Madness (3)

"I don't have anything else to do, so I'll just stay here and watch!" the Little Fox said. "Once you've finished your research, we'll go find Fanxin and explain things to him."

It didn't leave because it was worried something might happen. Fanxin had instructed it so earnestly, and it couldn't just leave like that. If something really happened to the Little Black Cat, it wouldn't be able to explain it to Fanxin.

So it decided to stay there and wait until the Little Black Cat finished its research, then they would leave together. That way, it could be sure there was no danger.

"Suit yourself." The Little Black Cat shrugged indifferently, then began to study it on its own. The Little Fox just watched from the side, doing nothing.

An hour and a half later, the robot Xiao Ning came to find them and told them to go eat. Fanxin and the others had already prepared the meal.

The Little Black Cat and the Little Fox also felt hungry, so they immediately put down their work and followed Xiao Ning.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, the two immediately took their seats.

By this time, the food was already on the table, and everyone had taken their seats, waiting for Fanxin to say that they should start eating.

Fanxin brought out many bottles of fine wine and distributed them to each table. Then he said, "Alright, we're all from the same pirate crew, no need to be so formal, let's start eating!"

Seeing that Fanxin had said so, everyone stopped being polite and picked up their chopsticks to start eating.

Fanxin and Ren Fang sat together, eating and chatting happily.

After lunch, everyone went back to their respective work stations and got busy.

Fanxin, however, kept the Little Black Cat and the Little Fox behind, wanting to know the results of the Little Black Cat's research.

The robots in the Mechanism City are so strange; they actually possess human-like thoughts, which is truly astonishing. Although the robots created by the Little Black Cat also have human-like thoughts, they are not nearly as intelligent.

He was eager to know what was going on with those robots.

"After studying for several hours, have you found any clues?" Fanxin asked curiously.

"Boss, those robots are actually cyborgs," the Little Black Cat said.

"Cyborgs? How is that possible? They're clearly made entirely of metal." Fanxin Xin said, somewhat incredulously.

Even a modified human still has a lot of physical body; after all, a modified human is still a human being. If the physical body is gone, how can one be called a human?

However, the robot he saw was entirely made of steel; he couldn't see any flesh at all.

"Boss, this is the secret of the Mechanism City," the Little Black Cat said. "I don't know where they obtained this strange metal that can plunder a person's mind and abilities. They embed the metal into people's bodies, gradually stealing their thoughts and abilities. Once the metal has taken their mind and abilities, they destroy their bodies and replace them with the metal. That way, you can only see the metal, not the flesh."

"Oh, so ruthless?" Fanxin frowned slightly upon hearing this and said.

"Yes, but I believe they're still in the experimental stage. However, even so, their combat power is already quite strong," the Little Black Cat said. "The key is that the people used to modify them are all extremely powerful."

"This is a huge threat. If the Celestial Dragons control an army like this, it will be a real headache," Fanxin said with a grim expression.

He was beaten badly by just a few people; if dozens or hundreds of them suddenly appeared, who would dare to oppose them? That would be tantamount to courting death.

"Yes, their ultimate goal is to become real robots. Boss, robots can live indefinitely; you just need to replace the broken parts with new ones, and they'll be fine."

The Little Black Cat said, "In this way, the Celestial Dragons will gain an immortal army. At that time, no one will be their match."

"Yes, we must think of a way to destroy it," Fanxin nodded and said.

He is now very worried that in ten or twenty years, the world may be ruled by robots. At that time, he wonders how many people will suffer.

"No, the Celestial Dragons must have a backup plan. We can't possibly destroy it all at once," the Little Black Cat said. "If we can't destroy it, then we can't stop the Celestial Dragons from researching it."

The Celestial Dragons are extremely cunning; they certainly won't put all their eggs in one basket. They'll definitely diversify their resources. In this way, even if you destroy a base and severely damage them, you won't inflict fatal harm.

They can still conduct research, and they'll do it even more intensely.

"That makes sense. So what should we do?" Fanxin agreed.

"I don't know either. I'll be able to come up with a solution after I figure out the secrets of those metals," the Little Black Cat said helplessly.

Although it knew some of the truth, it could only figure it out through research; only then could it find a solution.

"Alright then, you can continue your research. I'll personally bring you three meals a day." Fanxin nodded and said, "Also, if you need anything, just let me know, and I'll do my best to meet your needs."

He hoped the Little Black Cat would figure this thing out as soon as possible. Once he did, he could target the Celestial Dragons again. This time, although he attacked the Celestial Dragons' base, he didn't cause them any major damage.

He plans to destroy all of the Celestial Dragons' bases next time, so that the Celestial Dragons will no longer be able to control such an army.

"Okay, I'll figure it out as soon as possible, don't worry!" the Little Black Cat said.

"Okay, go ahead!" Fanxin nodded and said.

The Little Black Cat nodded, and without further hesitation, it went over immediately. The Little Fox followed, as arranged by Fanxin.

After the Little Fox and the Little Black Cat left, Fanxin stopped talking nonsense.

He took control of the ship, guiding it back to the sea. This time, he transformed the ship into a real vessel, no longer using its humanoid form.

The reason for this is that he hopes everyone can get outside and get some exercise.

In human form, everyone can only hide inside the robots, which is safe, but they can't see the outside world. So the tour is basically pointless. People hiding inside the ship are worse off not going on the tour at all.

So he decided to use this mode from now on, so everyone could play freely on the ship. Although this mode would be vulnerable to attacks, he was on the ship, and there were plenty of robots monitoring the surroundings, so he figured nothing would happen.

Back on the sea, everyone started playing on the deck.

