Two New Retainers (Second Chapter Tonight)

The passage to the secret base opened once more.

After descending the long flight of steps, Ma Qiao arrived at the "fountain."

He glanced at the sabers, spears, swords, and halberds hanging on the shop wall, then looked away.

Rather than relying on those external aids, summoning someone was more practical for now.

Talent was the most precious resource of the twenty-first century!

And the twenty-first century was the century of biology! His voice cracked as he declared it.

So there was nothing to hesitate over this time.

"Boar, dog, bird, monkey, ram!"

Ma Qiao rapidly formed hand seals, then slammed his hands against the ground.

A puff of white smoke rose, and a small, furry figure with a mischievous look appeared within it.

"One, two, three, four! Captain Teemo is on duty!"

"Size doesn't mean everything!"

"Reporting for duty, sir!"

Looking at the familiar figure before him, Ma Qiao couldn't help marveling at how stingy his ability was!

Garen and Ashe had at least come with a set of beginner's cloth clothing, but Teemo, this hairy Yordle, had appeared with both his chest and his backside bare.

Fortunately, Ma Qiao had prepared several sets of baby clothes and thoughtfully instructed Teemo to put them on.

Wearing split-crotch pants and sucking on a pacifier, Captain Teemo quickly adjusted to his role as the fifth retainer and asked, "Sir, is there a powerful enemy you need Teemo to scout out for you?"

Ma Qiao shook his head, picked Teemo up, and strode into a special room next door.

The room had special ventilation and temperature-control systems, and a huge mushroom bed stood in the center.

"The twenty-first century is the century of biology. There's great potential in developing agriculture and breeding, rural revitalization is just around the corner, and young people who devote themselves to agriculture have a bright future!"

Ma Qiao took out a dusty book and instructed him, "Captain Teemo, for a long time to come, your battlefield won't be on the front lines, but here in this mushroom cultivation room. Follow this Practical Technical Guide to Den Den Mushi Breeding and research techniques for breeding Den Den Mushi and growing feed mushrooms!"

"I have high hopes for you, young man. Keep it up!"

Although Teemo was known as a cute mascot, Ma Qiao was a straight-as-steel man and naturally wouldn't be fooled by his appearance.

As a tool, Teemo would most likely spend the next few years growing mushrooms underground, never seeing the light of day.

Fortunately, he didn't object to the work.

Besides, the work was indeed very important.

What future could any faction have if it couldn't farm scientifically?

Teemo soon prepared the mushroom bed, laying down mashed plants to make a soft bed of humus and keeping the temperature and humidity within precise ranges.

Then he carefully transplanted the mycelium left over from Ma Qiao's previous failed cultivation attempts.

The whole process was somewhat like leafcutter ants cultivating fungi in their nests.

Ma Qiao nodded in satisfaction.

A single move was enough to show whether someone knew his trade.

Teemo's cultivation skills were far better than his own. There wasn't a better mushroom-growing master in the entire pirate world.

Although it was a shame to tie up such a valuable combat-ready asset, from another perspective, Teemo could hold off on leveling up and buying equipment for now and devote himself to a noncombat profession, saving a great deal of money.

Summoning Teemo had cost Ma Qiao 63 million Beli, leaving him with 67.8 million Beli.

That was enough to raise Nezumi to level three.

But after some thought, Ma Qiao decided against it.

Ma Qiao now had five heroes in total: Garen, Ashe, Ryze, Twitch, and Teemo.

If he got one more, he could unlock level-six heroes.

Every League of Legends player knew that, aside from a few heroes like Jayce and Udyr, level five and level six marked a huge turning point for the vast majority of heroes.

The R skill, commonly known as an ultimate, was often powerful enough to turn the tide of battle.

So Ma Qiao felt that instead of spending money to level up Nezumi, he might as well use it to get a hero to level six first.

Whether it was Ryze's utility ultimate or Garen's combat ultimate, both were very useful.

Besides, Nezumi was going to the weakest sea, the East Blue. With Garen assisting him, he shouldn't face any great danger.

The original Lieutenant Nezumi had become a colonel at the East Blue's 16th Branch and prospered there over the next few years. He had even survived the Sun God's wrath in one piece, without suffering any fatal injuries.

Now that Garen was there to assist him, he would naturally be even safer.

After weighing it over, Ma Qiao finally decided he might as well recruit the sixth hero in one go.

As for whom to choose...

Now that he had the great Teemo, Ma Qiao was ready to devote himself wholeheartedly to breaking into the entrepreneurial deep waters of instant messaging and the internet of everything.

To hell with that bullshit sauce-aroma technology!

I, Ma Qiao, would rather die poor, jump off Middle Finger Mountain, and drown in the sea than make money by cheating people with businesses that do nothing to advance society!

Brimming with confidence, Ma Qiao ruled out Gragas and chose another hero of great strategic value.

Another puff of white smoke appeared.

"Neither fire nor the deep sea can take my life!"

A powerfully built middle-aged man with a face full of stubble and a fierce gleam in his eyes slowly emerged from the smoke. He knelt on one knee before Ma Qiao and saluted.

"Captain Ma Qiao, your loyal sailor, Gangplank, the Terror of the Seas, salutes you!"

Early the next morning, the notoriously greedy Marine Lieutenant Nezumi personally carried gifts up Middle Finger Mountain on foot to the Big Bird Spin-Spin Tavern, where he thanked Teacher Ma Qiao for saving his life.

At the same time, he invited Teacher Ma to visit the G-2 Branch. The Marines greatly admired a negotiation expert as upright, brave, and skillful as Teacher Ma.

The matter caused quite a stir in the town of Whiskey Peak.

Pirate Hunters were different from pirates, after all.

Some Pirate Hunters were pirates at heart, but they didn't want to be wanted by the Marines, so they used their identities as Pirate Hunters as a cover.

But many Pirate Hunters actually preferred a peaceful, orderly life and only made their living at sea because they had no other choice.

A stable job within the system was something they dreamed of.

In a place like Whiskey Peak, the second kind made up the vast majority of Pirate Hunters.

After all, Pirate Hunting was a profession that offered a great deal of freedom. The only reason they chose to join Baroque Works rather than work alone was that they valued its employee benefits and the fact that its comprehensive intelligence network made it easy for members to find jobs they could handle.

Although Baroque Works didn't offer the same iron rice bowl as the Marines, it was still a large organization with a relatively comprehensive benefits system, satisfactory base pay, and a relatively stable workload.

This produced a very obvious survivorship bias.

Now that Ma Qiao was receiving a talent subsidy from the Marines, people naturally envied him greatly.

Igaram, on the other hand, was deeply worried.

How could a veteran member of a long-established criminal organization accept a Marine subsidy?

That was against the rules!

But after Igaram reported it to his superiors, he received no response.