Chapter 1453: Task for Stillwater

As soon as Ning took away the woman's necklace, there was a visible change around her that everyone in the room could feel, including Ning.

All of a sudden, she appeared far less beautiful and charming than she initially was. There were zero changes to her overall appearance, and her face looked the same as before, and yet the overall attraction from her that everyone felt was suddenly gone.

Ning looked at the necklace in his hand and raised an eyebrow in surprise. It took him not even a second to realize it was the necklace that had given her the attraction that he had felt when he entered the room.

He couldn't help but wonder if this was how she managed to gain her followers as a pirate captain.

Stillwater felt naked without her necklace, feeling threatened all of a sudden. She couldn't tell just what she was to do without her necklace aiding her.

She wanted to get it back, but the fear she felt without her necklace was far too quaint compared to the fear she felt from the man who withstood the onslaught of the multiple gunshots without flinching.

She feared if she did anything, she would be killed right here without being able to fight back at all.

She took a large gulp and spoke a little. "P-please, give m-me back my treasures," she said. "I-I will give it to you to record. That is what you want, right?"

Ning clicked his tongue. "Too late. You threw away the opportunity the moment you decided to shoot me," Ning said.

Several people ran inside after the gunshot, looking around the room, confused. Most of them were men who were supposed to be guarding the other penthouses or just were in the hotel.

They walked in and saw the state of their captain. Surprise, they began pulling out their pistol just in case.

"Stop!" Stillwater spoke quickly. The men paused halfway through and didn't pull out their pistols entirely.

Ning smiled. Stillwater stared at Ning and gestured for the men to leave. The men paused, wondering what was wrong with their leader. They found it hard to tell just what was so different about her.

"I told you to leave!" Stillwater shouted after seeing the men still stay behind, causing them all to quickly run out.

Once they were gone, she turned around toward Ning, waiting for him to say what he was going to say. She found herself lacking any place to speak, so all she could do was listen.

"You want your treasures back?" Ning asked.

"Yes," the woman said. "Please."

Ning thought for a big. "Sure, I'll let you get it back," he said. The woman's face grew wide.

"Don't be so happy," Ning said. "I haven't told you the conditions just yet."

The woman's smile faded a little. "What conditions, if I may ask?"

"Since I have 2 of your treasures now, if you want them back, bring me 2 treasures," Ning said.

"What?" the woman asked. "Bring you... I can't do that. I don't have any treasures."

"You don't," Ning said. "But there are others in the city, are they not? There are 8 other treasures in the city besides yours. Find them and bring them to him. If you do that, you can get your treasures back."

Stillwater's face was a mixture of frustration, anger, and reluctance. She wanted her treasures back, but the task she had been given was simply preposterous. How the hell was she supposed to bring back any treasures? If she could, she would've brought it alone ago for herself. She took a moment to think of all the treasures out there. Given that Ning and his group had 3 now, the remaining ones were the hook, the bangle, the knife, the rope, the glove, and a treasure that Captain Yolan of the Greenskull pirates.

That was only 6. Even counting the Eyepatch that they already had, that was only 7. What was the eighth one? Stillwater did not know.

"That will be difficult," she said. "I do not know how I could possibly do that task. Stealing from the other pirates will put a target on our back. We are only strong when the others are separated. If they decide to form an alliance against us, we will be decimated."

"That's your problem, not mine," Ning said. "You should have thought of that before you decided to become so violent around me and my friends."

The woman's face paled as she thought through the many other possibilities, and failed to see any way she could get her treasures back. Stealing from the others was simply an impossible task.

"If I am to bring back, I will need my treasures," she said. "At least give me the coin, please. I need it for my tasks."

Ning thought for a moment and shrugged. "You just need its effect," he said and tossed the coin toward Tim who caught it quickly.

He looked at Ning, wondering. "Flip it," Ning said.

Tim flipped the coin and watched it spin through the air, landing on the side with the woman's head. As it landed, the information about the coin floated into his mind.

"Bless her," Ning said.

Tim nodded and simply waved his hand around the woman, giving her a blessing that was part of the coin's skillset.

Stillwater watched the entire ordeal with narrow eyes, wondering what they were doing. When she heard Ning ask the young man to bless her, she doubted what was about to happen at all.

But when she did feel a familiar feeling of what she called being blessed as well, her eyes went wide in shock.

"He... how did he use my coin? It's bonded to me," she shouted.

"That's not something you should concerned about," Ning said. "Since you have been blessed, you will not need your treasures for what you are about to do. I suggest you leave immediately and find us the treasures before we leave in a few days."

"Go on, the clock is ticking."