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Chapter 137 Fruit Extraction
In the huge pit in the center of the training ground, Bullet lay on his back, his chest heaving violently like a worn-out bellows.
Sweat mixed with blood formed a dark red puddle at the bottom of the pit. His right eye was swollen to a slit, but he still grinned with a bloody mouth: "Ha... Three hundred and twenty-seven punches..."
Blood spurted out from between his broken teeth. "I took twenty more punches from you than last time..."
Three meters away, Rhett knelt on one knee, his bronze back muscles covered with bruises and cracks like plowed land.
He spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, supported himself on his knees and slowly stood up, his calf muscles trembling uncontrollably: "Don't be so proud..."
His Adam's apple rolled as he swallowed the surging blood and energy, "Laozi can still..."
"Really?! They've torn the training ground down like this again!"
A clear child's voice suddenly came from the edge of the pit.
Princess Mansherry, wearing a puffy skirt, stood at the edge of the ruins with a huffy look on her face, her golden curly hair shining in the sun.
Behind her followed a group of dwarfs carrying medical kits, all shaking their heads and sighing.
"Her Highness Manshirley!" Rhett's eyes lit up, and he wanted to salute, but the wound was pulled and he gasped.
Bullet barely raised his head, his eyes suddenly widening - he saw Man Shirley lightly jump, her petite body drawing an elegant arc in the air, and landed steadily between the two of them.
A pink healing halo bloomed from her palm, and countless tiny points of light spread out like dandelions.
"Healing Dance: Dazzling Flowers!"
Bullet stared blankly at his broken ribs automatically joining together in the pink light, and the bruises on his skin faded at a speed visible to the naked eye.
He touched his intact chest in disbelief: "This..."
"No wonder you train so hard!"
He suddenly turned and glared at Rhett, his voice rising in shock, "There's such a good trick!"
Lei Te was enjoying the comfort of the healing light and grinned when he heard this: "Thank you, Princess Manshirley!"
The new skin glowed with a healthy blush. "Thank you for your help every time."
Man Xueli put away her ability, her face pale from exhaustion, but she still spun around happily: "I'm glad I can help!"
She suddenly put her hands on her hips and pointed at the two men's noses, "But next time I tear down the training ground, I'll make you suffer!"
Bullet stretched his healed body and suddenly knelt on one knee, looking at the dwarf princess at eye level.
This action made him look like a small mountain.
"Little one..."
His rough fingers carefully touched the ends of Mansherry's hair. "Thank you."
Man Shirley was amused by the sudden gentleness of this ferocious giant. She gently patted Bullet's cheek and said, "Take good care of yourself, big guy."
Lei Te looked at this scene and suddenly took out the treasured honey cake from the medical box: "Your Highness, this is specially bought..."
"Wow!" Man Shirley's eyes lit up instantly, and the fatigue from the healing process was swept away.
She flew to Rhett's shoulder like a little butterfly and took the cake box that was bigger than herself.
Bullet looked at this incongruous yet heartwarming scene and suddenly burst into laughter.
The laughter shook the pit walls to the point of causing dirt to fall off, but there was no trace of the violent aura from before.
In front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the command room, Rogge looked at the completely abandoned training ground with an expressionless face.
The ruins of the training ground looked like the remains of something gnawed by a giant beast in the setting sun. The twisted metal supports stood out like dead bones, and the huge pit with a diameter of 30 meters in the center was still emitting wisps of green smoke.
Ian stood three steps away, his file pad resting against his chin, his shoulders trembling slightly.
She caught a glimpse of a concrete block that had been blown a hundred meters away by the shock wave, now slanting on the roof of the base cafeteria - Bullet's fist mark was clearly imprinted on it.
"Notify Engineering..."
Rogge's voice seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, and his slender fingers pressed a shallow depression on his temple.
The windowpane reflected his twitching brow. "Build them a special training room out of seastone alloy."
"Do you want... do you want to add sound insulation?"
Ain suddenly broke down, and laughter leaked out from between his fingers.
"Add three layers."
Rogge turned around with a slight smile on his face. "And prepare a medical team to be stationed at the door."
At this moment, Ein suddenly said seriously: "Enel Vice Admiral sent a message."
