A Rich Life is Interesting

On the beach by Shimotsuki Village, Smoker and Tashigi stared at Zhou Qi in shock. "You want to extract the Devil Fruit from him? Can that even be done?"

"I don't know, that's why I want to try!" Zhou Qi said. "After all, I saw Caesar do it pretty easily!"

"Who is Caesar? Did he successfully retrieve a Devil Fruit?" Smoker asked in surprise.

"Caesar is a scientist from the New World, and he did it!" Zhou Qi nodded. There was no reason not to tell them. After all, both of them would become Devil Fruit Users in the future, so what benefit would revealing this secret to them bring? They would only keep the secret even more tightly guarded than he would.

Smoker and Tashigi exchanged glances. They understood why Zhou Qi had avoided his subordinates and only brought the two of them.

"When a Devil Fruit User dies, a new Devil Fruit will be reborn somewhere in the world. This is information you already know!" Zhou Qi said.

"Yes!" Smoker nodded. "And then?"

"What you don't know is that this process is controllable!" Zhou Qi said. "After all, it's tiring for the ability to travel such a long distance. If there happened to be a fruit nearby, wouldn't it just possess it directly?"

"Huh?" Smoker's eyes widened. "It can be done like that?"

Zhou Qi shrugged. "That's how it is. Of course, the probability isn't high. If the ability flies north, but your fruit is in the south, wouldn't the ability get lost?"

"Then what should we do?" Smoker asked hurriedly.

"It's simple, just stuff fruits all around him. Bury him in a pile of fruit!"

Zhou Qi pointed at the seawater. "Here's another piece of information: Devil Fruit Users fear seawater. That is to say, Devil Fruit abilities are also afraid of seawater. If we place the death scene of a Devil Fruit User at the bottom of the sea, this Devil Fruit ability might have nowhere to retreat and enter a nearby fruit!"

"This..." Smoker's eyes widened. How long had you been planning this? How could your plan be so thorough!

"Let's wait here for a while. My equipment is still on its way!" Zhou Qi said, opening another portal.

On the other side of the portal was Smoker's office.

"Don't just walk into my office like it's your home!" Smoker said speechlessly.

"But I can't open it onto the road!" Zhou Qi said. "What if I trip an old man or woman? Are you going to pay for me?"

Smoker was speechless. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I'll get a room for you at the base later. You can enter and exit through that room from now on. By the way, do you want to join the Marines?"

"I'm a merchant. Why would I join the Marines?" Zhou Qi asked speechlessly.

"Is there a conflict between being a merchant and joining the Marines?" Smoker asked. "We won't deliberately drive down prices because you're a merchant. Instead, because you're in the Marines, we'll let you earn more!"

"Wait!" Zhou Qi realized. "Your military can engage in commerce?"

"Of course not!" Smoker shook his head. "Marine law stipulates that active Marines are not allowed to engage in side businesses!"

"So that means it's not allowed?" Zhou Qi asked.

"But your merchant business is your main profession, and being a soldier is the side job!" Smoker explained. "Marine law also stipulates that personnel who have made significant contributions to the Marines and their subordinate agencies can be granted military positions at the discretion of the authorities, enjoying treatment commensurate with their military rank!"

"In other words, you can wear a uniform, wear a rank, and receive a salary, but you won't have any subordinates, nor will you be assigned a warship. And your family and descendants can be exempted from scrutiny and have an easier time joining the Marines..."

Zhou Qi's eyes lit up. "A position?"

Smoker was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "It's a position. It's a bit shabby, though. After all, our Marine salaries aren't even as much as a few boxes of your Amoxicillin..."

"No problem!" Zhou Qi quickly agreed. "Income isn't important. Consider it a contribution to the Marines. It's like fish and water between the military and the people!"

"Uh..." Smoker was stunned for a moment. "Wait, why did you agree so quickly? Aren't you going to consider it further?"

"Consider what!" Zhou Qi shook his head. The end of the universe is a stable position! Besides, he was destined to stay in this world for a long time. Wasn't having a Marine identity much more useful than being a fallen prince of Huaxia? He had only worried that the Marine identity would hinder his business before. Now that it was just a figurehead, why shouldn't he accept it!

"This..." Smoker was also a bit speechless. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Based on the Amoxicillin you provided, I can authorize you the rank of Captain. As our cooperation progresses, Marine Headquarters will also reward you further. Perhaps one day, it won't be impossible for you to be promoted to Vice Admiral!"

