After hearing Morgans, Ryuen suddenly remembered something.
That's right—the World Government used to run human gigantification experiments at the Punk Hazard lab, but after Caesar Clown was captured, the project was shut down.
After all, Caesar Clown was the one in charge of the whole thing.
In the original story, when Caesar broke out of prison and returned to Punk Hazard, he no longer had access to prisoners from the government. So he started targeting children across the seas.
On top of that, he made a deal with Big Mom—she'd fund his research, and he'd continue the gigantification experiments.
At the same time, he also teamed up with Doflamingo to study artificial Devil Fruits.
But that was the original storyline. In this version, Caesar Clown is still locked up in Impel Down.
If Ryuen remembered correctly, there should still be a large number of prisoners frozen inside the lab—these were the original test subjects used for the gigantification experiments.
"I had no idea the World Government was using prisoners for this kind of forbidden research…" Robin said in shock.
"I guess…"
"They must've been trying to copy the power of the giants. Sure, some giants have joined the Marines and serve the World Government, but that's still only a few."
"So they want to mass-produce giant soldiers once this experiment succeeds?" Nojiko said in a serious tone.
"Gahaha~" Morgans laughed proudly. "You got it right. According to the intel I got, the World Government is indeed planning to mass-produce giant soldiers!"
"No wonder you took the risk of coming down from Skypiea... This really is world-shaking news," Daisy said, giving Morgans a quick glance with a bit of respect in her voice.
The others were also surprised.
Morgans was well known for chasing after big news. If something major happened, he'd show up no matter how dangerous it was.
That kind of dedication and passion for reporting was honestly impressive.
Just then, Nami's voice cut through the group's conversation. "But you came too early. We still don't have enough gas neutralizer ready yet. So going into the lab will have to wait until Daisy finishes making more."
"Huh???" Morgans stared at Nami with wide eyes. "I came too early?"
No one paid much attention to Morgans being stunned. They yawned, then went back to their tents to sleep. It was still far from sunrise.
"Well, nothing I can do about that. Hey! Bring me a tent!" Morgans turned toward the ship and shouted.
"Yes, sir!"
"Mr. President!" a few men responded quickly and got to work.
...
Two days later.
With help from Nami and a few others, Daisy had finally made enough neutralizer to deal with the poison gas in the lab.
"We can finally go in!" Morgans was super excited.
"Not yet. After we release the neutralizer, we still need to wait at least three hours for it to fully clean the gas inside," Daisy said seriously.
"Huh???"
"We still have to wait?" Morgans looked dumbfounded again.
"Come on, Daisy. Let's go put the neutralizer inside." Nami opened a space portal and looked at Daisy.
Daisy nodded and stepped through the portal with her.
Once the portal closed, everyone turned their eyes toward the tallest Iceburg, where the lab's entrance was hidden.
"There are all kinds of research tools in there, plus Vegapunk's notes. With all that, we can start our own research projects on the new Sky Island too," said Lia, eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Yeah, but we still need real scientists. We don't know anything about that stuff... Though Daisy's probably going to be over the moon," Anya murmured.
"No matter what era, talented people are always the key."
"But don't forget, we've got the biggest talent pool in the world…" Ryuen looked at everyone, his voice carrying a mysterious tone.
"You mean the orphanage?" Robin guessed right away.
Ryuen nodded. "Exactly. The pirates at the orphanage."
The kids at the East Blue orphanage were like rough gems—full of potential. They were the perfect future crew for the Dream Expedition Team. Among them were bound to be some incredible talents.
"But guys, the new Sky Island isn't finished yet. It's still missing a lot of basic supplies," Morgans cut in.
"No need to worry. We'll handle that," Nojiko replied.
The rest of the group looked just as confident.
After all, they had more Beli than they could ever spend—thanks to a mountain of treasure and the city of gold!
They could spend forever and still not run out.
Morgans stayed quiet. After being around these guys for a while, he knew just how rich the Dream Expedition Team really was.
The legendary City of Gold…
They were the ones who found it. And no one out at sea knew that yet. If word got out, all sorts of reckless pirates would probably come running to try and steal it from them.
```
Time passed slowly.
Three hours later, everyone had gathered in front of the giant metal gate of the lab.
After Daisy carefully tested the air, she confirmed that the poison gas inside was now at a safe level.
Still, everyone put on the special masks Daisy had made—just to be safe.
The air here was filled with a strong chemical smell—no one wanted to stay in it for too long.
*Boom!*
*Creak~~~*
With a loud noise, the heavy iron door was pushed open easily by Hogg with one hand.
As sunlight began to shine through the doorway, the darkness inside the base slowly faded. Everyone could finally see what it looked like inside.
"Let's go in," Ryuen said in a low and serious voice.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Since the gas leak, this research base was finally seeing people again.
Their footsteps echoed through the base.
"Wow~~~"
"It's great that the inside of the base didn't freeze!" Daisy looked around happily, glad to see there was no ice.
"Everyone, look around and try to find the power switch for the base," Ryuen said as he walked off to the side.
The others quickly got to work.
...
*Click~*
*Tap tap tap...*
Suddenly, all the lights in the base turned on, lighting up the entire place!
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