What are you saying?
Shaq is, after all, a shark-fish man, and most people would still feel some fear when they see him. At this moment, Tesoro stood between Shaq and Stella, seemingly wanting to protect her.
"Wasn't what I said clear enough? You are runaway slaves. If you try to take a ship back to Sabaody Archipelago from here, you will most likely be captured again."
I know a safer route and destination, and I can take you there if you're interested.
Even if they weren't sold, these slaves were still important commodities in the eyes of the human trafficking shops.
They wouldn't go to great lengths to capture someone, as the cost would far exceed that of capturing a new slave, but that doesn't mean they would ignore someone if they were around.
Why are you helping us?
"Why? I hate slave traders, that's all. Don't judge a person by their appearance. This is my work certificate. I have a legitimate job."
Piltover Deep-Sea Exploration Team.
Shaq held a specially made document in his hand, mainly for dealing with the Navy. This document had already been registered with the Navy, so there would be no need to verify it with Oran in the future.
The relationship between the fish-men and humans remains delicate. However, ordinary people do not discriminate against them; they rarely see fish-men and their knowledge of this deep-sea race comes entirely from the royal family of their homeland.
The attitude of the local king can really influence the people of a large area.
Ordinary people are mostly afraid of fish-men.
"I've heard of Piltover."
"Right? That's Mr. Oran's country. Cherish this opportunity now, because it won't be so easy to go there in a few years."
Stella was born in a non-member country, and Piltover is now rumored to be the best place to move to.
Firefly Island remains sparsely populated. After it became a lawless place, it was greatly affected. If it weren't for Oran's arrival, even if someone re-established the country, it would be a long process to recover.
Economic recovery and development require a certain population. Cyborgs cannot completely replace the ordinary population. Even if the world of Project Origin develops to that point, population will still be an indispensable element.
Some things are more cost-effective to do by manpower than by machines, and the deep-sea fishman exploration team is a prime example.
Some initial and precision processing tasks still require human labor. While top-tier Project Origin combat units can perform the same tasks as humans, producing these mechanical units to replace human labor for mechanical work would be an even more outrageous waste.
The cost of Project: Shiki alone exceeds that of most factories on Firefly Island, meaning Firefly Island will not completely abandon manpower for at least a long time.
Therefore, Firefly Island has been attracting immigrants over the years, and the results have been quite good. In addition to the working class, some people have also moved in.
Well, we have Wapol to thank for that; this capricious prince made a significant contribution to Piltover's immigration policy.
In addition, Feld has been studying global finance during this time, planning to make a fortune in this great pirate era, and occasionally he also helps Oran bring over some people.
This is not human trafficking. There are many people in the New World who can't make a living. Those who are under Whitebeard's protection are fortunate enough to find a place to stay in this turbulent world.
In today's New World, Whitebeard's protection fee is the lowest, and his protection is the most effective.
Charlotte Linlin's approach was also effective, but at a higher cost. In the Totto Land Sea, simply handing over souls was enough, but the outer areas also had to bear the daily expenses of the Totto Land Sea, and it was not easy to gather enough food to hand over.
Changing their living environment doesn't pose a psychological barrier for them; the difficulty lies in changing locations. For ordinary people, going out to sea is extremely difficult. Feld can only provide transportation for some people, and only those with some technical skills.
You need to be able to build ships, repair machines, or be proficient in subjects like mathematics, have excellent carpentry skills, or possess extraordinary physical abilities. In short, you need to have some special skills or talents.
The influx of people into Piltover in recent years is indeed closely related to Feld.
Aside from his "family" members, Feld is definitely one of the people who knows Oran best.
The more Feld learned about Oran, the more frightened he became.
This is no longer the research member who needed his support for research funding. Unbeknownst to him, Oran has transformed into a behemoth with fangs and claws.
The underworld today has its own unique gray order. Those who have nothing to do with Oran's business are fine, but if you want to have contact with him and break the rules, the consequences can be terrifying.
Feld has money and connections, but those things are becoming increasingly insignificant. If he were to fall out with Oran, he might really be in serious trouble when Oran settles his score.
This small thing was essential for Feld to maintain contact with Oran. He had seen Kate holding a notebook when he saw Oran once before.
