"Gold can talk?"
When Roger heard this question, his heart immediately skipped a beat.
It's here, it's finally here.
He had long suspected that with Barraba's greedy nature, he would definitely secretly hoard some of the treasure when dividing the santa trinidad's spoils.
And among that pile of treasure, the most unique items were the few aztec gold coins mixed in.
Now it seems Barraba has indeed fallen for it.
Roger was perfectly clear in his mind, but he put on a confused expression.
"Captain, have you had too much to drink?"
"How can gold talk? It doesn't have a mouth."
"No! It can!" Barraba's emotions suddenly surged.
He grabbed Roger's arm with terrifying strength.
"I can hear it! I really can hear it!"
"It talks to me every night, telling me… telling me to take it back…"
His voice was very low, and his eyes were filled with fear and paranoia.
He looked like a deranged madman.
Gibbs and Billy, who were nearby, were stunned.
"Captain, what exactly is wrong with you?"
Gibbs asked worriedly.
"Are you sick?"
"I'm not sick! You don't understand! You don't understand anything!"
Barraba irritably pushed Gibbs away. He stared intently at Roger, as if he had grasped his last straw of hope.
"Roger, you understand! You must understand, right?"
"You even know the location of the santa trinidad, you must also know the secret of this gold!"
Roger looked at him in this state and sneered inwardly.
If only he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have acted that way.
Greed knows no bounds.
Now that he's cursed, he comes looking for me?
However, this is also an opportunity.
An opportunity for him to completely seize the initiative.
"Captain, don't get excited yet."
Roger pulled his hand free and said calmly.
"Which piece of gold are you talking about? Can you take it out and let me see it?"
Barraba looked around cautiously, hesitating.
That gold coin was his lifeblood now; he trusted no one.
But Roger was his only hope.
Roger's omniscient ability made Barraba feel that only Roger could save him.
After struggling for a long time, Barraba finally made up his mind.
He led Roger, Gibbs, and Billy back to the Captain's Cabin of the sea serpent, dismissed everyone else, and closed the door.
He tremblingly pulled out something wrapped in several layers of silk from his innermost pocket.
As layer after layer was unwrapped, an ancient, circular gold coin with a skull pattern appeared before everyone.
This gold coin looked unremarkable, even a bit crude.
But the moment it appeared, the temperature of the entire cabin seemed to drop by several degrees.
A cold, evil aura emanated from the gold coin.
Gibbs and Billy both instinctively shivered.
"It's this!"
Barraba pointed at the gold coin, his voice trembling.
"It's this cursed thing!"
"Ever since I took it out of the treasure chest, I haven't had a good night's sleep!"
"Every night, I hear someone whispering in my ear, telling me to return it to the Chest of Cortez… What kind of cursed place is that?"
Roger did not answer him.
All his attention was focused on his system panel.
The moment he saw that gold coin, a bright red alert suddenly popped up on his system panel.
"WARNING! HIGH-ENERGY RELIC FRAGMENT DETECTED!"
"ITEM NAME: CURSED aztec gold coin (1 / 882)"
"ITEM ATTRIBUTES: ANCIENT RELIC (FRAGMENT), CURSE POWER"
"ITEM EFFECT: THE HOLDER WILL GAIN IMMORTALITY, BUT WILL REVEAL THEIR SKELETAL FORM UNDER MOONLIGHT. SIMULTANEOUSLY, THEY WILL FOREVER BE UNABLE TO SATISFY THEIR APPETITE AND WILL BE INFLUENCED BY THE COIN'S WILL."
"SYSTEM PROMPT: THIS ITEM IS A KEY ARTIFACT FOR THE ADVANCEMENT FROM THE "ANCIENT ERA" TO THE "MEDIEVAL ERA."
Relic!
Key artifact for advancement!
Roger's heart pounded wildly.
He had been wondering how to advance to the next era after unlocking the Ancient Tech Tree.
He didn't expect the answer to come knocking on his door!
This cursed gold coin was actually a "relic" for upgrading the system!
As long as he collected them all, he would be able to unlock the "Medieval Tech Tree"!
What did that mean?
It meant more advanced ships!
Like three-masted galleons, or even more powerful sailing battleships!
It meant more powerful weapons!
Like cannons with greater destructive power and longer range!
It meant he would possess an overwhelming naval force in this era!
A wave of immense euphoria instantly filled Roger's chest.
He looked at Barraba's face, twisted by fear and torment, and suddenly felt that this guy wasn't so annoying after all.
Roger suppressed the excitement in his heart, extended his hand, and prepared to take the gold coin, wanting to feel it himself.
"Don't touch it!"
Barraba shrieked like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, snatching the gold coin back and clutching it tightly in his palm, looking at Roger warily.
"This thing is mine! No one is going to take it away!"
Seeing his fearful yet greedy expression, Roger knew it would be impossible to directly take the gold coin from his hand.
It seems he would have to change his approach.
He looked at Barraba, a profound smile appearing on his face.
"Captain, I know where the Chest of Cortez you mentioned is."
"You really know?" Barraba's eyes instantly lit up.
"Not only do I know, I also know how to break this curse."
Roger said slowly.
These words were like heavenly music to Barraba, who was on the verge of a breakdown from torment.