This meant they had to leave the ship and go ashore.
So... the problem arose.
Away from the ship, could they still die?
Once this thought emerged, it wildly took root and sprouted in Roger's mind.
He felt as if he had overlooked a fatal detail.
"System! Get your ass out here!"
Roger roared in his mind.
"Coming, coming! Boss! How can I help you? We've just received a new batch of 'Life Restart Insurance,' specially designed for high-risk professionals. Buy now and receive a free Easter gift package!"
The system's voice was as cheeky as ever.
"Less talk! I ask you, my crew, as long as they are on the explorer, will they absolutely not die?"
"Of course, Boss!"
The system's voice was full of pride.
"'Undead Crew' is our explorer's core technology, an exclusive patent! It's supported by the 'Eternal Curse Energy Field' inside the hull! As long as they are within the energy field's coverage, your employees can enjoy unlimited resurrection service like max-level VIPs! Out they are ghosts, in they are immortals!"
"So if I carry ship parts ashore, does that also count as being within the ship's range?"
"Host, no exploiting bugs, please."
Roger's heart sank.
"Every energy field has a range, Boss. According to current settings, this range is roughly a 3D spherical area centered on the explorer's hull."
In other words, once his crew left the ship, the undead aura would be gone.
They would transform from super soldiers who could infinitely resurrect back into a pile of ordinary people who could also die.
He already had a mental image.
He led his howling pirate army, striding majestically towards Iwami Ginzan.
Then, a volley of musket fire from the defending army.
His proud employees, with a "crash," shattered into pieces on the ground.
The kind that couldn't even be put back together like a puzzle.
What the hell was the point of fighting then?!
This wasn't going to rob; this was clearly going to deliver cannon fodder, and the kind that delivered right to their doorstep!
The system's voice was concise and shameless.
"Boss, have you forgotten we also have the great Copper Coin Enhancement System?"
"As long as you invest enough copper coins, you can comprehensively strengthen and upgrade your employees' bodies! Let them break free from their reliance on the 'undead aura' and achieve true 'physical deification'!"
The next second, a golden, glittering upgrade tree unfolded before Roger.
"Skeleton Soldier Basic Enhancement Route":
"Level 1: Calcareous Skeleton (Current) → Level 2: Reinforced Hard Bone (100 copper coins per person) → Level 3: Black Iron Skeleton (500 copper coins per person) → Level 4: Fine Steel Skeleton (2000 copper coins per person)..."
"Final Form: Vibranium Indestructible Skeleton King (Copper coins required:???)"
Roger looked at the astronomical copper coin consumption figures and felt his heart and liver ache.
He glanced at his pitiful copper coin balance in his account, then at the group of spendthrifts on the deck still fighting fiercely over a bone.
An unprecedented and enormous crisis lay before him.
No money.
He had no money to upgrade his employees.
Without upgrades, his employees would be cannon fodder once they went ashore.
If they became cannon fodder, how could he go and rob that damned silver mine?
If he couldn't get the silver mine, he wouldn't have money to upgrade the ship, let alone invest in technology.
This was a perfect vicious cycle.
"Damn it..."
Roger cursed from the depths of his soul.
He finally understood that this trip to Iwami Ginzan, robbing silver was only a secondary objective.
The true core mission was to make money!
Make copper coins!
At all costs, get enough copper coins to upgrade these brittle skeletons into invulnerable, steel-hard men!
He looked at the brawling skeletons, and his gaze changed.
It was no longer the look of a boss at his employees.
It was the look of an old father at a group of ravenous, gold-devouring beasts waiting for their tuition fees.
"Stop messing around, all of you!"
Roger roared.
"Where's Jack?!"
------------------------
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