The flames spread, and Punk Records gradually became engulfed in a sea of fire. Everything was exactly like what happened at Punk Hazard.
"You madman, you're insane! All of that was the crystallization of human science! A treasure of the world!!"
"So, you have things you're worried about, too. How does it feel to watch all this and be completely powerless to stop it? Feels awful to see something you treasure get destroyed, doesn't it? But we've been through worse. Our suffering far surpasses yours!"
No matter what Vegapunk said, Shayna's movements didn't pause for even a moment. Accompanied by raging flames, wind blades utterly destroyed Punk Records.
Some of the security robots inside Punk Records detected the danger and activated to attack Shayna, but it was all in vain. Their efforts only resulted in more pieces of metal scattered across the ground.
"You're wasting priceless resources! Even your captain wouldn't approve of this! People like you don't understand its value!"
"Angry now? Good. That calm look of yours is what really got on my nerves. But don't trouble yourself with all that, whatever the consequences of destroying this place, I'll bear them. If there's punishment, it's mine alone."
Shayna knew her actions were extreme. Much of the technology here could still be put to good use. Under normal circumstances, no matter which force took control of this place, they wouldn't let such spoils go to waste.
That was also the reason behind Vegapunk's composure.
He didn't have long to live anyway, and had already come to terms with death. He only hoped that those who came after him could continue developing his technology, allowing his legacy to carry on.
His skills truly were top-tier; even without the Brain-Brain Fruit, he was already a leading scientist.
The Brain-Brain Fruit had granted him massive brain capacity, allowing his talents to flourish and his mind to fully immerse in research. The years of accumulated research were what he truly valued as his treasure.
The Revolutionary Army, the World Government, the Marines, Pirates—none of them would treat these things as worthless. And yet, he had crossed paths with a survivor of the Lunarian race.
If it weren't for the invention of the Seraphim, everything might have been negotiable. At most, they would've taken the plate and done nothing more.
But Vegapunk had misjudged the invaders and exposed the existence of the Seraphim.
Shayna's decision now wasn't the one with the greatest benefit, but it was the one most in line with her heart. She wasn't a robot; she had her own emotions. If it had been King instead, his choice wouldn't have been much different.
The Man With the Best Brain in the World, whose scientific prowess was said to be unmatched even 500 years into the future. Shayna didn't care about any of that. She only wanted to make this man, who used her people's genes for experiments, vanish in despair and sorrow.
"Oh, that reminds me, the durability experiments at Punk Hazard, that data must've played a big part in the creation of the Seraphim, right? So now, under my flames, how long can you last? Ten minutes? One? Or just 0.1 seconds?
Perfect. I'll conduct an experiment of my own, let's see who has greater resistance to heat: you, me, or this machine!"
The internal temperature of Punk Records began rising steadily. The temperature sensors had already broken down long ago, and now the entire Punk Records was on the verge of collapse.
By the time Shayna charged inside, the bubble created by S-Bear outside Punk Records had already completely shattered. The only thing keeping Punk Records aloft was its own flight system.
Most of Vegapunk's kinetic energy research was flame-based. His dream included creating an artificial sun to generate unlimited energy.
The flight system was no exception. Ordinary flames wouldn't affect it.
But the flames Shayna had produced now exceeded the power system's tolerance limits. With a chain of sympathetic detonations, Punk Records began to plummet toward the sea.
"Can you feel it? That feeling of hopelessness when your dreams shatter and you can do nothing to stop it."
She called it a temperature experiment, but Shayna was deliberately controlling the power of the flames. Otherwise, Vegapunk would've been the first to turn to ash. What she wanted was for him to witness his ideals reduced to nothing.
Due to the extreme heat, Vegapunk had already lost the strength to argue back; only unwillingness remained in his eyes.
With Vegapunk's death, the robots of Punk Records also collapsed one after another.
Amid a series of sympathetic explosions, Shayna could no longer sense any signs of life. Punk Records, the massive structure that held vast amounts of scientific knowledge, crashed into an unknown sea area. Much of the wreckage sank beneath the water, with only a few pieces still floating on the surface.
Shayna hovered above the sea for a long time. She didn't leave the area until the sea had completely swallowed every last piece of debris.
Meanwhile, deep under the sea, a robot's remains suddenly began to reboot. Its face had been consumed by the flames, leaving only a mechanical skull. Its lower half was gone, and only one arm remained on its upper body, but the machine itself was still functional.
The corner of its mechanical mouth curled upward. It was as if everything had gone exactly as it wished.
The intact arm grabbed a nearby piece of metal and began a new round of assembly. Very soon, the wreckage formed a crude but solid mechanical body.
