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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Three: Schedule
The city of Aluma, near the Coast, had gradually fallen into desolation due to drought and sandstorms, leading many residents to leave.
However, three months ago, it began to rain, and the kingdom started rebuilding the city. Today, Aluma has been completely restored.
On this day, soldiers stood guard at intervals along the streets of Aluma, while a large crowd gathered in the central square.
"The casino is opening today."
"Yes, and it's a casino established by the Alabasta Kingdom, even larger than the former Rain Banquet Casino."
"But aside from that casino, all other types of gambling establishments have been banned."
"The Alabasta Kingdom is being too domineering; they can do it themselves, but others can't?"
"I think it's for the best. You don't know how chaotic the dozen or so casinos that opened this year were. There were constant fights, and some casinos were even scamming people."
"Now that the Alabasta Kingdom is involved, gambling feels a bit more secure."
"It's just too far away; it's still in the middle of the desert."
The surrounding civilians discussed among themselves but continued to move forward until they reached the lakeside.
At the edge of the lake stood a massive building, sprawling and resplendent, with a sign that read "Las Vegas."
At this moment, the golden doors of the casino swung open wide as figures entered. Most of them were commoners eager to experience what the casino had to offer.
"Hello, please come this way to exchange your chips."
"This is Blackjack."
"This is Blackjack, would you like to give it a try, sir?"
"Over here is the Slot Machine."
The waitstaff were introducing the entertainment options around them. On this floor, two-thirds of the area was filled with gambling tables, while one-third was dedicated to Slot Machines.
In addition, there were alluring Dealers, inspectors dressed in black suits with red trim, and security guards wearing black suits with blue pocket squares.
The first floor was spacious and extravagantly decorated, with luxurious chandeliers hanging from above.
To reach the second floor, one had to ascend the stairs at the back; it featured only round tables with higher stakes and greater spacing between them.
The third and fourth floors consisted of private rooms accessible only to VIP customers.
"With so many people, it seems we should be able to break even."
On the second floor, several figures stood in front of the glass wall overlooking the entrance, allowing them to see the crowd below.
The girl in blue gazed down at the throngs of gamblers and sighed, "With such a large investment, judging by today's foot traffic, it looks like we should be able to break even soon."
"Princess Vivi, today is just the opening; there may not be this many people in the future. If we can maintain even one-tenth of this crowd on a regular basis, that would be sufficient," remarked a tall, thin elder.
"One-tenth? That's far too little," Vivi frowned. "Doesn't that mean there will be many empty spaces? I looked over the daily expenses; with hundreds of security personnel and operators, the daily costs are quite staggering. Moreover, the initial investment is close to one billion Berries. If fewer people come in the future, will we even be able to recoup our costs? This casino is far too large; it's several times bigger than the casino built by Crocodile. And the decorations are excessively lavish."
The old man smiled and said, "Don't worry. Even if we only have one-twentieth, it's enough to cover our casino expenses. As for the decorations and the grandeur of the casino, it's meant to convey a message that this place is luxurious and safe. That way, the big clients will come here, and our income will depend on them."
"That's right, Princess Vivi. As long as we make a name for ourselves, not only the residents of Alabasta but even visitors from other places will come here."
Ikaram stood not far away and added, "This city was originally abandoned. We built it up, and there weren't many people planning to move back. But looking at the number of people coming here now, I believe the city's popularity won't be low in the future. A new city will emerge around the casino."
"That's good to hear."
Vivi nodded, feeling a sense of relief as she watched the once-desolate city come back to life. The lingering doubts in her heart vanished completely.
Bringing vitality to the city and increasing financial revenue, this casino didn't seem like such a bad thing after all.
Vivi turned to the sturdy man beside her and curiously asked, "Heckler, what does the name 'Las Vegas' actually mean?"
Heckler used his real name without trying to hide it.
"I don't know either."
Heckler shook his head and said, "The president insisted on using the name Las Vegas."
