Great Harvest

Walking through the corridors of the Marines base, Garen silently built up his emotions and pondered his role.

He naturally understood Nami's purpose.

By the time Commander Hammer greeted Garen and Nami with a smiling face and ushered them into a beautifully decorated conference room, a somewhat aloof and stern expression had already appeared on Garen's face.

"Captain Smoker, please have a seat!"

Hammer walked to the square table in the conference room with a smile and personally placed the chair for Garen at the head of the table.

Garen nodded slightly without changing his expression, and unceremoniously sat on the main seat with Hammer's assistance, his attitude very arrogant and domineering.

Hammer was not annoyed, but walked to Garen's left and placed a seat for Nami, also humbly inviting her to sit down.

He had already seen through the other identity of this "low-ranking Marine," Nami, so he naturally treated her with extra courtesy.

Nami also performed very well, acting being her bread and butter.

She walked slowly to Garen's side and sat down without looking sideways, then shifted her body lazily in the comfortable leather chair, looking relaxed and at ease, without the restraint of a "low-ranking Marine" facing a superior officer.

This performance further confirmed Commander Hammer's previous speculation, and he couldn't help but become more respectful.

After the two were seated, Commander Hammer directly took out a delicate small leather case and respectfully placed it on the table in front of Nami and Garen.

Since he knew what kind of person "Smoker" was, Commander Hammer simply skipped the pleasantries and said straight to the point:

"Captain Smoker!"

"These are some local specialties that your subordinate has prepared to welcome you, I hope you will accept them with a smile!"

Garen remained unmoved, not even bothering to lift his eyelids.

Commander Hammer cursed inwardly, but his face did not show any fluctuations.

Nami slowly reached out and gently opened the bulging small leather case; the case popped open, and stacks of neatly arranged Beli banknotes came into view.

Nami roughly estimated that the case in front of her contained about ten million Beli in brand new banknotes.

In the past, Miss Nami would probably have pounced on this pile of banknotes with shining eyes and drool.

However, Nami now appeared very calm.

She glanced at the case of money a few times, then silently closed the leather case again, and said meaningfully:

"We appreciate Commander Hammer's kindness."

"However, should we talk about the serious business of Loguetown's security first?"

As she said this, Nami had already quietly moved the small leather case a considerable distance closer to herself.

Finally, Nami simply took the case of money off the table and placed it next to her seat.

"Cough cough..."

Garen coughed twice and put on a businesslike face to cooperate with Nami's performance:

"Commander Hammer!"

"As the chief officer of the Loguetown Marines base, you have the responsibility to protect the people, suppress bandits, and control the East Blue."

"But today, I see those mosquitoes, flies, rats, and cockroaches parading through Loguetown, how rampant!"

Garen's eyes narrowed, and the righteousness on his face grew stronger:

"What's going on? Can you explain it!"

Commander Hammer's heart sank, he could of course hear that the other party was about to make exorbitant demands.

"I'm very sorry!"

"In order to busy myself with the handover, your subordinate has recently had some unavoidable flaws in security work..."

Hammer casually defended himself.

The reason was very insincere, and no one would believe it.

But Hammer knew that what "Smoker" really wanted was this—

Another delicate small wooden box was gently placed on the table by Commander Hammer.

"The one just now was just a local specialty..."

Commander Hammer said with a smile:

"I also prepared some worthless little crafts for Captain Smoker."

Garen still had an impassive expression, but Nami had already shown a happy smile that made Commander Hammer very relieved.

Nami reached out again and pulled the small wooden box in front of her, then unceremoniously opened the box in front of Hammer.

As soon as the box opened a crack, a dazzling golden light flashed into Miss Nami's eyes.

Jewels, jade, and gold coins were densely stacked together, glittering with precious light and golden light.

Nami casually took out a pigeon-egg-sized sapphire ring, and admired it slightly in the bright light of the conference room, and immediately showed a very satisfied smile on her face.

There were so many things in the box that even the professional thief, Cat Burglar, found it difficult to appraise the value of the treasure in the box for a while.

But what was certain was that this box of jewelry and gold coins was the real deal, and its value was far higher than the ten million Beli in cash.

