A short while later.
Luo Lan retracted his gaze and shook his head helplessly.
No good. In the short term…
It's still too unrealistic.
With a sigh, he pulled out his Den Den Mushi.
Buru buru buru…
"This is Tsuru speaking."
"Aunt Tsuru!"
"You brat! It's been a whole year, and you finally remember to call me?"
"Sorry, Aunt Tsuru!"
Luo Lan's tone was sincere.
"Alright, what do you need this time?"
"Aunt Tsuru, I was wondering—"
"Stop right there. You think I don't know what you're up to?"
"Heh, Aunt Tsuru knows me best!"
Luo Lan chuckled, recalling his days at headquarters. Every time he sought out Tsuru, it was always to get something through… unorthodox channels.
"Actually, I wanted to ask… can you get your hands on materials for making Vivre Cards?"
"Vivre Cards...? What do you want those for?"
Tsuru was taken aback.
After all, Luo Lan had been assigned to Branch 157—a place so quiet that even pirates were rare. Why would he suddenly want something like that?
"Oh, it's nothing serious. Just bored out here. Thought I'd study them a bit to kill time."
"Are you sure it's just to kill time?"
Obviously, Tsuru didn't buy that excuse—not even a little.
She knew this guy far too well.
"I can get some for you. But remember—you're a Marine. No matter what you're planning, don't forget that. Understand?"
Her words came through the Den Den Mushi with weight and subtle meaning.
Luo Lan's heart skipped a beat.
Could it be…
Does Aunt Tsuru know something?
No way.
I'm just overthinking it. Yeah, that must be it!
"Of course, Aunt Tsuru. I won't forget. You can trust me!"
"Good. I'll have Gion bring them to you within the month."
"Thank you, Aunt Tsuru!"
Luo Lan hung up, feeling quite satisfied.
Until his expression suddenly twisted.
"Wait… Gion's delivering them?!"
"Damn it! With her level of Observation Haki, won't she just scan half the island the moment she lands?!"
That might actually kill him.
Maybe if he called right now and begged Tsuru to send someone else...
There might still be time to save myself… right?
---
New World.
Dressrosa.
King's Plateau.
"Doffy, something's happened to the ship we sent to the East Blue."
"What happened?"
Hearing Trebol's words, Doflamingo remained calm, as if it was a matter of no concern. He spoke lightly:
"Can't get in touch with Baby 5."
"Have we sent someone to investigate?"
"I've already had our local contacts in the East Blue look into her last known location. We should have results within a few days."
Trebol nodded.
"Keep me posted. Fufufufufu… Daring to mess with the Donquixote Family? What guts."
After Trebol left, Doflamingo's expression darkened.
The bloodlust he released… was palpable.
---
Two days later.
The Branch 157 shipyard was finally complete.
Luo Lan spent more points to recruit:
1 A-rank shipwright
2 B-rank shipwrights
10 C-rank shipwrights
200 D-rank shipbuilders
Nearly 20,000 points gone in a flash. The pain was real.
And it wasn't over yet.
Next, he still had to fill the two empty building trait slots.
Unless he got lucky, this would be another massive point sink.
"System, get to work!"
"Begin drawing building traits for the shipyard!"
> [Ding! Drawing complete.]
Building Trait 1: Construction Efficiency +80%
Building Trait 2: Product Speed +80%
Construction speed and sailing speed, huh?
After reading the descriptions, Luo Lan frowned.
The first trait sped up shipbuilding. The second improved the finished ship's sailing speed.
Honestly, the second one was great.
As for the first… not very impressive.
Come on, didn't Iceburg and Franky build a fully equipped mid-sized sailing ship from scratch in three days?
This world is ridiculous when it comes to construction.
Why? Because the natives are too damn strong.
Some of the foremen from Galley-La could carry a keel beam on their backs while running around.
What more needed to be said?
So, for Luo Lan, construction speed wasn't exactly exciting.
"System, keep Trait 2. Re-roll Trait 1."
> [Ding! 1,000 points deducted. Trait 1 re-rolled.]
New Trait 1: Product Durability +70%
"Reroll again!"
Luo Lan rejected it without hesitation.
Durability?
Please. If a true powerhouse in this world came after them, even +700% wouldn't make a difference.
It looked good on paper, but in reality… it was useless.
> [Ding! 1,000 points deducted. Trait 1 re-rolled.]
New Trait 1: Weapon Range +100%
"Range…?"
"You mean cannons?"
Curious, Luo Lan checked the description.
Then his eyes lit up.
According to the system, any weapon fired from the ship qualified for this bonus.
Even the rifles in the hands of Marine soldiers—as long as they were standing on deck!
Now that was wild.
He had just received a report from Seras saying the new sniper rifle was ready for mass production.
It used 12.7mm rounds and had an accurate firing range of over two kilometers.
Mount that thing on a warship?
With a 100% range bonus?
That's over four kilometers of precision sniping.
And that's just the accurate range.
According to Seras, the maximum range could even reach six kilometers.
Add in the open sea and the range bonus…
Beautiful.
Too beautiful to imagine!
"System, lock in those two traits. Begin engraving!"
> [Ding! Engraving complete.]
Luo Lan nodded, satisfied.
Next, he brought the A-rank shipwright, Kairo, into his office.
"Kairo, can you design ships?"
"Simple ones, sure. But if it's too complex, I'm not confident. My specialty isn't in design."
Luo Lan nodded. That's what he expected.
The system did offer a Ship Design Bureau building, but it was still in the construction queue.
"Then, what if I want you to build a big, simple ship—just something that can carry a lot of cargo?"
"If there are no extra requirements, that's easy."
"Great. How long will it take with your current crew?"
Kairo thought for a moment, calculating based on the workforce.
"One day."
Luo Lan stared blankly.
What...?!
---
A/N: If you want an early updates, you can visit my Ko-Fi as I update there much early.
Currently at Chapter 78 for free chapters on my Ko-Fi and at Chapter 280 for advance chapters.
https:// ko-fi.com/sami27