Five days later, a warship cut through the waves.
On the bow deck, Ain paced back and forth with a grim expression, like an ant on a hot pan.
She glanced at the report in her hand, and frequently eyed the closed cabin door.
If Koby and Helmeppo weren't standing guard outside the door, she would have kicked it open long ago, regardless of the consequences.
"Colonel Ain, it's almost nine o'clock, just three minutes left. Please wait a bit longer, and Admiral Luo Yu will come out. There's really no need to be anxious," Koby said helplessly.
"Not anxious? How can we not be anxious?" Ain stopped and said coldly.
"Don't forget, this guy now represents the Admiral of Marine Headquarters."
"Why is it that the Admirals are all so unreliable!"
Koby and Helmeppo wore expressions of helplessness.
Achoo!
"Ain, were you talking bad about me?"
The hatch opened with a creak, and Luo Yu walked out, rubbing his nose. He glanced down at the pocket watch in his hand.
"There are still two minutes until work starts. Coming out so early... if Marshal Sengoku finds out, I wonder if he'll give me a 'Hard worker' award!"
A Hard worker award?
Ain's normally cold expression almost cracked.
She'd seen shameless people before, but she never expected someone could be so thick-skinned.
However, thinking of the urgent documents in her hand, Ain quickly said, "Admiral Luo Yu, Colonel Hina, who was in charge of escorting Sir Crocodile, has sent an urgent request for help. The people from Enies Lobby are attempting to forcibly take over the mission of escorting Sir Crocodile."
"Enies Lobby is trying to steal the mission?" Luo Yu was a little surprised.
Enies Lobby, Marine Headquarters, and Impel Down, are the three major forces under the World Government.
They've always been like well water not interfering with river water.
Suddenly interfering in his mission.
This was his first time!
"Colonel Ain, we were originally going to escort Crocodile to Impel Down for handover..." Luo Yu raised his gold-rimmed glasses and smiled.
Koby and Helmeppo were instantly dumbfounded, and immediately supplemented the second half of the sentence that Luo Yu hadn't yet spoken.
"Luo… Admiral Luo Yu, are you planning to hand over this mission to the people from Enies Lobby?" Ain almost ground her teeth to dust, glaring at Luo Yu, who looked completely unconcerned and was clearly planning to slack off. She grit her teeth and said,
"The person who defeated the Seven Warlords of the Sea is already a pirate, and has already made Marine Headquarters lose face."
"If, by some chance, the people from Enies Lobby take the mission, Marine Headquarters won't even have a fig leaf left. We will have a hard time facing the World Government."
"Admiral Luo Yu, are you even listening to me?"
Seeing Luo Yu still checking his pocket watch and working according to the clock, Ain shouted in exasperation.
"Most importantly, without Marshal Sengoku's orders, if the people from Enies Lobby take the mission, you won't get your extra salary bonus."
"No bonus?" Luo Yu's eyebrows shot up. That meant he would miss out on half a Silver Treasure Chest.
```
[Ding! Congratulations to the host. As the Admiral, you have completed your five-day check-in for the first time. Awarding a Mutation Card!]
```
Mutation Card?
Luo Yu was a little surprised.
Five days ago, Luo Yu was still wondering why he had received a reward for becoming a Marine Vice Admiral, but hadn't received anything after becoming an Admiral.
It took five days for the check-in reward to finally arrive.
Was there a cooldown, or did the Admiral's status come with a higher standard?
However, Luo Yu was still very interested in the sudden appearance of this Mutation Card reward.
This wasn't a skill-based item; it was more like a one-time-use item, similar to an Insight Rune/talisman.
"System, what does this Mutation Card do?"
[Ding! Host, this Mutation Card is a one-time use item. After use, it can cause a designated skill or object to undergo a mutation. The degree of the mutation decreases as the difficulty increases.]
Looking at the explanation that appeared in his consciousness space, Luo Yu frowned slightly.
According to the system's explanation, this thing was like eating a Devil Fruit or a monster cell.
Before the result was known, you wouldn't know what would mutate.
It seemed this was a one-time use item that relied on luck.
"Admiral Luo Yu, are you listening to me?" Ain was trembling with anger.
She was starting to regret sailing on this ship.
"Colonel Ain, we've spotted Colonel Hina's flag. Ships from Enies Lobby are pursuing them. Should we go and provide support?"
A Marine soldier leaned out from the lookout tower on the mast, speaking urgently.
Ain's expression faltered, and she quickly turned to look at Luo Yu.
She was filled with exasperation towards this lazy admiral, itching to give him a good scolding.
However, Luo Yu's status was such that she couldn't indulge in such thoughts.
"They're here? Then let's go and provide support. I don't want to lose out on five hundred thousand in performance points," Luo Yu said, withdrawing from his mental space and taking a swig of the local liquor from his gourd.
Ain, witnessing this, felt as if she had turned to stone.
Indeed, as Akainu had said, neither the face of an admiral nor the prestige of the Marine Headquarters mattered to Luo Yu, not compared to hundreds of thousands in performance points.
This damn performance review is more important than face.
Miles out at sea, a Marine warship was speeding through the waves, followed by a warship flying the World Government's Enies Lobby flag.
The distance between the two was only a few hundred meters.
More importantly, this distance was still closing.
"Colonel Hina, we've already spotted the Marine Headquarters ship we were to rendezvous with, but we can't tell which Vice Admiral is in charge of the escort."
A Marine soldier urgently reported.
Tiena glanced at the Enies Lobby warship rapidly approaching behind them, her face turning grim. She said in a hurried voice,
"No matter. If we keep being entangled like this, we'll be caught up soon. If those from Enies Lobby transfer Sir Crocodile, it'll be a disgrace for the Marines."
"Smoker, are you still not recovered? Hurry up and intercept those rule-breakers."
Standing at the bow of the ship, Smoker, his body still wrapped in bandages, was frowning as he puffed on his cigar, holding a newspaper he had just received.
Smoker, of course, already knew about the unprecedented recruitment of the fourth admiral, a piece of news that had already spread throughout the sea.
However, after experiencing these events, Smoker had become even more clear-headed about military ranks.
"What's the matter? You Marines, aren't you planning to hand the person over to us in CP9? This is a rare great achievement. As long as you hand over Sir Crocodile to me for transportation, and let me be promoted to a CP0 officer, I will definitely repay you handsomely."
A soft, feminine voice suddenly rang out on the deck.