bioinnovel Chapter 119 Campaign Against the Empress
Chapter 119 Campaign Against the Empress
East China Sea, outside the port of Rogge Town.
On the deck of the warship, Smoker stared into thought as he looked at the life card in his cigar box.
He had just bought this box of cigars that morning, intending to smoke them on the long sea voyage.
In other words... someone is watching my every move, and managing to slip in without my senses...
Smoker pulled out his Vivre Card, saw the mark in one corner, and his pupils contracted sharply.
It was a mark resembling a pool paddle, red on top and white on the bottom.
Smoker remembered that when that guy set sail, the background of the skull and crossbones pirate flag was this pattern.
This is Allen's Vivre Card!!
……
A Vivre Card is made from one's own body tissue and special paper, representing the owner's vitality.
Typically, the pieces are torn off and given to friends or relatives, and the pieces will point to each other's positions.
The size of the Life Card is fixed; it shrinks when the owner is weak and returns to its original size when the owner recovers.
If it gradually turns to ashes, it signifies that the owner is nearing death; if it disappears completely, it means death.
This life card is smaller than normal size, but it is recovering at a slow rate.
……
Smoker's mind raced.
Was the Life Card delivered by someone sent by Allen, or did he deliver it himself?
It should be the former. If it were him personally, he would have met with me.
This life card is very new, and it looks like it was just made recently, which means that he is not currently imprisoned and unable to contact the outside world.
Since he could still contact others but not headquarters for rescue, it means his location was not dangerous, or that he was confident he could escape.
They gave me a life card but didn't say anything else...
He doesn't want me to go to him; he has his own plans.
So...
……
"Colonel Smoker, shall we take the route directly to Red Harbor? Or the Fishman Island route?"
Normally, when going to the New World to do a mission, one would go through the Red Port under the World Government. But Smoker is now acting on his own, which is why the Marines asked this question.
Smoker took a deep drag on his two cigars and said in a deep voice, "Return."
"well?"
-
-
Naval Headquarters, in a hospital ward.
Zefa sat on the hospital bed, looking out the window, his eyes somewhat vacant.
Hearing the door open, he turned and asked hoarsely, "Any news?"
……
The nurse opened the door, holding a Den Den Mushi: "Lord Zephyr, there's a call for you from the East Blue."
After putting down the Den Den Mushi, the nurse couldn't help but say, "Your health is very poor. You need to rest more, at least get some sleep..."
"You are very important to the Navy, please take good care of yourself!"
Zephyr hesitated to look at the Den Den Mushi, a bitter smile tugging at his lips: "Is it so important that we can't even leave headquarters?"
"The Warring States Marshal also took that into consideration..."
"Alright, you can go now."
……
Bulu Bulu Bulu...
The Den Den Mushi kept ringing, and Zephyr finally mustered the courage to answer the phone.
Those hands, which had never retreated even when facing a formidable foe, trembled at this moment, appearing so timid.
"Feed...Smoker?"
"It's me, Professor Zephyr."
Zephyr's throat tightened, his voice growing increasingly hoarse and low: "I'm sorry... I couldn't..."
"Alian is still alive."
"What did you say?! You found him!!" Zephyr's voice suddenly rose.
……
Smoker moved his ear a little further away from the Den Den Mushi and whispered, "He sent someone to deliver my Vivre Card. It looks like I've almost recovered."
"Is that so...that's great..."
Zefa breathed a sigh of relief and smiled contentedly for the first time in days: "I knew this kid wouldn't die so easily. There's an old saying that wicked people live long lives."
"But the Vivre Card... was that a pre-arranged mechanism? He can't contact the outside world now? Where is he trapped?"
"You come to headquarters immediately! Use your Vivre Card to track his location! I'll go with you!"
……
"Professor Zephyr, I'm afraid that won't work. I have the entire Vivre Card, so I can't track him down. Calm down and listen to me."
After listening to Smoker's analysis, Zephyr frowned: "You're saying he doesn't want us to go to him..."
Are you sure he's not in danger?
……
"Well, based on what I know about him..."
Smoker scoffed, "Even if this guy dies, he'll cause a huge uproar; he definitely won't die quietly in some corner."
He paused for a moment as he spoke.
"That kid... he's a man who aims to be the strongest, how could he possibly stop before reaching the finish line?"
……
Zephyr saw the coldness beneath Allen's gentle exterior, but... only Smoker knew the intense emotions and obsessions beneath those layers of shell.
He is the kind of person who, once he sets his sights on someone or a goal, will devote all his energy to it.
……
Zefa remained silent for a long time, then turned to look at the horizon where the sea met the sky outside the window, and smiled with relief.
"Yeah... for old folks like us, all we need to do is trust him."
……
"Hey! Professor Zephyr! I'm only twenty-five! Don't say things like that to me!"
"Haha... Sorry, in my memory you look much older than you are. I thought you were over thirty. Compared to that kid, you're definitely an old man."
……
Smoker hesitated for a moment, then said firmly, "Professor Zephyr, I have a favor to ask you."
"I don't want this to happen again, so I can only stay at the base, feeling powerless and angry."
"I want to be granted free access to the New World; I need stronger adversaries!"
"He's making progress, and it would be so pathetic for me, as his older brother, to stand still!"
……
"Heh... So even the most stubborn navy mad dog, who's even more obstinate than me, is willing to ask for help now...?"
"Could you please give me a straight answer, Professor Zephyr?"
"That's not how you ask for a favor... Okay, I'll help you, as long as you promise not to swear so much next time you answer your boss's call."
"Hmph! If it's a reckless order, I'll still yell at you!"
……
……
Zefa seemed to remember something and asked in a low voice, "Then... should we tell her?"
Smoker knew who Zephyr was talking about. After thinking for a long time, he sighed and said, "Please take a look at her situation. If she insists on going to find Allen like I did before, then tell her."
……
-
Zefa found Dor at the training ground.
Peng—Peng—Peng—
The sound of fists pounding on the steel doll echoed.
The specially made iron puppet was more than ten times harder than the alloy used in warships, and there was a noticeable indentation in its chest.
Thousands of punches? Tens of thousands of punches? No, it would take at least hundreds of thousands of punches to achieve that level.
……
Dol stopped training, wiped the sweat from her brow with a towel, and turned to Zephyr: "Teacher Zephyr, how's your recovery going?"
Seeing the blood on her fists, Zephyr sighed deeply: "Dol... I know you're upset and worried about Allen. If..."
Why do you say that?
Dol tilted her head, a little confused: "I'm not worried at all."
……
"well?"
Dor smiled brightly: "It's only been a few days since we last heard from you, what's there to worry about?"
"He'll be perfectly safe, Professor Zephyr, so don't worry."
Looking closely into Dol's eyes and confirming that she wasn't just putting on a brave face, Zefa felt relieved.
He then asked, "How can you be so sure?"
……
Dor clutched her chest.
Because... the heart-wrenching pain has stopped...
She didn't answer, but smiled and said, "It's a woman's intuition! By the way, I'm going on a mission the day after tomorrow. I was thinking of telling you later."
"What mission?"
……
Dol's gaze sharpened, and he solemnly declared, "To defeat the Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock!"