Chapter 318: Chapter 19: The Sorrow of Kalifa
"Speak, what are your demands? You belong to a special talent group. As long as the demands aren’t excessive, the CP department will not hesitate to meet them."
Su Xiao pondered for a moment.
"I want a Great Swift Sword Twenty-one."
Upon hearing Su Xiao’s words, Kalifa, not far away, looked utterly disheartened.
"Cough, cough~ Your demand is too difficult to meet. Even a Navy Admiral needs to go through cumbersome applications for a Great Swift Sword Twenty-one, and it also depends on their qualifications. This demand is impossible."
"Then how about a Devil Fruit, Paramecia or Natural Type, perhaps even an Ancient Zoan Type."
The person on the other end of the Telephone Worm was speechless, not expecting Su Xiao to be so audacious, almost taking advantage of the situation.
"Bai Ye, you’d better make some ’achievable’ demands."
Su Xiao thought for a while, realizing that such outrageous requests might not be reliable.
"I have a fondness for collecting knives, and I’m also a swordsman. How about this: for every 1,000 Alchemy Bombs I produce, the World Government provides me with one Good Fast Blade Fifty Work. Although it’s called Good Fast Blade Fifty Work, there are definitely more than fifty Good Fast Blades. This demand isn’t excessive."
Good Fast Blade Fifty Work is just a title, merely a level of swords and blades established long ago. Many artisans have since crafted Good Fast Blades, so there are definitely more than fifty, perhaps even five hundred.
Great Swift Sword Twenty-one is different; they are hard to craft, and many have gone missing.
"Your salary... is somewhat astonishing."
Zero’s tone was a bit hesitant, but 1,000 Alchemy Bombs are far more valuable to the World Government than a single sword.
"For every 2,000 Alchemy Bombs you produce, we will provide you with one Good Fast Blade for collection. However, there’s a condition: these Good Fast Blades are only for your collection."
Su Xiao understood Zero’s meaning; having collection rights was enough. A Good Fast Blade wouldn’t last more than ten minutes in his hands without turning to scrap metal.
"It’s settled then. We grant you the identity of CP0 and corresponding rewards. You will assist the World Government in producing Alchemy Bombs and provide the secret technique for production."
Providing the Intermediate Alchemy Bomb formula doesn’t bother Su Xiao. Without mastering alchemy, obtaining the formula is just a piece of useless paper.
"Agreed."
As Su Xiao agreed, his main mission suddenly underwent a change.
[Detected that the Hunter has reached an agreement with the World Government, the strongest force in this world. Main mission is updating.]
Main Mission: Reach Enies Lobby.
Difficulty Level: Lv.3
Mission Description: The mission activates upon reaching Enies Lobby.
Mission Deadline: Five days.
Mission Reward: None.
Mission Penalty: You will be forcibly returned to Reincarnation Paradise with no return reward.
...
The previous main mission was considered completed, but due to low completion, Su Xiao was only rewarded with 1,400 Paradise coins.
Su Xiao’s status changed, becoming an [Official CP0 Member (Researcher)], reminding him of something interesting.
"Someone will come to the City of Seven Seas to pick you up in three hours, along with some protectors. Bai Ye, you are now a valuable asset to the World Government."
Becoming a CP0 researcher, Su Xiao’s status rose rapidly.
"Zero... sir, I wonder about the four individuals around me?"
Su Xiao glanced around at Rob Lucci and the others.
"Lucci and the others are intelligence personnel of CP9. Your feud with them is trivial."
Su Xiao thought to himself that leaving the City of Seven Seas now was certainly not a wise choice.
"Zero, sir, if my guess is correct, the target of Lucci and the others is Iceberg, right?"
The Telephone Worm was silent for a moment.
"You don’t need to worry about this matter. Your task is to return to Enies Lobby soon."
"Heh~." Su Xiao chuckled lightly. He didn’t intend to return to Enies Lobby immediately; there was still a feast here.
"Zero, sir, why don’t you let me act with Lucci and the others, so I can also get accustomed to the CP ’work environment’."
"There’s no need. Your work differs from theirs."
"Sir... are you planning to forcibly requisition me, a researcher? This will affect my mood for manufacturing bombs."
Su Xiao was testing the World Government’s desperation for Alchemy Bombs.
"Pass the Telephone Worm to Lucci."
Zero’s tone wasn’t great but didn’t explode in anger.
Su Xiao tossed the Telephone Worm to Rob Lucci. Rob Lucci turned and left the warehouse, returning later, also tossing the Telephone Worm to Su Xiao, with Zero’s voice coming through.
"I accept your proposal. Take it as experiencing the CP’s abilities. However, as a guarantee, you need to show trust and loyalty to the CP department."
A blue capsule was thrown by Rob Lucci. Upon checking the capsule’s properties, Su Xiao found it was a chronic poison.
Su Xiao directly swallowed the blue capsule with a gulp, startling Rob Lucci and the others with how straightforward he was. Although everyone could guess the blue capsule’s purpose, it didn’t need to be so straightforward.
"This is a chronic poison concocted from the Cana flower..."
Before Zero could finish speaking, Kalifa said, "Sir, Bai Ye has already swallowed the blue poison."
"Oh~." Zero was surprised, then said a few seconds later, "Is that so? It seems you are a person who knows how to seize the opportunity. I like such subordinates. Lucci and the others will ensure your safety. The poison will take effect in a week, ample time for you to return to Enies Lobby."
The Telephone Worm was hung up, and it seemed that Su Xiao swallowing the poison increased Zero’s trust in him somewhat.
Did Su Xiao actually swallow that poison capsule? Of course not. The moment he pretended to send the poison capsule to his mouth, it had already appeared in his storage space.
However, the CP department’s attitude indicated their strong desire for large quantities of Alchemy Bombs; otherwise, they wouldn’t make concessions of this level.
But the CP department also had ulterior motives. Once Su Xiao entered Enies Lobby, leaving would be extremely difficult.
As for the reward of Good Fast Blades for every 2,000 bombs, Zero made it clear that Su Xiao only had collection rights, no disposal rights, and couldn’t transfer or gift them to others.
This meant that those blades were merely in Su Xiao’s custody; the World Government could recall them.
Besides an identity as a CP0 researcher, the World Government didn’t actually give up anything.
But Su Xiao was quite satisfied. Firstly, the blades reaching his hands wouldn’t return, and the CP0 status provided significant convenience, ensuring no threat to him in the City of Seven Seas, with the four agents now acting as bodyguards.
Secondly, mass-producing Alchemy Bombs could quickly increase the skill level of Alchemy Bomb Production, facilitating an upgrade.
However, this was based on the World Government sourcing the materials needed for Alchemy Bomb production.
Those materials were varied; finding identical materials was unlikely, but finding substitutes with similar properties should be feasible, considering the Pirate World as a high-martial world, with a higher Derivative World Level than the World of Crimson.
The benefits of mastering alchemy were evident; although Su Xiao’s Charm Attributes were low, he could still join large factions within Derivative Worlds, with exceptionally favorable treatment, which he hadn’t expected before.
Su Xiao’s status changed rapidly, and among the four in the warehouse, apart from Rob Lucci, the others were somewhat stunned.
"Lucci, he is now... a CP0 researcher?!"
Kalifa seemed thunderstruck, realizing that in terms of position, Su Xiao was now higher than her...
"Yes, Bai Ye is our colleague now, although not from the same department, but in future missions, we are to ensure his safety."
Hearing Rob Lucci’s response, Kalifa almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.