"Gulp!"
Hawk's greasy, fat face lost all color, his beady eyes wide with terror, his body shaking like a leaf.
"Be-be-behind the counter!" His voice was an uncontrollable tremor, tinged with a sob. "I-I'll get it right away."
"Did I tell you to move?" Wayne's icy voice cut in, freezing Hawk in place.
Wayne's gaze shifted to Tesoro: "Tesoro, look behind the counter."
Tesoro took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his churning stomach and shock. All he wanted now was for his beloved Stella to be free. So what if Mr. Wayne killed someone? These damned human traffickers deserved to die ten thousand times over, and it still wouldn't be enough to atone for their sins.
"Yes!" Tesoro quickly rounded the counter and began to search.
"Found it!" Tesoro tightly clutched a strangely shaped key in his hand, then rushed to Stella's side and inserted the key into the lock.
Click! The mechanism sprang open.
The collar that imprisoned Stella's freedom and dignity fell to the ground with a crisp clang.
"I-I'm free?" Stella tremblingly reached out, caressing her marked neck, tears gushing out like a broken dam.
"Yes! You are free!" Tesoro could no longer hold back and tightly embraced his beloved, both of them crying in each other's arms.
Wayne rolled his eyes helplessly. How could a single man get fleeced everywhere he went?
"Thank you, thank you, Mr. Wayne!" Stella lifted her head from Tesoro's embrace, her eyes tearful as she looked at Wayne.
"Right! Thank you, Mr. Wayne!" Tesoro also snapped back to reality, quickly pulling Stella, about to kneel again to express their gratitude.
"That's enough." Wayne waved his hand, stopping their actions. "Save your thanks for later."
He turned his gaze to Tesoro, getting straight to the point: "Tesoro, you know where Shakky's Rip-off Bar is, right?"
"I know! Of course I know!"
"Good." Wayne nodded. "Later, you and Stella will go there."
"Tell Shakky that I sent you."
"Okay!" Tesoro nodded vigorously, then asked worriedly, "What about you, Mr. Wayne?"
Wayne's lips slowly curled into a smile: "Me? I'll be there shortly."
No sooner had he spoken than the ground beneath Tesoro and Stella's feet began to writhe violently like a living thing. The hard earth instantly softened and molded, transforming in the blink of an eye into a bathtub-like hollow.
"Ah!" Stella let out a surprised cry.
Before they could react, the earth-formed "bathtub" suddenly lifted upwards, carrying the two of them instantly off the ground and into the air, flying towards Island 27.
"Mr. Wayne! You must be careful!!!"
Watching the "bathtub" carrying the two disappear from sight, the smile on Wayne's face instantly vanished.
"Now it's time to deal with our business."
Wayne walked towards Hawk step by step, each step seemingly treading on Hawk's heart. "No, don't kill me, I'll pay you money, isn't that enough?"
"It's over now, don't say I didn't give you a chance." Wayne stopped in front of Hawk, looking down at him. "Now, call for help with all your might!"
Wayne casually waved his large hand, and the ground beneath Hawk's feet began to churn and rise. A powerful, irresistible force came over him.
"Waaahhh!" Hawk let out a pig-like shriek of agony. His corpulent body was violently flung out, crashing onto the street outside the shop.
"You damned bastard!!!" Hawk felt like all his bones were about to shatter. He endured the intense pain, struggled to get up, and roared with all his might:
"Someone's causing trouble!!!"
"Help! Everyone!!!"
"Everyone! Grab your weapons! Get rid of this bastard!!!"
In the sinful Area 27 of Sabaody Archipelago, there was an unwritten iron rule: if anything happened to any shop, especially involving escaped slaves or someone causing trouble, all slave traders had to unite against the outsider. This was the rule by which they survived.
Therefore, upon hearing Hawk's voice, the surrounding shops instantly erupted.
"Grab your weapons!"
"Who the hell dares to act wild here?!"
"Hawk! What's going on?!"
"Don't ask! A madman stole my goods! And killed my men!"
"What?! This is outrageous! Men! Go! Chop him up!"
"He's in Hawk's shop! Surround him! Don't let him escape!"
Groups of ferocious-looking slave traders and thugs, armed with machetes and flintlocks, swarmed out from all directions, quickly surrounding Hawk's shop, making it impossible for anyone to get in or out.
Seeing so many helpers gathered instantly, Hawk's courage immediately swelled! He clutched his aching waist, pointed at the shop entrance, and a triumphant smile appeared on his face:
"You brat! See that? This is what happens when you break the rules!"
"I'm telling you!" He held up three fingers, spitting as he spoke, "Today, if it's not thirty million Berries, you won't leave Island 28 alive!"
Wayne slowly walked out of the shop with a leisurely stroll, scanning the surrounding menacing rabble. A cold sneer played on his lips:
"Coincidentally, I was thinking the same thing."
No sooner had he spoken than Wayne lightly stomped his right foot.
In an instant!
The entire ground of Island 28 began to tremble violently.
"What's going on?" "Is it an earthquake?"
Island 27.
The "bathtub" landed smoothly on the edge of Island 27. Tesoro was helping Stella, preparing to take her to Shakky's bar, when...
The ground beneath their feet shook violently. Tesoro suddenly turned his head.
The next second, his pupils suddenly contracted, his mouth uncontrollably wide, his face filled with disbelief.
He saw the ground at the edge of Island 28 writhing and churning. Earth and stone were forcibly torn and pulled up by an invisible force, forming a thick, towering barrier. The barrier rapidly spread and closed along the edge of Island 28, growing higher and thicker, eventually forming an inwardly sloping dome above the island.
When the last piece of earth fit perfectly, the entire Island 28 was completely isolated by the earthen dome.
"W-what's going on?!" Stella clutched Tesoro's arm in terror, her voice trembling.
Tesoro looked at the barrier in front of him, then lowered his head to look at the "bathtub" beneath his feet. He seemed to understand something.
"Don't worry!" Tesoro squeezed Stella's hand. "Mr. Wayne will be fine."