However, it was just one of them; otherwise, even the Grand Guild might not be able to resist the temptation to act.

"Brother Ade, this statue is actually something the Black Goat Corporation wanted," Tianlan added at this moment.

At the same time, she was clumsily holding her spectacles in her hand, placing them back on Gita's nose bridge, then pushing them up with her fingertip while the latter was tearfully looking at her.

Fang Hong looked at the other party's reaction and felt it really didn't seem like that of a boy; he shook his head and asked, "Black Goat Corporation?"

"One of the corporations under the Colin Commercial League, their chairman is a detestable, greedy and cunning upstart. Rumor has it that when he was young, he used his connections to get a permit for military arms and Magic Guided Conductors, and he made a fortune because of the Battle of Bain. Basically, he's an arms dealer—"

Tianlan patiently consoled her little buddy before continuing, "He's originally named Luen Linxiu, and he's very influential in Elpaxin, but he doesn't really live here. Of course, most merchants consider the Sky Sea to be their home, but he and his household live in Colin's Royal Capital, Golande."

"He primarily relies on his business to influence the regions around Rainbow Bay, but for the past twenty years, this guy has been consistently staying at the traveler's camp from the end of summer until before the winter solstice, sneaking around and God knows what he's up to. I suspect he's known about the obelisk below this place for a long time."

Tianlan clearly had a very negative impression of this person; however, Fang Hong was aware of the Colin Commercial League, one of the three major commerce alliances of Colin Ishurian, controlling ninety percent of the business trade around the Cloud Sea.

He knew less about the Black Goat Corporation though, as the Colin Commercial League had hundreds of large and small guilds and corporations beneath it, and only Invokers interested in commerce would pay attention to such matters.

Therefore, it was evident that at least Tianlan, the logistic worker of this team, was competent; Fang Hong thought she must have had her fair share of dealings with that detestable, greedy, and cunning upstart.

"So how much is the reward for this task?" Fang Hong asked curiously, looking over at Atira. He thought Elf Miss, having obtained the statue, would first investigate the obelisk's affair since that was related to her brother's mysterious death, rather than completing a task for some corporation.

This clearly didn't make sense.

"Around 100,000 Lycel, and a Fruit of Wisdom. That guy's offer is pretty high," Tianlan said impatiently, waving her hand as though she was shooing away a fly when mentioning that person.

The compensation was indeed substantial. The Jiefulite Red Cloak Team had tricked Morning Dawn Star into a death mission and had only paid about 200,000 or so in compensation. Of course, that was two-thirds of the upfront payment, but it's likely that no one would have been able to collect the remaining third afterward.

Not to mention, there was also a Fruit of Wisdom. The Fruit of Wisdom was essentially equivalent to a page of experience, similarly effective only for its first use but at a lower level, providing 25,000 first-tier experience.

Though the experience given was in the form of random Skills and Knowledge, for most people, it was sought after but rarely obtained, especially since it had a greater effect on Rookies, tantamount to accelerating the growth process.

Even Fang Hong felt slightly tempted.

But he still found something odd: "But aren't you a Trainee, Miss Atira... And it seems like you wouldn't need these?"

"Ha, because the rewards I mentioned are for ordinary people. As for us and Sister Atira, that miser wouldn't give us a penny in rewards."

"Why is that?" Fang Hong was taken aback.

"Because Mr. Kid's body was found by an Adventure Group working for that guy," Tianlan answered angrily: "He's the only one who knows what really happened then. He agreed to trade us this information in exchange for helping him find this statue for free."

"Did he tell you where the statue was as well?"

"Yeah, otherwise, how could we possibly have found it?"

Fang Hong still felt something was off: "If that's the case, why didn't he just go get it himself?"

"How would I know?" Tianlan's expression changed, then she suddenly asked, "Wait a second, Sister Atira, who was the first one to grab the statue?"

Atira subconsciously looked towards the unconscious Papalarian Crossbowman on the ground.

Fang Hong had already gone over, rolled up the man's sleeve, and looked. The chubby right arm was pale and bare, with nothing on it. But on the left arm, indeed, there was a pitch-black Mark coiled like a serpent.

"A Curse!" Tianlan exclaimed in shock, grinding her teeth, "That damned, detestable arms dealer."

"Don't worry," Fang Hong replied, "It's just a simple Feathered Serpent Curse. It brings misfortune to the affected, but aside from that, it has no other impact and will fade on its own after a certain period."

He glanced at the Crossbowman, unconscious on the ground, thinking that this unlucky Mark seemed pretty formidable in its effects.

"Everything else is fine," Fang Hong continued, "For this period of time, it's best that you keep him away from activities like lottery draws or treasure chests; the Cursed Mark's effect is quite pronounced."

Relieved that the issue wasn't serious, Tianlan's mood eased a bit: "Hmph, it's good for that guy to suffer a bit. Sister Atira clearly said to check it first, but this guy, just seeing treasure, couldn't move his feet, even though he's just a little short hand."

"Thanks to you, Ade," Atira nodded to him as well.

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