Chapter 74: Truth and Consequences
Stussy tugged at Jock Ian's clothes with a feigned, prideful familiarity. "After all, we have such a close relationship now… consider this the Queen's order!" She tried to make her behavior seem natural, a continuation of their earlier charade.
But in the next instant—
"Uh!"
The cold touch of the Seastone lipstick was pressed against her neck once more. The drunken, lustful expression on Jock Ian's face vanished completely, replaced by a gaze of cold, calculating scrutiny.
"Intimate relationship…" he repeated, his voice flat and dangerous. "Should I call you the Queen of the Pleasure District? Or… a CP0 agent?"
As he spoke, he held up the needle-like device he had taken from her.
The mental oppression of his Conqueror's Haki washed over her, not to knock her out, but to instill a primal fear. You will die… you will definitely die if you move! The terrifying thought rooted itself in Stussy's mind, freezing her in place.
What terrified her even more was that Jock Ian had exposed her identity as an agent! How? Does he have some unknown intelligence network? Why does he know so much? Once the seed of fear is planted, it grows uncontrollably, magnifying the perceived power of the one who instilled it.
Seeing her stunned silence, Jock Ian spoke again, his tone icy. "Well, after all, we were… intimate for a day." He leaned closer. "I'll give you one chance. You only have one chance to answer. What is this?" He gestured with the needle. "And what was your true purpose in inviting me here?"
"If your answer satisfies me, perhaps our 'close relationship' can continue," he said, the words a clear threat. "If you choose to resist blindly, you know that if this gets to Naval Headquarters, to Mary Geoise…" He let the sentence hang, a grim smile playing on his lips. "The consequences would be… beyond your control, or mine."
He stared at her, his sharp gaze filled with a palpable killing intent. He deliberately did not reveal her third, most secret identity. He wanted to see if she would try to weave another web of lies.
Because, from any angle—whether the underworld or the World Government—no one would approach a Marine Major General with a blood-drawing device without a deeply ulterior motive. What he wanted was to hear the name "Vegapunk" from her own lips.
The silence lasted only a few seconds. Stussy's mind raced, concocting seven or eight different excuses, but she discarded them one by one. Just as Jock Ian had guessed, none of them were foolproof. She had no way to kill him now, and even if he killed her, the incident wouldn't simply disappear.
A deep regret filled Stussy. She never should have been so arrogant as to provoke this monster.
"Egghead Island," she finally said, her voice tight. "The Naval Science Unit. Dr. Vegapunk wants to obtain a blood sample from you to research the lineage factor of individuals with… special abilities." She took a shaky breath. "You are a rising star of the Marine Headquarters. Facilitating this through official channels would be a long and complicated process. I… owe Vegapunk a favor. I took it upon myself to complete this mission. It has nothing to do with him. He didn't specifically order this."
Aside from obscuring the full nature of her relationship with Vegapunk, the rest was essentially the truth.
"It's a sloppy answer," Jock Ian stated, his expression unchanging. "But it's enough to show you didn't treat me like a complete fool." His smile was cold. "Otherwise, I'd kill you and let the World Government know that Vegapunk has been sticking a needle in their side for twenty years. I imagine Egghead Island would get very lively then, right… MADS Subject No. 1?"
He took the Seastone lipstick away from her neck and tossed it aside casually, as if discarding trash. His face was now adorned with a warm, almost friendly smile, a stark contrast to the deadly secret he had just revealed.
Stussy's pupils trembled violently. He knows! He knows everything!
If she had told a lie just now, the consequences would have been catastrophic. He not only knew her CP0 identity but also the deepest secret of her origin!
"Who… who are you?" Stussy whispered, her voice barely audible.
"Don't ask too much about what goes on in the underworld," Jock Ian replied smoothly, his tone implying a vast network of hidden knowledge.
Stussy fell silent. Even though she was wearing her silk pajamas, she felt a deep, penetrating chill. In front of this man, she had no privacy. He had manipulated and threatened her repeatedly, and now she didn't even dare to ask questions.
"You knew all along… so from the moment you walked in, it was all an act," she said, the realization dawning with fresh humiliation. "All that talk about 'witnessing the physical limit of the Human-Human Fruit'… you did it on purpose!"
She wasn't asking anymore; she was stating a fact. She had been completely played.
"Why is the villain complaining first?" Jock Ian retorted, raising an eyebrow. "You were the one with ulterior motives, so devoted to your performance. What's wrong with me cooperating a little?" He then adopted a serious, academic expression. "By the way, I do have a very serious scholarly question…"
Stussy looked at him suspiciously. "What question?"
Ian continued, his face a mask of innocent curiosity. "Are your clones… also like normal people when they're, you know, vocalizing? That 'uh-huh' thing you were doing earlier… was that a performance, or something else? We're having a rational, behind-closed-doors discussion here. This is my first time being… intimate with a clone."
Stussy's cheeks flushed a deep crimson, and she launched a high-speed kick fueled by pure rage and embarrassment. "Go to hell!!"
He was scum! He hurt her, took advantage of her, and now he was rubbing salt in the wound!
"You're so angry. Not elegant at all," Jock Ian chided, easily blocking her kick and tossing her back onto the disheveled bed.
"For your honesty today," he stated, his tone all business again, "and for your… good behavior on the table, I won't kill you for now. I'll help you keep the secret of 'Subject 1.' Just consider yourself… half one of my own people. You should feel lucky."
Holding Stussy's most deadly secret was a far more effective leash than any temporary alliance. For a long time to come, she wouldn't dare to make a move against him.
"Half one of your own people? Major General Ian is very strict with his words!" Stussy spat, her voice laced with bitter frustration. She couldn't beat him in a fight, and she couldn't outmaneuver him verbally. This was the first time since her creation she had met someone so infuriatingly untouchable. She was grinding her teeth in fury, but there was absolutely nothing she could do.
"Do you want the blood sample?" Jock Ian asked, suddenly holding up the syringe device again and gesturing towards his own arm.
Stussy's expression froze. After all that? After having my identity exposed and being taken advantage of, is he actually offering the sample now?
"Of course," she said, a flicker of hope in her eyes. "So… is it because we were 'husband and wife for a day'?" Her expression softened, and she looked at him with a hint of genuine tenderness.
Immediately after…
Crunch!
Jock Ian threw the syringe device to the floor and stomped on it with his heel, shattering it to pieces.
"You want a hammer?!" he scoffed. "Like I said, you're half one of us. And honestly, half is being generous. It's 0.25 at most!"