Published: March 12, 2025
Chapter 414: Transaction Completed
Zhao Hai noticed that as soon as the items on the ship were thrown into the sea, many shrimp tribe people immediately caught them and transported them towards a nearby coral reef.
Several shrimp tribe individuals watched those items with envy; these were things from the human race and were definitely rare treasures in the sea.
The sea tribe was a society with a very strict hierarchy. Just like the orc tribe, everything was based on strength. Among the sea tribes, the shrimp tribe was almost equivalent to the orc tribe, akin to the fragrant pig tribe and the Mighty Bull tribe, belonging to one of the lowest ethnic groups, close to being relegated to the status of slaves. Otherwise, they wouldn’t live so close to the human race.
Races like theirs had to annually supply large amounts of goods to the bigger sea tribes; otherwise, they would be demoted to slaves and become food for those higher sea tribes.
Speaking of barbarism, the orc tribe didn’t compare to the sea tribe; at least the orc tribe didn’t eat humans, whereas the sea tribe was different. Once a race became a slave tribe, every member of that race, whether human or war beast, would become food for the higher sea tribes. Such races were referred to in the sea tribe as “vegetable tribe,” meaning they were merely food.
Although the shrimp tribe was busy throughout the year, and there were countless treasures in the ocean, the taxes they had to pay each year were substantial. Sometimes they simply couldn’t gather enough to pay their taxes, and in the end, they had no choice but to rob the human race, engaging in battles at sea where they naturally had the advantage.
In the sea tribe, human goods were exceedingly rare. For a race like the shrimp tribe, as long as they paid a small amount of human goods, it could substitute for their annual taxes. So, if their harvest for the year was not good, they would resort to robbing the human race to provide some human goods.
However, such actions couldn’t be frequent; after all, the sea tribe had an agreement with the human race. If a war broke out due to robbing humans, their small shrimp tribe would immediately be transformed into a vegetable tribe.
Because of this little interaction with the human race, Yan Liben had some understanding of the prices in the human world. The pearl he had just given to Zhao Hai was the best one they had, which was unavoidable. In the sea tribe, pearls were mainly produced by the shell tribe, and common pearls were controlled by them. This particular pearl was something Yan Liben had unintentionally acquired in his youth.
He took out this pearl to test Zhao Hai, to see if he was honest in business. If Zhao Hai offered them a reasonable price, they would allow him to become their merchant. If Zhao Hai's price was unreasonable, they would sink his ship. They preferred to do this one transaction rather than be deceived.
It's worth mentioning that these alien races could be very direct at times. In their world, good and evil seemed quite simple, and the distinction between friend and foe could be determined by a single word.
Zhao Hai's performance greatly satisfied Yan Liben, who was already preparing for a long-term cooperation with Zhao Hai. He immediately instructed his tribesmen briefly and then floated quietly on the water.
Zhao Hai put the pearl away, and not long after, all the items on the ship were unloaded. He turned to Yan Liben and said, "Respected clan leader, I also have some food from the human race here. Would you like it?"
Yan Liben smiled slightly and said, "Yes, of course! I will exchange these goods for it." With that, he waved his hand, and his clansmen immediately took out a large pile of items.
Seeing these items, Zhao Hai couldn't help but smile because they consisted of various edible magical beasts and aquatic plants, along with some coral.
Zhao Hai laughed at the magical beasts from the sea and said, "These items are quite good. I can accept them. Clan leader, I will take these items first." As he spoke, he made a gesture, and the items the shrimp tribesmen were holding were lifted into Zhao Hai's ship by water.