All the names on those pages were familiar faces; Feld even saw his own page.
He firmly believed that it was not an accident, but a clear warning to him not to do anything underhanded.
But in fact, he was overthinking it; it was just Kate making minor adjustments, adding and deleting new names.
Yes, what's deleted is dead. As for how it died, there are many possible reasons.
The underground world is cruel. Although the positions of those at the top are basically fixed, those below are constantly being replaced.
Becoming the so-called king of the underworld does not mean that everything is stable. For example, recently a so-called queen of the pleasure district, Stussy, has emerged.
People in the underworld don't know how this woman did it, but everyone can sense the immense power behind her.
Shak's main job is currently surveying seabed mineral deposits, and he also occasionally sends some people to Firefly Island.
There were quite a few escaped slaves. After all, those who were sold into slavery usually had some skills of their own, making them a kind of "technical population".
As for why Shaq said to cherish the present, it's because Piltover is still a non-member state and is still in a state of rise.
To join this country, all you need to do is cross the ocean, register, and complete a probationary period before becoming a full citizen.
Once it becomes a member state, the difficulty of joining increases. After all, if you want to enjoy the fruits of development without participating in the construction, you have to pay something.
Without any technical skills, the most direct path is to serve in the Foreign Legion. However, Shaq doesn't know the details; he's only heard Oran mention it briefly, and some policies might not even be implemented.
"If you don't want to go, I won't force you. However, Fishman Island is not suitable for humans to settle in for a long time. You'll have to find your own way out."
The royal family of the Dragon Palace Kingdom has no objection to some humans living here, as it can even deepen understanding between races, but the overall environment does not support it.
Fishman Island has just taken its first step outward, and many things are only just beginning to emerge.
"A ship will depart from Fishman Island for Firefly Island in a couple of days. If you're interested, you can come along; if not, that's fine too."
After saying that, Shaq left, while Stella and Tesoro hesitated for a moment before deciding to give it a try.
Most of the ships traveling to and from Fishman Island are pirate ships. Instead of taking a pirate ship, it's better to trust the fishmen. After all, Shaq really did pull out official documents, which even had the Navy's approval certificate on them.
The ship that Shak mentioned was not the mining team's ship; it was filled with some fish-men and mermaids who had developed a longing for land after Otohime's last visit.
Otohime proved to them with her actions that some places could be trusted. Eventually, some of the slaves rescued by Barvy joined his pirate crew, a few scattered to various parts of the world, and many eventually went to Piltover.
Meanwhile, in his palace, Oran encountered a rather unusual situation: a cargo ship belonging to the World Government appeared in the port of Piltover, and the person in charge of escorting the ship was none other than Kuzan, an old acquaintance from Piltover.
"You're saying the ancient giants' experiments were successful?"
Kuzan is now a high-ranking officer in the Navy, so it's not a problem for him to know about this kind of thing. After all, Borsalino is working with Vegapunk on Punk Hazard to conduct research, and Kuzan is also working with Oran there.
They all had some understanding of this new technology, but they weren't clear on the details.
"That's what the World Government said. I don't know the specifics, but anyway, this ship was transported from Punk Hazard. They said that once the ship arrives here, Doctor, you'll know what to do."
Kuzan yawned; his demeanor had changed since their last meeting.
He has replaced his sunglasses with an eye mask. Ever since the Ohara incident, Kuzan has become like this. Although he hasn't changed much in essence, he no longer shows the drive he used to have.
"I've kept this frozen all along. Doctor, do you have a cold storage here? That way I won't have to worry about it after I put it in."
"Come this way with me, I'm quite curious about what this thing is."
Oran knew this well; he had made Iron Oars a unique item by claiming that the ancient giants could not replicate it.
The World Government has been conducting experiments on the ancient giants, and Oran didn't even expose Caesar's actions in order to allow him to effectively wear down the enemy.
This project had been under Caesar's control ever since, and now someone suddenly told him that Caesar had brought back the ancient giants.
Oran didn't believe a word of this result. He was simply curious about how Caesar had managed to fool people.
I had an upset stomach, but I'm not feeling well today.
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