Time: 20 days remaining until "Forced Deportation." Location: Marine Branch 153, Training Grounds.
"Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight..."
"Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine..."
"Ten thousand!"
With a low, guttural roar, the bare-chested Reginald, supporting his entire body weight on a single hand, completed his final handstand push-up on a massive slab of granite.
Sweat trickled down the defined lines of his lean, explosive muscles, dripping onto the scorching hot rock below and evaporating with a sharp hiss into puffs of white steam.
One week.
It had been just one week.
Under the System's outrageous "6x Gravity Atonement Mode," Reginald felt as if his body had been shattered into dust and glued back together.
His physique, which had originally been at the level of your average Marine grunt, now faintly exuded the terrifying aura of a ferocious beast.
He flipped to his feet, sensing the raw power surging through his veins, yet his face showed absolutely no joy.
Instead, it wore an expression of "holy compassion" and "transcendence," like a monk who had seen the edge of the universe!
"This isn't just muscle..."
Reginald looked at his calloused hands, his gaze were profound (in reality, his eyes were dead inside).
"This is the physical proof of my atonement. Every drop of sweat is a tear of my regret."
For the past week, he had spent every waking moment in hellish agony.
Only when his body was numb with pain could he temporarily forget that wild, blurry night and the fact that he had wronged Mary in the worst way possible.
"System, my willpower is now indestructible."
Reginald declared confidently in his mind, "If I encounter a situation like that night again, even if Ririka stood naked right in front of me, I could absolutely remain as still as water. I wouldn't even move a single toe!"
In his mind, the System's emotionless voice instantly rang out, tinged with a thick layer of mockery.
[Ding! System Notification: The host's current physiological data analysis shows that your hormone secretion levels have increased by 30% compared to a week ago.]
[In short: Although your brain says "no," your body's reaction speed is now significantly faster than before.]
[If a similar incident occurs again, it is estimated that the number of "sex" may increase from 6 to 9.]
"SHUT THE HELL UP!!"
Reginald's composure shattered in an instant!
The "enlightened monk" facade vanished as he roared in a flustered rage, "I told you it was an accident! And there won't be a next time! Absolutely not!!"
Though he screamed this, Reginald was actually panicking internally.
This past week, although he had been hiding in the training grounds like a hermit crab, he could feel the 'Crisis' closing in on him.
Every single day, Ririka would send that little brat, Rika, to deliver a bento box.
Although Reginald had ordered his adjutant Lucas to turn them all away, yesterday he had found a note tucked under the bento box.
It read: "Tonight, I'll be waiting for you at the old spot — Love, Ririka."
At that moment, Reginald had nearly swallowed the entire bento box, box and all.
Too terrifying!
How was this woman a widow? She was clearly a succubus sent to drain a man's dry!
If this continued, forget going home—he'd probably end up with a child before the month was out!
"No... I can't stay here any longer."
Reginald paced back and forth anxiously on the cracked training grounds.
"There are still 20 days until the mission ends. Too much can happen in 20 days. What if I lose control again? What if that idiot Morgan suddenly falls and implicates me? What if the System gives me 'more children, more blessings' mission?!"
The longer the night, the longer the delay.
And delays breed trouble!
Reginald stopped abruptly as a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes.
"I have to end the mission early! I need to return to Earth immediately, right about now!"
As long as the mission was judged a "failure," he could walk away with a hundred million dollars.
And the fastest, most direct way to make the mission "fail" was—to die!
At this thought, Reginald whipped out his standard-issue saber and pressed the cold steel against his own neck.
"If I just give it a little swipe right here, won't I be free?"
[Warning!]
The System's red alert instantly exploded in his vision, blinding him.
[Host detected to have illicit intentions.]
[According to Article 12, Chapter 3 of the "Spacetime Traveler Management Regulations": Suicide, hiring a hitman to kill oneself, or death resulting from deliberate non-resistance are all judged as "maliciously gaming the system."]
[Penalty: Forfeit of all severance pay and a fine of 10 million US dollars. If unable to pay, the host will be forced to work off the debt in this world until it is fully repaid.]
Clang.
The saber in Reginald's hand clattered to the ground.
"How much?! Ten million?! And a fine?!"
Reginald roared at the empty air, spitting flying as he screamed.
