"200,000?!" Avril froze, an astronomical reward!
"Yes, not only will you get 200,000 pearls, but we will also offer you the following conditions." Halliwell smiled confidently, "Firstly, your base will receive special protection from us."
Raine turned around. It would be a lie to say he was not moved by these first two conditions, not to mention the other conditions.
Sure enough, Halliwell continued, "Secondly, all income from your base will be granted tax-free privileges. Don't be naive enough to think that your business doesn't need to pay taxes. We just haven't bothered to collect them before."
"Thirdly, you will be awarded the Order of Merit of the Bankra Island. Anywhere, a flotilla with the Order of Merit will be a valued local guest. It is a reflection of your own worth, and those who are worthy will naturally be valued. In the meantime, you enjoy free boat parking and a 10% discount on purchases on Bankra Island. This discount is refundable directly from us in reverse and also can be stackable by you bargaining with the merchants."
Raine's mind raced.
Halliwell had really cost the earth! Each of these conditions was quite right up Raine's alley.
The first two were far too good for the base; they could operate with confidence and boldness. And with the tax exemption, their goods would have an advantage that no one else could match.
The 10% discount didn't seem like much. But Raine calculated that the next level of upgrade would cost 500,000 pearls. And with a 10% discount, it would be 450,000! That's a direct saving of 50,000!
And that's just the next level, even after the next level... The 10% discount is an even bigger return than 200,000 pearls!
Halliwell walked up to Raine, "Captain, Our fleet will attract the attention of the sea monsters. All you need to do is map the devil's sea. We will provide advanced surveying equipment. It usually takes eight to ten passes to complete the map. We have minimized your risk. Plus such a generous reward, do you still want to say no?"
Raine looked to Halliwell, "What if we don't say yes? Keep pointing guns at us?"
Halliwell laughed helplessly, "We won't do anything to you if you don't say yes. Hughes was a bit rude though, Shobe had said that you were harder to convince. The survival of Bankera is at stake. If he hadn't stopped you, you would have been out to sea. He had to do it."
"It's just that with Bankra Island gone, your base is likewise gone and those inhabitants of your base will be buried, simple as that."
Raine had to say, Halliwell was pretty bad! He did not look for himself at first, but when Raine had got the base in shape. If Raine refused, Raine would lose nearly 100,000 pearls!
But then again, although Halliwell had played some tricks, he had been kind to Raine and the others if Raine put himself in his shoes.
The island was about to be destroyed, If he hadn't used some tactics, it would have been incompetent of Halliwell.
Raine took a deep breath and deliberated for a moment before finally looking up, "How long can you stall Dracula?"
"No more than three hours at a time. This is, of course, at the cost of our large number of ships."
"Is there any danger in the Devil's Sea?"
"Devilfish are somewhat aggressive and they can fly out to sea and fire their poisonous stingers from their tails. The poisonous stingers will cause general paralysis. The poisonous spines of mutant devilfish even can kill."
Raine rejoined the sofa and sat down to take a sip of coffee. A taste that had been missing for a long time...
Everyone was looking at Raine, wondering what he was up to.
After a long time, Raine finally spoke.
"Another cup."
"Cough cough..."
Hughes was helpless but still helped Raine pour another glass.
Second glass down, third glass...
Hughes was about to freak out but was stopped by Halliwell.
Finally, halfway through the fourth glass, Raine put it down.
"Raise the reward to half a million."
"What, half a million! You, you ambulance chaser!" Hughes exploded, "You're just going to measure! You're just going to enter the Devil's Sea eight to ten times while we're going to fight Dracula eight to ten times! Do you know how many ships are going to be destroyed and how many men are going to die in battle!"
Raine raised his eyes to Halliwell, "Look, I'm not going to let my crew get into danger. So I am going to complete the map with just one trip.“
"As it's only one trip into the Devil's Sea, it also means you only have to hold Dracula back once and you can keep more ships. So I want 500,000!"
"In addition, I need a 15% discount on my purchases and other conditions remain the same."
"All the conditions, we write them down in black and white!"
"What, once? How could you possibly measure up in such a short time? If you had made a mistake in your measurements, we would probably have lost the whole island when we fought Dracula unless a bounty corps or navy help us out." Hughes looked to Raine in shock.
"It's okay if I say it is okay. Since you came to me, you should trust me completely. I can guarantee the accuracy of the map. If there are mistakes, I won't take a pearl."
Hughes shut up.
Halliwell took a deep breath. If Raine really could do it, they would save a lot of ships, which was more important than 300,000 pearls.
As to the 15% discount, it doesn't matter.
Halliwell said, "Captain Raine, I'm willing to trust you. There is a lot at stake. If something went wrong, our loss would be unmeasurable even if you wouldn't take any money. So after you finish the survey, you must join us in the battle against Dracula."
"Yes." Raine agreed without hesitation.
As Raine and the others left, Hughes shook his head, "Governor, do you think they can do it?"
"I don't know. But we have no more ways. Dracula will attack us in less than three months."
"I can only trust the vision of Shobe and Hades. Both of them have said that this is a fleet that can work miracles. Hughes, pour me a cup of coffee."
"Well, Governor, that captain took all coffee beans..."
........................
Five days later, Raine and the others finished their preparations and set sail with the escort fleet from Bankra Island.
There was an extra crew of eleven on board. These men seemed to look extra nervous.
Tik took a deep breath, "Captain, is it really okay?"
Raine smiled, "To be honest, even if Halliwell wouldn't give me a price increase, I guess I would take the job."
"It's not a difficult mission... But Halliwell that guy played tricks with me. It is surprising if I wouldn't sting him for more!"
Exploration? Mapping?
Is that kind of thing difficult for Raine? He doesn't even need measuring equipment. He has system radar!
