Eve

Inside a dilapidated warehouse, Krieg and Gin were waiting with some restlessness.

"Click~."

The warehouse door, which had not been opened for a long time, let out a harsh, grinding sound.

Krieg and Gin both became alert at the same time; both were pirates, the kind of men who lived life on the edge of a blade.

Su Xiao stood at the warehouse entrance without walking straight in.

"Wait for me here."

After saying this, Su Xiao walked into the warehouse. Hank, behind him, opened his mouth as if to speak, but ultimately remained silent and could only stand guard outside.

Walking into the warehouse, what came into view were some wooden crates placed haphazardly and a floor covered in dust; it seemed this warehouse had been abandoned for a long time.

"Too slow. Is this the attitude of the Goa Kingdom?"

Krieg spoke first, his tone somewhat hostile.

Su Xiao chuckled softly, sizing up the Krieg before him.

He had a tall build, and his features were hidden beneath a hood. Although they were several meters apart, Su Xiao caught a strange scent.

It was the smell of a certain potent poison. Su Xiao sometimes coated his blade in poison, so he was familiar with this scent.

"The matter is left to you. Once it is accomplished, the kingdom will grant you noble status."

Su Xiao went straight to the point; he did not want to waste words with these pirates.

"Just like that? Wasn't it said there were three factions competing..."

Krieg's words were cut off halfway by Su Xiao.

"No, those two factions are just mobs. I have the power to decide. You only need to answer whether you agree or disagree."

Being interrupted mid-sentence clearly made Krieg dissatisfied, but now that he was within the territory of the Goa Royal Capital, this pirate did not dare to be too arrogant.

Su Xiao was not meeting Krieg alone; there were over a hundred guards lying in ambush near the warehouse.

Krieg hesitated; it seemed he did not quite trust Su Xiao, or rather, Krieg did not trust the Goa Kingdom.

"Explain first, what exactly needs to be done."

The matter of burning down the Terminal Station was known only to those inside the Royal Capital; those outside the city were unaware.

Krieg belonged to an outside roving force, so he did not know the specific situation. These guys had been lured here by the promise of noble status.

"Ignite the Terminal Station at six o'clock tomorrow evening. The timing must be precise..."

Su Xiao began to describe the specific situation, and as Krieg and Gin listened, their expressions grew increasingly serious.

"Burn it all down? That's a bit difficult; the area of the Terminal Station is not small."

"Don't you know that there is something called dynamite?"

Su Xiao stared at Krieg, prepared at any moment for the other party to turn hostile. The negotiation had reached its most critical moment.

"Are you kidding me? With that amount of dynamite, unless you are willing to provide it, I choose to give up."

Su Xiao had long since guessed Krieg's attitude.

"Is that so? That is truly a pity."

Having said that, Su Xiao prepared to turn and leave, skipping the bargaining phase with Krieg entirely.

"Wait."

Gin called out to stop Su Xiao, then whispered into Krieg's ear:

"Boss, if we transport all the dynamite from the ship, the quantity will be enough."

Krieg stared at Su Xiao with some anger. Of course, he knew the dynamite on the ship was enough; he was just reluctant to part with it.

"Do you really think that just by igniting the Terminal Station, we can obtain noble status? The dynamite must be provided by you, otherwise, there is no deal."

Half an hour later, Su Xiao walked out of the warehouse, leaving behind Krieg and Gin, both of whom looked as if they were in physical pain.

As a pre-arranged incentive, Su Xiao left behind a voucher, which was the official document for the conferment of nobility by the kingdom.

As long as Krieg signed the document and then had it notarized by the kingdom, Krieg could become a noble.

Moreover, this document could not be unilaterally rescinded, as it bore the seal of the World Government.

Pirates were not easy to fool; if he didn't bring out real bait, they would never risk their lives.

"Lord Byakuya, has the matter been settled?"

Hank asked tentatively, and Su Xiao's footsteps suddenly stopped.

"Are you sure you want to know?"

Su Xiao's icy gaze made Hank subconsciously take a few steps back.

"I dare not."

At this moment, Hank felt deep regret—regret that he hadn't killed Su Xiao when he was choosing his weapon back then.

"Hank, there is something I need you to do, and this matter is 'very important'."

After speaking, Su Xiao signaled for the hidden guards to reveal themselves. Over a hundred guards gathered behind him, and he led them back to the guard headquarters.

--

Night fell, and Su Xiao sat alone in his office at the guard headquarters, the room plunged into darkness.

The sudden appearance of the Krieg Pirates had not disrupted Su Xiao's plan; on the contrary, it had made things run even more smoothly.

Resting his elbows on the desk, Su Xiao pressed his fingers against his forehead.