Even Commander Hammer, who usually wore an indifferent expression, subtly revealed a hint of heartache when he saw Nami playing with the box of jewels.

"Very good."

Nami, while quietly pulling the box closer to herself, smiled at Hammer and said:

"Commander Hammer, you truly are a good and dutiful officer."

"It seems those bad rumors about you in Loguetown were just baseless gossip!"

Two veins throbbed on Hammer's forehead:

This little girl not only didn't change her tune after taking the money, but she's also rattling off even more dirt on me right in front of my face...

Clearly, she's not satisfied and wants to squeeze even more benefits out of me!

Nami completely ignored Hammer's ugly expression and continued meaningfully:

"These 'local specialties' are nice, but they're a bit too conspicuous."

"Having these things around could easily tarnish Captain Smoker's reputation for integrity..."

"I wonder, does Commander Hammer have any more discreet collectibles?"

This wasn't just a hint; it was outright bribery.

And Nami even clarified the form of payment she wanted...

More discreet than cash and jewels would naturally be a bank check.

To appease the aggressively approaching "Smoker," Hammer had indeed prepared all sorts of small gifts, and a check was one of them.

Commander Hammer's face darkened even further, and his expression lost all of its previous composure.

She still wants to use my secrets to extort money?!

Hammer sneered inwardly:

Fine! I'll let you have the money, but you won't live to spend it!

So, without a word, Hammer took out a pre-prepared East Blue bank draft from his pocket and sullenly placed it on the table.

This type of draft was different from an ordinary check; it didn't have any information about the payee or payer, only a security mark and an amount. Anyone could take it to the bank and exchange it for cash.

These hard-to-trace, easy-to-carry drafts were a black market service that the bank designed specifically for special clients like pirates, corrupt officials, and underworld organizations in the absence of government oversight.

Nami unceremoniously grabbed the draft and quickly focused her eyes on it:

Fifty million Beli.

Even Nami's acting skills couldn't prevent her from falling into a brief silence due to the shocking number.

The money came too quickly and easily, making it hard for the Cat Burglar Nami to accept.

She had only been by Garen's side for three days, and she had already achieved a "small goal" that she had worked hard for many years to achieve.

"Commander Hammer truly is a pillar of the Marines!"

Nami smiled happily, the check already clutched tightly in her hand.

After all, this was all赃款

Carrying around a box of money and a box of jewels was too conspicuous. If she was unlucky and Smoker confiscated it afterward, it wouldn't be worth it.

So, Nami deliberately put on a greedy act and obtained this discreet, low-profile, and valuable draft from Vice Captain Hammer.

"I wonder if Captain Smoker is satisfied with my work?"

Commander Hammer, with an ugly smile plastered on his face, moved closer to Garen.

"Hahaha..."

Garen laughed unrestrainedly: "Satisfied, very satisfied!"

He was indeed very satisfied with Commander Hammer's selfless dedication.

But it was time to reveal his true intentions.

Garen secretly prepared himself, ready to take advantage of the situation and suddenly launch an attack.

Before making his move, Garen glanced at Commander Hammer with ill intentions, his gaze inadvertently landing on the expensive watch on Hammer's wrist, which sparkled with tiny diamonds.

Um...

If you're going to slaughter a pig, you have to shave it clean first...

So, Garen said half-jokingly:

"Commander Hammer!"

"As an honest and upright military officer, isn't wearing such an expensive watch a bit inappropriate?"

"If the people of Loguetown see this, it might damage the Marines' image of being bright and just!"

"Y-yes!"

Hammer nodded and bowed, moving even closer to Garen, and very "discreetly" made a gesture to unfasten the watch on his wrist:

"Captain Smoker's teachings are correct!"

"I'll correct myself immediately!"

Just as Commander Hammer was feigning a bow to present the watch, a small revolver quietly slipped from his sleeve and was tightly gripped in his palm.

A gunshot rang out.

A Seastone Bullet burst from the muzzle flash, striking Garen's chest at point-blank range.

Garen fell to the ground.

"MMP!"

Commander Hammer waved the revolver in his hand excitedly, then cursed like a madman:

"You even try to snatch a watch?"

"You're more greedy than I am, you son of a bitch!"