Chapter 1348 - 59: Zone 21 (Fourth Update)

Chapter 1348: Chapter 59: Zone 21 (Fourth Update)

The rubber dinghy docked, and Su Xiao stepped onto the turf on the shore, feeling a slight unusual sensation from underfoot.

Su Xiao lifted his foot, and several white threads stretched out between the sole of his shoe and the ground. This thing was similar to glue but not sticky.

Soap bubbles the size of a washbasin emerged from the ground, detached from it, and gradually floated upwards.

Seeing these colorful soap bubbles, Su Xiao immediately thought of the old lady, General Crane.

Bubu Wang seemed to have long been fascinated by the soap bubbles of the Shapodi Archipelago and leaped directly into one of the larger ones.

These soap bubbles form naturally; the ’Yaerqi Tendril Red Tree Root’ underground at Shapodi Archipelago secretes natural resin which, after absorbing a certain amount of air, forms these bubbles.

The soap bubbles have various functions; they can be used for building houses, as transportation, and ship coating.

The ground of the entire Shapodi Archipelago is covered with natural resin over 60% of its area. Only the commercial districts and residential areas do not seep resin, a result of later alterations.

Su Xiao was uncertain of his current location; Shapodi has 79 zones, meaning 79 small islands, which are interconnected, thus named Shapodi Archipelago.

Zones 1 to 29 host human trafficking shops, human auctions, bars, pirate fencing industries, illegal zones, hospitals, and more.

Zones 30 to 39 have soap bubble parks, food streets, commercial districts, and so on.

Zones 40 to 69 comprise sightseeing, dock businesses, Navy stations, etc.

Zones 70 to 79 host hotels, Joy Street (Flower Street), Lovers’ Path, and so forth.

Actually, Shapodi Archipelago can be divided into four major regions. The first big region is teeming with all sorts; without considerable strength, one is advised not to enter here.

The second big region is the commercial district, relatively safe and mostly filled with legal entertainment facilities.

The third big region is the residential area, the safest, home to over 90% of Shapodi Archipelago’s civilians.

The fourth big region is the gray industry zone; most women dare not easily enter this region, while the streets are scarcely populated during the day, turning lively at night.

...

Su Xiao’s gaze surveyed his surroundings; not far away, a red tree nearly five meters thick was marked with the number 30, indicating he was in the commercial district, a relatively safe area.

Just right, Su Xiao was starving, so he headed onto the island with Bubu Wang.

One need not worry about getting lost in Shapodi Archipelago; each giant red tree has its zone number, making it difficult to lose one’s way unless one is exceptionally directionless.

Given the importance of Shapodi Archipelago, Su Xiao had previously reviewed detailed information on Shapodi with the Navy when he entered the Pirate World last time.

If he remembered correctly, the food street was located in the area of the number 33 red tree.

Upon passing through Zone 31, Su Xiao arrived at Zone 33. After walking across a stone bridge, the aroma of various foods wafted from afar; there’s no doubt the source was the food street.

Five minutes later, within the food street.

"Guest, a total of 2500 Belli."

"Someone’s dining and dashing!"

"That guest, please don’t squeeze..."

The noise of voices reached his ears; the food street was unexpectedly bustling, populated by pirates long adrift at sea with sallow faces, as well as residents holding newspapers and lined up at small roadside stalls.

The food street didn’t feature any high-end restaurants; what met the eye were two large rows of roadside stalls, with various dining shop stalls behind them. The roadside stalls are a way to attract guests; given the abundant competitors on this street, not allowing guests to witness the food directly results in obvious insufficiency in competitiveness.

After Su Xiao handed over fifty thousand Belli to Bubu Wang, he entered a seafood shop, and soon, an assortment of seafood was served before him.

Needless to say, the seafood in Pirate World is very fresh; there’s neither pollution nor artificial farming in this world.

After a hearty meal, Su Xiao, holding a cigarette in his mouth, leaned back on the chair.

Having already arrived at the Shapodi Archipelago, about 11 days remained for the fourth ring of the promotion/main task; according to the task information, those two Celestial Dragons would not appear until at least ten days later.

Based on Su Xiao’s conjecture, those two Celestial Dragons could arrive at Shapodi Archipelago a few days earlier; of course, Su Xiao couldn’t separately assassinate the two; he would have to kill them both in quick succession, minimizing risk.

Furthermore, Su Xiao needed some blame-carriers to ensure he wouldn’t immediately be hunted by the World Government after killing the Celestial Dragons.

Su Xiao had already selected blame-carriers; several pirate groups with significant reputations were set to arrive at Shapodi Archipelago soon. They were all suitable blame-carriers.

Lost in thought, Bubu Wang awkwardly entered the shop, having eaten so much that walking proved difficult.

"Woof, burp~"

Bubu Wang seemed intent on conveying something, yet a belch at the end left Su Xiao unsure of its meaning for a moment.

"Is there something unusual about Zone 21?"

Su Xiao gazed quizzically at Bubu Wang; soon, he understood the meaning of Bubu Wang’s expression.

While Bubu Wang sampled dishes at various spots earlier, he picked up from dining civilians some intelligence: Zone 21 has turned into a chaotic mess.

If District 16 is an illegal zone and the pirates’ turf, then the current Zone 21 is the Human Forbidden Zone: not just civilians, but even pirates don’t dare enter.

Zone 21 originally housed numerous bars, but now the bar owners there have all fled, leaving the streets empty even in broad daylight, much less at night.

Zone 21 is a rather large area within Shapodi Archipelago, neighbored by the hospital district and the illegal zone; if something happens here, the Navy on the island would not turn a blind eye.

The news Bubu Wang picked up was that even the Navy dared not enter it; Navy, pirates, civilians, reporters, none dared to enter Zone 21, for whoever entered ended up instantly riddled with bullets.

Su Xiao immediately thought of who took over Zone 21; it must be the Contractors. Only Contractors would dare act so wantonly, turning a zone of Shapodi Archipelago into a battleground.

However, the Contractors didn’t tear each other apart in Dressrosa, yet now they’re crossing vast distances to Shapodi Archipelago to initiate a battle? What for? Moreover, their travel speed seemed unbelievably fast; according to Bubu Wang’s description of Zone 21’s condition, it seemed the fighting had been going on for days; perhaps they didn’t need to travel? Instead, they were directly teleported to Shapodi Archipelago?

Su Xiao opened the public communication platform; after all Third-tier contractors returned, the platform became rather quiet.

And now, no Contractor spoke on the communication platform; a total of 278 Fourth-tier Contractors entered Pirate World; even if there were casualties in the Dressrosa Sea Battle, there should still be over 200 Fourth-tier Contractors surviving.

These more than 200 Contractors, not one of them spoke on the communication platform, which was quite abnormal.

Normandy (Loner): "Seeking a loner team, self-funded for signing a forceful contract fee, Pirate reputation fairly distributed."

...

Seeing this unconventional team-seeking message, Su Xiao understood why Zone 21 was spoken of with dread; it was for Pirate reputation.

The top five in Pirate reputation receive substantial rewards, but what if one fails to reach the top five? Would all efforts be wasted? Would Pirate reputation be directly cleared? Su Xiao thought this unlikely; when Pirate World concludes, Contractors who don’t make it to the top five should still receive corresponding rewards for their Pirate reputation, albeit much less than those in the top five.