014 Drop the Treasure Chest!
"what!"
Although Lin Mu's bone spurs tore open a long and bloody gash across his back, Hasa still couldn't help but let out a furious roar so loud that it echoed through the entire village, just like the howls of pirates who had dominated weak islands throughout the East Blue.
When Lin Mu killed the remaining crew of the Giant Hammer Pirates earlier, the violent commotion had already attracted the attention of several villagers hiding in their homes, but due to years of brutal oppression by pirates, much like what was seen in Cocoyasi Village or Shells Town, no one dared to step outside to see what was happening. what.
And until Hasa's agonized screams rang out, the villagers were truly shaken, because they were far too familiar with that arrogant and tyrannical voice, and everyone began to secretly guess who could possibly force such a terrifying pirate captain to scream in pain.
The few villagers who had secretly guided Lin Mu earlier exchanged stunned glances with one another, clearly unable to believe that the seemingly thin and quiet young man before them could push the feared captain of the Giant Hammer Pirates into such a desperate state.
"Bastard!" After letting out another furious roar, Hasa twisted his body violently, and the massive iron hammer in his hands reversed direction and smashed straight toward the space behind him with overwhelming force.
That giant hammer whistled through the air, carrying a crushing momentum similar to the brute strength displayed by pirates like Alvida or early–era Arlong, and it clearly contained terrifying destructive power. Lin Mu quickly judged that if he were struck directly, even his enhanced body would not escape serious injury.
However, this kind of overwhelming power was exchanged at the cost of speed and flexibility. If Hasa truly possessed both strength and agility, his bounty issued by the World Government would never have remained at a mere 10 million Berry.
Once his movements became sluggish, there was no possible way for Hasa to land a clean hit on Lin Mu.
Lin Mu possessed Quicksilver's extreme speed and Wolverine's sharp combat instincts, weaving through attacks like a slippery fish in the sea, very much like how Kuro once relied on speed but without the recklessness. He was completely beyond Hasa's reach.
After effortlessly dodging Hasa's hammer once more, the sharp bone spur extending from Lin Mu's clenched fist pierced deeply into Hasa's waist and abdomen again. Although it narrowly missed a vital organ, it still tore open another horrifying wound in Hasa's body.
Soon after, several more deep cracks appeared across Hasa's torso, and dark red blood flowed continuously from each wound, soaking his clothes and dripping onto the ground.
At this point, Hasa's eyes were filled with undisguised fear, and he finally realized that the man standing before him was not someone he could ever hope to defeat, no matter how many battles he had survived in the past.
Although his physical strength was immense, it was completely meaningless if he could not land a single effective hit, and if the fight dragged on any longer, he would only be worn down and killed here like countless other pirates hunted down by fate.
"What do you want, we can discuss it!" Hasa shouted toward Lin Mu, panic clearly creeping into his voice as his breathing became increasingly ragged.
Lin Mu's reply was calm and emotionless, his voice as flat as the executioners of the World Government: "I want to kill you!"
Hearing Lin Mu's words, anger flashed violently through Hasa's eyes, but with death pressing in on him, he could only suppress it by force: "My head is worth 10 million Berry, if you let me go, I'll give you 20 million Berry, I've gathered quite a fortune this year too."
Hasa had already concluded that Lin Mu was not a Marine, since no uniform or warship was present, so he firmly believed that Lin Mu must be a bounty hunter wandering the seas for profit.
If Lin Mu were truly just a bounty hunter, then such an offer might have been tempting, and Hasa still might have had a chance to escape.
But unfortunately for him, Lin Mu was not!
Therefore, Lin Mu's movements did not slow down in the slightest, and instead, his attacks grew even more ruthless and decisive.
In the end, amidst overwhelming unwillingness, burning anger, and absolute terror, Hasa's throat was finally crushed by Lin Mu's grip, and the pirate captain's life was extinguished completely!
"Ding, kill the pirate captain Hasa to gain 40 experience points!"
Listening to the system prompt, Lin Mu glanced down at Hasa's lifeless corpse and said indifferently, his tone no different from when pirates were executed under Marine law, "Your head means more to me than just 10 million Berry!"
Forty experience points was something Lin Mu would never give up lightly, because compared to experience growth, what did 20 million Berry really amount to in the vast pirate world?
Even if it were 200 million Berry, a sum comparable to notorious pirates in Paradise, Lin Mu might barely consider hesitating.
"Ding, the pirate captain Hasa dropped the treasure chest, please pick it up as soon as possible!"
Lin Mu had originally planned to leave the area immediately after killing Hasa, just as bounty hunters and lone fighters often did to avoid trouble, but the sudden system prompt caused him to stop in his tracks.
Usually, Lin Mu felt that the system's voice was cold and mechanical, completely devoid of emotion, much like a Marine report being read aloud, but at this moment, it sounded almost like the music of nature itself, causing him to instantly turn his gaze back toward Hasa's body.
Then he clearly saw a translucent treasure chest phantom floating steadily above Hasa's corpse.
Seeing the appearance of the treasure chest, Lin Mu's eyes instantly lit up with excitement, and without the slightest hesitation, he reached out and grabbed it directly into his hands.
Although it looked like nothing more than an illusory projection, the moment it entered his grasp, it felt completely solid, as if it truly existed in this world. This strange yet vivid sensation made Lin Mu click his tongue in amazement.
At this moment, several villagers finally gathered their courage and came closer, unable to suppress their curiosity any longer. When they saw Lin Mu standing calmly beside Hasa's corpse, the once-feared pirate captain lying motionless at his feet, they all froze on the spot.
Lin Mu had no intention of negotiating or explaining anything to the villagers. After obtaining the treasure chest dropped by Hasa, he immediately activated Quicksilver's speed, sprinting out of the village and disappearing into the dense forest that surrounded it, leaving behind only the corpses of all the Giant Hammer Pirates, which soon caused the villagers to erupt into cheers of liberation.
Deep within the forest, Lin Mu leaned his back against a thick tree stump, holding the treasure chest in his hands, a trace of undisguised joy clearly written across his face.
As for the little fox, Zizhi was curled up nearby, sleeping soundly, its two small paws pulling its soft, oversized tail over its body like a blanket, wrapped tightly and comfortably.
"This time, destroying the Giant Hammer Pirates gave me more than 150 points of experience. Adding that to what I already had before, I now have a total of 272 experience points. If this pace continues, then reaching a thousand experience points is actually not that far away for me."
Lin Mu murmured softly to himself: "And the most important thing is that Hasa actually dropped a treasure chest. This is the biggest gain of this entire trip!"
You must understand that there were only two ways for Lin Mu to obtain a treasure chest: one was through leveling up, and the other was through monster or enemy drops, but the probability of enemies dropping treasure chests was extremely low.
This time, being lucky enough to obtain one from a pirate captain was almost equivalent to leveling up once on the spot!
That was precisely why Lin Mu was so excited.
After taking a deep breath and forcing himself to calm down slightly, Lin Mu slowly opened the treasure chest in his hands.
Then he saw a burst of white light surge out from within the chest, streaking forward and instantly merging into Lin Mu's body.
At the same time, all the information carried within that white light flowed directly into Lin Mu's mind…