I collect everything in the One Piece world.

No wonder it attracted the attention of the migrating crab; it truly got close to the crab through sheer skill.

“Let’s go take a look.” He patted the shell of the migratory crab.

However, the moving crab seemed not to hear, still staring intently at the "bulge," and even began to excitedly wave its pincers, making a "click-click" sound, its heart-shaped eyes shining even brighter.

Mo Sen: "..."

He recalled another moving crab, "Scissors," that the Straw Hat crew encountered in Alabasta in the original story. That guy was a lecherous man who liked beautiful women, especially dancers.

It seems that the crab I rented really is the same breed of "lustful crab". I really don't know how the club people train it. Do they feed them crab slices every day?

"Hey!" Mosen smacked the moving crab's hard head with a thud.

"Is now the time to keep an eye on him? If we don't go and try to save him, he'll become a specimen! What's the point of watching him then? Hurry up and get over there!"

The moving crab shrank its neck after being knocked, seemingly a little aggrieved, but it understood what Morsen meant. So it quickly moved its huge body and crawled rapidly toward the sand mound.

Upon getting closer, Mosen jumped off the crab's back, squatted down, and began to dig.

The sand was hot to the touch, but very soft, and soon, the figure of a woman appeared.

She was a young woman with slightly tanned skin and long, bright red curly hair.

She was wearing a loose-fitting white robe in the Alabasta style, but the robe was slightly unbuttoned, revealing a sexy black halter top and a small section of her toned waist underneath.

Her features were striking and beautiful, and even in her unconscious state, she exuded an aura of wildness and allure.

At this moment, her eyes were closed, her lips were cracked, her face was covered in sand, and her breathing was getting weaker and weaker. She had obviously been dehydrated and unconscious in the desert for some time.

Mosen lifted her completely out of the sandpit and laid her flat on the relatively level sand.

The migratory crab immediately came over, its claws waving excitedly and making a clicking sound.

"Get out of the way!" Mosen kicked the crab's shell, shooing it away a few steps. That lecherous crab! It almost stepped on his head!

Without further delay, he took out a bottle of clean drinking water from his bag, carefully pried open the woman's mouth, and fed her small amounts of water several times.

The cool water moistened her parched throat, and she swallowed a few times unconsciously, her breathing becoming more even.

Mosen then gently wiped the sand and sweat off her face with a damp cloth to help cool her down.

It has to be said that the people in this world have excellent physical fitness; after only a short while, the woman's condition improved considerably.

Her eyelashes trembled a few times, and she let out a weak, indistinct groan before slowly opening her eyes.

However, her pupils were somewhat unfocused, clearly not fully awake yet. She gazed blankly at the azure sky bisected by the massive shadow of the moving crab, feeling the scorching heat of the sand beneath her, and murmured as if in a dream:

"Am I... in hell? Why... is it still so hot... not cool at all..."

"That's right, this is the fiery hell, a place specifically for searing the souls of sinners. Young, wronged souls, are you ready to face judgment and eternal burning?"

Hearing the sound, Bakala's unfocused gaze slowly sharpened, and against the light, she saw the silhouette of a man.

The other person was squatting beside her, with a pair of deep, dark eyes that held a hint of a smile beneath a wide-brimmed hat, and a slight curve to the corners of his mouth as he spoke softly.

"Huh...?" Bakara blinked, her mind still foggy, and subconsciously followed Morsen's words.

"Are all Grim Reapers... this handsome?"

Chapter 34, Bakala, Temporary Alliance (Please continue reading!)

After Bakala woke up, Mosen took her onto the back of the moving crab and continued on their journey.

As the temperature dropped and with the help of water, Bakala gradually regained consciousness.

At this moment, she was taking small sips of water from her water pouch, her gaze sweeping over the moving crab that was peeking at her, and finally landing on the face of Morsen, who had saved her.

"Thank you for saving me. My name is Bakala. How did you end up here?" Bakala then remembered her earlier mutterings and felt a little embarrassed.

Bakara? That name sounds familiar. Is she a character who has appeared before?

“My name is Mosen, Black Mosen. I’m on my way to Rainfield and just happened to be passing by here,” Mosen replied simply, while thinking for a moment.

Blake is the surname he chose for himself; since he's already the Black Cat Sheriff, Blake is quite fitting.

"And you? How did you end up unconscious in the desert all by yourself? Did you have no companions? Not even a camel?"

Mentioning this, Bakala's embarrassment was immediately replaced by frustration and anger: "It makes me angry just thinking about it. I had only been in the desert for a short time when my luggage was snatched away by a harpy bird."

"Then we encountered a sandstorm, and even the camels got lost in it!"

"Without water, food, or a mount, if I hadn't met you, I probably would have turned into a desert corpse."

"It does sound like you've had some bad luck," Morsen said, then added with some curiosity, "But to be able to sail the Grand Line alone, you must have some kind of advantage, right?"

Bakara crossed her arms, a hint of pride flashing in her eyes: "I guess so. I'm a Devil Fruit user, which makes me lucky."

A lucky fruit? Mosen's heart skipped a beat, and he thought of the "Lucky Lady" who controlled luck in the theatrical version of "Gold City".

Bakala, I was wondering why the name sounded so familiar, it turns out it's her.

"A lucky fruit?" Morsen raised an eyebrow. "But given your current situation..."

“I know what you want to say!” Bakala sighed, causing a ripple in her chest, and the hearts in the moving crab’s eyes widened even more.

"But luck isn't unlimited; if you use it too much, it will... temporarily become less effective."

