Codex Pirates

Chapter 223 Signature

Laura Louise analyzed the selling points of William to the editor-in-chief. Even if what Yossarian Heller said was half true, this is a news figure worth digging out and will become another praiseworthy success in the press case.

But when Louise said this, she was interrupted by the editor-in-chief: "World Economic News is already successful enough."

Louise pursed her lips when she heard the words, and then said firmly, "But that is the success of World Economic News, not my success, nor our branch's success."

No matter how much Louise exaggerated the importance of the news, the editor-in-chief, who still seemed disapproving, really looked at Louise seriously at this time, and after pondering for a moment, he said: "Whether it is going to the Red Earth Continent or the windless belt, you need to Official approval, the work efficiency of the world government has always been slow, I am afraid it will take a while before you can get up and go to the East China Sea."

Louise's eyes widened, and she hadn't figured out why the editor-in-chief suddenly agreed to her proposal.

"Are you planning to go to the East China Sea alone? Or do you need a few people from the newspaper to accompany you?" the editor-in-chief asked.

Louise held back her excitement, and analyzed as calmly as possible: "I went alone, this time mainly to do investigations, according to Yossarian Heller, the target person is very powerful, if too many people go , are more likely to attract attention."

"It's good if you know," the editor-in-chief nodded, "What you have to investigate now is not only a pirate, but also the ruler of a kingdom. Under the world government, hundreds of countries have their own laws. You are a member of our newspaper, and we cannot guarantee your safety when you are in another country."

Louise should be serious. As a reporter working in the news industry, she knows very well that the rulers of various kingdoms are sometimes more vicious than pirates. A tyrant will not harm the people within the borders more than a How much worse than the big pirate, even worse.

"I hope that when you come back here again from the East China Sea, you will bring big news that will make you successful."

The editor-in-chief said that because of what Louise said before, he suddenly admired the young reporter in front of him. The World Economic News has no shortage of smart people, but only those who dare to work hard. In this troubled world, big news often coincides with dangerous people. Hooking up, if you want to obtain first-hand material, you often need the reporters below to fight with your life. Only those who really put life and death aside, and have a desire for success and news beyond ordinary people, are considered talents for newspapers. .

The editor-in-chief's attitude towards Donghai remained unchanged, but he felt that Laura Louise, a reporter who hadn't paid much attention before, seemed worth training.

...

Harden can't remember how many years he hasn't been home.

The "hometown" that should represent a warm label in memory, in Harden's memory, is only poverty.

Harden's father was a poor alcoholic in a poor town. When Harden was very young, his mother couldn't stand the difficult life of the day and ran away from home, leaving the young Harden alone to face the crisis. Backed into a corner by life, the man who can only do violence to children who are weaker than him.

Later, when Harden was ten years old, his father was found dead in a stinking ditch one day, and no one knew who the murderer was.

Until sometime in the town, there was a rumor that Harden, who had always been gloomy, couldn't bear the beating, and he did it while his father was drunk.

In fact, Harden did not do this matter. His father's death may have been caused by debt collectors, or he might have had conflicts with others because of drinking too much, but no matter what the reason was, it didn't matter to Harden. He didn't hate the murderer at all in his heart, on the contrary, he was very grateful to him.

Harden never denied the rumors that appeared in the village.

Because Harden found that following this rumor, the disdainful gazes that were always cast on him in the town turned into fear, and those peers who usually bullied him have not dared to hang out in front of him since then.

Harden didn't kill, but a rumor that he did kill gave him a status he never had before, a life free from bullying.

So when Harden grew up, he naturally became a pirate, a criminal who lived by killing and violence.

Ever since he was a child, he has never been treated well by the people in his hometown, and what accompanied him was either cold eyes or disgusted eyes.

But by coincidence, after volunteering to join the expedition team to the great route, Harden always wanted to go back to his hometown to take a look.

When the warship with the flag of the Morgan Pirates moored at the pier, the shore was full of onlookers.

After Harden got off the gangway alone, he looked around. He remembered that the pier had been in disrepair for a long time and almost no one cared about it. It seemed that it had been renovated not long ago. At this time, there were still two merchant ships moored, and some porters were going up and down like ants. Down, constantly carrying goods from above.

