Harvest

At this moment, a large number of Marines had gathered along the coast.

From time to time, they looked out at the sea, as though waiting for something.

"Splash!"

A huge bulge suddenly rose from the calm sea, and massive amounts of seawater surged outward, forming waves over ten meters high that crashed toward the shore.

"Quick, Brother Lin Qi is coming out!"

"Go help Brother Lin Qi bring it in!"

"Damn, today's Sea King is even bigger."

"Brother Lin Qi is awesome!"

Bare-chested, Lin Qi slowly approached the shore while dragging the corpse of a Sea King over a thousand meters long.

He casually tossed the Sea King onto the shore, then took the towel handed over by one of his subordinates and dried his hair.

"Send it to the cafeteria. We're having extra dishes tonight."

"Yes, Boss Lin Qi."

Dozens of people who had long been prepared used forklifts and other tools to drag the enormous Sea King corpse away.

"Looks like we're in for a treat tonight."

Someone said this while licking his lips.

The larger a Sea King was, the more energy it contained and the better its meat tasted.

Even at Marine Headquarters, Sea Kings over a thousand meters long were rarely seen.

"Thanks to Brother Lin Qi regularly going into the sea to fight Sea Kings, we get to enjoy food like this."

"Yeah, yeah. I really don't know how to thank the boss."

"We're all brothers. No need to be so polite." Lin Qi flashed a hearty smile.

"Brother Lin Qi... Brother Lin Qi, there's good news!"

Even from far away, Yosef's prominent front teeth were visible.

Ever since Yosef's group of four had been defeated half a year ago, Yosef had developed an inexplicable fervor toward Lin Qi.

"What's got you so happy?"

Panting heavily, Yosef took out two envelopes embroidered with white doves and handed them to Lin Qi. "Vice Admiral Garp asked me to give these to you."

"Oh? Vice Admiral Garp sent these for me."

Lin Qi opened one letter first and discovered a Captain's appointment letter inside. A note had also been tucked beneath it.

Although you possess the strength of a flag officer, Captain is already the highest rank I can grant you. Any higher, without military achievements to support it, I fear you would be unable to convince the public. —Sengoku

Marine ranks could be divided into:

Chore Soldier, Seaman Third Class, Seaman Second Class, Seaman First Class, Corporal, Sergeant, Master Sergeant, Warrant Officer, Ensign, Lieutenant Junior Grade, Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander, Commander, Captain, Commodore, Rear Admiral, Vice Admiral, Admiral, Fleet Admiral.

This was not yet the era when exceptions had to be made for recruitment. Military achievements and seniority were still important factors.

Captain was no low rank. Was Sengoku not afraid people would think he was being favored because of connections?

The other envelope granted him supreme command over a Warship.

There were not many people—only two hundred—and that suited Lin Qi perfectly.

Too many people would instead slow them down when chasing Pirates.

After closing both letters, he laughed heartily. "Not bad. This is good news. Thanks for your hard work."

"What good news? Tell Hina about it."

Hina appeared behind him with a food container in hand.

Everyone froze, then shouted together, "Big Sis Hina!"

"Stop shouting nonsense!" Hina spat, her face red.

When she heard that Lin Qi was finally going to sea, she had been thrilled as well. Grabbing his hand, she said, "You have to take Hina with you too."

"Of course." Lin Qi rubbed her head and smiled. "I can't live without your cooking now. So what did you bring today?"

Hina opened the food container and took out three Bentos.

"This is Sea King Meat from the Sea King you hunted yesterday. I marinated it with salt and pepper. The rest are all dishes you like too."

Sea King Meat contained enormous amounts of energy. Often, a single piece of high-grade Sea King Meat could match the energy of an entire truckload of beef.

"Boss, the table."

Everyone was already used to this and skillfully brought over tables and chairs.

To squeeze out more time for training, he basically no longer went to the cafeteria.

Lin Qi snapped apart his chopsticks, then suddenly remembered something and looked at Hina. "Want to have some with me?"

"Ah~"

Hina brushed the hair by her ear behind her head, leaned down, and parted her red lips like a little bird waiting to be fed.

Lin Qi skillfully picked up a piece of Sea King Meat and placed it in Hina's mouth.

"Mmm, the flavor is just right."

Hina merely took a small taste. Looking at Lin Qi as though she wanted to say something but hesitated, she said, "Come home early tonight. I have something to discuss with you."

"Alright."

After Hina left, Lin Qi wolfed down his Bento, but his thoughts drifted far away.

That guy Smoker had already been missing for half a month. Apparently, he had gone to carry out a secret mission. Strange.

"System, display my personal interface."

Host: Lin Qi

Combat abilities: Geppo (peak), Shave (advanced), Rankyaku (advanced), Yari Yubi (advanced), Tekkai (intermediate), Life Return (intermediate), Kami-e (beginner). Note: Any skill with a limit is represented by proficiency.

Life abilities: Navigation (beginner), Cooking (beginner).

Basic attributes: Physique: Level 4 (physically powerful), Swordsmanship: Level 4 (Swordsman), Marksmanship: Level 3 (seasoned Sniper), Observation Haki: Level 3, Armament Haki: Level 4, Conqueror's Haki: Level 5 (Conqueror's King). Note: Attributes without limits that can continually improve are represented as basic attributes.

This was the result of Lin Qi's past half year.

If asked how strong his limits were now, even Lin Qi himself did not know.

Over the past half year, since both Garp and Zephyr were close-combat powerhouses, he had been forced onto the path of close-quarters combat as well.

However, relying on his talent, his Marksmanship had barely reached Level 3 too.

As for Points, he had not even had a chance to go to sea during the past half year.

He had been quietly building himself up all along, and his Points were still at 0.

Splash!

A Warship approached from afar, and Lin Qi spotted that graceful figure at the bow.

"Big Sis Momousagi has returned from catching Pirates!"

Splash!

Lin Qi seemed to see a Pirate covered in iron chains shove aside the guarding Marines and leap into the sea.

"This is bad, the prisoner escaped!" the Marines shouted anxiously as people continuously jumped into the water.

"Trying to escape? This is Marine Headquarters."

Lin Qi's expression suddenly changed. "No, that guy is trying to kill himself."

Covered in chains, the prisoner sank extremely fast.

Seeing that Momousagi was about to jump down as well, Lin Qi panicked.

If Big Sis Momousagi's voluptuous figure got her clothes soaked by seawater, that would be a disaster!

"Big Sis Momousagi, I'll help."

Stepping through the air with Geppo, Lin Qi plunged into the sea like a torpedo.

"Got him."

By the time Lin Qi caught the man, the man was still gulping down seawater, trying to drown himself.

Threads of blood flowed from the man's mouth. Lin Qi knew that the man had probably even bitten off his own tongue.

After throwing the man back onto the deck, a group of Doctors rushed over to treat him.

Momousagi let out a long breath and patted her full chest. "Thanks to you. I didn't expect that prisoner to still have the strength to struggle while carrying Seastone. He nearly died."

Lin Qi was confused. "Why did that man want to kill himself?"

"He's the captain of the Star Pirates. He probably killed himself because he didn't want to drag down his subordinates."