Finding Robin: CEO-Style Rescue

Nine days later, Cinnamon Island.

Yang Yunzhi stood on the dock and took a deep breath. The air was filled with a complex blend of spice aromas—the warm sweetness of cinnamon, the pungency of cardamom, the floral scent of cloves, and all kinds of exotic fragrances he could not name, mingling into a rich, slightly intoxicating perfume.

The Spice Islands truly lived up to their name.

According to the information he had gathered aboard the ship, this archipelago consisted of seventeen major islands and dozens of smaller ones, each with its own signature spice crop: Cinnamon Island produced cinnamon, Cardamom Island produced cardamom, Clove Island produced cloves... Much like specialty agriculture in certain regions of his previous life, it had formed a complete industrial chain.

The archipelago belonged to the Spice Kingdom, a World Government member state.

Thanks to its thriving spice trade, the Spice Kingdom was immensely wealthy. The Heavenly Tribute it paid each year was no more than a drop in the bucket for the kingdom's treasury. That was precisely why there were almost no pirates here—when people could live peaceful, comfortable lives, who would willingly risk their lives at sea?

"This proves your theory perfectly, Master," Little Bean's voice sounded in his mind. "Most people who go out to sea and become pirates are those who cannot survive where they are. As long as there is a way to live, people will not choose to take such risks."

Yang Yunzhi nodded and looked toward the bustling harbor.

Cargo ships came and went along the docks, workers hauled sack after sack of spices, and merchants haggled in all kinds of languages. Shops lined both sides of the streets, their signs advertising things like "Premium Cinnamon Powder," "Royal-Grade Cardamom," and "Century-Old Spice Family."

"This is the prosperity brought by order," he murmured. "Unfortunately, there are too few places like this in the One Piece World."

Following the information Bezos had provided, he arrived at the Scholar Inn where Robin had once stayed. It was a three-story wooden building with a plain facade, its sign painted with an open book and a feather pen.

"Sorry, but the black-haired lady you mentioned checked out eight days ago." The receptionist was a bespectacled middle-aged man who did not even look up from his ledger as he spoke. "She stayed for four days, went out every morning, and returned at dusk. Very quiet."

Yang Yunzhi felt somewhat helpless. "Do you know where she went?"

"We do not inquire into our guests' travel plans." The man finally looked up and pushed up his glasses, then spotted the stack of Beli. "But when she left, she asked about ships heading to Pepper Island."

He was one step too late again.

Yang Yunzhi walked out of the inn, an absurd feeling rising in his heart.

In One Piece anime and fanfiction, whenever the protagonist wanted to find someone, they thought of it today and met them tomorrow; whenever they wanted to go somewhere, they arrived in the blink of an eye.

They usually did not even need to think about it. Supporting characters and protagonists alike would come knocking on their own.

So why had it turned into a chase across the ocean when it came to him?

"Master, Bezos has a contact on this island," Little Bean reminded him. "They are not linked, but they communicate through Den Den Mushi. The address is the News Corner newsstand on Seventh Street in the harbor district."

"Let's take a look."

The News Corner newsstand stood on the corner of a relatively quiet street. Its owner was a scrawny man in his fifties, dozing in a folding chair while the various newspapers spread before him rustled loudly in the wind.

"Mr. Da Limu?" Yang Yunzhi called softly.

The man jolted awake and wiped away his drool. "Huh? Buying a paper? Today's Spice Weekly just arrived, and the headline is..."

"Bezos sent me to find you."

Da Limu's expression changed at once.

He warily glanced around and lowered his voice. "Come inside."

Behind the newsstand was a small room of less than ten square meters, piled high with old newspapers and magazines. Da Limu shut the door before carefully examining Yang Yunzhi. "Bezos mentioned you over the Den Den Mushi. He said you would come looking for a black-haired woman. You are her...?"

"Friend," Yang Yunzhi said. "Where is she?"

"Wait a moment." Da Limu pulled a Den Den Mushi from a drawer and dialed a number. A few seconds later, the Den Den Mushi took on Bezos's smiling expression.

"Da Limu? Any news?"

"Your friend is here with me." Da Limu turned the Den Den Mushi toward Yang Yunzhi.

Bezos's voice came through. "Chief! You've reached Cinnamon Island? Da Limu is an old friend of mine. He loves gossip, but he can keep a secret. You can trust him."

Yang Yunzhi nodded and said to Little Bean, "Pull him into the group chat."

