Chapter 288 I'm Not"I am not the The Lord in Yellow, I am just an imposter," Arthur explained helplessly. He had only claimed to be the The Lord in Yellow earlier because he didn't want to reveal his true identity too soon. But how could he be the The Lord in Yellow? He had merely assigned himself that identity.After all, being targeted so early as a newcomer was not a good thing."No, you are the The Lord in Yellow!"Diji said with a sincere expression, as if the person before her was her faith."No, I'm not!""You definitely are. You must be the incarnation of the The Lord in Yellow. Otherwise, how could you appear at this time to save us? You must have known these things would happen here and then appeared. Only the The Lord in Yellow can do these things!""..."Your imagination is quite good, but please don't do it again next time.Seeing such sincere eyes, Arthur really found it hard to refuse."Alright, you and your subordinates should go rest and recover from your injuries," Arthur said helplessly."Understood, The Lord in Yellow," Diji said obediently. She then ordered all Yellow-Clothed Cultists to begin resting and recuperating.Arthur sighed as he watched the group of yellow-clad individuals. He then planned to return to the room Diji had arranged for him."I wonder if Bai Mo is awake yet..."Arthur pushed open the door and entered the room.Inside the room, Bai Mo was still lying quietly on the bed."With such a big commotion outside, this little one is sleeping soundly."But that was good. With her current body, going out would only be asking for death.It was already daytime, so Arthur naturally didn't plan to rest. Just as he was about to leave, Bai Mo's body on the bed stirred, a sign that she was about to wake up."Oh, is she waking up?"Arthur stopped and walked to the bedside. He then covered his hand with Chakra and touched Bai Mo's forehead.The next second, Bai Mo slowly opened her eyes."You're finally awake," Arthur said with a smile."Huh? Was I unconscious for a long time? I'm so sorry."Bai Mo shook her head, then struggled to sit up."It's alright, just a few days."Actually, it had only been one day."That long?"Arthur nodded."First, recover your body. I'll bring some food over later, so you can eat something. Taking care of people is really a troublesome matter," Arthur said, waving his hand.Then, he walked out of the house.However, he suddenly thought of something and immediately made a U-turn."System, extract a small piece of Sea Kings' meat."Seeing Arthur return, Bai Mo looked up and asked, "Is there anything else?"But then she saw the fragrant meat in Arthur's hand."What kind of meat is this? It smells so good!"Bai Mo swallowed her saliva."They are colossal creatures from the oceans of the outside world, tens of meters, even hundreds or thousands of meters, in size. They live in the ocean and are called Sea Kings.""Such enormous creatures!"Bai Mo looked at the meat before her and swallowed her saliva again.Arthur nodded."The outside world is very exciting. If there's a chance, I can take you to see it."Bai Mo nodded, a hint of yearning in her eyes."Alright, after you finish eating, rest well. I'm going out for a bit."Arthur patted Bai Mo's head, then walked out of the room.After exiting the room, people were coming and going along the camp's roadside, and every person who saw Arthur had worship in their eyes.Heh heh, it seems the The Lord in Yellow meme hasn't passed yet.But he wasn't the The Lord in Yellow at all, was he?Thinking of this, Arthur walked towards Diji's room.Arriving at Diji's door, Arthur politely knocked.After a series of knocks, a well-figured woman immediately came out."The Lord in Yellow!"After the woman spoke, she directly hugged Arthur.At this time, the woman was not wearing her yellow robes; the bandages were still wrapped around her body."Let go."Upon hearing Arthur's voice, Diji immediately let go and, like a child, lowered her head, not daring to look at Arthur."The Lord in Yellow, I was presumptuous."Arthur shook his head."I've explained to you, I am not the The Lord in Yellow.""I've also explained to you, you must be the The Lord in Yellow!""..."For some reason, Diji was extremely serious about Arthur being the The Lord in Yellow.This kind of faith had become somewhat twisted."Alright, I don't want to discuss these things with you anymore. Are your injuries better?" Arthurasked."Yes, thank you for your concern, The Lord in Yellow. I've eaten a lot of monster meat and become stronger. I will contribute even greater power to the The Lord in Yellow in the future.""Oh?"Eating monster meat?Diji led Arthur into the room, where there was still an uneaten monster corpse."...""The Lord in Yellow, this is the most delicious of those monsters. I originally wanted to save it for you, but I couldn't resist and took a bite myself."Hmm, that's quite a bite you took!Arthur twitched his lips, looking at the largely gnawed corpse."Please have a taste, The Lord in Yellow."Have a taste?Thinking of this, Arthur unconsciously took a step forward, then grabbed a piece of meat from the monster below, sniffed it, and then ate it."Hmm?"It actually tasted quite good."What's going on? Can I live by eating monster meat?"Diji, standing by, showed a joyful smile upon seeing Arthur eat the monster meat."I really did inherit the abilities of the The Lord in Yellow. He and I like the same food." Diji muttered to herself.Arthur then grabbed a few more pieces of meat and took a few bites. Although the taste of these monsters was not as delicious as humans, it was already enough to satisfy his taste buds.At this moment, Arthur saw another monster nearby. He then walked over to the other monster, took a piece of meat from its body, and ate it."Ugh!"What on earth was going on?Why was this monster's meat so unpalatable, while the previous monster's meat was edible for him?Strange... "Diji, is there any difference between monsters?" Arthur asked the question in his heart.Diji shook her head."The Lord in Yellow, aren't monsters just monsters? Besides looking different, they don't seem to have any differences, and these two monsters are of similar strength. Do you find this one not tasty? This is also what I planned to save for you."What on earth was going on?
Chapter 289 The First ForceWithin the Kingdom of Tortuga, there was a luxurious pure land, filled with palaces, completely different from the outer regions.At this moment, inside a magnificent palace, a tall man and an old, thin man were discussing matters."Pedro, what happened to your injuries?" the old man asked."Your Majesty, this time I encountered someone from the outside, and this person was very strong; even I was wounded. I feel that this place might have been discovered by the World Government."The two were King Samael of this country and Pedro, the person Arthur had fought earlier."Someone from the outside?"Upon hearing this news, Samael's brows furrowed."Someone from the outside actually found this place. If the behemoth that is the World Government were to make a move against us, our ultimate achievement, which is just one step away from completion, would be impossible to finish. Before it's complete, we cannot be a match for the World Government. It seems we need to accelerate the final progress of this research.""This country is located within the Calm Belt, and this island itself is surrounded by naturally formed sea vapor. It's impossible to find this island from the outside. How did the World Government find this place? It's been 30 years! In these 30 years, my research has reached its final stage. Could it be that the World Government has also undergone tremendous changes during this time?"Pedro shook his head, then nodded."Vegapunk is also a true genius, but as long as our research succeeds and we cultivate a monster with Imperial-level combat power, even if the World Government attacks us, we will have no fear.""In that case, we can only accelerate our research progress and cultivate our ultimate research outcome. As for those World Government fellows, Pedro, arrange for people to intercept them."Pedro nodded; he dared not mention the loss of his notebook.Because he understood the man before him; this fellow was someone who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals!"This..."At this moment, Arthur was engrossed in Pedro's notebook, unable to extricate himself.The things recorded within it were so shocking that even Arthur could only describe them with the word 'astonishing'.It contained several sets of experimental data.These were for Experiment Zero to Experiment Nine, and each experiment could achieve astonishing results.The Diji beside him was Experiment Three, and the ants he encountered earlier were Experiment Nine.Each experiment was meticulously recorded, almost every six months, except for Experiment Zero."Are all the monsters in this country being bred? Otherwise, how could there be such detailed experimental records?"Arthur pondered.The notebook did not explain how these monsters were created, but their various data were fully recorded.Although this data was useless to ordinary people, it was a godsend for Arthur."With this experimental data, while I can't accelerate the research on these monsters, I can certainly avoid many detours."Arthur was already eager to return to his small laboratory."The Lord in Yellow, what exactly is this?" the Dijiasked curiously from the side.Arthur shook his head."This is very important to me. Also, from now on, don't call me The Lord in Yellow. You can call me Arthur.""Okay, Master Arthur.""..."Alright, Master it is."Now that my little assistant's injuries are mostly healed, and yours are too, I should leave here now," Arthur said to the Diji beside him."Leave here? Is Master Arthur leaving?"Arthur nodded."I still have my own matters to attend to, but before I go, I still want to ask if you want to gain power?"Anyway, applying the Cursed Seal now caused him no loss, and applying a few more would give him another means of self-preservation."Is Master Arthur going to bestow upon me supreme power?" the Diji asked excitedly.Arthur nodded."It's not supreme power, but if you can master this power, your strength will at least increase significantly.""Of course, I am willing to accept Master Arthur's power!"Arthur nodded."Get ready; the process might be a bit painful. If you can persevere, this power will become a good aid for you."A small white snake appeared in Arthur's hand, then bit towards the Diji's shoulder.Because the Diji already possessed strong abilities, the process of applying the Cursed Seal this time was not as difficult as with Bai Mo. The Diji's body easily accepted this power.Arthur then told the Diji how to use the power of the Cursed Seal, then got up to find Bai Mo, planning to leave the place."Thank you for your gift, Master Arthur. I will certainly make good use of this power and develop our sect to be even stronger, becoming your best aid."The Diji knelt before Arthur and said sincerely.Arthur did not refuse this time; after all, in this world, without strong power and influence, stable development is impossible.And his research also required a large amount of money and experimental subjects.Having such a powerful organization under him was definitely a good thing for him."Now you have the mark I left on your shoulder. Master it well. If there's anything you need to inform me about, you can summon me through this mark."Arthur now roughly understood the connection between the Cursed Seal and him, and could already achieve short-term communication.He could even descend with a clone.Of course, the strength of the clone's descent was not very strong.Arthur turned and left. He had already stayed here for a day, and even though it was night, he had to rush back.If Master Chen's words were accurate, then his laboratory should already be set up, and he would begin his first experiment: an experiment to remove the side effect of his body's cannibalism.As for those monsters, although he wanted to study them, he had scheduled that for later, because he really disliked this side effect of his body.—————At this time, in the waters of the Amazon Lily Kingdom.A Vice Admiral had already arrived, and the purpose of this group of Marines was to escort Empress Hancock, one of the Shichibukai, to Marine Headquarters to participate in the upcoming war against the Whitebeard Pirates.The Pirate Empress Hancock had made a request to the Marines: before participating in the war, she wanted to visit the famous Fire Fist Ace in Impel Down.A small white snake was sleeping on Hancock's chest. Inside the snake's body, a man wearing a Straw Hat was devouring dinosaur meat."So much, so much meat!"
