"Yeah, yeah!" Gatz, for once, also lost his fighting spirit. "I heard the commander there is an Admiral from Headquarters named 'Black Arm' Zephyr! I think he was just promoted a few years ago, but he's a real monster who fought his way out of a mountain of corpses. He's an idol to all marines!"
The crew's concerns were not unfounded. The current Rocks Pirates, although composed of future sea titans, were still in their infancy. To directly challenge a top-tier fortress commanded by a Marine Admiral sounded like a joke.
Rocks, however, paid no mind to their reactions. He just looked at Ren with his arms crossed, a look of interest on his face, as if waiting for him to speak.
Ren walked over to the sea chart, his gaze lingering on the G-2 fortress, which was marked as extremely dangerous. "A frontal assault is what a fool would do," he said calmly, his words instantly extinguishing the flicker of fighting desire that had just risen in Gatz. "But any strong fortress can be broken from within, especially when its commander has a clear weakness."
Ren's finger tapped lightly on the name "Black Arm" Zephyr. "I've studied this person's profile. Zephyr, the Marine who doesn't kill. He's an upright man who cares for his subordinates. He has almost no weaknesses, but..." A faint arc appeared on the corner of Ren's lips. "He has one fatal hobby, or rather, an obsession—he's obsessed with training powerful new marines. And to temper them, he regularly holds a survival trial called 'Hell's Kitchen'."
"In this trial, he personally cooks a dish called the 'Feast of Justice' for the new recruits who pass, as the highest reward for them. It's said that his standards for the ingredients of this dish are extremely meticulous."
"You mean..." a light flashed in Rocks's eyes.
"We don't need a frontal assault," Ren looked up at the crew, his tone calm but full of confidence. "We just need a bait that he can't refuse, an ingredient that is enough to make him believe it can temper his strongest new recruits, and he will personally open the gates of that fortress for us."
"Just like last time, infiltrate with food?"
"No," Ren shook his head. "This time, it's not with food, but with ourselves." He looked at Rocks, then at Newgate and Wang Zhi. "We will disguise ourselves as an independent pirate crew that has been shipwrecked, powerful but in desperate need of supplies, and we will take the initiative to surrender to the G-2 Branch."
"A man like Zephyr will never trust us easily, but he also won't pass up any opportunity to educate and reform a powerful pirate crew. Even more so, he won't pass up a perfect target to be the final boss for his new recruits' trial."
"He will lock us up in the deepest special prison of G-2, under heavy guard, and then on the last day of the Hell's Kitchen trial, he will release us to be the graduation gift for those marine elites."
Ren's plan was bold and insane, every step built on a precise calculation of human nature. "Isn't that just walking into a trap?" Gatz asked, confused.
"That's right," Ren nodded. "But for us, that most heavily guarded prison is our Trojan Horse into the heart of G-2. And that so-called Hell's Kitchen trial is the best opportunity for us to flip the chessboard."
"We just need a special token, an ingredient that is absolutely impossible to have in the G-2 kitchen, but that Zephyr will definitely go crazy for after hearing about it, as a greeting gift from our pirate crew." He took out his ingredient index from his pocket and flipped to a page. On it was a drawing of a strange creature. It was shaped like a seahorse, but its entire body shone with a brilliant, sun-like golden light.
"The legendary ingredient—the Light Horse. A creature that only lives near deep-sea volcanoes, ten thousand meters under the sea, and feeds on light. It's said that its flesh contains the power of the sun, allowing the consumer to instantly burst forth with the purest life energy. An ingredient like this is an irresistible temptation for an instructor like Zephyr, who is eager to cultivate the strong."
At the G-2 Branch, in the commander's office, a man with a physique as massive as an iron tower stood with his hands behind his back in front of a huge floor-to-ceiling window, looking out at his proud steel fleet and the young marines sweating on the training grounds. He was the highest commander of the G-2 Branch, Marine Admiral "Black Arm" Zephyr.
"What did you say?" Zephyr didn't turn around, his voice as deep as thunder. "A pirate crew calling themselves the 'Wanderers' is asking for help off the coast of the branch, claiming they are willing to surrender and offer a legendary ingredient as proof of their sincerity?"
"Yes, Teacher Zephyr," a valiant female Rear Admiral stood respectfully behind him. She was one of Zephyr's most prized disciples, the future Vice Admiral, Momousagi. "They are just outside the harbor's alert zone. They said... their captain has heard of your great name and wishes to receive your guidance."
"Guidance?" Zephyr scoffed and turned around. His weathered face was filled with a murderous aura, exuding an unquestionable authority of justice. "These days, even pirates have learned to talk so politely?"
He was about to order these ignorant fools to be driven away, but the words "legendary ingredient" and "guidance" were like two small feathers, gently tickling his heart, which longed to temper new recruits. "Where's the sample?"
"Here, sir," Momousagi presented a beautiful box made of deep-sea cold jade, which was still emitting wisps of cold air. Zephyr took the box and opened it. An indescribable, warm aura, as if containing the brilliance of the sun, instantly filled the entire office.
In the center of the box, a paper-thin, golden slice of meat lay quietly. The slice of meat seemed to be breathing, each quiver emitting an even purer life energy. Just by smelling this aroma, Zephyr could feel all the cells in his body awakening and clamoring. He carefully picked up the slice of meat with his fingers and placed it in his mouth.
BOOM!
It was as if a sun had exploded in Zephyr's mind. It was an ultimate deliciousness that could not be described in words, as if the most primordial energy of life had been concentrated in this single slice. The flavor changed continuously on his tongue with the change in temperature, at times the warmth of the sun, at other times the heat of a flame, at other times the joy of budding life.
"This... this is... the flesh of a Light Horse!" A look of shock appeared on Zephyr's demonic face. The next moment, he gave a direct order. "Take them to the final trial grounds of Hell's Kitchen! I want to see for myself if the ones who can produce such an ingredient are qualified to be the whetstone for my students!"
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