CHAPTER 361: CHAPTER 62: THE GLOW OF GOLD COINS

Entering the interior of the Justice Tower, the sounds of fighting occasionally echoed from above.

The Justice Tower was large, with over a dozen floors, each containing dozens of rooms of varying sizes.

Su Xiao glanced around, found the staircase, and headed upward. Just as he reached the third floor, he heard a barrage of gunfire.

His steps came to a halt. On an empty space to his left were three people, two men and one woman. One of the men was lying on the ground, the Lion Wei Qu of CP9.

Su Xiao looked at the man and woman; the combination was unusual—it was Nami and the Cowboy Hat Man.

This surprised Su Xiao. How had the Cowboy Hat Man infiltrated the enemy ranks? If Su Xiao remembered correctly, the Cowboy Hat Man was supposed to be part of the World Government Camp, as he had been notified earlier.

The Crazy Healer was aligned with the Straw Hat Pirate Camp, the National Foot trio with the Galley-La Company Camp, while Su Xiao and the Cowboy Hat Man were part of the World Government Camp.

At this moment, Nami was chatting with the Cowboy Hat Man. Judging by appearances, the Lion Wei Qu had likely been defeated by the Cowboy Hat Man.

The Cowboy Hat Man held a Purple Treasure Box. The Lion Wei Qu was his solo kill, and the reward was substantial.

"No problem, I’ll help out later."

The Cowboy Hat Man, smiling, nodded to Nami, seemingly having achieved his goal, looking relaxed.

"Really? Thank you very much."

Nami looked delighted, having secured a strong ally.

Tap, tap, tap, footsteps approached, and both Nami and the Cowboy Hat Man turned their heads simultaneously.

When the Cowboy Hat Man saw Su Xiao, he immediately raised his gun and fired a shot before turning to run towards the window.

With a crash, shattered glass flew everywhere as the Cowboy Hat Man leapt through the window to escape. Having just fought the Lion Wei Qu, he was in poor condition, with only about 20% of his Life Value left. Fighting Su Xiao would have meant certain death.

Nami stood frozen in place, astonished that the ally she’d just recruited had fled. As she saw Su Xiao, the bloody scene on the rooftop came to mind.

"H...hello."

Nami forced a smile, taking slow steps backward.

Su Xiao didn’t draw his sword. Nami and Usopp of the Straw Hat Pirates were somewhat special. Killing them would at most yield World Source, and without their two years of growth, their strength wasn’t significant.

At this moment, Nami was stronger than an average person, relying on small-scale weather control for combat. Her close combat ability was weak, even inferior to some elite pirates, though stronger than many ordinary pirates.

Seeing the smiling Nami, Su Xiao rushed forward in a few strides, reaching out with one hand to grab Nami’s arm.

But Su Xiao grabbed empty air, as Nami dispersed into a mist.

Su Xiao was momentarily stunned—it was an Illusion, one that could even deceive perception. Nami had already escaped.

"A Mirage of the Sea City, huh."

With his finger touching the ground, Su Xiao didn’t try to sense Nami herself, as her ability might very well block detection.

Unable to find Nami’s location, he chose to sense the vibrations in the ground instead.

...

On the fifth floor of the Justice Tower, the sound of rapid footsteps echoed as Nami, her face covered in sweat, ran into an empty room, panting heavily.

"Almost got caught, getting caught would be fatal."

With lingering fear, Nami peered out from the doorway, relieved to hear no approaching footsteps.

A few minutes later, Nami confirmed the fifth floor was safe; aside from a few ordinary special agents passing by, she hadn’t seen anyone particularly strong.

Ding!

A faint, crisp sound echoed; Nami froze, ears perking up.

"That familiar sound～."

Nami stood up, contemplating leaving the room several times, yet aware of the dangers of Enies Lobby.

But the earlier sound held a deadly allure for Nami. After much inner struggle, she poked her head out the doorway, scanning her surroundings.

A Gold Coin appeared on the ground not far away, surrounded by scattered gold and silver treasure.

Nami’s first thought was a trap, but upon closer inspection, she sensed something amiss. It seemed as if someone had dropped their haul in a hasty escape.

Several times Nami considered walking away, but the treasure wasn’t far, and she could hardly resist.

After a moment of hesitation, Nami cautiously approached the Gold Coin. Picking it up, she was overjoyed to find it was a rare coin indeed.

Just as she picked up the Gold Coin, a glint of golden light flashed; there was another coin not far away.

Nami quickly stepped forward, reaching the doorway of a room. As she picked up the second coin, she found a man standing in the doorway, smiling at her.

"Um...is this your coin? I’ll...return it to you."

Nami dropped the coin she was holding and ran, but it was too late.

Nami was now within close range of Su Xiao, and the outcome was inevitable. Seconds later, with tears in her eyes, Nami was dragged into the room.

"No, stop! What’s this? Don’t put it in my mouth, ugh..."

Her cries for help echoed within the room, and shortly after, Su Xiao emerged, tidying the creases in his clothes, ignoring Nami.

"Ugh～."

Inside the room, Nami retched repeatedly; she had been forced to swallow a ’snake,’ a white snake.

The man hadn’t spoken a word throughout; she had no idea what his intentions were. More importantly, the Gold Coin she had obtained was now gone.

Feeling despondent, Nami had swallowed something unknown and lost her treasure in the process.

Su Xiao headed towards the upper floors of Enies Lobby, having gained a preliminary understanding of the Straw Hat Pirates. He had previously tried to sense Nami, but once she hid, he couldn’t locate her at all.

So, he devised another plan—using a [World Government Commemorative Coin (Green)] as bait, with evidently effective results.

Just earlier, when Nami had struggled, a lengthy blood-red warning from Reincarnation Paradise appeared as he choked her.

After seeing those warnings, Su Xiao understood why Contractors didn’t attack the Straw Hat Pirates. Here in the High Martial World, the main character team isn’t easy to kill.

The Cowboy Hat Man had been alone with Nami, yet felt no urge to kill. Presumably, he had received the same alerts.

If a Contractor kills a member of the main character team, there would be no punishment from Reincarnation Paradise, but the Derivative World would undergo changes, with the Difficulty Level rapidly escalating.

If Nami were to die, the difficulty of the Pirate World would rise to Level 36, a level beyond Su Xiao’s ability to handle.

The main character team isn’t impossible to kill, but one needs considerable strength to do so.

Su Xiao suspected that killing members of the main character team, no matter how weak, could yield over 30% World Source.

After consulting, Su Xiao found that if Chopper, Nami, and others died, the Derivative World’s difficulty would rise to Level 30 to Level 40. If Sanji and Zoro died, it would increase to Level 40 to Level 60. If Luffy died, it would rise above Level 80, a terrifying thought for a Level 80 Derivative World.

Su Xiao’s face darkened; he couldn’t survive in a Derivative World over Level 80, or even around Level 30.

But the Straw Hat Pirates were not Su Xiao’s target from the beginning. Without the corresponding strength, he wouldn’t consider taking on the main character team—that would be a death wish.

The Straw Hat Pirates weren’t intimidating, but the individuals behind them were formidable, like Garp of the Navy, the Four Emperors Red Hair, the Revolutionary Army, the Vinsmoke Family, and Jesus Burgess of the Red Head Pirates.