Hope and... Freedom!

"The Celestial Dragons live a life far more luxurious than I imagined."

Upon arriving at the Saint Maverick Manor, Xi Yan looked around and remarked, "Gold and jewels are everywhere, it really is..."

It seems these Celestial Dragons are even richer than he imagined!

"Because we Celestial Dragons can enjoy Celestial Gold, we are never short of money," said Saint Maverick, who was controlled by Xi Yan.

The Member States of the World Government pay Celestial Gold every year, so they never lack money!

"Celestial Gold?"

Xi Yan pondered for a moment, then turned to Saint Maverick and said, "Take me to your vault."

"Yes."

Saint Maverick, then turned and walked toward the massive building in the distance.

As for the other guards controlled by Xi Yan?

Naturally, he stayed obediently by Xi Yan's side and didn't go anywhere.

Upon arriving at the vault, Saint Maverick said, "Open the Great Gate!"

"Yes, Your Excellency Saint Maverick," the guard standing at the door said respectfully.

After saying this, he turned around and opened the Great Gate, then stood respectfully to the side.

"Let's go," said Saint Maverick.

After saying something to Xi Yan, Saint Maverick led Xi Yan inside, leaving everyone else outside.

After ordering the guards to Great Gate, Saint Maverick said, "Everything I own is here."

Xi Yan didn't speak, but instead carefully explored the area before finally saying, "Why are there so few Beli?"

There were plenty of gold, silver, and jewelry, but Beli had very little money that he could spend directly.

Xi Yan did the math carefully, and the total amount involved was only a few hundred million. Is that reasonable?

That's Celestial Dragons!

"We are Celestial Dragons, money is just a number to us," Saint Maverick explained. "So there's no need to fill the warehouse with it."

"So what do you usually spend your money on?"

"I have a monthly allowance," Saint Maverick said. "I get about 2 billion Beli a month."

After saying that, Saint Maverick paused for a moment, then added, "Besides... most of the time we don't need to spend money."

As the World Noble, they have the right to enjoy everything in this world, so they often don't need to spend money.

As for the 2 billion Beli quota... in the end, it's just for show; whether they have it or not won't affect their daily activities.

"2...2 billion Beli of pocket money..."

Xi Yan's lips twitched slightly. Is this the privilege of the World Government?

That's absolutely outrageous.

"Actually, if it's not enough, we can apply for more Beli," Saint Maverick said.

In the words of Izambaron V. Saint Nusjuro, they need to spend this portion of Beli to get the economy moving again.

Although he didn't understand this, since the Five Elders had made this request, they did as they were told.

So... these Celestial Dragons spend all their allotted credit every month, since there's always more next month, right?

Xi Yan paused for a moment upon hearing this, thinking to himself, "This World Government is really rich and powerful."

but...

This is too good for him!

After glancing at the contents of the vault, Xi Yan stroked his chin and said, "Although Beli only has a few hundred million, there's quite a bit of gold, silver, jewelry, and valuable antiques."

As he spoke, Xi Yan took out Sealing Scroll.

Then, they began loading things into the vault.

"Oh my god!"

"Oh my god!"

"It's all mine!"

With an excited expression, Xi Yan talked and pretended, eventually stuffing all the valuables in the vault into the Sealing Scroll.

After finishing this task, Xi Yan turned his attention to a strange box.

"What's in here?" Xi Yan asked.

"Devil Fruit!"

"Devil Fruit?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Xi Yan's eyes. He then stepped forward, opened the box, and carefully examined the contents.

"This shape..."

A pure white Devil Fruit, its leaves look somewhat like clouds, but upon closer inspection, they don't quite resemble them.

What kind of ability is this?

Cloud Cloud Fruit?

After pondering for a moment, Xi Yan turned to Saint Maverick and asked, "Do you know what kind of Devil Fruit this is?"

"I don't know," Saint Maverick shook his head and said, "But we can identify it by looking at the Devil Fruit Illustrated Handbook."

Upon hearing this, Xi Yan's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Do you have Devil Fruit Illustrated Handbook here?"

"No."

"No?"

"We don't even eat Devil Fruit normally, so how could we possibly have Devil Fruit Illustrated Handbook?" Saint Maverick said.

