Dead silence fell over the deck. Koala and Reiz Max exchanged glances, both having the same thought: "Maybe we should retreat for now."
The ship hadn't sunk. The seawater flooding into the lower cabins had been frozen. Amu was already stationed there, and Su Xiao had deliberately "let go" of that Celestial Dragon.
Koala heard a splash within half an hour as Su Xiao climbed back onto the ship, drenched.
Two CP0 members had pursued him this time, and neither escaped. Eddie K was responsible for combat, while the woman was likely support. Her combat strength wasn't high, and if Su Xiao guessed correctly, she was the one who tracked him.
"Ptui!"
Su Xiao spat out the seawater and touched his chin, still sore from a hard punch earlier. To successfully eliminate Eddie K, he set up a trap. He used a legendary item called [Mental Pollution], causing Eddie K to become confused and recklessly attempt to save the Celestial Dragon without assessing the risk.
Such is combat even though Eddie K was almost as strong as an Admiral, a wrong decision led to his death.
Moreover, Su Xiao discovered that Exile was extremely useful in real battles. A single hit could leave the enemy severely injured or dead and combined with his sword skills, once the enemy fell into a disadvantage, their chances of turning the tide became slim.
After tossing Eddie K's body into the sea, Su Xiao turned to Koala and Reiz Max.
"Continue explaining why you came to find me."
Sitting on the ship's edge, Su Xiao watched as Bubu climbed back on board and started shaking off water, splashing Su Xiao in the face.
Su Xiao, Bubu, and Amu had efficiently dealt with the two CP0 members before fully unleashing their power.
"Well, okay."
Koala jumped down from the cabin and began speaking, "We were tracking you earlier, and I sincerely apologize for that. As for our purpose in finding you, you probably have an idea."
"I can provide you with finished products, and there's no issue with the technology. The prerequisite is that you can manufacture alchemical bombs."
"There's no problem with that. What do we need to pay for such technology?"
Koala's eyes sparkled with interest. Reiz Max remained silent; he had tracked Su Xiao earlier but didn't intend to participate in the negotiation. His encounter with Su Xiao on the island was purely coincidental.
"What do you need to pay? I haven't thought about that yet, but..."
Su Xiao's tone shifted, directly skipping the matter of compensation.
"If I join you, I might consider not asking for compensation."
"Join us?"
Koala was visibly stunned. She had never considered recruiting Su Xiao into the Revolutionary Army because he was too dangerous, both according to rumors and his recent actions against the CP0 members.
"I've been hunted by the World Government recently, which is why I collaborated with Doflamingo. Clearly, working with that pirate wasn't reliable. So now, I need a force to help fend off the CP departments."
"Um..."
Koala was conflicted. She understood the reasoning, but whether due to a woman's intuition or something else, she felt that Su Xiao joining the Revolutionary Army wasn't a good idea.
"Since you're not interested in the weapons I provide, let's drop it. However... you just witnessed me kill a CP0 agent."
Su Xiao smiled amiably.
"We can pretend we didn't see anything, right, Reiz?"
"Ah?" Reiz Max snapped out of his daze and quickly agreed, "Yes, we can act like we didn't see anything. Revealing this would only cause trouble."
"See, he'll forget it."
Koala forced a smile. She had come to discuss business but found herself entangled in such matters.
Suddenly, Koala realized that Su Xiao might have anticipated this situation, prompting her to ponder deeply:
"Why does he want to join the Revolutionary Army? To escape the World Government? Impossible. This man dares to kill a Celestial Dragon and wouldn't fear the World Government. Is there some ulterior motive? Come on, Koala, figure it out. You can do it."
"I once heard that verbal promises can be very fragile."
"Who said that? It's a wrong notion. People need to maintain basic trust in each other. Whoever said that must be a villain."
Koala's thoughts were interrupted, and she had to respond to Su Xiao.
"I said it."
Su Xiao lit a cigarette as a sea breeze blew, the weather is unusually clear.
"Ah?"
Koala was taken aback.
"I just said that."
"Well..."
The situation became extremely awkward, so much so that Koala wanted to jump into the sea to escape.
"I was just kidding. Usually, I don't kill people randomly. You can leave anytime."
"Yes, I believe you."
Koala glanced at the large bloodstain on the deck.
"I only make weapons for my affiliated forces. As for the weapon technology, the last person who tried to copy it was named Dr. Vegapunk."
"Wait a moment."
Koala signaled Reiz Max to continue negotiating with Su Xiao, at least to stall him.
"Mr. Kukulin, your swordsmanship is impressive."
Reiz Max forced a smile.
"..."
"Uh, let's change the topic. Do you like gambling?"
"..."
"Cough, the weather is nice today."
Reiz Max exhaled deeply. His impression of Su Xiao was of a ruthless killer and an old schemer, with Eddie K's tragic death as evidence. Such a strong agent fell in just a few minutes.
Koala soon returned her expression indicating a positive outcome.
"If you join us, you'll make weapons for us for free?"
Koala crouched down, patting Bubu's head, in stark contrast to her wary stance towards Su Xiao. Bubu turned his head, his expression saying, "Don't touch me."
"I can temporarily provide you with some technology regarding explosives."
Su Xiao took out a seawater-damaged paper. Seeing this pre-prepared item, Koala felt even more manipulated.
"These are the initial blueprints and samples of alchemical bombs. Whether you can replicate them is your problem."
Su Xiao handed the blueprints and three alchemical bombs to Koala. These blueprints were outdated technology he had discarded long ago, not used since Tier 3.
Seeing the alchemical bombs, Koala's smile widened. These were excellent for sinking ships, often used by the Navy.
[Hint: The Hunter has joined the Revolutionary Army faction. Subsequent tasks will begin upon the Hunter's arrival at the Navy Headquarters.]