Chapter 320: Chapter 21: The Night Before
Fifteen minutes later, Kalifa, with a bruise on her forehead, lay on the ground, bound like a dumpling by the Boundary Line, panting heavily, with her skirt torn.
"Let me go," Kalifa struggled.
"I can let you go, but I need you to explain some techniques of ’Shave’ that I’m not very familiar with."
Kalifa pondered for a moment. Now that Su Xiao was part of the CP Department, mastering Rokushiki wasn’t a big deal.
"Alright."
Releasing the Boundary Line, Kalifa looked rather disheartened. It was evident that even without a bomb inside her, she was no match for Su Xiao.
"Have you already mastered the basics of ’Shave’?"
"Yes."
Kalifa began to explain some techniques of ’Shave’, but there was a price for this – two alchemy bombs.
[The Hunter triggers a special event: Knowledge transfer from a plot character.]
[Skill transfer in progress...]
[Rokushiki: Shave upgraded to Lv.2.]
[Skill transfer in progress...]
Su Xiao didn’t pay attention to prompts from Reincarnation Paradise; he was focused on listening to Kalifa’s explanation of the ’Shave’ technique. With the support of Reincarnation Paradise, he entered a unique state of mind.
After a long period, Kalifa finished the explanation, and Su Xiao’s ’Shave’ unexpectedly leveled up from Lv.1 to Lv.3, significantly improving his movement distance and precision while using it.
Although it still couldn’t be used in combat, it was suitable for escape.
"This is all I can tell you; that’s my understanding of ’Shave’."
Kalifa straightened her glasses and tidied her slightly wrinkled clothes.
Su Xiao took out two alchemy bombs and tossed them to Kalifa, who was startled and hurried to catch them.
"Hey, these are bombs, are you trying to get me killed?"
Kalifa’s forehead was sweating, looking at Su Xiao with lingering fear.
"Alchemy bombs are very stable; they won’t explode upon impact unless forcefully compressed. As for how to use them... focus your attention on the bomb, and try to control it with ’intention.’"
"Intention?"
"Yes."
Kalifa fixed her gaze on the bomb.
"Activate, activate, activate..."
Kalifa began mumbling, and seeing this almost made Su Xiao burst out laughing; this special agent had a silly side.
"Use spiritual power to control, not voice control!"
"Oh?" Kalifa was a bit surprised and tried focusing her attention on the alchemy bomb, which gradually turned red on the surface, looking as though it might explode at any moment.
"This really is... a magical bomb."
Stopping the activation of the alchemy bomb, Kalifa put the bomb away, her gaze becoming serious, seemingly ready to discuss the plan for tomorrow with Su Xiao in detail.
"The operation begins at nine tomorrow morning, and the mission objective is simple: capture Nico Robin. She’s known as the Demon’s Child, and years ago, she had a bounty of 79 million Belli placed on her as a child. She’s been evading the World Government pursuit for many years, and her counter-pursuit abilities are very strong.
Over the years, the CP Department has been trying to capture Nico Robin, but as she grew older, her counter-tracking and escape abilities became stronger and stronger. She often associates with major Pirate groups to avoid the CP Department’s pursuit."
As expected, Kalifa didn’t mention the mission regarding the Ancient Weapon Pluto, at least not to Su Xiao at this moment.
"This time, Nico Robin is with the ’Straw Hat Pirates.’ Normally, she uses them to escape capture, but strangely, we received intelligence a few days ago that the Straw Hat Pirates are heading straight for the City of Seven Seas. Normally, Nico Robin wouldn’t go to such a dangerous place..."
Su Xiao waved his hand.
"Just get to the point."
Kalifa was slightly annoyed, but Su Xiao was like her nemesis, leaving her no options. She wasn’t his match in combat—when it came to intellect... Kalifa felt a bit of despair; she almost resigned herself to being his mistress～.
Taking a deep breath, Kalifa continued, "Our goal is to capture Nico Robin. Of course, there’s also a secondary mission, which Lucci will carry out, and you’ll know by then."
The secondary mission Kalifa mentioned was probably related to the Ancient Weapon Pluto, and if the location of the Iceberg Blueprint was pressed, Su Xiao would know about the mission. So, Kalifa gave a slight hint beforehand.
"Basically, tomorrow’s mission is to capture Nico Robin, right?"
"Yes."
"Got it, see you at 9 a.m. tomorrow."
Su Xiao turned and headed back to the regular inn he stayed at, secretly pondering tomorrow’s operation.
If the CP Department’s intelligence is accurate, the Straw Hat Pirates will likely arrive in the City of Seven Seas around eleven in the morning.
Tonight, many regular special agents have arrived in the City of Seven Seas; these agents are scattered throughout the city, acting as informants for tomorrow’s operation.
Tomorrow at noon will be a ’carnival,’ as many Contractors will appear in the city. Some aim to hunt other Contractors, while others target plot characters.
Returning to his room at the inn, Su Xiao went to bed early to rest up for the action planned for tomorrow.
At eight the next morning, Su Xiao left the inn with Bubute Ni, heading straight to No.1 Dock, the agreed meeting place from last night.
Upon arriving at No.1 Dock, Su Xiao found Rob Lucci and Kaku sweating profusely as they built a ship, which surprised him.
It was a three-masted ship, nearly 99% complete and about to be finished.
"What are you doing...?"
As a security personnel of No.1 Dock, Su Xiao chatting with them wouldn’t arouse suspicion.
"One more hour,"
Rob Lucci spoke with ventriloquism, a method he used to communicate in the City of Seven Seas.
"One more hour, better hurry up,"
Kaku wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Su Xiao was stunned, something seemed off about the two of them.
"You guys... want to finish building this ship?"
Kaku paused momentarily, then continued hammering nails into the wood.
"Calculating the time, this ship has been in construction for a month. It’s Lucci’s and my most satisfying work, and so we must finish it. It deserves to be at sea."
Tap, tap, tap.
Kaku and Lucci hammered the wooden ship quickly, completing the final tasks.
The four CP9 agents had been undercover in the City of Seven Seas for five years. Kaku and Lucci had built ships for those entire five years; people aren’t emotionless after all, even special agents.
Before leaving, Lucci and Kaku wanted to finish this ship so that it would have a chance to sail in the future.
Their five-year shipbuilding career was about to end, and they would return to their roles as special agents. Lucci showed no emotion, but Kaku seemed less thrilled.
Perhaps more than being an agent, Kaku longed to remain a shipwright.
All main CP9 members had a common trait: they were orphans whose parents were lost. Some were sold while others voluntarily entered CP9 training.
After surviving terrifying eliminations, they stood out as ace agents of CP9.
Su Xiao found a chair to sit on, and shortly after, Kalifa arrived at No.1 Dock for her daily inspection and inventory routine.
Kalifa walked over to Su Xiao, sat intimately on his lap, and quietly slipped a note into his collar.
Sitting on Su Xiao’s lap for a moment, Kalifa’s lips moved as if she were speaking, but in reality, she said nothing—an act to prevent suspicion.
Minutes later, Kalifa got up and walked away. Her task today was to guard the city hall, to prevent Iceberg from realizing something was amiss and escaping.
Su Xiao unfolded the note and, after reading its contents, left No.1 Dock.
Rob Lucci and Kaku continued building the ship, soon to be finished, perhaps the last one they would build together.