"200,000?!" Avril froze, an astronomical reward!
"Yes, not only will you get 200,000 pearls, but we will also offer you the following conditions." Halliwell smiled confidently, "Firstly, your base will receive special protection from us."
Raine turned around. It would be a lie to say he was not moved by these first two conditions, not to mention the other conditions.
Sure enough, Halliwell continued, "Secondly, all income from your base will be granted tax-free privileges. Don't be naive enough to think that your business doesn't need to pay taxes. We just haven't bothered to collect them before."
"Thirdly, you will be awarded the Order of Merit of the Bankra Island. Anywhere, a flotilla with the Order of Merit will be a valued local guest. It is a reflection of your own worth, and those who are worthy will naturally be valued. In the meantime, you enjoy free boat parking and a 10% discount on purchases on Bankra Island. This discount is refundable directly from us in reverse and also can be stackable by you bargaining with the merchants."
Raine's mind raced.
Halliwell had really cost the earth! Each of these conditions was quite right up Raine's alley.
The first two were far too good for the base; they could operate with confidence and boldness. And with the tax exemption, their goods would have an advantage that no one else could match.
The 10% discount didn't seem like much. But Raine calculated that the next level of upgrade would cost 500,000 pearls. And with a 10% discount, it would be 450,000! That's a direct saving of 50,000!
And that's just the next level, even after the next level... The 10% discount is an even bigger return than 200,000 pearls!
Halliwell walked up to Raine, "Captain, Our fleet will attract the attention of the sea monsters. All you need to do is map the devil's sea. We will provide advanced surveying equipment. It usually takes eight to ten passes to complete the map. We have minimized your risk. Plus such a generous reward, do you still want to say no?"
Raine looked to Halliwell, "What if we don't say yes? Keep pointing guns at us?"
Halliwell laughed helplessly, "We won't do anything to you if you don't say yes. Hughes was a bit rude though, Shobe had said that you were harder to convince. The survival of Bankera is at stake. If he hadn't stopped you, you would have been out to sea. He had to do it."
"It's just that with Bankra Island gone, your base is likewise gone and those inhabitants of your base will be buried, simple as that."
Raine had to say, Halliwell was pretty bad! He did not look for himself at first, but when Raine had got the base in shape. If Raine refused, Raine would lose nearly 100,000 pearls!
But then again, although Halliwell had played some tricks, he had been kind to Raine and the others if Raine put himself in his shoes.
The island was about to be destroyed, If he hadn't used some tactics, it would have been incompetent of Halliwell.
Raine took a deep breath and deliberated for a moment before finally looking up, "How long can you stall Dracula?"
"No more than three hours at a time. This is, of course, at the cost of our large number of ships."
"Is there any danger in the Devil's Sea?"
"Devilfish are somewhat aggressive and they can fly out to sea and fire their poisonous stingers from their tails. The poisonous stingers will cause general paralysis. The poisonous spines of mutant devilfish even can kill."
Raine rejoined the sofa and sat down to take a sip of coffee. A taste that had been missing for a long time...
Everyone was looking at Raine, wondering what he was up to.
After a long time, Raine finally spoke.
"Another cup."
"Cough cough..."
Hughes was helpless but still helped Raine pour another glass.
Second glass down, third glass...
Hughes was about to freak out but was stopped by Halliwell.
Finally, halfway through the fourth glass, Raine put it down.
"Raise the reward to half a million."
"What, half a million! You, you ambulance chaser!" Hughes exploded, "You're just going to measure! You're just going to enter the Devil's Sea eight to ten times while we're going to fight Dracula eight to ten times! Do you know how many ships are going to be destroyed and how many men are going to die in battle!"
Raine raised his eyes to Halliwell, "Look, I'm not going to let my crew get into danger. So I am going to complete the map with just one trip.“
"As it's only one trip into the Devil's Sea, it also means you only have to hold Dracula back once and you can keep more ships. So I want 500,000!"
"In addition, I need a 15% discount on my purchases and other conditions remain the same."
"All the conditions, we write them down in black and white!"
"What, once? How could you possibly measure up in such a short time? If you had made a mistake in your measurements, we would probably have lost the whole island when we fought Dracula unless a bounty corps or navy help us out." Hughes looked to Raine in shock.
"It's okay if I say it is okay. Since you came to me, you should trust me completely. I can guarantee the accuracy of the map. If there are mistakes, I won't take a pearl."
Hughes shut up.
Halliwell took a deep breath. If Raine really could do it, they would save a lot of ships, which was more important than 300,000 pearls.
As to the 15% discount, it doesn't matter.
Halliwell said, "Captain Raine, I'm willing to trust you. There is a lot at stake. If something went wrong, our loss would be unmeasurable even if you wouldn't take any money. So after you finish the survey, you must join us in the battle against Dracula."
"Yes." Raine agreed without hesitation.
As Raine and the others left, Hughes shook his head, "Governor, do you think they can do it?"
"I don't know. But we have no more ways. Dracula will attack us in less than three months."
"I can only trust the vision of Shobe and Hades. Both of them have said that this is a fleet that can work miracles. Hughes, pour me a cup of coffee."
"Well, Governor, that captain took all coffee beans..."
........................
Five days later, Raine and the others finished their preparations and set sail with the escort fleet from Bankra Island.
There was an extra crew of eleven on board. These men seemed to look extra nervous.
Tik took a deep breath, "Captain, is it really okay?"
Raine smiled, "To be honest, even if Halliwell wouldn't give me a price increase, I guess I would take the job."
"It's not a difficult mission... But Halliwell that guy played tricks with me. It is surprising if I wouldn't sting him for more!"
Exploration? Mapping?
Is that kind of thing difficult for Raine? He doesn't even need measuring equipment. He has system radar!