[System Notification: New member "Da Limu" has joined the "Intelligence Network: West Blue Group" group chat.]

[Current group members: Yang Yunzhi (group owner), Bezos (administrator), Da Limu]

Da Limu's eyes widened abruptly—a pale blue translucent interface had suddenly appeared before him, divided into several sections. The group name was at the top, the chat history filled the middle, and an input box sat at the bottom. The interface was simple and intuitive, unlike any communication tool he had ever used.

"Th-this is..." he stammered.

"DD Chat, our organization's internal communication tool," Yang Yunzhi explained. "You can type using your thoughts. Little Bean, assign him an ID number."

DD Chat was an upgraded version of the link interface Yang Yunzhi had developed over the past few days. Its name came from Little Bean's "bean"—DD Chat meant Bean Bean Chat.

As for the interface, it was only meant to transmit messages. Since mature products had existed in his previous life, naturally he would borrow from them.

Besides, with an entire world separating them, Nanshan Pizza Hut could not exactly sue him.

[System Notification: User "Da Limu" has received DD ID: XC-003-20240815-174532]

[ID Explanation: XC (West Blue)-003 (third member)-20240815 (date joined)-174532 (time joined)]

Da Limu looked at the eighteen-digit ID floating before him, his mind struggling to process it. "This ID..."

"It is very important," Yang Yunzhi said seriously. "All future organizational functions—communication, task assignments, intelligence uploads, resource requests—will require this ID to log in. Remember it, just as you remember your own name."

Da Limu nodded as if he understood, but his attention was quickly drawn back to the chat interface.

At that moment, Bezos sent a message:

[Bezos: Da Limu, hurry up and tell us Miss Robin's whereabouts!]

Da Limu tried to focus, mentally "typing" words into the input box:

[Da Limu: That woman checked out of the Scholar Inn eight days ago. As Bezos instructed, I had the boys at the docks keep an eye on where she went. She bought a ticket on the White Elephant, a cargo ship bound for Pepper Island. It departed eight days ago and should have arrived four days ago.]

[Bezos: Pepper Island? That is the easternmost island of the Spice Islands. Beyond it lies the Calm Belt.]

[Da Limu: Judging by that woman's habits, she may stay on Pepper Island for seven or eight days. If you chase after her now, you may be able to stop her before she leaves.]

Yang Yunzhi looked over the chat history and calculated quickly. It would take five days to sail normally from Cinnamon Island to Pepper Island. But if he used a portal...

"Little Bean, within Byakugan's maximum range, are there any ships headed toward Pepper Island?"

"Scanning... Within a thirty-two-kilometer radius, three ships are traveling eastward. One of them, the Spice Merchant, is headed for Pepper Island. It is currently twenty-eight kilometers from the harbor and traveling at eight knots."

That would be enough.

Yang Yunzhi said to Da Limu, "I'm going after her now. Stay on Cinnamon Island and handle intelligence gathering here. Bezos will teach you how to use more of DD Chat's functions."

"Understood!" Da Limu sounded somewhat excited. "This thing is way more convenient than a Den Den Mushi, and there are no phone bills!"

Yang Yunzhi turned and left the newsstand. But after taking only a few steps, he sensed that something was wrong—

On his personal map, a dot that had originally been white suddenly turned light red.

Red represented hostility or vigilance.

The dot was in a three-story inn across the street, in a second-floor room by the window.

Without changing his expression, Yang Yunzhi activated Byakugan and looked over.

Then he froze.

The person in the room was none other than Nico Robin, the woman he had been searching for.

Her long black hair fell over her shoulders, and her skin remained fair from years of evading pursuit—without the scorching Alabasta desert sun, she looked gentler than she had in the original work.

She sat by the window with a book in her hand, but her eyes were not on its pages. Instead, she stared intently at Yang Yunzhi on the street through a gap in the curtains.

Yang Yunzhi understood immediately.

Robin had not left. She had discovered Da Limu's surveillance.

Having spent ten years on the run, her vigilance had long since been carved into her bones. Da Limu was merely an amateur intelligence enthusiast; in Robin's eyes, his surveillance skills were probably full of obvious flaws.

And after discovering that someone was following her, Robin had not chosen to flee immediately—this was what a smart person would do. Blindly running would only expose her trail. Staying to observe and determine the stalker's identity and purpose was the wiser choice.

