One Piece Gunslinger

This step is analogous to planting vegetables; after the seeds are buried, they need time to take root and sprout.

Aside from the time cost, the Revolutionary Army also expended considerable manpower and financial resources. Financially speaking, the gold planted as seeds alone was worth over a billion Berries, not to mention other expenses; this amount could have been used to launch two large battleships.

The same applies to manpower. During this period, the spies and intelligence personnel were working overtime to complete this task. Because a large number of people were stuck in the Golden City doing unpaid work, other places were somewhat stretched thin.

So here's the question: why collect gold? If you're short of money, there must be other ways.

That said, some industries are actually more valuable than gold. Why did Li Ang go to so much trouble to have the Gold Emperor collect gold? With that time, manpower, and resources, he could have achieved remarkable results elsewhere.

The main problem is that this action did not substantially increase the Golden Emperor's wealth ceiling, and even if it did, the increase was not significant.

For Tesoro, it was simply a matter of exchanging his Beli for gold, which might generate some profit, but that profit was not worth the Revolutionary Army's extensive efforts.

If Leon wanted Tesoro's wealth, he wouldn't need to overthink things; he could just find an opportunity to wipe Tesoro out in one fell swoop. Why bother with this deliberate pursuit of gold?

Hehe, there's a reason why Li Ang is so obsessed with gold. At this crucial moment, nothing else, including the island of El Dorado itself, is as important as this pile of gold in the eyes of Li Ang and the Revolutionary Army.

The Revolutionary Army's actions were also intended to turn Tesoro's Golden City into a gold-rich area, gradually gathering gold from all over the world, which would then be seized by the Revolutionary Army in one fell swoop.

Why did the Revolutionary Army go to so much trouble to acquire so much gold? It was, of course, to issue a new currency, replacing the World Government's currency, the Baili. The currency to replace it is the Renminbi.

One of the conditions for issuing currency is having a huge gold reserve.

The other thing the Revolutionary Army is already doing is overthrowing the World Government and establishing a regime that can cover the entire world to ensure the smooth issuance of currency globally.

This is a path that must be taken. A new regime naturally needs a new currency, and it certainly cannot continue to use the Pele.

Moreover, this has another advantage: if this strike delivers a decisive blow to the World Government, dethroning it, then this move will become its death knell, directly eliminating any possibility of its resurgence.

War is about money. Even if the World Government is dethroned, it will still have considerable wealth, which will allow it to rebuild its power. However, if the World Government discovers that its Beli has become worthless, and everyone is using RMB, with no one willing to take over its Beli, then the World Government will inevitably suffer a devastating blow.

After the World Government was overwhelmed by the Revolutionary Army in both military and economic terms, it could no longer cause much trouble, and its demise was only a matter of time. The Revolutionary Army could then handle the cleanup work relatively easily, freeing up more energy to deal with the major problem of pirates, especially Big Mom and Kaido.

From this perspective, while Tesoro's assets may not seem to have increased much, it's a huge profit for the Revolutionary Army. After all, Berries will eventually become worthless, and each conversion means the Revolutionary Army can turn worthless paper into gold.

Okay, having said so much and explained the importance of gold to the revolutionary army or the new regime, Li Ang must have attached great importance to this plan. Now that two years have passed and it's time to reap the rewards, Li Ang naturally has to come in person.

"Hello, this is Vegetable Harvester Number One. Is Maintenance Worker Number One here?"

"Hey! What kind of lousy code names are these? They're awful. Can you please use something different?"

As they were talking, Li Ang arrived at this mobile city pulled by two giant tortoises.

Chapter 335 Dangerous VIP

"Maintenance Worker Number One, I've arrived at the vegetable garden. Let's find a place to meet." Vegetable Harvester Number One spoke to himself as if he hadn't heard Maintenance Worker Number One's complaints at all.

"So this code name is just awful, can you please stop?!" Perhaps not getting a response from Harvester Number One, Maintenance Person Number One finally snapped, "Can't you be normal?!"

