# Chapter 18: Coveted Technology
Rob Lucci stepped forward, wearing a sweat-stained shirt, dressed like a shipwright, with a white pigeon perched on his shoulder.
"We've met before." Rob Lucci spoke, his expression calm.
At that moment, Su Xiao's expression changed.
Two more people appeared outside the warehouse. Based on his perception of their auras, one was Kaku disguised as a shipwright, and the other's aura he had never sensed before. Su Xiao guessed it was Blueno.
This warehouse was surrounded. Realizing this, Su Xiao flipped his palm, and several alchemy bombs appeared in his hand, ready to detonate the bomb inside Kalifa at any moment.
Though surrounded, Su Xiao showed no panic. As long as the explosion sounded, the Galley-La Company personnel would be alerted, and Rob Lucci and his group would have to either retreat temporarily or kill Su Xiao while risking exposure.
Rob Lucci seemed to understand this too, so he made no move to attack.
"All four of you are exposed within my perception. Are you planning a fight to the death with me today? For spies like you... that's quite foolish."
Kalifa was a spy, and since Rob Lucci and the others appeared with her, their identities were obvious. Rob Lucci showed no surprise at Su Xiao seeing through their disguise.
Rob Lucci made a gesture, and the four spies gathered inside the warehouse. Blueno, who was last, closed the old warehouse door tightly.
"Remove the bomb inside Kalifa."
Rob Lucci stood before the three, appearing ready to negotiate with Su Xiao.
"State your intentions first."
Su Xiao sheathed his blade and sat on a wooden crate, looking down at them while maintaining his vigilance.
Rob Lucci pondered for a moment, then nodded. He pulled a small Den Den Mushi from inside his coat and tossed it to Su Xiao.
Catching the Den Den Mushi, Su Xiao examined the small snail in his hand. This creature could communicate over long distances—the technology tree of the One Piece world was quite skewed.
"Dial it. Someone wants to talk to you."
Hearing Rob Lucci's words, Su Xiao thought for a moment before finally picking up the receiver.
"Bruh, bruh, bruh..."
After waiting over ten seconds, the Den Den Mushi made a click sound. The snail's head emerged from its shell, changing shape as if mimicking someone's face.
"Moshi, moshi, can you hear me?"
A somewhat arrogant voice came through the Den Den Mushi.
"I can." Su Xiao replied.
"So you're that guy called Bai Ye, huh? Listen here, I'm giving you until—"
"Shut up, Spandam." The arrogant voice was suddenly interrupted by a cold, chilling voice.
"What right do you have to order me? We have the same rank... Ow... I was wrong... Don't hit my face."
Chaotic sounds came through the Den Den Mushi. After a long moment, the cold voice spoke again.
"Hello, I am Zero."
The speaker gave a somewhat strange name.
"Zero?"
Hearing this name and connecting it to their CP department identity, Su Xiao suddenly realized something.
"Don't worry about who I am. You only need to know one thing—you're now a member of the World Government."
Su Xiao raised an eyebrow. The other party was unexpectedly assertive.
"Oh? Do you think these four can stop me?"
"Of course not. You control that bomb which can attract others' attention when it explodes."
The voice from the Den Den Mushi was confident, as if they didn't believe Rob Lucci could surround Su Xiao.
"Bai Ye, from the East Blue, aged 25 to 30, born in Bayano Village in the East Blue. Formerly served as a guard in the Goa Kingdom, fled to the Grand Line after killing the Goa King, sailed for several years, encountered a shipwreck, and finally arrived at Water Seven."
Zero recited Su Xiao's information like a well-rehearsed list. Su Xiao wasn't surprised—the other party was the World Government's intelligence department; investigating this wasn't strange.
But what they didn't know was that both the name and age were fabricated.
"And then? What can knowing my background do?"
A light laugh came through the Den Den Mushi, but it was unpleasant, like an old witch's low chuckle.
"Of course nothing. But do you plan to drift like this forever? I've investigated you. Aside from killing that king, you have no criminal record. I can only think of one possibility for this situation—revenge."
Su Xiao remained silent. He had roughly figured out the other party's intentions. This situation was good for him.
"Join the World Government's CP department. Become an external member temporarily. After a period of review, you can become a full CP department member."
Su Xiao was stunned. They were directly inviting him to join the CP department? Weren't CP department personnel trained from childhood?
"Would the CP department really recruit someone with my unclear background?"
"Normally, no. But the higher-ups value your bombs greatly. Those bombs have strategic significance. You're a special talent, so you receive special treatment."
Su Xiao suddenly understood. The World Government had taken an interest in his alchemy bombs.
When he learned alchemy, Reincarnation Paradise had warned him: [After mastering alchemy, some research factions in derivative worlds will prioritize recruiting you. If alchemy reaches a high level, there's a high chance that large forces in derivative worlds will try to kidnap you.]
The World Government was a research faction, with dedicated research units under their command.
"It seems my bomb-making technology has caught your interest."
Receiving Su Xiao's clear confirmation, Zero's tone changed, losing some of its previous coldness.
"The bombs you make are very covert, and their structure isn't too complex. Mass production would have enormous applications."
The recruitment continued.
"Mass production? That idea isn't bad, but don't get your hopes up."
"What?"
Zero's voice from the Den Den Mushi turned hostile.
"Alchemy bombs can only be made by me personally. No one else can possibly replicate them. I could give you the formula, and you could try."
Silence fell from the Den Den Mushi.
"Devil Fruit ability?"
"No, this is a secret technique. I studied it for over ten years. The Goa King once wanted to obtain this technique, but he failed. My family passed away, the inheritance was severed. I can only manufacture them; I cannot pass them on to others."
"So you're saying the alchemy bombs you mentioned can't be mass-produced?"
The voice from the Den Den Mushi sounded disappointed.
"That's not true. As long as I have sufficient raw materials, I can mass-produce them myself. Of course, this requires support from the World Government in various aspects."
"Really?"
"Really. But as I said, this requires the World Government to provide resource support."
"I need a specific number. How many of those bombs can you make per day?"
Su Xiao thought for a moment. If the World Government could provide him with materials and mana recovery potions, he could make one alchemy bomb every forty seconds. Assuming sixteen hours of production per day, theoretically he could make 1,440 alchemy bombs per day.
"With sufficient resources, 1,300 per day is no problem."
The breathing from the Den Den Mushi became noticeably rapid. Alchemy bombs were different from ordinary bombs—not only were they more powerful, but they were also easy to conceal, and more amazingly, they could be remotely controlled.
"You are now a full CP0 member. I'll send someone to pick you up immediately."
The daily output of over a thousand bombs clearly excited Zero. After all, just over a dozen alchemy bombs could destroy a building, and the remote control capability made them even more coveted.
"Mr. Zero, I don't think I've agreed to join the CP department yet."
Holding technology that the other party coveted, Su Xiao naturally intended to drive a hard bargain.