The sky grew darker.
The streets were becoming less crowded as people headed home for dinner. Some had already finished eating and gathered in groups of three to five, discussing the events of the day.
“The guards are arresting people today!”
“Not just the guards, I heard the ‘Gunpowder Gang’ people are involved too…”
“It seems they’re after that Devil Child! I heard the Devil Child is the spirit of the rumored pirate king on the island!”
“Huh, there’s such a rumor? Tell me more…”
“Look at that! What is it?!”
In the dim night, among the pedestrians strolling in the park square, someone suddenly shouted, pointing to a spot as if they had witnessed something incredible.
Others quickly exclaimed, “Is that a floating box?!”
In the not-so-bright square, a black suitcase floated about a meter off the ground, swaying as it moved forward.
The onlookers were startled and stepped back.
“Is it a ghost?”
“So, the rumors about ghosts are true!”
“Oh my God!?”
An uneasy and tense atmosphere quickly spread. The guards and a few members of the ‘Gunpowder Gang’ clad in black hurriedly approached.
Then, they saw the floating suitcase suddenly click open— Huā Lā La— bundles of Belly bills scattered out, as if caught by an invisible hand and forcefully thrown into the air.
The crowd, growing larger, became restless, shouting not to push and shove, not to be impulsive, and then quickly grabbing handfuls of flying bills, eventually leading to fights.
“Who stepped on my hand?!”
“Oops, Sorry— damn, the money under my foot is mine!”
“Damn it, who tripped me?!”
“Ah!! Who punched me?!”
“This is my own wallet; I don’t know why it fell on the ground!”
“Who believes you? The money here belongs to everyone!”
The guards and the ‘Gunpowder Gang’ members suddenly realized and shouted, “A ghost has appeared! Inform others; Devil Child must be nearby!”
“Hurry, call more people over, intensify the search!”
“The money box ran away, chase it; there’s still money inside— wait, it’s the ghost that ran away, catch it!”
‘B.I.B.’ seemed like an unfeeling money-dispensing machine, leading the chaotic crowd and creating even more disturbance. Finally, it forcefully threw the money box into the sky.
The crowded people all tilted their heads back, watching the box slow down at its zenith, dispersing bills one after another.
‘B.I.B.’ walked through the crowded people like a true ghost, completely ignoring any obstacles. Occasionally, it punched one person, kicked another, or took a wallet from one person and placed it into the hands of someone nearby.
The crowd became even more chaotic, and the guards were having a headache. They had to allocate manpower to maintain order.
‘B.I.B.,’ ghost-like, passed through those black-clothed individuals, leaving behind a trail of screams. Looking down from the sky, the chaos spread in all directions from the central square of the city… and ‘B.I.B.’ moved like a true ghost, leisurely wandering amid the turmoil.
While shuttling between streets, walls, and houses, it sensed the approximate location of its main body. Suddenly, passing by a room, it heard someone mention something about Devil Fruit.
“…This guy pretending to be a god, what ghost! He just happened to have a Devil Fruit ability! Daring to provoke our ‘Gunpowder Gang,’ the headquarters sent me to let that ignorant kid know that possessing a Devil Fruit is not exclusive to him!”
‘B.I.B.’ halted its steps; this person also had a Devil Fruit ability.
Floating towards the sound, it saw the speaker—a guy wearing a black cape, holding a large cigar, and wiping guns. He had the sly smile of a typical criminal organization big shot.
In front of him, several ‘Gunpowder Gang’ members looked excited, as seeing the Devil Fruit ability user of the headquarters’ boss was not something they could easily witness.
“As long as that kid dares to show up, I can use my ‘Pipe Pipe Fruit’ ability to deliver explosives directly to his mouth, hē hē hē…,” The criminal organization big shot chuckled. The cigar he held in his mouth rapidly changed form into a hollow short tube in front of everyone’s eyes.
He walked in front of his subordinate, lifted his hand to press the latter’s shoulder, and a round hole appeared on the subordinate’s face as if his entire head had become a passable channel.
The criminal organization boss took a deep breath and forcefully exhaled, and the cigar smoke, like an arrow, shot through the channel on the subordinate’s face, making a loud Bang and completely shattering a corner of the wall.
“That scared me…” After the criminal organization boss removed his hand, the subordinate’s face returned to normal. He touched his face, relieved to find no harm, and sighed with relief.
“Hā Hā Hā! That’s right, whether it’s a ghost or any other supernatural thing, in front of my ability, they can all be connected by pipes… Well, Hē Hē Hē…”
After the cigar returned to its normal burning state, the man laughed triumphantly. However, his laughter abruptly ceased. He clutched his neck in pain, his face quickly turning blue.
Who… a spirit? He struggled to breathe, feeling a seemingly invisible hand gripping his throat, yet he couldn’t see anything in front of him!
He immediately wanted to use his Devil Fruit ability to counter this invisible ghost, but he realized that the ability, once as familiar as instinct, seemed to have vanished completely, leaving no trace of movement.
The invisible hand crushed his windpipe.
He slumped to the ground, the terrified shouts of his subordinates fading away. He was too lazy to wonder why an invisible hand could grab his windpipe and break it through his skin.
The cigar rolled into a pool of blood beside his mouth, and his hazy consciousness murmured a question: Why has my Devil Fruit ability disappeared?
A hand with blue flame patterns grabbed a triangular chip covered in tube-shaped patterns.
‘B.I.B.’ placed the fruit chip given by this enemy into the triangular “reactor” on its chest and continued maneuvering between walls. Its main body had not left the city yet; it needed to continue creating chaos and diverting attention.
‘B.I.B.’ passed through the wall, entering a tavern this time.
The tavern was noisy, with many people loudly arguing about the chaos outside. It was about to stir up trouble in the bar when it suddenly looked towards the bar counter.
A tall figure wearing a vest and suit, a tie, and a sleep mask over the face, picked up the glass on the bar and gently blew into it.
Crackle, Crackle… The interior of the glass was immediately enveloped in a layer of cold air, and the surface of the liquid produced scattered ice fragments.
The man with a lazy expression finished the drink, exhaled a breath of cold air, and casually said, “Ah, did someone just come in?”
He pushed up the sleep mask, glanced back, and said, “Leaving so soon?”
…
Liam, leading Robin and carrying a backpack, was walking towards the outskirts of the city when he suddenly sensed something and turned his head to see the black combat armor hurrying back towards him.
“Why did it come back?” Liam was puzzled.
“Unexpected situation occurred…” ‘B.I.B.’ answered in an electronic and mixed voice, rushing towards Liam like an Iron Man armor, ready for him to put it on.
As Liam turned the street corner, about to leave the city, he was about to check the helmet’s eye-replay footage when he suddenly felt a piercing cold.
“So, this is the unexpected situation…” Liam sighed.
“What happened?” Robin asked in confusion. However, she suddenly noticed a layer of frost forming on the street corner walls and spreading towards their feet.
Typing on a phone is really awkward…
(End of this chapter)
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