Although he considered himself reasonably intelligent, he knew his current plan was not perfect and might contain unknown loopholes.

But this was unavoidable; he was currently too weak and could only rely on careful maneuvering to achieve his goals.

Given Su Xiao's personal style, he preferred to solve problems with the blade in his hand.

It won't be long now, as long as I can leave this high-risk world.

Although the first world he had experienced was a high-risk world like One Piece, he believed that Reincarnation Paradise would not keep throwing him into worlds five levels above his own.

The reason he had been sent to the One Piece World was likely a test from Reincarnation Paradise—a test regarding his status as a Hunter.

Or perhaps, until he completed his main mission, he wasn't truly a Hunter yet; he merely held the title without the actual functions.

Su Xiao slept in his office that night.

The next morning, Su Xiao woke up early and began preparing for the night's operation.

This was the final day of his main mission time limit; midnight tonight marked the absolute deadline for his task.

Tonight, he would assassinate the King of the Goa Kingdom; success or failure hinged on this one move.

Su Xiao spent the entire day in a constant state of busyness. As the primary person in charge of burning down the Terminal Station, every department he dealt with gave him the "right of way."

The Minister of the Left had been completely broken; every time Su Xiao saw him, those vacant, lifeless eyes made a chill run down his spine.

Working until four in the afternoon, Su Xiao finally finished everything. Afterward, he entered his office at the guard headquarters and vanished from everyone's sight.

Now, he only needed to wait—wait for the pirates outside the city to ignite the Terminal Station.

As for the Goa Kingdom's motive for burning the Terminal Station, it was laughable.

In a little over ten days, the Celestial Dragons, the world nobles, would arrive for an inspection. To prevent them from seeing the massive mountains of trash outside the city, the Goa Kingdom had chosen to burn the Terminal Station to the ground, along with the refugees living there.

And there were at least several thousand refugees outside the city.

This was the nature of those in power in the One Piece World: to ensure the upper echelons didn't see any stains, they would burn thousands of people alive.

At five in the evening, the sky gradually darkened, and a night breeze blew through. With only one hour left until the time to burn the Terminal Station, the city was unusually quiet.

In the pitch-black office, Su Xiao sat alone behind his desk. Suddenly, a green Treasure Chest appeared in his hand.

This chest had been obtained after killing the Master of Mt. Colubo, but he had been too busy recently to find the time to open it.

The green Treasure Chest filled Su Xiao with anticipation, and a smile appeared on his tired face.

[Treasure Chest (Green), open/no?]

He chose to open it, and several items appeared in Su Xiao's hands.

[You have opened the Treasure Chest (Green) and obtained the following items:]

[Obtained 1000 Paradise Coins]

[Obtained Soul Crystal (Small)]

[Obtained Tiger Claw]

No equipment had been obtained, but this was within his expectations.

Su Xiao had already opened several chests and had gained some understanding of the rules.

The quality of items obtained from opening a chest was related to the color of the chest, and the qualities he currently knew were White < Green < Blue.

As for the equipment or items found within, they were related to the person or animal that dropped the chest.

For example, if Su Xiao killed a tiger, the chest dropped by the tiger would never contain a sword or a shield.

Killing a tiger would most likely yield the tiger's claws or hide; the same applied to humans.

By killing the Black Market Merchant, Su Xiao had obtained the letter of introduction left behind by him.

And by killing Ogre, Su Xiao had obtained the pendant Ogre wore.

Su Xiao examined the items in his hand.

The Paradise Coins were deposited directly into his brand. Although they were called Paradise Coins, they were a form of currency without physical form.

[Tiger Claw]

Quality: Green.

Type: Material.

Rating: 16. (Note: Green materials have a rating between 10 and 30; the higher the rating, the more precious the material.)

Introduction: The sharp claws of elite creatures can be used to forge equipment within Reincarnation Paradise or serve as an enhancement catalyst.

[Soul Crystal (Small)]

Quality: None.

Type: Concentrated Soul Essence.

Rating: None.

Introduction: Soul Crystals are rare items with various uses... (Insufficient clearance, unable to access the following content.)

Fiddling with the [Soul Crystal] in his hand, Su Xiao was completely baffled by the two new items he had obtained.

Yet, he had a feeling that this crystal-clear [Soul Crystal], no larger than a small fingernail, might be the most valuable item he had ever acquired.

Everything would become clear once he returned to Reincarnation Paradise; his priority now was to complete the mission.

Unbeknownst to him, the time had already reached six o'clock in the evening.

Su Xiao left the office and vanished into the night; he would either complete the mission tonight or die within the royal palace—there was no third option.

The One Piece arc is coming to an end. Everyone, take a guess at which world is next. A little spoiler: after the One Piece arc concludes, the protagonist's strength will increase significantly.