Rescuing Robin Again (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

On the open sea, inside the submarine, Zhong Hao looked at the girl bound with ropes before him and chuckled. "What are the chances? We meet again, Robin."

Nico Robin looked deeply at Zhong Hao, her eyes flickering with an unusual light.

But she was not surprised. She had heard his voice earlier and knew he had come. Her feelings were complicated. He had saved her twice in two days, even tracking her through the deep sea for hundreds of miles. Nothing like this had ever happened during her seven years on the run. At this moment, ripples spread across the still waters of her heart.

She bit her lip, forcibly suppressing the stirrings in her heart. She knew nothing about him—she did not know what he wanted or how he intended to deal with her.

Seeing that she did not speak, Zhong Hao did not mind. He untied her ropes and said, "You're really too weak. Every time I run into you, you're in such a sorry state. I've untied you twice already."

Robin's face reddened slightly. She felt both embarrassed and saddened. "I don't want this either. It's just that this world no longer has room for people like me. But you didn't come specifically to save me, did you? You looked very surprised when you saw me earlier."

Zhong Hao nodded. "Yeah. Because of a mistake by a friend of mine, more than twenty Headquarters recruits died in Jeff's trap. He also massacred an entire Marine branch. His head has to be brought back. By the way, you've been in this submarine for so long. Do you know where I can find some iron chains?"

"There's a cabin filled with all sorts of junk. There might be iron chains in there." Robin pointed at a door, then asked, "What do you need iron chains for?"

"This submarine is far from ordinary. It isn't something Jeff could own. I don't know how to operate it, so I'm planning to tow it back and see if I can investigate its true owner." Zhong Hao opened the door and entered the cabin. After searching around, he soon found an iron chain of unknown length.

He actually regretted killing those six pirates. At the very least, he could have waited until they returned to Lukesen Island. Now, he could only make the tiger beast work a little harder.

The two stepped onto the deck. Zhong Hao drew Sea Fang and cut the iron chain into twelve sections, tying one end to the submarine and wrapping the other around the tiger beast.

He patted the tiger's head and shouted, "Heading back. Destination: Lukesen Island."

The tiger beast looked back at the thirty- to forty-meter-long submarine. An extremely human expression appeared on its furry tiger face as it gazed pitifully at Zhong Hao.

Zhong Hao gave it a neither light nor heavy punch and laughed as he scolded, "Don't make that face. If you don't hurry, it'll be dark soon. When we get back, I'll catch a Sea King so you can eat your fill."

In the end, under Zhong Hao's empty promise, the tiger beast dragged the submarine back in the direction they had come from, though at a much slower speed.

Zhong Hao and Robin sat side by side at the edge of the deck, their legs dangling outside as the sea breeze tossed their hair about. Ahead of them, the tiger beast paddled with its claws, panting heavily in a standard doggy-paddle.

"Is this sea beast your pet? It looks pretty impressive. Does it have a name?" Robin looked at the white tiger head protruding from the sea, her face showing interest.

Upon hearing that, the tiger beast turned around and gave her an approving look. Then it saw Zhong Hao glaring at it, shrank its neck, and turned back around, not daring to look again.

"It doesn't have a name. When I was chasing Jeff, it rushed out and tried to bite me. I beat it up and used it as transportation."

Robin was quite surprised. "You caught it on the spot? Sea beasts like this rarely obey human orders unless they've been raised from a young age."

"It's just afraid of dying. I decided back then that if I didn't catch Jeff, I'd eat it." Zhong Hao smiled, then shouted at the tiger beast, "Hey, how about I call you Genghu? In mythology, the sacred White Tiger dwells in the far west and commands the aura of geng metal. Even though you're only an ordinary sea beast, that name doesn't disgrace you, does it?"

Genghu turned around and stared at Zhong Hao for several seconds, then nodded. It threw back its head with a tiger's roar, and its four claws paddled even harder.

Robin covered her mouth and laughed softly. "Looks like you two get along well. You gave it a name, and it accepted you as its master."

"With a body that big, who knows how much meat it eats every day." Zhong Hao shook his head helplessly, then suddenly said, "Can you tell me about yourself? Why did Jeff capture you?"

