NIP Chapter 341 341: Damn It
Chapter 341 341: Damn It
The rubber boat followed the guiding vessel and arrived at what appeared to be an ordinary harbor.
The country itself was quite large. The air carried a foul, indescribable odor that Reid could not quite place.
The harbor was busy, even orderly on the surface, but something was fundamentally wrong.
There was no vitality.
People wore stiff smiles on their faces. They were smiling, yes, but it felt hollow.
Most of them were yellow-faced and skeletal, clearly suffering from long-term malnutrition.
Reid's first thought was that a failed Zoan Devil Fruit ability might be causing the forced smiles, but the level of physical decline made that impossible. He immediately dismissed the idea.
The minister proudly led Reid and his companions off the ship and into a cordoned-off area near the port. It was clear he had prepared everything in advance.
The buildings here were slightly cleaner. The people were dressed more neatly.
But they looked even thinner.
"Please, my lords!" the minister straightened his chest and declared. "This is a pure land, one I, a humble official, have done everything in my power to preserve under tyranny! I cannot save everyone, but at least these people can breathe… and feel a trace of happiness!"
He pointed toward a nearby stall.
A long line had formed.
People, eyes burning with desperation, exchanged their few remaining coins for small bundles of withered leaves.
Those who received them immediately retreated to corners, lit the leaves, and inhaled the smoke greedily.
In an instant, their expressions transformed.
Extremely euphoric. Exaggerated. Unnatural.
They leaned against walls, lost in what they believed was happiness.
Reid's pupils contracted sharply.
No. The form was slightly different, but the essence was unmistakable.
Something that manipulated minds.
Something that eroded will.
Something that devoured life from the inside out.
As someone who carried memories from another world, Reid recognized it instantly.
Certain kinds of hatred never fade.
They only sleep.
And now they had awakened.
His killing intent surged almost instantly, crimson light flickering in his eyes.
But he held back.
Just for a moment.
Ignorance could sometimes be forgiven.
Even law enforcement officers sometimes used drugs in undercover operations. He would not rush into killing without certainty.
He did not want to spill blood over a pile of rotten rats and risk destroying something that might still be salvageable.
If it was truly coercion, if there was genuine regret, he could tolerate it.
The girl beside him instinctively moved closer.
Ice energy already began condensing in her hands.
She was ready to kill.
Reid gently patted her head, signaling her to calm down.
Joy Boy's smile had completely vanished.
His massive body stiffened.
He did not understand exactly what he was seeing, but he could feel it clearly.
The "happiness" on those faces was not real.
It was numb despair.
And his companions were radiating an unmistakable killing intent.
Far stronger than anything he had felt on the ship.
His Voice of All Things trembled as it brushed against something rotten and decayed.
At that moment, Reid's observation haki picked up something.
In a dim alley nearby, two soldiers were whispering.
Their eyes kept flicking toward Reid.
Their voices were low, but not low enough.
"Is that the one in black with the red eyes?"
"Yes. The minister said to get him to try the Happy Grass too. Once he's addicted, he won't resist orders…"
"Heh. Then…"
Reid did not need to hear the rest.
A cold laugh escaped his throat.
He slowly turned around.
The minister was still speaking proudly.
"My lords, if you take just a little, you can forget your worries for a while. It used to be rare and expensive, but I could not bear to see my people suffer, so I released it all, only charging them a minimal fee…"
He smiled obsequiously, seeking praise.
Completely unaware that death had already arrived.
Deliberate corruption.
Intentional harm.
That alone was enough.
Reid was not a savior.
He killed whoever irritated him.
And then let Joy Boy deal with the consequences.
In the next instant.
Blood mist erupted.
It swallowed the minister whole.
No scream.
No resistance.
Only the faint sound of corrosion, like something dissolving rapidly inside an acid storm.
A heartbeat later, the mist receded.
The minister was gone.
Not even ash remained.
As if he had never existed.
Reid's crimson eyes shifted coldly toward the two soldiers who had been whispering earlier.
They collapsed instantly in fear.
Reid had no intention of sparing them.
Incitement. Conspiracy. Execution was obvious.
Joy Boy stared in shock, mouth slightly open.
But this time, he said nothing.
Because he finally saw it clearly.
The skeletal people.
The empty smiles.
The hollow addiction.
And the truth behind this "happy grass."
For the first time, his usual foolish expression was gone.
Replaced by seriousness.
And anger.
Reid's voice cut through the harbor like ice.
"You'd better pray someone manages to catch my attention."
"Otherwise… this place has no reason to exist."
Joy Boy looked at Reid's overflowing killing intent.
Then he hesitated.
"Reid… you… you know what that plant is, right?"
"It's dangerous… isn't it?"
He could feel the suffering.
He could feel the corruption.
But he did not fully understand it yet.
It was his first time seeing something like this.
Reid's crimson gaze swept across the addicted crowd again.
"That is not some 'Happy Grass.'"
"It is poison."
"It corrodes bone marrow, destroys willpower, kills the future, and shatters the backbone of an entire nation."
"If you want the truth, it can destroy a country without a single war."
"The happiness it gives is fake."
"But the destruction it brings is real."
"It turns people into walking corpses that only crave the next dose."
"It destroys humanity at the deepest level."
"Have you ever seen someone sell their child, abandon their family, and throw away everything just to get another hit that lasts a few minutes?"
"This thing should not exist in this world."
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