Chapter 19: The Melancholy Kalifa
“Go ahead, tell me what you want. You’re a special talent, and as long as your request isn’t excessive, the CP department won’t be stingy.”
Su Xiao pondered for a moment.
“I want one of the Great Grade Swords, Twenty-One Works.”
Hearing Su Xiao’s words, Kalifa nearby looked utterly defeated.
“Ahem~, that request is too unreasonable. Even a Marine Vice Admiral would need to go through a tedious application process for a Great Grade Sword, Twenty-One Works, and seniority is also a factor. That request is impossible.”
“Then give me a Devil Fruit, Paramecia or Logia, or maybe an Ancient Zoan.”
The person on the other end of the Den Den Mushi was speechless. They hadn’t expected Su Xiao to be so greedy—this was practically taking advantage of the situation.
“Bai Ye, you’d better come up with some ‘achievable’ requests.”
Su Xiao thought for a moment. Maybe asking for such an exorbitant price wasn’t very reliable.
“I’m a collector of blades, and I’m also a swordsman. How about this: for every 1,000 alchemy bombs I produce, the World Government provides me with one Skillful Grade Sword, Fifty Works. Even though it’s called Skillful Grade Sword, Fifty Works, the actual number of Skillful Grade Swords definitely exceeds fifty. This request isn’t excessive.”
Skillful Grade Sword, Fifty Works was just a title, a classification for swords established long ago. Since then, many craftsmen had forged Skillful Grade Swords, so there were certainly more than fifty—possibly even five hundred.
The Great Grade Sword, Twenty-One Works was different. Great Grade Swords were extremely difficult to forge, and many had gone missing.
“Your salary… is quite astonishing.”
Zero’s tone was hesitant, but for the World Government, 1,000 alchemy bombs were far more valuable than a single sword.
“For every 2,000 alchemy bombs you produce, we’ll provide you with one Skillful Grade Sword for your collection. However, there’s a condition: these Skillful Grade Swords are for your collection only.”
Su Xiao understood Zero’s meaning. Having the right to collect was enough. Once a Skillful Grade Sword reached his hands, it wouldn’t take more than ten minutes before it turned into scrap metal.
“Then it’s settled. You’ll be granted CP0 status and corresponding compensation. You’ll produce alchemy bombs for the World Government and provide the crafting techniques.”
Su Xiao didn’t care about providing the formula for intermediate alchemy bombs. Without mastering Alchemy, the formula was just a useless piece of paper.
“Agreed.”
The moment Su Xiao agreed, his main mission suddenly changed.
[Detected that the Hunter has reached an agreement with the World Government. The World Government is the strongest faction in this world. Main mission is being modified.]
Main Mission: Arrive at Enies Lobby.
Difficulty Level: Lv.3
Mission Brief: The mission will activate upon arrival at Enies Lobby.
Mission Time Limit: Five days.
Mission Reward: None.
Mission Penalty: Forcibly returned to Reincarnation Paradise, no return rewards.
…
The previous main mission was considered completed by default, but due to low completion, it only rewarded Su Xiao with 1,400 Paradise Coins.
Su Xiao’s identity had changed, becoming an [Official CP0 Member (Research)], which made him think of something very interesting.
“Someone will come to pick you up at Water 7 in three hours, along with your protection. Bai Ye, you are now a valuable talent of the World Government.”
Becoming a CP0 researcher, Su Xiao’s status skyrocketed.
“Zero… sir, may I ask who these four people around me are?”
Su Xiao glanced at Rob Lucci and the others.
“Lucci and the others are CP9 intelligence agents. Your conflict with them is a minor matter.”
Su Xiao thought to himself that leaving Water 7 now would definitely not be a wise choice.
“Sir Zero, if I’m not mistaken, the target of Lucci and the other three is Iceburg, right?”
There was a moment of silence on the Den Den Mushi.
“You don’t need to concern yourself with that. Your mission is to return to Enies Lobby immediately.”
“Heh~.” Su Xiao chuckled lightly. He had no intention of returning to Enies Lobby right away. There was still a feast to be had here.
“Sir Zero, how about letting me join Lucci and the others in their operation? It would also let me get used to the CP ‘work environment.’”