Vivi nodded and then looked at Heckler with curiosity. "You really don't know who your president is?"
"I don't know. Besides the Vice President, no one else knows the identity of the president," Heckler replied.
"Your president is quite mysterious," Vivi remarked with a sigh before asking with interest, "As your partner, do I not have the right to meet your president?"
Having lurked in Baroque Works for so long without encountering the so-called president, Vivi found herself curious about his identity.
"If you wish, I can help you inquire about the president's opinion."
A voice came from behind her; it was Vice President Bola. Sitting there sipping her tea, she looked at Vivi and asked, "Princess Vivi, what do you think?"
"Never mind."
Vivi glanced back at Bola, shaking her head. "I'm afraid that if I meet him, he might kill me to silence me."
"Then there's nothing we can do."
Bola finished her tea in one gulp and set the cup down on the table.
At that moment, a sudden scream echoed from below.
"Ah, no!"
A group of pirates appeared in the first-floor hall, with their leader grabbing the beautiful dealer by her collar, a lewd grin spreading across his face. "What a beautiful woman! Why not come with me and enjoy life at sea?"
The pirates' actions startled the nearby security, and immediately a guard stepped forward. "Sir, please let her go."
The guards from Millionaire had a code of conduct: when faced with misconduct, they were to advise against it before resorting to force.
"Hmm?"
The Pirate Leader glared at the guard and asked, "Who do you think you are to stop me?"
"Then I can only ask you to stop."
The guard took a step forward and charged at the Pirate Leader, throwing a punch.
Boom!
In the next moment, the guard was sent flying, crashing to the ground in the distance.
Seeing this scene, several guards rushed in, but they were easily knocked down by the pirates.
"You're too weak. However, you have scared me. I need compensation. Bring your casino owner out here and prepare two hundred million in cash for me, or I will kill everyone here."
The Pirate Leader shouted arrogantly.
"Pathetic," Vivi said coldly as she looked at Heckler. "Your people were defeated so easily."
"But it's not just our people; there are also your soldiers," Heckler replied.
"Protecting the casino's safety is your responsibility," Vivi said with displeasure.
"Don't worry, I won't let them leave alive," Heckler said with a grim expression before turning and walking out of the room.
"Wait for me."
Christmas followed closely behind, descending with Heckler.
When Heckler reached the corner of the stairs, he didn't continue down but leaped into the air, heading towards the location of the incident in the distance.
Whoosh.
His body soared through the air over a great distance before crashing down forcefully.
Boom.
The Pirate Leader was pinned to the ground by Heckler, spitting blood uncontrollably.
"If you dare to cause trouble in our casino, be prepared to die."
Heckler snorted coldly, rising to his feet and charging into the midst of the pirates.
Accompanied by screams, one pirate after another fell to the ground.
Bang, bang.
In the distance, gunfire erupted as pirates were struck by bullets, collapsing onto the ground.
In less than twenty seconds, over a dozen pirates lay on the ground, barely breathing.
"It's done."
Heckler returned upstairs and stood beside Vivi, speaking softly.
"You've worked hard."
Vivi nodded lightly, somewhat surprised by his earlier performance. He had leaped several dozen meters in one bound and killed them in such a short time.
Not only that, but Christmas's strength was also impressive, hitting targets from such a distance with precision.
Although she could turn into sand, making their attacks ineffective against her, she wasn't afraid of them.
However, aside from herself, there was no one else in Alabasta who could stop them.
And such individuals were merely the lower ranks of Baroque Works; above them were many others, including the mysterious president.
Thus, careful cooperation was still necessary.
Vivi watched as the guards dragged the bodies out below and curiously asked, "How do you handle these pirates?"
"We find a place to bury them," Heckler replied gently.
"Alright, then you can take care of it," Vivi nodded. She felt little sympathy for these pirates.
During her time at Whiskey Peak, she had participated in the deaths of many pirates. In the original story, she even went so far as to lure pirates to Whiskey Peak to assist in their extermination.
