Chapter 118

An entire hour.

Luo Lan had spent the whole time cooperating inside the lab.

Yet in the end, nothing happened. This left Kaya drowning in self-doubt.

Could it be…

Was her theory actually wrong?

Seeing her like this, Luo Lan couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

After all, she was just a 15-year-old girl. Maybe he had been too blunt.

"Kaya, don't be sad. Look, I'm still here and—"

Uh...

Uhh...

Both of them froze with the exact same dumbfounded expression.

Just now, Luo Lan had been trying to cheer Kaya up by doing something silly.

He'd even struck a dramatic pose and extended his right hand toward the test tube she was holding—planning to make her laugh with a goofy act.

But instead…

Before he could even pull off the ridiculous expression he'd prepared—

The test tube shot out of Kaya's hand and zoomed straight into Luo Lan's outstretched palm.

The two of them…

Were completely stunned.

What the hell?!

What just happened?

Could it be that everything Kaya said was true?

Had he really started awakening?

And more than that…

Was this—telekinesis?

Luo Lan's eyes widened.

He looked down at the test tube in his hand.

Fly!

Fly, I say!

Whoosh…

The test tube instantly lifted from his palm, floating in mid-air.

Then, just as he pictured it in his mind, it soared smoothly through the air and landed neatly on the lab table.

So the reason it failed earlier…

Was because, deep down, I didn't believe it would work?

And now it succeeded…

Because I wasn't even thinking about whether I believed or not—I was just playing around?

And now that I do believe…

Luo Lan began to understand.

It's like controlling your own arm. You don't question whether it exists or whether it will respond to your thoughts. You just know it will.

To put it simply:

If, in your mind, your right hand didn't exist, then you wouldn't even try to move it.

And as a result—

It wouldn't move.

Okay, this is getting confusing.

Even Luo Lan was starting to feel dizzy from his own logic.

He decided to just stop thinking about it altogether.

At that moment, he suddenly sensed a wave of killing intent.

Who?

He scanned the room—and immediately locked eyes with Kaya.

"So… you're telling me that this whole time, brother Luo Lan, you never actually believed me, and you were just humoring me like it was some kind of game?"

"Wait—Kaya, it's not like that!"

"Oh? Then how come it didn't work before? Isn't it because you never truly believed in what I said?"

Uh…

Luo Lan had no real way to argue back.

The truth was, he hadn't believed her. Even when Kaya asked him to try, to just believe—he'd brushed it off.

She was right.

He was wrong.

"…Kaya, I'm sorry."

Seeing her upset, Luo Lan apologized without hesitation, with complete sincerity.

"Pfft—"

"I'm kidding! I'm not mad at all."

"And besides… congratulations, brother Luo Lan! Once your second genetic lock fully unlocks, this power of yours could become limitless."

Kaya beamed with joy.

Luo Lan's growth really did make her genuinely happy.

But her joy didn't last long.

Luo Lan's face suddenly turned stern.

"Kaya. Go home and get some proper rest. I'm ordering Seras to ban you from the lab for the next three days."

These days, Kaya was completely obsessed with genetic research.

Three days without the lab might as well be a death sentence.

Immediately, she began pleading and whining.

But unfortunately for her, Luo Lan was completely unmoved.

Under her pitiful, teary-eyed stare—he walked out of the lab without looking back.

---

Just one day.

That's all it took.

In just a single day, Branch 157 had obtained over twenty Devil Fruits.

Logia: Sand-Sand Fruit.

Paramecia: Chop-Chop Fruit.

Paramecia: Sticky-Sticky Fruit.

Paramecia: Spike-Spike Fruit.

Paramecia: Stone-Stone Fruit.

Paramecia: Bomb-Bomb Fruit.

Paramecia: Dice-Dice Fruit.

...

A total of 23 fruits.

Most of them came from the Donquixote Family and the Baroque Works.

Some were salvaged from various forces during the battle at Volcano Island.

And, of course—Buggy was on that list too.

However, Luo Lan wasn't planning to just hand out the Devil Fruits to everyone. Instead…

He intended to follow a system similar to Marine Headquarters.

He established two official methods for obtaining a Devil Fruit:

First:

Each fruit would be assigned a value—not in berry, but in military merit.

At the same time, a robust military merit system would be established within Branch 157.

No matter the rank, every marine could trade their accumulated merit points for rewards.

And not just Devil Fruits—high-grade weapons too.

From grade sword to great-grade, even supreme-grade swords from the forge workshop would be distributed the same way.

Second:

Those who made significant contributions and received unanimous approval from the branch's leadership could also receive a Devil Fruit.

But not just any fruit—they would be presented with a selection of fruits to choose from.

If they weren't satisfied with the choices, they could refuse and receive half the value in military merit instead.

After all, most front-line marines weren't cyborgs or superhumans.

Luo Lan needed rules like these to motivate them.

To push them to train harder, fight harder—and give them a reason to dream.

The moment this plan was proposed in the senior staff meeting, it received unanimous support.

Everyone even offered suggestions to further refine it.

And so, three days later—

A brand-new, fully customized military merit system went live in Branch 157.

The frontline marines were ecstatic.

After all, we're talking about Devil Fruits.

Even with the improved food and training facilities at the base, an average marine could only reach a few hundred in power levels.

But who wouldn't long for a superpower?

To them, a Devil Fruit was no different from gaining a superhuman ability.

So naturally, every single frontline marine threw themselves into overdrive.

Their training intensity skyrocketed.

Luo Lan was very pleased.

---

East Blue.

Just three nautical miles from the Calm Belt.

The original site of Rhodes Island.

A large Navy warship had just arrived at the location.

On the bow stood a tall woman wearing a Justice coat—a Vice Admiral of the Marines.

She was completely stunned.

The entire island…

Was gone.

"Navigator!"

"Yes, Vice Admiral!"

"You're absolutely sure we didn't go to the wrong location?"

"Completely sure!!"

Momousagi trusted her navigator.

After all these years, he'd never once made a mistake.

One of the most reliable in all of Marine Headquarters.

But that only made things worse.

Where the hell had Rhodes Island gone?

After a long silence, Momousagi pulled out a Den Den Mushi.

Buru buru buru…

"This is Tsuru."

"Sister Tsuru, it's Gion."

"Well? Is it him?"

"Uhh… I don't really know how to explain this."

Hm?

Tsuru paused.

What do you mean, you "don't know how to explain"?

But in the next moment, as Gion continued…

Tsuru was left just as stunned.

"Sister Tsuru… I'm already here, but…"

"Rhodes Island—is gone!"

---

Currently at chapter 395 on Ko-Fi

https:// ko-fi.com/sami27