"I called you here because I wanted to ask about your career plans."
Career plans?
Hector and the others were stunned.
"Captain, what are career plans?"
Pintel asked naively.
"It's about whether you want to earn more gold coins, marry a beautiful and wealthy woman, and reach the pinnacle of your pirate career."
Roger coaxed them patiently.
"Yes! We dream of it!"
Pintel nodded repeatedly.
"Then do you also want to regain the ability to be unkillable, like Billy and the others?"
Roger revealed his true intentions.
This sentence made Hector's breathing stop for a second.
He and his two henchmen exchanged glances, seeing intense longing in each other's eyes.
Who wouldn't want to be unkillable?
It was just that the side effects back then were too great.
Plus, their idiotic captain caused trouble every day.
After they truly lost this heaven-defying ability, they all felt a bit regretful.
Especially after seeing that Roger's group not only still had this ability but could even drink and make merry without being affected, this feeling reached its peak again.
And after they had witnessed Billy and the others', uh, perverted way of playing, like disassembling themselves as if they were toys, this longing became even stronger.
Why didn't they think of it back then!
Who wouldn't want to take off their own head and let others kick it around like a ball?
That was just too damn fun.
They felt like they had missed out on an entire chest of gold coins!
"I... we... want to."
Hector squeezed out a few words with difficulty from his throat.
Saying this meant completely submitting to Roger.
"Good that you want to."
Roger nodded in satisfaction.
He opened the system panel to check their loyalty.
Especially Barraba.
This old fellow was also good at betrayal; one had to be careful.
[Hector Barbossa: Loyalty 10/100 (Status: Forced to work, wants to usurp)]
[Pintel: Loyalty 45/100 (Status: Fence-sitter, follows whoever wins)]
[Ragetti: Loyalty 50/100 (Status: Same as above, and a bit foolish)]
Roger sneered inwardly at these failing scores.
A bunch of traitors!
And they still want the company's core benefits?
"Our the explorer is a legitimate company that values corporate culture and employee belonging."
Roger began his grand deception.
"It's not impossible to gain the core benefit of being an undead crew member. But you have to show your sincerity."
"You have to prove that you genuinely want to contribute to the explorer, and to me, your Captain!"
"What I need are loyal warriors, not ungrateful wretches who will bite me back at any moment!"
Roger's words made Hector and the others lower their heads in shame.
"Captain! I am willing! I am willing to offer you my heart!"
Ragetti, the One-Eyed Man, was the first to declare his loyalty, reaching for his chest.
But he forgot that he seemed to have lost his undead ability, and now looked pitifully at Roger.
Pintel also quickly knelt down.
"Captain, from now on, we will only follow your lead!"
[Ding! Ragetti's loyalty +20! Pintel's loyalty +20!]
Only Hector remained standing, his face fluctuating between green and white.
Clearly, he was still engaged in an intense internal struggle.
Roger didn't rush him, just watched him with a smile.
Finally, Hector sighed deeply and knelt on one knee.
"Captain, I, Hector Barbossa, am willing to pledge my loyalty to you."
[Ding! Hector Barbossa's loyalty +30! Current loyalty 40/100!]
"Very good."
Roger patted his shoulder in satisfaction.
"Work hard, the company... uh... I, as Captain, will not treat you unfairly."
Having settled the internal ideological work, Roger waved his hand.
"Let's go! To the Mermaid Tavern!"
"We're going to recruit some new colleagues!"
"How can we steal a ship for Jack without people?"
"It's also a good opportunity for us to take in more greedy pirates!"
Mermaid Tavern.
The most chaotic place in Tortuga Port.
The moment Roger walked in with his strangely styled crew, the entire tavern fell silent for a second.
Everyone's gaze fell on Roger.
And on the pirates behind him, who stood sloppily but whose eyes all conveyed an air of "I'm not to be trifled with" desperadoes.
"Landlady! Bring out all your best rum!"
Roger put his foot on a table, utterly arrogant.
"Tonight, the Captain is paying for everything!"
This sentence instantly made the entire tavern erupt.
"Holy shit! Where did this rich idiot come from?"
"Who cares! Free rum!"
The pirates all raised their glasses, cheering for Roger.
Roger enjoyed this feeling, though he was secretly panicking.
Dining and dashing in Tortuga Port could lead to being turned into fish bait!
The lack of gold coins made Roger's eyelid twitch.
But he came here precisely to fool these pirates.
So he cleared his throat and began his impromptu speech.
"Brothers! I know some of you are still fighting tooth and nail for a piece of moldy bread!"
"Some of you are still worried that the next time you go to sea, you'll be blown into the ocean by Royal Navy cannonballs to feed the sharks!"
"But, I tell you!"
Roger's voice suddenly rose.
"From today onwards, you have a new choice!"
"Join my the explorer!"
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