Chapter 6: Intelligence Overwhelm
On the Sabaody Archipelago, in District 13, a girl wearing pajamas and a soft hood with two rabbit ears hanging from it was holding a tablet computer.
"What a joke, this is a fifth-rank contractor? They can **** fight an Admiral, are you kidding me? I don't want to compete on the same stage as this kind of monster. How am I supposed to scrape benefits on the edge of the battlefield like this? Forget it, passing this intel to that disgusting pervert counts as completing the commission."
The girl's fingers tapped rapidly on the tablet, and soon a video was transmitted.
...
In District 24 of the Mangrove Area, inside a high-end restaurant, soothing music played. A man with messy dark green short hair and a pale face sat at a table. Across from him was a woman with tears streaming down her face, her whole body trembling. She had delicate features, appearing to be around twenty-five or twenty-six, with a few drops of blood visible on her fair cheeks.
The reason this woman was so terrified was that corpses lay scattered throughout the restaurant. Tables and chairs had been knocked over, and creatures resembling hyenas, with their flesh exposed to the air, were gnawing on the bodies. The sound of bones being snapped was especially crisp.
The pale-faced man set down his knife and fork, drained the red wine in his glass, let out a long sigh, and then looked at the woman across the table.
"Pardon me, madam. May I ask you a few questions? I forgot to introduce myself. You can call me Aps."
The name Aps the man mentioned actually represented Priapus, the god of fertility in mythology.
"I, my father can give you money. He works for the World News Newspaper..."
Before the woman could finish, Aps waved his hand and said, "Madam, you misunderstand. I have no interest in money. You just need to answer a few of my questions."
"Alright, alright, as long as you're willing to let me go."
"Of course, as long as you answer my questions."
An egg-like object appeared in Aps's hand. It was round, about the size of a washbasin, with a small screen in the center. Most of it was biological structure, with blue veins protruding from it.
"First question: What position do you prefer?"
"Huh?"
The young woman was stunned, feeling a mix of fear and shame. This strange sensation made her even more certain that the man across the table was a pervert.
"This is a mandatory question. Otherwise, you'll become their lunch."
Aps smiled at the young woman.
"I like..."
The young woman's voice grew softer. Under the threat of death, she could only utter something very embarrassing.
"Oh? So you're that open of a woman. Then let's move to the second question: Have you ever given birth to children?"
"No, no, I'm not married yet."
"Good. Third question: When was the last time you had intercourse with a member of the opposite sex?"
"About a month ago, I think."
"Hmm, that's enough. Thank you for your cooperation. You may leave, madam. Remember to notify the Navy. If they ask you, you can describe my appearance in detail."
Under Aps's gaze, the young woman tentatively stood up, took a few steps back, and then stumbled out of the restaurant. Soon, cries for help echoed from the street.
"The seed has been planted. The host is healthy enough and has strong desires. Excellent."
As Aps stood up, his appearance began to change, transforming into a boy of about seven or eight years old. He walked out of the restaurant slowly.
...
At the edge of the Sabaody Archipelago, Su Xiao was watching a video. It had been recorded by Bubu Wang during his battle, containing footage of over thirty fourth-rank contractors.
Su Xiao had chosen to reveal his strength at the very beginning of the world. This had both advantages and disadvantages. The benefit was that it made it easier to find a faction to join. The downside was that it exposed him to the sight of other contractors.
Su Xiao wasn't too concerned about the second point. Once the Summit War began, it would be every man for himself. If one's strength wasn't sufficient, schemes and calculations wouldn't be of much use. This wasn't the Ghost World; there weren't many old schemers around.
Currently, Su Xiao was in District 31 of the Mangrove Area. He was waiting for someone, or rather, waiting for a reply from Donquixote Doflamingo.
After waiting about ten minutes, an old man dressed as a fisherman approached Su Xiao.
"The fish you wanted."
The fisherman set down a bamboo basket containing over a dozen live fish. After the fisherman walked away, Su Xiao dumped the fish out of the basket. A palm-sized Den Den Mushi fell to the ground. Su Xiao tried to dial this Den Den Mushi.
Crackle~
The Den Den Mushi was picked up, and a vigorous male voice came from the other end. Just hearing this voice, one could imagine the strong sense of power from the person on the other end of the line.
"I am Kukulin..."
