After unlocking the old man's cuffs, Wilder went to the cell door. After a moment's thought, he unlocked the door, but didn't open it, leaving it looking as it had before.
The old man had struggled for a while, but he was now entering a state of severe oxygen deprivation, his movements becoming feeble.
Without turning his head, Wilder's right hand transformed into a mass of swamp and connected to the old man's body.
"Guh... guh..."
The swamp covering the old man began to pulsate. Through Wilder's mud-transformed right hand, the swamp was channeled back into his body.
Simultaneously, Wilder's body transformed into swamp, becoming a thin line that hid in the cracks of the floor.
As for the old man on the floor, unconscious from lack of oxygen...
Wilder couldn't help but curl his lip. He believed that when the old man woke up and found his cuffs unlocked, he'd definitely be curious about the cell door.
And then... the show would begin.
Wilder suppressed the smile on his face, his gaze becoming deep and withdrawn. "Once the show starts, my opportunity will arrive."
Returning to his own cell, Wilder sat cross-legged and closed his eyes to rest. This time, he didn't stay in the depths of the cell; instead, he sat openly not far from the door.
He was thinking. This operation had revealed some shortcomings in his Devil Fruit abilities.
"The binding power and stickiness are strong, a major advantage. Once an enemy is caught in the swamp, it's very difficult to escape. But the weakness is that the mud's consistency is too soft; it lacks strong offensive capabilities. Against agile opponents, if the binding fails, it becomes rather useless."
"And there's the issue of plasticity. The fluid is difficult to control, and it's susceptible to scattering under impactful blows."
So...
Wilder opened his eyes, his current priorities clear. Leaving aside the development of other traits, these two weaknesses of the Swamp-Swamp Fruit had to be overcome as soon as possible.
As for developing other aspects, as long as they were within the Swamp Fruit's inherent traits, Wilder believed they would emerge naturally as his mastery of the fruit increased.
He wasn't accustomed to leaving himself with weaknesses. If he had to choose between developing more ability applications and eliminating weaknesses, he would choose the latter.
That said, neither of these weaknesses could be overcome in a short time. Wilder understood that, like his upcoming plan, this would be a major undertaking, perhaps even more so.
"How to make the swamp shift between hard and soft? Heh heh heh... I have absolutely no clue." Wilder couldn't help but let out a low chuckle. The challenging nature of this idea piqued his interest.
Wilder had a good habit when faced with problems he couldn't immediately solve: he'd temporarily shelve them. He quickly put aside the idea of controlling the swamp's hardness and turned his thoughts to the second problem.
"The issue of plasticity lies in control and making subtle changes to the nature of the mud. Both aim to better serve and cooperate with each other, and the latter is even related to the issue of the mud's hardness."
"That is... to solve the plasticity problem, I need to improve my control over the mud while simultaneously altering its properties, creating a synergistic change."
"This is going to be a headache!..." Wilder wore an expression that was both frustrated and excited.
Wilder had a premonition that once he solved the first problem of plasticity, the first problem of hardness wouldn't be far behind.
"Heh heh heh... I can't wait. Let's begin." Wilder stood up and walked towards the back of the cell. Before turning, he glanced across the way. There was no movement.
Time flew by like an arrow. Another two days passed.
Wilder, who had been constantly watching the opposite cell, noticed that the old man was showing signs of restlessness.
Watching the old man put on a show, wearing the now-useless cuffs and pacing back and forth near the cell door, Wilder couldn't help but smile knowingly.
Heh heh heh...
So... how many days can you endure?
Wilder wanted to see what someone who told others not to dream of escaping would do in this situation.
Or rather, what kind of performance he would put on.
After watching for a while, Wilder turned and retreated into the darkness. Playing cat and mouse was a hobby of his, but it was insignificant compared to becoming stronger. He wouldn't have any trouble choosing between the two.
The reason he was paying attention was simply that his upcoming plan required the old man's cooperation.
He would never relax his focus on the two current weaknesses of the Swamp-Swamp Fruit. Time was never enough for Wilder. Escaping Impel Down without sufficient strength was a joke. With that man present, even escaping required immense power.
Returning to the dark depths of the cell, Wilder immediately immersed himself in training his Devil Fruit ability.
His body transformed into mud, spreading through the darkness. Wilder, through exploration, gradually increased his control and understanding of his Fruit.
Time passed silently. In the darkness, swamp spread equally silently. Wilder had essentially achieved a greater degree of control over the swamp.
Transforming his body into a line of mud was no longer strenuous. Whether it was the mud formed from his own body or the additional mud he secreted, Wilder could skillfully control it into a line and make it move stably according to his will, or perform slow actions.
At this point, the problem of plasticity had seen its first progress, but it was far from enough. Wilder wanted true shaping, the kind where it moved as easily as his own limbs.
Click!
Wilder was controlling the lower half of his body in its flowing form when he suddenly pricked up his ears. A faint sound reached him.
His body quickly reformed into human shape. Wilder's eyes looked towards the cell door. Just as he was about to make a move, a long alarm suddenly echoed throughout Level 2.
The door of the opposite cell was now wide open. Wilder emerged from the darkness, looking at the empty cell where the old man was no longer to be seen. A trace of excited, thrilled, suppressed laughter couldn't help but appear on his face.
"He finally... couldn't resist, could he?"
The old man's escape quickly caused an uproar throughout Level 2. The vicious criminals rattled the iron bars of their cells, shouting excitedly.
The guards were searching everywhere for the old man. Wilder, watching the lively scene unfold, remained unmoved.
On both sides of the corridor, criminals banged on their cells, roaring and shouting. There were savage smiles, excitement, and revelry. They were fortunate enough to experience a day that was not peaceful, so they celebrated.
Yes, no one had any other thoughts. Some cheered for the old man, some jeered at the guards, but no one tried to take advantage of the situation.
Wilder curiously glanced at the cell separated by a wall. It was unusually quiet.
Wilder remembered that a prisoner was confined there. As for why he wasn't shouting and screaming like the other criminals? Wilder decided that wasn't something he wanted to concern himself with.
The commotion in the prison had reached its peak. The smile on Wilder's lips grew wider, his gaze fixed on the empty cell across from him.
"Then... let's begin."