Success Through Face-Grinding

Three minutes later, Smoker got out of the car.

He was about to return to his office when he remembered Zhou Qi's words from earlier.

"How will he get here? What does he want with me?" Smoker looked around and saw a circle suddenly appear beside him. Then, a young man walked out of the circle.

"What is this? The Door-Door Fruit?" Smoker had seen the Devil Fruit encyclopedia, but he quickly shook his head. "No, this doesn't seem quite like the Door-Door Fruit."

He couldn't be sure. After all, he had never met a Door-Door Fruit user. What could he tell from just a brief description?

Besides, his academic performance in the past was average. Smoker couldn't be sure if his memory was accurate.

"Just assume I'm a Door-Door Fruit user!" Zhou Qi said with a smile, thinking of the real Door-Door Fruit user, Bruno.

Fortunately, he was a secret agent, and not many people knew about his abilities.

However, just in case, he still needed to find an opportunity to get rid of him and retrieve the fruit.

In this world, one Door-Door Fruit user was enough.

Moreover, Zhou Qi was curious. If he ate the Door-Door Fruit, could his application of this travel portal become more diverse?

But for future considerations, he was more inclined to eat the Thunder-Thunder Fruit.

"Are you a pirate?" Smoker asked as he walked, "But I haven't seen your bounty poster."

"No!" Zhou Qi quickly shook his head. "What pirate would be so bold as to come looking for you?"

"There are plenty of bold pirates. The one from just now was one of them!" Smoker chuckled.

"Uh..." This...

Zhou Qi really didn't understand the thought process of many pirates in this world. Shouldn't they be hiding from such renowned experts?

But the fact was, there were many pirates who challenged the Four Emperors and the Three Admirals.

Danzo's kunai piercing Susanoo would be considered a routine operation in this world.

Perhaps this was the fearlessness of the ignorant!

"So, what do you want with me, enlistee?" Smoker asked.

"Uh, no, actually, I'm a merchant!" Zhou Qi said.

"A merchant?" Smoker said, "If you want to cooperate with the Marines, please find Logistics Base Chief Luge. I'm not in charge of these matters, and I don't accept gifts. Please leave!"

"Wait!" Zhou Qi quickly followed him. Smoker was 2.10 meters tall and took large, fast strides. He had to jog to keep up.

"Actually, although I am a merchant, I entrust my business matters to my subordinates. I'm looking for you for something else!" Zhou Qi said.

Although he knew Smoker's character was upright and honest, he didn't expect him to be a bit impatient. Zhou Qi had to keep it brief: "For merchants to make big money, they need a peaceful business environment. So, I want to ask you to crack down hard on the pirate forces in the East Blue, preferably to achieve dynamic zero-clearing..."

Smoker said, "I'll do that even if you don't tell me!"

"But pirates have already reached Loguetown, haven't they!" Zhou Qi said, "This is enough to prove..."

"What do you know!" Hearing this, Smoker immediately became unhappy. "Are you implying we're neglecting our duties? Do you know how many pirates are on this sea? Do you know how many times we Marines are deployed every month?"

"We don't even have time for holidays, not even time for soldiers to reunite with their families!"

"I just returned from patrol twenty minutes ago!"

I haven't even warmed my seat before I have to ride a motorcycle to catch pirates. I'm working this hard, and yet I'm still questioned by the public?

It was fortunate that Zhou Qi was a civilian. If he were his superior or subordinate, he would have punched him long ago for daring to question him like that.

Even so, Smoker felt a bit wronged. Seeing that they had reached the office, he kicked the door open, startling Tashigi, who was reading inside.

"Captain Smoker!" Tashigi quickly stood up.

Zhou Qi looked at the arrangement inside. It was filled with smoke, and the windows weren't opened, making the whole room seem a bit dark.

No wonder Tashigi's eyesight was poor from reading in such an environment all year round...

And she was inhaling secondhand smoke every day...

"Does this involve any secrets? Can I come in?" Zhou Qi asked.

"Hello, are you Captain's guest?" Tashigi quickly stood up. "Please come in, I'll pour you some tea..."

Smoker remained silent, but he didn't object.

Zhou Qi was amused. He didn't expect Smoker to be a bit tsundere?

Looking at the three cigars in Smoker's mouth and the not-so-large office, Zhou Qi hesitated for a moment and opened another door.

On the other side of the door was his kitchen's range hood.