Chapter 290 The Experiment BeginsThe next day, as soon as dawn broke, Arthur and Bai Mo had already returned to the town.When the two returned to the basement of their room, the basement of their room had undergone a complete transformation, with all sorts of facilities neatly arranged within it."Although some of the equipment is a bit old, it doesn't affect its use, and with slight modifications, it might even be better than the new equipment."Arthur looked at the equipment and nodded with satisfaction.The Exploding Tags that were originally in the basement had been taken away, leaving behind a note.Arthur lowered his head and read the words on the note."If you have any further needs, you can go to the guild and inform the guild steward."This should be the note left by Master Chen. Immediately after, Arthur put down the note and looked at Bai Mo beside him."Since the equipment has arrived, let's begin."Arthur said with a smile."Begin?"Bai Mo tilted her head, her white hair very disheveled.Arthur said nothing, then summoned a python, which spat out a large number of monster corpses from its mouth."Put these monsters into the containers first; we don't need them right now."Bai Mo nodded. Although she didn't quite understand, she did as she was told.Arthur also went to help, putting these monsters into containers, and the positions of these containers were further back, because the main project he was currently researching was not these monsters.Then he took out a small container and summoned his Kagune.Arthur endured the pain and cut off a small piece of his Kagune with the kusanagi sword.Kagune is a very hard cellular substance, but it was still far inferior to the true divine weapon, the kusanagi sword; a small piece of Kagune was easily separated.After the Kagune was separated, Arthur saw that it was still wriggling continuously, as if it were alive."Brother, what is this thing?"Arthur tilted his head; the four words "Brother" always sounded strange."From now on, just call me Master Arthur!""Okay, Master Arthur." Bai Mo didn't dwell on such small matters."This is a type of cell from my body.""Cells?"Arthur nodded. Explaining things to a scientific novice was a tiring task.However, Arthur patiently explained some basic knowledge to Bai Mo.While explaining, Arthur also processed the cellular structure of the Kagune."Kagune cells are truly active. If cultivated through cloning, it would be a good option. However, what I need to solve now is how to change my taste buds so I can eat normal human food."Then Arthur once again took out the kusanagi sword, cut off a piece of flesh from his arm, and also placed it in the culture tank."Cloning technology is not difficult with the knowledge I currently possess. Next, I will cultivate Kagune cells and cells from my body, but the resulting creature will still be my body and will not be able to change the fact of different taste buds. It seems that if the experiment is to succeed, I can only experiment with living people."Arthur sighed. If he wanted to get experimental results quickly, he would have to combine the cells from his body with those from other humans through cell transplantation, in order to test how to change his taste buds.Of course, this experiment was also because Arthurwanted to preserve the method of using Kagune.If he didn't need this method, then it would be a simple matter for him."Bai Mo, go to the guild and find that steward. Tell him to inform Master Chen that I need a group of humans, a group of humans who want to gain power. Of course, also tell him that this power has uncertainties, and if they don't gain power, other results may occur."After all, this was an experiment, and the success rate of failure was very high.Not to mention whether his cells could combine with other human cells, even if they did combine, whether they could change the side effects brought by the Kagune was also an unknown.In short, this was the initial experimental stage, without a complete experimental theory, and Arthurwas just moving forward on the path of exploration."What are the uncertainties?" Bai Mo asked curiously.Arthur smiled and then said, "It could be death, or it could be other mutations.""Will they turn into monsters?"Arthur shook his head."Actually, I'm not sure, but gaining power must come at a cost, just like you. If you hadn't gained power, you would have faced death. And what I need are people like you, those who have lost hope in this environment. If the experiment succeeds, wouldn't it be a good thing for humans to gain power?"Bai Mo nodded, half-understanding.She thought what Arthur said made sense, just like she had made the same choice back then.Watching Bai Mo's departing figure, Arthurcontinued to clone his cells in the culture tank.As for why the experiment progressed so quickly, it was because Arthur had Orochimaru's complete research knowledge in his mind; some things were naturally bound to happen.Seeing the cells growing, Arthur immediately transmitted Chakra into the cells. With the blessing of Chakra, the cells began to spread wildly, and soon a human figure slowly appeared.However, just as this person was about to fully form, Arthur directly used the kusanagi sword to separate the person's body, and what he obtained were various parts of a human body."Since it's for transplantation, of course, all parts must be transplanted to see which part is the best to transplant."Of course, the head was excluded.Arthur then placed all these body parts in the culture tank to prevent the cells in these parts from dying."It's a bit troublesome, but isn't that where the fun of scientific research lies? If everything were complete theory and practice, then the meaning of exploration would be lost."------An uninvited guest broke into Impel Down, the largest prison of the Marines.It was a man wearing a Straw Hat.It was none other than the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, the Straw Hat Kid, Monkey D. Luffy.He had now released a large number of wanted criminals, and Impel Down had also begun to riot.Because Marine Headquarters was dealing with an even bigger matter, even though they knew a riot was happening here, they couldn't send anyone to stop it.This war would go down in history and become a milestone in the development of the Marines.Led by Fleet Admiral Sengoku the Buddha, all the Marine forces, including the three Marine Admirals, Marine Hero Garp, and Vice Admirals of the Marine Headquarters, were concentrated here. They were about to face the strongest Pirate Crew in the world today.The Whitebeard Pirates, led by Whitebeard Edward Newgate.
