Chapter 289: An In-Depth Introduction to Darkness Port
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“I’ll do it!”
After half a minute, Tang Ling decided to accept the offer. He was not that childish to a.s.sume that Boss Huang would ask him for his life or do something ridiculous although sending flowers to the lady owner of the Dreamy Visitor Restaurant was already ridiculous enough.
However, Boss Huang was more than just a cunning old fox. What he was serious about would never be a joke but by no means would it be easy either.
Nevertheless, Tang Ling was not afraid. His journey up to this point was nothing less of an adventure from the settlement to Safety Sector No. 17 to the Herrocky Mountain Ridges, and ultimately here, Darkness Port. He was not only fearless. He was also crazy and loved to dance on the edge of life and death.
“A wise choice.” Boss Huang nodded in satisfaction, pleased that Tang Ling accepted his request. “You can read two books today, but you have only an hour. If you can’t finish, continue them another day.” As he spoke, he tossed Tang Ling two books from the desk.
Despite being called books, they were not as thick as a regular one when held. With Tang Ling’s memory, he could easily finish them in an hour.
One of the books was named ‘An In-depth Introduction to Darkness Port’ and below the t.i.tle was some messy scribbles.
The other book was ‘The Purple Moon Chronicles’ and beneath the tile was an oddly-shaped biscuit.
Tang Ling had a feeling that he had been tricked again, so he glared at Boss Huang. “These are books?”
“What else can they be? I organized the contents of the books myself. In Darkness Port, all the books that I’ve touched, be it organizing the contents or editing, are treasures, get it? Reading a single page of the books will cost you at least 10 Black Sea coins!” Boss Huang’s eyes gleamed in delight.
I don’t believe you!
Tang Ling was too lazy to argue, so he just simply went along with Boss Huang’s bragging.
“You’d better be careful when you read it. Don’t mess up the cover. The drawings on the cover are my handiwork which is priceless.” Boss Huang did not seem to be joking.
“Huh? What did you draw?” Tang Ling had actually started reading, but his curiosity got the best of him and made him wonder what the biscuit represented. In addition to that, what were the scribbles on the first book all about?
“Oh, that’s an abstract drawing of Darkness Port and the Purple Moon from afar.” Boss Huang looked out of the window with a deep and meaningful gaze, as if he had submerged himself in a profound artistic world that no one else could understand.
Tang Ling was slightly shaken when he gazed at the two book covers. While Boss Huang must be an abstract painter whose artistic skills surpa.s.sed the common soul’s understanding, Tang Ling would never want to understand the meaning behind his artistic work.
Tang Ling decided to start with ‘An In-depth Introduction to Darkness Port’ first after a quick thought since understanding the port city was probably the most urgent subject to him.
Maybe because he was shaken by Boss Huang’s abstract drawing, he started off without paying any attention and seemed slightly reluctant, but after half a page, his brows started to furrow and his reluctance was replaced by seriousness.
The study area became quiet while Tang Ling concentrated on his reading and Boss Huang did not disturb him. With the smoking pipe in his hand, he looked out of the window as he enjoyed the cras.h.i.+ng of the waves from further away.
A while later, Ding Dong came in. Despite her small, plump body, she was able to carry not just one but two water buckets that were twice her size. She poured the hot water into the tub beside the window and even attentively poured some cold water in to adjust the temperature. Boss Huang then took two little bags from beneath his desk and pa.s.sed them to Ding Dong. She gladly accepted them and hopped out.
Without disturbing Tang Ling, Boss Huang stood up from his chair and put the medicine pouch into the tub of water. In less than five minutes, a strong herbal smell spread in the library together with the steam.
“Tang Ling, bathe,” Boss Huang said plainly.
Tang Ling looked at his boss pointedly before he reluctantly put the book down and started to remove his clothes. Right after he took off his s.h.i.+rt, he noticed the boss’s sleazy gaze, so he said in vigilance, “Boss, staring at people taking off their clothes isn’t a good thing to do.”
“Only people with dirty minds will think the other way. I’m trying to see whether your muscles are suitable for smithing,” Boss Huang answered in disdain.
Muscles for smithing? Forget it. Tang Ling knew it was best for him to keep quiet since he knew he could not beat Boss Huang. He should just let the boss have his way and he would be fine.
If Tang Ling could win, no words were needed. All he needed was to throw his fist out as hard as he could.
Therefore, he could not do anything but let the sleazy old fox stare at his body. When he was down to his underpants, he jumped into the huge tub like a child.
Splas.h.!.+
Water sloshed out of the tub and wet the surroundings.
Intoxicated by the bath, he felt the warmth of the water and the medicine that somewhat soothed his skin, as though the bath was consoling his damaged body little by little.
Boss Huang tossed the books over. Tang Ling carefully caught them and put the other book on the little table beside the tub while continuing ‘An In-depth Introduction to Darkness Port’.
