From the Ship of Fools to Earl of Wugang

"By the way, sir, the badge on your hat is really shiny. Is it made of pure brass? Can I take a closer look? Is that bird a pigeon or a seagull? Is it local...?"

"Enough! Shut your damn mouth!"

The police officer finally couldn't take it anymore; his already sleep-deprived brain was bombarded with Edmund's rapid-fire words, making it buzz.

He waved his hand impatiently, shooing him away like a fly.

"Go away, get out of my way! If you keep nagging, you'll be arrested as a mental patient!"

"Yes, sir. I hope you get a good night's sleep soon."

Edmund shrugged innocently and quickly turned into a side alley.

He only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that no police were chasing him.

Pretending to be a chatterbox takes a lot of energy, especially right after a meal.

After catching his breath, Edmund continued eastward toward the secondhand store.

After crossing just two streets, a bustling stall ahead caught his attention.

A peddler dressed in a flashy suit and with slicked-back hair stood there, surrounded by several townspeople on the verge of a mental breakdown.

The peddler held up several wooden plaques engraved with strange runes, boasting animatedly:

"Authentic 'Anti-Insomnia Amulet,' blessed by a priest! Only thirty dollars! Take it home and place it under your pillow, and you're guaranteed to sleep soundly through the night! Thirty dollars for a good night's rest—what a bargain!"

The townspeople had sunken eyes and wild stares, clearly driven mad by insomnia, and were trembling as they reached for their wallets.

The vendor caught sight of Edmund passing by out of the corner of his eye and immediately came over to greet him warmly.

"Hey bro, you look so listless, are you suffering from insomnia too? How about a talisman? I'll give you a discount since you look friendly!"

Edmund stopped and stared at the so-called amulet, waiting for the information vision to be triggered.

Based on my experience over the past few days, even the most inferior supernatural object will trigger a stream of information in my mind simply by touching or looking at it.

However, at this moment his mind was completely silent.

This means that this thing doesn't have any extraordinary elements at all, so it's obviously a fake.

Edmund sneered, grabbed the vendor's wrist, and dragged him to a quiet alleyway.

"What are you doing! Robbery!" the trafficker shouted in terror.

"Shut up." Edmund lowered his voice, his eyes sharp as he stared at him. "Runes drawn with a marker, not even a coat of varnish, and you think you can fool people with this garbage?"

The vendor's expression changed, but he forced himself to remain calm: "What nonsense are you spouting! This is..."

"Alright, I won't call the police. Let's talk about a collaboration." Edmund interrupted him very quickly.

"You sell them for thirty dollars each, right? Here's what we'll do: give me a fifty-dollar bill, and I'll pretend to buy your amulet for thirty dollars in front of those people."

Edmund gestured: "Here's the deal, you give me the twenty dollars difference as a bribe, and I'll act as a go-between, enticing those customers next door to follow suit and buy. Your pile of junk wood will be cleared out quickly, how about that?"

The trafficker was stunned, his mind racing.

If this kid can take the lead in buying, he can give those hesitant townspeople a final push.

Spending twenty yuan to settle a matter and gaining several hundred yuan in return—it's a worthwhile deal no matter how you look at it.

"Deal." The vendor gritted his teeth, pulled a crisp fifty-dollar bill from his inner pocket, and handed it to Edmund. "Don't try anything funny."

"Don't worry, if fate gives me the chance, I can also become a superstar."

Edmund accepted the banknotes with a smile, then turned and strode towards the group of townspeople.

The vendor quickly followed, his face beaming with smiles again.

Just as the vendor was about to start soliciting business, Edmund suddenly turned and ran away.

He dashed out of the crowd like the wind, turning back as he ran, pointing at the vendors and shouting:

"Don't buy it, everyone! It's a fake! I took fifty yuan from this swindler to expose him, so please catch him and get your money back!"

The sound echoed through the empty streets.

The townspeople who were about to pay immediately stopped, their bloodshot eyes fixed on the vendor.

"You...you stop right there!"

The vendor, enraged, tried to give chase, but the angry townspeople swarmed around him and surrounded him.

"Give me my money back! You liar!"

"I haven't slept for days, how dare you lie to me!"

Behind him came the desperate screams of the vendors and the roars of the townspeople, but Edmund didn't turn his head and briskly turned the corner.

Touching the fifty-yuan bill in his pocket, he was so happy he wanted to whistle.

If you're going to rip off a scammer, you might as well.

Edmund found the secondhand shop where the owner was leaning over the counter. He spent thirty dollars to pick out a suit that fit him fairly well and a pair of shoes that were only half new. Then he went into the public bathroom next door.

Edmund let out a satisfied sigh as the hot water washed over his body.

The salt from the seawater, the filth from the harbor, the smell of engine oil, and the musty smell from the Fool's Ship all flowed away through the sewers.

He changed into new clothes and tidied his hair in front of the bathroom mirror.

The person in the mirror was slender but well-proportioned, with deep-set features; he was indeed a handsome man.

When I left the bathroom, the sun was already high in the sky.

Edmund checked the money in his pocket, subtracted the amount for the ticket, and had some left over. He went to the town's long-distance bus station and bought a ticket to the nearest major city—Gulfstream.

Under the bright sunshine, a bus slowly drove away from Liugang Town.

Edmund leaned against the car window, watching the desolate coastline and gray-white buildings recede into the distance, and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Goodbye, Willow Harbor Town. And that damned Fool's Ship," he murmured.

Next, he had to go and collect the money that belonged to Edmund Lockman.

-----------------

The bus stopped at the Bayview Central Terminal at 2 p.m.

Edmund got out of the car and looked at Gulfstream City, which was much larger than Willow Harbor, with great confidence.

The square in front of the station was bustling with people, and taxis lined up in a long queue. In the distance, rows of glass curtain wall buildings reflected a dazzling white light under the afternoon sun.

Every few steps along the street, there were GG signs selling pagers, personal computers, and color televisions.

Edmund took a deep breath of the air mixed with car exhaust and the smell of hot dog stands on the street, feeling as if he had finally returned to the civilized world from the isolated island of the nineteenth century.

He first bought a city map at the newsstand in the bus station, leaned against the railing in front of the station square, and held the map, which was about three feet square, and locked onto several key locations with his eyes.

Bank districts, public libraries, and public telephone booths scattered throughout the city.

He then folded the map and walked north along the main road for about ten minutes, finally finding what he was looking for at a secluded street corner.

A red public telephone booth.