Schemes

The Navy warship traveled at a tremendous speed, far faster than his own vessel. A few hours later, Luo Ze could already see the outline of Dog Town from aboard the ship.

More than ten minutes later, the warship carrying Luo Ze reached the western coast of Dog Town.

After docking the warship along the western coast, Luo Ze disembarked under Pulian's guidance.

The Navy soldiers all wore white uniforms, while Luo Ze was dressed entirely in black. Walking among them, he stood out like a crane among chickens.

Coupled with the respect Pulian showed Luo Ze, the scene looked even stranger.

The moment they disembarked, quite a few people nearby turned their eyes toward Luo Ze. Most of them were civilians from Dog Town, and seeing people come down from a Navy warship naturally made them curious. When they noticed the conspicuous Luo Ze, they were even more shocked.

Just who was this person, to make even the Navy treat him with such respect?

Before long, this thought spread through the minds of many passersby.

"Eh, who is that guy? Why is he standing with the Navy? He isn't wearing a Navy uniform!"

The passersby looked around, whispering among themselves and exchanging information, all confused by Luo Ze's identity.

However, neither Luo Ze nor Pulian paid them any mind.

Luo Ze was cold by nature and did not care what others thought of him. Besides, he had nothing to do with these civilians and could not be bothered to pay them any attention.

Pulian, on the other hand, wanted to avoid attention as much as possible. Being seen in such an embarrassing state filled him with resentment, and he was already plotting how to take revenge once Luo Ze was caught.

"Lord Luo Ze, you're heading to the Navy branch, right? How about I go with you? I'll get the hundred million Beli in compensation for you. Besides, with my help, you'll have to go through far fewer procedures when claiming the bounty."

After taking only a few steps, Pulian stopped. He turned to Luo Ze and said with a genial smile.

"Fine."

Luo Ze considered it for a moment before agreeing.

Though he had no idea what bad intentions Pulian was harboring, he agreed anyway. He had returned this time specifically to claim the bounty. The sooner he completed the system mission, the sooner his strength would improve. So, the earlier he went to the Navy branch, the better.

"Good, let's go."

Pulian was delighted, feeling the thrill of a scheme succeeding. He had been worried that Luo Ze might reject his proposal, but now it seemed that the other party was clearly not as intelligent as he was.

He secretly sneered. A brute with simple thoughts like you is destined to die by my scheme.

Luo Ze merely glanced at Pulian, a trace of inscrutable meaning flickering in his eyes.

The group crossed several streets and arrived before the Navy branch.

When they reached Dog Town's central district, quite a few people recognized Luo Ze. However, most of them were pirates or pirate hunters. Only people in their circle paid particular attention to such information.

"We're here."

Pulian looked at the massive building before him, narrowing his eyes as a smug smile quietly appeared on his lips.

He turned around and quickly put on a respectful expression. "Mr. Luo Ze, let's go inside."

Luo Ze raised an eyebrow. His sixth sense told him that something was off about Pulian, but he did not know exactly what it was.

Still, he had absolute confidence in his own strength. Luo Ze nodded at Pulian and followed him inside.

But from the moment he entered the Navy branch, Luo Ze sensed something unusual.

There seemed to be an unusually large number of Navy personnel in the branch today.

He had visited Navy branches many times before, but never had he seen so many Navy soldiers moving about and working inside.

Moreover, there were no other kinds of people in the Navy branch.

That was another strange point. Since entering, Luo Ze had not seen a single pirate hunter or civilian. The entire Navy branch was filled only with Navy soldiers, which seemed highly abnormal.

"Mr. Luo Ze, please wait here for a moment. I'll go get the money." Pulian led Luo Ze into the hall, had him sit down, and smiled at him.

Then he turned and left without waiting for Luo Ze's response.

Luo Ze was puzzled and had just begun to think when a black bullet shot toward him from behind.

Bang!

The loud gunshot rang out, making Luo Ze raise an eyebrow. He instantly drew his sword and turned his gaze. In a single moment, he cleaved the bullet in half.

"What is the meaning of this..." Luo Ze's gaze turned cold. It seemed that the Navy intended to make a move against him.

But he had not committed any crime, had he? Was the Navy really attacking him without any reason?

"Hahahaha! Impressive! You must be the pirate hunter, Killing Sword Luo Ze!"

Just as Luo Ze was feeling puzzled, a shrill voice suddenly rang out. It was so grating that it made one's head ache, and even Luo Ze frowned.

"Colonel Yate, isn't this a little inappropriate? I haven't committed any crime."

Luo Ze coldly glanced at the fat man who had suddenly appeared and spoke.

However, Colonel Yate ignored Luo Ze.

He sneered and applauded Pulian.

"Well done! Pulian."

As his words fell, a large group of Navy soldiers in white uniforms rushed in from outside with firearms in hand, quickly surrounding the entire hall.

Hundreds of rifles were aimed at Luo Ze's body. With a single order from Colonel Yate, Luo Ze would be riddled with bullets by these Navy soldiers.

Moreover, with so many Marines having entered the hall, the place had become rather crowded, leaving Luo Ze with very little room to evade.

"So that's it. You deliberately lured me here, then planned to kill me..."

Seeing this, Luo Ze understood everything. He stared coldly at Colonel Yate, his expression somewhat grim.

It seemed he had thought too highly of these Marines. He had originally believed that, as Marines, they would at least not resort to such despicable methods.

Now, it seemed that had merely been his wishful thinking.

"Very clever!... But Killing Sword Luo Ze, even you have only death awaiting you in this situation, don't you?"

Colonel Yate sneered coldly, looking as though his scheme had succeeded.

He glanced disdainfully at Pulian and the others.

This pirate hunter could have been dealt with by using a little trick, yet those idiots had failed to take him down.

"Colonel Yate, you're amazing!" The long-haired beauty lay in Yate's arms, shifting at just the right moment as she spoke in a sweet, coquettish voice.

"Haha, it was only a small scheme. Back when I was hunting pirates in the South Blue, this brat was probably still playing in the mud somewhere," Colonel Yate said smugly.

After saying that, he looked at Luo Ze with mockery written all over his face, wearing an expression of complete confidence.

"What about the one hundred million you promised me?"

However, Luo Ze suddenly turned to ask Pulian.

"Haha, idiot. That was a lie. If you want money, go to hell!"

Pulian burst into laughter. A pirate hunter was still a pirate hunter—at death's door, yet he was still thinking about that nonexistent payment.

"That really is a pity..."

Hearing this, Luo Ze sighed softly.

In truth, he had wanted to honestly be a pirate hunter. After all, it meant freedom and enormous profits for him.

But judging from the current situation, it seemed that unless he killed them today, he would not be leaving this Marine branch alive.

"What a headache... I've actually gotten along rather well with the Marines all this time."

Luo Ze said regretfully.

"But since you're so eager to fight, then come on. I've never killed a Marine before."

Luo Ze said with a smile, suddenly slashing out with his sword.