The Egghead Lab on the Grand Line.
In the laboratory.
The red alarm light, representing Punk Hazard Island, flashed once and then stopped.
The screen switched to display a real-time surveillance image of the island, showing only a few scorched fragments of flesh, indicating the intruder was dead.
A few seconds later, the image disappeared.
It reappeared as a world map model with annotations.
Vegapunk and his clones in the laboratory were already accustomed to this and continued their experiments.
Ships that normally sailed to Punk Hazard would be driven away by patrolling Marines ten nautical miles offshore. Some daring individuals attempted to land.
This resulted in the common scene depicted above.
Currently, the disaster brought about by the cataclysm had gradually stabilized.
The world began to buzz with activity.
The Marines, starting from the New World, sailed towards the Grand Line, establishing garrisons on various islands.
Meanwhile, the Four Seas, whose news had been isolated, were in turmoil.
Factions suppressed by the Revolutionary Army, such as gangs and aristocrats, resurfaced. After more than a year of power struggles, the contest for islands worldwide was nearing its end.
Either the Revolutionary Army held firm to the islands and gained complete control,
or the gangs and aristocrats reclaimed their islands, becoming even more ruthless.
In this situation, people on the seas also began to stir.
They set sail using the most rudimentary means, either for trade or exploration.
*Clank—*
The laboratory's mechanical door opened, and Carol walked in.
"How is the progress on the identification cards, Doctor?"
Vegapunk put down what he was holding and greeted Carol:
"It's almost done. All functions have been installed."
"Next, we can start connecting to the cloud database, establishing base stations, and beginning mass production."
Carol nodded and smiled:
"That's good."
"We'll start experimenting with the New World and the Grand Line, and gradually roll it out after success."
Vegapunk hummed in agreement:
"That shouldn't be a problem."
"However, these consumables are a significant expense. Perhaps we can optimize them further and find ordinary materials to replace them."
Carol pondered for a moment:
"You don't need to worry about expenses. We can freely utilize the resources of all islands in the New World and the Grand Line."
"But this is indeed a problem."
"How about this for now: let's start recording the identification cards one island at a time, from the farthest end of the New World."
"Meanwhile, continue the experiments here and research alternative materials to reduce costs."
Vegapunk had no objection:
"That should be fine."
"By the way, the information you requested last time has been compiled."
Saying that, he turned and walked to the large equipment screen, unplugged a storage device, and handed it to Carol behind him.
This storage device contained information on all inhabited islands during the two years of communication blackout.
Through satellite scans, the layout and resources of all islands were classified and systematically organized.
Carol took the storage device and nodded:
"Thank you, Doctor."
His gaze shifted to the large screen in front of him, displaying islands where strong individuals had been detected and marked.
There had originally been a dense cluster of islands marked as potential threats.
Now, a large area was blank, indicating complete clearance, with only scattered islands remaining across the world, yet to be dealt with.
This was all done by Enel alone...
"It's been quite thoroughly cleaned up."
Carol sighed softly. The speed of the clearance indicated that Enel had not rested for a moment.
These potential threats were spread across hundreds of islands worldwide, and even clearing them would require a considerable amount of travel time.
However, the speed of this cleanup spoke volumes.
It meant Enel had not rested at all, besides clearing threats, he had been transforming into lightning and traveling.
Vegapunk beside him also shook his head, remaining silent.
Carol took a deep breath and said:
"Let him continue to be busy. Once the identification cards are promoted, we can mark some more for him to vent on."
"We'll call him back when the inauguration ceremony for the new government begins."