Chapter 291 The Advancement of the TimesAfter Arthur had Bai Mo deliver the message, Master Chen's execution power was exceptionally strong, and soon ten sacks appeared in his laboratory.And these sacks contained the humans who were to undergo the experiment."It seems Master Chen's caution doesn't need reminding; these people won't even know where he came from."Arthur smiled, and Bai Mo, standing beside him, nodded."I specifically instructed that these people are those who cannot survive in this outer circle; they want to gain power."Arthur nodded.Actually, none of this mattered to him.Then, Arthur pointed to the anesthetic needles nearby and said, "You go and give them an injection of the anesthetic first; I will then transplant my cells into their bodies."Bai Mo nodded.These ten people were already unconscious, and they were unknowingly given anesthetic injections, which would only make them sleep longer.Arthur used a grafting method to integrate the cloned organs from his own body into these people's bodies, but while this seemed simple, it actually required a significant amount of time.Because the cells in each person's body are not the same and repel each other, and the cells in these people's bodies are already formed, the first thing he needed to do was change the cell properties of his cloned organs to make them adapt to these body cells.This would reduce the mortality rate of the test subjects.These ten individuals were originally young or middle-aged people with disabilities, and all that was needed was to install the legs they had lost using cloned parts from Arthur's body.This process was slow; simply resolving the mutual repulsion of cells required a lot of time, but fortunately, these processes did not require manual operation, only a slow wait."Scientific research itself is a lengthy endeavor; this single research project will likely take about a month."A month might be a brief moment in life, but it's important to remember that the Straw Hat Piratesonly took two months to travel from the East Blue to the Sabaody Archipelago."However, during this month, I can research many projects simultaneously."He had a complete theory of cloning technology in his mind, and he could choose to use ordinary people for cloning, then proceed with the subsequent experiments.And this ordinary person… Arthur looked at Bai Mobeside him."Bai Mo, can you contribute a piece of your flesh?"Bai Mo shivered when she heard Arthur's words."My… a piece of my flesh?"Arthur nodded.Since the upcoming experiments were biological, a large number of biological subjects would be needed, and using cloned humans for experimentation was the best way to reduce experimental costs."I have too many ideas now; it seems I need to expand the laboratory further and acquire a large amount of experimental equipment."It seemed very difficult to obtain these experimental materials in this country.Arthur turned and thought for a moment: if he couldn't obtain them, then he would find a way to make them himself.With this idea, Arthur began his preparatory work. The first thing to do was to create Exploding Tags, as it was better to use trade when asking others for favors, so as not to lower his status."Tch, this feeling of asking for favors is really unpleasant."Arthur shook his head. After all, he was still in the initial stage, and he thought about many things comprehensively. If he relied solely on himself, it would be impossible to start the experiment in a short time.Just as Arthur was engrossed in anticipating the experimental results, a war on the Grand Line was entering its final curtain call.(The outcome of the Marineford War did not change; the Straw Hat Pirates still needed to train for two years. Fire Fist Ace would be resurrected later, but Whitebeard could only leave on the ship of the old era, and the Whitebeard Pirates might still be reorganized.)The era of Whitebeard was officially declared over. Whitebeard, the man who could have ascended the throne but chose his family, had passed away.And he released an even more significant message to this era.That the one piece truly existed.Because of this statement, the pirates became even more excited. Now that the strongest man who stood on the throne had disappeared, it wouldn't be long before the battle for the Pirate King's throne would begin.And now, they were still at the turning point between the old and new eras.The compass of fate had already turned, whether the new era would ascend or the old era would continue to rule, no conclusion could yet be drawn.But one thing was clear to everyone: the Marines had now become the strongest force on the seas. Even the strongest man of the past, Whitebeard, had been brought down by them.Straw Hat Luffy, the man at the center of the era's vortex, was rescued, but he had lost an important person: his brother, Fire Fist Ace.The Straw Hat Crew, scattered across the world, all wanted to find their captain, because they understood Luffy's current feelings."Luffy, have you really decided to train for two years?"At this moment, Arthur's clone sat opposite Luffy, watching the Straw Hat Pirate Crew captain, who was constantly eating food."We are too weak now; compared to the Four Emperors and the Admirals, there's no possibility of fighting, so I want us to settle for two years, and then reunite at the Sabaody Archipelago."Arthur could feel that Luffy had grown a lot after the Marineford War.He was no longer the Straw Hat Kid who only shouted about becoming the Pirate King; although his goal hadn't changed, he had learned some sense of proportion.And at this time, there was also an old man beside them, Dark King Rayleigh, the former right-hand man of Pirate King Roger."Since you've decided, then I will teach you to train for these two years," Rayleigh said seriously. Perhaps he had already guessed that Fire Fist Acewas the son of his former captain, Roger.What a pity.Although he had already decided to retire, at this moment, he wanted to contribute a part of his strength to this era once more.Just like Shanks, he had placed his bet on the same person."Then I'll trouble Uncle Rayleigh."Arthur looked at Luffy, who was showing his signature smile, feeling a faint pang in his heart.After all, for the other party to lose such an important person and still be able to smile like that, the pain in his heart was something no one could personally experience."Arthur, are you still on that unknown island?" Hancock, beside Arthur, asked.Arthur nodded."I'm very interested in that island, so I plan to spend a long time studying the creatures on it."Hancock covered her face."Arthur, you must be very lonely there, do you want me to come and keep you company?""Hey, Hancock, you are the Queen of Amazon Lily, don't do such strange things," Rayleigh said helplessly.At this moment, Rayleigh suddenly recalled his past; there was once a woman who treated him the same way, which was why he often came to Amazon Lily."None of your business!"
Chapter 292 Zoro and Hawkeye"Arthur, do you have a way to notify the crew?"Luffy asked Arthur seriously.Arthur shook his head."My main body is also on an unknown island where even newspapers can't reach, so how could I possibly notify others? But I can notify Zoro."Arthur thought of the cursed seal he had placed on Zoro. After such a long time, he should be able to establish contact now.Luffy nodded."If that's the case, then I'll take care of this matter. I need to pay my respects to Whitebeard and Ace."Arthur nodded.Luffy always followed through on his word, and Arthur naturally trusted him completely.Kuraigana Island.This place had a massive castle and a gloomy environment, and there was also a group of powerful baboons by the sea.And the person who most deeply felt the power of these baboons was the Straw Hat Pirates' swordsman, Roronoa Zoro."Luffy lost his brother? No, no matter what, I have to go back now!"Zoro, tied up like a toy bear, said after seeing the newspaper."Hey, you're so seriously injured right now, you shouldn't be running around. If you keep this up, you'll really die!"A girl with pink hair wearing a Gothic-style dress next to Zoro said."No! What do you know!"Zoro shouted loudly at Perona."Damn it, my toy dares to shout at its master! Negative Hollow!"A small ghost appeared from Perona's body and then passed through Zoro's body.After being hit, Zoro slumped to the ground."I'm such a waste... I don't deserve to live in this world..."Seeing Zoro's reaction, Perona laughed."Such a toy is much more obedient."A moment later, Zoro recovered his state."Hey, don't joke with me!"Zoro shouted loudly, then walked straight outside.At this moment, a person was sitting outside, elegantly drinking red wine."Hawkeye!"Zoro's eyes showed vigilance after seeing the person in front of him, and the angry expression he had just had was gone.Because the person in front of him was his goal, the world's strongest swordsman, Hawkeye Mihawk."Oh? You seem quite energetic. But in your current state, you can't leave this island. Not to mention the turbulent waves of the sea, even the baboons on the shore could take your life."Hawkeye Mihawk said expressionlessly, his voice calm.Even so, the person in front of him exuded a powerful sense of oppression."I must leave."Zoro looked directly into Hawkeye Mihawk's eyes, which brought a strong sense of oppression.Hawkeye Mihawk, seeing Zoro's performance, instead laughed."Hahahahaha, if you want to leave, then leave. Of course, I won't stop you."Zoro had already removed the bandages from his body.Just as he was about to leave, a sudden pain came from his neck, and then a small snake crawled out from the markings on his neck.Bang.Arthur's figure appeared before everyone's eyes."This..."He felt Hawkeye Mihawk's gaze, and Perona's and Zoro's shocked looks, leaving him speechless for a moment."Arthur! How did you appear here?"Upon seeing Arthur, Zoro immediately grabbed his shoulder excitedly."Woah, woah, woah, stop shaking me! If you shake me any more, I'll ascend to heaven!"Arthur said helplessly. Seeing this, Zoro immediately stopped his actions."I left a mark on you. I can find you through the mark."Arthur explained.At this moment, he looked at Hawkeye Mihawk and Perona beside him."It looks like your life here isn't bad, Zoro," Arthurteased.He had specifically learned about the Shichibukai, and he naturally recognized Hawkeye Mihawk in front of him."Hawkeye Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman. Just the oppressive gaze alone makes one stand firm without trembling. It's a pleasure to meet you."After hearing Arthur's words, Hawkeye Mihawkmerely nodded."Hey, don't you recognize me?" Perona, beside him, said angrily.Damn it! She was ignored.Arthur still didn't pay attention to her, but instead said to Zoro: "My purpose in coming here this time is to tell you that Luffy wants us to consolidate our strength, and we'll gather at the Sabaody Archipelago in two years.""Oh?"Zoro's eyes hardened, then he thought for a while, and finally sighed."Yes! Our current strength is too far behind."He was no longer the frog in the well he once was. Although he still couldn't clearly see the gap between them and the strong, he knew that this unseeable gap was the true gap."That's right, our strength is too far apart, so let's use these two years to get as strong as possible!"Zoro nodded."You said this is your clone, so where is your main body?" Zoro asked."On an island not recorded on any map. I've searched every map but haven't found this island. However, Hancock has my Life Card, so I'm not worried about my situation, and this island is very helpful for my cultivation, so you don't need to worry about me."At this moment, Arthur felt that the Chakra on this clone was running low, so he said: "This clone of mine is about to dissipate. I look forward to us both standing at the peak when we meet again."Arthur smiled, then with a 'bang', disappeared from everyone's sight.After seeing Arthur disappear, Zoro looked at Hawkeye Mihawk beside him, then he made a decision and immediately knelt down."I beg you to teach me swordsmanship."This kneeling even surprised Hawkeye Mihawk a bit, but he quickly calmed down and said."I am your goal and your opponent. Are you really humbling yourself before me? I truly misjudged you! And why do you want to learn swordsmanship from me?""To surpass you!"Zoro stared intently at Hawkeye Mihawk as he spoke."Hahahahaha, to cultivate someone who can defeat oneself is truly interesting. In that case, first heal your injuries, and then begin your training.""No need, I can do it now!"Hawkeye Mihawk waved his hand."Then if that's the case, first go defeat those baboons that beat you, and then come find me."After Hawkeye Mihawk finished speaking, Zoro immediately took his sword and left.Hawkeye Mihawk watched Zoro's departing back and muttered to himself."For a man like you to make such a choice, you must have encountered something more important than your own ambition."Beside him, Perona was drawing circles."Damn it, to dare to ignore me!"----------A few days later, the news of Straw Hat Kid paying respects to Whitebeard and Ace spread throughout the world via newspapers, and at the same time, a secret that only the Straw Hat Crew could discover was also received by the Straw Hat Crew."Crew, in two years, let's reunite at the Sabaody Archipelago."
