Chapter 451: The Broke Ghost

The first mate's face broke into a smile, though it was thick with bitterness:

"On the face of a powerhouse like you, would running help?"

He was the leader—if he fled, he'd be the first target of the terrifying weapon that had killed Boss Black Bear.

And as he looked at the corpses floating on and in the sea,

he knew full well he'd underestimated the terror before him.

Zhang Zhang Jie smiled faintly: "Interesting. You're quite clever."

"Sir, I beg to serve you as your loyal hound and steed!"

Upon hearing this, the first mate's eyes instantly lit up.

Wasn't that precisely why he'd endured boundless fear and forced himself to remain calm—to seek even a sliver of hope?

Even ants cling to life; though he'd callously taken countless lives before,

now that it was his own, he didn't want to die so easily.

"Too bad. I don't need you."

Before Zhang Zhang Jie's words had fully faded, a laser beam instantly turned the first mate into another COS of Xingtian.

Though he himself had once dreamed of forming his own pirate crew—more accurately, an adventuring crew,

Someone like the first mate had no right to board his ship.

Could a first mate of a pirate crew drenched in blood truly be a lotus blooming pure from mud?

Though his Observation Haki hadn't yet reached the Red Count's "Solitary Red" level of reading minds,

detecting lies was child's play.

Only those with Observation Haki or greater strength could lie to him seriously,

and clearly, this first mate was not such a powerhouse.

"Still, why do all these guys look like they're COSing Xingtian?"

Gazing at the pirate corpses—all decapitated except those killed by deep-sea fish,

each wearing a hat like Louis XVI—Zhang Zhang Jie fell into deep thought:

Had he accidentally programmed some bizarre command into the AI system?

"Master, to ensure these enemies cannot resist or turn the tide,

I automatically targeted vital points. Should I change the protocol?"

The AI system, whose core programming was saturated with absolute loyalty directives toward Zhang Zhang Jie, answered honestly.

"Damn, you know two shots to the chest, one to the head—even gods would shake their heads?"

Zhang Zhang Jie chuckled in surprise, then shook his head: "No need. This is perfect."

Headshots? Fine. After all, it's the safest and most efficient method.

Besides, high-energy lasers come with built-in thermal cauterization—

even if all these pirates are COSing Xingtian, there's no gory blood-splatter imagery unfit for children. Let it be.

"Understood, Master Weng."

"Let's see how much treasure's aboard this pirate crew."

Ignoring the corpses littering the deck, Zhang Zhang Jie rubbed his hands and stepped into the Black Bear's ship, the Black Bear.

He'd ordered the AI system, capable of obliterating the Black Bear Crew with remote firepower,

to tow the ship over precisely to scavenge some spoils.

Money isn't everything, but without money, you're nothing.

Food, daily necessities, and all kinds of materials to devour—all cost massive amounts of Beli.

Though his strength could easily let him make easy gains without spending a penny,

that would violate his principles—he, Zhang Zhang Jie, has always been law-abiding and refined.

After leaving Big Mom's crew, broke as he was, he could only borrow a little cash from "generous" evil gangs like the Black Bear Crew.

"Damn plant! These broke bastards!"

Soon after, Zhang Zhang Jie stormed out of the Black Bear's cabin, cursing.

The Black Bear Crew was even poorer than he'd imagined—a pirate crew that had braved the Grand Line to reach the New World,

and their total wealth in gold, silver, jewels, and cash amounted to barely forty million Beli. What could you even buy with that?

Forty million Beli sounds like a lot, but its real value is roughly equivalent to 21st-century Japanese yen:

One newspaper costs 100 Beli—forty million Beli buys only 400,000 newspapers.

To an ordinary person, this is astronomical—but what did the Black Bear Crew do?

They ran a no-cost business, clashing head-on with the Marines and other pirates,

risking their lives. This sum couldn't even buy a few decent cannons.

"Hmm, but if converted into Chopper, it's quite a bit—eighty thousand Choppers."

Frowning, Zhang Zhang Jie thought of the Straw Hat Crew's cute… no, their doctor:

Tony Tony Chopper, the reindeer who ate the Human-Human Fruit.

His initial bounty was just 50 Beli—barely enough to buy a single newspaper…

"Forget it. Most of these guys are broke."

Zhang Zhang Jie shrugged and dismissed his condemnation of the Black Bear Crew.

Though they ran a no-cost business with high returns, they weren't like Hao Ge—principled, clever bandits who made tens or hundreds of millions per job.

These guys were death-seeking outlaws, living day to day,

with no guarantee of tomorrow. When they had money, they squandered it recklessly:

Drink today's wine, worry about tomorrow's troubles tomorrow.

Yet as he stared at the headless corpses of Black Bear and the others, Zhang Zhang Jie still felt baffled:

"Without heads, they can't even be taken to the Marines for bounties."

Though the Black Bear Crew didn't have bounties on every member like the Red-Haired Crew, their captain Black Bear,

the first mate, and second mate each carried bounties ranging from millions to tens of millions.

Especially Black Bear—he was a Devil Fruit user, rare even in the Four Seas and Paradise,

and his bounty alone accounted for half the crew's total.

To capable pirate hunters, he was a walking pile of Beli.

Zhang Zhang Jie had no intention of making a living by hunting pirates,

but he had no qualms about turning unlucky souls like Black Bear into Beli.

You gotta eat.

But he wouldn't mind turning fools like the black bear and those who court death into Baily.

As Zhang Zhang Jie used his mental force to hurl the corpses of Black Bear and the first mate into the sea to join the other pirates,

he studied the Black Bear—a pirate vessel riddled with storm damage, about to sink.

Even in the highly productive 21st century,

a ship capable of participating in warfare was unquestionably a major asset,

even if this warfare resembled 18th- or 19th-century sailing warships more than supernatural combat.

How much more so in the pirate world, where productivity was low

and many places relied on people hand-carving ships with chisels and hammers.

To ensure safe navigation and combat readiness, most of the Black Bear Crew's plunder had likely gone into maintaining and upgrading the Black Bear.

"Can't waste this."

Always frugal, like General Master Yuwen, who ate every grain of rice in his bowl,

Zhang Zhang Jie never wasted food—or anything else. With a thought,

a black hole, dozens of meters in diameter, suddenly appeared on the sea's surface—a gaping maw like a primordial beast ready to swallow heaven and earth—and devoured the Black Bear whole.

"I, Zhang Zhang Jie, am a true transmigrator—and only now do I receive the treatment a transmigrator deserves."

He thought of fellow transmigrators who arrived with their own pocket dimensions, blessed lands,

even entire worlds—or at the very least, a storage ring.

Zhang Zhang Jie, who'd only just developed a storage space using the Devour-Devour Fruit, wept bitterly.

I, Zhang Zhang Jie, am a proper transmigrator, and only now do I receive the treatment due to a fellow transmigrator.

Thinking of fellow transmigrators who arrived with their own miniature realms, blessed lands, and grotto-heavens,

or even an entire world, and at the very least a storage ring,

Zhang Zhang Jie, who had only just created a storage space using the TunTun fruit, burst into tears.