“Unnecessary. Your work is different from theirs.”
“Sir… are you planning to forcibly reassign me, a researcher? That would affect my mood for making bombs.”
Su Xiao was testing how desperate the World Government was for alchemy bombs.
“Hand the Den Den Mushi to Lucci.”
Zero’s tone wasn’t great, but he didn’t lose his temper.
Su Xiao tossed the Den Den Mushi to Rob Lucci. Rob Lucci turned and walked out of the warehouse, returning after a long while. He tossed the Den Den Mushi back to Su Xiao, and Zero’s voice came through.
“I accept your proposal. Consider this an opportunity for you to experience the CP’s capabilities. However, as a guarantee, you need to show trust and loyalty to the CP department.”
A blue capsule was tossed over by Rob Lucci. After checking its properties, Su Xiao learned it was a slow-acting deadly poison.
Su Xiao directly put the blue capsule into his mouth and swallowed it with a gulp. Rob Lucci and the other three were stunned. That was too straightforward. Even though everyone could guess the capsule’s purpose, they didn’t expect him to be so decisive.
“This is a slow-acting poison brewed from Kana flower…”
Before Zero could finish, Kalifa said, “Sir, Bai Ye has already swallowed the Blue Poison.”
“Huh~.” Zero was very surprised. After a few seconds, Zero said, “Is that so? It seems you know how to read the situation. I like subordinates like you. Lucci and the others will protect your safety. The poison will take effect in a week, giving you enough time to return to Enies Lobby.”
The Den Den Mushi was hung up. It seemed Su Xiao’s act of swallowing the poison had increased Zero’s trust in him somewhat.
Did Su Xiao really swallow that deadly poison capsule? Of course not. The moment he put the capsule into his mouth, it had already been transferred to his storage space.
However, from the CP department’s attitude, it was clear they were desperate to obtain a large number of alchemy bombs, or they wouldn’t have made such concessions.
But the CP department wasn’t being kind-hearted either. Once Su Xiao entered Enies Lobby, leaving would be extremely difficult.
As for the reward of a Skillful Grade Sword for every 2,000 bombs, Zero made it clear: Su Xiao only had the right to collect, not to dispose of, transfer, or give them to others.
In other words, those swords were only kept by Su Xiao, and the World Government had the right to recall them.
Aside from the identity of a CP0 researcher, the World Government had essentially given nothing.
Yet Su Xiao was very satisfied. First, once those Skillful Grade Swords reached his hands, they would never return. The CP0 identity also brought him great convenience—at least in Water 7, no one could threaten him, and the four agents around him had become bodyguards.
Second, mass-producing alchemy bombs would quickly increase his proficiency in alchemy bomb crafting, allowing him to upgrade [Alchemy Bomb Crafting].
But there was a prerequisite: the World Government had to be able to find the materials needed to make the alchemy bombs.
Those materials were bizarre. Finding identical ones was unlikely, but finding substitutes with similar properties should be possible. After all, the One Piece world was a high-martial world, with a derivative world level higher than the Akame ga Kill world.
The benefits of mastering Alchemy were evident. Even though Su Xiao’s Charm attribute wasn’t high, he could still join a major faction in the derivative world and receive exceptionally generous treatment—something he had never expected before.
Su Xiao’s identity had rapidly shifted. Among the four people in the warehouse, except for Rob Lucci, the others were somewhat stunned.
“Lucci, is he now… a CP0 researcher?!”
Kalifa felt as if she had been struck by lightning. In terms of rank, Su Xiao’s position was now slightly higher than hers…
“That’s right. Bai Ye is now our colleague. Although we’re not in the same department, we need to protect his safety in the upcoming missions.”
Hearing Rob Lucci’s answer, Kalifa nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood.
Sick
Only three chapters today. The northern weather is really annoying. This mosquito’s constitution isn’t strong. In this slightly cold October, this mosquito has unsurprisingly caught a cold. After ten hours of typing, only three chapters were written. Because of the cold, my condition isn’t good, so I dare not type too fast.
But don’t worry, heads can be cut off and blood can flow, but updates won’t stop.
Currently typing, please wait a moment.
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