Chapter 87: Coral Cage Tree

Xu Ma arrived at a tavern bar counter.

He was following orders to gather intelligence on Two Eyes Island discreetly.

“Give me a cup of pine wind beer!” Xu Ma took out a few silver coins and set them on the counter.

Liquor was served after the coin was received, and very soon, a large cup of beer was put int front of him.

Xu Ma immersed himself in his drink.

Glug, glug, glug.

After a few sips, the cup was empty.

Pine wind beer had a cold and fresh texture, and Xu Ma sighed contently after burping.

He was very poor.

But this time, he had gotten funds from the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps for his mission.

With the coin, he first chose to reward himself with drink.

He hadn’t had this type of beer for a very long time.

“Another cup!” Xu Ma took out some more mission funds.

This time, after the liquor cup was served to him, Xu Ma called to him, “I heard you have the latest news here.”

The waiter glanced at him, “We do some information peddling.”

Xu Ma smiled, “I want information on Two Eyes Island. As much as possible, and as detailed as possible.”

The waiter was expressionless, “Customer, this depends on how much you want to pay. With enough money, I can tell you what color the feudal lord is wearing tonight.”

“I am not interested in what old men like to wear!” Xu ma waved his hand, his face disdainful.

The waiter took out a list of items, “This is the pricing list, you can look at it in the corner. The same information can have different prices depending on how specific and detailed you want it.”

The bar counter was crowded and had the best lighting.

Xu Ma took the list and liquor to the corner, then looked through the pricing list.

“This is how much?” Xu Ma was somewhat begrudging, “I might as well buy some popular news, the leftover coin is enough for me to have two more cups.”

Xu ma had received a huge scare during the battle against Rou Zang’s pirate group.

He decided that he would relax and appreciate himself here nicely.

After purchasing the information, Xu Ma drank his beer while gazing at the tavern’s female dancers and pretty waitresses.

A thin person decided to sit in front of him.

“I heard you wanted information?”

“We can exchange some.”

For a moment, Xu Ma didn’t react, he was very red, and his eyes were drifting, “What do you mean?”

“You wanted information on Two Eyes Island, I am well acquainted with it.” The thin person thumbed towards themselves, “In exchange, I want information on the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.”

Xu Ma immediately sobered up a bit, and his face sank, “You’ve got the wrong person!”

“That’s right. Our younger brother saw you disembarking from their ship.” The thin person said.

“I’m no traitor!” Xu Ma’s attitude was very firm.

“The price can be discussed.” The thin person laughed.

Xu Ma coldly snorted.

The thin person began to raise the price.

Truth be told, Xu Ma was gradually being enticed.

But when he thought of offending the dragonman youngster and Zong Ge, his heart trembled in fear.

“Stop talking!” Xu Ma was cold, “I a m not interested at all!”

When the thin person saw Xu Ma’s apprehension, he urged one last time, “Our trade will be kept strictly confidential, no third party will know you sold information to us.”

Xu Ma didn’t reply, he just waved his hand in disagreement.

The thin person’s smile vanished, and after looking deeply at Xu Ma, they walked away without another word.

After a half hour, Xu Ma, smelling like alcohol, left the tavern.

In a sparse road, where the light was dim on the footpath, he was blocked on all sides.

“What are you doing?!” Xu Ma was irritated.

Three people were blocking him, all of them bronze level.

Xu Ma was no match for them.

A dagger was ruthlessly jabbed into his belly.

The brazen attacker pulled off their mask and laughed.

It was the thin person from the tavern!

“We meet again, friend.”

The thin person grabbed Xu Ma’s hand and placed it on the dagger, then told him, “Hold onto this dagger, don’t pull it out. If you do, you will surely hemorrhage blood. Without healing methods, it’ll only take a few minutes for you to bleed to death.”

Xu Ma painfully grasped the dagger.

“Now, tell me everything you know about the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.” Said the thin person, “If you won’t talk, then you’ll die.”

Xu Ma shuddered from head to toe, fear and hate flooded body and mind.

With the threat of death looming, he was forced to expose what he knew about the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.

