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OPI Chapter 96: Shadows of Mary Geoise
🕑 Added 2024-01-15 02:36:53 +0000 UTCThe door to the Base has been completely opened.
Armed army soldiers lined up on both sides of the road, and a group of smartly dressed government officials, led by Addison, were waiting for someone in front of the gates.
However, that person did not keep them waiting for long. With a swirl of yellow sand, she appeared out of nowhere outside the door.
Holding a Kabane of blue light with one hand and grabbing the Governor's back with the other, Crocodile slowly emerged from the whirlwind of sand.
[Bang!]
Crocodile carelessly threw the Governor away, leaving him in the hands of a man in black who was approaching, and said smiling: "This is the Governor of Yashiro Station, interrogate him yourselves, and as for this..."
But just as he raised the blue light Kabane and still hadn't finished speaking, an old man dressed in white appeared at a surprising speed from the crowd. Pushing his glasses up, he observed the Kabane in Crocodile's hands.
“It’s really blue light. Can it really absorb other Kabane?”
"Who are you?" Crocodile looked at him dissatisfied.
“This is Professor Fritz, the director of the Institute of Biochemistry. He is personally responsible for the research on Kabane.” Addison came over and smiled.
“Okay, I’ve given this to you too.” Crocodile nodded indifferently and threw the Kabane in his hand to the open space aside, not caring whether it would hurt anyone.
A 'core' without control and a replenishment of Kabane is dangerous, but a 'core' with nothing, even if its heart, blood vessels and pupils are blue, can only be considered a Kabane that glows blue.
As for the mental wave, it was obviously not dangerous, furthermore, even if it was, Crocodile wouldn't care.
If it can hurt people in this base, then Crocodile really has to reconsider joining the Army. After all, that would mean they are too useless.
As expected, a man in black who came out at random easily pinned down the Kabane, skillfully stuffed an iron ball into its mouth, and tied the straps to both sides of its head. Then, he cuffed his hands behind his back and quickly led him away by grabbing the back of his neck, the whole process taking no more than ten seconds.
Seeing the special Kabane being taken away, Professor Fritz lost interest and left.
At the same time, an army officer walked forward, holding a neatly folded black military uniform, shouting vigorously: "Welcome, Lieutenant General Crocodile, to join the army! Please wear your cloak."
"Oh?" Crocodile raised his eyebrows, looked into the eyes of everyone present, then grabbed the fur coat on his shoulders and threw it aside. Then he picked up the cloak of black justice and placed it on his shoulders.
At this moment, the pirate's Crocodile is dead, and the army's Crocodile is reborn.
Suddenly... The army officer and Addison acutely noticed that Crocodile's momentum had changed, or rather, his presence became much stronger. They felt as if a sand-colored crocodile was raising its head behind him.
"Are there any cigarettes?"
“Lieutenant General, please!”
The army officer seemed to have been prepared for a long time, he took out a cigarette, lit it and offered it to Crocodile, who took it and took a deep inhale.
When he exhaled the smoke, holding the cigar between his fingers, he opened his mouth and smiled with a complicated mood. "Kuahahahaha..."
…
The army continues to develop at full speed on the world of Kabane, while on Starfish the navy remains busy with large-scale operations to end the slave trade.
During this process, the reputation of the World Government in various nations has gradually shifted from fear to good awe. This is actually a very rare thing.
On this day, the live public broadcast resumed worldwide.
In the RL0002 region, on the continent of Red Earth, separated only by the RL0001 area where the new headquarters of the World Government was being built, an event was taking place.
Today this region was very lively and full of people, becoming the center of attention of the entire world.
“Are we really going to be let go?”
"My God... Is this real?"
“This is a dream, right? Wuwuwuwu~”
Enslaved men and women were freed from explosive collars, and under the direction of officials, they formed long lines heading to predefined areas, awaiting the liberation process.
In this process, the slaves newly arrived at Mary Geoise in recent months, overcome with emotion, cried uncontrollably. Some even hugged each other, feeling each other's warmth, even if they were strangers and regardless of gender.
At this moment, everyone was the same.
They were unfortunate people who regained freedom and a new life!
And all this was broadcast by the propaganda department staff through the Den-Den Mushi to the world audience.
The scene was crowded, with spectacular aerial shots showing that the entire RL0002 region was filled with slaves waiting to be freed.
At that time, except for a few people who were skeptical and prejudiced against the World Government, most people believed that the Celestial Dragons really did something good this time.
No one bothered to ask if simply releasing them was enough. How would physical injuries, mental injuries, and lost time be accounted for?
This world, after all, was not like a world with a complete legal system.
In the eyes of most people, the descendants of the Creator, the Celestial Dragons, known as the nobles of the world, are willing to respect and cooperate with the agreements of the Levely. This is the first time in hundreds of years that they have shown great mercy.
This day was called the 'Great Liberation of the Holy Land' by later generations. It was also included in history textbooks that became widely popular in the future.
But if you want to free hundreds of thousands of slaves, it cannot be completed in one day. It took three days to officially announce the end.
These three days, the live broadcast Den-Den Mushi took turns continuously, even when most people went to sleep, the live images were still broadcast to prove 'authenticity'.