He had to admit that despite the lousy cover, the book had incredibly detailed information about the port city and even shared some secrets. As he continued reading, the real Darkness Port was gradually exhibited before him.
Darkness Port was not a land without an owner. Its true owner was a person nicknamed the Island Master.
No one knew who this Island Master was. From the gender, the power, the background, and the reason why Darkness Port was built five years after the Purple Moon era began, everything was a mystery. The book mentioned that Boss Huang had some answers to the question, but those secrets would never appear in such cheap reading material.
Tang Ling did not care about the Island Master, so he did not even bother to criticize. Since the Island Master was such a mystery, the one governing Darkness Port was an organization called the Darkness Court.
The organization had tens of thousands of peripheral members and there were less than 200 core members. The highest-ranking leader of the organization was not a single individual but a management group consisting of 19 Grand Captains.
Indeed, the most admirable and most prestigious occupation in Darkness Port was the captain of a s.h.i.+p.
Why? Was it because the city was near the sea or some other reason? There was no answer to that. Boss Huang claimed that he knew but he, of course, would not write it in the book.
In summary, the rules in Darkness Port were all set by the 19 Grand Captains.
Of course, money and power went beyond the rules and the reason for the exclusion was to break the rules. There were only two unbreakable rules in Darkness Port.
One, challenge the rule of the Darkness Court.
Two, reject the calling of the Darkness Court on the day of the Maritime Disaster and refuse to join the city in defending against the disaster.
However, Boss Huang’s personal opinion stated that the first rule was not unbreakable, given that the person who challenged the rule of the Darkness Court was more powerful than the entire court.
As for the second rule, it would be best to follow it because those who rejected joining the resistance would be despised by the people of Darkness Port.
What exactly was the Maritime Disaster?
It was similar to how all the safety cities, sectors and villages had to face huge hordes of monsters. The aquatic mutated beasts, vicious beasts, and all sorts of other monsters would come to sh.o.r.e and siege the humans’ shelter. One thing worth noting was that the monsters in the sea were a lot more powerful than those on land.
In short, no matter what happened, one should not offend the Darkness Court in Darkness Port because they were the first and most powerful faction in the city.
Other than that, there were also several other powerful factions that settled down in Darkness Port. Firstly, there was the Captain’s Guild in the island area, then the Freedom Glory Alliance in the deck area and lastly, the Dark Judgement.
The Captain’s Guild was easy to understand. They were a guild that consisted of mostly captains who owned s.h.i.+ps. Such a guild in Darkness Port ought to be a significant faction since the most admirable occupation in the city was the captain of a s.h.i.+p and becoming one would require qualifications. Furthermore, those qualifications were not easy to obtain either.
The Freedom Glory Alliance was a little special. It was founded by individuals wanted by many major factions, but as it grew in size, it started to accept members who were not wanted criminals. As a matter of fact, being wanted by a major faction demanded a certain level of power. Moreover, there were some notorious wanted individuals within the Freedom Glory Alliance and that point alone proved how powerful this alliance was.
The last one was the Dark Judgement which was the brainchild of a powerful local whose strength had reached the level of a rank 6 Purple Moon Warrior. This organization was strict with the acceptance of its members and the lowest requirement to enter would be the strength of a rank 1 Purple Moon Warrior. The organization had almost 2,000 members and the number alone stated how powerful it was.
Out of the three major factions, one should avoid offending the Dark Judgement the most. It was not because they were the most powerful but because this wicked organization committed all crimes known to man. By claiming that they were promoting the spirit of Darkness Port, they turned unscrupulous methods into excuses for freedom and made their strength valid reasons to exploit others.
The Captain’s Guild occupied the island area while the Freedom Glory Alliance occupied the south-eastern area of the deck where the upper-cla.s.s people usually resided. Meanwhile, the Dark Judgement occupied the north-eastern area of the deck where the slums and lawless areas were located.
Other than the three major factions, there were many other factions of various sizes. The factions teamed up and killed each other on a daily basis. Every year, there were factions that would be eliminated and new factions that rose in the public eye. The smaller factions were also written in ‘An In-depth Introduction to Darkness Port’, but only those that mattered were mentioned.
After the introduction about the factions of the city, the people of Darkness Port were next.
In a city where money and power spoke the loudest, other than being careful about the factions, the powerful people who did not join any factions or did not have any intention to form one must be taken into account as well.
Tang Ling read the list of names listed and saw that Boss Huang had listed himself in it, but he reacted strangely to the appearance.
Those that one should stay away from more or less had some description of their power or why they were feared. However, when Boss Huang described himself, all he wrote was that his handsome looks were dangerously attractive.
Fine.
Tang Ling tried his best to remember all the names of the figures that he should not offend and continued to the next section.
Be it the factions or the dangerous figures, there were two areas that no one was allowed to occupy in the city: the cabin area and the commercial district of the deck area.