Devil Fruit were just rewards they gave to their servants or slaves, so they wouldn't bother to understand what kind of abilities they actually possessed.

Xi Yan paused for a moment upon hearing this, then said, "Then go find me a list of Devil Fruit Illustrated Handbook; I need to identify them."

If it's Devil Fruit with powerful abilities, he'll save it for his companions.

If it's a trash ability... then leave it to Shakky-jie to handle.

"Understood," Saint Maverick nodded.

"Oh, right," Xi Yan said, as if he had just remembered something, "Get me a Photo Den Den Mushi and Fax Den Den Mushi as well."

"Clear!"

Then, the man turned and walked outside, intending to have his guard ask his superiors for a copy of the Devil Fruit Illustrated Handbook.

After glancing at Saint Maverick's retreating figure, Xi Yan withdrew his gaze and muttered, "The problems here are basically solved. Now it's up to the clones to take action."

Many clones have already been deployed, and they will all act together after Black Sky!

After considering that nothing had been missed, Xi Yan took the Devil Fruit and headed towards the Sealing Scroll.

"Let's seal the Devil Fruit away first," Xi Yan said.

As he spoke, he placed the Devil Fruit on the scroll, intending to seal it away with the scroll first.

"Seal up!"

"..."

"Um?"

Looking at the Devil Fruit that hadn't changed at all, several question marks popped up above Xi Yan's head.

"Why can't it be put in a scroll?"

Recalling the characteristics of the Sealing Scroll, Xi Yan muttered, "Ordinary Sealing Scroll can't seal living things, so that means... this thing counts as a living thing?"

Could it be that the consciousness of a demon exists within this?

No, is this reasonable?

But besides this explanation, Xi Yan couldn't think of any other possibility.

Just then, Saint Maverick returned, closing the Great Gate, and said, "Everything is arranged. Someone will be coming to us soon with the items."

Xi Yan nodded upon hearing this, then got up and put the Devil Fruit back into the box.

After weighing the box in his hand, Xi Yan muttered, "It seems I have no choice but to take this with me if I want to leave."

However, considering the potential battles that might follow, Xi Yan faced another dilemma.

If a fight breaks out, this Devil Fruit might be knocked away or destroyed, which is not what Xi Yan wants to see.

After pondering for a moment, Xi Yan muttered, "Then let's hide the Devil Fruit inside the Red Line first."

After the clone finishes its task, Devil Fruit should be sent to the lower reaches of the Red Line so that no one can obtain them.

After confirming what needed to be done next, Xi Yan turned his attention to Saint Maverick.

Then, he gave him a very 'kind' look and said, "Don't worry, I'll take you down in a bit."

"Clear!"

Mary Geoise appears more magnificent at night than during the day, but that belongs to the Celestial Dragons and has nothing to do with the slaves living Mary Geoise.

The slaves were herded back to their cells to rest the moment the sun set, never having the chance to see the prosperity outside.

After glancing around the quiet Slave Room, several armored guards gathered together and began to chat quietly.

"I'm getting more and more tired lately," a Bearded Man said.

"Who can argue with that?"

Another bald man said, "The defense suddenly became tighter."

"Speaking of which, has something serious happened?" the Skinny Tall Man whispered. "Otherwise, there's no reason for it to turn out like this."

"You mean someone's after Mary Geoise?"

"It's not impossible..."

Hearing the whispers of the guards outside, the slaves inside the cell looked up at them.

Then, they cautiously huddled together and said, "What do they mean? Could it be that someone is planning to attack this place?"

"Impossible... This is Mary Geoise, where a large group of Celestial Dragons live!"

How could anyone possibly attack the heart of the World Government?

That's practically suicide!

"I actually hope someone comes to attack this place," one of the slaves said. "That way, we'll have a chance to leave."

He'd had enough of this hellish life!

"Don't think about it."

An old man, his spirit worn thin, said weakly, "No one could possibly have the guts."

No one dares to defy the god of this world... No one!

"Who says no one has?" a boy said excitedly. "Didn't a man named Fisher Tiger come here before?"

"He freed all the slaves!"

If another person like that were to appear... wouldn't they only have...?