Not to mention, this trick thought up by the Propaganda Department really fooled 80% to 90% of the people.
But what was the truth?
The truth is that only more than 10,000 carefully selected slaves were actually released. These slaves had not been in the Holy Land for a long time, had not been tortured too much, and had relatively normal minds. And most importantly, they did not harbor extreme hatred. They were 'high quality slaves'.
Where did the remaining slaves go?
In fact, their explosive collars were also removed, but they were sent to the neighboring areas RL0003 and RL0004. The workers of the Construction Department have built infrastructure sufficient to accommodate their lives.
Although these regions looked like fairly decent cities from afar, upon getting closer they became quite rudimentary.
When the global live broadcast was closed and all the spotlights dissipated, the rest of the former slaves gathered again in the central plaza according to the radio orders.
A senior official from the Administration Department stood on a high platform that had been prepared, holding a large loudspeaker and shouting at the thick crowd below.
At the same time, Den-Den Mushi with megaphones broadcast his voice in various locations.
"From now on, this will be your home!"
“No one will enslave you, and no one will beat or scold you. You are the official residents of the first ordinary city on the Red Earth Continent, and you should be honored and proud of it!”
“But you must also learn to be self-reliant!”
“The great world government has decided to fund all your agricultural tools, machinery, seeds, chickens, pigs, a year’s worth of food and supplies, and you will also be exempted from four years of heavenly tribute!”
"In other words, in the first year, you can live here without any worries, but from the second year on, you have to eat and use your own food!"
After saying all this, the official paused, then raised the megaphone again.
"I know it may be difficult to adjust to life here right away, but don't worry. We officials will stay here temporarily to help you and guide you on the right path."
"If anyone gets sick or injured, please notify us immediately. We will provide full medical services. However, once you have your own productions and income, all services will be chargeable. Of course, the government will also purchase goods from you."
But even though he shouted like this with all his strength, the crowd below was still silent, with a numb look on everyone's face.
However, the World Government officials present were not surprised. They believed that time was the best remedy and that, over time, in a relaxed and comfortable environment, normality would gradually be restored.
This senior official stepped down from the stage and whispered instructions to his subordinates who came over.
“Let the undercover agents lurking among them keep an eye on them. Once you find someone showing hatred towards the World Government and the Celestial Dragons, report it to the police immediately, but you must be careful not to be discovered by too many people.”
"Understood!"
…
Imu was of course aware of foreign affairs, but after a brief understanding, he stopped paying attention because he was thinking about something very important.
The security problem at Mary Geoise.
The Rayleigh intrusion incident a few days ago has shown that the towering cliffs several kilometers high on the Red Earth Continent cannot stop determined and powerful people.
In this aspect, both the Celestial Dragons and Cipher Pol were overconfident.
Therefore...
He had already ordered the Five Elders to solve this problem, at least ensuring that the edge of the Red Earth Continent within Mary Geoise's range is controlled, so that it can no longer happen that someone can directly enter the Holy Land simply by climbing up.
However, Imu always felt that the measures taken were still not enough. It's a shame that Imu still has no idea how to improve security. With no other option, we could only let the CP personnel stationed at Mary Geoise patrol in pairs.
...
At Reverse Mountain, when boats from around the world follow the climbing currents to reach the top and then ride the rapids toward the Grand Line, they can always see two sets of bright lights from below.
Although most people wouldn't choose to go over Reverse Mountain at night. In the dark waves not far from Twin Cape, a whale floated in the sea and slept peacefully.
A figure appeared in front of the small stone house next to the lighthouse and gently knocked on the door. When the person inside opened the door, the yellow light instantly illuminated both of their faces.
"You are..." A middle-aged man, dressed in a pink T-shirt and blue shorts, with a yellow and purple floral ornament on his head, looked at the visitor in surprise.
"We haven't seen each other in over a year, Crocus-sama."
"Gaban, what are you guys doing?" Crocus hesitated for a moment, finally he stepped aside and said, "Come in."
"Thanks." Gaban looked at Crocus with respect, then thanked him and entered the house. The four people behind him also followed in turn.
These people are the former crew members of the Roger Pirates.
Among them, the leader, Gaban, is the third most powerful person on the ship after Rayleigh.
“Why are you all together? Shouldn't they have returned to their respective sea areas?" After closing the door, Crocus turned around and looked at these people doubtfully.
His situation is different from these people. Although he has been on the Roger Pirates' ship for a while, he is not strictly a formal crew member. He is only a temporary ship's doctor responsible for treating and suppressing Roger's terminal illness.
"Sir, are you aware of Rayleigh's passing in Mary Geoise?" Gaban asked seriously.
Crocus nodded and said: "Of course, I have nothing else to do but read the newspaper all day."
"Then you should know that Rayleigh is not that kind of impulsive fool. He must have sensed that there was something important going on in Mary Geoise before he took the risk to sneak in!"
"In fact, I was also surprised by Rayleigh's behavior when I saw the news, so are you going to..." Crocus looked at them hesitantly, and at the same time had an unpleasant feeling in his heart.
