Either I'm crazy, or the world is crazy!
"Damon, what are you still daydreaming about?!"
At this moment, Hina's voice pulled Damon back to reality from his reverie.
Hina waved her arms at Damon. Behind her were three Yagara Bulls rented from a merchant. Bullswere aquatic creatures as big as elephants, active in the waterways, and a unique mode of transportation in Water Seven.
Damon smiled, said goodbye to the attendant Kokoro, and then boarded a Bull with Hina.
The Bull resembles a seahorse in appearance, with a wide and open back and a mahogany seat, making it suitable for two people to ride together, with enough space for luggage.
According to Foxy the Silver Fox, the Donquixote family's important base for transporting slaves in Water Seven was disguised as a hardware store to conceal their true purpose.
Damon and his group intended to reach the shop as quickly as possible, before the Donquixote family received the news and fled.
The Bull is very intelligent; Damon and the others only need to provide an address, and it knows how to get there.
Water Seven is a magical city with a crisscrossing network of waterways and a well-developed transportation network that allows people to travel to any part of the city via the water.
The river flows gently, its blue waves rippling.
A small bridge spans a flowing stream, and boats shuttle back and forth.
The riverbanks offer breathtaking scenery, with rows of houses belonging to the original inhabitants of the city. Perhaps due to the humid climate, the windows of these buildings are connected by thin steel wires, from which residents hang their washed clothes, creating a picturesque scene.
The winding network of waterways is enough to make anyone dizzy.
Any newcomer to Water Seven would likely easily lose their way in this vast city and not be able to find their way back.
As they approached their destination, the three Bulls gradually slowed down and came to rest on the shore.
Damon paused, then instructed the other five people:
"When we capture the person in charge of the base station, we must be careful—he may choose to commit suicide."
Upon hearing this, the group seemed somewhat dismissive.
Ascending the stone steps, Damon and his six companions emerged from the low-lying area of the riverbed onto the ground.
Surprisingly, this was not some remote, deserted place, but rather a densely populated residential area with various types of shops, restaurants, hardware stores, and timber shops along the riverbank.
Water Seven is a well-known shipbuilding island. In addition to world-renowned shipbuilding companies, it has naturally driven the development of the entire industry chain. More than half of the city's residents are engaged in shipbuilding-related work.
Hardware stores and lumber shops are everywhere, most of which offer replacement parts for boats.
Following the search based on the shop's address, Damon and his companions finally found their target.
"Jingle Bell!"
The door was opened by the group, and the wind chimes hanging at the entrance echoed with a crisp sound.
The middle-aged man working at his desk suddenly stopped what he was doing and a professional smile appeared on his face.
"Welcome to Haba Hardware Store. I'm Haba, the owner. How can I help you?"
As soon as Damon and the others entered, they quickly surveyed the store.
Overall, this hardware store is fairly standard, roughly thirty square meters in size. Though small, it has everything you need, with a wide variety of goods displayed in glass counters. It looks no different from any other shop.
If someone unaware of the situation came here, they might mistakenly think it was just an ordinary hardware store, rather than a key base for the Donquixote family's human trafficking.
The great hermit hides in the city, while the small hermit hides in the wild.
Doflamingo truly lived up to his reputation as one of the most business-savvy pirates. He knew that the most dangerous place was precisely the safest place, and he placed such an important base in a densely populated area—something no one else would have suspected.
Smoker and the others surrounded Haba. Damon took out a Marine ID from his pocket. This was a temporary ID provided to them by Chief Instructor Zephyr for convenience. It was enough to give them the authority to arrest criminals without interference from the local government.
"We are the Navy. Your crimes have been exposed. Now you must confess to the Donquixote family's human trafficking!"
Haba was already on guard when Damon and his group entered the room.
Generally, those who come to hardware stores to buy goods are adult men; minors are rarely seen, and women are even rarer.
Because hardware stores mainly sell tools for repairing ships, and these are all dirty and tiring jobs, only male shipwrights in this city would usually need these items.
So, Haba reached into a hidden compartment under the counter with his right hand and gripped a flintlock pistol—the latest model developed by the Donquixote family. This new model solved the problem of overheating caused by repeated firing in older pistols, allowing it to fire multiple rounds in quick succession.
Faced with Damon's questioning, Haba gave a forced smile and said:
"Child, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want."
"I, Haba, have always been an honest and law-abiding businessman. How could I possibly be a human trafficker? You can't slander an innocent person!"
