After watching the King of the Near Sea disappear into the distance, Xiano continued climbing up the rope ladder.
Soon, he reached the top. As he grabbed the railing and was about to climb over, a dozen arms suddenly reached out to him.
Some hooked under his armpits, while others lifted his knees. The young man was rendered immobile, like a freshly caught live fish, as he was carried steadily through the cheering and whistling crowd.
"Hey? Wait, what are you doing!" he cried out in panic.
Unfortunately, no one answered him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gatt smiling as he pulled out his pipe, tapped it, and lit it. The scent of tobacco wafted over.
The next moment, Xiano felt his body become weightless as he was suddenly tossed into the air.
"Whoa—hey!"
"Stop this, put me down!"
"Whoa—hey!"
"I'm afraid of heights… no, I just ate, I'm going to throw up if you keep this up!"
"Whoa—hey!"
"That's enough already! Is this how you repay kindness? I should've let the Sea Kings eat all of you!"
"Whoa—hey!"
"Just eat me too!"
...
After what felt like an eternity, Xiano was finally set down. His head was spinning, and he nearly stumbled to the ground.
The old sailors, accustomed to heavy physical labor, had arms of steel. Being tossed around in the air felt like riding a roller coaster all day.
Even though he had quickly overcome his seasickness earlier, he now felt the urge to lean over the railing and vomit.
"Impressive, Xiano!"
Gatt gave a thumbs-up, exhaling a puff of smoke, his face filled with admiration.
"Truly remarkable. I actually doubted you earlier, treating you like a kid. I must've been blind in my old age. Now I don't even know whether to apologize or thank you first."
In that desperate and oppressive situation earlier, even a seasoned Captain like him, who had sailed the seas for decades, had given up and prepared to meet his end.
Yet, this young man, despite his age, remained calm, accurately assessed the situation, and acted decisively when it mattered.
He genuinely admired the young man before him, and without realizing it, his address had shifted from "kid" to "Xiano."
"Just apologize, no need to thank me."
Xiano rubbed his still-dizzy forehead. "It's not like I was an uninvolved bystander. I'm on this ship too, just trying to save myself."
"How can you say that, Xiano!"
"Yeah, you saved all of us on this ship!"
"We'll never forget you for the rest of our lives!"
The crowd erupted into chatter again. Someone muttered, "Shouldn't we continue the feast?" which led to comments like, "Idiot, weren't we already having a feast?" "That was too small, we need a bigger one to celebrate our survival!" "True, it needs to be more lively and grand!"
Soon, the voices merged into one, echoing across the deck—
"Feast! Feast! Feast!"
"Alright!" Gatt, now fired up, laughed heartily and made the decision. "Then everyone, go help! Let's get the feast going again tonight. No one's leaving until we're all drunk!"
"Drunk until we drop!"
The sailors scattered in all directions, each busying themselves with various tasks—cleaning up the banquet area, moving wine barrels, preparing dishes and cutting meat, reassembling tables... It seemed they were determined to get the banquet started within half an hour.
Only Xiano was left standing there, utterly bewildered.
Wait, this isn't right, is it?
After being slammed into dozens of times by the King of the Near Sea, shouldn't the first priority be to check if the ship was leaking or if the keel had been damaged?
...
The next day.
When Xiano woke up, his head was pounding as if it might split open. Was this a hangover? The glaring sunlight streamed in through the porthole, indicating it was already noon.
He patted his head, finally recalling fragments of the previous night. He had been the star of the banquet, and the enthusiastic sailors had poured countless drinks into him.
At first, he had been reserved, but later he had let loose, his face flushed as he slung his arms around the sailors' shoulders, dancing wildly around the bonfire and singing raucous songs.
What were these people thinking?
He was still a minor—how could they let him drink?
As he haphazardly pulled on his wrinkled coat, Xiano suddenly froze. The cabin, adorned with velvet curtains, was absurdly large—it could have fit his old bed as a footstool. The ensuite bathroom even carried the scent of lemon fragrance.
Wow, he'd been upgraded. This must be the best room on the ship, right?
Compared to the cramped cabin he'd stayed in before, this was like jumping from a budget single room straight into a presidential suite.
He opened the fridge, took out a can of cola, and the sound of carbonation escaping as he popped the tab, followed by the refreshing flow of icy sweetness down his throat, finally perked him up a bit.
"Huh? Xiano, you're already awake?"
It was a passing sailor who had heard the noise, his enthusiastic voice ringing out from outside the door. "How are you feeling? Are you hungry? What do you like to eat? I can go grab something for you."
"No need to trouble yourself, thank you," Xiano quickly replied. "You go ahead with your work. If I get hungry, I'll head to the dining hall myself."
"Alright, as you say! Just let us know if you need anything!"
Once the sailor's footsteps faded away, Xiano flopped back into the sofa, eagerly opening the system.
Eat? He had just come into a windfall yesterday, and the trading market was due to refresh in a few days. Who had time to eat when shopping was the priority!
A dark blue panel appeared before his eyes, and Xiano's gaze skipped over the front, landing directly on the last two lines.
[Remaining Points: 10,025]
He finally understood why some people loved staring at their treasures with a silly grin.
When your savings reached a certain point, sometimes even doing nothing but repeatedly checking your bank balance could fill you with a sense of satisfaction and security, making you feel as if you were floating on cloud nine.
After a long while, he finally tore his gaze away from the balance section.
Looking to the right, a new page immediately appeared, displaying product images with detailed descriptions and prices below.
If something caught his interest, he could add it to the cart. If not, he could simply swipe it away with his mind and move on to the next item.
This was the trading market.