Some of the men were scanning the surroundings with binoculars, admiring the scenery, while the girls were dancing on the boat. There were also several musicians and pianists on board, who all spontaneously began playing music.

This scene looks incredibly warm and beautiful.

Fanxin and Ren Fang couldn't help but laugh at this scene.

They walked hand in hand to the bow of the boat.

At the bow of the ship, there was a small round table and two reclining chairs—their private spot. Whenever they had free time, they would sit there, enjoying snacks and coffee, appearing incredibly relaxed.

"That's more fun," Ren Fang said with a smile.

"If you like it, let's keep it like this from now on. Actually, I also think it's more open this way," Fanxin said with a smile.

They used to live inside. Although they could see outside, the window made them feel like they were being confined.

"Hehe, that's settled then," Ren Fang said with a smile.

"So, where are we going next?" Ren Fang asked curiously.

"I don't know either, let's just keep going!" Fanxin said with a smile.

He honestly didn't know, because he wasn't particularly familiar with the Grand Line. However, he wasn't afraid anymore; in his current state, he dared to go anywhere.

"Alright then, let it float like that!" Ren Fang nodded and didn't object.

And so they wandered aimlessly across the sea. Before they knew it, a month had passed.

The food on the ship was running out, and so were the condiments like oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.

Therefore, they had to find places with humans to make their purchases.

"Mushroom Island is up ahead! Let's go there!" Ren Fang said immediately after taking out the map and looking at it.

"Mushroom Island? Why is it called such a strange name?" Fanxin asked, puzzled.

"Hehe, because that place is famous for its mushrooms, and the mushrooms there are unusually large," Ren Fang said with a smile.

"Oh, how big is it?" Fanxin asked curiously.

"They're huge, some are even bigger than houses, it's terrifying," Ren Fang said.

"No way, how could there be such a big mushroom?" Fanxin exclaimed incredulously. This was truly terrifying; he had never heard of anything like it before.

"Indeed, Mushroom Island is quite famous," Ren Fang said. "The mushrooms there are all edible. However, the residents generally don't eat the very large mushrooms; they keep them to build houses."

"So there are lots of mushroom-shaped houses there. If you look around, you'll see mushrooms everywhere, but actually, those are all houses."

"Hehe, this is so much fun! How about we get some over here and turn them into houses?" Fanxin Xin immediately said.

"Okay, that's exactly what I was thinking too," Ren Fang nodded and said.

"In that case, let's transplant some from there. That way, we'll have mushrooms to eat every day from now on," Fanxin said.

Ren Fang nodded, indicating that there was no problem.

"Alright, you take control of the ship and head that way. I'll go tell the brothers to go and buy supplies," Fanxin nodded and said.

Ren Fang did not object and immediately took over the control room. Fanxin, on the other hand, left and went to the deck.

"Everyone, come here for a moment," Fanxin shouted.

Upon hearing Fanxin's words, everyone stopped playing and stood in front of Fanxin.

"We're heading to Mushroom Island soon. Make a list of what's missing on the ship immediately. After the wanted posters are issued, go and buy the necessary supplies. Remember to buy as much as possible, understand?" Fanxin instructed.

"Understood," everyone nodded and said.

"That's good. Buy at the prices here. Don't bully the weak. Although we are pirates, we will never bully others unless they bully us. That's my principle," Fanxin said. "If you cause trouble on the island, I won't be polite, understand?"

He just wants to enjoy his trip and doesn't want to cause any trouble. He doesn't want others to bother him, and he especially doesn't want his own people to cause trouble.

"Understood, Captain," everyone said.

"In that case, let's go and take stock right away, see what's missing, record it all, and then you can divide the task and go and buy it back," Fanxin said.

Everyone nodded and immediately went to the kitchen and warehouse to take the count.

Fanxin, on the other hand, sat at the bow of the boat, gazing into the distance.

As time went by, they got closer and closer to Mushroom Island.

Several hours later, they finally reached the edge of Mushroom Island. Fanxin slashed in that direction and, sure enough, saw countless mushrooms; the entire island was almost covered in mushrooms.

"Hehe, this must be a lot of fun." Fanxin looked at it and chuckled.

These mushrooms are arranged in many layers. The tallest and largest mushrooms are indeed as big as a house, which is quite frightening. The smaller mushrooms are only the size of a fingertip, and sometimes you can't even find them.

"Dock!" Fanxin shouted.

Upon hearing this, Ren Fang immediately steered the boat to a stop at the shore.

"Alright, you guys go ahead and do your shopping. Remember not to cause any trouble," Fanxin said to everyone.

Everyone nodded in agreement, immediately disembarked, and went to the island.

Soon, only Ren Fang, Fanxin, the Little Black Cat, and the Little Fox remained on the boat.

Fanxin took Ren Fang to the Little Black Cat's research lab. At that moment, the Little Black Cat was still conducting its research, while the Little Fox was playing nearby.

"You two can stay and guard the ship, is that alright?" Fanxin asked.

The people on the ship can't all leave. Although there are robots guarding it, they are still somewhat clumsy and inflexible. If civilians try to board and the robots kill them, that would be a real problem.

If the Little Fox or the Little Black Cat were to guard it, there wouldn't be any problem.

"Okay, we'll keep watch. You can go!" the Little Black Cat nodded and said.

Fanxin nodded, then took Ren Fang's hand and headed outside. Once there, they immediately disembarked and headed towards Mushroom Island.

As they walked along, they saw mushrooms everywhere, in all sorts of colors. Fanxin Xin couldn't distinguish many of them.

Ren Fang looked at them and couldn't tell them apart either, because there were so many kinds of mushrooms, most of which she had never seen before.