According to the oral account of the only survivor among this group of speculators, they were once a group of mercenaries who made a living by accepting commissions from the Chamber of Commerce. But having said that, they are actually considered a fairly low-end group even within the industry. They take on tasks that are not considered top-notch in the eyes of their peers. Although they claim to be mercenaries, they are actually just a group of street gangsters.
In any case, they are still quite satisfied with this kind of life where they can have enough food and go to the poker room to play.
All changes originated from a field exploration mission. Logically speaking, this kind of mission to explore unknown areas should not fall into their hands. However, there is really nothing to gain from that place. Even the mission issuer himself admitted that he did not I don't expect to dig out anything, I just want to find a group of people to loosen the soil.
As for why not directly release the soil loosening task? The reason is simple. It was the busy farming season at that time, and basically no one was available to do this. If you hired outsiders, the price would be too expensive. Therefore, he could only issue an exploration mission and then set the mission point under the ground in the wasteland.
There are two ways to pay for exploration tasks. The first type of reward is higher, but the person who performs the task must turn in the dropped items obtained from the exploration. Although it is inevitable that he will intercept some for himself, the bulk of it still belongs to the task publisher. . The second method is much cheaper, but the advantage is that the mercenaries can distribute the income themselves, which gives them the fun of opening a blind box.
Of course, whether it is the first or the second type, once a mercenary is injured or killed, the compensation must be paid.
The task manager of the Chamber of Commerce was well-informed and knew what was going on as soon as he saw this task commission. Therefore, he did not publish it according to the original text of "Mysterious Wilderness Exploration", but wrote the task name as "Abandoned Farmland Exploration".
In the end, the only people willing to take on this task are these guys who don't pick jobs.
I don't know whether it's luck or misfortune, but they actually dug something in this ordinary farmland. It was a well-sealed jar that they couldn't pry open for a long time. Since the jar itself seemed to be expensive to make, a few people did not choose to smash it simply and rudely. Instead, they put it away first and then studied it slowly after completing the task.
After that, they found their friend, who was not in a legitimate profession either. It was said that he used to be an appraiser, but his license was revoked because he accepted benefits and committed perjury on behalf of others. Later, he mainly engaged in the sale of stolen goods. .
The former appraiser informed them that the jar was not a real jar, but came from a monster called Bog Boy. He had seen similar handicrafts like this before. Someone had killed a kappa and used a secret method to preserve the plate on his head.
Thanks to the kappa's talent for purifying water, this plate functions as a weakened version of a unicorn horn and is equally collectible. Of course, like the unicorn horn, this is a banned item and is only circulated on the black market.
But what is strange is that the containers on the heads of all varieties of kappa have no lids, so the tightly fitting lid on the earthen pot and the wax that seals it must be artificially made. But no matter what, this is an old object, and the remaining purifying power of the Bog Boy on it has almost been lost...
"Just tell me how much it's worth." The boss of this group of people didn't have time to listen to his nonsense. What this former appraiser is best at is using his eloquence to talk nonsense and then raise or lower its value. As an acquaintance, he doesn't Eat this set.
"Then it depends on whether you want to open it or not." The former appraiser said with a mysterious expression, "This kind of preservation magic is not something ordinary people can learn, so the owner of this thing may be a big shot, and the one sealed inside The things are probably worth a lot of money. But again, I can’t guarantee that there must be something inside. If you open it and find nothing, you might as well make more money by selling it all."
"Then I won't open it. Do you want to take it?" The boss has always been a stable person. In his opinion, instead of gambling on the unknown, it is better to actually get the money and at least eat something good.
In the end, the boss sold the jar to the former appraiser, took the brothers straight to the local pub, and drank all night.
The next day, the boss woke up from a hangover and learned of the death of the former appraiser. He was said to have died suddenly at home. As his old friend, the eldest attended the funeral a few days later and met his parents, who had cut off contact since the former appraiser's license was revoked.
Facing the two gray-haired old men, the boss didn't know what to say. He just silently helped them pack up the former appraiser's belongings, and then he found the jar among them.
Different from before, the jar has been pried open, and it is indeed empty inside, but the boss always feels that it will not be so simple, just like the sudden death of the former appraiser.
However, this matter did not turn out to be a suspenseful exploration in the end. In short, according to the memory of this survivor, his boss found what the former appraiser had opened out of the jar that day, which was the treasure map.
After that, the boss seemed to have changed. He devoted himself wholeheartedly to deciphering the treasure map. The group of them also traveled thousands of miles to Maple Leaf County and found a secret realm under the guidance of the treasure map.
At that time, the survivor actually had doubts. So many scholars had come here to conduct field investigations but could not find any clues. How could they discover a secret place with just a picture? But wealth can go to people's heads. Just like the always cautious boss became no longer cautious, they were also stunned by the massive treasures in the secret realm.
It has to be said that the brotherhood between this group of people is still higher than greed. They did not kill each other just to get the treasure. They shared the windfall equally. However, they were still thinking about the sudden death of the former appraiser. In order to avoid the possibility that some force was secretly watching the money, they went their separate ways after taking the money, planning to avoid the limelight and wait until they could reunite in a few years.
This separation is an eternal farewell.
Among these belongings were some mysterious-looking artifacts that attracted the attention of scholars after they were circulated on the market, which finally led to the incident being exposed. When the Scholars Association contacted the original group of speculators, it was obvious that only the last one was left alive.
However, unlike what the survivor believed was that someone secretly coveted the treasure and silenced him, the deaths of these people were a bit too evil - at first they had a happy life after selling off the property. , but soon they became reclusive and did not want to see people. Finally, after neighbors felt something was wrong and reported it to the local high school, officers who arrived found their bodies in the room.
But the death of these people was very strange. Their faces still had their original appearance, but scales grew on their skin. Among them, the boss who was the first to change his temperament was the biggest. Gills even grew on his neck, and his hands and feet became flattened into fins. He was more like a fish than a human.
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