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Five new chapters uploaded on PATREON.
Currently at Chapter 229 on Patreon. Read at one go.
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The next one chapter on webnovel will be uploaded in the next 2 days.
The next five chapters will be uploaded on Patreon in the next 2 days. (Chapter 230-234)
patreon.com/FrancisMW
After Koby and Helmeppo led the G-5 team into rigorous training, Bai Yu returned to his office to resume handling his daily workload.
The documents alone covered the entire desk—stacked high like a mountain.
Fortunately, Maya had officially become Bai Yu's personal secretary, assisting him with the overwhelming paperwork of the G-5 base.
The two of them worked nonstop until noon.
"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it—G-5's finances are a complete disaster!" Bai Yu sighed in frustration during their first break.
"Didn't you expect this before taking over the base?" Maya chuckled upon seeing Bai Yu wrestling with the chaos.
"I had some expectations—but not to this extent!" Bai Yu shook his head, exasperated.
The G-5 Marine base was riddled with lingering issues, the most pressing of which was its budget crisis.
In other branches, designated officers managed financial audits and resource allocation.
But G-5? Entirely different.
Under the command of Smoker and then Vergo, neither of whom paid much attention to administrative details, the branch operated with a rogue mentality. Pirate takedowns, bounty hunting, daily commissions—the resulting rewards and confiscated treasures were often distributed immediately, like pirate spoils, instead of being processed officially.
As a result, the G-5 marines had grown accustomed to a life of indulgence—eating, drinking, and celebrating without restraint. That culture had bled the treasury dry.
Totally empty.
Had it not been for some leftover emergency rations, the whole base might've gone hungry weeks ago.
"So, what's your plan now?" Maya asked.
"What else can I do?" Bai Yu shrugged. "If I tell Marine HQ, they'll just think I'm incompetent and unable to manage G-5."
He leaned back in his chair.
"Even though Sengoku personally vouched for me, the one pulling the strings is the World Government behind the scenes. If I request funds so soon after taking charge, the upper brass might think I'm weak. The World Government—those guys? Who knows how they'd react. I'd rather not owe them anything, especially not now."
Maya fell silent.
After a moment of thought, Bai Yu spoke again. "Later, I'll send word to the brothers from Branch 188 and have them transfer part of the funds."
Thanks to his personal victories over numerous notorious pirates—with bounties ranging into the tens of millions—and the treasures seized during those missions, Bai Yu had built a sizable reserve. Outside of supporting the elite from Branch 188, he had saved a portion of these gains in a private treasury.
He rarely touched those funds.
But now was the time.
"You're seriously going to use your own money to cover what Marine HQ should be paying for?" Maya frowned slightly, visibly displeased.
"What's the big deal?" Bai Yu replied lightly. "That money's just sitting there anyway."
He grinned. "Trust me. G-5 is an investment. Sooner or later, it'll pay off."
Seeing his unwavering resolve, Maya stopped objecting.
Soon after, it was time for lunch.
Arriving at the G-5 dining hall, Bai Yu immediately sensed something unusual.
While most of G-5's facilities were plain and worn-down, the mess hall was nothing short of extravagant—on par with high-end restaurants in major port cities.
Even more shocking was the variety and quantity of food—decadent, luxurious, borderline excessive.
Bai Yu instantly understood where most of G-5's budget had gone—into feeding their gluttonous lifestyle. If he hadn't already established new base regulations, these Marines would still be feasting on meat and sake like pirates.
After enjoying a rich lunch, Bai Yu and Maya returned to the office to continue their work.
Over the next several days, Bai Yu's schedule grew increasingly hectic.
From dawn to dusk, he was swamped—resolving the aftermath of leadership neglect, restructuring logistics, and enforcing new systems.
The files piled up endlessly.
Eventually, even Dashigi (Tashigi) was recruited as an assistant just to stay afloat.
Fortunately, under this high-pressure push, the backlog was quickly cleared.
During rare breaks, Bai Yu visited the training grounds. After all, he didn't come to G-5 just to play administrator.
The true strength of the G-5 Marines would determine his authority—not just within the Navy, but also in dealings with the World Government.
With that in mind, Bai Yu imposed brutal training regimens—on par with "demon drills"—for every soldier under his command.
In just a few days, nearly a hundred soldiers had already dropped out or transferred voluntarily.
Only those with strong foundations and tenacious spirits remained—exactly what Bai Yu wanted: soldiers worth forging into weapons.
As for Lie Qing, the scientist transferred from the Marine Science Division?
She was another story entirely.
From the moment she arrived, she requested that G-5's armory be converted into a temporary laboratory.
Since then, she'd disappeared into her research, never leaving the lab.
If Bai Yu hadn't assigned someone to deliver meals regularly, no one would even know whether she was alive or dead.
Due to his packed schedule, Bai Yu had to temporarily pause his system's "blade swing" and "bounty farming" routines.
One day, taking advantage of a brief lull, Bai Yu brought Maya with him to visit the converted research room—formerly the armory—where Lie Qing had been holed up.
"Oh god! What is that smell?!"
The moment they opened the door, a pungent stench hit them like a cannon blast.
Both Bai Yu and Maya instinctively covered their mouths and noses.
They propped the door open for ventilation before entering further.
Inside, they found Lie Qing buried in a clutter of food containers, bowls, papers, and lab tools—focused, unshowered, and still wearing the same outfit she'd left HQ in days ago.
"Wow... scientists really do forget to sleep and eat when they get obsessed," Maya muttered.
Bai Yu could only offer a helpless smile.
He stepped forward.
Knock knock knock.
Still engrossed, Lie Qing didn't notice them.
Bai Yu knocked louder on the workbench.
"I said don't disturb me! Just leave the food on the ground!" she snapped without even looking up.
Knock knock knock.
Another knock.
This time, she whipped her head up, clearly annoyed.
"You...!"
She froze mid-reprimand.
"Major General Bai Yu?!"
Her face turned stiff.
"Clean this place up, now. What kind of mess is this?" Bai Yu barked. "I'm all for scientific passion—but don't make yourself look like you've been dragged through the Sabaody scrapyard."
"I—I'm almost done with a new data set," Lie Qing muttered weakly.
Before she could finish, Bai Yu grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her away from the food-pile battlefield.
"Major General Bai Yu..." she started to protest.
"Did you forget what you promised when you joined G-5?" Bai Yu said coldly.
Lie Qing fell silent.
"Finish cleaning. Once you're done, I've got something special to show you," Bai Yu added. "And I'll need your help analyzing it."
"Something special?" Lie Qing looked puzzled.
But knowing she couldn't argue with Bai Yu, she sighed and turned toward the mess, preparing to clean up obediently.
Join my Patreon to read advanced chapters.
Five new chapters uploaded on PATREON.
Currently at Chapter 229 on Patreon. Read at one go.
patreon.com/FrancisMW
The next one chapter on webnovel will be uploaded in the next 2 days.
The next five chapters will be uploaded on Patreon in the next 2 days. (Chapter 230-234)
patreon.com/FrancisMW