Then she looked at Mosen, winked and smiled, "And to meet you at this time and survive is already a testament to the remaining luck at work."

"To be honest, if I hadn't had a bit too much fun at the last casino, I wouldn't have ended up like this."

At this point, Bakala was also very angry, her chest heaving with rage: "That damn casino can't afford to lose a single penny! I was just lucky, but they insist on accusing me of cheating! They even tried to deduct my money and my people!"

"I was in a hurry to get away, so I used up a lot of luck along the way, which took a toll."

"So not long after leaving the city, things started going wrong one after another... and that's how it ended up." She sighed.

"And what's most infuriating is that all the money I won and my initial investment were in my luggage, and that damned bird stole them all!" Bakara said angrily, baring her teeth and brandishing her claws.

She was so angry at those stinky birds. She wished she would never see them again, or she would roast them and eat them.

Casino? Mosen gleaned a crucial piece of information: was Bakara already a seasoned gambler before joining the Golden City storyline?

"So, you've got nothing left now," Morsen said thoughtfully.

“…You could say that.” Although Bakara was somewhat upset, she had to admit that this was the current reality.

"Since that's the case, why don't you cooperate with me? What do you say?" Mosen said, looking at Bakara.

"Cooperation?" Baccarat raised her eyebrows.

“That’s right, let’s cooperate. We’ll go to the ‘Rain Banquet’ in the Rainy Land to gamble together,” Morsen said. “You’re in charge of ‘luck’ to make sure we win. I’ll take care of security and the principal.”

"If we win money, we can split it 50/50. And with me around, no one can easily touch the money you win."

Bakara didn't speak, but her expression clearly showed some interest.

Seeing this, Mo Sen continued his analysis: "You suffered losses before because you only had the ability of 'luck' but not the ability to hold onto your gains."

"So I'm here to fill this gap in your knowledge, and I also happen to need to make money myself. It's a win-win situation."

Bakara carefully examined Morsen. This handsome guy looked calm and confident, and indeed had the air of a master.

And what he said was right; she had no shortage of ways to win money, but what she lacked was a partner who could keep the place in check.

"Are you strong enough? Can you really handle the casino's thugs? The person behind Yu Yan is no ordinary person; they're said to be one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea," Baccarat confirmed again.

“Of course, I wouldn’t risk my own life,” Mosen said calmly and confidently. “Besides, it’s better than you having nothing at all.”

"This guy's words are really unpleasant, but they're actually true." Bakara thought to herself as she stared at Morsen, seemingly deep in thought.

After a moment, she seemed to have made up her mind, smiled, and extended her hand to Mo Sen:

"Great collaboration! Partner! But I want 60% of the winnings! My luck is key!"

“Fifty-fifty.” Mo Sen grasped her hand, its feel cool yet firm: “Don’t forget, I still provided the principal.”

“…Alright, you saved my life.” Bakara didn’t object anymore: “But it’s a deal, you have to cover for me if things get bad! I don’t want to be chased around again.”

“Of course, from now on you'll be the one chasing after everyone else,” Mosen nodded and said.

The two exchanged a smile, and a simple, temporary alliance was formed amidst the howling, hot desert winds.

"Hmph! When we get to the Rain Banquet, I'll show you what's what!" Bakara clenched her fist and raised it, her clothes disheveled but her confidence in victory restored.

Guh~~~~

Just then, an unusually loud sound came from Bakala's abdomen, instantly shattering the image she had just established.

"..." Bakara's body stiffened, her punching motion stopped in mid-air, and the confident expression on her face froze instantly. A blush spread from her neck to her ears at a visible speed.

"Haha, sorry, I was so focused on getting you some water that I forgot you were hungry." Mo Sen couldn't help but chuckle, and naturally raised his hand, a faint light flashing in his palm.

The next moment, a steaming, fragrant seafood risotto appeared out of thin air in his hand.

The enticing aroma instantly spread through the dry desert air.

"!!!"

Bakara's eyes widened instantly, the initial embarrassment replaced by immense surprise and an even stronger sense of hunger.

Her stomach, however, was very uncooperative, growling even louder, as if cheering for the arrival of food.

At this point, the last bit of composure she had maintained completely crumbled, and her face turned as red as a ripe tomato, as if she wanted to find a sandpit to crawl into.

"Eat up, while it's hot." Mo Sen smiled as he gently placed the risotto in her hand. "There's not much wind right now, otherwise it would be mixed with sand later."

Bakala held the warm risotto, head bowed, her voice barely audible: "Th...thank you."

But the next second she suddenly looked up, her face still flushed with shock and curiosity, staring intently at Mosen's hand that had just taken out the stew:

"Huh?! You...you're a Devil Fruit user too?!"

Chapter 35, Loan and Storage Services, Rainy Day (Please continue reading!)

As the sun began to set, the scorching midday heat was finally replaced by the cool evening breeze, and the sky was dyed a brilliant orange-red, casting a gentle halo over the boundless sea of ​​sand.

On the thick carapace of the migratory crab, Bakala tilted her head back and drank the last drop of iced cola in her hand, letting out a satisfying burp.

Then she relaxed and supported herself with her arms behind her back, stretching her body which had regained its vitality. Her graceful curves outlined a breathtaking arc in the setting sun.

"Your Devil Fruit ability is so convenient it's enviable," Bakara exclaimed, her tone filled with undisguised envy.

"It's practically made for travel and enjoyment! If I had that kind of ability, how could those damned birds have stolen my money and treasures!"