Science or war.
Wilder pondered the assassin's words. Lacking any concrete information, however, he couldn't pinpoint exactly what Germa 66 might be after. Nevertheless, the mention of "science" put him slightly more on guard.
He dialed General Kuchiel's Den Den Mushi. "Have Yves accompany your group. Be extra cautious on this journey; heighten your vigilance." Wilder briefly explained his concerns to Kuchiel, ensuring he was aware of the potential threat. The addition of Yves to the escort was a precaution; if Germa 66 knew their movements and decided to attack underwater, Yves's abilities would provide a crucial safeguard.
"I understand," Kuchiel's voice came from the other end.
After ending the call, Wilder hauled the assassin, Karai, back towards his rented courtyard.
"Name?" Along the way, Wilder questioned Karai for some basic information.
The assassin's name was Karai. He was a killer active in this particular stretch of the sea—not one with lofty ambitions, but competent, methodical, and prioritizing a stable, cautious approach. Wilder had spared his life because he might still have some use, for instance, in the operation against Luoya planned for the day after tomorrow, or because Karai, at least, was more knowledgeable about Germa 66's movements.
Wilder never let a threat fester. Since Germa 66 had set their sights on him, he wouldn't remain passive. Just as Germa was tracking and monitoring him, Wilder intended to do the same to them.
Upon returning to the courtyard, Wilder contacted Korosar via Den Den Mushi to issue new orders. "Korosar, the tracking mission now has a specific target. There's a change in your current tasks: the island search mission remains, but your priority is now full surveillance on Germa 66."
"Understood."
Additionally, after some consideration, Wilder decided to dispatch one team from his Battle Units and two additional teams from the Monitoring Unit into the New World. The current situation demanded more specialized personnel on hand. Moreover, as the situation in the East Blue grew increasingly stable, Wilder was beginning to gradually withdraw a portion of his forces and redeploy them to the New World.
"However, it's not advisable to move too many at once for now. The East Blue has yet to fully adapt to being under unified rule, and many eyes are watching it."
Furthermore, Wilder wished to avoid any conspicuous actions. The World Government and the Marines were also keeping a close watch on him. He had to proceed incrementally, avoiding any large-scale movements. The transfer of his forces needed to be executed as stealthily as possible.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye. On this day, Wilder received two messages. The first was from Kaneshiro.
"Boss, Luoya is scheduled to set sail at five in the evening. The location is the abandoned eastern pier. Additionally, he will be accompanied by three hundred guards and his three bodyguards—Kui, Dong, and Qi—on this voyage."
The second message was from General Kuchiel, reporting that their convoy had entered the deep sea and was on the verge of reaching the New World.
Wilder felt a sense of relief and turned his full attention to the matter of eliminating Luoya.
He made some preparations and then set out on foot towards the abandoned eastern pier. Coincidentally, it was the same pier where he had pursued Karai just two days prior. Wilder, dressed in a tattered trench coat—a common attire for sailors—approached the vicinity of the pier.
From a concealed vantage point on higher ground, he observed the situation at the docks. A large ship, emblazoned with an emblem of three leaves, was moored there; this was undoubtedly the vessel his target would be using. On the pier, sailors were busy loading cargo onto the ship.
There was still over half an hour before the scheduled departure time. The primary target and his contingent of guards had not yet appeared.
Wilder's objective was simple: ideally, he wanted to send the entire ship to the bottom of the sea. Therefore, the most effective method wasn't direct combat, but rather, an explosion. His plan was to wait until the guards or crew completed their pre-departure safety inspection of the vessel, then sneak aboard and plant a substantial amount of remote-detonated explosives.
Time passed quickly. In what felt like moments, more than half an hour had elapsed. From one end of the pier, a large procession of several hundred people began to advance.
"They're here." Wilder's gaze locked onto the individual at the head of the group, flanked and protected by the three bodyguards.
Luoya.
He was a man with a sharp-pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks, exuding a sleazy, unsavory aura. Wilder only spared him a brief glance before his attention shifted to the three bodyguards.
Two of them, both young men, were positioned on either side of Luoya. One, with black hair that cascaded down to his waist and a handsome, cold face, was likely the bodyguard Kaneshiro had described as Dong. The other had similarly black, choppy hair, an expressionless face, and eyes as sharp and piercing as drawn swords, constantly scanning their surroundings; this was Qi.
