One Piece: A Guide for Ordinary Players

Robert shrugged: "I don't have any evidence that they're using your inventions to destroy the world, but I can prove that your inventions have absolutely not been used to improve people's lives!"

Vegapunk said, "How is this possible? I..."

Robert interrupted with a laugh, "I see there are machines on the island that automatically make food, but in the whole world, only this island has them. What's even more ridiculous is that more than 30 percent of the world's population can't even afford to eat their fill."

"There are also robot dogs that handle garbage. There is a Goa Kingdom in the East Blue, which is an important member state of the World Government. The country is surrounded by huge garbage dumps. The civilians have even had their land encroached upon and can only make a living by picking up things discarded by city dwellers from the garbage dumps. Why hasn't your invention been used?"

"Or do you think that ordinary people can actually use this air conditioning system that regulates the climate of the entire island?"

Vegapunk wore a bitter expression. Every time Robert spoke, he would use his high technology to retrieve the relevant information immediately. But as Robert said, none of his few inventions related to people's livelihoods had been put into use.

What's even more frightening is that he himself had never thought of this before Robert pointed it out.

"So Dr. Vegapunk, it's perfectly justifiable for him to take the World Government's money to develop weapons and continue enslaving civilians. Then why bother researching useless things to deceive yourself?"

Vegapunk was speechless, standing there in a daze, saying nothing.

Robert then began to comfort him: "I understand your predicament. The World Government is the strongest force in the world. As long as we cannot defeat their high-end combat power in one fell swoop, all resistance will be in vain."

Vegapunk said with a mournful face, "Why don't they promote my inventions?"

Robert stated in the most flat tone: "Once classes are created, they will naturally lead to top-down oppression."

"The Celestial Dragons finally became the elite, so if everyone in the world lived a good life, how could they still feel superior?"

"Besides, once I have enough to eat and wear, why should I work hard to produce wealth?"

"But once the lower classes stop producing, how can the upper classes enjoy life? So, in order to keep having chefs to cook for them and servants to take care of their daily lives, the upper classes will spontaneously prevent the lower classes from living a good life."

Vegapunk looked at Robert: "According to you, wouldn't anyone in power just repeat the same thing?"

Robert shrugged: "First of all, let me make it clear that I have no intention of overthrowing the world government and becoming a dictator myself. I just want to make a good life for some of the people who follow me, within my capabilities."

Vegapunk nodded: "At least you really want to do something practical. Tell me, what technology do you want from me? As long as you can really use it to help more people, I'm willing to provide you with some technology."

Robert shook his head: "I've already said, what I want isn't some technology, I want you to join my team!"

Vegapunk said seriously, "Impossible. The moment I leave the World Government's control, they will completely destroy me and everything I've researched. At that time, neither you nor I will escape."

Robert nodded: "I know, so I won't take you away now. You can continue to do research here using the World Government's resources until I can provide a research base that the World Government can't reach."

Vegapunk said, "You have no idea how powerful the World Government is. There is no place in this world that can escape their control."

Robert hesitated for a moment before asking, "Will our conversation be shared by your clones?"

Vegapunk asked, "How many? How do you know I have other clones?"

Robert said mysteriously, “I have my own channels. I know many deep secrets of this world, including what you are researching: the lost 100 years.”

Vegapunk suddenly widened his eyes: "When I looked at your file before, it said that you were a descendant of Ohara, and I had some doubts about that!"

Robert remained noncommittal, leaving everything to Vegapunk to guess: "Please answer my question first."

Vegapunk said, "My clones are still being tested, and the shared mind Punk record has not yet been completed. Just now, I only activated Shakyamuni himself to meet you, so our memories are not connected yet."

Robert nodded: "Then I'll give you a heads-up. If I said that in the future my sphere of influence would cover all the sky islands, with your technology as support, would you be able to defend against a bottom-up attack from the World Government?"

Vegapunk frowned and said, "Skypiea? It is indeed easier to defend at an altitude of tens of thousands of meters, but if the World Government really intends to attack, it only needs to send a few powerful individuals to land on the White Sea. Such a solo advance is very difficult to defend against, so Skypiea is not enough to impress me."

Robert wasn't discouraged at all; instead, he played his trump card: "Sky islands aren't enough, so how about the moon?"

