Marta, Kalifa's mother and Laskey's wife, was a stunning beauty with fair skin, soft golden hair, and a graceful figure. She was also Laskey's mission partner this time.
The two of them were swiftly moving northwest. Although they weren't moving at full speed, their pace was as fast as galloping horses.
Thanks to their Observation Haki, they didn't have to worry about being caught off guard by their target. They could sense the presence of living beings from hundreds of meters away.
However, after running nearly two kilometers, they hadn't encountered any peculiar creatures or noteworthy situations.
"Could this place really be a desolate world?" Marta stopped to catch her breath and asked.
"Rather than that, I'm more curious whether this is a small island or an entire continent. As for intelligent civilization, isn't it a good thing if there isn't any? It saves us a lot of trouble."
Laskey stood beside her, not even slightly out of breath, surveying the surroundings. He noticed that the area was typical of hilly terrain, with elevations ranging from two hundred to five hundred meters, and it was densely covered with forests.
[Purupuru, purupuru]
Suddenly, the small Den Den Mushi in his pocket began to ring. Laskey casually took it out, placed it on his palm, and picked up the tiny receiver to answer.
"What is it?"
"This is Stargate Base No. 0001. The third team, Pulit and Dalian, have discovered two strange human corpses with blackish-purple skin about 2.5 kilometers north of the base. It's now confirmed that this world has a human civilization. Please proceed with caution."
After hearing this, Laskey and Marta exchanged surprised glances. There really were people here! "Understood."
Ending the call, Laskey put the Den Den Mushi back into his pocket and thought for a moment before saying, "Let's slow down a bit. I'm sure we'll encounter the humans here soon enough."
"Alright," Marta nodded.
Meanwhile, the Stargate base had become bustling with activity due to this significant discovery.
"Dispatch the mobile unit immediately to retrieve the corpses!"
"Notify Dr. Fritz to stand by in the operating room. Once the corpses arrive, begin the autopsy at once!"
"Yes!"
Soon, a team of twenty army soldiers rode out of the base on single-rider motorcycles, kicking up clouds of dust as they roared away.
The width of the Stargate only allowed these motorcycles to be brought in from the Marineford side. Upon receiving the news, the Five Elders were also pleasantly surprised. This world truly had a civilization, and from the images transmitted, they appeared to be normal humans! "But what did they die from? Why do they look like this?" Topman Warcury Saint wondered as he stared at the projected images.
On the screen, two corpses with wide-open eyes lay on the ground amidst overgrown weeds. The strange thing was that their skin appeared blackish-purple, especially around their eye sockets, which had very dark circles. Their eyeballs were also dark, making it nearly impossible to distinguish their pupils.
"It looks like poisoning," Shepherd Ju Peter Saint, the highest boss of Cipher Pol, voiced his initial impression.
"Poisoning?"
The other four exchanged glances, frowning in deep thought. Shepherd Ju Peter Saint crossed his arms and continued to observe the screen, saying, "Although they are bare-chested, the fundoshi they wear on their lower bodies suggests a style from the Land of Wa. Apart from there, people elsewhere have long since switched to underwear."
At this moment, Marcus Mars Saint, who was primarily responsible for the Administration Council, stroked his long, straight beard beneath his mouth and said, "If it's poisoning, judging from the condition of these two individuals, it's clearly the same type of poison."
"Then we must consider whether this poison is contagious, and what its transmission routes and characteristics are. These details will only be known after Dr. Fritz personally examines them."
Topman Warcury Saint nodded, somewhat relieved, and said, "Fortunately, we have already prepared a comprehensive Biochemical Safety Station. Otherwise, we wouldn't dare let those who went over there return so easily."
"Let's wait. I believe the other teams from CP9 will soon make new discoveries," Shepherd Ju Peter Saint smiled, showing great confidence in the ten individuals he had selected.
About two hours later, the dispatched mobile unit returned to the Stargate base in the New World, carrying two body bags, which they handed over to the waiting researchers from the Biochemical Research Institute.
Meanwhile, Prit and Dalian from CP9's third team continued their investigation further afield.
"Whew————"
In a rather rudimentary operating room, Professor Frieze, already clad in surgical protective gear, exhaled a long breath as he looked at the blackened male corpse on the operating table, his hands raised steadily in front of him.
Across from him stood an assistant, waiting for him to begin the incision.
Outside the glass window stood three government officials in black suits, their faces equally expressionless, silently observing the proceedings inside the operating room.
At that moment, Professor Frieze, holding a sharp scalpel, skillfully began to dissect the corpse.
"Hmm?"
Just then, he felt a wave of heat transfer to his hand—despite wearing gloves—and exclaimed in surprise, "Such a high internal temperature."
Through the protective suit, he could clearly see wisps of heat rising from the corpse's internal organs, as if they had been steamed. His gaze then focused on the left side of the chest.
The heart area!
The color of that area was noticeably darker, as if scorched by high heat. But when he moved the scalpel over to examine the heart, he didn't even need to apply much force—the thin, blackened layer of skin was easily cut open. However, just as the blade was about to delve deeper, a sharp ding echoed through the operating room.
The sound was like a sharp blade striking glass, but this "glass" was evidently extremely hard. Even when Professor Frieze instinctively increased the pressure, he still couldn't cut through the somewhat translucent layer of skin! "How can this be?"
The surprise in Professor Frieze's eyes turned to shock. There was actually a part of the human body that even a scalpel couldn't cut through. At that moment, a voice came through the earpiece inside his protective suit.
"Director, we've found a certain infectious virus on the other corpse. It's been preliminarily identified as an RNA virus."
"Through human experiments on prisoners in Impel Down, it has been determined that the virus is transmitted via blood, saliva, and wounds. Once the virus invades the body, it gathers in the heart through the aorta and then spreads from the heart to the brain, ultimately turning the host into a Living Dead—a being without self-awareness but capable of movement!"
Meanwhile, in a holding cell within the base, a prisoner with a bare upper body, wearing zebra-striped prison pants, and whose skin had turned dark purple with blackened eyes, was swaying back and forth with his mouth agape. However, his pupils and heart emitted a fiery red glow.
In the shadows, several researchers from the Biochemical Research Institute, clad in biohazard suits and accompanied by two CP7 agents in black, observed his condition while reporting to Professor Frieze via their earpieces.
They had just smeared the virus collected from the second corpse onto a wound on the prisoner's arm and witnessed his transformation from a normal person to his current state in less than a minute.
"We now request permission to conduct aggression tests on it."
Professor Frieze was surprised—Living Dead?
But he suppressed his emotions and, while examining the dissected corpse before him, said, "Approved. However, maintain a safe distance. Leave such matters to CP7 and the Army."
"Yes!"