"Uh, okay. It's not really a big deal, whatever." Since the other party wasn't satisfied with the name, Li Ang gave up on it; it was just something he'd come up with on the spot before making the call anyway.

"Okay, Li Ang, I'll have some time in two hours. Wait for me at No. 64 Shiliu Shijie Street, at a wild steak restaurant." After saying that, the other end of the phone hung up.

Well, it seems things aren't very convenient on the other end either. After all, there's still a facade of work and image to maintain, which will continue until after the harvest is finished. Until then, they need to protect their true identity.

These are the last two steps of the vegetable growing plan: maintenance and harvesting.

To use farming as an analogy, once the seeds are in the ground, you can't just leave them there. You certainly can't rely on the weather. You need to water, fertilize, and apply pesticides at the appropriate times, which of course requires human intervention.

This work continues until the crops are ripe and ready for harvest. Li Ang is the person who takes over from the maintenance worker to harvest the vegetables in the fourth step.

So who is this maintenance worker number one? I believe many people have guessed it already—it's the current intelligence minister, Karina.

It must be said, Karina is truly a talent; being a thief or a phantom thief is a waste of her abilities. In just one year, she not only learned a great deal about espionage from Dragon, but also developed a beautiful singing voice.

So, in order to save the vegetable garden, Karina decided to debut as an idol and ventured alone into the Golden City. She quickly became a popular songstress, a true idol of the entire city.

She single-handedly maintained the operation of the entire vegetable garden; she is truly an outstanding female farmer.

Karina: "Pah, this was clearly your decision. And first she was a popular songstress and idol, and now she's a female farmer. Isn't that a bit too much of a contrast?"

So, what Li Ang was actually referring to was Maintenance Worker Number One; there wasn't really a Number Two. The same goes for his Vegetable Harvester Number One; there was no Number Two.

"Hey, so this just tells me 64 Shiliu Street and that we'll meet in two hours? Does that mean I have two hours to do nothing?" Li Ang grumbled as he rowed his little wooden boat toward the port of Golden City.

Then Li Ang succumbed to the difficulty before even logging in.

"Hey young man, your service here is terrible. You don't even have a place to moor your small boat."

Li Ang circled the port but couldn't find a place to dock. Finally spotting a random staff member, he quickly asked for directions.

"This……"

The man who was being questioned, although he had worked at the port of Golden City for several years, had never seen Li Ang arrive in a small boat like this before. His years of work experience left him unsure how to respond.

Similarly, not only this dockworker, but also a boat full of tourists right next to Li Ang was now disembarking one by one, all looking on with bewildered expressions at the scene.

"What's the point of you rowing here in a tiny, beat-up boat? If you're so cool, why didn't you swim here? I'm sure I didn't come to the wrong place, this is the Golden City, right? I feel like I've been tricked, is this a fake Golden City?" This was the thought in many people's minds.

The group of people had been full of expectations for Golden City, having heard it was a place where gold was everywhere, but as soon as they got off the ship, they wanted to go home.

"How about this, I'll help you carry the boat ashore and put it in the warehouse over there. Then I can help you carry it back down when you need it, okay?" This was the solution the man had come up with after much deliberation.

It's impractical to have just one ship occupy a mooring space. Similarly, it wouldn't make sense to wed it between two large ships; it would just lower the overall prestige.

No, this thing's prestige already drops just because it exists in the Golden City. Didn't you see that group of people before? They were already starting to question their existence. If it continues to be blatantly placed here, wouldn't everyone who comes after it start questioning their existence too?

Therefore, in order to maintain world harmony, it's best to find a place where no one can see us and hide, so that everyone will be satisfied.

The main issue is that he can't kick people out. The work he's done over the past few years hasn't been for nothing. Although Li Ang's small boat looks low-class (it really is), in this day and age, someone who can sail alone on the high seas in a small boat is someone he can't afford to mess with.