Vegapunk's eyes widened, while Robert's gaze was intense: "I have a ship that can fly to the moon, so I have a suggestion. Since the Punk Records haven't been completed yet, why don't you build them on the moon? Im can't possibly track you down there and destroy your research records, can he?"

Vegapunk's expression suddenly became fascinating; Robert's suggestion seemed to have opened a new world for him: "I want to prove that you really can land on the moon!"

Robert revealed his true intentions: "No problem, you can send an avatar to accompany me, and it will handle all communication for our cooperation, how about that?"

Vegapunk hesitated: "But they were created with their own research missions..."

Robert narrowed his eyes: "I don't think so. As far as I know, there's an avatar representing your desires..."

"The only task is to eat!"

Chapter 12 These are all the fastest ways to make money.

Although each of Vegapunk's clones has a different personality, they all actually possess the same scientific research capabilities as the original Vegapunk, since they were all cloned from his own genes.

Furthermore, given that Punk has a vast shared database, acquiring any Punk clone would essentially give Robert a super scientist at his disposal.

Robert never intended to take Vegapunk away directly. His goal from the beginning was to create a clone to keep by his side until Im was completely restrained by Luffy and the others, at which point he would take the island of Vegapunk away.

Robert never wavered in his choice of which clone to use; from the very beginning, he had his sights set on York, who would ultimately betray everyone and represent desire!

Vegapunk's six clones actually have quite a few bugs, or rather, the design wasn't very rigorous.

The Buddha, who symbolizes righteousness, doesn't appear particularly righteous, while Lilith, who symbolizes evil, simply represents evil by robbing passing ships to fund her research.

Many people can't tell Edison and Pythagoras apart in terms of their thoughts and wisdom. Apart from the plot where Pythagoras discovers that York is the traitor, they don't play any other roles.

Atlas, symbolizing rage, is quite endearing, especially his brilliant act of self-destructing to delay the Five Elders' pursuit, but he still can't escape his essential role as a tool.

York, the Last Desire, is the most three-dimensional character in Robert's eyes. His daily job is to deal with the other Vegapunks' desires for food, drink, and excretion. He spends all his time sleeping and eating.

But it was precisely this clone who did the least work who ultimately betrayed those clones who were working tirelessly on research, simply because he saw the Celestial Dragons' lives and wanted to have that kind of power and status.

Since Robert now wants to recruit Begapolk, we should help him as much as possible. The most efficient way is to nip York, a potential traitor, in the bud.

In Robert's view, people with needs and desires are the easiest to fool.

Vegapunk was surprised that Robert even knew about the roles of his various clones: "There is indeed a clone used to deal with desires..."

Robert said, "I am a chef, and a very good one at that. Having that clone by my side serves two purposes: first, it can act as a bridge for communication between us; second, I can take care of her meals, which will save you a lot of money to use for scientific research."

Vegapunk was not as wealthy as he described. The World Government did not provide unlimited support for his research, which is why Lilith later resorted to robbing ships passing through the surrounding waters to subsidize his research funding.

In order to satisfy the desires of all the other clones plus the original body with just one clone, York is a full 4.82 meters tall and eats a lot of food every day. If that money were saved, it would be enough to develop several more small projects.

Robert said sincerely to Vegapunk, "This is only our first meeting. I don't expect you to trust someone you've just met. We'll have a long road ahead of us."

Vegapunk tilted his head and asked, "I'm short on time, so you only need to answer one question. I also want to make a decision as soon as possible, and then I need to go back and continue my research."

Robert perked up: "Please ask."

"How do you know so much, including my creation of clones and their function, as well as the Punk Records? I haven't even explained these things to Sentomaru in detail."

Robert knew that pretending to be a charlatan was useless now, and his identity as a descendant of Ohara couldn't explain why he knew so much about Vegapunk.

“I have some special abilities that allow me to foresee the future to a limited extent. Although it sounds incredible, I do know a lot about you that even you yourself don’t know.”

Instead of dismissing it with disdain, Vegapunk asked with great interest, "That's quite an interesting ability. You've come to me now because my research hasn't been used to improve people's lives until I die, has it?"

Robert sighed: "Yes..."

Vegapunk reacted quickly: "So, I don't have much time left to live, right?"