But in reality, these pirates were not buried in the desert.
At Ailuma City Coast, the pirates were bound and taken aboard a ship, sailing off into the distance.
The Sea Vessel traveled for a while before arriving at an island, where several Bounty Hunters disembarked and dragged down a dozen pirates.
Most of these pirates were already dead, bearing fatal wounds. Some were still alive, injured to varying degrees, while two had no injuries at all, surrendering without a fight against an unbeatable enemy.
However, all the survivors had their mouths stuffed and their hands and feet bound, unable to move.
"Trouble for you."
On the shore, a group of Billionaires received the pirates and placed them on a cart, transporting them deep into the forest. They arrived at a massive courtyard wall, opened the gate, and inside lay a gigantic beast, terrifying and fierce.
"The beast is here; we don’t need to kill it. Just leave them here."
The Billionaires cautiously placed all the pirates on a patch of ground not far from the entrance before slowly retreating.
Once they left, Xiaqiu approached slowly and sniffed around the pirates.
"Mmm mmm mmm."
One of the surviving pirates looked panicked and struggled, but it was futile.
Xiaqiu opened its mouth and bit through the bodies of the pirates, taking over a minute to consume all the corpses.
"Not bad."
Feeling the emergence of Heat Flow within him, Xiaqiu nodded in satisfaction. The energy contained within this group of pirates was significantly greater than that of most pirates from Whiskey Peak, Bounty Hunter, and Hunting.
As time passed and the casino's reputation grew, disturbances would become increasingly rare. However, those who dared to act here in the future would possess considerable strength.
Additionally, the pirates appearing in the port city of Canola Flower would be transported here by another Senior Agent leading Billionaire.
This would establish a relatively stable source of energy.
Not only could he obtain Enhanced Energy, but he could also secure a steady income—a win-win situation.
Thus, Xiaqiu would spend a day at Leaf Island near Whiskey Peak, coming here regularly to stay for a day.
After consuming a corpse, Xiaqiu lay down to rest, occasionally diving into the sea to hunt. When night fell and silence enveloped the ocean, he ventured out into the depths, swimming toward the horizon.
The next morning, he arrived at the garden and waited for a while before attacking a Triceratops. He divided his meal into two portions before returning to Leaf Island near Whiskey Peak to see if any pirates had been delivered.
As night approached, he departed once more.
He hunted a dinosaur and then feasted on pirates between Alabasta and Leaf Island. Although he couldn't eat pirates every day and their strengths varied, he could still manage to consume a few every two or three days. Little by little, it added up to something quite substantial.
With sources of Evolutionary Energy and Enhanced Energy established, Xiaqiu's body was slowly strengthening. At least he didn't have to rush into attacking powerful pirates or the Navy.
The remaining task was the expansion of Baroque Works. With ample funding available, Baroque Works could undertake more endeavors.
First, Xiaqiu planned to establish an intelligence department responsible for gathering information and creating his own channels for intelligence.
This would involve reconnaissance, oversight, and preventing infiltration and investigations by others.
For a large organization, an intelligence department is essential.
However, he found this somewhat difficult. One reason was that he was stretched too thin; aside from evolution and enhancement, the energy he could spare was dwindling.
Secondly, there were too few people he could utilize. Bola was too foolish; she could handle ordinary tasks, but to independently manage a department, especially one as critical as the intelligence division, was beyond her capabilities.
At the same time, he could not expose himself completely to others and had to rely on Bola to control those around him.
With a layer of separation, commands needed to be relayed twice, which was cumbersome, and Bola herself could not cover all bases.
Most importantly, he could not allow Bola to hold too much power to prevent her from undermining him, and he needed the ability to keep her in check.
Thus, he still required suitable subordinates to help him establish the intelligence department—individuals who were capable, could reveal their identities, and were sufficiently loyal.
Such individuals were indeed hard to find.
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