The Marine 16th Branch…
It was now a river of blood.
Well—perhaps that was exaggeration.
But the corpses littering the base were undeniably many.
Every one of them is a Marine.
And the reason?
The two figures now standing in Colonel Nezumi's office, calculating their spoils—
Adrian and Zabuza.
Adrian had mowed down waves of Marines with his AK.
Zabuza had slit throats and torn through bodies with his twin kunai.
Together, they had killed nearly seventy percent of the entire branch.
The remaining thirty percent?
They fled once they realized every squad sent out was marching straight to death.
Life was more important than glory.
And so—
Most of the branch was now a graveyard.
"Colonel Nezumi, you really live up to the name 'Rat'—you sure know how to hide things," Adrian said as he watched Nezumi's trembling hands unlock hidden mechanisms in the office walls.
After several clicks and shifts—
A secret chamber slid open.
Behind the wall lay mountains of cash.
Stacks upon stacks of berries, piled nearly to the ceiling.
This was years of corruption.
Years of bribes.
Years of extortion.
Compared to Arlong's hoard, it wasn't quite as fast to accumulate—
But the total was still staggering.
"Stealing this much… truly a heinous crime.
I'll confiscate it."
Adrian nodded righteously—
Then began sweeping every last berry into his system space.
For the system, this much money was trivial.
A moment later, the once-massive treasure room was completely empty.
"Got anything else hidden?" Adrian asked, eyeing Nezumi.
Who knew if this rat had stashed money in multiple places?
"N-no! This is all of it! Every bit! I swear! Please, Boss, spare my life—show mercy!"
Nezumi cried, trembling.
He wasn't lying this time.
Hiding money in multiple places carried its own danger—
Someone could accidentally find one stash, and then everything would be gone.
He preferred to keep it all under his own eyes.
For eight years, not a single problem had occurred.
He trusted this place more than any other.
Which was why he kept everything here.
"I see."
Adrian stared at him for a few seconds.
"Since that's the case… Zabuza, send him on his way."
Hearing that, Nezumi's face instantly drained of color.
"N-No! No!! Boss, you promised! I gave you all my savings—you said you'd spare my life!"
"You can't go back on your word!"
Adrian tilted his head, smiling faintly.
Is that so?
"Think carefully—when did I ever say that?"
Nezumi froze.
He thought back—
And his knees buckled.
Adrian… had never agreed.
Not once.
Nezumi had simply assumed.
"You bastard!!" Nezumi shrieked hysterically. "I curse you! You won't die a good death!"
"You killed over half the Marines here—and you're going to kill a Marine Colonel! Once Headquarters finds out, you'll all be hunted down!"
"Let me live! I can cover this up! I promise the Marines won't learn anything! No bounty—nothing!"
Desperate to survive, he tried one last bargain.
Adrian chuckled.
"Your offer is… tempting."
Nezumi's eyes lit up with hope.
"Y-yes! Yes, Boss! We both win—"
"But I refuse."
The smile vanished.
Nezumi's expression freezes in horror.
"Do it, Zabuza."
Adrian walked out.
Behind him—
Nezumi's furious curses filled the room.
Then screams.
Then silence.
A moment later, Zabuza emerged.
It's done.
"Good."
Adrian nodded, satisfied.
He'd never intended to let Nezumi live.
From the moment he targeted him, the rat's fate was sealed.
Letting him go and killing him were two very different scenarios.
Killing a Marine Colonel would absolutely draw a bounty.
Combined with slaughtering most of the branch, the impact on the world would be significant.
His fame would rise sharply.
The only downside was the low strength of the targets—they were all ordinary-level fighters.
Not a single extraordinary-level combatant present.
Even if his notoriety and influence maxed out, the system's rating wouldn't skyrocket because the opposition was too weak.
As he headed back toward the ship—
The system's voice echoed in his mind.
"Ding! A bandit operation has been completed!"
"Ding! Calculating event outcome…"
"Ding! Calculation complete — Rating: B-Rank."
"Ding! Reward: 1000 Reputation Points!"
"Ding! Bonus Reward: B-Rank Random Weapon Ticket ×1, B-Rank Random Ability Ticket ×1, B-Rank Random Follower Ticket ×1!"
A B-rank evaluation.
Better than he expected.
Honestly, he thought it would only be a high C-rank at best.
But the rewards made it clear—
This wasn't just any B-rank.
It was a perfect B-rank .
Only a perfect rank granted all three bonus tickets.
Adrian grinned.
A very satisfying haul.
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