Even though Jinx had easily taken care of a large number of attackers at the start, there were still plenty of fearless fools charging at Sherwin group one after another...
"Meow-hahaha! Art is an explosion, meow!"
(=`=)Klee Meow tossed out the Boom Boom Bombs she had crafted, effortlessly wiping out the second wave of assailants.
"Awuu... They fell down too fast. Klee didn't even get to have fun yet, meow..."
(=｀3=)The tiny ragdoll cat pouted unhappily as she stared at the heap of fallen attackers after just one round of bombing.
"That enough. If you keep bombing, that red tree going to die because of you."
Sherwin rubbed her small head with an exasperated look, then turned around warily to glance at Red Tree No. 26 not far behind them.
Under Klee Meow bombardment, a large portion of its exposed roots had already been blown away.
The ones beneath it were scorched and broken everywhere. If the attack had come any earlier, that red tree probably wouldn't have survived.
No one knew whether the slave traders of the Sabaody Archipelago had just grown lawless,
or if the pirates who made it this far were simply too "ambitious," but despite Sherwin group having already dealt with two waves of enemies in a row, a third ambush came just as quickly.
The only change this time was that instead of a frontal assault, the attackers had switched to sneak attacks...
"Hmm... what that smell, meow? Smells like spoiled seafood, meow!"
Sanji Meow, whose sense of smell was the sharpest, covered his nose and grumbled in a muffled voice.
Immediately after, Haibara Meow, perched on Sherwin shoulder, also covered her own nose and shouted a warning,
"Everyone, be careful! That the smell of a sedative! Hurry and put on the gas masks I gave you, meow!"
After warning everyone, Haibara Meow loosened her paw and sniffed the air carefully again...
"Hmm... it a sedative extracted from spotted jellyfish fluids. Judging by that slightly pungent odor, it the low-quality kind, meow."
The little kitten expression relaxed a bit, and she covered her nose again in disgust.
"No need to worry. A small amount of this sedative won't do much. If you inhale too much, just pinch yourself hard and you'll wake up.
With your body resistance, even double the dose will just make you a little dizzy, meow."
As she spoke, the little kitten used her free paw to pull a small test tube from her pocket and tossed it to the ground.
When the test tube shattered, the pale blue liquid inside quickly evaporated into the air.
The pungent odor around them vanished almost instantly, replaced by a refreshing scent with a faint hint of catnip that made everyone feel alert and clear-headed.
"I've neutralized it with a deodorizing agent," Haibara Meow said, lowering the paw that had been covering her nose.
"You can take off your masks now, meow."
Then the little kitten pulled a small pistol shaped like a red seabream from her bag and squeezed the trigger toward the roots of the red tree ahead—where the third wave of attackers was hiding.
"Shhh—shhh—shhh—"
The bullets Haibara Meow fired burst apart, releasing a thick cloud of purple smoke.
In no time, the hidden attackers stumbled out from behind the roots, clutching their throats in agony.
Their exposed skin was marked with purple, watermelon-like stripes.
One after another, they collapsed, foaming at the mouth. After twitching a few times, they lay still.
"Hmm, the activation time took a bit longer than I expected, but the result is pretty good, meow."
Haibara Meow nodded in satisfaction, then tucked the seabream-shaped gas pistol and the stopwatch she had used for timing back into her bag.
Sherwin: "..."
"Just... make sure you never use those gas rounds while we're on the ship, alright?"
After opening and closing his mouth a few times, Sherwin gave up trying to forbid her from using them entirely.
Instead, he rubbed her little head and gave a weary reminder.
"I'm not an idiot like you, meow!" the kitten huffed, glancing sideways at Sherwin with clear disdain.
"Besides, this kind of gas doesn't have much effect on Felynes. At worst, it just makes us sneeze a few times, meow."
"...Then what about me and Robin?" Sherwin said with a helpless smile, tugging lightly on her ear.
"Relax. With your body, it won't take effect that fast. And as for Robin-sis, as long as she drinks the antidote I gave you two in advance, she'll be perfectly fine, meow!"
(=`=)
Haibara Meow proudly lifted her chin. "I already had an emergency plan prepared, meow!"
After taking down the third wave of attackers, the slave traders and pirates finally quieted down.
From the time Sherwin group finished exploring Area 20 and entered Area 10, no other fools dared to jump out at them again...
This left Purah Meow, who wanted to test the Guardian, and Shermie, who longed to control lightning, feeling a little disappointed.
Fortunately, both of them were mature cats, and since Sherwin had promised to deal with those slave traders later anyway, they quickly recovered under Sherwin gentle pats.
Before long, the group arrived near Red Tree No. 13. In that area stood a single, somewhat old-looking building.
Hanging above its front door was a moss-covered wooden sign that read: "Shakky Rip-off Bar."
"Yep, this is the information house I mentioned," Sherwin said to Huamei Meow and Robin beside him.
"Rip-off... from the name alone, it sounds expensive, meow." The thrifty Huamei Meow clicked her tongue and suggested,
"Why don't we try another way? Like releasing a few of those slave traders who attacked us, meow."
"Well, we're already here. Let at least take a look. If it too pricey, we can just leave," Sherwin shrugged and pushed open the door to step inside.
"Welcome. What'll it be?" said Shakky, who was reading a newspaper behind the counter. As she heard the door open, she looked up—then paused.
Sherwin appearance was distinctive, and with Shakky information network, she recognized him at a glance.
"The Hunter?" Shakky frowned slightly, her tone turning wary.
"What brings a bounty hunter like you to my place? Looking to catch pirates? Sorry, but there aren't any here drinking today."
"Sherwin-nii, this lady doesn't seem to like you very much, meow," Klee Meow whispered.
(=ω=)
Klee Meow tugged on his ear curiously. "Did you offend her before, meow?"
"No…" Sherwin immediately feigned ignorance.
"This is my first time here too. I only heard that this place is a powerful intel house. Why don't you ask the lady boss yourself?"
At the same time, he reached out to stop Jinx, who was about to pull out her gun.
"Isn't she an enemy? Why, meow, won't you let me shoot her?!"
(=ˇˇ=)
Jinx looked at Sherwin unhappily for stopping her.
Smack!
Huamei Meow slapped the little blue cat on the head. "She just doesn't seem to welcome us very much, that doesn't make her an enemy, meow!"
"Argh…" Jinx held her head, replying in a slightly disgruntled tone.
"Auntie, why don't you like Sherwin, meow? Can you tell Klee Meow?"
(=ω=)
Seeing Jinx get scolded, the little plush cat shrank her head slightly, but still followed Sherwin suggestion and curiously asked Shakky.
Although Shakky clearly didn't welcome Sherwin, she couldn't bring herself to be angry at the adorable little cat in front of her.
Forcing a smile, she said, "Since you're guests, of course I have no reason not to welcome you. I just misunderstood and thought you came here to catch one of my customers."
Klee Meow blinked her eyes, looking even more confused…
She could still feel Shakky dislike toward Sherwin, yet at the same time sensed her fondness for herself and the others.
Out of politeness, the little plush cat didn't press further. Instead, she rubbed her cheek against Sherwin and quietly whispered in his ear,
"This lady lying, meow~ She still doesn't really like you, Sherwin~"
Sherwin sighed and rubbed his forehead helplessly. "She can hear you, you know…"
Klee Meow: "…Ehe~"
(=＜=)