Those onlookers had different expressions, some were excited, some were nervous, and some were confused. They were not close to each other, but they were no longer disgusted or repelled.

Nearly ten years away from home, Harden doesn't know how many people in this small town know him.

He seemed to carry a certain aura. When he walked towards the shore, the crowd unconsciously parted a path for him and watched him leave.

Seeing that Harden got off the Morgan Pirates' ship, some half-grown children followed him all the time, curious and frightened, pushing and shoving their companions, laughing and yelling non-stop, as if they wanted to answer him.

Harden suddenly turned his head and made a grimace, matching his ferocious appearance and terrible scars, scaring the children behind him away.

When the group of children left, Harden, who was originally sullen, could not help but smile.

When Harden arrived at the edge of the town, he was a little surprised to find that the original house of his house was still there, but the hinge of the door had been taken off, and there was not a single piece of the window intact.

He pushed open the door that was more symbolic than actual, and entered a room that seemed narrower and cramped compared to his childhood. He touched a crooked skull pattern on the wall that was fading in color, and let out a hoarse laugh. .

When Harden came out of the house, he saw several people standing outside the house.

A gray-haired old man in the middle, seeing Harden tilting his head to look at himself, hesitated for a moment, and asked softly, "Harden? Is that you?"

"Paolino?" Harden looked him up and down, and said carelessly, "You are actually the mayor of the town, you really know how to behave."

Harden knew that after William banned local self-government agencies, he also took off the official hats of many local officials. Those who can retain their posts must be very knowledgeable about current affairs and honest and obedient.

The old mayor named Paulino was beyond Harden's expectations. Not only was he not afraid or disgusted, but he showed an overjoyed look, stepped forward and took Harden's hand, and said enthusiastically: "Harden, I didn't expect it to be true. It’s you, I originally heard that there is also a hero named Harden in the Morgan Pirates, but I was skeptical, suspecting that it’s the same name! Unexpectedly, I did not expect..."

Harden pulled his hand away impatiently, but the mayor of Paulino showed no embarrassment at all, and generously recommended himself as a tour guide, saying that he would lead Harden, who hadn't returned to his hometown for almost ten years, to revisit his hometown.

Harden didn't refuse. Watching Mayor Paulino drive away the people who followed him, some of them seemed to recognize Harden, and turned their heads frequently worriedly. Harden sneered at them.

Mayor Paulino hurriedly waved his hands to those people, then greeted Harden, and personally led the way for him.

Along the way, Mayor Paulino not only told Harden about the changes and major events in the town over the years, but also sang praises for William's various policies and deeds. high sake.

"...There have been a lot more merchant ships coming and going this year, thanks to your Morgan Pirates clearing up the surrounding pirates," Mayor Paulino said sincerely, "You really should go back to your hometown more often, now Although the town is not yet rich, the conditions have improved a lot.”

Harden responded with a cold attitude. He is straight-hearted and doesn't like slippery people like the mayor. Besides, after returning to his hometown, he found that this trip seemed to be a mistake. He didn't have the feeling of returning home like ordinary people. Familiar scenes will make him recall the past, and then become disgusted.

The mayor rubbed his hands in embarrassment. Harden's attitude was so indifferent all the way, he finally had no more topics to talk about.

The two walked all the way to the school playground. At this time, there was no one in the school, but there was a little boy reading a book on the playground.

The mayor of Paulino suddenly remembered something: "Harden, you are now the right-hand man of the consul, can you give him some advice so that people don't move the school here to the next town?"

Seeing Harden's puzzled face, the mayor explained it to him. Compulsory education has been promoted until now, and many problems have gradually been discovered. One of them is the lack of teachers. Many elementary school classrooms in many places are not satisfied. It caused a great waste, and at the suggestion of the attendants, it was decided to divide the schools according to the islands and merge the schools in the neighboring villages and towns.

Due to the lack of students in Harden's hometown, unfortunately, it is the one that is about to be merged. The school will be relocated to the next town, and the students in this town will have to walk a short distance to go to school in the future.

"How can the location of the school be chosen purely based on the number of people? Shouldn't it be based on the results? The grades of the students in our town have always been among the best in the surrounding area," the mayor said. The boy yelled, "Kirby, Kirby, come here!"

