Chapter 17: Negotiation
The deck was dead silent. Koala and Reis Max exchanged a glance, both sharing the same thought: ‘Maybe... we should retreat for now.’
The ship hadn’t sunk. The seawater that had flooded the lower cabins was already frozen solid. Amu had been guarding there all along. Su Xiao had deliberately let that Celestial Dragon escape.
In less than half an hour, Koala heard a splash. Su Xiao climbed back onto the ship from over the railing, completely drenched.
Of the CP0 members who had been pursuing him, only two had come this time. Neither escaped. Eddie K was the combatant, and there was a woman who seemed to be support personnel—her combat strength wasn’t strong. If Su Xiao’s guess was correct, she was likely the one who had tracked him down.
“Pfft~”
Su Xiao spat out the seawater in his mouth, raised his hand, and touched his jaw. That punch earlier had been no joke. To successfully eliminate Eddie K, he had not only set up a death trap but also used a Legendary-grade item called [Spiritual Contamination] during the fight, causing the opponent’s mind to cloud over in a short time. This led to Eddie K’s chaotic thinking, and without confirming the risks, he rashly went to save that Celestial Dragon.
That was how battles worked. Even though Eddie K was only slightly weaker than an Admiral, once he made the wrong choice, he was dead.
Not only that, in actual combat, Su Xiao found that Banishment was incredibly useful. Hitting the enemy just once left them half-dead at best. Combined with his swordsmanship, once the enemy fell into a disadvantage, their chances of turning the tide grew increasingly slim.
He tossed Eddie K’s corpse into the sea for a water burial, then turned his gaze to Koala and Reis Max.
“Continue with why you came to find me.”
Su Xiao sat on the ship’s railing. Bubu Wang soon climbed aboard as well and started shaking off the water, splashing seawater all over Su Xiao’s face.
With the cooperation of Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Amu, the two CP0 members had been dealt with thoroughly, dying before they could unleash their full strength.
“Uh... alright.”
Koala jumped down from the cabin, organized her words, and said, “We were following you earlier. I sincerely apologize for that. As for why we came to find you, you’ve probably already guessed.”
“I can provide you with finished products. The technical side is no problem either, provided you can actually produce the alchemy bombs.”
“There’s definitely no issue with that. What do we need to give in return for that technology?”
Koala’s gaze was burning with anticipation. Reis Max beside her remained silent—he had been the one tracking Su Xiao earlier. As for the current negotiation, he didn’t plan to get involved. His encounter with Su Xiao on the island had been pure coincidence.
“What do you need to give? I haven’t considered that yet. However...”
Su Xiao’s tone shifted, skipping over the payment entirely.
“If I join you, I might consider not charging any compensation.”
“Join us?”
Koala was visibly stunned. She had never considered recruiting Su Xiao into the Revolutionary Army, because Su Xiao was too dangerous—whether from the rumors or from watching him kill that CP0 member just now.
“I’ve been hunted by the World Government recently. That’s why I cooperated with Doflamingo before. Clearly, cooperating with that pirate isn’t reliable. So now I need a faction to help block the CP department for me.”
“Uh...”
Koala was troubled. She understood the logic, but whether it was woman’s intuition or something else, she always felt that letting Su Xiao join the Revolutionary Army was a bad idea.
“Since you’re not interested in the weapons I’m offering, then forget it. But... you did just witness me kill a CP0 agent, didn’t you?”
A smile appeared on Su Xiao’s face, very casual.
“We can pretend we didn’t see anything, right, Reis?”
“Huh?” Reis Max snapped out of his daze and quickly said, “Yeah, we can pretend we didn’t see anything. Leaking that information would only cause trouble.”
“See? He’ll forget.”
Koala smiled too, though it was a bit stiff. She had only come to discuss business, never expecting to get dragged into something like this.
Suddenly, a thought struck Koala: Su Xiao had probably foreseen this situation all along. This made her ponder inwardly:
‘Why does he want to join the Revolutionary Army? To escape the World Government? Impossible. This man dares to kill Celestial Dragons; he’s definitely not afraid of the World Government. Is there some scheme? Koala, think fast. You have to figure it out. You can do this.’
“I’ve heard a saying: verbal promises can sometimes be very fragile.”
“Who said that? That’s wrong. There has to be at least basic trust between people. The person who said that must be a villain.”
Koala’s train of thought was interrupted, forcing her to deal with Su Xiao.
“I said it.”
Su Xiao lit a cigarette as he spoke. The sea breeze blew, and the weather was exceptionally clear.
“Huh?”
Koala was dumbfounded.
“That line just now—I said it.”
“This...”
The atmosphere was incredibly awkward, so awkward that Koala felt like jumping into the sea to escape.
“Just kidding. Most of the time, I don’t kill people casually. You’re free to leave anytime.”
“Mm, I believe you.”
Koala glanced at the large pool of blood on the deck as she spoke.
“I only manufacture weapons for the faction I belong to. As for the weapon technology, the last person who tried to reverse-engineer it was named Dr. Vegapunk.”
“Wait for me a moment.”
Koala gave Reis Max a look, signaling him to keep Su Xiao talking, at least stall him.
“Mr. Kukulin, your swordsmanship is very impressive.”
Reis Max smiled.
“...”
“Ahem, let’s change the subject. Are you interested in gambling?”
“...”
“Ahem ahem. Nice weather today, huh?”
Reis Max let out a long sigh. His impression of Su Xiao was that he was a ruthless killer and a cunning old fox. The tragic death of Eddie K was proof—such a strong agent had fallen in just a few minutes.
Koala soon returned. From the expression on her face, the result seemed favorable.
“If you join us, you’ll manufacture weapons for us for free?”
Koala crouched down and patted Bubu Wang’s head, a stark contrast to her wariness around Su Xiao. But Bubu Wang tilted his head, his expression clearly saying: “Don’t touch me.”
“Regarding explosive technology, I can temporarily provide you with a portion.”
Su Xiao pulled a piece of paper soaked in seawater from his chest. Seeing this pre-prepared item, Koala felt terrible. The feeling of being manipulated grew even stronger.
“This is the initial structural blueprint for the alchemy bomb, along with samples. Whether you can replicate it is your problem.”
Su Xiao handed the structural blueprint and three alchemy bombs to Koala. This blueprint was technology Su Xiao had long since phased out, barely used since the third rank.
Seeing the alchemy bombs, Koala’s smile grew sweeter. These things were perfect for blowing up ships, and the Navy often used them.
[Tip: The Hunter has joined the Revolutionary Army faction. Subsequent missions will be unlocked upon the Hunter’s arrival at Marine Headquarters.]