Seeing that Haba was being stubborn, Smoker spat and said:
"I knew it! Why follow Chief Instructor Zephyr's method when dealing with these criminals? We shouldn't try to reason with them; we should just knock them unconscious and take them back for interrogation!"
After saying that, Smoker was about to handcuff Haba.
Seeing that words would not work, Haba knew he absolutely could not fall into the hands of the Navy. A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes, and he pulled out the flintlock pistol from the counter, pulling the trigger one after another.
"Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang!"
Smoke billowed from the gun barrels as six bullets shot straight toward the foreheads of the group.
Judging from his superb marksmanship, Haba was definitely not just a simple businessman.
Damon and his companions had already anticipated that he would resort to desperate measures. Smoker immediately transformed into wisps of smoke, binding Haba's hands and feet. The others, having anticipated this, easily dodged the bullets.
The instant Haba saw Smoker turn into smoke, his pupils contracted sharply, and he exclaimed in shock:
"A Devil Fruit user?"
"Is it a Logia-type?"
Haba was almost in tears.
As a mere base manager, what made him worthy of being hunted by a Logia user?
Smoker tackled Haba to the ground, having already reverted to human form, and placed heavy shackles on Haba's hands and feet.
Smoker, also short-tempered, stomped his hard leather boot on Haba's foot and said:
"Where did you hide all the slaves captured by the Donquixote family?"
Haba knew he was doomed, and a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes as he tried to bite the poison hidden in his dentures.
Damon had reminded Smoker of this possibility long before the operation began.
At first, Smoker didn't believe it.
But upon seeing the look in Haba's eyes, Smoker reacted swiftly, grabbing Haba's chin and forcefully twisting it, dislocating Haba's jaw on the spot with a snap.
"Damon was right—you actually wanted to commit suicide?"
Smoker was secretly alarmed as he pulled a false tooth from Haba's mouth and saw the poison hidden inside.
Smoker simply couldn't believe that Haba was such a die-hard member of the Donquixote family.
Did this mean that the Donquixote Family has some powerful means of controlling its subordinates, such that they would rather die than fall into the hands of the Navy?
The rest of the team gathered clues, investigating whether there was a secret room or basement.
Damon led Haba into the cramped bathroom alone, slammed the door shut, and cracked his fingers, revealing a smile that looked devilish in Haba's eyes.
"I know you won't easily reveal information about the Donquixote family."
"So, let's play a simple game. If you answer correctly, I'll let you go."
"What is 1000 minus 7?"
"..."
Haba's jaw was dislocated, making it impossible for him to speak; he could only stare helplessly with wide eyes.
"You can't even answer such a simple question. It seems I'm going to have to get creative!"
Damon stuffed a wad of paper into Haba's mouth, covered his eyes with a towel, laid him on the ground, and turned on the tap so that water dripped continuously onto Haba's forehead.
In ancient times, the water-dripping torture was comparable to branding. Although it may not seem physically harmful at first, when a person is blindfolded, their senses are amplified. Over time, it creates the terrifying sensation that the dripping water is penetrating the skull.
While Haba was enduring the torture, Damon checked the system messages.
"Ding!"
"Congratulations, host, for reciting a classic line from Tokyo Ghoul. You have been awarded one chance to draw a prize. Would you like to activate the prize wheel?"
A prize wheel appeared, but there were very few prizes on it.
Prizes: RC Cells, Hercules Pods...
[RC Cells]: ...
Before Damon could even check the prize, the Gourmet Cells in his body, like great white sharks smelling blood, devoured the RC Cells as they merged into his body.
The Gourmet Cells provided excellent feedback, strengthening Damon's body at the cellular level.
Damon could feel his physical fitness improving significantly.
Clenching his fist and feeling the surge of power, Damon speculated that this enhancement had saved him at least a year of arduous training.
Damon frowned as he smelled a foul odor.
He turned his head and glanced at Haba.
Haba's pants were soaked, and his legs were cramping.
Judging that the man had reached his limit and was on the verge of losing his mind, Damon turned off the tap and removed the towel.
Upon regaining his sight, Haba burst into tears.
Haba had never appreciated the beauty of life as much as he did now!
If he could do it all over again, he definitely wouldn't have tried to be tough with these Marines!
Damon took paper and a pen from the shop, threw them in front of Haba, and said:
"You can write, can't you? Tell me the truth."
Haba looked at Damon with pure awe. He had truly misjudged him. He never expected that this seemingly harmless child would actually be the most terrifying one among them.
To avoid being subjected to the torture again, Haba gripped the pen and shakily wrote crooked words on the paper.
The level of education in this world is not high...