So Ian said nothing and continued moving forward with Kuma and Law.
When they reached a sturdy, heavy door, the three stopped, expressionless, staring at the gate.
Found it?
Though they didn't know the details inside, they knew… the little intruder was definitely inside.
They exchanged a glance, and finally, Ian nodded, walked to the screen next to the door, and entered the password Vegapunk had given him.
In no time, as soon as Ian pressed the keys…
Kaka!
Boom!
Familiar shaking sounds were heard. At the same time, the tightly closed double doors slowly opened to the sides.
In the blink of an eye, the doors were fully open. Unlike the bright corridor outside, the interior was dim, with only faint, inexplicable glows flickering, illuminating the surrounding equipment.
This was a dimly lit, highly concealed laboratory!
Just one glance and the three could guess the layout. Then, they all looked in one direction, and a figure immediately came into their view.
It was a very strange-looking person, wearing the striped outfit of a prisoner, with long black hair sprouting a pair of ram horns. He was tall and lean, seemingly over 3 meters, wearing purple lipstick and eye makeup, giving off a very lecherous appearance.
At this moment, his expression was indeed very lecherous. He was staring intently at a faintly glowing equipment screen, his eyes shining with excitement, and a smile of excitement tugged at his lips.
He looked extremely focused. Even as Ian and the others opened the door, he didn't notice and continued to stare at the screen while muttering to himself, "I found it!"
"I want to see what exactly you're researching that you even hide from the World Government; it must be something remarkable."
"Shurororo! Whatever it is, I discovered it."
"If I can hand this to the World Government, they will acknowledge me as the world's number one scientist!"
"Too bad, I didn't expect such an accident to happen. But it doesn't matter. As long as I decipher the secret research you have hidden, I will surpass you and even get the World Government to recognize me as the number one scientist."
"No, I am the world's number one scientist!"
"..."
But the muttering was heard clearly by Ian, Law, and Kuma. Especially when Law and Kuma heard the world's number one scientist's part, both of them were shocked.
"Could this guy really be the world's number one scientist?"
Just as those words fell, the man seemed to finally notice the commotion.
He suddenly lifted his head and looked toward Law, turning his head with a smug expression: "Yes, I am the world's number one scientist! No, you guys..."
But before he could finish, he seemed to notice something wrong. His expression instantly changed as he stared at Ian and the others. "Who are you? How did you get in here? How dare you intrude into the world's number one scientist's laboratory?"
Law and Kuma: "...?!"
Law and Kuma's faces were full of astonishment.
"Don't believe this guy's lies!"
Ian said irritably. "This guy is called..."
However, before he could finish…
Zzzt!
A sharp electrical buzzing sound rang out, instantly drawing the four's attention.
They all looked toward the source of the sound, and a voice like electronic tones came: "Respected VIP customer..."
But before he could finish speaking, he seemed to notice something was wrong, his gaze shifting from Ian and the other two to the guy beside him.
"Huh, Caesar Clown, weren't you captured by the marines? How are you still here?"
"Ve... Vegapunk?"
Caesar stared dumbfounded and shocked at the figure appearing before him, even stammering slightly out of nervousness. "Y-you... How are you still here? Wait—"
But as he spoke, he seemed to notice something was off. "Is this a projection? No, why would you leave a projection here? Didn't the main force already retreat?"
However, these panicked questions only made Vegapunk, who was looking at Caesar Clown, stick out his big tongue and show an awkward smile.
Doing business with a criminal wanted by the World Government while being a World Government researcher, and getting caught in the act, he couldn't help feeling a bit embarrassed.
Especially this Caesar Clown... If he reported him to the World Government, it would let him become the world's number one scientist.
Vegapunk knew he wouldn't hesitate to report him.
"I didn't expect such a coincidence. Looks like you escaped, it's really troublesome!"
Vegapunk rubbed his head in frustration, then turned to Ian. "Forget that. The ship you wanted is already completed."
Seemingly uninterested in worrying about Caesar, he floated over to Ian and said, "This is my confident masterpiece! I promise you'll feel that the seven billion belly you spent is worth it."
As Ian watched curiously, wondering where Vegapunk had hidden the ship, Vegapunk snapped his fingers.
Instantly, the previously dim laboratory became bright, and at that moment, a massive golden ship, radiating a faint golden glow under the lights, appeared before everyone's eyes.
Although it didn't look as large as Tesoro's Gran Tesoro at first glance, its size already surpassed a large three-mast ship, and the hull and bow clearly came from the same material as the Divine Axe Rhitta.
The bow was a sun, surrounded by a circle of golden swords, the entire ship gleaming enticingly like the Sun's corona, radiating heat.
The light falling on it made Law, Kuma, and Caesar's faces show shock.
A thought immediately popped into their minds: Is this... a ship carrying the sunlight?
Vegapunk looked at the shocked group, his hands behind his back. "Looks pretty awesome, right?"
"Is it all made of gold?"
Vegapunk: "..."
Hearing Ian's wild remark, Vegapunk's confidence instantly vanished, leaving him speechless.
All made of gold? Do you even realize you're paying seven billion belly, not five hundred billion?!
"It's made from a special metal. This metal only glows gold under light; without light, it shows its true color. Of course, I discovered this metal by accident. Its toughness and hardness are quite good, the same material as your axe, you should be able to feel it."
"The same material?"
Hearing Vegapunk, Ian roughly understood. He had long sensed that the Divine Axe Rhitta wasn't made of gold.
115 more chapters on my Patreon/SweetestDeath