When the little boy with glasses and holding a book clumsily ran up to the two of them, the mayor said: "Keby's theoretical grades are the best among the four surrounding villages and towns. What if the school moved far away and affected his grades?"

He said to Keby again: "This is the vice-captain of the Morgan Pirates, the hero of our town going out..."

"Mr. Harden!" Before the mayor could finish speaking, Kebi had already called out Harden's name excitedly, "I know you, you are the veteran of the Morgan Pirates, the troubadour in the tavern told you s story."

Harden finally showed a surprised expression, and saw that Kebi actually took out a pen from his pocket and handed it to him together with the book he had read before, showing an expectant expression, just like a fan of William's previous life seeing a movie star Same: "Can you please sign me?"

Harden glanced at Mayor Paulino, and saw that the latter also seemed a little surprised, so he felt that all this was not specially arranged.

Harden looked down at the books and pens stretched out in front of him, and said lightly after a while, "I can't read."

Kebi foolishly held up the pen, his face full of surprise.

The mayor was afraid of Harden's embarrassment, so he said serious words to Kebi: "Mr. Harden was not as good as you when he was a child. He was able to read and write for free. Because of this, he and the other heroes of the Morgan Pirates were able to read and write. Try to expel other pirates and defend your hometown from pirates, in order to let you children have a better living environment, you have to cherish everything today, understand?"

Harden watched Mayor Paulino pretending to sing high-profile there, and felt a little funny. He actually knew very well that there were many people in the Morgan Pirates who did not agree with William's request, and he himself did not understand William very well. In the final analysis, everything they did was because it was William's "order".

Mandatory compulsory education and re-business policies are also matters of civil affairs, and have nothing to do with the Morgan Pirates, or him, Harden.

But Harden thought it was funny, and for some reason, seeing Keby’s moved and disappointed look after listening to the mayor’s words, his heart was also touched. He smiled and asked Keby: my signature?"

Kebi kept nodding like a chicken pecking at rice, and almost threw off his glasses.

Seeing him frantically protecting his glasses, Harden laughed even harder: "I'm illiterate, it's just a name, you can teach me to write."

Kirby responded excitedly.

On the pier, a strange scene suddenly appeared. A man with a fierce face, under the guidance of a little boy with pink hair, was holding a pen and writing something slowly on the paper.

Harden felt that the pen in his hand seemed to be heavier than a knife and gun, and it took him a long time to leave a crooked line of writing on Kirby's notebook.

Even though Harden was illiterate, he still felt that the name he had signed was extremely ugly, but Keby still solemnly closed the book slowly and held it in his arms.

Looking at Keby, who has never met himself, but admires his deeds, the boredom accumulated in Harden's heart seems to have disappeared since he set foot on the land of his hometown.

After Keby left, Harden finally turned to the mayor who had been standing silently aside: "Tell me about the school that you just mentioned."

...

Two days later, a strange ship with paddle wheels on each side was moored at the town's docks.

On the stern deck of the paddle steamer, Harden stared at the town that was getting farther and farther away, in a daze.

Crowe didn't know when he came to Harden's side: "I thought you wouldn't be a person who is easily melancholy."

"Have you ever been home?" Harden asked rhetorically.

"Go back and have a look." Crowe replied.

"how do you feel?"

"At a first glance, there are not many changes, but in fact many places have become unfamiliar, and I don't know whether it is good or bad."

Harden shook his head: "I think it's a good thing. In my memory, there is no place worthy of my nostalgia for my hometown, but now, some places and some people are at least not so annoying to me."

"Did you know? In the town, a kid asked me for an autograph!" Harden said about Kirby's incident as a joke, "I don't know why, but I didn't understand what William was doing. Just follow orders, I always thought that protecting a place is not as enjoyable as looting it, but when I saw that child holding my autograph, just like holding a treasure map, I suddenly felt that this is not a bad idea."

Crowe was taken aback when he heard the words, and then said with a smile: "Is this the 'self-actualization need' mentioned by William?"

"What do you mean?" Harden asked.

"It's just that people should have other pursuits besides eating and drinking." Crowe knew Harden's background, so he said deliberately vulgarly.

Sure enough, Harden was taken aback when he heard the words, and then he laughed.

————

The third volume, The Robber of the Country, is over.

The second volume is like thunder.

Ask who owns the world in today's domain!