Vegapunk: Wait, the script is wrong?!
Punk Hazard. G-5 Branch.
Underground Third Level.
Within the entire G-5, no more than five people knew of this place's existence.
In reality, it was a secret experimental zone that Kane had spent over a billion to carve out separately.
"Hum—"
The first Seastone Alloy Door, three meters thick, slowly opened, releasing a wave of cold air mixed with the metallic scent of blood.
Gion instinctively tightened her coat, following behind Kane. The temperature here was at least ten degrees lower than outside.
Emergency lights were installed every five meters along both sides of the corridor, casting a dim glow that stretched their shadows to extreme lengths. Their footsteps echoed several times louder here, creating an oppressive emptiness.
"Big Brother Kane..." Gion finally couldn't hold back and spoke, her voice sounding somewhat ethereal in the narrow, long corridor. "Are we really going to... imprison that person here?"
"Imprison?" Kane's steps didn't pause; instead, the corner of his mouth curled into a playful smile. "No, Gion. This isn't imprisonment, but an invitation. An invitation from 'true Justice' to a lost genius."
Gion nodded, not fully understanding but asking no further questions.
After passing through two more alloy doors requiring different keys, they finally reached the core area.
Behind the door was an interior space four times larger than the Fleet Admiral's conference room at headquarters. Over a hundred shadowless lamps illuminated the area as bright as day, dazzling to the eyes.
On the sterile experiment table at the very center lay a middle-aged man with hair as messy as a bird's nest and an unusually large head.
This was none other than the world's number one genius, Vegapunk, who had been packaged and brought back from the "Bank Restricted Zone."
The Red Count had left after completing the task, departing without a trace, leaving behind only an unconscious world's number one genius.
Kane stepped forward and glanced at Vegapunk's sleeping face—his hair was as disheveled as grass swept by a typhoon, a suspicious glistening trail of drool hung from the corner of his mouth, and his white lab coat was stained with sauce of unknown origin.
"How much funding does the World Government allocate to him each year? And they end up raising such an unkempt shut-in?" Kane curled his lip in disdain and turned to walk toward the exit.
"From now on, the underground experimental zone is G-5's highest-level secret."
Kane looked back, his gaze settling on Gion, calm yet carrying an unquestionable authority.
"This place does not exist, and the person inside... does not exist."
"Yes!"
"Lock down all access permissions. Apart from you, me, Sakazuki, and a few other core members, anyone else, regardless of rank, who approaches within a hundred meters of the entrance is to be executed on sight."
The phrase "executed on sight" sent a chill through Gion's heart, but she didn't hesitate in the slightest. With a sharp clang, her right hand pressed against the hilt of Kumbhira as she stood at attention and saluted. "Understood! I will personally adjust the security patrol routes to ensure not even a single rat can crawl in!"
Seeing her fervent expression of "Big Brother Kane's orders are the highest command," Kane nodded in satisfaction.
Good girl, her awareness is truly high.
Six hours later.
Ten in the morning.
Vegapunk woke up from hunger.
He slowly opened his eyes, first smelling a strange mixture of disinfectant and expensive cigars. His retinas were assaulted by glaring cold-toned lights, and he instinctively squinted.
What came into view was a metal ceiling with exceptionally neat weld seams, crafted with an extremely high level of skill.
Fragments of memory flooded back: late at night, a man in red, a note about 'Pluton,' the sharp pain in the back of his neck...
He sat up abruptly, his mind racing through the data.
[I've been kidnapped.]
[The kidnapper was able to infiltrate the Bank Restricted Zone silently and kill a Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agent. Their strength is top-tier on the seas.]
[The kidnapper used the 'Pluton Power Core' as bait. Conclusion: The other party covets the Ancient Weapons and needs my technical support.]
[So I've fallen into the hands of some major pirate group that covets the Ancient Weapons.]
Fine.
Vegapunk quickly adjusted his mindset.
Since the other party used Pluton intel as bait, it meant they needed him and wouldn't kill him easily. That gave him bargaining chips. Pretend to cooperate first, figure out the Pluton intel, then look for an opportunity—
"Awake?"
A voice came from directly ahead, lazy and muffled with the distinct quality of a cigar.
Vegapunk looked up toward the sound.
Then his thoughts ground to a halt.
A man sat in a chair three meters across from him, legs crossed, a smoking cigar held between his fingers.
The man's appearance was exceptionally handsome—described in scientific terms, it was nearly perfect genetic expression.
But that wasn't the point.
The point was the coat draped over the man's shoulders.
White. Two large characters on the back.
—Justice.
Vegapunk blinked.
His gaze continued downward—standard Navy Uniform, the golden emblem at the collar, the four-star stripes on the cuffs.
Navy Admiral.
A genuine Navy Admiral.
Vegapunk's CPU was overheating.
He opened his mouth, then closed it. Closed it, then opened it again.
"You..."
"Kane." The man across from him saved him the trouble of searching his memory, introducing himself with a smile. "Navy Admiral, codename 'Calamity,' base commander of the G-5 Branch."
He elegantly blew out a smoke ring, his smile appearing especially sincere amidst the swirling smoke.
"Welcome to Punk Hazard, Dr. Vegapunk."
Navy Admiral?
The one who kidnapped him was a Navy Admiral?
That man in red who infiltrated the Bank Restricted Zone late at night, killed the Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agent, and carried him off like a sack—was sent by a Navy Admiral?
No.
Wait.
Hadn't the Navy been searching the world for him these past few days? Fleet Admiral Kong personally gave the order, blockaded the four seas, deployed all Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents... all to find him, Vegapunk.
And the person hiding him was the very Navy Admiral in charge of the search?
The thief crying "Stop thief"?
Vegapunk had spent his entire life dealing with precise scientific formulas, but the problem before him now was beyond the syllabus.
"I see your expression isn't quite right." Kane extinguished his cigar in the ashtray, stood up, walked over to a nearby table, and brought back a steaming bowl of seafood noodles, placing it in front of Vegapunk.
"Eat something first. An empty stomach is bad for you."
Vegapunk glanced down at the bowl.
The broth was rich, the shrimp plump, the noodles perfectly separated, sprinkled with vibrant green scallions.
Smelled good.
It really did smell good.
But how could he possibly think about eating noodles right now!
"What exactly—"
"Let's talk after you finish eating." Kane had already settled back into his chair and lit another cigar. "Your stomach hasn't had food for at least twelve hours. Don't tell me that big brain of yours doesn't need energy."
Vegapunk's mouth twitched violently.
He was indeed starving, his stomach practically touching his back.
Three seconds later, the great man with wisdom five hundred years ahead of his time picked up the bowl and began shoveling noodles into his mouth.
He ate quickly and inelegantly. Soup splattered onto his white lab coat, but he didn't even notice.
Kane watched from across the table, not rushing him.
The bowl was emptied.
Vegapunk wiped his mouth, pushed the bowl aside, and looked up.
His eyes had regained clarity—the gaze of a true genius who, after a brief period of confusion, had reclaimed the reins of reason.
--Enjoying the story? Want more chapters? Check out my Patreon and support me for 40+ advance chapters.
Just search for "GoddessTL" on Patreon!"
Thanks!