Chapter 293 GhoulGurgle, gurgle… Ten human bodies lay quietly in the nutrient solution of the laboratory."Their life signs are normal. Now we can place them in towns for observation."Arthur had shed his short skirt, changing into a loose white robe.He smiled, looking at the results of his experiment before him.The initial experiment was very successful; next was to observe their performance among people.Just like Pedro observing his test subjects, if they remained in containers, the most accurate results wouldn't be obtained.Ten small white snakes appeared in Arthur's hand, then slowly crawled into the containers, entering the test subjects' mouths through the nutrient solution.This was Arthur's tracking method; these small white snakes were like parasites, allowing him to easily locate the test subjects.Beside Arthur, Bai Mo, also wearing a loose long robe, was recording data for these test subjects in a notebook."Master Arthur, if these people truly cause harm to human society, do we really have to release them into the population?"Bai Mo asked.Arthur nodded and said, "Do you know the difference between humans and monsters?"Bai Mo shook her head at his question."The biggest difference between humans and monsters is that humans possess humanity. If people gain power and lose their humanity, what difference is there between them and monsters? Although these guys are test subjects, they still retain their memories as humans."In truth, Arthur didn't believe these guys' humanity would last long. People who gained power were more terrifying than monsters; he firmly believed this.However, this was for the advancement of the experiment, and also just to humor his little assistant.During this time, he hadn't eaten human flesh, but instead had been constantly hunting monsters, finding edible monster meat as food.Arthur also discovered that these edible monster meats had one common characteristic: they contained some human aura within them.Arthur speculated that perhaps these monsters were once human.With the system's experience points constantly increasing, it wouldn't be long before he could upgrade Orochimaru's character card level."The endless reproduction of monsters here makes for a very good experience-farming ground."After saying this, Arthur formed hand seals, and countless small snakes appeared, swallowing these test subjects, and then heading outside.Next, these test subjects would be taken to many towns. When they woke up, they would find that they had not only gained power but also undergone some physical changes.Through Arthur's research, not every test subject possessed a Kagune, but they all shared a common change: their physical strength had become much greater than before.However, for some reason, the cell division of test subjects without Kagune accelerated. If Arthur's guess was correct, these guys' lifespans would not be particularly long.After the test subjects left, Arthur entered the second basement level of the laboratory.In the second basement level of the laboratory, hundreds of culture containers stood upright.And the figures within the containers all had the same face.Nearly a hundred figures had exactly the same appearance as the few test subjects from the second floor, while the other figures looked exactly like his little assistant, Bai Mo."300 test subjects. It seems these 300 test subjects are ready for the second stage of the experiment."Arthur smiled. These were clones created using the ten original test subjects from above, and also people cloned using Bai Mo's body.These clones were also put into the experiment, and Arthur had preserved their most basic data, allowing the cloning experiment to continue indefinitely.All of this served as the foundation for the experiment. With this group of people, he no longer needed to ask Master Chen to transport humans here for him.Arthur formed hand seals, and countless small white snakes appeared, entering their mouths in the same manner, and then a large snake swallowed all the clones."310 test subjects. I wonder what the results of this experiment will be?"However, regardless of the experimental results, his experiment would continue. Only when he had completed all the experiments on Kagune that he could think of would this experiment truly be finished.Arthur predicted that at least 3000 test subjects would be needed to complete this project.Only then could he take the best aspects from each to create the perfect body he desired."Bai Mo, have all the data for these test subjects been recorded?"Bai Mo, hearing Arthur's words, nodded."Master Arthur, all the experimental data has been recorded."Bai Mo's heart was also shocked at this moment, because Arthur's actions had already defied common sense.Clones?Were these humans still human?Sometimes, Bai Mo looked at the people who looked exactly like herself, her heart filled with emotion.Arthur, however, was unfazed. These clones had their memories deleted; they only retained the common knowledge of this world and the most basic original memories. They did not possess the original memories belonging to Bai Mo and those test subjects.Clones without memories were not complete clones.But once they possessed memories, it was easy for confusion to arise, a point Arthur himself understood.However, to perfectly replicate memories was almost impossible.Even Arthur couldn't do it.Because one body could only produce one soul; even if a cloned body produced a soul, it would not be the same.While the body could be perfectly cloned, the cloning of the soul indeed required a price.And this price was something ordinary people simply couldn't bear.As for recording this data, all Arthur wanted to do was to let Bai Mo grow. This data was already perfectly etched into Arthur's mind; he could not possibly forget it."Since you have finished recording, let's proceed with the next batch of test subjects."Bai Mo nodded.————————————Today's sky was darker than usual, as a continuous drizzle fell from above.The surrounding air emitted a musty smell.In such weather, most people had returned to their strongholds or residences. The streets were empty, and only the sound of the continuous drizzle could be heard.At this moment, on the empty street, a white-haired woman wrapped in a black cloak slowly opened her eyes."Who am I? Where am I? Why am I here? I'm so hungry!"The woman had a cute appearance, but one of her eyes was scarlet red."I'm so hungry. Is there any food here?"
