Chapter 319: Chapter 20: Shift of Allegiance
"This..."
Kalifa clenched her fists, her slender fingers making cracking sounds.
"I have to... protect... his safety??"
Kalifa confirmed once more.
"Yes, even if we die in battle, he cannot die."
Rob Lucci gave a clear answer, his face expressionless.
"He is an important researcher. That kind of bomb is miraculous, very suitable for us to use during missions."
Bruno had attempted to dismantle the alchemy bomb, and he knew how terrifying it was.
"The officer’s orders are absolute."
Kaku patted Kalifa’s shoulder as a gesture of comfort.
"I..." Kalifa lowered her head, her shoulders trembling.
"The mission is above everything."
Rob Lucci turned his head to look at Kalifa, who took a deep breath to adjust her mindset.
"Yes, the mission is above everything."
Kalifa tried hard to wipe away the dissatisfaction in her heart, but recalling everything from before, a strong sense of shame surged.
"The mission is above everything," Kalifa murmured once more.
"Bai Ye, please help Kalifa disarm the bomb, we are colleagues now."
Rob Lucci wasn’t ordering; Su Xiao was now his equal.
"Alright."
Su Xiao jumped down from the wooden box, walked to Kalifa, and pressed a hand on her chest.
Kalifa said through gritted teeth, "Watch where your hand is."
"Don’t mind this level of contact, after all, we’ve had ’deep exchanges’ before."
As he spoke, Su Xiao had already started unbuttoning Kalifa’s shirt.
"Ahem." Rob Lucci coughed lightly.
"Is this to disarm the bomb?"
"Yes, I can also soften the bomb in her stomach, but the explosive’s ingredients are highly toxic, they would infiltrate her stomach, and she’d die within half a month."
Rob Lucci looked at Bruno, who nodded, confirming that such bombs were indeed difficult to disarm.
"Let’s go out first."
Rob Lucci led the three out of the warehouse, guarding outside.
Su Xiao untied Kalifa’s clothing, directly touching her skin with his fingers. Setting up the bomb was easy, but disarming it was not.
He hadn’t expected such a dramatic turn of events before, so he had only hastily disarmed the first bomb.
Now things were different; he had become a member of CP0. If Kalifa died abnormally soon, the CP department would trouble him.
Fingers lightly touched Kalifa’s delicate skin as Su Xiao’s pure mana value seeped into her body, starting to examine the specifics of the alchemy bomb.
After a long time, Su Xiao opened his eyes, signaling Kalifa to lie flat on the ground.
"Take off all the clothes on your body’s front."
Kalifa’s eyes twitched.
"Even the underwear?"
"What do you think? The first alchemy bomb is already eroding your stomach, if you don’t want to die, take them off."
Kalifa took a deep breath and removed all her upper body clothing. Thinking it was for survival, her expression returned to normal.
Su Xiao placed his finger ten centimeters above Kalifa’s navel, a large amount of mana value infiltrating her body.
"Such a cool energy..."
"Don’t make a sound, calm your breathing, no, hold your breath."
Su Xiao closed his eyes, concentrating. Placing the alchemy bomb was easy, disarming it was somewhat difficult.
A half-hour passed, Rob Lucci and others waited outside the warehouse, from which strange sounds occasionally emerged, leaving the three speechless.
A few minutes later, the warehouse door opened, and Kalifa walked out exhausted, her clothes still somewhat disheveled.
"Give me food."
Just after saying this, Kalifa collapsed to the ground, and as Kaku was about to help, Rob Lucci stopped him.
"Bai Ye, Kalifa is in your care now. We cannot reveal our identities yet."
After saying this, Rob Lucci looked at Kalifa.
"Tell Bai Ye about our plan, I mean tomorrow’s temporary plan."
The purpose of the four agents was originally to steal the design diagrams of the Ancient Weapon Pluto. For this mission, they had been lurking for five years.
Just three days ago, CP9 received a temporary mission to capture Nico Robin, hidden among the Straw Hat Pirates.
Nico Robin’s appearance shocked the World Government greatly, issuing a death order: even if the Pluto design diagrams cannot be obtained, Nico Robin must be captured.
The World Government tolerated the design diagrams being stored in the City of Seven Seas because the designs were written in ancient text, which very few in the world could recognize, so they let the diagrams roam outside until recent years when they sent people to steal them.
Nico Robin’s sudden appearance changed the entire situation. Whoever obtains the Pluto designs and captures Nico Robin would have the hope of resurrecting the Ancient Weapon Pluto.
Though the production probability is low, even a one in ten thousand chance the World Government would not tolerate.
The World Government was infuriated, directly issuing a death order: Nico Robin must be captured at all costs.
The gorgeous Robin was unintentionally courting death; if there was one place in the world she shouldn’t go, it was the City of Seven Seas, and now she was heading there.
Lucci asked Kalifa to convey the plan to Su Xiao, which was to capture Nico Robin. The matter about Pluto should remain confidential for now.
Kalifa got up from the ground, looking very weak.
"I... I can handle it myself."
After she raised her head, she found Rob Lucci and others had already walked far.
"Tell me your plan, I know a good restaurant nearby."
Su Xiao walked out of the warehouse, and seeing Su Xiao, Kalifa instinctively stepped back two paces. You must know, Kalifa is an agent; whatever happened in the warehouse caused such a reaction.
Su Xiao took Kalifa to the Old Man of Medicinal Cuisine’s restaurant boat. The Old Man warmly welcomed them, particularly enthusiastic towards Kalifa. To be precise, he was always very enthusiastic towards beautiful female guests.
After a full meal, Su Xiao and Kalifa arrived at a deserted seaside. Though their public relationship appeared ambiguous, they were definitely not here for a fling.
"Tell me about your plan."
Although Su Xiao knew the plan of the four agents, protocol had to be followed to avoid suspicion.
Kalifa vaguely told Su Xiao about the plan to capture Nico Robin. Just after hearing Kalifa’s rough explanation, Reincarnation Paradise provided a prompt.
[Hunter triggered side mission: Capture Nico Robin.]
Side Mission: Capture Nico Robin
Difficulty Level: Lv.6
Mission Brief: Escort Nico Robin to Enies Lobby.
Mission Info: If Nico Robin dies during this period, the mission will fail.
Mission Deadline: Three days.
Mission Reward: 5000 Paradise coins.
Mission Penalty: World Government Camp Reputation -700 (Reputation below 700 will result in hostile status).
...
Su Xiao took on this task, as the 5000 Paradise coins were virtually a gift.
After accepting the mission, Kalifa said, "During the mission, you just need to hide; otherwise, you’ll cause trouble."
"What?"
Su Xiao looked at Kalifa intensely. After a satisfying meal, her physical condition had recovered, and she was clearly being provocative.
"I’ve never fought you, and I’d like to experience the Rokushiki techniques in battle,"
Su Xiao drew the Dragon Slash from his waist and reversed the grip, with the blade’s back facing outward.
Kalifa showed a delighted expression; she finally got the chance to teach Su Xiao a lesson.