A/N: You can join my Ko-Fi for more chapters.
[https:// ko-fi.com/sami27]
Currently at chapter 62 over there.
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"Yes, Captain!"
Seras, dressed in a white lab coat, stood up.
But before he could continue, he was interrupted again.
"Wait a moment!"
All eyes turned toward the voice.
It was Hina—the very woman who had claimed she was just here to observe.
"Hina has a question. This underground honeycomb research facility you mentioned earlier—what exactly is it?"
Although she hadn't fully understood the conversation between Nami and Luo Lan, some parts were clear enough.
In short, the young woman in charge of finances was complaining that Luo Lan had redirected most of the branch's funds—over 200 million Beli—without any prior notice.
Luo Lan, however, claimed he could return every last coin and promised never to do it again.
But...
He also stated that the next massive project, which was on par with that mysterious honeycomb research facility, would be under her charge.
And if the budget didn't suffice?
She'd have to pay out of her own pocket.
Hina had understood that part very clearly.
What she didn't understand was why this research facility had terrified the girl so much—so much that even with the return of 200 million Beli, she still looked shaken.
That meant the cost of the facility must be far beyond just a couple hundred million.
And now, Hina wanted answers.
But the room suddenly fell silent.
No one answered.
Instead, everyone looked at Luo Lan.
After all, that facility was the branch's top-level secret. Whether or not to reveal its existence to Hina—only Luo Lan had the authority to decide.
No one else dared speak.
"Sister Hina, didn't you ask me once how my physical condition was resolved?"
"And didn't you also ask who invented the rifles our branch uses?"
"Well, the answers to both of those questions lie within that underground research facility. And Seras here—he's the head of our Science Division, the man in charge of that research lab."
Science Division?
"Now that you mention it... no wonder that lab coat looked familiar," Hina said with realization. "Back at HQ, a group from the Science Corps came to test some equipment, and they wore the same thing. So, you're a scientist?"
She turned to Seras in surprise.
"Exactly. He's our chief scientist. He's the one who resolved my health issues. And those rifles? Also developed by the Science Division."
"As for the underground honeycomb research facility, to put it simply..."
"It's an underground city—larger than the entire surface area of our 157th Branch."
Luo Lan nodded as he explained.
Hina's worldview shattered on the spot.
She had toured the 157th Branch over the past few days and was impressed enough.
But now he was telling her there was an even larger underground city?
No wonder that girl from earlier got scared off.
If that's true, then even hundreds of billions of Beli might not be enough. A mere 200 million? A drop in the bucket.
But now a new question emerged:
How did Luo Lan pull it off with just 200 million?
Of course, that part he wasn't about to tell Hina.
In fact, forget 200 million—even 2 billion wouldn't be enough to build that kind of facility.
That place was an S-tier structure. Building it from scratch? Easily cost over a million system points.
Good thing he had incredible luck and drew it straight out of his newbie gift pack.
"Alright, Seras. Go ahead."
"Yes, Captain."
Seras scanned the room, making sure no one else intended to interrupt. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
After all, he'd been interrupted twice already. He was developing trauma.
"Captain, ever since the Rhodes 1518 rifle went into mass production, we've divided the Science Division into three teams."
"Team One, which I lead personally, focuses on genetic research. The main goal is to unlock your second gene gate."
"Team Two handles the Rhodes 1518's upgrades and derivative models. Team Three is working on the early-stage design of a new cannon."
"As for problems... Captain, we're seriously understaffed!!"
By the end, Seras had practically resorted to begging.
But Luo Lan couldn't do much about it.
He was broke.
He couldn't afford to buy more scientific bio-units. Even the most basic model cost 100 system points each.
And the few points he had left? Barely enough to buy a handful. Not nearly sufficient to make an impact.
Worse still, he needed to save those points—for the port upgrade, and eventually to refresh traits.
"I know your division is in a tough spot. Hang in there. I'll do my best to get you more help next month."
"Alright..."
Seras sighed in resignation.
He was exhausted.
Even though he only directly led Team One, he still had to keep an eye on the other two. After all, besides himself, every other member in the Science Division was a low-grade scientific bio-unit.
Luo Lan had thought about recruiting from the local population...
But this was the world of One Piece.
Talented scientists were practically mythical creatures.
And those that did exist? Already scooped up by major powers.
Try stealing them?
Sure—Luo Lan planned to, eventually. But for now?
He didn't have the strength.
Meanwhile, to Luo Lan's left, Hina was once again stunned.
Genetic research?
What the heck was that?
And "cannon"? Shouldn't it be called a "smoothbore gun" or something? What even is a cannon?
She didn't understand. Not at all.
She wanted to ask—but didn't dare.
She'd already interrupted the meeting once.
And Hina... had pride, okay?
Control your expression. Just listen quietly.
The meeting continued. Luo Lan and Seras discussed a few more issues before finally wrapping up.
Next up was Barton.
A B-rank industrial bio-unit, straight from the system.
Since he took over the two branch factories, the production rate of the Rhodes 1518 rifle had been increasing steadily.
In fact...
In just three days, the entire branch would be fully outfitted with them.
Honestly, Luo Lan was very satisfied.
He even thought Barton might be undervalued as a B-rank—he was starting to consider promoting him.
But no rush. He'd observe a little longer.
Barton didn't say much. He made only two requests.
The first? Same as Seras: manpower.
You can't run manufacturing without workers.
This wasn't Luo Lan's past life, where everything ran on full automation.
Right now, even semi-automation would be a stretch.
The recent gains in efficiency?
That was Barton's limit.
To go further...
More hands. No other way.
Thankfully, recruiting laborers was much easier than finding scientists. The current workforce had mostly come from the civilians and slaves Ian had brought back over the past year.
So Luo Lan agreed to help resolve that issue quickly.
But the second request?
That was trickier.
Materials.
After all, you can't produce weapons out of thin air.
No raw materials, no rifles.
Until now, Luo Lan had avoided using official channels—he didn't want any information about the 157th leaking out.
He'd rather overpay and buy materials on the black market.
So yeah... another money problem.
Sigh... Always broke.
Luo Lan let out a deep sigh.
He had no solution—yet.
And just then, from his left, Hina spoke again.
"You..."
"You're really that short on money?"