"Cross... Who's that?"
Gwen watched the cheering Marines in the port and then looked at the young Marine called 'Cross,' feeling very confused.
The speed of the Marine reinforcements was already beyond her expectations.
But the fact that the person who showed up was a young man who looked to be only in his twenties made her feel looked down upon.
However, after a while, Gwen's face showed an expression of terror.
She saw that the young Commodore named 'Cross' didn't even have to lift a finger. He was easily killing many of the out-of-control enhanced beasts and test subjects with just the black storm cloud that released lightning and the blazing fireball that spat flames.
Those monsters were killed by the powerful lightning and flames before they could even get close. Many of them were quite strong, but they still had no chance of fighting back and were quickly turned into charred corpses.
Rumble, rumble, rumble...
The sky was now covered in dark clouds, shrouding the entire island in darkness. The roar of thunder was constant, accompanied by flashes of brilliant lightning.
Cross stood leisurely on Marduk, looking down at the chaotic and ruined port from dozens of meters in the air. In his hand, he held a Log Pose, and the needle was pointing straight down.
"I wondered how the World Government could build a secret research base in the Calm Belt when Dr. Vegapunk hasn't even invented a way to use Seastone to let warships cross it yet. It turns out this place is only a few dozen nautical miles from the nearest main sea route!"
Given the World Government's resources, it was difficult to build a secret research base on an island at the edge of the Calm Belt, but it wasn't impossible.
He could guess that the World Government either had a Devil Fruit user with a special ability or a special drug that could repel Sea Kings. Both were very likely, but they couldn't be used on a large scale. It was even possible that the World Government had only built this one research base in the Calm Belt, or at most, no more than three.
After all, an island like Hive wasn't easy to find. It had to be close to the edge of the Calm Belt for safe transport of personnel and supplies. It also needed to have suitable terrain and a climate for development and habitation.
At the same time, Cross was very curious about the various humanoid monsters and powerful beasts that were different from normal animals.
Artificial Devil Fruit users, even Vegapunk hadn't yet been able to create a finished product.
There were also a series of powerful, genetically modified monsters, such as a giant python with eight eyes and a one-eyed golden tiger. They were all incredibly strong and could be considered living weapons.
Since Cross had accepted Borsalino's mission, Marine Headquarters and the World Government naturally didn't keep any secrets from him. So, on his way there, he had already reviewed the relevant information about the Hive base.
The Hive base was officially established six years ago. It was overseen by the "Mad Modifier," Ganshi, and its purpose was to research controllable biological weapons and perfect human enhancement technology for the World Government. The test subjects were criminals from Impel Down and various strong beasts.
Ganshi had his reasons for becoming the chief of the Hive research base.
Ganshi, 34, is a world-class scientist. In his early years, he was a member of the illegal research group MADS, along with Vegapunk, Caesar Clown, Vinsmoke Judge, Queen, and others. He is now a member of the World Government's Science Unit.
As a brilliant, top-tier scientist, he had the same idea as Vegapunk after the latter put forward his "Lineage Factor" theory—artificial Devil Fruits!
Later, when Ganshi was recruited by the World Government, it was due to his imperfect artificial Devil Fruit technology, which earned him the support of the World Government and allowed him to lead a secret research base like this one.
When Cross first saw Ganshi's information, he thought he had misread it. In his memory, the person who created the first artificial Devil Fruit was Vegapunk, and the person who developed mass-produced artificial Devil Fruits was Caesar Clown, not this Ganshi he had never heard of.
But when he read the rest of the file, he learned that Ganshi's artificial Devil Fruit technology was very primitive. He didn't create true artificial Devil Fruits. Instead, he took a shortcut by transplanting the genes of insects or beasts as a base and then used the "Lineage Factor" theory to replicate Zoan-type artificial Devil Fruit abilities directly onto a human body.
This method had a very low success rate and was highly unstable. The resulting abilities varied in strength, but the most important thing was that all of the artificial Devil Fruit users created this way had mental issues.
They could easily lose their minds, go mad, and eventually die from genetic collapse after running out of stamina.
This time, Ganshi asked the World Government for more research funds and test subjects, so the World Government sent a CP0 member to visit and see if it was worth investing more.
Unexpectedly, the test subjects went out of control before the experiment even started, causing destruction within the research base and releasing even more test subjects, causing the situation to spiral completely out of control.
After reading the file, Cross knew there were only two possible outcomes for this incident.
The first was that the Gorosei would approve of Ganshi's research. After all, one out-of-control test subject had managed to break through the entire Hive base's defenses. His strength was more than justifiable, and all that remained was to figure out how to control him.
The second was that the Gorosei would not approve of Ganshi's research. If a weapon could not be controlled and was prone to running amok, it would be useless if it harmed its master. They would decisively cut their losses.
But none of this concerned Cross. His job was to deal with the rampaging test subjects in the Hive base, prevent further losses, and protect Ganshi's life.
No matter what, Ganshi was a top-tier scientist, and his value was extremely high. It was necessary to rescue and protect him.
Cross stood in the sky above the Hive base's port, guarding the ships. He watched as the test subjects charged at him like moths to a flame, only to be killed one by one by Marduk and Surtur.
Finally, the remaining test subjects saw the dire situation and ran away, leaving only the deranged enhanced beasts to continue their rampage in the port.
"Don't run! You can all die together!"
Cross shook his head gently, spread his hands, and shouted, "Marduk, Imhullu!"
"Yes, Master!"
Marduk grinned viciously, his evil eyes filled with flashes of lightning.
Rumble! Rumble!
The brilliant light illuminated the dark sky and ground. Dozens of lightning bolts pierced the clouds from all directions, mercilessly unleashing the power of thunder on the ground below.
The Marines in the port witnessed an incredible sight. The lightning bolts seemed to have a tracking system, pursuing the test subjects and enhanced beasts from all directions.
No matter how the monsters dodged, they were still hit by the lightning, their bodies enveloped in the blinding flashes.
"Ahhhhh—!!!"
"Damn it!"
"Awooo—"
"..."
In an instant, all of the test subjects and enhanced beasts in the port were completely annihilated!
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