"Buck, do you think there's a way to make someone disappear without a trace?"
"There are plenty of ways. For example, during the next patrol mission, just toss them into the sea. Afterward, all you need to do is file a 'lost balance and fell overboard' report."
"What else?"
"Suffocate them with a pillow while they sleep, then hang them from a rope to make it look like suicide due to stress. With your relationship with Colonel Hammond, no one would look into it too deeply."
"Hmm, sounds pretty good. Whittaker, what do you think? Or do you have a better suggestion?"
As Jay and Buck played off each other, Ernie Whittaker's face turned pale and then flushed.
"You… What do you want? A lot of people saw me leave with Buck. If you kill me, you won't get away with it."
Whittaker was scared. At the same time, he deeply regretted agreeing to this scheme.
Jay crouched down, reaching out to pat Whittaker's cheek.
"We are righteous marin men. How could I bear to harm my own comrade? Don't you agree?"
"Yes, yes, we're comrades. I was wrong, I shouldn't have conspired with those people to slander and report you."
After saying that, Whittaker picked up the report he had personally written, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed forcefully, and swallowed desperately.
"Very good. Now I believe you really want to be my friend."
"Mmm… Mmm-mmm… (I do, I do!)"
"Well then, my dear friend, I'm sure you'd be more than willing to lend me 500,000 Berries as a token of our friendship, right?"
Upon hearing this, Whittaker's eyes widened in shock. He hurriedly swallowed the paper, his eyes welling up with tears.
"500,000 Berries?! I really don't have that kind of money!"
At Base 88, a private's monthly salary was only 100,000 Berries.
If it weren't for the fact that food and lodging were provided, that amount wouldn't even be enough for smoking and drinking.
And now Jay expected him to come up with 500,000 Berries all at once?
Jay patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Alright, I'm not unreasonable. You see all these reports on the ground? Your job is to trick, ah, I mean, bring each of them over here."
"For every person you bring, I'll deduct 50,000 Berries from your debt. If you can convince them to admit their mistake and 'lend' me money, I'll deduct an additional 100,000 Berries. If there's any extra, I'll pay you in cash."
"Of course, if you try to pull any tricks, we'll deal with that too."
Whittaker quickly shook his head, saying he wouldn't dare.
After hesitating for just two seconds, he picked up the reports from the ground and started going through the names.
On one side was losing 500,000 Berries for nothing, and on the other was avoiding the debt and even making a little money, any fool would know what to choose.
Besides, he wasn't the one who would suffer in the end.
Thinking of this, he even felt a bit lucky that Buck had chosen him first.
Otherwise, wouldn't this great opportunity have gone to someone else?
So, after jotting down the names, he decided to start with people he was familiar with.
In no time, he brought in the second victim.
Whittaker: "Boss Jay, I brought him."
Victim #2: "Huh? What's going on?"
Jay: "Good job."
Then, they followed the same routine as before.
This time, however, Whittaker added a new step, persuasive encouragement.
For the sake of his own interests, he used his silver tongue to successfully convince the person to surrender, admit their mistake, and 'lend' Jay the money.
But just like before, this guy didn't have enough money either, so he had to borrow from others.
Jay agreed with a smile and even had him write an IOU first.
A debtor writing an IOU for the lender, probably a world first.
After managing to wipe out 150,000 Berries of his own debt, Whittaker felt, for the first time, that making money was so easy. He eagerly continued his efforts.
Of course, not everyone was so 'cooperative.'
So, in the process of settling accounts, Jay had to resort to some more 'direct' methods to 'enlighten' them with love.
He firmly believed that after this 'enlightenment,' none of these people would dare to report him again.
As for the truly stubborn ones, those who would rather die than yield, he hadn't encountered any yet.
By nightfall, Jay carefully stashed away a stack of IOUs before taking out his lighter and burning all the reports.
These papers had outlived their usefulness.
Whittaker had brought in seven people and personally convinced two more.
After deducting the 500,000 Berry 'loan,' he even had 50,000 left over.
Jay didn't hesitate and immediately handed him 50,000 Berries, right in front of one of the informants.
It looked as if Whittaker had voluntarily sold everyone out.
At this moment, Whittaker still felt relieved and even a little proud that he had managed to escape unscathed while making a little extra cash.
Little did he know that, in just a few days, that 50,000 Berries wouldn't even be enough to cover his medical bills.
In the following days, the base remained peaceful, except for a few people frantically borrowing money and a couple of others who had 'accidentally fallen' into the infirmary.
Holding a handful of IOUs, Jay didn't push too hard.
After all, he had merely borrowed Colonel Hammond's name to intimidate these people.
If things got out of hand, even he wouldn't be able to get past Hammond.
Now that he had money, Jay started prioritizing his studies.
So, without hesitation, he took a few days off, changed his clothes, and boarded a ship to an island not far from the base, Squid Island.
It was named for its resemblance to a giant squid.
With many tourists visiting, its commerce was thriving.
Jay figured he could find what he needed there.
But just after Jay left the base, Colonel Hammond received some 'terrible news.'
A shipment he had arranged with the Capone family had been swapped out without anyone noticing!
If it weren't for the long history of successful transactions between them, the people he sent might not have made it back alive.
After Hammond's repeated explanations and assurances, the Capone family reluctantly accepted that it was a misunderstanding.
But they demanded that he recover the goods immediately!
After ending the communication, Colonel Hammond snapped the cigar in his hand, his face filled with rage.
Yet, deep inside, he was bleeding.
This shipment was extremely valuable, losing it without a trace was something he simply couldn't accept!
Moreover, this shipment was far from ordinary…
But for now, there was nothing he could do except wait for the couriers to return and conduct an investigation.
If he found out that someone under his command had betrayed him, he swore he would grind them to dust!
T/N: here the final extra chapter for the day enjoy :)