Three Extras

The bounty matter was settled quickly. To Luo Ze's surprise, the newly appointed Rear Admiral Luca was quite generous.

After briefly tallying the total bounty, Luca promptly had someone deliver the money to Luo Ze.

Rather than using the system's ability to store the money directly, Luo Ze sat where he was and counted it slowly.

Luca was in no hurry either. He remained seated, smiling as he watched Luo Ze.

"Mr. Luo Ze truly is a powerful man! The pirates you dealt with were all villains who ran rampant through South Blue, disrupting order. With your assistance, there will surely be fewer and fewer pirates in South Blue."

Luca said with a smile.

"Heh, it's just work." Luo Ze counted the Beli and smiled. "Personally, I enjoy fighting. The thrill of battling and killing each other fascinates me. And since hunting pirates earns bounties, I became a pirate hunter."

Luca looked at Luo Ze approvingly.

"Mr. Luo Ze, would you be interested in taking a position with our Marines? Of course, I'm not asking you to work under me. With your skills, you could certainly make a name for yourself in the Marines and accomplish great things."

Luca asked Luo Ze. He had been observing Luo Ze ever since he entered the room. He sensed the aura of a strong man from him, and that stirred his desire to recruit talent.

Luo Ze was slightly taken aback. He had not expected Luca to invite him to join the Marines.

He quickly recovered and shook his head at Luca. "I'll pass. I prefer a free life."

Luo Ze said.

It was not that he looked down on the Marines or held any prejudice against them. It was simply in his nature to prefer living without restraints.

"What a pity." Luca said regretfully. If Luo Ze joined the Marines, he would definitely become a great asset to them.

"By the way, have you caught the culprit this time?" Luo Ze suddenly asked.

This concerned him personally, so he was rather concerned about it.

"We have no leads at all. But I believe I will catch the culprit." At the mention of the culprit, Luca's smile faded. He looked at Luo Ze and spoke seriously.

"Good luck with that." Luo Ze grinned. "All right, I should be going."

Luca nodded at Luo Ze, while Luo Ze slowly left with the chest of Beli.

After Luo Ze had gone far away, Luca muttered to himself, "He's talented. What a shame he refuses to serve the government."

As Luo Ze walked out of the Marine branch, he casually absorbed all the Beli in the chest.

Soon, the system's voice rang out once more.

Beli absorption complete. Balance: 560,000,000 Beli.

Luo Ze opened the system's mission panel, and a large block of text appeared before him.

This mission from the system differed from the previous one. It was no longer about saving up 300,000,000 Beli.

The system's new mission was to kill one of South Blue's great pirates—the Supernova who would rise to fame two years later, Eustass Kid.

Luo Ze had heard news of Kid in South Blue before. Kid's current bounty was 120,000,000 Beli, making him a top rookie in South Blue. However, the area where he operated was far from Luo Ze's waters, so finding Kid would not be easy.

Moreover, Luo Ze's previous ship had already been destroyed by the Marines. If he wanted to set sail now, he did not even have a ship to ride.

So, aside from going to the Marine branch to collect his money today, he also needed to visit the old shipwright in Dog Town.

The old shipwright Yuris was a highly renowned shipbuilder in South Blue. Though the ships he built were somewhat expensive, their performance was exceptionally strong.

Most importantly, he also possessed the technology to build motorized ships. Very few people in the entire pirate world had mastered that technology, which was why Shipwright Yuris was so famous.

Luo Ze had no knowledge of navigation. The reason he could sail across the vast sea, aside from relying on nautical charts, was largely because of the ships built by Yuris.

So this time, he still planned to have Yuris build him a ship.

The old shipwright Yuris lived in a relatively remote corner of Dog Town. Few people lived there, but it was right by the sea, making it both quiet and convenient for work.

However, precisely because that corner was so secluded, many people who came looking for the old shipwright Yuris for the first time would get lost there and ultimately return empty-handed.

Luo Ze had been here once before, so naturally he would not get lost. After walking for some distance, he soon arrived at Yuris's residence.

Yuris lived in an estate. It was very spacious, and from the entrance, one could easily see the sea to the south. On the left side of the estate stood a vast forest, providing an endless supply of timber.

There were no guards at the estate entrance, so Luo Ze walked straight in. As soon as he entered, he found three people waiting outside the old shipwright's door.

Luo Ze had seen all three of them on bounty posters. For a time, he had even considered them hunting targets, but as his strength grew, he no longer had any interest in such small fry.

The fatter man on the left was an old-generation pirate from South Blue. That fat man used an axe as his weapon and seemed to be some kind of ability user. But he was not particularly strong, and his bounty was only 8,000,000 Beli, so Luo Ze had even forgotten his name.

The one in the middle was also a nobody. Luo Ze vaguely remembered him, but could not recall his name either.

However, Luo Ze remembered the old man on the right very clearly.

Luo Ze remembered him not because he was especially strong, but simply because he found the old man's appearance rather amusing.

And apparently, the old man had an extremely irascible temper and was arrogant and dismissive of others. Whenever he disagreed with someone, he would readily draw his blade and fight to the death. Thus, many pirates mockingly called him the Irascible Octopus.

When Luo Ze approached them, the group seemed to be in the middle of an argument.

As soon as Luo Ze arrived, all of them turned their gazes toward him, their eyes carrying dangerous glints.

"Kid, are you here to have a ship built too?"

The fat man on the left glanced at Luo Ze and spoke casually.

Luo Ze looked calmly at the three of them and asked in an indifferent tone, "Where's the old shipwright?"

Compared to those three small fry, Luo Ze was more concerned with the old shipwright's whereabouts.

"So you really came to build a ship. Get lost! Wait until my ship is finished before it's your turn."

Irascible Octopus glanced at Luo Ze and issued the threat disdainfully.

The one in the middle also glared fiercely at Luo Ze, his intentions far from good.

Having failed to get the answer he wanted, Luo Ze withdrew his gaze. Ignoring the three men's imposing manner, he headed straight into the old shipwright's house.

"Ghost, you really aren't afraid of dying!"

The fat man pulled out his huge axe and looked coldly at Luo Ze.

This newly arrived ghost seemed rather clueless!