Chapter 8: From now on, call me boss

  As a bounty huntress known as the "Rhode Island Rose", Christine had only two wishes in life - first, to earn a large sum of money to support her thirteen lovely and noisy younger sisters; second, to have the opportunity to return to her hometown and use a large iron anchor to smash into a pancake that despicable uncle who embezzled the family's property.

  Unfortunately, up to now, there is no sign that either of these wishes has been fulfilled - the former because the economy is currently in a downturn and even she as a brave warrior would often be unemployed; the latter because... well, that despicable uncle, who is said to have become a big shot on that island and is about to successfully run for parliament.

  So, Kristen's life had always been a struggle. To make ends meet, she'd worked as a bounty hunter, trader, cook, part-time pirate and even sang in some bar for two months until she smashed a chair on that bastard baron's head, but still lived from hand to mouth, sometimes so poor she couldn't afford to drink northwest wind.

  What's worse, half a year ago, some kind of strange curse hidden inside her suddenly broke out. Under the circumstance that all the masters she sought for help couldn't lift it off, she could only suppress the curse by force and continued to work hard with a body that might collapse at any moment, just to earn enough living expenses for her thirteen sisters before her life came to an end.

  This was clearly an adventure, so in the process of chasing pirates this time, she finally fell down very helplessly. What's more unfortunate is that when she suddenly woke up with cold sweat, she found herself lying in a dark creature's tribal tent, surrounded by a large group of extremely evil Minotaurs, plus a young man with black hair and black eyes...

  "What have you done to me?" Instinctively covering her chest, Kristin picked up a wooden stick and vowed that if any of the Minotaurs dared to stretch out their hooves, she would mercilessly knock them down and turn them into beef patties.

  "Relax, relax, we haven't done anything." Holding a cup of steaming hot coffee, the black-haired man slowly turned his head, revealing eight white teeth in a smiling face, "In fact, I think you should thank us, like taking out a few hundred gold coins or something like that."

  This reminded Kristen, who rubbed her temples in distress, and finally remembered what had happened before she fainted: "Hmmm, let me think... Your name was Lin... Lin..."

  "Lin Taiping, unmarried." Lin Taiping's serious response was intentionally supplemented with the fact that he was unmarried.

  "Lin Taiping?" Kristen had never heard of such a strange name, and repeated it several times in confusion. However, she soon realized that she should thank him first, "Uh, thanks for your help, unfortunately I don't have anything to repay you with right now, if you don't mind, next time I get a reward..."

  "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter." Lin Taiping waved his hand nonchalantly, but then asked tentatively, "However, Miss Kristen, you seem to be short of money?"

  Who says it isn't? Kristen was still a bit uneasy, but when she heard about the money, she was suddenly touched by her sore spot and couldn't help but count on her fingers: "It's missing a lot, a lot is missing. Alice needs to buy milk powder, Vivian's diapers are still on account, Nancy's coat is too small, Jane's tuition fees have been owed for three months, Lena's doll..."

  It's great and powerful, if not interrupted, this beautiful sister can probably go on for two hours. A large group of cow-headed people couldn't help but look at each other in dismay, thinking to themselves who said we were miserable, compared to this beautiful sister, the cow-headed tribe is simply a wealthy family.

  Actually, Lin Taiping had already broken out in a cold sweat, watching as Kirsten was about to mention rent and utilities. He finally couldn't bear it anymore and raised his hand to interrupt: "Stop, Miss Kirsten, please stop for now. I actually just wanted to ask you something - are you interested in working for me?"

  "Huh? Work for you?" The direct question made Kristen's eyes widen in surprise, and she stupidly turned her head to look around, only to freeze after a few seconds of silence when she saw the group of fierce-looking Minotaurs.

  A large group of ferocious and cruel dark creatures, an island shrouded in evil black fog, plus a mysterious man with unknown origins... My god, have I inadvertently stumbled into the devil's lair, where both my body and soul will be sold off?

  "Cough, you're thinking too much." Lin Taiping let out a helpless sigh. Just by looking at that expression, he knew where this noble lady's mind had gone. "Speak directly, I plan to hire you as the captain and guide, to take us to Lode Island for business."

