Gathering Information

"Ugh..." The Marine captain sighed and swirled the wine in his glass, his eyes full of helplessness. He had thought nothing would happen on this island, but news of the Neo Marines really had surfaced. He looked at the leaflet bearing their insignia on the table and shook his head. Worse, when he had called his superiors, they had given him no answer at all.

"Looks like those people are going to focus on the final point..." The captain slammed his glass onto the bar.

"Something troubling you, sir?" The bartender's gentle smile made it hard to feel the slightest dislike toward him.

"Nothing..." The captain shook his head. He had no wish to discuss this with an ordinary civilian. After all, the whole affair was a scandal within the Marines. "By the way, your wine is good..." He tried to change the subject.

"Thanks for the compliment..." Li Ziming showed little reaction and did not press him. But whether deliberately or not, his gaze fell on the leaflet. "This flyer... Is it for a new pirate crew?"

"Hah. If only they were pirates..." The captain gave a bitter laugh. If they had been pirates, the Marines could have thrown everyone they had into a devastating attack. But their opponent was a man countless Marines respectfully called "Teacher." Even knowing he threatened the world, how many of them could bring themselves to strike him down?

"That sounds like trouble..." Li Ziming said, frowning. "It would be bad if they threatened this island..."

The captain shook his head. He did not know what to say. If this went badly, the entire New World might truly be destroyed. He had no intention of telling an ordinary bartender about that, so he changed the subject.

"By the way, you're new here, aren't you..."