Inside the living quarters, the dim, yellowish light flickered slightly.
Carina stood stiffly in place, the backpack on her back, filled with tens of millions of Berries, feeling as heavy as a thousand pounds.
She looked at the black-haired man sitting on the single sofa, who stood two and a half meters tall and radiated a terrifying sense of oppression, her brain racing frantically.
Relying on her instincts as a Phantom Thief, she was crystal clear that the man before her was definitely not one of those foolish pirates in the East Blue whom she could toy with at will.
If she dared to make even the slightest move to escape, he would surely snap her wrist before she could take half a step.
“Gulp.” Carina swallowed hard, forcibly suppressing the fear in her heart.
She took a deep breath, and her originally terrified face instantly transformed, like a Sichuan opera mask change, blooming into a charming, pitiful smile.
“This handsome Captain, this is all a misunderstanding.” Carina placed the bag of stolen goods from her back onto the floor with extreme naturalness and raised her hands, her voice dainty: “My name is Carina, and I am a wandering orphan.
I just saw that this ship was so beautiful and couldn’t help but come up to take a look.
Since you don’t like it, I’ll leave now.” As she spoke, she tried to slowly inch toward the door.
“Don’t waste your efforts; your footsteps have betrayed your intentions.” Ace had his hands crossed on his knees, his deep black eyes locked onto her, his tone as calm as stagnant water: “Demonstrate your value.
If you can only use such inferior honey traps and lies, then you can go feed the fish in the sea right now.” The charm on Carina’s face instantly stiffened, and a layer of cold sweat seeped from her forehead.
She knew that the man before her was serious.
“Wait…
wait a minute!” Carina gritted her teeth and completely put away that fake pitiful appearance.
She stood up straight, her eyes becoming extremely sharp and shrewd.
“I am not just a thief.
I know how to launder dirty money and know the trading channels of all the underground black markets in the East Blue.
As long as you give me time, I can infiltrate the interior of any noble or pirate crew to extract intelligence!” Carina quickly pitched herself, staring intently into Ace’s eyes: “Your ship looks expensive, but you don’t even have a professional to guard the vault.
You need someone who can help you manage wealth and gather intelligence, right?!” Listening to Carina’s self-recommendation, a glimmer of profound meaning flashed in the depths of Ace’s eyes.
Being able to calm down quickly in a life-or-death moment, find the other party’s pain points, and offer bargaining chips—this level of psychological quality and professional ability was indeed worthy of being the face of the eclipse.
“Not bad bargaining chips.
But—” Ace slowly stood up, stretched his long legs, and walked step by step in front of Carina, looking down at her from a height.
“Why should I trust a Phantom Thief who is full of lies and only has money in her eyes?” Hearing this highly oppressive questioning, Carina was forced to take half a step back, her back hitting the door panel hard.
She bit her lower lip tightly, her brain racing, trying to find an excuse that could prove her loyalty.
Looking at the purple-haired girl racking her brains, a ripple that no outsider could perceive flashed in Ace’s deep black eyes.
He, of course, knew Carina’s background.
In his memories from his previous life regarding “Gold City,” this woman was seemingly a cunning fox who would stop at nothing for money.
But in reality, back then, when facing the vicious leader of the “Treasure Pirates,” Mad Treasure, she had sacrificed herself as bait to lure away the enemy in order to cover for her companion Nami, willing to bear the infamy of being a traitor and face life and death alone.
A woman who could go to such lengths for a companion in a life-or-death moment, as long as one could break through that line of insecurity deep within her heart and gain her true recognition, would absolutely be the most loyal partner on this great sea.
However, Ace did not point out this past.
Maybe it’s not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”