Chapter 35 Chaos! The Lawless Zone of Sabaody!
Having successfully arrived at Area 60, Lister received a free map from the Navy and then left.
As for Major General Gion, given the difference in their status, they were destined to have no interaction now.
Because the roots of the Yarchiman mangrove secrete a special natural resin through respiration, the resin expands into bubbles when exposed to air, creating the Sabaody Archipelago, also known as the Soap Bubble Islands.
Under the sunlight, round bubbles scattered colorful light: bubble cars, bubble Ferris wheels, houses built inside bubbles… bubble culture permeated every part of Sabaody Archipelago!
"Young man, it's best not to go to Areas 1 through 29. Those are lawless areas, teeming with pirates, bounty hunters, slaves, slave traders… a complete mixed bag. Even the Navy doesn't want to go deep into them," the owner of the bubble car shop kindly reminded him.
"Thanks!"
Lister rode the bubble car into Zone 1.
"Oh, it really is a paradise for villains. There are a lot of naval forces in Areas 60 to 69. I couldn't sense them until I came in, and now I'm being watched."
Lister seemed oblivious to the shadowy figures behind him and leisurely continued forward. But soon, his path was blocked by a group of vicious thugs armed with weapons.
"Kid, hand over all your valuables, or we'll sell you to a shop, hehehehe…" The thug leader, wielding a large knife, grinned maliciously.
Lister got out of the car, pulled out the only coin in his pocket, and said, "What a pity, I only have 100 Berries left."
"Hehehe, then don't blame us."
More than a dozen vicious thugs surrounded him, their faces beaming with smiles at the sight of Lister.
"Sorry, you've picked the wrong person!"
Lister flicked his fingers, and the coin flew out.
"What's this? Are you giving us money? Hehehehe!" the thug leader laughed loudly, reaching for the coin.
Bang!
The next instant, the coin made contact with his hand. The seemingly ordinary coin exploded like a cannonball. A violent shockwave swept around like a tornado, and more than a dozen thugs were caught off guard, sent flying backward, dizzy and disoriented.
The worst off was the leader, who caught the coin with his bare hands; his thick arm was bleeding profusely, and he was rolling around in pain, screaming.
"Can't even catch 100 Berries, what a pity." Lister picked up the coin, blew on it, walked forward, and stomped on the thug leader's chest.
"Robbery!"
"Spare me, spare me, big brother, spare me!" the thug leader realized he had kicked a hornet's nest and knelt down to beg for mercy.
"100,000 Berries per person. If you can't come up with that, are there any human trafficking shops here?"
"Sir, are you interested in selling slaves? Please consider our Care for Life Company." A man suddenly ran over.
"Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Raoul, the current owner of Care for Life Company. If you wish to sell them, I would like to buy them all," the man said with a fawning smile.
He was short, like a child, but had the face of an adult. He wore a white suit with a lapel, a red shirt underneath, a gold necklace around his neck, and a bowl cut with a middle part.
Lister glanced at him; the man seemed to have been watching the conflict unfold.
"Raoul, what do you mean?" the thug leader shouted.
Raoul glanced at him sideways and smiled sinisterly: "Tormond, I told you, I'm a businessman, right? Everything is a commodity in my eyes, including you."
"Mean!"
"Shameless!" the thugs cursed, apparently they all knew Raoul.
In fact, Raoul had always been a buyer for the mob. Those who were defeated or captured by them were sent to Raoul as slaves and then sold to those in need.
Now that they had been defeated, their former allies had set their sights on them.
This was a shameless man who knew how to seize opportunities; he would either succeed or go to hell.
"Oh? How much are they worth?"
"Tormond, 100,000 Berries; others, 30,000 to 100,000 Berries. My lord, you must know that not all slaves are valuable; some even lose money. It's a high-risk business," Raoul sighed.
Lister chuckled.
"Sir, we have money, 100,000 Berries, we have it!" Tormond shouted in a panic. As a partner, he knew Raoul's nature all too well; he was a ruthless man who would sell his own wife to someone else.
"100,000 Berries each, 17 people in total, that's 1.7 million Berries." In the bubble house where the gang of thugs lived, Tormond counted out two stacks of Berries from the safe and handed them to Lister.
"Now you are free."
"Having received the money," Lister said with a smile.
"Yeah!"
"Long live!" the gang of thugs cheered.
"So, let's talk about another business deal," Lister continued.
Tormond was horrified, and the thugs swallowed hard.
"Could it be?!"
"That's right, a robbery!"
Raoul was overjoyed and ordered his men to tie up the thugs.
"My lord, you are a shameless man. 1.28 million Berries is the reward you deserve."
Lister smiled slightly, pointed to a pile of treasures on the table, including gold rings, pearl necklaces, and diamonds, and said, "Please exchange these items for Baileys."
"Of course, that's possible. However, as you know, sir, these kinds of stolen goods aren't easy to sell, and the selling price will be far below their rightful value. I…"
Lister interrupted Raoul and said, "20% commission, 20% of their sales are yours, how about it?"
Raoul immediately patted his chest and said, "Sir, please rest assured, our Care for Life Company values friendship the most and will definitely help you sell it for a high price!"
"In addition, I need some slaves."
"No problem, what kind of slaves does the master need? Women? Lolis, mature women, queens, transvestites, humans, mermaids, mink… As long as the master has enough Beli, I would even sell my mother to you!" Raoul clasped his hands, his face full of a shrewd businessman's expression.
"No, I need scholars!"
"Scholar?"
Raoul was stunned for a moment; it was the first time he had encountered a customer who wanted to buy a scholar.
"No?"
"How could that be? Sabaody Archipelago has the world's largest slave market. Here, if you can imagine it, you can buy it. Please wait a moment, sir, let Raoul help you find it!"
Raoul clutched his head, swaying left and right, while shouting, "Raoul's Great Memory Search!"
Raoul closed his eyes, his whole being caught in a vortex of memories, one piece of information about slaves flashing by.
"Ah, I've got it. Scholars are a stubborn bunch; they're usually from noble families or have some special experiences."
Raoul was telling the truth. Learning requires an environment, time, and money. Ordinary people struggle to survive, so even if they crave knowledge, they lack the means, let alone the opportunity to become scholars, with the exception of a few geniuses.
"Visdom, an old man who came to the Sabaody Archipelago with a pirate crew. In less than a day, the entire pirate crew was enslaved. They were just too weak. It's hard to imagine how a pirate crew made up of ordinary people could have entered the Grand Line from Reverse Mountain and made it all the way here!"
"However, there is a saying that Westmour conquered the first half of the Grand Line with his wisdom!"
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