The guillotine that had always hung over his head vanished. Merlin felt incredibly refreshed, lighter than he had ever been.
After experiencing the effects of the ability, Merlin opened the cage, grabbed the lynx inside, and [Equipped] it.
Swish!
In the second frame of the [Equipment Slot] before him, a vivid image of a sleeping lynx suddenly appeared.
[Name: Unconscious Lynx]
[Effect: When equipped, you gain biological characteristics of a lynx.]
[Synchronization Rate: 1%]
[Evaluation: A healthy, strong lynx. As an all-around hunter among felines of its size, long-term equipment has a probability of permanently granting a special perk possessed by this creature.]
A warm current flowed into his body.
He blinked. He had now gained various traits far surpassing those of a rat: keen bodily senses and robust physical abilities.
He stood up and jumped a few times in place. He could feel that his explosive power had been significantly enhanced.
It was a boost comparable to the non-transformed Jungle Wolf form; the only difference was the lack of transformation ability.
Merlin's eyes shone brightly, his confidence surging.
"With the Calamity Fruit ability plus the high-mobility biological enhancement of the lynx, I should be considered an apex predator in this Flevance 'hunting ground' now."
At that moment, as the lynx was equipped, the [Equipment Slot] transmitted another message to Merlin's consciousness.
[Detected two equipped "Items." Synthesize?]
Merlin froze for a moment as he processed the information.
"I can consume my own energy to synthesize the items in the equipment slots?"
"Does this bring the mechanic of combining small items into big items from mobile games too?"
"In that case, if I obtain Devil Fruit source power again in the future, can I use fruit to synthesize Devil Fruits?
"Or use living creatures to synthesize fruit source power, thereby freeing up more slots to save precious equipment slot resources?"
[No.]
Merlin rejected the [Synthesis].
The lynx was too low-tier. Merlin didn't plan to use it to synthesize with the precious Calamity Fruit.
He didn't need to think too much; he already knew how powerful the Calamity Fruit was. He believed he would have better choices in the future.
And he wasn't in a desperate situation right now; he still had options.
He closed the equipment slot.
He put the matter aside for now.
Suddenly,
His pupils dilated to twice their size, and his ears twitched slightly. His keen hearing clearly picked up some movement in the distance.
Gunshots were getting closer. Those foreign executioners had clearly breached the central area of Flevance.
Merlin glanced at Mela's suitcase. It now only contained Berries and a few changes of clothes.
After thinking for a moment, he stuffed the suitcase into a crevice within the rockery cave. Thirty million Berries was a huge sum; it might be very useful for him later.
He shouldered his backpack and checked his dagger and the katana. Merlin drew the blade, watching the cold glint of the edge under the moonlight.
"It's not a famous blade, about the same quality as my dagger."
It was about 1.1 meters long in total.
The curvature of the edge was slight, and the blade had beautiful temper patterns—typical flame-patterned steel. It was a good weapon, forged with care.
He sheathed the sword with a crisp click!
Holding the sword, Merlin picked up the cage and went to the corner of the wall where he had entered.
He threw the cage out of the courtyard.
Then he picked up a rifle from the ground and took a gas mask from his waist.
Not caring about the dirt, he pulled it directly over his head.
Disguise complete.
Merlin crouched slightly and leaped up, hooking his left arm over the wall and flipping over effortlessly. He looked around; there were no foreign soldiers on the streets around the villa at the moment.
"It seems the explosion here didn't attract them. Makes sense; gunshots and explosions are everywhere in the city, they don't have time to check every single one."
Merlin looked toward the distinctive peaked roof of the hospital in the distance, pondering. "I don't strictly need medical supplies anymore. Should I still go?"
In the next moment, Merlin's gaze steadied.
"I have to go. Dr. Trafalgar and his family took care of me in the past. Since I have the ability to protect myself now, I should go warn them.
"And Yol... I wonder how she is."
Without a doubt, the situation at the hospital would be dangerous. Those bastard soldiers would definitely go there to massacre people.
But some things had to be done.
And running away blindly wouldn't guarantee escape anyway.
Merlin jumped down from the wall and ran quickly toward his destination, savoring his current physical state.