"Don't even think about it. There won't be another Fisher Tiger," the old man said, waving his hand.

"Why?"

This time, the old man did not answer. Instead, he stared at the ceiling with a very complicated expression, as if he were recalling something.

After a moment, he said, "Kid... don't give others hope so easily."

Upon hearing this, the expression on the young man's face immediately froze.

Yes, I hope so...

He said these things simply to give himself and everyone else a chance to survive.

What's wrong with that?

Must we become numb, to the point where we don't know why we live anymore?

He just wanted to give people hope, what did he do wrong?

Just then, a man's voice came from outside the cell, accompanied by the sound of metal scraping.

"Heh, I knew what these guys were talking about. So they were talking about that guy." The Bearded Man holding a long spear coldly looked at the slaves and said, "They really don't know what's good for them!"

"They actually dared to dream of a second Fei... a second villain! What wishful thinking!"

"That's right, give up on that idea!" The bald man sneered at the slaves, "No one in this world will ever do such a thing again!"

It would be unbelievable if even one of those audacious individuals appeared; it's impossible for a second one to do so!

Therefore... what these slaves hoped for could never happen!

The slaves, their hopes ruthlessly shattered, slowly lowered their heads, despair filling their eyes.

Just as they said, no one will come to save them, so... they will never escape this hell.

'Perhaps it would be better to just die like this...' a man with his head down murmured to himself.

He was originally captured here with his wife, but because his wife blocked the Celestial Dragons ' path, she was killed by them.

He still remembers the words his wife said to him when she died.

'Live on...'

Even if you're in hell, you must try your best to live.

Only by surviving can we hope to see the light of day again.

But... but does he really still have hope?

he...

"It's better to die than to live such a pathetic life!" the boy said coldly to the guard.

"Yo ho~"

"Are there really people who aren't afraid of death?"

Seeing the stubborn boy staring at them, the guards all showed expressions of great interest.

Then, the bald man opened the cell door and walked in, holding a long gun.

"Boy, the moment you uttered those words, you committed a capital offense, understand?!" The bald man grinned maliciously at the boy and said, "I now have the right to kill you!"

Unfortunately, the bald man didn't see a trace of even a hint of menace on the boy's face; it was as if... he didn't seem intimidating at all.

This scene directly enraged the bald man.

"They really don't know what's good for them," the bald man said angrily.

As soon as he finished speaking, he thrust his spear forward, piercing the boy's arm without any resistance and pinning him to the floor!

"Puff!"

The boy, pinned to the ground, felt an indescribable pain, his expression contorted by the agony.

"Kid, you see? This is reality!" The bald man spat and said, "You'll never escape in your lives. You'll live as slaves until you die!"

As he spoke, the bald man drew his spear, pointed it at the boy's thigh, and said, "Don't worry, I won't let you die so easily!"

"After all... this is a rare pleasure~"

Hahahaha!

"Yes, we can't let him die so easily!"

"Go, bald man, pierce his thigh!"

Hahahaha!

Hearing the bald man's words, the other guards also burst into laughter, each of them with an indescribable look in their eyes.

It felt like... their personalities had also become twisted!!

Hearing his companions' words, the bald man grinned maliciously, "Don't worry, I won't let him die easily."

Hearing the noise from these people, the other slaves instinctively shrank back, fearing they would become the next victim.

The boy ignored what they were saying and instead focused his gaze on the moonlight outside.

No... to be precise, it was the man standing in the moonlight!

'Who is that?'

The next moment...

"Puff!"

"Puff!"

"Puff!"

Several sounds like watermelons being crushed rang out, and then all the killed guards were pulled underground by Xi Yan using Earth Release Technique).

Having finished his task, Xi Yan strode into the prison cell.

"You..."

Looking at Xi Yan's calm expression, the slaves swallowed hard, unsure of what to say.

Those guards who bullied them were killed by this man just like that?

Xi Yan ignored the gazes of these people and instead focused his attention on the young man.

Then he said, "Do you want to live?"

"Think!"

Upon hearing this, Xi Yan's lips curled up, and he said, "Then let's try our best to live on!"

The boy's eyes lit up when he saw the key that Xi Yan had casually tossed in front of him!

At this moment, freedom is beckoning to him!!!