Robin fell silent for a moment. "You know that I'm the Devil Child wanted by the Marines, with a bounty of seventy-nine million. Many bounty hunters have their eyes on someone whose strength doesn't match her bounty, and even ordinary people become greedy when they see me."

She looked exhausted—not physically, but in her heart. Zhong Hao said nothing. He simply watched her and listened as she spoke.

"To protect myself, I joined many different factions. But either the Marines pressured them into handing me over, or they themselves had designs on me. That was how I spent seven whole years running. A week ago, I joined the Iron Pirates. After that, the pirate crew began sailing north, stopping at Lukesen Island for supplies. Three days ago, I used my ability to eavesdrop on a conversation between Jeff and someone else."

"During the call, he was very humble, with a fawning tone in his voice. He mentioned me as well. That person ordered him to take me to an island in the north. I didn't know what that person wanted with me, and I was afraid, so I started running again and fled into the village. After Jeff discovered I was gone, he sent all his men out. But their methods were brutal, and they killed many people. I blended in with the fleeing crowd and boarded a ship, eventually reaching Pus Island. I hid in the slums on the island for two days, but those kidnappers set me up and captured me."

Zhong Hao closed his eyes and thought for a while. "So this morning, you didn't leave without saying goodbye. Jeff's men discovered you and took you back to Lukesen Island?"

Robin nodded, then shook her head. "I didn't know what you wanted, so I was planning to run away too. I was caught by Jeff's men while escaping."

Zhong Hao did not know whether to laugh or cry. "I think I understand everything now. Three days ago, in order to capture you after you escaped, Jeff sent his pirate subordinates to search all over Lukesen Island. Their methods were extremely cruel. Perhaps some of his pirates also wanted to make a quick profit, but they ended up attracting the Marines. Jeff, already furious over your escape, defeated and massacred the Marines. Maybe he regretted it after he calmed down."

"Because he feared punishment from the master behind him, he did not dare to flee. He searched Lukesen Island for three days and sent people to nearby islands to look for you. By chance, his pirates found you today and captured you, bringing you back to Lukesen Island. But he never expected that the Marines would arrive right after you did. He abandoned the pirate crew, using them as bait, and went alone to seek refuge with his master while taking you with him. Then I caught up with him and killed him."

Robin nodded. "That was probably what happened."

Zhong Hao pressed his right hand to his forehead and said helplessly, "This really is a tangled mess. But you're far too weak. If it were me, I would've wiped out the Iron Pirates back then."

Robin pouted indignantly. "I'm not a pirate or a Marine. I'm just a historian. How could I possibly have that kind of strength?"

"You've been on the run for seven years. You should know very well what kind of world this is. If you had strength, you wouldn't need to fear being wanted. If you were strong enough, you could even attack Marine Headquarters directly, attack Mary Geoise. Why would you need to suffer through seven years of hiding? Without strength, you can only be controlled."

Those words seemed to touch something deep within Robin's heart. Tears flowed from her eyes. After a while, she took a deep breath, wiped away her tears, and asked Zhong Hao, "Are you a Marine? Are you going to hand me over to the Marines and offer me to the World Government?"

Zhong Hao shook his head and corrected her. "First, I'm not a Marine. At most, I'm an unaffiliated member. Second, I won't hand you over to the Marines, much less offer you to the World Government. But your existence makes too many people wary, and too many people covet you. I can't rest easy letting you wander the seas alone. I'll arrange somewhere for you to go. It will definitely be the place best suited for you, and the people there will definitely never betray you."

After countless betrayals and being betrayed, Robin no longer believed such a place existed. She pressed her lips together and said, "Do as you like. I'm no match for you anyway. Whatever you want to do, I can't resist."

Zhong Hao's mouth twitched violently. Why did that sound so strange to him? It sounded incredibly suggestive.

Not knowing what to say, he could only shout, "Genghu, speed up! We have to reach Lukesen Island before dark. We absolutely can't miss dinner!"

At that, Genghu let out a tiger's roar. Its four claws moved like the wind, and its speed suddenly doubled.