"The main body is dead. That's wonderful."
Among the many Vegapunk satellites on Punk Records, Edison and Atlas had been completely destroyed by Shayna. But there was still another satellite - York, the No. 06 representing greed. She was also the most unique among Vegapunk's satellites.
She felt no resentment over the death of the main body. In fact, she had even wanted to kill the original herself.
As the satellite representing "greed," York appeared lazy and gluttonous. Her daily duties were simply to eat, sleep, and relieve herself for the other satellites.
But greed tends to grow. Her laziness and gluttony were just a façade. In reality, York was extremely selfish and a schemer.
Ever since visiting the Holy Land Mariejois, driven by her desires, York longed for luxury and endless power. Ultimately, she developed a desire to become a Celestial Dragon, and aimed to replace the main body to become the one and only Vegapunk.
She was cunning and operated in a low-profile manner, and even the main body Vegapunk never realized what she was planning.
She didn't care about the lives of others and would stop at nothing to achieve her goals. As long as it didn't threaten her own life, she was even willing to make calculated sacrifices.
In the original timeline, York secretly contacted the Five Elders and reported to the government that Vegapunk was researching the history.
The nature of the report made the Five Elders skeptical. To verify its truth, the World Government sent CP5 to Egghead to investigate, but they found no evidence.
To further her goals, York secretly kidnapped CP5 and imprisoned them in an old underground lab. Later, she successively kidnapped the CP7 and CP8 agents sent by the government.
Once the Five Elders confirmed that Vegapunk had indeed betrayed them, they decided to carry out an assassination plan against him.
From the moment Shayna arrived, York began to implement her plan. She intended to use Shayna's hand to achieve her own goal.
The electrical surges in Punk Records earlier, and the mass paralysis of the robots, were all her doing. Her goal was to provoke Shayna's rage and have her completely destroy the place.
After all, York possessed Vegapunk's memories. She knew that Shayna wasn't aware of the specifics regarding Vegapunk's satellites.
York knew very well that doing this might affect her, so before taking action, she tore off her synthetic skin and severely damaged her own body, making herself indistinguishable from the broken robots.
Finally, to conceal her presence, she even shut herself down completely, only rebooting after sinking to the ocean floor.
If she had tried to protect the main body like the other satellites, she would have definitely been destroyed too. For the sake of her own goals, she made a high-stakes gamble.
It came at a great cost, but she succeeded.
Vegapunk's main body was killed, and Punk Records, which stored massive amounts of information, was destroyed, but she survived. If the World Government still wanted access to Vegapunk's technology, they would have to rely on her or Lilith.
They were satellites, but had the same capabilities as Vegapunk. Although the destruction of Punk Records meant a major loss in technological reserves, with the support of the vast amount of data in the hands of the World Government, York and Lilith could still reproduce much of it.
"Excellent. That makes me the only Vegapunk now. No, wait, I still have to get rid of Lilith. Once she's dead too, I'll truly be the only one. Being the sole option makes for a much better bargaining position."
Looking at her damaged body, York decided to find a place to repair herself first. As for the Lilith problem...
Without Punk Records, they could no longer share memories. As long as she could find Lilith, she could start planning again.
Meanwhile, at the original site of Egghead, the battle was still raging.
"Heavenly Dominion: Sacred Yata Crow!"
High in the sky, dazzling laser beams cut through the dark clouds, the relentless beams slicing across the battlefield like light sabers. But from within the clouds, Zeraora, bathed in lightning, broke through to appear before Kizaru.
"Plasma Blades!"
A variation of Zeraora's signature move, Plasma Fists, where plasma currents coated his claw blades. As Zeraora swung his arms, the unleashed electric blades turned into an invisible shredder, tearing Kizaru apart into a burst of scattered light.
There were quite a few charred marks on Zeraora's fur, and Kizaru's suit was also in tatters. Compared to the Summit War, this can be considered as serious injuries.
"You've become terrifying… you weren't this scary back then."
"Same to you. You weren't this serious before either. Next time we meet, it won't be such a close fight."
"Next time?"
Kizaru's attention returned to Egghead. The area had already become an icy land.
The Seraphim were troublesome to deal with, but in the end, they were just children. They haven't developed yet. As a veteran Admiral, once he learned the Seraphim's weaknesses, Kuzan was able to devise a way to deal with them.
In this thundersnow weather, he could use his Logia powers to avoid the indiscriminate lightning and laser attacks from above, but the Seraphim could not. Under the impact of the aoe attacks from Zeraora and Kizaru, they were ultimately frozen into ice sculptures amidst Kuzan's frigid currents.
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