Chapter 38: Arrival
Woo～, woo～.
The sea train slowly pulled into the station on Judicial Island. Sitting in the third carriage, Su Xiao looked out the window at Judicial Island.
Judicial Island consists of three connected islands. The first island ahead is called the "Front Island," serving as the main entrance to Judicial Island.
The island behind Front Island is the Main Island, where the courthouse is built. This is where prisoners sent to Judicial Island are tried.
The courthouse is merely a formality; anyone sent to Judicial Island has already been deemed guilty, so the trials there have always been perfunctory.
Behind the Main Island lies Judicial Island itself, upon which the Judicial Tower is constructed.
The three islands are connected by drawbridges in the order: Front Island, Main Island, and Judicial Island.
The rearmost Judicial Island is the center; Front Island and Main Island are just two layers of defense.
Behind Judicial Island is a bridge called the Bridge of Hesitation, which connects to the Gate of Justice. Once a prisoner is escorted to the Gate of Justice, escape is impossible. Behind the Gate of Justice is a massive whirlpool, which the World Government uses to closely link the three main departments: Marine Headquarters, Judicial Island, and Impel Down Prison.
The process of escorting a prisoner is as follows: First, they land on Front Island. After landing, the prisoner is taken to the Main Island for trial. After the trial, the prisoner is sent to the Judicial Tower and held in its lower levels.
During the detention period, Judicial Island contacts the Marines or Impel Down. The Marines or Impel Down send people to the Gate of Justice, and Judicial Island is responsible for escorting the prisoner there.
It takes two to three days for a prisoner to go from entering Front Island to entering the Gate of Justice. For important criminals, this time is shortened.
However, once a prisoner enters Judicial Island, the World Government tends to relax, as no one has ever dared to rescue someone from Judicial Island.
But in the near future, a group of reckless fools will storm Judicial Island, and it will happen when the World Government is completely unprepared.
Stepping off the sea train, Su Xiao was currently on Front Island.
Lucci and the others escorted Robin and Franky off the sea train. The area around the sea train was filled with agents.
"Hello, are you Mr. White Night?"
A beautiful woman with long pink hair approached. She was tall, wearing a red suit and black gloves.
"I am."
Seeing her face, Su Xiao felt a sense of familiarity. He quickly recalled her identity in his mind and soon figured out who she was—someone from the Marines.
"We've been waiting for you. I'm Marine Headquarters Captain Tashigi."
The beautiful Marine captain had a cigarette in her mouth and was fairly enthusiastic.
Su Xiao was a bit puzzled. Why were the Marines here to pick him up? What about those CP0 people?
Before Su Xiao could ask, a prompt from Reincarnation Paradise appeared. Both his main and side missions were complete.
Main Mission: Arrive at Judicial Island (Completed, no reward).
Side Mission: Arrest Nico Robin (Completed, reward 5000 Paradise Coins).
The side mission had no follow-up; it disappeared after rewarding 5000 Paradise Coins. However, the main mission had a continuation.
Main Mission: Judicial Island Decisive Battle
Difficulty Level: Lv.12
Mission Brief: Participate in the decisive battle on Judicial Island and obtain the design drawings for the ancient weapon, Pluton.
Mission Info: The Judicial Island decisive battle is expected to begin in three days.
Mission Time Limit: Four days.
Mission Reward: 5 Attribute Points, 14000 Paradise Coins.
Mission Penalty: Deduct 28000 Paradise Coins.
Seeing the main mission, Su Xiao's eyes lit up. He was confident of victory.
[Prompt: Detected that the Hunter is already carrying the Pluton design drawings. The mission will automatically complete in three days.]
[Prompt: As the Pluton design drawings are a special item, once the decisive battle begins, the drawings will be exposed to the perception of all Contractors.]
Su Xiao nodded thoughtfully. When he found the Pluton design drawings inside Franky's body earlier, he had already guessed they were a mission item, because the description of the drawings was too strange.
[Pluton Design Drawings]
Quality: None
Type: Blueprint.
Rating: None
Description: Design drawings for an ancient weapon. Requires knowledge of ancient text to view the specific content.
No quality, no rating. Under normal circumstances, the [Pluton Design Drawings] would be at least Purple quality or higher.
Su Xiao hadn't wasted his effort. He was already ahead of all other Contractors. While others hadn't even received the mission yet, he had already completed it. He just had to wait for the time limit to expire, and the mission would automatically finish.
During the decisive battle, Contractors being able to sense the location of the Pluton design drawings was troublesome. A fight would be inevitable.
As long as the drawings were in his hands, those Contractors would definitely come looking for him.
Su Xiao looked up at the towering Judicial Tower. That was a good spot.
"Mr. White Night? Mr. White Night?"
The tall, mature woman Tashigi called out several times, a hint of displeasure in her expression.
"Hm?"
Su Xiao was thinking about his next move and hadn't noticed Tashigi's calls.
"Tashigi is angry."
"Oh."
Su Xiao replied flatly. Tashigi exhaled a puff of smoke.
"What do you think of the proposal I just made, Mr. White Night? We've already discussed this with the CP department. A scientific researcher like you isn't suited to stay on Judicial Island."
Hearing Tashigi's words, Su Xiao frowned.
"So, what's your intention?"
"It's like this, Mr. White Night. There's a secret Marine base near Judicial Island. We plan to send you there. Don't worry, the journey is only half an hour."
Su Xiao pondered. It seemed the Marines and the CP department had made some kind of deal.
"You should know my requirements, right?"
"Yes, we know. For every 2000 bombs produced, we provide one good-quality sword for Mr. White Night's collection."
Tashigi readily agreed to Su Xiao's terms. It seemed the Marine high command had already discussed this.
"Alright. But I have one additional request. I need to return to Judicial Island in three days."
Tashigi didn't agree immediately. She said "wait a moment" and walked aside with a Den Den Mushi.
A few minutes later, Tashigi returned. "Mr. White Night, the higher-ups have agreed to your request. Let's set off now."
Su Xiao glanced at Judicial Island. Although he didn't want to leave the main battlefield, circumstances forced him to. He could return later without much issue.
He followed Tashigi onto a large warship. As he boarded, Su Xiao's pupils contracted sharply when he saw an elderly female Marine on the ship.
"Why is she here? This is bad."
Su Xiao muttered. He might have met his match.
The elderly female Marine on the ship was named Tsuru, a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral and Chief of Staff. She was highly intelligent and a very difficult old hag to deal with.
Su Xiao would rather face a Marine Admiral than Vice Admiral Tsuru.
"So this is the researcher we're escorting, White Night? Hello, I'm Tsuru."
Vice Admiral Tsuru's voice sounded aged, but her eyes were very sharp.
After sizing up Su Xiao, Vice Admiral Tsuru mentally tagged him as: Untrustworthy, needs observation.