"Is this some kind of scam?! I haven't even gotten the money yet and you're fining me?! I have to work off the debt? The salary for being a Marine here is dirt cheap! How long will it take me to pay that back?! Luffy will found the One Piece and I still wouldn't be done paying you off!"
[Please achieve a glorious sacrifice through "legitimate means" in the process of fulfilling your duties as a Marine.]
Reginald took a deep, shuddering breath, forcing himself to calm down.
"Fine... Legitimate means. Glorious sacrifice. I get it."
It meant he had to be killed by an enemy, and it had to be while on a mission.
Reginald's mind raced.
In the East Blue, finding someone who could actually kill him wasn't easy.
Ordinary bandits and pirates? With his body now enhanced by "6x Gravity," he could probably stand there and let them hack away, and their blades would dull before he even got a scratch.
He had to find a real heavy hitter.
Someone ruthless, intelligent, preferably a schemer who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals!
Reginald strode quickly to the map stand in the training grounds, his gaze sweeping across the map of the East Blue.
Suddenly, his finger stabbed down on an inconspicuous little island—Syrup Village.
"It's you!" A sharp light flashed in Reginald's eyes.
Kuro of a Hundred Plans!
Former captain of the Black Cat Pirates, with a bounty of 16,000,000 Berries.
This guy was an absolute monster.
To launder his identity and seize a wealthy family's fortune, he had spent three years posing as a humble butler named "Klahadore."
In terms of cunning, he was top-tier in the East Blue.
In terms of strength, his "Pussyfoot Maneuver" and stealth techniques were things that even an early-stage Luffy found troublesome.
Most importantly, Kuro was currently at a critical stage of his master plan.
He would absolutely not tolerate any Marine interference!
"As long as I go and expose his plot, or even just hang around him being annoying, with his suspicious and cruel personality, he'll definitely try to kill me to silence me at the first opportunity!"
The more Reginald thought about it, the more flawless the plan seemed!
Kuro was strong enough, and it was a kill-or-be-killed situation for him, so he wouldn't hold back.
'I'd be going to capture a pirate, which is a legitimate mission. If I die, I'll be a martyr!'
Syrup Village is far from here, even if Ririka came after me, I'd be long "cold" by then!
Three birds with one stone!
"Brilliant! Reginald, you're a damn genius!" Reginald clenched his fists in excitement, as if he could already see a hundred million dollars and Mary waving at him from the finish line.
Just then, footsteps sounded at the entrance to the training grounds.
"Lieutenant Commander Reginald!"
Adjutant Lucas walked over with a grave expression, holding that familiar, dreaded pink bento box.
"Ms. Ririka came by again. She said you didn't go last night, and she was very worried. This is the 'Love's Kidney-Nourishing Bento' she specially made for you. It has Tiger Sea-King kidney and peni..."
"Don't say it!!"
Hearing the words "kidney-nourishing," Reginald's knees went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground.
More nourishment? Any more and I'll explode!
He rushed forward, grabbed Lucas by the shoulders, his expression savage and urgent.
"Lucas! Prepare a ship immediately! We're setting sail!"
Lucas was stunned. "Set sail? Now? But Ms. Ririka said..."
"There's no time for that woman!"
Reginald roared, his eyes flashing with a desperate desire for "survival".
"I can feel it in my gut, Lucas! A great evil is brewing in some corner of the East Blue! As a Marine of Justice, I cannot sit still for a moment longer!"
Lucas looked at Reginald's face, which was contorted with fear (the fear of being dominated by a woman).
He pushed up his glasses, and his eyes instantly filled with blinding admiration!
He quickly jotted down in his notebook.
[Observation Log: Month X, Day X.]
[Faced with the ultimate temptation of a siren's call, the Commander did not succumb! That pink bento box, far from softening his will, instead reminded him of the suffering masses on the great sea!]
['There's no time for that woman'—Listen to that! What a resounding declaration! For the sake of justice, the Commander has resolutely severed his romantic ties!]
"Yes, Lieutenant Commander!" Lucas snapped a sharp salute. "I'll assemble the crew at once! What is our destination?"
Reginald gazed at the distant sea and said with deep emotion.
"Syrup Village. There... lies my final resting place."
(Lucas: "Resting place? He must mean the place where he finally rests after defeating evil! So poetic!")