Chapter 264: Falling After the Fight

“Damn you!”

Notty swung his left fist straight at Oliver’s head, the force whipping up a heavy gust. Before the punch even landed, Oliver could already feel death looming.

The fist grew larger before his eyes. His entire life flashed through his mind, like a carousel of memories.

Orphaned as a child, he was recruited by the World Government and trained in assassination, infiltration, and disguise.

By thirteen, he’d killed his first target and carried out missions ever since. He was a textbook lackey. Years of slaughter had numbed his emotions—even learning that the Celestial Dragons had killed his parents barely stirred him.

He’d felt nothing. Even after understanding the World Government’s dark secrets, cowardice kept him from seeking vengeance.

Thinking back on everything now, his actions seemed laughable.

He forced a wry smile. “What a wasted life.”

Smack!

With his strength spent, Oliver’s head burst like a watermelon. His body crumpled to the ground, sprawling among the shattered stones.

Blood sprayed from his neck, dyeing the ground beneath Notty’s feet a vivid red.

“It’s over.”

“Clean up the battlefield. Restore everything as quickly as you can.”

Notty had his back to Katakuri and Fields, and the lighting wasn’t great, so they didn’t notice the blade lodged in his arm.

All they knew was that Oliver’s head had been blown apart. The remaining CP0 members had been finished off too—there wasn’t an enemy in sight.

Orders followed: have the Fishmen on scene tidy up fast, and get the wounded to treatment.

Notty stood where he was. The blade still stuck in his right arm burned like fire, as if it were draining every last drop of blood from his body. Just as he instinctively reached with his left hand to pull it free, his vision went black. He lost consciousness and slowly toppled backward.

Thud!

The dull crash drew Fields’ gaze. He looked up to see Notty collapse onto his back, a length of coldly gleaming blade protruding from his right forearm.

“Notty!”

After living with Notty day and night for so long, Fields had come to treat him like a brother. Seeing this, his head throbbed with panic and he rushed over.

He knelt beside Notty, placed a hand under his nose, and was relieved to find a faint breath. Notty’s body looked shriveled, as if from blood loss. Wasting no time, Fields scooped him up and ran for the Lab. Only Vegapunk could save him now.

Katakuri looked grim too. Things had gone far worse than he’d imagined. If Notty died because of this, Katakuri would never forgive himself.

“Second Brother, what’s going on?”

“It’s over. You two handle things here—I’ll head inside first.”

Spotting Daifuku and Oven nearby, Katakuri assigned them to deal with the aftermath while he sprinted toward the Lab.

Daifuku and Oven were left confused, but they didn’t dare chase after him. Instead, they started asking the Fishmen what had happened.

Once Daifuku heard the news, he hurried off toward the tea party venue. He had to report to Karl and Linlin.

To guard against any more hidden World Government agents, Oven summoned Xu Chu and Dian Wei to stand guard at the Lab entrance, while he led the Fishmen in cleaning up the battleground.

Fields barreled into the Lab with Notty in his arms, making for the main hall.

A huge surgery table had already been prepared. Fields quickly laid Notty down.

The table had been set up ahead of time—a Video Transponder Snail inside the Lab had kept everyone watching the fight outside. The moment they saw Fields rush in with Notty, they had the table ready, waiting silently.

“Dr. Vegapunk, can you save him?”

Wearing gloves and a white coat, Vegapunk answered calmly, “Relax, Fields. As long as he’s not dead, I can save him.”

“Wait outside for now.”

Vegapunk got to work, grabbing a pair of uniquely designed forceps and slowly withdrawing the blade from Notty’s arm. Beside him, Caesar, Quinn, and Achille helped out.

As the blood-red blade came free from Notty’s arm, a searing heat filled the Lab, making the temperature rise noticeably.

Vegapunk quickly dunked it in a bucket of water to cool it, filling the air with mist.

Seeing there was nothing more he could do, Fields slipped out to the hallway and waited in silence.

Left alone, he scratched his head and thought about Vegapunk’s words. What did he mean, ‘As long as he’s not dead, I can save him’? If he’s dead, obviously he can’t be saved.

Did he misunderstand something?

Damn, why does my head itch? Am I growing something up there?

Just then, Katakuri ran up to the entrance and spotted Fields sitting outside. He walked over.

He patted Fields on the shoulder. “So, what’s the situation?”

“Is Notty dead or alive?”

“Is his injury critical?”

Faced with Katakuri’s barrage of questions, Fields waved him off. “Dr. Vegapunk said he can save anyone as long as they’re not already dead.”

“Doesn’t look like he’ll die.”

A few question marks popped up over Katakuri’s head. Whenever I get confused, it’s usually not my problem—it’s yours.

After all, he wasn’t a musclehead like Fields or Notty. He prided himself on being one of the smartest, calmest men in the family.

Hearing Fields’ answer, he grumbled inwardly: ‘What the hell does that even mean? As long as he’s not dead, he can be saved?’

If you could save people after they’d died, you wouldn’t be a doctor—you’d be a god.

Still, seeing Fields so dejected, Katakuri figured it wasn’t his fault. Maybe Vegapunk misspoke, or maybe Fields misunderstood.

With Daifuku and Oven keeping watch outside, Katakuri settled into a chair across the hall to wait.

The venue itself was chaos.

Some guests wanted to look around, others just wanted to go back to their rooms, but the Fishmen standing guard stopped anyone from leaving. They insisted the tea party would proceed as planned, asking everyone to stay calm.

Eventually, some guests tried leaving anyway. The Fishmen didn’t mince words: “Think carefully about the consequences before you leave the tea party now.”

They stepped aside, but all the surrounding Fishmen watched with icy eyes—almost daring anyone to try making a break for it.

A few people who’d thought about leaving saw those looks, cold sweat running down their faces. They quickly changed their minds and retreated quietly.

With warnings like that, who would dare risk their life?

After all, who doesn’t care about their own neck?

But even as tension filled the hall, no one could ignore the rumbling explosions echoing from deep within the Island. No one could really focus on the tea party now, not with their hearts and minds elsewhere.