  Doing business? The sentence wasn't even finished yet, but the ones who were shocked first were Turo and the others beside him: "Lin, what did you just say? We're going to do business?"

  It's no wonder that the Minotaur was so surprised, after all, dark creatures have always made a living by robbery, and never heard of putting down their weapons to do business, let alone with those despicable and untrustworthy humans.

  Actually, Kirsten thought so too, especially after noticing the tribe's poverty, and she looked puzzled, biting her cherry lips: "This, Mr. Lin, can I ask, what do you plan to sell on Road Island?"

  "That's my business." Lin Taiping smiled slyly and took out a magical contract from his pocket, which was the spoils of war from the pirate ship. "As for you, Miss Kristin, just think carefully about whether or not to sign this contract."

  This is really a very difficult choice, Kristen looked at the magic contract in front of her and suddenly doubted that if she signed it, the other party would suddenly grow two horns and laugh loudly saying your soul I'll take it.

  But before she could even shake her head, Lin Taiping casually added another sentence: "Oh right, I forgot to mention that the monthly salary is 300 gold coins."

  Three hundred gold coins? Kristen suddenly inhaled a cold breath, and her deep blue eyes were gleaming with golden light. In fact, in an instant, she had already converted the income into milk powder and diapers, and came up with a very frightening number.

  The problem is, while it sounds attractive, considering working for a group of dark creatures, the danger factor is too high, especially this guy who looks like he's smiling, from any angle, seems to be shaking an evil tail behind him.

  "Five hundred gold coins!" She was still hesitating here, but Lin Taiping had already directly increased the offer. "Plus a six percent trade commission, and at the end of the year there will be a big bonus, and... hey, hey, I haven't finished speaking yet!"

  Do we need to say more? A few seconds ago, Kristen was still telling herself to be cautious. A few seconds later, her hands betrayed her body and eagerly snatched the pen: "No need to say more, where do I sign?"

  That's right, Lin Taiping looked at her with great pleasure, and by the way, he didn't forget to instruct how to sign the contract: "Here, here, and here, remember to sign your name and then press a fingerprint... What? Mandatory overtime? No insurance? You don't understand? It's better if you don't understand!"

  And so, after a few minutes, with the flash of the magical contract, this contract later known as the Blood Tears Selling Contract was concluded. Lin Taiping was still very happy, holding Kristin's hand and shaking it vigorously: "Great, work hard, I'll give you shares in the future."

  It still feels a bit strange, but since the other person didn't suddenly grow a unicorn tail or anything, Kristen let out a sigh of relief: "Yes, boss, as long as you pay me on time, I'd have no problem going one-on-one with the God of Light."

  "Don't worry, I'm not the kind of guy who likes to owe wages." Lin Taiping smiled and nodded, thinking for a moment before suggesting, "How about we start work immediately? Can you repair ships, Kirsten?"

  She had already been talked into a daze, and Kristen nodded vaguely, but she soon noticed that the sky outside was so dark that you couldn't see your fingers: "It's okay to fix it, but now it's dark, and you can't even see what you're doing."

  "No big deal, you can start by chopping wood." Lin Taiping suggested with a good understanding of people's intentions. "By the way, there are also dozens of free laborers outside, after my enthusiastic and sincere conversation with them, they have decided to dedicate their youth and blood, and even volunteered to pay for their own food expenses."

  Achoo! It was as if they sensed something terrible was about to happen, a large group of pirates tied up outside suddenly couldn't help but let out a massive sneeze.

  It was Turo and a group of ox-headed people who were delighted to hear this, but their good mood didn't last long. Lin Taiping continued, "Also, Turo, you all need to work hard. Within two days, you must learn navigation techniques, master the various skills of raising sails, and thoroughly clean the deck... Meow, all of you, stand still, whoever dares to escape will have their salary deducted."

  At this moment, in Kirsten's eyes, she suddenly had an illusion that the big man did not grow a tail, but grew more than a dozen tails at once.

  Actually, dozens of Minotaurs had the same question. In the eerie silence, Tulru was so moved that he wiped away his tears and finally asked in a trembling voice: "Lin, may I ask, did your ancestors ever make a pact with the Great Devil?"

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