Chapter 294 A man-eating monster appearsHost: ArthurCharacter Card: Orochimaru (Gold)Card Level: 7 (0 / 200000)Card Skills: Suppleness, Chakra, Three Body Technique, Advanced Three Body Technique, Complete Snake Ninjutsu, Orochimaru Jonin Abilities.Equipped Card: kusanagi sword (Gold)Equip Skill: Snake Sword One with Me (OrochimaruStyle Substitution Jutsu)Card Level: MAXAuxiliary Cards: Swimming (White, Max), Water Repelling Bead, Tai Chi (Max), Tai Chi Swordplay(Purple, Max), Pocket Snake Little White (Orange), Monstrous Strength (Purple Max), Navy Six Styles(Orange, Max), Kaneki Ken's KaguneCombat Power Rating: SOne month has passed. Within this month, Arthurand Bai Mo have not only been frantically conducting experiments but also continuously hunting monsters together.Bai Mo's combat experience against monsters has now become very rich, and Arthur's character card has successfully risen to Level 7.Level 7 didn't provide a significant boost to him right now; it only elevated his original combat strength, which belonged to Orochimaru, to that of a Jonin. He still hasn't obtained what he truly desires."It seems Orochimaru's forbidden Ninjutsu will require me to reach Level 8 or 9. At my current hunting speed, two more months should be enough to reach Level 8."There are many monsters in the outer ring, but most of them are very weak. The experience points gained from hunting these monsters are not much, and he has to expend effort to find them.Furthermore, the ongoing experiments, which involved completing three thousand test subjects, caused him to lose a considerable amount of time."It's already been a month. These test subjects should have integrated into the life here. It's time to conclude this experiment."Arthur muttered to himself. He now wanted to see which test subjects were the most perfect.Those capable of perfectly integrating Kagune and human cells, able to use the power of Kagune while still enjoying human food."Bai Mo, you handle these monster corpses, then bring them back to the lab and store them. I'm going out for a while."Bai Mo nodded.Then, Arthur disappeared under Bai Mo's gaze."These monster corpses could sell for a lot of money, sigh, never mind, I'll just do as Master Arthurinstructed."Then Bai Mo looked at the monster corpses on the ground, preparing to extract the key parts of the monsters and return to the laboratory.----------In a large stronghold, a white-haired woman was tightly bound, and a burly man carried her on his shoulder.He walked towards a tent.Facing such a scene, the white-haired woman was expressionless, as if it wasn't her who had been captured."Hahahaha, the mission arranged by the boss was nothing special. You, little girl, were caught so easily by me. It seems this Enhancement Potion can only be mine."The white-haired woman remained silent.At this moment, Arthur had arrived on a street in a town. This town was much larger than the town where his laboratory was located.The shops here were noticeably more numerous than those in the previous town, and there were many more types of weapons."Have you heard? I heard that a man-eating monster has infiltrated the town, and many residents here have already been attacked.""I've heard that too. The monster is nowhere to be seen, and our reconnaissance team can't find them at all."Arthur listened to the discussions from the roadside, stroking his chin thoughtfully.It seems the target he was looking for has already begun to act.They could no longer endure the hunger and started preying on humans.However, such individuals, hidden among the crowd, are naturally very difficult for ordinary people to find.Because they themselves are no different from humans.With the emergence of such creatures, the town's nights will no longer be safe, and even Arthur is unsure of the extent of these test subjects' strength.Because they possess the Kagune cells that Arthurhimself can have, and the growth of such things is beyond his ability to restrict. Although it has only been a short month, their growth rate cannot be predicted."Among this crowd, while I can sense their direction, this town is packed with people, and finding individuals would be very troublesome. However, since those guys chose to act at night, I'll just wait for them to come to me at night."Arthur did not choose to directly eliminate them. He only wanted to see what level these guys had reached, then find a few test subjects worth his continued research and take them back.However, with 3000 test subjects, finding them one by one would be very troublesome.The reason he came to this town was precisely because he had also received news from this town. He had communicated with Master Chen early on, asking them to pay attention to any news of man-eating monsters in towns recently, and the news from this town was the earliest.And according to his senses, there were actually more than a dozen test subjects in this town. This made Arthur even more certain that he had not come to the wrong place, and the test subjects in this city might bring him unexpected gains.As the sky slowly darkened, Arthur also hid in the shadows.Night fell, and the streets were silent. Because of the recent news of man-eating monsters at night, no one appeared in the darkness.Just then, Arthur heard sparse conversations."Damn it, there's no one on the streets at night now. I haven't eaten anything for a whole day. If this continues, I really won't be able to endure this hunger."A rough male voice sounded, followed by a female voice."My situation is similar to yours. How about we both go into a room to find food?"After a period of discussion, the two seemed to have reached an agreement.Then, Arthur followed closely behind them, watching a white-haired woman and a rough-looking man enter a room together.Soon, screams came from the room, and the sound was heard by the patrolling reconnaissance team."Oh no, the reconnaissance team is here. If we get caught by them, it'll be troublesome.""Let's run!"After the woman finished speaking, she took a big bite of the food in her hand, then rushed outside. Her Kagune behind her transformed into tentacles, supporting her body, and the man also had similar Kagune on his body.By the time the patrolling reconnaissance team arrived, the room was already a mess, with fresh red blood splattered on the walls.Because it was too dark, even if they looked into the distance, they could no longer see the culprits."Damn it! We're too late! What kind of monster did this?!"
Chapter 295 Cannibalization"Damn it! We were discovered before we could even eat our fill. Breaking into homes to find food carries a huge risk for us if we can't kill them in one blow."The white-haired woman glanced at the burly man beside her and sighed."There's nothing we can do. Our strength isn't great to begin with. If we go up against those reconnaissance teams, we're no match for them at all.""How about we go to a smaller town? The reconnaissance in this town is too strong."The white-haired woman suggested."Smaller towns are good, but then our target would be more obvious. In places with many people like this, it's relatively harder to find us."During their time together, the two had become friends. Both had lost their memories and shared similar habits, creating a bond of mutual understanding in this world."Sigh, of course I know all this, but if we keep going like this, when will it end? Life is so hard."Arthur watched the white-haired woman smile from the side. Actually, this Bai Mo clone was quite cute.But it was true; any new life form would have to pay a price to survive in a mainstream environment.Just as the two let their guard down, the Bai Moclone's body was suddenly pierced through.The burly man and the Bai Mo clone's eyes widened simultaneously.The Bai Mo clone looked in surprise at the thing that had pierced her body—it was something she also possessed.Kagune.Both turned their heads at the same time.A burly man wearing a mask appeared before them."Not bad, actually finding two of our kind. You know, our kind are much more delicious food than humans."The masked man's build was identical to the burly man's. Arthur guessed they were likely the same type of clone.However, it seemed the masked man's growth rate was far superior to theirs."What's going on? Why are there more of our kind here?"The Bai Mo clone revealed her Kagune, then dodged the masked man's attack. Her pierced abdomen began to heal rapidly."What excellent regenerative ability." Arthur, watching from the side, was quite satisfied with this recovery."Hahahahaha, there aren't just a few of us in this town. Originally, there were twenty or thirty, but more than half have already become my food."The masked man laughed.He then decided against further pleasantries, immediately unfurling the Kagune behind him. The sight of the massive Kagune made both the Bai Moclone and the burly man reveal expressions of shock.Arthur, standing nearby, was equally shocked.Because the masked man's Kagune was no longer comparable to that of the Bai Mo clone and the burly man.Even Arthur's Kagune paled in comparison to the masked man's."What exactly is going on? That masked man just said our kind cannibalize each other. Does cannibalism create such powerful strength?"Arthur analyzed calmly, then he saw the battle begin. The burly man and the Arthur clone were completely overwhelmed by the masked man.Arthur was also somewhat surprised by the masked man's strength. Among these test subjects, there should be very few with this level of power.Though he didn't pay them much mind.It was important to remember that Kagune was not Arthur's primary power, but the current situation made him feel intrigued.The battle slowly grew fiercer. The Bai Mo clone and the burly man began to flee frantically, but the masked man was relentless, his powerful Kagunecontinuously attacking them."Damn it, are we two going to be killed by one of our own today?"No sooner had the burly man spoken than a massive Kagune pierced directly through his heart."No!"The Bai Mo clone saw her friend killed and also began to attack.However, the gap in strength between her and the masked man was not easily bridged.The Kagune behind the Bai Mo clone writhed continuously, like tentacles, launching a furious assault on the masked man.The masked man's Kagune easily fended off her attacks, and in the next second, another pair of Kagune appeared behind him, also piercing the Bai Mo clone's heart."Tsk, two useless pieces of trash."The masked man snorted coldly, then took off his mask, revealing a face identical to the burly man's.He then approached the two killed test subjects, flipping their bodies over, preparing to consume them from the back.Just as he was about to enjoy his meal, a round of applause sounded.Arthur, wearing an Oni mask, slowly walked out."You've put on quite a show for me. You did very well, and you've taught me a few things."The burly man, who had removed his mask, showed a wary expression when he saw Arthur.Because he felt a powerful oppressive presence from the other person."Who are you?"Arthur smiled and said, "Who I am isn't important, but what you did resonates with me. Now I also want to taste your body."One of our kind?The masked man frowned deeply.And in the next second, two pairs of Kaguneappeared behind Arthur, confirming the masked man's suspicion.However, seeing that the other person only had two pairs of Kagune, he relaxed."Hahahahaha, you want to eat me? Don't joke around. You should have seen my strength just now. Your appearance now is the biggest mistake you could make."Three pairs of Kagune appeared behind the masked man, and they were even thicker than before. Compared to Arthur's Kagune, his were simply colossal.Then the masked man moved like a spider across the ground, slowly approaching Arthur."Another piece of food delivered to me. Since you're offering yourself for free, I'll reluctantly accept."The masked man smiled, then without any hesitation, he immediately attacked Arthur with one pair of Kagune.Arthur naturally knew that if it came down to a contest of Kagune strength, he might not necessarily be a match.In the next second, black patterns covered the area around his Kagune. Arthur's Kagune seemed to gain immense power, beginning to shake uncontrollably.And just as the masked man's Kagune approached, it was instantly broken by the Kagune behind Arthur."How is that possible!"The masked man watched everything unfolding before him in disbelief.How could this be? My Kagune is so much stronger, why did this happen?How could this be!"What's impossible about it?"Arthur slowly approached him, then he formed hand seals. When the masked man's Kagune attacked again, he used Body Flicker Technique to appear behind him."Pfft!"The masked man's body was directly pierced through."Well, there's something I want to thank you for. After all, you're the one who taught me how Kagunegrows."