“That’s all?” The thin person was dissatisfied.

“I only have a small role; I haven’t been a member for long!” Xu Ma said at once, “Don’t kill me, in the future when I go up in the ranks, I can tell you much more.”

But the thin person lost interest in Xu Ma, and he clapped the latter’s shoulder, “Don’t worry, we won’t kill you.”

“As long as we get information, we won’t commit murder.”

This would have gone better if we did this earlier.”

“Let’s go.”

The thin person got up and called out to the others, and the rest followed them through a corridor.

In the darkness, the thin person gave one final message, “The dagger is yours, treat it as a greeting gift. Mercenary, welcome to Two Eyes Island, hehehe.”

The early morning shined on the tranquil ocean surface.

The morning sun gradually rose, sprinkling the delightful colors of sunrise on the ocean.

The dragonman youngster left the captain’s room, and stood on the side of the ship, appreciating the beautiful scenery, feeling the serene seas, and the thriving opportunities of Two Eyes Island.

Two Eyes Island was no ordinary island, it was a living being.

According to War Merchnat’s database, Two Eyes Island was a coral cage tree.

During the tree’ infancy, it took root on the seabed, and absorbed seawater as it grew.

During puberty, the sprouting ball’s treetop would be formed of coral.

By maturity, the tree roots would retreat into the tree tops and separate themselves from the soil, causing it to rise to the ocean surface.

On the ocean surface, the coral ball cage tree would absorb more sunlight, water, air, attract fish, shrimp, and other visitors, thereby forming a comprehensive small scale ecosystem within it.

The ball tree was not always floating on the surface, and every so often, it would sink back down to t he seafloor again. On the seabed, it would take root again to absorb nutrients and essence for its next surfacing.

Many of the shallow water fish, shrimp, and other creatures would flee due to the unbearable deep sea environment, while many others would die in it. The corpses of the dead fish and shrimp would also be absorbed by the ball cage tree, nourishing its growth.

Two Eyes Island was a special type of coral ball cage tree.

It was a ball tree that had developed two branches.

Normally, ball trees only had one ball treetop. Two Eys Island had two ball treetops, due to fishmen intentionally breeding it that way.

A fishman tribe used to own this place.

Large fishmen tribes all had shamanic traditions. It took several generations of expenditure and energy to breed Two Eyes Island.

The fishmen were amphibious, thus the ball trees suited their livelihood and reproduction. Because it could be moved when it was floating, therefore the ball tree was conventionally thought of by the fishmen tribes as the best home.

When the empire came, they routed and banished the fishman tribe. Finally, the Duo Mu clan became the feudal lord there and obtained the authority to rule it. As the feudal lord, Hun Tong named the island according to the Duo Mu clan’s naming conventions, thus the ball tree was named Two Eyes Island.

The survivors’ ships had arrived in the harbor last night.

Today’s morning sunlight allowed the dragonman youngster to truly see the ethos of Two Eys Island.

The island was not small, it looked like a high mountain, with the middle being the tallest, with the elevation gradually declining on all sides. If one viewed from above, they could distinctly make out that it was an irregular sphere.

Because of the coral formations, the island’s surface looked like tree roots and vines wrapped together that extended outward, thus there was no beaches.

The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps was berthed at a pruned piece of coral that formed a platform.

In the island’s interior, the coral ball cage treetop had small cracks and big gaps that could easily be remolded into streets, layers upon layers of living areas, business districts, and more.

Most buildings were inside the treetop, and not on the surface.

Last night, Zi Di had entered the interior to find the Wister Merchant Alliance store.

In the dragonman youngster’s field of view, in the distance, he could see a small isle a few kilometers away.

It was Two Eyes Island’s other treetop.

The coral ball cage the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps was berthing at was mainly a brownish yellow, while the one floating up was mainly a bluish green.

The two treetops frequently floated up and sank down.

This unusual behavior was also cultivated by the fishman tribe.

Fishmen skin needed moisture from seawater, and if they stayed on dry land or in the air for too long, they would feel very unwell. Severe skin shedding would also ail them.