Robert simply revealed all the plot details he knew: "One of your clones will choose to betray you, steal the Mother Spark and give it to the World Government to activate the Ancient Weapons, and also confess your research on the Void Century. So, in another year, you will be executed."

Vegapunk didn't seem afraid at all. Instead, his eyes sparkled as he asked, "Who could it be? It wouldn't be York, the one you want to take away, would it?"

Robert thought to himself that chatting with smart people was so much easier, and nodded readily: "You really believe me?"

Vegapunk asked doubtfully, "Didn't you say this just to make me believe you? But I'm a scientist. I need to deduce and verify what you're saying step by step. I won't easily believe everything you say."

Robert nodded and smiled, "However, there is one point I must emphasize: from the moment I met you, the future has already begun to change."

Vegapunk wrote down very carefully: "The future can still be changed, which makes sense."

Robert stared intently at Vegapunk: "So, are you satisfied with my absurd answer?"

Vegapunk nodded and said, "Okay, tell me what you want me to do."

Robert said seriously, "I need to develop my territory, and I need two crucial technologies. I hope you can take a look at them."

When Vegapunk heard that he was to do scientific research, he immediately became interested: "What kind of technology is it? Maybe I've already studied it."

Robert said, "The first is food, the second is energy."

Vegapunk knew very well that the two things Robert was talking about were not as simple as they seemed on the surface. With his puffy, sleepy eyes, he continued to stare at Robert, waiting for him to explain.

"I will soon begin integrating the Sky Islands, but the biggest problem with Sky Islands is that food cannot be grown. I hope you can develop some crops that can be grown on the Sky Islands."

Vegapunk smiled and said, "A very interesting topic."

Robert held up a second finger: "And the energy I'm talking about isn't some eternal flame, but electricity that can be used directly. It's a sustainable energy source that can be continuously generated by tides, wind, sunlight, and so on, and can be used on a large scale by ordinary people."

Vegapunk stared into Robert's eyes: "That's not difficult, but even if I develop a machine to generate electricity, what's the use of having electricity if ordinary people lack electrical appliances? Yours is still a bit too idealistic."

Robert grinned: "You don't need to worry about how to use it. As long as there is a stable power supply, I'm willing to pay out of my own pocket to promote and popularize household appliances to the public."

"While technology is the primary productive force, don't underestimate the power of finance!"

Chapter 13 Those are all my property

Back then, Robert watched short videos every day, and all the bloggers who talked about international affairs couldn't avoid mentioning two resources: food and energy.

These two things are the most basic resources that constitute the development of the world: food is responsible for keeping people alive, and energy is the foundation of technological evolution.

Vegapunk seemed a little confused, so Robert explained, "My team has already gained actual control of the Kingdom of Dressrosa after liberating it. Why don't we set up a pilot project there? You can be in charge of researching the power generation facilities, and I'll be in charge of getting the whole country using electrical appliances."

Vegapunk nodded and said, "Okay, but York can't be taken away by you yet."

Robert readily agreed: "Of course, my current status is just that of a corporal who hasn't even graduated from basic training yet. It would be too unreasonable to just take her away."

Vegapunk waved his hand in the air: "Now that you've stated your demands, I'll also state my conditions."

Robert took the mechanical grappling hook that extended from the wall and handed it to a basketball-shaped machine in front of him: "What do you need me to do?"

Vegapunk said, "I'm very interested in the moon you mentioned. You just need to take this little guy to the moon, and I need to consider the environment there."

Robert took a deep breath: "Buy me some time."

Vegapunk nodded and said, "That's simple. I'll tell Borsalino to let you stay and help me with some research. Sometimes an experiment can last for several months."

Robert nodded and said, "Alright, I'll set off now."

Vegapunk didn't expect Robert to be so decisive, but he was also eager to explore the lunar environment. If he could really build the Punk Record on the moon, it would be like leaving himself the safest way out.

After watching Robert leave, Vegapunk arrived at the time-choosing station with a worried look on his face.

Six clones lay dormant on the control panel, while Sentomaru sat to the side, boredly watching the machine he couldn't understand perform a self-check of data.

"Uncle Punk, are you done talking to that guy?"

Vegapunk glanced at Sentomaru. He knew this orphan he had raised since childhood all too well, and there were some secrets he dared not tell him the truth: "We're done talking. A very interesting recruit."