"The anchor is awesome! Just one look, and the marines don't dare move forward."
"Anchor, these soldiers look at you like mice staring down a cat."
"I bet even Morgan calls him 'Boss' when he sees him now."
"Haha, the anchor's so pretentious, but I love it! He plays the harmless fool and strikes when they least expect it."
"I'm Pig Brother rewarded you 5,000 Berries."
…
"Who is this guy? Why is the navy so afraid to take action?"
"I don't know! He's so mysterious."
Ren seemed to be surrounded by a mysterious and dazzling aura, captivating all the onlookers around him.
"Sister Ririka, please ask the tavern's cooks to prepare the fish head. I'll have these soldiers bring it in."
"Got it!"
Ignoring Helmeppo's shouts, Ren picked up Rika and walked towards the massive Sea King. He spoke to the ten soldiers carrying it, "I'll handle Helmeppo. You all take care of this Sea King. We'll be making fish head soup later."
"Yes, sir!"
Ren's words were polite, but the soldiers nodded vigorously, recalling the morning's scene where Ren had charged into the training grounds alone, taking down over two thousand soldiers before their superiors. No one dared to slack off under his command.
With a burst of energy, the soldiers carried the giant away, moving faster than when they arrived.
---
"Did the anchor just come out after taking down an entire navy base?"
"Why does it feel like he's Morgan's son?"
…
Helmeppo's underlings, ignoring him, were acting like obedient juniors around Ren. Helmeppo looked crazed.
"Come back! Get back here! I'll tell my father! I'll have him take you all out!"
"He's a madman!" Rika laughed, seeing Helmeppo jumping and screaming like a lunatic. Thanks to Ren, she no longer felt any fear of him.
"Yeah! He's lost it. Let's go calm him down." Ren chuckled and walked up to Helmeppo, then simply kicked him without a word.
Beating Helmeppo might just earn him some more fans.
After kicking him over a dozen times, Helmeppo was left gasping on the ground, looking up at Ren in pure terror, any arrogance completely drained from him.
"He just needed a reminder. Apparently, getting beaten this morning wasn't enough." Ren wiped his shoe sole on Helmeppo, then said to the two followers who had tried to run off, "Come here and carry him into the tavern to rest. If he keeps whining, you'll get a beating too."
"Yes, sir!
The two followers scrambled to follow orders, not daring to slack off.
With Helmeppo handled, Ren turned towards the lieutenant. Without a word, the man quickly picked up two bags of money and scurried off towards the tavern.
This guy was terrified, ready to hand over the two million Berries without a second thought.
"Brother, he's very obedient."
"If not, we'd make him listen."
"Yeah, we should teach all the bad guys to behave."
The lieutenant stumbled as he ran, almost tripping. When did I become a bad guy? I'm a righteous navy officer!
Under Ren's direction, all the navy men ended up serving as waiters and helpers in the tavern. By nightfall, the smashed tableware had been replaced, and a giant pot of Sea King soup was cooked with everyone's help.
The townsfolk cheered, eating the Sea King meat and drinking its soup. It was a scene of celebration.
After telling Rika her thirty-sixth story, Ren finally breathed a sigh of relief. Amid a flood of comments in the live stream, the text "Mission Three Completed" finally appeared.
Mission completed, consume a reward of 10 million Berries, and unlock the Devil Fruit selection.
Seeing the prompt, Ren's mood soured instantly. What? It costs reward Berries? Why didn't it say that before?
He'd worked so hard to increase Rika's favorability, only to find out he couldn't collect his reward without spending his earnings.
After he completed the 100,000 Berries reward task, he hadn't asked for any more rewards, despite the live stream still running.
Ren grumbled internally, but the interface didn't change. He couldn't even tell if the system could interact with him.
Great, even if I can one day earn hundreds of millions of Berries, I'll still have to grind through live streaming.
The number of viewers had surpassed 178,000 by now, with over 1.3 million Berries in rewards—a far cry from the 10 million target. However, with the growing viewership, rewards would surely accumulate faster.
Why would I even need a Devil Fruit? I could just keep gaining power through the live stream. Could this reward be meant for the little loli?
"Brother Ren, what are you thinking about?" After a few drinks, Ririka's cheeks were flushed. She came over from chatting with friends and sat close to him. Her eyes sparkled, and her gaze was soft.
"Oh, the anchor's in luck tonight!"
"Anchor, we've been waiting all day for some excitement."
"The loli wasn't swayed, but the lady boss seems smitten!"
"Host, hope you're up to the challenge! You've got your hands full!"
Ren's face turned red after reading the comments and feeling Ririka's warm breath beside him. He hadn't been thinking in that direction. Even while trying to boost Rika's favorability, he hadn't felt much. But now, faced with the possibility, he suddenly hesitated.
"Uh, I'm still a student."
"What does that matter? As long as you're not a little kid!"
"Wait, don't tell me the anchor's a virgin."
"Live stream your first time!"
"One hundred thousand Berries if you do it on the stream!"
"Ren, have a drink with me!"
As the barrage flooded in, Ririka handed him a drink with a warm smile.
"Mom, I want to drink too! With Mom and Brother!"
The situation was getting complicated, and Ren felt a bit overwhelmed.