Chapter 296 Looking for Prey"Indeed, devouring one's own kind is the only way to make one's Kagune stronger."Arthur wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and a smile appeared on his face as he felt the Kagune behind him grow more powerful.At the same time, he made a decision, a rather cruel one.From now on, he would constantly seek out these test subjects, and if they didn't satisfy him, he would devour them."There are still a few test subjects in this city; now let me see where you are hiding."Arthur closed his eyes, sensing the locations of the test subjects."Found them. However, their locations are quite spread out, so it looks like I'll have to search for them individually."After speaking, Arthur vanished into the night.That night, Arthur entered his hunting phase; all the test subjects within this town were wiped out overnight.The next day, Arthur opened his eyes in a room."After a night of devouring, the power of my Kagunehas greatly increased, but the fundamental problem remains unsolved."Arthur sighed."It seems I'll have to go to the next town, and I can sense that a large number of test subjects are gathering in another town."Since he could sense the locations of the test subjects, finding them was not difficult.However, the test subjects were being transported to various surrounding towns, and moreover, some of these test subjects had already scattered far away. Although finding them wasn't hard, it would require a very long journey.Therefore, he could only head to towns where test subjects were gathered. Although his sensory range was wide, many test subjects had already left his sensory range."This is troublesome. If things continue to develop like this, many things will become uncontrollable. After all, these monsters have no thoughts, but my test subjects have their own initiative and ideas."The strongest aspect of humanity is not its power, but its wisdom and thought.Arthur sighed helplessly, then could only continue his journey, heading towards another town.Along the way, any monsters he encountered were slain, as Arthur wanted to gain experience points by hunting monsters to level up his character card.Hearing the continuous notification sounds from the system, Arthur smiled.If he continued killing like this, it wouldn't be long before his character card level would rise to eight.What he desired most was Orochimaru's forbidden jutsu.Whenever Arthur left a place, people would appear to scavenge the monsters he had killed.However, he didn't care; these corpses were useless to him anyway. He only needed to find a few edible monster corpses to fill his stomach.Meanwhile, the teams following Arthur were overjoyed; such easily obtained money was too good to pass up."Which master senior killed so many monsters?! Our hunting team has made a fortune today! So many monsters, it would take us 4 or 5 years of hunting to get this many corpses.""Yes, yes! There are also many Superhuman-levelmonsters among them. These monsters can be sold for 100 gold coins each."The dozen or so members of the hunting team showed excited smiles as they looked at the monster bodies. Just as they were celebrating, a voice came from a distance."Those monsters were killed by us. If you know what's good for you, leave quickly."Another hunting team, also consisting of a dozen members, appeared.None of them had seen Arthur, but the trail of monsters proved that a strong individual had passed through here."Heh heh, do you take us for fools? How could monsters of this level be killed by a team like yours?"The two teams were evenly matched in strength, and neither was willing to give way.However, faced with the temptation of so many monsters, both teams simultaneously believed that even eliminating the other side would be worth it.Ultimately, the outcome for the two teams was not good; only one person survived, but he was also severely wounded.The survivor looked at the surrounding corpses with a trace of despair."If only I had thought to have everyone cooperate earlier. After such a battle, we all lost."Subsequently, the man did not choose to cling to life, but instead drew a knife and ended his own life.In the face of enormous profit, many people lose their heads; this is human nature itself.And the choices made at such times are often the most irrational.But by the time one regrets a decision, it may already be too late.As dusk approached, Arthur had already arrived at the town he intended to reach.It was also a large town, and surprisingly, walls had already been built around it.Along the walls were huge city gates. Now, as darkness was about to fall, soldiers were guarding the edges of the city gates.As Arthur was about to enter the town, he was stopped by a guard."To enter the town, you need to pay one gold coin as a toll. Without one gold coin, you cannot enter the town."One gold coin?That's quite a rip-off!It actually cost that much just to enter the town.However, Arthur had no concept of money, so he casually tossed out a gold coin and entered the town.At this time, Arthur was still wearing the ghost mask and a loose white robe, making it impossible to discern his figure.But it was clear that these town guards only recognized money, not people.After he gave them a gold coin, they offered no further obstruction."Indeed, no matter what world you're in, having money and power is the ultimate truth."As darkness was setting in, Arthur was startled after entering the town, because the town was brightly lit, bustling with people, and many hunting teams had set up makeshift beds on the surrounding streets to rest.Perhaps because of the walls, the light couldn't shine outside, which might be why the city was so brightly lit, Arthur thought."There are at least dozens of test subjects in this town, but with so many people around, finding them will be difficult."Arthur sighed. When he wasn't close to the test subjects, he could only sense their general direction.With people coming and going here, merely sensing the direction made it impossible to distinguish who the real test subjects were.Moreover, to maintain their identities, many people here wore masks.So, identifying test subjects by their faces or masks was also a difficult task.Because this world itself was very dangerous, wearing masks also provided a sense of security for the people here."I can only search slowly, and taking action in a place like this should be quite difficult."Arthur continued forward, sensing the locations of the test subjects.In this town, everyone's face bore deep fatigue. Some were already dozing off against the walls, as if the area within these walls was their quiet haven."The people of this country live truly exhausting lives."
Chapter 297 Collector VillegasThe sky grew dim, but the city still had faint lights, and the streets were bustling with people, many hunting teams treating this place as a quiet haven.The hunting teams that could enter this town were all quite capable, after all, the expense of one gold coin per person was not something an ordinary hunting team could afford.Arthur, of course, chose not to stay with these hunting teams. He quietly entered a hotel alone."Hello, guest, are you checking in?"Arthur nodded."Our rooms here are three gold coins a night. For a special room, it's five gold coins a night. Which kind would you prefer?"Five gold coins for a special room, for one night?How was it special?Seeing Arthur remain silent, the receptionist said, "A special room naturally comes with special services. Esteemed guest, you should understand, right?"Special services?It shouldn't be what I'm thinking, right?Heh heh, how could I be that kind of person?"Give me a five-gold-coin room!"Saying that, Arthur took out five gold coins and placed them on the table."One esteemed guest for the upper-class room."After receiving the gold coins, the receptionist shouted loudly towards upstairs, and then a woman's gasp came from within."Oh, it really is what I was thinking!"However, Arthur still braced himself and walked upstairs.Upon reaching the second floor, two women came up to him and led him into a spacious room.The two women were scantily clad and beautiful. After entering the room, neither of them showed any intention of leaving."…You two?"Did I just enter the legendary… Never mind, how could a person as pure as I am do such a thing?"Esteemed guest, you… can do whatever you wish?"The two women said with shy expressions, but Arthur didn't see any light in their eyes.Although their facial expressions were on point, this must have been the result of long-term training.That's right, women in this world are relatively delicate; not many can fight on the front lines like men. If they came to the outer layer, they could only do this kind of work.Perhaps it's also because this kind of work is the most profitable!"Then you two should rest well!""Mm… mm?"Both women simultaneously looked at Arthur with surprised expressions.Telling them to rest well?Is this 'rest' legitimate?"It's exactly as you imagine, you two should have a good sleep!"After saying that, Arthur lay directly on the bed. He didn't take off his mask because he planned to take action at night.The two women looked at each other, and finally, after exchanging glances, each lay down on one side of Arthur.Arthur smelled the scent of perfume coming from both sides and sighed. He didn't like this outcome.Although he wasn't annoyed by such women, after all, in this environment, they were also trying hard to survive.The two women closed their eyes, and perhaps truly due to exhaustion, soon steady breathing sounds came from both sides.Arthur couldn't sleep because he heard creaking sounds coming from above.An ordinary person certainly wouldn't hear it, but his hearing was far beyond what an ordinary person could compare to."What are they doing up there? That sound doesn't seem like playing with women; it sounds a bit like a saw. What exactly is going on?"Arthur got up from the bed, and the women beside him, hearing the movement, also opened their eyes."Esteemed guest, do you have any needs?""…No, I wanted to ask, who lives upstairs?"At this moment, one of the women said, "Upstairs is our boss Vergas's residence. We are not allowed to go up there. Esteemed guest, you should also rest well."Not allowed to go up?Arthur nodded, then placed both his hands on their foreheads.Just as the women thought Arthur was, after all, like other men and was about to do those things, they only felt their eyes go black and then lost consciousness."You're not allowed to go up, but that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to go up. I want to see what's going on up there."Because he sensed the presence of experimental subjects upstairs, even if it was forbidden, he still had to go up.Meanwhile, upstairs, a scruffy Red Hair man was showing an excited smile.Sitting opposite him was a white-haired woman, tied to a wooden stake, her body covered in wounds."So you're the man-eating monster! This is truly fascinating. Among my puppet specimens, I don't have a monster like you yet. You'll make an excellent addition to my collection."The Red Hair man held various tools in his hands, while the white-haired woman struggled desperately, her Kagune wildly flailing behind her, but in the next second, it was nailed to the wooden stake by the Red Hair man."Don't struggle. Even a Superhuman-level monster can't break free from my grasp."This was a spacious room; the entire third floor had no dividing walls, making it a large open space.Within this large open space, there were various monster specimens.Some monsters had even been fashioned into puppets.At this moment, Arthur was hovering on the second floor using his invisibility spell, because he couldn't find any stairs leading to the third floor."What's going on? Is there no way to get to the third floor from the second?"He looked at the ceiling above; there didn't seem to be any openings.Then he slowly walked towards a wall and knocked on the seemingly solid wall with his hand.A dull sound came from the wall."It seems to be hollow here. To get to the third floor, it should be through an entrance within this wall."Arthur closed his eyes and continued to caress the wall."Found it."Arthur smiled, then, when no one was around, he gently pushed open the wall.Indeed, it was a secret door.He then swiftly entered the secret door and immediately closed it to prevent being discovered.After entering the secret door, there was a staircase leading to the third floor. Arthur didn't hesitate, using his invisibility spell to slowly merge with the environment, then steadily advanced.It was a pity that this invisibility spell wasn't true invisibility, otherwise, it would have been truly useful.But the people in this world weren't particularly vigilant.Arthur successfully entered the third floor, and upon entering, he was shocked by everything before him.This place was practically a monster shelter!All sorts of monsters were made into specimens and placed in the room, but all these monsters had lost their life force.It seemed that the owner of this place must be a pervert who enjoyed collecting."Should I take all these specimens? If I take them, it would save me a lot of effort in finding monsters."
