Simulation: Starting from Under One Person

"Wow~ What an adorable raccoon dog~"

"Damn it, I'm a reindeer!" Chopper roared angrily.

The atmosphere was pretty bad at our first meeting...

Chapter 221 The News Icarum Brings Back

Several days later, upon returning to the desert kingdom, Fang Rui found that nothing had changed.

Inside the luxurious casino Rain Party, gamblers remained engrossed in their gambling, their cries and cheers echoing through the spacious hall. They ascended the stairs to the second floor and then entered Nicole Robin's office.

Inside the room, Nico Robin was working on documents, while Crocodile sat by the window, slowly swirling a glass of red wine, his gaze fixed on the desert outside, his expression seemingly melancholy.

They're probably in a period of confusion. After all, it's been a wasted effort, and they definitely need time to regroup.

Hearing the door open, Crocodile turned his head to look. When he saw that it was Fang Rui, he twitched his lips slightly, then immediately looked away and continued to admire the desert scenery.

"You're back!"

Nicole Robin put down her pen, looked up at the doorway, and spoke with great respect.

"Yes, I'm back." After responding, Fang Rui asked, "Has the time and place for the meeting with Cobra been confirmed?"

“No.” Nico Robin took out a Den Den Mushi. “I’ll contact him now.”

"Okay." Fang Rui nodded in satisfaction.

Planting trees in the Kingdom of Alabasta is a long-term business, so naturally we need to put in some effort.

Then, he looked at Crocodile, who was admiring the scenery: "I'm entrusting the reception work for the Germa Kingdom to you. Can you handle it well?"

Crocodile: "…………"

Who do you think i am?

It's just a matter of hosting a few guests; there's no difficulty at all.

Crocodile, too lazy to respond, stared at the desert without saying a word, his posture appearing somewhat arrogant.

Fang Rui suddenly felt his hands were itchy and wanted to do something silly to warm them up.

It felt as if a cold wind was blowing hard against the back of Crocodile's head, making him feel a chill.

"Some troublemakers are trying to harm me!"

An idea suddenly popped into his mind, and Klock Dalton's expression immediately turned serious. His sharp eyes swept around and he soon saw Fang Rui's rather "kind" smile.

The source of the crisis has been identified!

Crocodile only needed 0.05 seconds to think before he understood his situation and how to resolve the crisis.

"Don't worry, leave it to me!"

One sentence... failed to quell Fang Rui's anger, and Crocodile was slapped into a pile of sand.

Meanwhile, Nico Robin and Cobra's conversation had ended, and the time and place for their meeting had been set: the capital of the kingdom, Albana, in the evening.

After all, the desert is quite hot during the day.

It's cooler in the evening, and we can also have dinner there.

Discussing serious matters during meals is a good habit.

Incidentally, the area for the first afforestation project has been determined to be the kingdom's capital, Albana.

After listening to Nicole Robin's report, Fang Rui nodded slightly: "Very good, then let's set off now!"

Fang Rui and Nico Robin left together, one sentence echoing in the room: "Crocodile, don't wander off, stay home..."

Crocodile: "…………"

Something about that sentence doesn't feel quite right. Maybe it's just my imagination?

Riding on one of Alabasta's unique aquatic and terrestrial animals, the Aquatic Tortoise, Fang Rui and Nicole Robin quickly headed to the capital, Albana.

"It's a tortoise, but it can run so fast! Amazing!"

A parasol was propped up on the broad tortoise shell, and under the parasol were a coffee table and two chairs. Fang Rui, sitting on the chair to the left of the coffee table, gazed at the giant sea tortoise that was moving with heavy steps and running fast, and sighed softly.

"After all, I'm very busy, so how can my personal transportation be slow?"

"Do you need me to assign you an assistant?"

"If it's possible, that would be the best."

"You can choose your own assistant. Once you've made your selection, just let me know."

"Okay." Robin nodded slightly, indicating that there was no problem.

"By the way, send Mr. 1 and his partner to Drum Island. Mr. 2 alone isn't enough..."

The main issue is Bon Clay's personality, which is difficult for most people to adapt to. The person he needs to protect is likely to avoid him. Moreover, although Wapol's strength is average, it's not something Bon Clay alone can accomplish by capturing him alive.

"Remember to tell them that if they encounter Wapol, they should capture him alive."

“Okay.” Without paying attention to who Wapol was, Robin immediately took out a Den Den Mushi and contacted Mr. 1, who was on a mission.

As senior executives of the Baroque Works, Mr. 1 and his colleagues could be described as either quite idle or quite busy, but overall they had a lot of free time.

