Chapter 1773

A girl in pajamas with a soft hood and two rabbit ears hanging from it was holding a tablet computer in Area 13 of the Xiangbo Archipelago.

"What a joke, this is a fifth-rank contractor? They can even beat generals now—what nonsense, I don't want to compete on the same stage as this monster, how am I supposed to gain an advantage on the battlefield's edge? Forget it, sending the information to that disgusting pervert counts as completing the commission."

The girl's fingers tapped rapidly on the tablet, soon transmitting a video.

……

In the upscale restaurant in Area 24 of the Red Mangrove Zone, the music was soothing. A man with dark green short hair and a pale complexion sat at a table, while across from him sat a woman with tears streaming down her face, her whole body trembling. She was lovely in appearance, about twenty-five or twenty-six, and a few drops of blood could still be seen on her fair skin.

The woman was so terrified because corpses lay scattered in the restaurant, overturned tables and chairs, and creatures resembling hyenas, their flesh exposed to the air, were gnawing at the bodies, the sound of bones cracking unusually sharp.

The pale-faced man put down his knife and fork, drained the red wine in his glass in one gulp, let out a long sigh, then looked at the woman across the table.

"I apologize, madam, may I ask you a few questions? Forgot to introduce myself—you can call me Aps."

The man's "Aps" actually stands for Priapus, the god of fertility in mythology.

"My, my father can give you money—he's from the World News Press..."

Before the woman could finish, Aps waved his hand and said, "Madam, you misunderstand—I have no interest in money; you only need to answer a few of my questions."

"Alright, alright, as long as you're willing to let me go."

"Of course, as long as you answer my questions."

An egg-like object appeared in Aps's hand—round, about the size of a washbasin, with a small screen at its center, mostly biological structure, with protruding green veins.

"First question: what position do you like?"

"Huh?"

The young woman was dazed, fear mixed with a hint of embarrassment, this strange feeling making her more certain that the man across the table was a pervert.

"This is a question you must answer, otherwise you'll become their lunch."

Aps smiled at the young woman.

"I like..."

The young woman's voice grew softer and softer, forced by the threat of death, she could only utter embarrassing words.

"Oh? So you're that open-minded a woman—then let's begin the second question: have you ever given birth to children?"

"No, no, I'm still unmarried."

"Good, third question: when was the last time you had relations with the opposite sex?"

"About a month ago, roughly."

"Hmm, that'll do—thanks for your cooperation, you may leave now, madam. Remember to notify the navy; if they question you, you can describe my appearance in detail."

Under Aps's gaze, the young woman tentatively stood up, took a few steps back, stumbled slightly, and ran out of the restaurant. Soon, cries for help echoed from the street.

"The seed has been planted, the host is healthy enough, and desires are strong—very good."

Aps had just stood up when his appearance began to change, transforming into a boy of about seven or eight years old, and he slowly walked out of the restaurant.

……

At the edge of the Xiangbo Archipelago, Su Xiao was watching a video—this was footage recorded by Bubu Wang during his battle, featuring over thirty fourth-rank contractors.

Su Xiao chose to reveal his strength from the very beginning of the world—this had its pros and cons. The advantage was that it made it easier to find factions to join; the disadvantage was that it exposed him to the sight of other contractors.

Su Xiao didn't care much about the second point. Once the top battlefield began, it was every person for themselves—if one's strength wasn't sufficient, scheming and plotting wouldn't help much, and this wasn't the Netherworld Realm, where old Yin Bi weren't that common.

Su Xiao's current position was in Area 31 of the Red Mangrove Zone, and he was waiting for someone—or rather, waiting for Doflamingo's reply.

After waiting about ten minutes, an old man dressed as a fisherman approached Su Xiao.

"Your fish."

The fisherman set down a wooden crate containing over a dozen live fish. After walking away, Su Xiao poured the fish out of the crate, and a palm-sized snail phone fell to the ground. Su Xiao tried to call it.

Crackle—

The snail phone was picked up, and a voice full of vigor came from the other end—just hearing it, one could imagine the person on the other side possessed great strength.

"I am Kukulin..."

Su Xiao paused for a moment—he had grown somewhat accustomed to calling himself Kukulin Bai Ye in the Netherworld Realm.

"I am Kukulin Bai Ye."

"Kukulin? Bai Ye?"

