Chapter 1361 - 72: The Difference Between "2" and "Fool

Chapter 1361: Chapter 72: The Difference Between "2" and "Fool

Shapodi Archipelago, Redwood District No.70, inside a somewhat shabby inn.

The sound of a loud quarrel came from inside the inn. A group of pirates surrounded a bald middle-aged man who was animatedly talking about something, his saliva flying. The pirates around him burst into laughter from time to time.

In a place like Shapodi Archipelago, pirates are the most common guests. The bald middle-aged man is the owner of this inn. He is very skilled at dealing with these rough-talking but generous-spending pirates.

Before long, the pirates around the bald man dispersed, his enthusiastic smile vanished. With a soft snort, he turned and walked towards the bar.

Compared to these sweaty-smelling pirates, the innkeeper was more concerned about the guest who had arrived earlier. It was normal for the guest to bring a woman to the inn, but the bloodstains on the guest caught the innkeeper’s attention.

Inside a room on the third floor of the inn, Su Xiao sat leaning against the bed’s headboard, his bare upper body almost completely wrapped in bandages.

"You still haven’t told me how you managed to escape the siege by those Contractors."

Little Bun, holding a game piece, looked at Su Xiao with wide-eyed curiosity. Just an hour ago, she thought Su Xiao was doomed.

"..."

Su Xiao exhaled deeply. He did not want to pay attention to Little Bun at the moment. This chatty and lively girl, if you respond to her with one sentence, she’ll have ten more waiting for you.

"Woof."

Bubu Wang barked, meaning: "What are you thinking, hurry up and make a move, 200 Paradise coins per game, you’re about to lose big time."

Little Bun, although she didn’t understand what Bubu Wang meant, knew she was about to lose this game of checkers, getting utterly defeated by a ’Siberian Husky.’

In Little Bun’s gaze of despair, Bubu Wang picked up a game piece.

"Shameful..."

Little Bun ruffled her hair, her expression collapsing, as she lost to a dog, and not just once, but eight consecutive times, which means she had been tricked out of 1600 Paradise coins.

Sitting on the bed, Su Xiao tried to move his arms. The soreness all over his body had vanished. In less than a day, he would regain his combat strength.

His previous battle with Masked Man, Lan Zuo, and many Lone Wolves left Su Xiao seriously injured. After Demonic Hunt Time ended, he was nearly exhausted.

Su Xiao needed to quickly recuperate, fortunately, he had plenty of time left to complete the advancement/Main Task.

Killing Contractors earlier had earned Su Xiao a significant amount of Pirate Reputation. In other words, compared to killing enemies in Dressrosa, battling with Contractors gained Pirate Reputation at a faster rate.

Su Xiao opened the Pirate Reputation ranking. Seeing the current standings, he breathed a sigh of relief.

[First Place: Bai Ye (Third tier), Pirate Reputation 20,258 points.]

[Second Place: Shallow Dream (Fifth tier), Pirate Reputation 18,950 points.]

[Third Place: Kudu (Fifth tier), Pirate Reputation 18,875 points.]

...

Su Xiao once again surged to first place, with Shallow Dream and Kudu closely behind, each increasing Pirate Reputation at different speeds.

Su Xiao’s method of improvement was leapfrogging, often suddenly advancing by a large increment. Shallow Dream’s speed was erratic, after letting loose previously, she gained over 6000 points of Pirate Reputation in just 2 hours.

Kudu was more stable, with his Pirate Reputation rarely showing sudden leaps.

As for the fourth-placed Performer, he could no longer compete with the trio of Su Xiao, with a difference of over 10,000 points in reputation.

Although Shallow Dream and Kudu were pressing closer, Su Xiao had acquired a trump card. Roger’s Side Gun in his hand was worth 10,000 Pirate Reputation, which was Su Xiao’s ’life-taking strike’ against Shallow Dream and Kudu.

Of course, currently, Roger’s Side Gun wasn’t worth 10,000 Pirate Reputation, it still needed completion of the Hidden Task’s Third Ring: Disposal, to make it valuable.

Appraiser Todd Anderson is the plot character necessary to complete the Hidden Task’s Third Ring. Originally residing in Zone 21, after a big brawl broke out there, this appraiser went into hiding somewhere unknown.

Shapodi Archipelago isn’t small, with a total of 79 areas. Searching for this appraiser door-to-door is clearly unrealistic.

If you want to find someone you’ve never met, what is most important? The answer is, of course, intelligence channels.

Su Xiao needs to find someone in Shapodi Archipelago who has an extensive underground intelligence network. In the Pirate World, there’s only one person who can achieve this.

Polulu, Polulu, Polulu...

Su Xiao held onto the Telephone Worm, which emitted strange sounds.

This Telephone Worm buzzed for a good half-minute, but no one answered.

Kaga.

"What is it?"

Doflamingo’s voice came from the Telephone Worm.

"How is A Mu’s situation?"

Su Xiao did not directly mention the matter of finding someone.

"Hmm?"

Located in Dressrosa’s underground port, Doflamingo was clearly puzzled, squinting his eyes beneath his sunglasses.

"If nothing unexpected happened, he should have reached Fishman Island."

"I see. I’m just in the nearby sea of Shapodi Archipelago."

Upon hearing Su Xiao’s words, Doflamingo grew even more confused, sensing that Su Xiao’s contact was not purely to inquire about A Mu’s situation.

"You contacted me not just to ask about this matter’s progress, right?"

Doflamingo seemed to have heard something about Shapodi Archipelago’s situation.

"That’s right. Help me find someone."

"Find someone?"

"An appraiser."

"Is he a Navy man? Or related to the four figures of the New World?"

"No relation whatsoever."

"Ten minutes later, I’ll have Disco contact you."

"Alright."

Su Xiao hung up the Telephone Worm. Although the two only exchanged a few words, Su Xiao realized one thing: Doflamingo seemed unconcerned about the situation in Shapodi Archipelago.

Understandably, with Doflamingo mastering artificial devil fruit technology, he no longer valued the slave-selling business, as the profits are incomparable.

Besides, selling slaves incites a lot of hatred. Due to the slave auction house in Shapodi Archipelago, the Donquixote Family had endured numerous acts of revenge.

For this reason, Doflamingo agreed to the matter easily. Otherwise, with Doflamingo’s character, he would surely demand substantial benefits from Su Xiao.

A half-hour later, a man wearing a yellow round-topped hat and walking with an unsteady gait strolled down the street, followed by several guards in full body armor.

The unsteady-walking man was Disco, considered a subordinate of Doflamingo, helping Doflamingo manage the slave auction house.

Disco, embodying timidity, deviousness, and a penchant for bullying the weak, wasn’t without genuine merits; he had quite the business acumen.

Managing the slave auction house for Doflamingo, in a sense, Disco was Doflamingo’s representative in Shapodi Archipelago. It can be imagined that from many years ago, Disco had been getting cocky in his 40s.

Disco swaggered down the street with his guards, notorious in Shapodi Archipelago. Other than Celestial Dragons and the Navy, he looked down on everyone else. Disco despised most pirates, even though his boss was originally a pirate.