On the sea surface, there were scattered search ships, and the people on them were dressed in heavy chemical suits like those worn by biological warfare units. They were also wearing gas masks as if they were concerned about hazardous materials on the ship.
At the bow of the ship, Yamato, holding binoculars, looked at everything with a hint of confusion.
“Strange, wasn’t this country known for its prosperous tourism industry?”
However, no one answered her this time. This was the biggest difference between her current voyage and the ones before. While the ordinary crew on the ship would follow her commands, these people were at most ordinary Gifters. Whether it was Arceus or Olga, neither would interfere.
Arceus was worried about accidents. Olga, on the other hand, would not interfere because her ability was the most convenient one. In non-frontal combat, no one’s ability was better than Olga’s.
Yamato will be sailing alone in the future. Arceus’ requirements are not high. At least she must be able to survive on her own. She cannot be like Luffy. If his luck had been even a little bit worse, that barrel would have become his final resting place.
She wasn’t required to master all skills, but she must be able to make sound judgments.
“Never mind, let’s keep moving forward!”
As Yamato made the decision, Olga also received Arceus’ approval, marking a cross on a small notebook. Clearly, this behavior wasn’t well-received.
Little did Yamato know that someone was secretly grading her out of her sight. This score would influence her future courses and voyage times.
However, those people did not inspect the ship, because the standard for the waters near Flevance has been set to allow entry but not exit. They only searched the departing ships for fear that Flevance residents might sneak out.
Following Yamato’s orders, the navigator and sailors on the ship continued to operate the ship. They were not at all worried that Yamato would cause any trouble, as there were people on board to keep an eye on her.
However, as the journey continued, the number of crosses on the small notebook increased.
“Lord Arceus, I think Miss Yamato just needs more practice. After all, it’s her first time leading such a mission.”
“No, in this aspect, she’s quite similar to Kaido. But that Kaido is just lazy and doesn’t bother using his brain, while she’s basically hopeless in this regard.”
However, when they approached the shore, she finally received marks other than cross. At least she had learned from past experiences. After concealing the ship in a hidden location, she used a small boat to reach the shore. The landing spot was not Flevance but its neighboring country.
Because Flevance’s port had been sealed off, and it was the neighboring country that had done this.
Flevance faced the sea on two sides, with a relatively small land area. In contrast, its neighboring country had a larger landmass, making it easier to find a docking location.
No one from the ship followed them ashore, even Olga and Arceus had concealed their presence. From this point on, it was Yamato’s journey. Besides Maria and Robin, the only companion she had was Diancie.
Pokémon were now one of her strengths. The reason for bringing only Diancie was that its abilities were more convenient for mining. Queen’s chemistry lessons will finally come in handy.
Moreover, Diancie was much more powerful than other Pokémon.
Yamato had basically failed in sailing at this point as she wasn’t naturally gifted in this aspect. Her next goal is now to smoothly enter Flevance without Olga’s assistance.
Flevance wasn’t only blocked at sea; even the land was surrounded by barbed wire, with soldiers guarding at intervals. This was because Flevance’s Amber Lead Syndrome had erupted.
Although Amber Lead had various uses in different places, it was a poisonous ore.
This poison won’t harm the user, and it won’t be released if left unmined. However, once mined, the poisons it contains will affect everyone in the area.
As early as a hundred years ago, before the development of Flevance’s Amber Lead industry, the World Government’s geological exploration team had surveyed this area and discovered the truth about Amber Lead.
However, in the face of immense profits, the World Government and the royal family concealed everything, causing the ordinary people of Flevance to throw themselves into the Amber Lead industry, continuously mining Amber Lead for them.
The populace gained massive wealth, and Flevance’s per capita income soared, temporarily increasing the national happiness index. However, they were unaware that this money was exchanged for lives—not just one or two lives, but the lives of everyone.
The poison content in Amber Lead is very low, and that is precisely what makes it most dangerous. This trace amount of poison accumulates continuously and is inherited by future generations, making their lifespans increasingly shorter.
Now, with almost a century of Amber Lead mining history, the accumulation of Amber Lead has reached the point of outbreak.
Due to the cumulative effects of Amber Lead, three generations in a family almost simultaneously fell ill, exhibiting white patches on their skin. Entire families died in pain, with many households even unable to find a single person to bury the dead.
This disease, like the South Blue Emperor Fever from back then, is incurable. Nowadays, no doctor knows how to treat Amber Lead Syndrome.
Moreover, the neighboring country considers this disease a contagious one, sealing off all areas of Flevance. Anyone attempting to leave will be gunned down.
With the help of the World Government, the royal family escaped, but ordinary people could only await death.
Both the World Government and the royal family knew that Amber Lead Syndrome is not contagious, just a deadly ore disease. However, they choose to conceal this truth because they still need people to mine Amber Lead for them.
If this information were exposed, mining Amber Lead would become challenging. As long as these people die off, after disinfection, ordinary people will believe it’s safe.
Then, Flevance, devoid of inhabitants, will attract new settlers. Faced with enormous profits, others will continue to mine Amber Lead.
This way, other royal families can continue reaping profits, the World Government can still obtain Amber Lead, and make a profit in the transportation industry. For which, the lives of these ordinary people are simply something they are willing to sacrifice.
Yamato hasn’t decided on the next course of action yet, but years of education have had some effect. Faced with this strange Flevance, she didn’t rashly rush in, instead she decided to investigate the situation first.
However, at this moment, something she finds hard to accept happened in front of her. People inside the barbed wire were approaching the border, unarmed and seemingly requesting help. However, the soldiers outside appear fearful, repeatedly ordering them to retreat.
But the people inside refused because, at this point, there’s a shortage of medicine and food in Flevance. The pain from the illness had become unbearable, and continuing to wait meant only death.
In this situation, people outside eventually chose to open fire, and thus, the tragedy of Flevance began.
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