He turned on the power, and the whirring sound of the fan quickly drew out the smoke in the room.

"Your ability is quite convenient!" Smoker said subconsciously as he watched this scene.

It's a shame it's not suitable for combat.

"It's alright!" Zhou Qi nodded and reached into another door. When he pulled his hand out, he was holding a scroll of diagrams.

"Take a look at this..."

"Hmm, Dragon Spring Sword, Wild Goose Feather Saber, Miao Dao?" This was actually a weapon diagram scroll!

The weapons in the album all gleamed with a metallic luster, clearly not ordinary.

"So you're an arms dealer!?" Smoker's expression darkened instantly. "Causing trouble in other countries isn't enough, you want to extend your reach into our Marines too!"

"You're overthinking it, Captain!" Zhou Qi shook his head. "I just thought, if you had better weapons, wouldn't your efficiency in fighting pirates increase? If pirate-fighting efficiency increases, the Marines' deterrent power will also increase, and the number of pirates will naturally decline faster!"

"What you're saying makes a lot of sense!" Smoker shook his head. "But forget it, only a minority of soldiers in the Marines use swords; most use guns! Or are you saying you can even get guns here!?"

"Uh..." It was possible, but they were too advanced, and he was afraid of causing misunderstandings with the World Government.

Moreover, he realized that Smoker probably didn't want to cooperate with him at all.

It made sense. He was demoted to the East Blue precisely because he refused to go along with his superiors, so how could he be bought off by a merchant?

Although Zhou Qi believed he wasn't trying to buy anyone off, from Smoker's perspective, his actions were a form of bribery and corruption.

"I understand!" Zhou Qi stood up. "Sorry to have bothered you!"

Smoker waved his hand, and just then, Tashigi came in with tea.

"Uh, you're leaving already?" Tashigi looked a bit stunned.

"Yes..." Zhou Qi nodded. "Sorry to have bothered you!"

"Ah, no, no!" Tashigi waved her hand. "Shall I see you out?"

As she spoke, she glanced back at Smoker.

Zhou Qi understood why Tashigi could stay with Smoker for so long. Smoker's personality was undoubtedly one that could easily offend people, but Tashigi's politeness could compensate for some of Smoker's missteps, preventing him from making enemies everywhere.

Such a good subordinate, I'm envious.jpg...

Leaving the office building, Tashigi glanced back at the small office that was still emitting smoke and said, "Um, please don't be angry. The Captain is just a bit blunt, but he means no harm..."

"Do you know what we talked about?" Zhou Qi asked.

"Uh, I don't know, but..."

This kind of thing had happened many times over the past year, so she handled it quite skillfully.

"Of course, I'm not angry with him. Having such an upright superior is a good thing for Loguetown..." Zhou Qi smiled.

Although Captain Rat was easy to bribe, he would also betray you if you didn't pay him.

Moreover, such greedy people had insatiable desires and could never be satisfied.

Smoker, on the other hand, while he wouldn't give you special treatment, he treated everyone else the same way.

Under fair competition, who could compete with Zhou Qi, who had the world as his backing?

So, although today seemed to have yielded no tangible results, he had at least made an impression and learned about Smoker's attitude towards merchants. The gains were already substantial.

As for building a relationship, that could come later.

"Do you really think so?" Tashigi asked with some excitement. She greatly admired Smoker, so hearing someone praise him made her happier than if they praised her.

"Really!" Zhou Qi nodded. "Speaking of which, Miss Tashigi, you're also an excellent subordinate. Have you ever considered a career change? If you were to join our merchant association, I would definitely offer you the best treatment!"

"Uh, I can't!" Tashigi quickly shook her head. "Besides, being a Marine is my dream!"

"Isn't your dream to collect all the famous swords?" Zhou Qi asked.

"Being a Marine is my dream, and collecting famous swords is also my dream!" Tashigi said seriously. She wasn't surprised Zhou Qi knew about her hobby; many people were aware of it.

"I see!" Zhou Qi nodded.

"Oh, right. If you hear any clues about famous swords, please be sure to tell me!"

"Definitely, definitely!"

Zhou Qi was quite curious about these so-called famous swords, mainly wondering which was more powerful: these handcrafted blades or swords forged with modern metal...

But thinking about Shusui, a Great Grade Sword that wouldn't bend even if a dinosaur stood on it, and knowing there were Supreme Grade Swords above that...

Modern blades might not be as good as the Supreme Grade Swords here.

What did this imply? New materials