It's like riding a tricycle to a five-star hotel; you can't just let the tricycle take up a parking space. The moment it stops among a bunch of luxury cars, you can clearly feel the whole world become inferior at that instant.

But we can't leave this tricycle unattended, because even though it's a low-class tricycle, the person riding it is a world-renowned entrepreneur, someone you can't afford to offend.

There's nothing you can do about it if someone just likes it; you don't understand other people's world.

Since this young man had found a place for Li Ang to put his mind at ease, Li Ang had nothing to say. He even took another look at this guy. After all, the Revolutionary Army couldn't just abandon the world's largest entertainment industry after taking over Golden City. It would still have to be put into operation even with a new owner. Naturally, these employees would then become members of the Revolutionary Army.

Shortly after Li Ang set foot on land, a young and beautiful woman approached him: "Mr. Li Ang, welcome to the world's largest entertainment city. I am your guide. You can call me Bakara."

After saying that, Bakala secretly glanced at the small boat that was being moved away by the dockworkers.

Here, such a thing is like a firefly in the pitch black—so bright, so outstanding. It's impossible not to take notice.

In fact, Bakara didn't need to introduce herself; Leon already recognized her. Bakara was one of the Golden Emperor Tesoro's most capable subordinates and also the ace receptionist of this place, only responsible for receiving (or swindling) some important figures.

The reason she became a top receptionist, besides her excellent face and good figure, is mainly because she is a user of the Luck Fruit, which allows her to change the luck of the people she touches, thereby giving or taking away good fortune.

It is precisely because of this ability that Baccarat can provide its guests with the most prestigious (or most outrageous) service experience. For those who need to cultivate relationships, Baccarat grants them good fortune, allowing them to thrive in the casino. Tezzolo, in turn, can lose a small amount of money at the casino to gain the favor of these important figures and earn more profit.

If the target is someone you want to harm, you can lure them into the trap step by step, and then at the most crucial moment, steal their luck, causing them to lose everything in one fell swoop.

So the question is, under what circumstances did Bakara come to find Li Ang?

"Oh? You recognize me?" Li Ang asked, feigning doubt. "I don't remember us meeting before."

“Lord Leon usually keeps a low profile and doesn’t often travel at sea, so most people might not recognize him. But as the CEO of the Grandet Consortium, our largest business partner on the Grand Line, especially in the New World, over the past two years, it would be extremely impolite of us not to recognize him,” Barak explained.

At the same time, Bakara took out a thick book and flipped through it with ease to the middle section, which contained a photo of Li Ang with clear notes.

"Moreover, all famous figures, whether they are great pirates, nobles, or businessmen like yourself, are recorded in our VIP book. As soon as they come, they will enjoy even higher-level services. If I, as a receptionist, cannot remember this VIP list, then that would be a dereliction of duty."

"Oh, I see." Li Ang nodded, feigning sudden realization.

This wasn't something Li Ang was faking. He'd only used this supposed CEO of the Grandet Consortium once, back in Alabasta. He hadn't used this identity for two years, yet Tezzolo still had his information, even his photo.

It seems that having money really is powerful; their intelligence network is no less impressive than that of the Four Emperors. It's second only to the World Government and the Revolutionary Army, forming the first tier.

However, Leon still couldn't be sure which idea Baccarat or Tezzolo was basing their decision on. Both possibilities were plausible.

If the goal is to strengthen cooperation with the Grandet conglomerate and gain profits, that's fine. However, it's also possible that they want to wipe out Li Ang and the Grandet conglomerate in one fell swoop; after all, this concept is something only Li Ang is playing with. They're not modern people; they might even think this CEO is the head of the conglomerate. Taking down Li Ang in one fell swoop would mean swallowing up the Grandet conglomerate.

Thinking about this, Li Ang suddenly felt a headache coming on. If it was the first scenario, that would be fine. But if it was the second, that would be a huge problem.