Her voice instantly switched to combat mode. "The warship escorting Buggy has passed through the Calm Belt and is expected to arrive at G3 Dock at 10:00 tomorrow."
Rogge's eyes suddenly sharpened: "The red-haired one?"
"The Intelligence Department has not made any progress yet..."
Ian hesitated, "But based on Shanks's personality..."
"It's okay, go get busy first."
Rogge waved his hand to signal her to leave. The sunset outside the window was as fiery as fire, and the heavy steel base was also dyed with a soft golden halo.
Rogge walked to the desk and tapped the surface with his fingertips. The exquisite golden Den Den Mushi opened its eyes slightly.
"Beep—beep—"
Den Den Mushi's face quickly changed into Vegapunk's iconic exaggerated big head shape, and even the goggles had a flashing effect.
"Yo! Rogge Admiral!"
Den Den Mushi shook its head, its voice filled with the excitement of a successful experiment: "Kid's fruit extraction is absolutely perfect! The Blackbeard-style Seraph is also debugged and can even perform a set of military boxing!"
Rogge couldn't help but chuckle, with a hint of teasing in his voice: "Doctor, your reaction is like discovering a new world."
Vegapunk's Den Den Mushi shook his head: "No, no, no, you don't understand. This top-notch Paramecia fruit is hard to come by!"
Rogge gently fiddled with the silver ring on his finger, his expression indifferent: "How is the magnetic fruit preserved?"
"I've saved it with the Slow-Moon Fruit!"
"Then please arrange for Garp Seraph to escort me and help me deliver the Magnetic Fruit."
Rogge pondered for a moment, "By the way... bring a set of introductory textbooks and experimental equipment on magnetism."
"Um?"
Den Den Mushi's head suddenly tilted ninety degrees, and his goggles almost slipped off: "Are you... planning to open a physics cram school?!"
Rogge looked out the window, his lips curled up slightly. "We might have a little genius in magnetism here."
As he was speaking, he saw Leah squatting on the ground in the yard, fiddling with a pile of magnets and metal pieces of various shapes with great interest, her little face full of concentration.
She was using two opposing magnets to try to "make them fly on their own," her little hands constantly changing the angles, her amber eyes full of excitement.
"Is this true?"
Den Den Mushi's eyes rolled around. "Is this true? How old is he? What's his talent like? Do you want him to be sent directly to Future Island? Room and board provided! I'll personally teach him!"
Rogge chuckled, tapping his fingertips on the table. "She's only eight years old. Let her cultivate her character in G5 first. When the time is right, I'll bring her to see you."
"Eight years old?!"
Den Den Mushi nearly jumped up from the table. "Then she'll have to get the best introductory textbooks! Fundamentals of magnetic fields, magnetic field manipulation, basic physics model analysis... No, I'll personally pick the one that's perfect for her!"
"Don't make a bunch of stuff that scares children."
Rogge shook his head and laughed, "She's still young, don't scare her."
Den Den Mushi nodded seriously: "Don't worry! I'm an expert at this! I'll equip her with a miniature safety lab, so there won't be any accidents!"
Rogge looked at Leah outside the window, his eyes softening a little: "It's up to you."
"Just take it step by step."
"I understand!"
Den Den Mushi suddenly lowered his voice, "Oh right... those two espers are in the process of being extracted..."
Rogge closed his eyes slightly, his voice cold and calm, "A group of pirates stained with sin can make a final contribution to the future of the world. This is their remaining value."
As soon as he finished speaking, his fingertips gently pressed the call button on the Den Den Mushi to end the call.
The sunlight outside the window has gradually set, and the golden and red afterglow has covered the entire base with a layer of warm color.
In the yard, Leah finally succeeded in making the two magnets levitate at a subtle angle for a moment. The joy on her little face seemed to light up the entire evening.
In the distant training ground, Rhett and Bullet walked towards the cafeteria side by side, one laughing wantonly, the other still with a defiant sneer.
The brief moment of peace passed quietly.
Rogge stood in front of the window, his eyes fixed on the world dyed red by the setting sun. His expression was calm, but his heart was filled with storms.
The future is already unfolding under his feet, and his steps will crush this sick and corrupt sea.