Su Xiao paused for a moment. He had gotten used to calling himself Kukulin Bai Ye in the Ghost World.
"I am Kukulin Bai Ye."
"Kukulin? Bai Ye?"
The man on the other end of the Den Den Mushi sounded confused. In the background, a lazy voice could be heard shouting, "Jozu, who's on the Den Den Mushi?"
"Not sure. He calls himself Kukulin Bai Ye."
"Kukulin Bai Ye? Bai Ye..."
The sound of hurried footsteps came through. Soon, the appearance of the Den Den Mushi changed, turning into a pineapple head.
"How did you get this Den Den Mushi? Where is its owner?"
The pineapple-headed man's tone was somewhat hostile.
"Who knows? Probably dead by now."
"You..."
The voice on the other end was startled.
"You killed Shakky?"
"No, I didn't."
Su Xiao glanced at the Den Den Mushi in his hand. Doflamingo indeed had far-reaching influence on the Sabaody Archipelago. He had even managed to steal the Den Den Mushi used by Shakky to contact the Whitebeard Pirates.
That's right, Su Xiao had contacted the Whitebeard Pirates. He was very curious about one thing: just how strong Whitebeard was in his prime.
Su Xiao was an absolute mortal enemy of the World Government. If he participated in the Summit War, he would likely be surrounded and attacked by the Navy's strongmen. It was unlikely he could weaken the Navy's combat power in a short time, so he chose to strengthen his enemy's enemy. As for joining the Whitebeard Pirates' faction, that was completely impossible.
The Whitebeard Pirates were in a very precarious situation. They were already locked in a confrontation with the Navy, while Big Mom and Kaido were watching eagerly, waiting for Whitebeard to fall so they could scramble for his territory.
"You contacted us. What's your purpose?"
The pineapple-headed man on the Den Den Mushi had calmed his tone somewhat. This was the First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Phoenix Marco. His signature pineapple head was too conspicuous, along with his perpetually sleepy expression.
"I heard Whitebeard's physical condition is very bad?"
"That's just a rumor. The old man is more energetic than I am."
"Is that so? I was originally thinking of helping him suppress the old injuries caused by Roger in a short time. Since that's the case, forget it."
"..."
Marco on the other end of the Den Den Mushi fell silent. In fact, around this Den Den Mushi, six commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates had gathered.
"I hope you can sink Marine Headquarters. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll give you a free piece of information. Portgas D. Ace is currently being held in the Infinite Hell on the sixth level of Impel Down. If my intel is correct, he's chatting with his friend, Knight of the Sea Jinbe. On average, he gets beaten by the jailers every five hours to prevent him from having the energy to escape."
As a former researcher for the World Government, this identity was very convenient for Su Xiao. It allowed him to leak a lot of information without risk. Information overwhelm was a powerful tactic.
"Ace gets beaten every five hours?"
Marco's emotions fluctuated on the other end of the Den Den Mushi. No wonder he was affected. His brother-like Ace was suffering in prison, and he was powerless to do anything. This feeling was both helpless and heart-wrenching.
"You can also consider this false information. Let me tell you something even more interesting. The World Government already knows that Portgas D. Ace is Roger's son."
"!"
Silence fell on the other end of the Den Den Mushi. Inside a cabin, Marco made a gesture to Jozu beside him. Jozu nodded and quickly left the cabin.
"Mr. White Night, do you have any other information?"
After saying this, Marco couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh. For the sake of his brother-like Ace, he had to be hypocritical this once. He had just called him White Night, but now it had become Mr. White Night.
"Of course. Do you think I was helping the World Government produce baby formula when I worked for them? Those cowardly Celestial Dragons were surprisingly polite when dealing with me. After all, each of them will grow old and fall ill. When that time comes, I'll be their savior."
"Mr. White Night, should we meet and talk?"
"Sure. Datan O Island, 30 nautical miles east of the Sabaody Archipelago. If you dare to come, I'll be waiting for you there. Remember, whether it's the intel or alleviating Whitebeard's injuries, you'll have to pay."
Su Xiao hung up the Den Den Mushi. Clearly, Marco had never heard the saying that free is the most expensive. And for a maritime overlord like the Whitebeard Pirates, would they have no good things? Of course not.
Knowledge is wealth. Su Xiao had invested so many Paradise Coins into Alchemy, so of course he could use Alchemy to reap huge benefits. And now was the opportunity.