The man on the other end of the snail phone sounded somewhat doubtful, and faintly, a lazy shout could be heard: "Joaz, who is it on the snail phone?"

"Unclear—he calls himself Kukulin Bai Ye."

"Kukulin Bai Ye? Bai Ye..."

A somewhat hurried footsteps approached, and soon, the snail phone's appearance changed, transforming into a pineapple head.

"How did you get this snail phone, and where is its owner?"

The pineapple-headed man's tone was somewhat unfriendly.

"Who knows—probably already dead."

"You..."

The voice on the other end of the snail phone sounded somewhat astonished.

"Did you kill Xia Qi?"

"No."

Su Xiao glanced at the snail phone in his hand—Doflamingo indeed had eyes and ears everywhere in the Xiangbo Archipelago; the snail phone used by Xia Qi to contact the Whitebeard Pirates could be intercepted by the other side.

Correct—Su Xiao had contacted the Whitebeard Pirates, and he was curious about one thing: just how strong was Whitebeard at his peak.

Su Xiao and the World Government were absolute mortal enemies; if he participated in the Top War, he would likely be besieged by the Navy's strongmen, and weakening the Navy's combat strength in a short time would be unlikely, so he chose to strengthen the enemy's enemy. As for whether he would join the Whitebeard Pirates' faction, that was fundamentally impossible.

The Whitebeard Pirates' situation was dire—they were already locked in confrontation with the Navy, while Big Mom and Kaido watched like tigers eyeing prey, waiting for Whitebeard to fall so they could frenziedly seize his territory.

"You contacted us—what is your purpose?"

The voice on the other end of the snail phone, now somewhat calmer, belonged to Marco the Phoenix, commander of the First Division of the Whitebeard Pirates—his iconic pineapple head was unmistakable, as was his perpetually drowsy appearance.

"I heard Whitebeard's health is in bad shape?"

"That's just hearsay; my old man is more energetic than I am."

"Is that so? I originally wanted to help him suppress the old injury Roger caused in a short time, but since that's the case, never mind."

"..."

Marco on the other end of the Den Den Mushi fell silent, and around this Den Den Mushi, in fact, six commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates had already gathered.

"I hope you can sink Marine Headquarters. Today I'm in a good mood, so I'll give you a piece of news for free: Portgas·d·Ace is being held in the Infinite Hell of Impel Down Level Six. If the intel is correct, he's currently having a heart-to-heart with his good friend Jinbe, and on average, he gets beaten by the guards every five hours to prevent him from having the energy to escape."

As a former research staff member of the World Government, Su Xiao's identity is very convenient, allowing him to leak a lot of information risk-free, and information dominance is a powerful kind of strength.

"Does Ace get beaten every five hours?"

Marco on the other end of the Den Den Mushi showed a change in emotion—no wonder, really, since his brother-like Ace is suffering in prison while he can do nothing, a feeling that is both helpless and makes his heart feel like it's being twisted by a knife.

"You can also treat this as false information; let me tell you something more interesting: the World Government already knows that Portgas·d·Ace is Roger's son."

"!"

After the Den Den Mushi on the other end fell into silence, in a ship cabin, Marco made an eye signal to Jozu beside him; Jozu nodded and quickly left the cabin.

"Mr. Bai Ye, do you have any other information?"

After Marco said that, he himself gave a bitter laugh; for the sake of his brother-like Ace, he could only pretend once—just now he had still called Bai Ye directly, but now he had changed to Mr. Bai Ye.

"Of course, do you think I helped the World Government by producing milk powder when I worked for them? Those fearful Celestial Dragons, when they dealt with me, were unexpectedly polite, after all, each of them will grow old, fall ill, and at that time, I will be their savior."

"Mr. Bai Ye, shall we meet and talk?"

"Sure, Datan Ao Island, thirty nautical miles east of the Sabaody Archipelago—if you dare come, I'll be waiting for you there. Remember, whether it's information or slowing Whitebeard's injury, everything comes at a price."

Su Xiao hung up the Den Den Mushi; obviously, Marco had never heard the saying that free things are the most expensive, and for a maritime overlord like the Whitebeard Pirates, could they possibly have nothing good? Of course not.

Knowledge is wealth; Su Xiao had invested so many Beli in alchemy, so of course he could also reap great benefits from alchemy, and now is the opportunity.