Chapter 298 VillegasWhen Arthur saw the owner of the flat, the scene before him made him feel a little surprised.At this moment, a white-haired woman's body had been cut into many pieces, and all the blood in her body should have been drained; her Kagune was wriggling behind her, but it was nailed to a wooden stake.A Red Hair man was covered in blood, with an excited smile on his face."Like this, he's still not completely dead?"The Red Hair man muttered to himself as he watched the wriggling Kagune."What an exciting specimen! It will definitely become a great addition to my collection."He truly was a pervert.It seemed that in this kind of living environment, there were a great many perverts.Many people with strength, power, and money gradually became twisted in character.After all, this place was, in a sense, a lawless land."If it's just made into a specimen, that would truly be a pity. I want to turn this man-eating monster into a puppet for my use, after all, such powerful vitality is something even ordinary monsters can't achieve!""..."Arthur listened to the Red Hair man's soliloquy while rubbing his forehead.Why were there so many perverts these days?Had he encountered them all?Then he sighed and took a step back.However, that single step back made him bump into a tentacle puppet behind him.The next second, the puppet immediately acted, tying him up securely.What the hell?At this moment, the Red Hair man also noticed the movement and immediately looked over; Arthur's invisibility spell also faded, revealing his figure."How can there be someone here? Who exactly are you? When did you come?"The Red Hair man said with a deep frown.The secrecy here was very high, and he hadn't even noticed the person nearby, which was the most terrifying thing."I merely got lost on my life's path, and then I became rather interested after seeing your actions, so I watched for a while longer here. My apologies."The Red Hair man listened to the hoarse voice coming from under the mask and slowly walked towards Arthur.Lost his way?Who would believe that."Oh, are you also a companion of these man-eating monsters? But since you've come, don't think about leaving. Just obediently become my specimen!"Arthur felt the tentacle puppet's binding behind him getting tighter and tighter, but he showed no fear."I did come for that man-eating monster this time, but you've already killed it, so there's nothing more for me to do. Becoming your puppet or specimen is impossible."After hearing Arthur's words, the Red Hair man smiled."All these guys I've made into specimens thought it was impossible to be made into specimens, but you've seen the final result."Then the Red Hair man approached Arthur with a knife.Seeing this, Arthur realized that there was no way to resolve this matter with words, so he could only resort to force.Immediately after, he activated his monstrous strength, and the tentacle puppet's tentacles instantly shattered. Arthur also slowly walked towards the Red Hair man."Since you have designs on me, I also have quite a few designs on your puppets and specimens. In that case, if you want to live, how about you hand over these specimens to me?"Arthur's hoarse voice carried a hint of threat."Hahahaha, what are you joking about? In my territory, you actually say such ridiculous things to me!" The Red Hair man was dismissive; he naturally knew his own strength, and after so many years of struggling, his power had reached a terrifying level.Of course, these were all his own perceptions.Then the Red Hair man clapped his hands, and many monster puppets appeared in the flat. Among these monster puppets, there were many strong ones. Although Arthur didn't know the principle behind these puppets, the fact that these corpses could move was an interesting thing in itself.The next second, a puppet charged at him. Arthurmerely leaped lightly to dodge the puppet's attack.And there were a great many puppets here; they had already surrounded him."How about it? My puppets are not bad, right!"Arthur nodded."They are indeed good puppets, but with just these, you won't be able to take me down."Arthur said indifferently, and it was this indifferent tone that instantly enraged the Red Hair man."Don't be so arrogant! These puppets are my satisfactory works."The Red Hair man immediately issued commands to the puppets, and they began to attack Arthur."What's going on with these puppets? They're clearly dead, yet they can move?"After dodging the attack, Arthur flashed to the side and then looked up at the ceiling.The next second, he instantly arrived beside a puppet. Chakra flowed and covered the puppet, and many invisible threads actually appeared above the puppet."So that's how it is. These puppets are all controlled by these unseen threads from above."Thinking of this, Arthur took out his kusanagi sword. He covered the blade of the kusanagi sword with Chakra, then swung his sword towards the direction of the threads.Bang!The sword light flashed, and a sword qi dispersed in all directions. Then all the puppets stopped moving and fell to the ground."How can this be!"The Red Hair man looked at all his fallen puppets with a surprised expression, his face full of disbelief."It's just a minor trick. If I couldn't even see through something like this, how could I have the confidence to come here?"Arthur tilted his head."I'll give you a chance. Give all these puppets to me, and I'll spare your life."He wasn't interested in the puppets themselves, but these puppets were refined from monsters, retaining their original characteristics. If he got these, it would be very helpful for his research."Hahahaha, you underestimate Vergas too much. If I didn't have the strength, how would these puppets have come to be?"Vergas laughed loudly. He definitely wouldn't easily give up these satisfactory works, after all, they were the fruits of his many years of effort.Arthur tilted his head."Since that's your choice, then I can only kill you first, and then take these little toys of yours."Then Arthur flashed directly in front of Vergas and punched him."Kill me? Do you know what my name represents in this town?"Vergas used his arm to block Arthur's attack, but his overconfidence made him suffer a lot.This punch sent him flying directly.Bang!Countless specimens were shattered by his body."Damn it! My treasures!"Vergas no longer underestimated his opponent. His gaze hardened, and the aura around him began to surge.
