New Customer

"Mr. Fisk, we'll stop here. Please don't see me off."

"Dr. Zhao, take care on your way home!"

"Goodbye!"

"Goodbye!"

After a pleasant gathering for both host and guest, Kingpin and Vanessa personally escorted Zhao Hailun downstairs and arranged for Wesley, Kingpin's most trusted subordinate, to drive her home.

After the two sides said their farewells, Zhao Hailun's car disappeared into the night.

Kingpin put an arm around Vanessa and walked back into the hotel with her.

"Vanessa, do you think what Dr. Zhao said about Devil Fruits is true?"

Kingpin looked at Vanessa, his voice filled with doubt.

"I don't believe something like that exists in this world. It sounds utterly absurd."

Vanessa shook her head at once, but then changed her tone. "At the same time, Dr. Zhao didn't seem like she was joking."

When Zhao Hailun had told them about Devil Fruits, her expression had been solemn and serious. She had not seemed to be joking at all.

How could Kingpin and Vanessa, both shrewd people, fail to tell that much?

"That's exactly what I find strange. Dr. Zhao is a rigorous and serious person. She wouldn't make this kind of joke with us."

"But if Devil Fruits really exist, then I feel like everything I've believed all these years has been challenged."

"But Vanessa... Dr. Zhao really did heal you in a very 'strange' way. I saw it with my own eyes."

"That makes it impossible for me to completely ignore what she said."

Kingpin's brows furrowed slightly. No matter how he thought about it, he could not make sense of the matter.

"Wilson, was I really that seriously ill?"

Vanessa was a little surprised.

She had thought she had merely fainted. Even without Zhao Hailun's treatment, she believed she would have woken up on her own.

Kingpin had made such a fuss only because he loved her too much.

But now, it seemed that was not the case.

"No, Vanessa. In fact, you were gravely ill. At the very least, the renowned doctors I found were helpless."

Kingpin spoke to Vanessa with a solemn expression.

Only then was Vanessa truly shocked.

"Could it be... that the Devil Fruits Dr. Zhao mentioned are real?"

After a long while, Vanessa looked at Kingpin in disbelief as she spoke.

Kingpin fell silent for a moment. Rather than continue the subject, he said gently, "Vanessa, it's getting late. Let me take you back so you can rest. I'll come see you again tomorrow."

Vanessa nodded obediently.

After taking Vanessa back, Kingpin went to his office and immediately summoned Wesley back.

He told Wesley about the Devil Fruits Zhao Hailun had mentioned and planned to have Wesley investigate them.

Though it sounded utterly ridiculous, Zhao Hailun had spoken with such detail. Combined with the fact that Kingpin had personally witnessed how she healed Vanessa, he had been somewhat persuaded.

"Boss, did you just say Devil Fruits?"

But Kingpin had not expected Wesley to show such surprise after hearing this.

He even asked a question in return.

"What is it, Wesley? You've heard of these miraculous things too?" Kingpin was surprised now.

"I have." Wesley nodded. "Boss, do you remember Wade, the mercenary who killed Daredevil?"

Kingpin naturally remembered him. That man had eliminated a long-standing threat, and Kingpin had long placed him on his list of people to watch.

Kingpin had even considered recruiting him to work for him.

"Wade had apparently suffered severe burns before. All of his skin was ruined, including the skin on his entire face."

"Injuries of that severity clearly couldn't be cured by modern medicine. Even skin grafts would leave scars."

"But when I saw Wade again a month ago, his face looked utterly flawless."

"His skin was even better than that of every woman I've ever seen."

"At the time, Wade mentioned that a Devil Fruit had healed his face."

"Wade said that a Devil Fruit healed his face, not that Dr. Zhao, a Devil Fruit user, healed it?" Kingpin pondered briefly and stared at Wesley.

Those were two completely different matters.

"No, Wade said it was a Devil Fruit."

Wesley carefully recalled the situation before nodding firmly.

Wade had never mentioned any Dr. Zhao from beginning to end. Though it had been some time, Wesley could still remember it.

"Could it be... Devil Fruits are real?"

Kingpin was growing increasingly shaken.

So far, two people had mentioned Devil Fruits. He did not believe that was a coincidence.

"Oh, right, Boss. Wade said something else at the time."

Wesley remembered another remark and suddenly looked up. "He said that if you ate a Devil Fruit, Boss, you could kill Daredevil yourself."

Kingpin could no longer remain calm.

"Wesley, go to that Devil Fruit Shop tomorrow at once and see whether those fruits are really as miraculous as they claim!"

Kingpin gave Wesley the order emphatically.

Devil Fruit Shop.

"Can these colorful things really be eaten?"

"Of course. This shop operates honestly and fairly, with no deception. We have samples available for tasting. Would you like to try one?"

"Forget it. I don't want to die yet!"

Another guy had been "scared" away by the Devil Fruits.

At least he had not started cursing or threatened to report the shop. Overall, his attitude had been fairly "good."

"Take care. I won't see you out!"

After running the shop for so long, Rosha had become quite calm about such situations. He merely called out from behind the counter, nothing more.

He did not try to stop the man at all.

What was meant to come would come. Those who wanted to leave could not be kept!

Without realizing it, Rosha's state of mind had reached a whole new level.

Besides, that man had looked like an ordinary office worker. He probably could not afford a Devil Fruit at all, so Rosha had not wasted time on him.

He had not shown the man the "miracle" of the Flash-Flash Fruit.

"Forget it. Time for a couple more rounds of Honor of Kings."

There was nothing worth dwelling on. Rosha quickly put the guy out of his mind.

He picked up his phone and swiftly entered the game.

"Devil Fruits? I didn't think this shop really existed."

A voice sounded at that moment.

Then, a bespectacled man with a refined appearance, dressed in a designer suit, entered the shop.

"Hello, customer. Welcome to my shop!"

Rosha put down his phone and came out from behind the counter to greet the customer.

As he walked, he could not help wondering to himself. The man before him looked familiar. Who was he again?