Although Lily had been assigned a task early in the morning, by the time the old man named James came to Douglas, it was already after three o'clock in the afternoon.

The guy had only left a very vague amount of personal information when he registered the lot, so much so that Miss Lily used a lot of special means to finally find him.

However, after spending so much effort, when everyone really saw this old man, they were inevitably a little disappointed in their hearts.

… To be honest, he is just an old man who interprets the word "ordinary" to the extreme in appearance.

Whether it's a worn-out bucket hat or slightly age-spotted skin, when these parts are combined, it is almost suspicious that even James's acquaintances will forget his face in a trance.

But when we met Douglas for the first time, he definitely showed great courtesy.

"Hello."

Not only did Douglas greet him, but he even got up and walked to the door and shook the old man's hand cordially—there is no doubt that the boy did not do this out of the traditional virtue of respecting the old and loving the young, but only to achieve the necessary conditions for his "intelligence gathering" ability.

In fact, under normal circumstances, Douglas would not casually use this ability to help him a lot with strangers... The human brain is limited in what it can handle at the same time, and because of this, it extends to peers and organizations, and teenagers as leaders already have too many problems to consider, and they don't have energy to waste on boring places.

This time, however, the situation was different.

Perhaps the old man in front of him was indeed well disguised, making it impossible to use the first impression to associate him with his hidden secrets, but in Douglas's eyes, this seamless disguise was the problem in the first place.

He didn't believe that such an ordinary old man would get a Devil Fruit so coincidentally, and he didn't believe that an ordinary old man would think of sending this fruit to auction.

There was a flaw in the logic of this matter from the very beginning, so Douglas did not believe in the mask as it appeared on the surface!

A reasonable guess:

Either this "ordinary old man" is a shadow planted by some organization that covets the formula of the new drug, and intends to get ahead of the others and use the opportunity of the auction to attack the Golden Rose first.

Either the way of this devil fruit is not bright enough, and the parties will choose to make a hasty move in order to avoid trouble.

Either way, it could cause endless trouble down the road. As a destabilizing factor in the plan, it was naturally necessary for Douglas to rule it out.

However, when the boy uses the information to find out the cause and effect from the other party, the leader of the boy army finds a more interesting answer from the other party.

"Welcome to the Golden Rose, please sit, please."

Douglas pointed out the other man's seat, then walked back across from his desk.

He stared at the old man playfully for a moment, and then began to speak in astonishment.

Douglas: "Alright, that's all for the pleasantries, Mr. Albert, let's start with the fact that you deliberately concealed your real name. ”

James... No, it should be called back to its real name at this point.

Cage. Albert had never mentioned his origins to anyone since he arrived in the West Sea, let alone said a word about his real name, and theoretically no one on Scampala Island should ever have seen through this secret.

But the tone of the young man in front of him was affirmative, and he completely stated the facts, which made him have an illusion of being completely seen through in a trance.

Albert: "You know it all? No... What do you know? ”

"Mr. Albert, I don't like people answering my questions with questions, and although I personally prefer to solve problems through dialogue rather than violence, it doesn't mean that the Golden Rose can be deceived at will."

Douglas crossed his hands and put them on his knees, "It's a gesture for the mafia, so even if it's a thief full of lies, I hope that when I ask questions, you will be honest." ”

"You know it all!"

The teenager especially accentuated the word "thief", which also made Albert, who was still a little lucky, completely nervous.

He was silent for a moment, and finally removed the disguise mask covering his face, revealing a handsome silver-haired face.

In this regard, Douglas, who had already gone through the other party's basic information, was certainly not the slightest surprised.

——

Name: Cage Albert

Age: 21 (years old)

Place of birth: North Sea, Paradise Island

Biography: Haiyuan Calendar was born in 1481 in the Cage family on the paradise island

…

He was chosen as a sacrifice in 1489 and was exiled to the sea in the same year, following thieves to begin his career as a thief

…

In 1495, the sea calendar obtained the animal species "vulture fruit"

In 1496, he was wanted by the seventeen kingdoms of Beihai and was known as the "Man of a Thousand Faces"

…

In 1501, the Devil Fruit of unknown origin was stolen from the tribute delivered on Paradise Island

In 1502, in order to avoid pursuit, he came to the West Sea, and now he is selling stolen goods everywhere.

——

Douglas: "You're pretty straightforward, but is it really good to make such a hasty decision to show your true colors?" ”

"It's all the same." Albert's tone was calm and vigilant, he stared at the boy and replied coldly, "You can find out my affairs so clearly, it doesn't make sense to hide your true face in front of you, right?" ”

"Perhaps" Douglas tilted his head and said, "You have encountered a lot of trouble all the way to the West Sea to sell stolen goods, are you so short of money, are you in a hurry to cash in the goods in your hand?" ”

"It's a personal issue."

"Not necessarily," the young man's tone was a little more cunning of a businessman, "I guess you'll be able to get a good bounty if someone catches you, so I advise you to answer my question honestly for now." ”

Albert: "There used to be a lot of idiots who thought that, and no one ever succeeded. ”

"Then you chose to gamble?"

Douglas was still sitting there, just looking at Albert calmly, and on the other side, Lily had already blocked the only exit from the room, standing silently.

"It's really surprising, I thought you would make a more rational choice, after all, the lots have been delivered to the company's warehouse in advance, don't you plan to stop the loss reasonably?"

"I don't have much to talk to people like you." Albert resolutely rejected Douglas's offer, and he stood up, apparently not intending to talk any more, "Also, since you know who I am, you shouldn't say such stupid things again—I advise you to keep an eye on your treasures, and be careful that they will all fall into your pockets early tomorrow morning." ”

Leaving behind the harsh words, Albert turned around and was about to leave, but at the door of the president's office, his steps were stopped by Lily.

The little girl was still a little stiff in the face of this scene, but with the help of the fruit's ability, thousands of pieces of paper had poured out of the folder in her arms, forming a wall in an instant, blocking Albert's path.

Albert was first shocked when he realized the identity of the opponent's ability, but he was as experienced in combat as he was, so he adjusted his mentality in an instant and immediately responded in an orderly manner.

It's a pity that this duel may not have much chance to tell the winner for the time being... While everyone in the president's office was tense, the phone bug on Douglas's desk suddenly rang.

Hearing the specially set bell, Douglas shrank his eyes, and then immediately answered the call, regardless of the presence of outsiders.

In the next moment, Hagrid's loud voice on the phone bug suddenly shouted.

"Boss! Come on! There are bombs! ”