Luo Yan did not let him continue to suffer and despair. He brought his four fingers together and thrust his Thrust into the Blue Hat Captain's chest, piercing through him, shattering his heart. Blood spread out, and the Blue Hat Captain's eyes widened. Blood overflowing from his nose and mouth formed red threads in the sea, drifting out, and finally merging with a large expanse of crimson.
Luo Yan withdrew his hand, grabbed the Blue Hat Captain's shoulder, flew out of the water, and landed on the deck. Dots of light began to gather, quickly forming a black yet lustrous, stone-like object. This was a characteristic of the Unlucky Fruit.
With a creak, the cabin door was pushed open, and out came Xia Tali.
"What a pity, most of the blood was lost, and what's left is mixed with seawater. Captain, you didn't even leave one for me!"
Xia Tali complained to Luo Yan, not hiding her dissatisfaction. Only then did Luo Yan remember Xia Tali's needs and scratched the back of his head apologetically.
"Sorry, sorry, I wasn't paying attention. How about I go fish some out for you? Maybe some are still alive."
Xia Tali glanced at the sea, which was already stained red in some places, considered it for a moment, and then shook her head.
"No need, I still have a good amount of blood saved up. It should last at least another week."
"Alright, let's go find a place to exchange the bounty, and I'll buy you some more blood while we're at it."
After Luo Yan and Mite salvaged the Blue Hat Pirate Crew's valuables, they continued forward. However, their destination had now changed to an inhabited island, as the eighty million bounty still needed to be collected.
With the help of the astrology orb, it only took two days to find an inhabited place. Luo Yan didn't care which country it belonged to; he knew there was a Marine Branch G5 here.
Among the Marine Branches stationed in the New World, there would be at least one Vice Admiral, as pirates capable of surviving in the New World would not be too weak. Without a Vice Admiral, they simply couldn't maintain order, but they also didn't dare to send an Admiral to guard it.
Firstly, the number of Admirals is limited; currently, Marine Headquarters only has three. Secondly, the New World is the Four Emperors' territory. If an Admiral were sent to guard it, it could very likely provoke the Four Emperors, leading to large-scale battles, which is not what the Marines want to see.
Once ashore, Luo Yan alone carried the Blue Hat Captain's corpse to the Marine Branch's dedicated bounty exchange department to collect the bounty. The others accompanied Xia Tali to purchase blood.
Along the way, many people saw Luo Yan carrying the corpse, but no one was surprised or stopped. At most, they would glance a few times when passing by. The people living here were already accustomed to bounty hunters bringing pirate corpses to exchange for bounties.
The exchange office was not large, similar to a regular shop. In the center was a large counter, with three Marines inside. Behind the counter was a door, leading to an unknown place.
These three Marines were playing cards at the moment, as they weren't doing business. Being there wasn't to make money; on the contrary, it was to give money out, so they naturally wouldn't maintain etiquette like a shop's front desk to give customers a good impression.
Bang!
As soon as Luo Yan reached the doorway, he threw the pirate's corpse onto the counter. The three Marines paused their card game, but they didn't stop there. They continued until they finished an entire round, then one of them looked up at the corpse and casually pulled out a thick book, flipping through it.
"Blue Hat, with a bounty of eighty-seven million Berries?"
The man asked casually in a questioning tone. Luo Yan immediately nodded.
"Yes, I'm here to collect his bounty."
"No problem, let's get you registered first."
Saying that, the Marine took out a ledger and a fountain pen.
"Tell me your name and where you're from."
"Luo Yan, from the East Blue."
Although Luo Yan was somewhat displeased with the Marines' arrogant attitude, he was, after all, relying on them to get paid, so he patiently endured. The Marine nodded, put away the registered information, and then picked up the corpse with one hand.
"Wait here; further verification is needed."
After saying that, he ignored Luo Yan, carrying the corpse through the back door and disappearing somewhere. The remaining two Marines, having lost a player, couldn't continue their card game and seemed a bit bored.
"Hey! That Luo Yan, right? Want to play a few rounds?"
One Marine, utterly bored, wanted to pull Luo Yan into a card game. Luo Yan shook his head, walked to the wall, crossed his arms over his chest, and leaned against the wall to rest, while recalling information about this G5.
The original story didn't actually reveal much about G5's situation. It only appeared later when Smoker went to G5, and by then, G5 had already been reorganized by Smoker. It was said that G5 was very chaotic before that.
"Heh! So this is what G5 was like."
Luo Yan's quiet mumbling was overheard by the two Marines, who immediately frowned. The Marine who had just invited Luo Yan to play cards instantly raised his voice considerably.
"What do you mean? Do you have some dissatisfaction with our G5?"
Luo Yan glanced at the man but didn't speak. Seeing that the other party didn't reply, the Marine's face darkened even more, but he didn't say anything further.
After nearly five minutes, the Marine who had taken the corpse for confirmation returned, carrying a bag.
"Here's your bounty."
Saying that, he casually tossed the bag onto the counter. One might have thought the bag contained not money, but a bag of trash.
The bag slid across the counter to the other side, then went over the edge of the counter, falling towards the floor.
Luo Yan waved a hand, and a gust of wind immediately lifted the bag, bringing it to him.
Luo Yan opened the bag and glanced inside, his brow immediately furrowing. There wasn't eighty million inside at all; it wasn't even seventy million. At most, there was only sixty million.
"The amount of money seems incorrect, doesn't it?"
Luo Yan asked in a deep voice, but the three Marines completely ignored him, resuming their card game as if Luo Yan didn't exist.
Luo Yan's brows gradually furrowed, and an invisible pressure slowly filled the small room. At this moment, he gave off the feeling of a prelude to a storm, as if in the next moment, heavy rain, lightning, and strong winds would descend upon them all at once.
The three Marines naturally felt the change in the room immediately. They all looked at Luo Yan, but there was no fear on their faces, only a hint of impatience.
"I say, is this your first time exchanging a bounty? Just because the bounty is eighty million doesn't mean you get eighty million. There are handling fees and related taxes deducted. You getting fifty-five million is already quite good."
Is that so?
Luo Yan had just gotten angry because he thought the other party had embezzled a portion of his bounty. Now, after hearing this explanation, he felt it seemed to make some sense.
He gradually reined in his aura, thinking that he would just let this matter go. After all, to him, it was just extra money, so a little less was fine.