She's got some nerve, Yang Yunzhi praised inwardly. Or rather, she has enough confidence in her ability to adapt.

He pretended not to have noticed Robin. Instead of leaving through a portal, he continued walking toward the harbor.

On the map, that light red dot also began to move—Robin had followed him.

Good.

Yang Yunzhi deliberately turned into an alley. Cinnamon Island's streets were poorly planned. The main roads were bustling and tidy, but the back alleys were dark and damp, places for all kinds of shady dealings.

He was giving Robin a chance to approach him.

The alley was indeed far from peaceful. Within fifty meters, Yang Yunzhi encountered two groups sizing him up—three thugs squatting against a wall and smoking, and five thieves dividing their loot.

Yet strangely, no one made a move against him.

Was it because he carried nothing and did not look wealthy? Or was it the faint aura in his stride that made people hesitate to provoke him?

Yang Yunzhi did not know the answer.

But unfortunately, Robin, who was following behind him, was not so lucky.

Just after he rounded a corner, he heard a frivolous voice behind him.

"Hey, miss, all alone?"

Five thugs in matching uniforms blocked Robin's path.

Their uniforms were dark blue, with a clove embroidered over the left breast—likely the emblem of some local mafia.

The leader was in his early twenties, with dyed blond hair and a cigarette hanging from his mouth. He looked Robin up and down. "You're really pretty. Why are you alone in a place like this? It's dangerous."

Robin stopped, her expression calm. "Please move aside."

"Don't be so cold." The blond thug grinned and reached for Robin's arm. "You're not from around here, are you? Since you've just arrived, how about we show you around?"

Robin flicked her arm lightly and avoided his hand. "No need."

"Oh, she's got quite the temper." Another thug leaned closer. "It's fine if you don't think much of us. Our boss happens to need a wife. Marry him, and you'll eat and drink well for the rest of your life. Isn't that better than drifting around alone?"

Listening from the alley corner, Yang Yunzhi found himself rather speechless.

These thugs... were surprisingly loyal?

They saw a beautiful woman and actually knew to "offer her to the boss"? What kind of corporate culture was that?

Still, the act had gone on long enough.

He stepped out of the shadows of the alley, walked straight to Robin's side, and did something that left everyone stunned—

He wrapped an arm around Robin's waist and pulled her into his embrace.

Robin's body stiffened instantly, but before she could react, Yang Yunzhi spoke to the thugs.

"Sorry, brothers, sorry." He smiled with complete sincerity. "My girlfriend and I got lost and wandered into your territory by mistake. Really sorry about that. We'll leave right away."

The blond thug was taken aback. He looked at Yang Yunzhi, then at Robin in his arms. "Girlfriend?"

"Yes, yes." Yang Yunzhi nodded. "She had an argument with me and ran off alone. I came after her."

Robin struggled once in Yang Yunzhi's embrace, but he tightened his arm and held her firmly in place. He lowered his head and whispered into her ear, so quietly that only the two of them could hear, "Cooperate with me. Let's get out first."

Robin's pupils contracted slightly—she could hear the calm confidence in Yang Yunzhi's voice.

He was no ordinary passerby.

The blond thug's face darkened. "You think you can just leave because you say so? Since you wandered into our fine territory, shouldn't you show some appreciation?"

Yang Yunzhi smiled. "Of course, of course."

He released the arm around Robin's waist—but only halfway. His right hand still held her at the waist as his left hand pulled five ten-thousand-Beli notes from his clothes. "How about I buy the brothers a drink?"

The blond thug took the money, and his eyes lit up.

He counted the notes one by one, then surprisingly fairly gave one to each of the other four thugs. "Come on, everyone gets a share."

Yang Yunzhi was somewhat surprised. These thugs... actually let people go after getting paid? And the blond leader had not kept it all or skimmed some off the top—he had split it evenly?

This thug was kind of interesting.

After dividing the money, the blond thug saw that Yang Yunzhi and Robin were still standing there and waved impatiently. "What are you looking at? Get out of here already!"

Yang Yunzhi did not move. Instead, he looked seriously at the blond thug. "What's your name, brother?"

"What are you asking that for?" The blond thug became wary.

"To make a friend." Yang Yunzhi smiled. "I can see you're a man of principle. You're worth knowing."

The blond thug paused, then waved him off. "Enough, enough. Just take your girlfriend and go. This isn't a place you two should be."

Yang Yunzhi said no more. He put an arm around Robin and turned to leave.