On the dark and cold dock, there was silence. The bloody killing was over, leaving only bodies scattered on the ground and two Corpse Puppets standing in place, indifferently looking at them.
Dorothy, wearing a white dress, slowly walked out of the darkness. Under the dim light, she indifferently surveyed the bloody battlefield before her, then controlled the two standing Corpse Puppets to begin clearing the battlefield and collecting the spoils.
"What greedy people..."
Looking at Harold, who lay lifeless on the ground, Dorothy murmured. Before the great battle on Knight Road, Dorothy had already used Corpse Puppets to secretly monitor the entire battlefield, and of course, she had also seen the gang thugs who had been plotting for a long time in the corner.
From the mouths of the gang thugs, Dorothy learned the specific details of this transaction. She knew their backer was waiting for them at this dock, and that after finishing this job, they would leave Igwinte and get away with it.
Knowing this intelligence, Dorothy naturally wouldn't let this so-called backer go; a harvest was inevitable.
Harvesting these ordinary people, gangs, and nobles, while not yielding any extraordinary materials, could still provide other useful things. For example, their firearms and ammunition could replenish Dorothy's arms reserves, their cash could replenish Dorothy's treasury, and they themselves could replenish Dorothy's Corpse Puppet reserves.
Whether it was ammunition, funds, or bodies, these were all high-consumption items no less important than Spirituality to Dorothy, so the more she stockpiled, the better.
Soon after, Dorothy had initially cleared the battlefield and counted the spoils. She obtained a total of nine bodies, some firearms and ammunition, and 320 pound in cash. This money seemed to have been intended as payment for the gang thugs, but now it all fell into Dorothy's hands.
"Just over three hundred pound is enough to hire a dozen people to commit murder? Is this how the world is?"
Looking at the cash she had obtained, Dorothy sighed, then prepared to transport the bodies and other materials onto a boat and head upstream by river to Saint Amanda School.
For safety, Dorothy's Corpse Puppet reserves were currently in warehouses around the school. This was a place Dorothy had rented from Aldrich for over 20 pound, which was much safer than the dock warehouses.
"Sigh... Why don't I have spatial rings or something like other transmigrators? It's so inconvenient always having to find places to store materials... Especially bodies, they take up too much space..."
Controlling the bodies on the ground to walk onto the boat one by one, Dorothy complained. She spent a considerable amount of energy on storing materials and greatly dreamed of having some kind of four-dimensional pocket-like spatial storage equipment.
With some difficulty, Dorothy controlled all the Corpse Puppets to board the boat. Just as she was about to have the Corpse Puppets set sail, she narrowed her eyes and stared at the small ferry she used to transport goods.
This ferry had been moored at the dock earlier. Dorothy saw it was close and used it directly to load goods. Neither the engine nor the rudder were locked, and it seemed to have been in a state of readiness to depart. Logically, this should have been the boat the backer arranged for the thugs to evacuate Igwinte.
'It seems... I haven't searched this boat yet...'
Looking at the ferry before her, Dorothy thought to herself. It seemed she hadn't paid attention to this boat while clearing the battlefield. Since this boat was used by them as a ferry to escape Igwinte, there might be something on it... Don't even let a mosquito's leg escape.
Thinking this, Dorothy began controlling the Corpse Puppets on board to search the ferry. However, other than finding two barrels of fish, there were no results. Just as Dorothy was disappointed and about to give up, her Corpse Puppet found a strange object in a hidden corner in the bottom cabin of the ferry.
It was a bundle of earthy yellow sticks tied together. The ends of the sticks were connected to fuses, and all the fuses extended forward and converged together, finally connecting to a simple mechanical device. This mechanical device also had a watch installed on it.
Looking at the strange object before her through the Corpse Puppet's vision, Dorothy murmured thoughtfully.
"This is..."
...
The moon set, the sun rose, and the night faded.
The morning sun shone upon the exquisitely crafted buildings of Saint Amanda School. Countless lifelike and beautiful Stone statues on campus bathed in the dawn light, revealing a sense of solemnity and sacredness. In the ancient corridors, the sound of students' recitation echoed, and the day's lessons began.
In the spacious workshop beneath the academy, Aldrich, dressed as a school worker, sat on a chair, looking at the guest before him with some surprise.
"Today is probably the first time you've arrived at school on time according to the class schedule in months, Miss Mesi Horse. Is there something urgent?"
Looking at the young girl sitting on the chair opposite him, Aldrich said while drinking tea, and Dorothy replied with a smile.
"I have a transaction here, one that will interest you greatly."
"A transaction that will interest me greatly? Heh heh... Interesting. To be honest, it's been a long time since I encountered a transaction that was interesting enough for me, Miss Mesi Horse." Aldrich said with a smile, thinking Dorothy was joking, while Dorothy responded calmly.
"Don't worry, this transaction of mine won't disappoint you."
"You seem very confident, Miss Mesi Horse. Have you figured it out? Do you want to trade the secret behind you? That truly interests me." Aldrich continued, while Dorothy shook her head and spoke.
"No, no, no, Mr. Aldrich, what I want to trade is a piece of intelligence?"
"Intelligence?"
A hint of doubt appeared in Aldrich's expression. At this moment, Dorothy's expression became serious, and she slowly continued to speak.
"Mr. Aldrich, Captain, do you know... Deer Skull?"
Hearing Dorothy's words, Aldrich's expression froze on his face. He stood rooted to the spot, motionless, as if even his breathing had stopped, as if he had turned into a Stone statue.
This scene lasted for several seconds before Aldrich returned to normal. He spoke to Dorothy as usual, asking,
"I think I really need this intelligence. Name your price, Miss Mesi Horse."
Hearing Aldrich's words, Dorothy paused. After hesitating for a moment, she held up five fingers.
"Five secret transmission. If you have an extraordinary item that can conveniently store a large number of items, then two secret transmission plus that extraordinary item."
Dorothy finished naming her price, which she considered a hefty sum, then sat quietly on the chair with a smile, waiting for the other party to haggle.
Aldrich was seen stroking his chin and thinking for a moment before replying.
"Deal. I'll give you two secret transmission plus the extraordinary item you want."
After hearing Aldrich's words, Dorothy, who had been waiting for the other party to haggle, had the smile freeze on her face.