Walking a short distance ahead of Luoya was the bodyguard named Kui. She appeared the youngest of the three, almost like a young girl. She wore a black leather combat suit with shorts, and a slender, wickedly sharp dagger was strapped to her long thigh, glinting coldly. Her hair was even longer than Dong's, appearing remarkably smooth as it trailed from her head all the way down to her ankles. She possessed a chilling sort of beauty.
No, perhaps it was more accurate to describe her as a black plum blossom touched by frost—that was Wilder's initial impression. Aloof, cold, and radiating danger.
Further behind them marched a force of over two hundred, nearing three hundred, hired thugs and guards. Wilder didn't linger. His form blurred, and he vanished from his observation post.
The safety inspection of the ship was nearly complete. Wilder, taking advantage of the workers' preoccupation, slipped aboard unnoticed. No one paid him any mind; his attire was indistinguishable from that of the other laborers and sailors. It was evident that Luoya's guards were even less likely to scrutinize an seemingly insignificant worker.
Everything proceeded smoothly. Wilder successfully planted explosives in various critical locations throughout the ship. Once detonated, the blast would be powerful enough to instantly reduce the entire vessel to splinters. Everyone on board would, in all likelihood, perish. Even if the three bodyguards somehow survived, they would, at the very least, suffer crippling injuries.
Wilder prepared to disembark. The process, once again, aroused no suspicion. Like many of the other workers on board, his presence was unremarkable; apart from the crew who would sail with the ship, most were simply there to load cargo.
Returning to his concealed vantage point, Wilder watched as the large ship slowly pulled away from the pier. Only when it had gained a considerable distance did he step out, standing at the edge of the pier, gazing at the receding vessel. A small, black mechanical object had appeared in his hand.
"What's with that person over there?"
Onboard the merchant ship, many noticed Wilder standing alone on the pier, a sense of puzzlement arising among them.
Not good!
At that precise moment, the expression on Kui's face, one of the three bodyguards, changed drastically. An overwhelming sense of extreme danger washed over her!
BOOM! The premonition had barely registered when a deafening roar tore through the air, momentarily robbing everyone of their hearing!
An intense flash of light seared their vision. Many didn't even have time to comprehend what was happening before a wave of numbness washed over their bodies, and they lost consciousness.
The firelight from the explosion reflected on Wilder's face as he stood on the pier. Watching the ship instantly disintegrate into flying debris, a faint smirk touched his lips.
Mission accomplished.
The fiery remnants of the ship slowly began to sink beneath the waves.
Still, it's best to go and check, just in case.
Wilder used Moon Walk, treading on the air as he crossed the sea, arriving at the site of the explosion in moments. His gaze swept over the wreckage, then sharpened, landing on a nearby reef.
"Cough, cough, cough!" A series of weak coughs emanated from the reef. On the small, rocky outcrop, barely large enough for two or three people to stand, lay a woman, her face drained of all color.
It was the woman named Kui.
Everyone else, including Dong and Qi, had perished in the massive explosion. Only she, having sensed the imminent danger, had leaped from the ship at the precise moment of detonation, narrowly cheating death. Even so, the shockwave from the blast had severely injured her. She had been thrown clear, then plunged from a height into the sea. After a desperate struggle, she had managed to crawl onto the reef, her body now completely spent, unable to even lift an arm.
"Quite lucky, aren't you? Should I say, as expected of the strongest of the three?"
The sudden voice made Kui's heart lurch violently, her body tensing reflexively.
"You are…" Though she barely had the strength to speak, upon seeing Wilder's face, the expression on Kui's face still underwent an uncontrollable shift.
Wilder hovered above, looking down at her. Subtle waves of force pulsed from beneath his feet—a more refined application of Moon Walk. He stared at Kui silently for a moment, then, without another word, he picked her up and returned to his rented courtyard.
Wilder casually tossed her onto the floor. She struggled to sit up, leaning against the wall, her expression remaining eerily calm throughout the ordeal.
"Care for a drink?" Wilder asked, seating himself before her with a wine glass and a bottle of red wine.
Kui looked at Wilder, then at the glass in his hand, and replied in a flat tone, "Thank you… I'm not thirsty."
"Is that so? But wine isn't primarily for quenching thirst." Wilder proceeded to uncork the bottle and pour himself a full glass, which he then lifted for a light sip.
Kui offered no response.
Wilder looked at her, then abruptly changed the subject. "An artificial human?"
Kui didn't answer. Wilder wasn't in a hurry; he took another sip of his wine. The sense of familiarity that Kaneshiro's words had evoked earlier finally clicked into place. Connecting all the pieces, a probable theory had already formed in Wilder's mind.