It's not that I can't afford to lose; anyway, in the end, all this money will end up in this vegetable garden, and eventually it will all belong to the revolutionary army.

The problem is that if Bakara's abilities cause him to have a string of bad luck, it might lead to Leon, the vegetable farmer, taking a big tumble while harvesting his crops. Being exposed for some inexplicable reason could, in the worst-case scenario, not only result in a complete crop failure but also reveal Leon's and the maintenance worker's (Number One Revolutionary Army) identities.

“Interesting. Looks like I won’t be bored for the next two hours.” Unbeknownst to Bakara, Leon smiled mysteriously.

Chapter 336 Surveillance Everywhere

After leaving the port with Bakara, Leon spotted the luxury tortoise car parked by the roadside.

“Please get in the car, Lord Leon.” Bakara opened the door for Leon.

Li Ang glanced at the tortoises on either side of the frame before sitting down.

After closing the door for Leon, Baraka walked to the other side and sat in the driver's seat: "Lord Leon is different from other people. Everyone is curious and surprised when they see a tortoise-shaped carriage for the first time. Have you seen it somewhere else before, sir?"

Li Ang shook his head and said, "Bakara, I've wanted to say this before, it's really not used to always calling me Lord Li Ang. Just call me Li Ang directly. As for this question, it's just that we're also researching something similar, but we're not using biological power to drive it, we're using something called an internal combustion engine."

After all, any creature capable of powering such a metal shell would either be too large or too rare, making widespread adoption difficult. Using more common and inexpensive fuel for power would allow for global deployment. Furthermore, internal combustion engines offer better endurance than biological power sources; machines don't get tired.

By the way, since we're doing this too, I'll just remind you. It's best to install a safety device in the car; the simplest is a strap to secure you to your body, which we call a seatbelt. This way, if the car suddenly stops at high speed after hitting something, you won't be able to stop in time and will be thrown out.

While Li Ang was saying these words, Bakala was in a state of shock, so much so that she forgot to start the tortoise car sitting next to him. After Li Ang finished speaking, a look of ecstatic joy flashed across his face for a moment.

After Li Ang finished speaking, Bakara smiled and said, "I see. As expected of the renowned Grandet Consortium, which is dedicated to developing civilian technology, you have a deeper understanding of vehicles than we have. I thought they were some kind of unique local product. It seems we were just being narrow-minded. Your suggestion is very valuable."

Li Ang's words were not spoken out of boredom or a desire to show off, nor were they for reasons such as vanity or anything like that.

Li Ang said those words to see Bakara's reaction and to determine the circumstances under which Bakara was receiving him.

Two hours is neither short nor long. In order to see Karina in two hours, this problem must be resolved as soon as possible.

Therefore, none of Bakara's subsequent changes in strength escaped Li Ang's careful observation, especially that fleeting moment of joy.

Judging from this expression, it's highly likely that this person is trying to sabotage themselves.

After all, I'm bragging about my family's wealth here, what's there to be happy about? It's like you have a teddy bear toy, and when I see it, I say, "That's nothing, I have a two-meter-tall 'little' teddy bear that's exactly the same."

Honestly, if the person who said this wasn't just bragging out of jealousy, and actually has a two-meter-tall replica toy at home, then why are you, the one being shown off, so happy? Shouldn't you be feeling envious and resentful?

Therefore, Li Ang completed the analysis in a matter of seconds.

Given Bakala's character, she goes beyond simply being happy for others.

If that's the case, then it means Baccarat's instructions were to lure her into this trap so she could reap huge profits, and ideally, swallow up the Grandet conglomerate. In that case, of course I'd be happy. After swallowing you up, wouldn't that two-meter-tall teddy bear of yours be mine?

"Hmm, I want to eat you, and you want to eat me too? This is really interesting. Is this harvesting activity going to turn into a game of eating Kun? Let's see who can evolve into the final golden Kun?"

While Li Ang was lost in thought, Bakara had already driven him into the city.