Chapter 166: 166

“What do you think about my intel? Did it help?”

“What would it cost me?”

Laeli did not rush to answer the question .

“Even though I’ve left Terrance’s mansion, there are still quite a few of my people stuck there . You want to kick Malcolm out of the game and know more of his secrets, right? I can contact my people to help you . ”

“You should know that even if the black-market alliance is dismissed and Malcolm chased out of Nassau, you still can’t change the fate of the slaves inside that mansion . ”

“I will change my fate with my own hands . ”

Laeli looked determined . Different individuals acted differently when faced with critical situations like this . Some would simply give up all hope and let despair rule their lives while some would choose to embrace hardship and accept their fate . Once the predicament was over, the person in question would usually become stronger than before .

Laeli definitely belonged to the latter . He had endured the deaths of his brother, father, and his tribe . The marks of a slave had already been engraved onto his body . To escape the mansion, he broke his nose and lost an eye . He was also forced to kill his best friend . Not only did Laeli not allow despair to run him down him, but he was also grooming himself to become a worthy chief of his tribe .

“We didn’t get to enjoy freedom from where we came from . We didn’t get to enjoy freedom in the colonies . And we don’t get freedom in this city as well . So, we must leave this place . I heard there are several uninhabited islands around this area . Some of them are located along the shipping lines . There is freshwater for drinking and empty land where we can fish, hunt, and cultivate crops . It might be difficult in the beginning, but I believe that we will survive just like how our ancestors did . ”

“I have a ship and a crew . I can help you to look out for a suitable island when we set sail the next time . We are capable of bringing you and your people over to the island as well . The problem is, how are you going to rescue your people from the mansion? I deeply sympathize with your current situation . You can’t just barge into the mansion and release them . That would surely anger many powerful people on this island . Currently, the Jackdaw is proliferating in Nassau . Most of our crew’s families are living here . It’s my responsibility to take care of them . I hope you can understand my decision . The most I can do is to bring you and your people to the island that you wish to settle down on . ”

“I will solve the problem of rescuing my people out of the mansion, but I will need some weapons . I don’t need much . In order to bring those weapons into the mansion without detection, they would have to be small . I’d say daggers would be perfect . Besides that, I’ll need at least five blunderbusses . One thing, though . I don’t need them right now . You can pass them to me after you settle your problem . ”

“I have no problem with supplying you with the weapons that you need . Let’s work together, and I hope that your plan will be a success . ”

At that, Zhang Heng then extended his hand as a gesture of goodwill . Laeli was surprised that Zhang Heng was willing to shake his hand . It was his first time encountering such a polite act . It was at that moment when he knew that Zhang Heng did not look at him as if he was property or a wild beast . He was treating him like a fellow human with equal rights . Half a second later, Laeli took Zhang Heng’s hand and shook it . Suddenly, the two of them heard someone coming into the house . It was Anne and the doctor .

“You take a few days of rest to allow your wounds to recover . My partner will return here in a while . I need you to tell him everything that you have just told me . ”

… .

A week later, Carina returned to Nassau after leading a ship full of nutmegs all the way to New York . New York harbor was one of the best ports that Carina’s father managed, where he had continuously bribed all the officers there . Hence, no one gave her a hard time when she passed their customs . They did not even check the goods that she’d brought into New York . This saved her a tremendous amount of time, enabling her to look for more potential buyers .

Currently, New York did not require nutmeg, and though they were valuable spices, Carina figured she might have to sell them all in Europe instead . There were a couple of merchants interested in buying them, but Carina wasn’t pleased with the price that they offered . After looking for around ten days, a merchant that specialized in the spice trade came for Carina . Both of them spent a long while haggling, trying to come with a price that could please both parties .

That was the very first deal that Carina made ever since she became a black-market merchant . After paying off the Jackdaw, her loans, and her transportation fare, she was left with 500 gold coins . Getting such large amounts of money greatly motivated her to work harder and rescue her father from prison . Unfortunately, coming across such valuable targets was a one in a million occurrence . Otherwise, her father could be released from jail within two years .

The first thing that Carina did was to send 100 gold coins to her mother . All the family’s savings had gone to bailing her father out of jail . With the 100 gold coins, her family could at least breathe right now . Left with 400 gold coins, Carina was going to use a portion of it to maintain a good relationship with the officers at various ports . The rest of the gold coins would be saved for her next job . With the savings, she could at least reduce some of the interest . Without taking any breaks, Carina returned to Nassau immediately after everything was settled .

Carina, however, was most concerned right now about her relationship with the Jackdaw while she was not in Nassau . She would have never left if she was not tasked to sell all those spices . Carina thought that Zhang Heng had only agreed to work with her due to pressure from the black-market alliance . There was a possibility that Zhang Heng would kick her away once the deal was sealed . Right now, she had no right to ask him to continue trading with her in the future . Although understanding the risks, she still chose to partner up with Zhang Heng . At least she could earn some money from this deal .

She didn’t know why, but somehow, she had faith that Zhang Heng would not just kick her away like that . Whenever she talked to him, she tended to forget that she was talking to the captain of the Jackdaw . Zhang Heng was different from the pirates that she’d encountered before .

As she returned to Nassau, she was relieved when she found out that the Jackdaw hadn’t yet partnered up with the black-market alliance . Also . The small-time pirates still considered the Jackdaw the symbol of the anti-black-market alliance .

When she finally caught up to Zhang Heng, she heard something unbelievable .