"I can become a Vice Admiral?" Zhou Qi was a little surprised. There were only three Admirals in the Marines, so Vice Admiral was also a high-ranking position. Could such a position be bought with money?

"That's what the regulations say, but no one has ever done it!" Smoker said. In fact, he had only just learned about this regulation. Tsuru had sent it to him specifically, and it was clearly prepared for Zhou Qi. The medicine was just too important to the Marines. Of course, becoming a Vice Admiral from a Marine would involve countless hardships. Becoming a Vice Admiral as an external member would require even more effort.

"I understand. It's just a decoy that looks good but can't be used," Zhou Qi said.

"Something like that. But even as a Captain, it should be very useful to you. For example, your merchant ships can fly the Marine flag, and for a certain fee, you can request escort from the Marines, and so on! Merchant ships protected by the Marine flag will not be stopped when they reach any World Government member nation, nor will they be taxed extra. You can do business all over the world! Even pirates will have to think twice before attacking a merchant ship flying the Marine flag!"

"It's useful, it's definitely useful!" Zhou Qi nodded repeatedly. "I'm already considering whether to introduce some of my family's younger generation to truly enlist."

"We welcome it very much!" Smoker smiled. "The Marines will not refuse any strength that desires world peace and stability!"

"Mm-hmm, I'll pass on this good news to the family!" Zhou Qi said. "However, my family is run by a bunch of old fuddy-duddies, so they'll probably only send their descendants over after seeing the benefits."

"I understand, I understand!" Smoker nodded. He also felt that the top brass of the Marines had a group of old fuddy-duddies and old rogues. One could only say that great minds think alike.

"Since your door is already open, let's go and complete the paperwork now. I'll also call a tailor to take your measurements!"

"Okay!" Zhou Qi nodded. "Can I have a cool one, and one with a coat, like the Marine Admirals?"

"No problem!" Smoker nodded. "Regular Marines aren't allowed to do that, but yours is fine. You can participate in the design of your own uniform. You can have any special patterns, as long as it's not a pirate skull!"

"Then I want a hammer and sickle!"

"Uh, okay!" Smoker was a little bewildered. Why a hammer and sickle?

But if that's what he liked, who was he to judge?

"I'll take you to see the tailor..."

"Wait, before that, send some people to buy some pineapples and dragon fruit."

"Pineapples and dragon fruit?"

"Yes, the more the better, they'll be useful later!" Zhou Qi said.

"Oh, oh, I get it!" Smoker remembered the matter of recycling Devil Fruits. "Just those two? What about apples, pears, bananas, and oranges?"

"A few are fine, but not too many!" Zhou Qi shook his head. He remembered that the Mera Mera no Mi looked like both a pineapple and a dragon fruit, so those two fruits should have the best compatibility.

Given that dragon fruit had "fire" in its name, it might indeed be dragon fruit.

However, he should still prepare some other fruits, just in case.

With the arrangements made, he first signed the agreement and became a glorious Marine Captain.

The agreement also stipulated some of his responsibilities, such as not committing evil deeds, not killing innocent people, and not doing anything to tarnish the Marines' reputation. However, he was already a law-abiding person, so this was not a problem at all.

If he ever broke the law, it would definitely not be Zhou Qi's fault; it would mean he was going to make a move on the Celestial Dragons who made the laws.

After that, he went to a shop that specialized in making Marine uniforms to get measured for a custom suit. However, making clothes took time, and he would have to wait two days to pick it up.

Zhou Qi was already looking forward to it. After all, the Marine uniforms here were of excellent quality, and the materials were clearly not cheap. They were nothing like the ones seen at cosplay events, which had a strong plastic feel.

Furthermore, a forty-year-old master craftsman was making it entirely by hand. In the past, he never had the qualifications or the opportunity to enjoy such things!

"Hmm, maybe I can participate in some cosplay too..."

Tsk, with money, Zhou Qi suddenly realized that this world was truly interesting. There were delicious foods, comfortable clothes, fun activities, and nice cars. He could pursue his dreams everywhere, chat with girls, and talk about love.

Back then, going out? Forget it. Watching a movie would cost three days' worth of food money, and buying a cosplay costume would cost half a month's salary. How could he afford to have fun!

"Ding... " Another WeChat message.

First, it was a message from Zhou Mingde. The warehouse had been rented, and the key was in hand.

Then, it was from the container shop.

The goods had been loaded onto the truck and would arrive in five hours.