The interior of the research facility was a white alloy corridor stretching so far it seemed to have no end.
The harsh fluorescent overhead washed everything in a lifeless pale o lightd, and the air carried a faint smell of disinfectant.
"This place… honestly feels more uncomfortable than the poison gas clouds outside."
Potts huddled over his medical kit, shrinking his neck like he'd been stuffed into an enormous, ice-cold metal box.
Ain stayed alert, calmly analyzing their surroundings:
"Typical scientific fortress layout. Hallways branching everywhere, intentionally confusing. Easy to get lost. And the walls and floors use special materials, they can effectively block long-range Observation Haki detection."
"So basically, we're wandering around blind like headless flies?"
Sanji frowned. That was not ideal.
But Renzo's priorities were… entirely different.
He walked about… maybe twenty steps, then stopped, looking genuinely troubled.
"This hallway is too long," he concluded. "Walking all the way is too exhausting. I'm too lazy to walk."
Ain: "…"
Sanji: "…"
"But… Admiral Renzo, if we don't walk, we can't reach the central control room…" Potts said.
Renzo ignored him. Lowering his head, he looked at the smooth alloy floor beneath his feet, and spoke in a tone like he was politely negotiating:
"Hey, floor."
"You get stepped on every day, lying here motionless. Must be boring, right?"
"How about working a different way for a change? Something like… what's it called again… oh, an airport moving walkway."
The moment he finished speaking, the floor beneath their feet vibrated slightly.
Then, under Ain and Potts' stunned eyes, the cold, rigid alloy floor came alive.
Ripples spread across its surface like water, and then it began smoothly carrying the four of them forward at a leisurely, strolling pace.
"OOHHH!!"
Sanji's eyes instantly turned into sparkling stars.
"Incredible! Admiral Renzo! This is more magical than any invention!"
Ain silently pushed up her glasses, recorded the phenomenon in her mind, and added another line to the mental notebook she'd been building on Renzo's abilities:
{Conceptual Interference: Assigning objects the attribute such as "transportation".}
She felt like following this man had pushed her imaginative limits harder than anything in her life.
Only Potts was trembling, crouching on the "moving floor," gripping it like he'd fall off any second.
…
"Th-they're moving! The floor is moving!!"
Inside the control room, a monitor operator shrieked like he'd seen a ghost.
"He isn't moving, THE FLOOR IS MOVING!"
Another operator corrected him, though he was just as terrified.
Caesar Clown stared at the screen, watching the relaxed figure riding the moving hallway like he was taking a stroll in his own backyard. Even his fat jiggled with fear.
'He made the door too lazy to be a door. He made the snow too lazy to fall. Now even the corridor floor is too lazy to stay still?!'
'What kind of cursed ability was this?!'
'It defied all scientific logic!'
"Stop him! Stop him right now!!"
Caesar shrieked hysterically:
"Brownbeard! Have Brownbeard lead the centaur patrol units to block them at the B-2 intersection! It's narrow, perfect for an ambush! Use all the gas cannons and rocket launchers!!"
"Yes, Caesar-sama!"
…
The moving walkway carried the group around a corner, bringing them to a massive cross-shaped junction.
At that moment, heavy footsteps echoed from every direction.
"ROOOOAAARRRR!!"
"For Caesar-sama!!"
With thunderous shouting, over a hundred centaur soldiers armed with huge rifles and blades stormed in from all hallways, surrounding Renzo's group.
Leading them was the massive brown-bearded centaur captain, Brownbeard himself.
"Haiiroyo you damn Marine! How dare you trespass into Caesar-sama's sacred domain!!"
Brownbeard raised his double-barreled gas cannon at Renzo.
"None of you are leaving here alive! Everyone, OPEN FIRE!!"
"Oh? Finally, a proper welcome."
Sanji tossed away his cigarette, rolled his neck, his right leg already igniting in orange flame.
"Perfect timing. That sandwich is digested, I could use a warm-up."
Ain also gripped her sword, eyes sharp.
A fierce battle seemed imminent.
But Renzo only felt… annoyed.Their shouting was too loud. It disturbed the peaceful ride he was enjoying.
He sighed, not even bothering to look at the furious centaurs, and muttered lazily:
"It's work time again… so troublesome…"
"But speaking of which, why do weapons have to work? Don't they want a day off?"
His voice was soft, but somehow echoed through the entire space.
And then another absurd thing happened.
The front-row centaurs pulled their triggers.
Click.
Nothing happened.
"Huh?!"
They tried again.
Click. Click.
The internal components of the rifles were… refusing to move. Too lazy to strike. Too lazy to ignite.
Behind them, the rocket launcher crews pressed their firing buttons.
The electronic ignition systems acted like the power had been cut, too lazy to function.
Even the centaurs wielding axes and swords realized with horror that their weapons suddenly felt impossibly heavy, like the blades themselves were resisting being lifted, expressing a very clear sentiment: I'm too lazy to be swung.
"Wh-what?! My Beheader Axe won't move!!"
"My rifle misfired!!"
"The weapons… they're rebelling!!"
Chaos exploded through the centaur unit.
Sanji's flaming kick froze awkwardly mid-air.
Ain's grip tightened slightly.
The fierce battle they expected was just… talked out of existence.
Renzo paid no attention to the disarmed, panicking centaurs.The moving walkway calmly carried him through the chaotic crowd.
Many centaurs, losing balance from their suddenly heavy weapons, toppled aside, clearing a path automatically.
"Good. Quiet again," Renzo nodded in satisfaction.
Beyond the crossroad stood a large iron door painted with cute cartoon images. In bright colors, two large words were written:
[COOKIE ROOM]
Faintly, childish laughter echoed from the other side.
"Cookie room?"
Sanji's eyes instantly turned into hearts.
"Olala! Could this be that crazy scientist's dessert pantry? Maybe he's storing some rare cookies made with special spices! As a chef, I must inspect and critique them!"
But Ain's face darkened.
"No… something is very wrong," she said seriously.
"On an abandoned island like this… why would there be the sound of children?"
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu