silver pesos . Ask him to return the money to me . ”