Chapter 299 Satisfactory Harvest"Damn it! If I don't kill you today, my heart will not be at peace!"Vergas's body swelled red, his veins bulged, and his muscles began to rapidly expand."Kill me?"Arthur smiled. Although he would not underestimate his opponent, there were really not many people who could kill him.At this moment, Vergas took out a pill and swallowed it, and his aura surged again."Is that one of those explosive pills? If I remember correctly, those pills overdraft life force, don't they?"Arthur muttered to himself."Tch, how could this be such a low-grade pill? My pill is much stronger than those low-grade ones, and it has no effect on life force whatsoever."Arthur shook his head. He didn't believe that such a pill would have no side effects.Because gaining power itself comes at a price.Vergas charged at him with lightning speed. At this point, he had acquired what he believed to be invincible power, but Arthur had long been wary of his attacks and easily dodged them with a slight shift of his body.Boom!People who had already fallen asleep on the street suddenly opened their eyes, because they discovered that a large hole had suddenly appeared on the third floor of the city's largest hotel.Looking from a distance, they could see a Red Hairman fighting with a masked person."Is that Lord Vergas!""Yes, who is that Lord fighting with?"Everyone stared at the third floor. Vergas was right; his name was not just any ordinary one in this town.Although he was not the ruler of this town, his power was etched into everyone's minds."Someone dares to fight with that Lord, truly ignorant of their own limits.""Yes, yes! I heard that some man-eating monsters have infiltrated various towns recently. Could that guy be one of them?""Perhaps it's true. I didn't expect such a monster to foolishly target Lord Vergas. How pitiful!"The battle between Arthur and Vergas became more intense, jumping out from the original third floor and beginning to fight on the street.And on that third floor, after the two finished their battle, countless small snakes suddenly appeared.One puppet and specimen after another were swallowed by the small snakes, and then the small snakes disappeared with a 'bang'.Vergas's fists continuously struck buildings, damaging one after another, but he didn't care, because he had plenty of money."Hey, aren't you just wasting your strength by fighting me like this?"Arthur said mockingly.In fact, he had already activated his Cursed Seal State One, and his speed was completely unmatched by this Red Hair man."Damn it!"Vergas had also realized the difference in their strength. Even with the boost from one pill, he was practically being toyed with by the opponent.But how could he give up now?Then, another pill was swallowed by him."Taking two pills now? I wonder how strong your enhanced pills would make you if you took three?"With the boost from two pills, Vergas's strength increased once again. His speed had slowly begun to catch up to Arthur's rhythm, but in this kind of battle, two pills simply couldn't make his combat power equal to Arthur's.Seeing this, Vergas pulled out a third pill. Just as he was about to swallow it, a small snake suddenly appeared, directly swallowing the pill, and then disappeared with a 'bang'."I don't want to play with you anymore. Even if you take three pills, you won't be my opponent."Arthur said, and what he said was the truth.With the boost from two pills, Vergas's strength was already infinitely close to the Lord-level. Even if he took three pills, he would only be Lord-level.He simply couldn't be his opponent."Damn it!"Vergas also didn't expect to encounter such a powerful person today."Who exactly are you?"Arthur shook his head."Who I am isn't important. Next, I will punch with all my strength. Whether you can survive this strike is up to your luck."The next second, Vergas only felt his vision go black, and then, his abdomen received a powerful impact.Boom!One building after another was pierced through. Arthur looked at his result and shook his head."Ding, congratulations to the host for defeating an A-rank expert.""It seems this guy survived my full power. Never mind, I said what I would do, and I don't plan to attack again."Then Arthur leaped lightly and disappeared into the sky.On the huge wall of the town, a Red Hair man was embedded within it. The people in the town showed surprised expressions when they saw the Red Hairman in front of them."In the battle just now, was Lord Vergas defeated? Who exactly was that guy to be able to defeat that Lord!"Everyone thought at the same time, but one thing they were sure of: no matter who the other party was, they were not someone they could afford to provoke.It's none of my business, so I'll stay out of it.They didn't go to save Vergas, because in this situation, they didn't want to get into trouble. Who knew if the person who defeated Vergas had left yet?So, seeing the person embedded in the city wall, everyone looked at each other, but no one stepped forward to help.And just behind the crowd, a masked man suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder.The person whose shoulder was tapped suddenly turned his head and saw a person with an Oni mask staring intently at him."Is something wrong?"A hoarse voice came from the Oni mask."I have something to talk to you about. Come and chat with me privately."The man wanted to refuse, but the next second he suddenly felt a dizzy spell in his forehead, and slowly followed the person with the Oni mask forward.When the two reached an empty corner, the masked man suddenly realized why he had come here, so he said to the Oni mask: "Who exactly are you? What do you want with me?""What do I want with you? Actually, nothing much, just wanted to see the strength of your Kagune right now.""Kagune? What is that?"The masked man was at a loss, and the next second Arthur crushed the mask on his face, revealing a rugged face.It was indeed a test subject."Do you want to know what a Kagune is? Then I'll tell you!"As he spoke, Arthur's crimson Kagune appeared behind him, fluttering in the air."Do you know what a Kagune is now?"The rugged man nodded, then shook his head."What? Is there no Kagune in your body?"The rugged man nodded blankly."Then have you eaten people?"He shook his head again."Haven't eaten people, and there's no Kagune in your body yet. How interesting."
Chapter 300 Another Experimental Result"System, get me a piece of grilled Sea Kings meat."The next second, a piece of grilled meat appeared in Arthur's hand.He roughly shoved the grilled meat into the test subject's mouth.The test subject had already recovered and, feeling the fragrant grilled meat in his mouth, immediately began to chew."It's so delicious!"This person in front of him wasn't an enemy after all.How could an enemy possibly give him food?"Thank you! You're such a good person!"The burly man said to Arthur."..."Alright! I'll reluctantly accept this 'good person' card.But it seems the other party can indeed eat human food without any side effects.And Arthur could also sense that the other party's physical fitness already far surpassed that of an ordinary person."It seems this is the second type of experimental result: possessing superhuman physical fitness, but no Kagune produced in the body."As the saying goes, even with the same experimental method, the probability of obtaining a perfect experimental result is very small.Although the guy in front of him no longer had the side effect of eating human flesh, he had lost the power of Kagune.Arthur shook his head; this was not the final result he wanted."It's still not enough! If the experimental result is only like this, then I'll be too disappointed."Moreover, the other party's eyes were no different from ordinary humans, making this test subject only a partial success."It seems I still need to find other test subjects! Even if I ate this kind of test subject, it wouldn't be of much use to me."Arthur sighed, then walked away.He was going to look for the next test subject.Just after Arthur left, a man found the previous test subject."Who are you? Are you looking for me for something?"The test subject saw the masked man in black in front of him and unconsciously took a few steps back.It was a biological warning; the person in front of him was very powerful."Who I am isn't important; what's important is whether you want to join us?"The man in black said."Join you? What kind of organization are you?"The man in black continued: "We belong to a very powerful hunting team. If you join us, I guarantee you'll live a life of luxury. And aren't you curious about your identity? I can tell you who you are and why you can gain such powerful strength."After hearing the man in black's words, the test subject pondered for a while, and finally agreed.————Over the next month, Arthur was searching for test subjects. If a test subject was a cannibal, he would eat him without hesitation.Through this method of devouring, his Kagune had evolved.After all, he had eaten over a thousand test subjects during this period, and these Kagune could now transform into various shapes according to his imagination.However, even so, he still hadn't achieved the experimental results he was satisfied with."It's already been a month. After wasting so much time, I should go back. It seems the two genes simply cannot perfectly fuse."Arthur was currently in a bustling town, having already dealt with all the test subjects there.Just as he was about to leave, he heard a discussion nearby."Have you heard? A very famous and powerful hunting team here was wiped out, and the scene was extremely brutal with bodies and limbs strewn everywhere.""I heard about it too. Rumor has it that the ones who killed them might be those cannibal monsters lurking in the city recently.""Yes! I once heard that this hunting team had killed a Lord-level monster. It seems these cannibal monsters are very strong. We must be careful from now on; try not to go out in town at night."As the discussion was in full swing, they suddenly heard a hoarse voice from beside them."Where is the stronghold of that hunting team you mentioned?"The few people were startled by the hoarse voice. They immediately turned their heads and saw a mask of a grim reaper demon.After a while, they breathed a sigh of relief."Brother, do you know that scaring people can scare them to death?"The strong man rubbed his forehead and said."Sorry, my voice is naturally like this. I wanted to ask, where is the stronghold of that hunting team you mentioned?"The three men were naturally enthusiastic, so they explained to Arthur: "That stronghold is very close to our town. You just need to go east, about half a day's journey.""But I advise you not to go there. Not only is the scene there extremely terrifying, but because of the smell of blood, many monsters have gathered, and it has now almost become a forbidden area for humans.""Moreover, the monster that wiped out the entire hunting team is still unknown. If you go there rashly, almost no one can come out alive.""Hahaha, little brother must be curious about that place, just like us! Do you want us to tell you the rumors we know? But you have to treat us to a drink!"Arthur didn't speak. He then pulled out a gold coin from his hand, placed it on the table, and turned to leave.Seeing Arthur's departing back, and then looking at the gold coin on the table."In this day and age, there are really a lot of strange people."They hadn't expected that Arthur would actually treat them to a drink.After Arthur left, he followed the direction given by those few people, heading east.Half a day's journey was only for the speed of ordinary people.For him, it might only take an hour, or even less."They said that hunting team had killed a Lord-levelmonster. If it was really caused by my test subject, then that test subject's strength might have grown to Lord-level, which is a bit strange.""The test subjects' foundations are all very low-level ordinary people. Even if injected with my genes, it's impossible to grow to that level of strength in a short time."As he advanced, Arthur actually felt the aura of a test subject."It seems there really is a test subject ahead, and only one."Arthur stroked his chin.If these things were true, then things would become even more interesting.Thinking of this, Arthur accelerated his pace."You might be the last test subject I'm looking for. Please don't disappoint me! Otherwise, I'll be very angry."Arthur himself didn't notice that the test subjects he could perceive were now very few.In the originally bustling stronghold, there was a giant creature like a Centipede coiling inside, and around this giant Centipede, there were corpses of monsters and humans everywhere.