"You don't seem particularly angered by Luoya's death. He was your benefactor, after all, wasn't he?" Wilder said, a slight smile playing on his lips as he watched her.
"He was," Kui replied after a moment of silence.
"Oh?"
Kui looked up, her gaze calm and steady as she met Wilder's eyes for a long moment. Then, she lowered her head and said in a remarkably flat tone, "We are failed artificial humans. You've guessed it, haven't you… We come from Germa 66. We are the only three surviving failures from their experiments."
"The only surviving… failures?"
"Mm." Kui's face was devoid of expression. "The other failures were all destroyed. We are the only artificial humans who managed to escape."
Wilder nodded in understanding. This clarified matters considerably; it aligned perfectly with his own deductions. Kui and her two companions were from Germa 66, failed products of their artificial human program. During Germa 66's process of eliminating these failures, these three fortunate souls had somehow managed to escape.
Naturally, their escape must have involved a harrowing pursuit. After enduring other unknown hardships, the three of them had washed up unconscious on a coastline, where they were fortuitously rescued by Luoya, who was about to set sail. Up to this point, everything seemed plausible. In gratitude, the three had become Luoya's bodyguards.
The perplexing part was Kui's current reaction. Logically, since Wilder had killed her benefactor, Kui should be filled with grief and a desire for vengeance. At the very least, she should display some resolve to avenge him. Yet, Kui's reaction seemed to say…
Good riddance!
As if sensing Wilder's unspoken question, Kui continued, "Germa 66 had already discovered our existence. This time, Luoya's intention was to offer us as a gift to Germa 66. Of course… he believed I was unaware. In reality, I found out three days ago when he was on a call with Germa 66."
"You didn't consider escaping?"
"…This time, I had originally planned to make my move midway through the voyage. That way, I could escape directly by sea and leave no trace…" Kui trailed off, the implication clear: Wilder had preempted her plans.
After asking a few more questions, Wilder inquired about Kui's intentions. He himself was interested in using Kui to learn more about Germa 66, and perhaps even gain insights into the matter of artificial humans.
Unfortunately, Kui's answers provided little in the way of useful information. After all, many years had passed since she and her companions had fled that place. Furthermore, Germa 66 itself was a nation without land, a kingdom that roamed the seas, making it exceedingly difficult to obtain valuable intelligence about them.
Regarding artificial humans, Kui and her two companions were essentially "first-generation products." Their own understanding of the technology was incomplete, as they themselves were its creations.
Subsequently, the two reached a somewhat vague consensus, an understanding that hovered somewhere between recruitment and being recruited. For the time being, Kui settled into the courtyard, focusing on recovering from her injuries.
Wilder knew that Germa 66 would undoubtedly learn of Luoya's demise very soon. According to Luoya's original plan, the three escaped artificial humans were to be presented to Germa 66 as a gesture of appeasement, a way to earn forgiveness for the deaths of the Goren Brothers. Wilder, however, had completely derailed this. Now, the conflict between him and Germa 66 had escalated irrevocably.
Wilder realized he had to make preparations swiftly. His previous measures were insufficient—far from it.
He once again dialed a Den Den Mushi connecting to the East Blue.
"Leave Ashin and Claire in command of headquarters. Additionally, Nado and Gar, who secured second and third place respectively in the Grand Martial Arts Competition, are to be temporarily promoted to Senior Executives to assist Ashin and Claire with headquarters affairs. All other executive-level members are to remain on standby."
"All original Senior Executives, excluding Ashin and Claire, are to lead one team from their respective Commanded Units to the New World! Each is to leave their deputy in charge to ensure the security of our East Blue operations!"
A series of orders were issued. This time, Wilder had initiated a maneuver that was, in a sense, both significant and subtle. It was subtle because the number of personnel being deployed wasn't exceptionally large, thus unlikely to attract undue attention. Yet, it was significant because these individuals were the leaders of the Black Serpent and Morass organizations—the very core of Wilder's power structure. It could be said that almost all of his highest-ranking members were being mobilized.
With personnel of this caliber being deployed, the Black-Red Warship, Wilder's flagship—equivalent in significance to Whitebeard's Moby Dick—would naturally also have to set sail for the New World.
General Kuchiel's Transport Unit, having just escorted the members and equipment of the Science and Development Department into the New World, had barely completed their task when Vice and others in the East Blue began their preparations for this new phase.
However, as the saying goes, man proposes, God disposes. Kuchiel's fleet, having only just entered the New World, ran headlong into an extraordinarily large and powerful storm—a tempest even more violent than the one Wilder himself had encountered upon his own entry into these treacherous seas!