Temporary Base

Grand Line Era 1498, July 28.

Hisss...

After a burst of acid corroded through the rock, the Drought Algae Vines on both sides successfully joined together, creating a tunnel over three hundred meters long that connected Wang Gao's cell to the Giant Tunnel.

Retracting the vine bodies of the Drought Algae Vines, Wang Gao's body wriggled for a moment before transforming into a Large Python and slipping into the tunnel.

A moment later, he entered the Giant Tunnel.

The python-shaped body wriggled again, and Wang Gao returned to his normal body size. All around him stretched an enormous tunnel shrouded in darkness.

The data gathered by the Scout Bees had already formed a three-dimensional map of Impel Down, the Giant Tunnel, and Level 5.5 in his mind.

Within the Giant Tunnel, where no one could notice him, Wang Gao no longer suppressed the Drought Algae Vine's abilities. When he had previously entered the surface level, he had not found any particularly useful species, but he had still controlled the Drought Algae Vines and transformed them into a seaweed form.

Those specially modified seaweeds had now attached themselves to Impel Down's outer walls, supplying Wang Gao with endless nutrients and water.

With a thought, the Drought Algae Vines swiftly wrapped around Wang Gao's body, forming a suit of armor over him.

For Devil Fruit users, seawater and Seastone were both threats, but that threat was limited to direct contact with them.

Creations produced through Devil Fruit abilities, however, were not affected by Seastone Factors.

Now clad in vine armor, Wang Gao would not lose his strength even if he jumped into the sea.

Once the vine armor was complete, he raised a hand and pointed. Countless Drought Algae Vines emerged from the armor and spread downward along the Giant Tunnel.

Vine Armor Mimicry—Ice Skates.

A pair of ice skates grew beneath his feet, resembling train wheels. At the same time, the Drought Algae Vines rapidly spreading through the Giant Tunnel grew a "track" within it.

Vines emerged from the armor one after another, gripping the Drought Algae Vines on the rock walls ahead and alternately pulling Wang Gao forward at high speed.

The track, the ice skates, and the acceleration from the pulling vines sent his speed soaring to around 120 kilometers per hour.

Although the Drought Algae Vines could not instantly fill every Giant Tunnel and all of Level 5.5, they had already constructed a track leading directly to Level 5.5.

In less than ten minutes, Wang Gao arrived at his destination.

Level 5.5 of Impel Down was a hidden space between Extreme Cold Hell and Infinite Hell, and it was remarkably vast.

Of course, it was nowhere near as vast as it would become later on. There was a hall covering 15,000 square meters and standing twenty meters high, along with dozens of rooms.

Quite a few rooms still contained piles of bones. Wang Gao had already examined them with the Scout Bees; they mainly belonged to military wolves and unknown fish.

This was likely where Giant Morley stored food. The unknown fish had probably been caught from the Underground River.

While scouting the Undersea Tunnel, the Scout Bees had discovered numerous branch tunnels connected to Underground Rivers and subterranean lakes.

That also explained Giant Morley's food supply. While digging the tunnel back then, he had relied on blind fish and freshwater from those Underground Rivers for supplies along the way.

Otherwise, even as a member of the Giant race and a Devil Fruit user, Giant Morley could not have endured digging an Undersea Tunnel stretching over a thousand kilometers without food or water for so long.

Standing in the hall, Wang Gao spread Both Hands.

Countless spores sprayed from the vine armor. Working together with the Drought Algae Vines in the hall, they rapidly transformed the place.

The Drought Algae Vines' tendrils and leaves formed tightly fitted floors, wall tiles, and ceilings.

Fluorescent genes extracted from the glowing organisms in the Underground River swiftly formed biological light bulbs, bathing the hall in soft white light.

A massive Vine Chair grew in the middle of the hall. Thick vine tubes extended from it, linking to the Drought Algae Vines throughout Impel Down.

After Wang Gao sat in the Vine Chair, it extended More Than Ten vines that instantly connected to his body. Through the chair, he could distribute nutrients, water, and gene samples, sense the entirety of Impel Down, and more.

Now that he was temporarily safe, he did not immediately leave Impel Down. After all, this was a treasure trove.

If one were to ask where on Blue Sea Star had the most Devil Fruit users and where they were easiest to get, there was only one answer: Impel Down.

Why abandon such a treasure trove of research resources?

Since he had decided to use this place as a base, he needed to deal with several issues. With a thought, the entrances and exits hidden throughout Impel Down that connected to the Giant Tunnel were sealed off by Drought Algae Vines, forming layers of Camouflage Rock walls.

The hollow dug out in his former cell was likewise quickly filled in, leaving only a small tunnel fifty centimeters in diameter.

This refilling was one of the contingencies he had prepared. The fill material was divided and wrapped in Drought Algae Vines, forming blocks of Camouflage Rock that could be quickly separated whenever necessary.

Thus, Wang Gao did not stop digging. The tunnels he excavated could be filled with Camouflage Rock wrapped in Drought Algae Vines. When needed, he could swiftly remove the Camouflage Rock and create a passage.

After sealing all the entrances and exits within Impel Down, the next issue to deal with was the Undersea Tunnel leading to an unknown destination.

Since he had decided to make this his temporary base, he did not want anyone sneaking in unexpectedly. After all, Giant Morley had dug this place. Once he joined the Revolutionary Army, Dragon would definitely send people to investigate its secret, perhaps even come here personally.

Around another ten hours passed.

The Scout Bees sent him a message: they had discovered bright light.

His consciousness descended. Through the Scout Bee's five senses, Wang Gao felt as though he had personally appeared there. The tunnel entrance was likewise blocked by massive boulders, leaving only a narrow crack.

After emerging through the crack at the entrance, the sight before him was a desolate Dense Forest. The Trees were exceptionally tall, with towering giants over a hundred meters high everywhere.

The Scout Bee flew high into the air and found that the entrance was halfway up a mountain. The island was not particularly large, with an estimated area of roughly thirteen square kilometers.

There were two mountains on the island. It appeared to have a Tropical Rainforest climate, and for now, there were no traces of Intelligent Beings.

The other Scout Bees flew out of the entrance one after another and began carefully scouting the entire island.

One Scout Bee flew toward the other mountain when a slimy "tentacle" suddenly shot toward it. With its extraordinarily sharp five senses, the Scout Bee sprayed a foul-smelling gas from its rear like a stink bug. Using the recoil, it instantly escaped danger and immediately climbed to a higher altitude.

The owner of that tentacle was a Toad with camouflage coloring, and the tentacle was actually its tongue.

The dangers of the Tropical Rainforest, combined with the unique nature of Planet Azure, made the creatures here even more dangerous. If Ordinary People came to a tropical rainforest like this, they would likely face a nine-in-ten chance of death.

Because the island's two mountains resembled a camel lying on the sea, Wang Gao named it "Camel Island."

After carefully scouting Camel Island for an entire day, he found no sign of Giant Morley. However, on the rear peak, he discovered a mountain cave that had been excavated long ago.

Judging by the cave's length, width, and height—especially its nearly twenty-meter ceiling—it had likely been Giant Morley's temporary residence back then.

That giant had probably left long ago, but Wang Gao felt no relief. It would be more troublesome if the other party had left; if he were still here, Wang Gao could at least think of a way to seal this secret away.

He had to make some preparations in advance.

Thank you for your support, everyone (ω｀)