It was unprecedentedly good.
The powerful agility traits brought by equipping the [Lynx] made running effortless.
His keen senses distinguished every movement within a hundred meters. Under the night sky, he moved like a ghost.
Merlin ran faster and faster, carefully observing his surroundings. For a moment, he felt a trance-like sensation, as if he had truly become a lynx running through the forest.
An incredibly free and exhilarating feeling.
With the Amber Lead Syndrome removed and the lynx equipped, his physical condition was at its peak.
Before long.
Merlin arrived in an alley next to the hospital. Gunshots were ringing out constantly from within the dimly lit building.
A cold light flashed in Merlin's eyes. Without hesitation, he rushed out of the alley and straight through the broken main gates.
He reached the first-floor lobby. Suddenly, he heard gunshots, shattering glass, and a familiar, grief-stricken cry coming from not far away on the first floor.
Merlin turned and rushed toward the sound. At that moment, a soldier ran out from around a corner, coming face-to-face with him. Seeing Merlin, he shouted loudly:
"Chase him! Another infected brat got away!"
In the time it took to shout, the distance between them closed. Merlin's eyes widened behind the mask. He stopped abruptly. As the soldier got close, Merlin drew the dagger from his right leg with his right hand and stabbed it violently into the man's chest.
Squelch! The soldier screamed. Merlin raised his left leg and drove his knee hard into the man's groin. Thud!
The soldier was knocked to the ground. Merlin pounced on him and drove the dagger into his neck.
After twitching twice, the soldier stopped moving. Merlin panted, glanced at the man's waist, took two grenades, and clipped them to his own belt.
After doing this, Merlin quickly got up and ran toward the ward where the sound had come from. Ten seconds later, Merlin stood at the door of the ward. At a glance, he saw a middle-aged couple in white coats lying in a pool of blood.
Dr. Trafalgar and his wife.
Merlin walked over to them and squatted down, checking their carotid arteries. The woman was already dead, but the man still had a breath of life.
Seeing this, surprise flashed in Merlin's eyes. Black flames rose in his left hand as he pressed it against the man's chest. The black flames instantly wrapped around him.
His energy drained away like a flood. Merlin's eyes widened in shock.
"Why is the consumption so high?"
Ten seconds later, "Cough!" Dr. Trafalgar spat out a mouthful of bloody foam. Having stepped one foot into the grave, he opened his eyes. But when he saw Merlin's attire, he struggled immediately. Merlin quickly spoke:
"Doctor, don't move. It's me, Laplace. I'm saving you."
Dr. Trafalgar's eyes widened. He recognized Merlin's voice, but as a renowned doctor, he knew his own condition very well.
He turned his head and looked sorrowfully at his dead wife, then suddenly grabbed Merlin's left forearm with his right hand.
His wide eyes were filled with bloodshots. In his final moments, he had realized that his eldest son, Law, had already escaped. He spoke with immense weakness:
"Lami... Lami is in the... special care unit on the third floor... save her... please..."
As his words fell, the hand gripping Merlin's arm lost its strength.
Merlin fell silent. The black flames in his hand dissipated. Simultaneously, his left index finger turned crimson red. Even consuming nearly half his stamina and mental energy, he hadn't been able to save him.
The doctor's weak life force had been cut off first.
If only he were stronger... if he had more energy... maybe he could have really brought him back.
It turned out his ability wasn't omnipotent.
Merlin panted, feeling the fatigue and soreness in his limbs, followed by a warm current circulating in his body.
Merlin realized: "The lynx's super endurance..."
He looked at the doctor one last time. Merlin tried to pull away, but the man's right hand still gripped him tightly. Merlin couldn't help but whisper:
"If you don't let go, how can I go find Lami?"
Just as he was about to use force to break free,
At the moment his words fell, the man's hand slowly released its grip.
Merlin remained silent.
He stood up, took one last long look at them, then immediately turned and ran out the door toward the stairs.
But just as he reached the second floor, he bumped into another soldier. The soldier reacted quickly, steadying Merlin by the shoulders and exclaiming:
"Be careful! Why so clumsy? The upper floors are cleared, come down and help us clean up below!"