Upon receiving Nico Robin's call, Mr. 1 and his partner immediately set off for Drum Island. As a high-ranking officer, Mr. 1 has his own personal transportation, an ordinary-sized boat, which allows him to depart immediately.

………………

Albana, the capital of the kingdom.

The royal palace is situated on a circular plot of land that is significantly higher than the rest of the area, offering a panoramic view of Albana.

In a quiet, ordinary restaurant in downtown Albana, there were only five people inside.

One of them was the restaurant owner, and his expression was somewhat conflicted. Although the king's visit to his restaurant once again was something he was proud of, but...

Can we please not discuss important matters in the store?!

He was on tenterhooks the whole time, fearing that a guard would come up to him, say, "You know too much," and then swing his sword at him.

He was both happy and worried; that perfectly describes him.

Besides, another person also looked somewhat conflicted. This was Icarum, who had been persuaded by Vivi after some conversation. He had already returned to the Kingdom of Alabasta to bring King Cobra news of Princess Vivi and the mission of investigating the Baroque Works' intentions within the country.

Of course, he and Princess Vivi had already told King Cobra the information they had gathered, but the king did not believe it all and still decided to cooperate with Baroque Works.

Ikaram was conflicted about this, but he could understand the king's choice.

After all, the lush forest is far too tempting for the people living in Alabasta; even knowing there's a pit ahead, they'll still jump in.

but……

They wouldn't jump into a pit if it had spikes.

As for Bell and Jakka, as the two responsible for the force, they didn't think too much about it. They understood that they needed to be wary of the Baroque Works, and that was enough for them.

Meanwhile, King Cobra's thoughts were also surging like waves, with all sorts of questions churning in his mind...

"Squeak~"

The sound of the door being pushed open echoed in the shop, immediately interrupting their thoughts and drawing their attention.

Upon seeing the visitors, the restaurant owner went to the kitchen and began cooking.

Kobra remained composed, though his expression was somewhat serious: "Please sit down."

Bell and Jacques stood on either side of Cobra, their eyes fixed on Fang Rui and Nicole Robin.

'Someone who can represent Baroque Works must be a high-ranking member!'

As Icarus thought this, his gaze fell on Fang Rui and Nicole Robin.

Chapter 222 The Shocking Crowd

'Hmm? You look familiar!'

Icarus paused, ignoring Fang Rui whom he had no recollection of, and focused his gaze on Nicole Robin.

As a bounty hunter, he could remember the Navy's bounty notices quite clearly. When he saw Nico Robin's face, a sense of déjà vu arose in his mind. Although there were some changes, based on the details, the person in front of him should be Nico Robin, known as the "Child of the Devil," with a bounty of 79 million Berries.

This is tricky, I need to call someone... Wait a minute!!!

Thinking of the bounty offered, Icarum subconsciously entered work mode, but halfway through his train of thought, he suddenly remembered that he had now shed his identity as a bounty hunter and returned to his original post as the captain of the kingdom's guard.

Immediately afterward, his thoughts drifted again, and he thought of Princess Vivi, who was infiltrating the criminal organization alone, and a feeling of worry welled up in his heart once more.

Princess! I wonder if you are well?

Are you well-fed? Are you warmly dressed? You shouldn't be injured! You shouldn't have been bullied!

A wave of sorrow washed over Icarus, and his expression turned melancholy.

They also didn't have the energy to think about things like, "Why are there bounty hunters in the bounty hunter organization, and even high-ranking ones..."

Fang Rui and Nicole Robin did not pay attention to Icarus's several changes in expression in a short period of time.

Tell me why you invited me here.

The deal had been agreed upon, but they invited the other party to talk again just before it was about to start. It's obvious that something else is going on!

'There are indeed some things...'

Kobra thought to himself, but didn't say it aloud. He smiled and said, "There's no special reason. I just wanted to invite you to dinner and chat about the details of afforestation."

"...Are there any requirements for the trees? No problem, whether it's a cedar, a poplar, or an apple tree...as long as it's a plant, there's no problem."

Upon hearing this, Kobra immediately abandoned his original question and followed Fang Rui's line of thought...

"Please make sure there are a variety of plant species, and for trees, please focus on fruit trees... Do you need me to provide seeds? If so, I'll send someone to buy them right away!"

"By the way, if the desert is suddenly covered by vegetation, the water supply will be in trouble..."

Without interrupting Cobra, Fang Rui listened quietly, but after a minute or two, Cobra still hadn't stopped, and Fang Rui got a little bored, occasionally glancing at the empty tabletop.

So, you're not treating me to dinner?!

Where's the food?

With food and wine, I can listen to you all day long.