"Hmm? Seven out of ten treasure locations have already been excavated?"
Luo Lan raised an eyebrow.
So that's why Krieg was able to gather a fleet of 50 ships and rally thousands under his command two years later—it was all thanks to this treasure.
In other words…
A sudden thought struck him, and he glanced sideways at Hina with a hint of exasperation.
"Sister Tina… you weren't originally planning to look for this treasure, were you?"
"Hina's so busy she barely has time to rest. Do you really think I'd go hunting for treasure?"
Just as he suspected!
Krieg, oh Krieg… guess you were just unlucky.
If sister Hina hadn't happened to hand me this treasure map, you might've had a few more months to live.
"Captain, we've completed the inventory. The estimated value of the excavated treasure, including Berries and other valuables, is around three billion."
"That much? What about the other three sites—are they set?"
"Yes, sir. We'll have everything wrapped up within two hours at most."
Perfect.
This time, they'd truly hit the jackpot.
In the end, the haul could even exceed four billion.
Hmm… he'd leave two hundred million for Nami. The rest would all be recharged into the system.
What's that? Wasn't he planning to leave 10% behind?
That was just a passing thought—he never said it out loud.
So it doesn't count!
Just two hundred million. Not a Berrie more!
But what Luo Lan didn't notice—just as Krieg had failed to earlier—was the small drone hovering several hundred meters above him…
Quietly transmitting every image and sound straight to the Danaan's command bridge.
The treasures—one after another—dazzled Nami's eyes.
"Whoa! An entire crate just of gold jewelry?"
"All these crates together… that's gotta be at least three billion!"
"Once we get back, I need to keep my eye on everything. I'm not letting Luo Lan sneak off with the goods again!"
"Hmph! Who needs a mansion? The vault will be my new home!"
Beside her, First Mate Richard found himself squinting from the glare.
With no other choice, he gave the order:
"Turn off all bridge lighting—everything!"
Because right now, Nami's eyes were glowing like spotlights.
Too bright. Way too bright.
---
Two hours later.
The remaining three treasure sites had been fully excavated.
A quick estimate valued them at around 1.18 billion Berries.
Combined with the previous three billion, the total came to about 4.18 billion—with 1.8 billion in cash alone.
"Leave the cash where it is. Everything else, transport it to the Danaan."
"Yes, Captain!"
The marines immediately got to work.
Eventually, only a few crates of Berries remained behind.
"System, recharge all of these!"
> [Ding. Recharge complete. Host has received X points.]
[Ding. Current available points: Y.]
So many points!
Does this make him… rich?
Then again, maybe not.
After all, he was still just a C-rank Builder. If he were A-rank or S-rank, even 180,000 points probably wouldn't get him far.
Oh well, no point worrying about that now. For the time being…
He could finally provide what Seras had asked for!
And all those construction plans that were previously on hold due to lack of points?
Time to go full throttle.
Three-month construction contract? They wouldn't get a single day off!
"Hahaha…"
Back on the shore, the rest of the crew had returned to the ship.
Only Ian and two marines remained, waiting beside a rubber boat.
"Let's head back."
"Captain, you—"
"Don't ask questions you shouldn't."
"Yes, sir."
The two marines exchanged confused glances.
Only Luo Lan and Ian understood the subtext of that exchange.
Ian: Captain, you're really just leaving all that Berrie behind?
Luo Lan: Don't ask questions you shouldn't. The more you know, the faster you die.
Ian: Got it. Those Berries never existed to begin with.
Yeah. That about sums it up.
---
"Luo Lan! Where's my Berries?!"
The moment he stepped onto the ship, Nami stood before him, hands on her hips, glaring.
Loran was caught completely off guard.
How did this little troublemaker know about the Berries?
Could it be…?
Was there a traitor among his crew?
"What Berries? I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Oh, keep going—keep lying. I saw it with my own eyes. Several crates stuffed with Berries!"
"Huh?"
Saw it… with her own eyes?
Impossible. She never came ashore.
Then it hit him—there was a major flaw in his earlier plan.
"Wait… You used a drone to spy on me?"
Luo Lan's expression went cold.
This wasn't a small matter.
Not that she'd seen the Berries—he didn't care about that.
What mattered was…
Did she see him recharging the Berries into the system?
That was the real issue!
"Yup! I even learned how to control it. Pretty smart, huh?"
"Other than those crates of Berries… what else did you see?"
"Now that you mention it… I do have something to ask you."
Luo Lan's heart skipped a beat.
Could it be…
"I had the drone follow those crates as they were transported to the Danaan. But when I checked back on your side—those same crates that were packed with Berries? They were suddenly all empty."
Whew…
Luo Lan let out a silent sigh of relief.
So she only saw the result, not the process.
Good. That was good!
From now on, whenever he needed to do anything… sensitive, he'd have to make sure it was in a completely sealed space. Just to be safe.
"Don't even think about touching those crates. I've got other plans for them."
"That was nearly two billion Berries! And you just moved it all without asking? Fine. I'll let it slide this time—but don't make a habit of it!"
Wow… did she just give in?
Luo Lan had expected a full-blown tantrum.
Instead… this?
Little did he know, this was what Nami was really thinking:
Sure, 1.8 billion is a lot—but it's less than half the total haul.
If giving up that portion means I can keep the other 2.3 billion… then fine. Let him have it!
She was playing the long game.
Too bad for her… Luo Lan hadn't planned on leaving any of the 2.3 billion behind.
Not even 230 million.
Of course, he wasn't going to say that now.
Otherwise, the journey back to the 157th Branch would be hell.
"By the way, Nami—have you gone to see Nojiko yet?"
"No. Didn't you say no one got hurt?"
Nami tilted her head, confused.
Luo Lan gave a helpless smile.
This girl… The moment she found out Nojiko was fine, all her thoughts had probably turned to treasure.
"True, no one was injured. But Ian told me Nojiko killed five pirates during the operation. That… might've been her first time taking a life."
"What?! Why didn't you say so earlier?!"
Nami's mood instantly flipped.
With a fierce scowl, she spun around and bolted off.
Was that his fault?
Luo Lan stood there, feeling more than a little wronged.
---
A/N: I'll be updating 2 more chapters for the 10 more power stones the story received.