Every month, ten new items would randomly refresh. As long as you had enough Points, you could purchase them at will before the next refresh period.
At first, Xiano had thought it was all direct sales from the system, but he quickly realized the truth.
This was more like a Taobao connected to countless worlds. Except for a small number of items provided by the system, the vast majority seemed to come from individual sellers in other worlds.
The things being sold were incredibly diverse, with all sorts of random items, as if each world had been assigned a transmigrator who was out there digging for treasures.
Every time he scrolled down, it felt like the thrill of opening a blind box.
He quite enjoyed this part.
As soon as the monthly refresh period arrived, he would always make a round of browsing first thing.
Unfortunately, he used to be so poor that he could hardly afford anything, and could only stare longingly at the items.
Occasionally, there would be something cheap, but he still had to weigh the pros and cons, and most of the time he had to painfully give up. Over the past three years, he had only managed to buy the Breathing Fist Technique and basic swordsmanship.
But now he was rich.
This time, he was determined to buy to his heart's content! If he saw something he liked, he would just add it to the cart!
Only adults hesitate and need to make choices. He was still a kid, so of course, he wanted it all!
He quickly entered a focused state and began browsing the first item.
[Statue of Heracles]
[Type: Enhancement Item]
[Price: 2000 Points]
[Description: The greatest hero in ancient Greek mythology, who ascended to Mount Olympus after death, becoming synonymous with strength. This exquisitely crafted statue stands about 20 centimeters tall. When placed within a ten-meter range during physical training, it will provide a threefold efficiency boost. This enhancement effect can stack with other items.]
[Seller's Note: There have been precedents, so beware of theft! Some *people are like they have auto-pickup enabled, stealing all kinds of *stuff.]
"A threefold efficiency boost during physical training?"
Xiano was slightly stunned, a flash of joy in his eyes, and without hesitation, he added it to the cart.
No need to overthink it.
Arlong's attack was less than a year away, and this item effectively extended his training time to three years!
Moreover, it was permanent, meaning that for the rest of his life, his training efficiency would always be three times what it used to be!
Yes, he did have decent talent in physical training, but who would ever complain about having too much talent?
"Great item!"
Xiano was full of anticipation for the effects it would bring.
He scrolled down and began browsing the next item.
————
[Shadowheart's Camp Clothes]
[Type: Equipment]
[Price: 200 Points]
[Description: A black, form-fitting casual outfit with no attribute bonuses, more suitable for rest and leisure. When you lie down to sleep wearing it, you might hear the whispers of darkness in your ears, as Lady Shar speaks to you.]
[Seller's Note: I really want to lick Shadowheart's feet.]
"..." Xiano's face remained expressionless.
He swiped directly to the next item!
If there really was a Transmigration Management Bureau, he wished they could make a rule: perverted fat otakus are forbidden from transmigrating!
————
[Sulawesi Number Three Steering Engine]
[Type: Wonder]
[Price: 10000 Points]
[Description: Located in the equatorial region, one of the largest steering engines built for the Wandering Earth Project. It stands over 15 kilometers tall with a base diameter exceeding 60 kilometers. With sufficient fuel, a single engine can generate a thrust of 200 trillion tons.]
[Seller's Note: Just dug it up, still warm.]
Wait, buddy.
Who the hell are you?
Even if you transmigrated as Ultraman, you wouldn't be able to dig this thing up, right?
The prices were even more outrageous, basically the highest he had seen in the past three years. But when it came to wonders, no matter the worldview, they were never something to consider in the early or mid-stages.
It was truly tempting. If he had a million points in his balance, he would definitely buy it.
If he ever died with points still unspent, he would summon this thing without fail to let everyone have a look.
————
[Ren Amamiya's Black Canvas Bag]
[Type: Miscellaneous]
[Price: 600 Points]
[Description: A suitable backpack for a middle school student, filled with second-year textbooks from Shujin Academy High School. Occasionally, you can hear a cat's meow from inside, but you can't determine whether the cat is alive or dead until you unzip it.]
[Seller's Note: Found next to the subway turnstile.]
"Hmm..."
After a brief moment of thought, Xiano shook his head and gave up.
He searched through his memories of his past life, but unfortunately, his knowledge of the anime world wasn't extensive enough to recall which worldview this item came from.
However, based on past experience, items categorized as miscellaneous were usually of little use, like the hairpins and headbands he had sacrificed, which fell into this category.
Unless he was particularly interested, buying it for collection would be a waste of 600 points.
————
[Six Styles Secret Manual *2]
[Type: Training Manual]
[Price: 800 Points]
[Description: A secret manual detailing the training methods of the Six Styles Martial Arts. Shave, Paper Drawing, Moon Walk, Storm Leg, Iron Body, and Finger Pistol make up the Six Styles. Each manual will randomly grant one of these techniques when opened.]
[Seller's Note: None, system direct sale.]
"Six Styles?"
Xiano's spirits lifted.
Although system-direct sales were rare, they often offered highly practical items, unlike individual sellers who were always trying to pull off some gimmick.
This time was no exception.
This was the martial arts trained by the CP department from a young age. Within the Navy, only elite graduates from the headquarters were qualified to practice it.
Those who mastered these techniques could easily dominate outside the Grand Line.
For the past two years, he had been eyeing this set of martial arts, always hoping to see it appear in the trading market. Now, his wish had finally come true.
"And it's a random two out of six..."
Xiano decisively added it to his cart.
This was two manuals, equivalent to one-on-one guidance from a master, guaranteed to teach and ensure mastery. At 400 points per manual, no matter which two of the Six Styles he randomly obtained, it would be an absolute bargain!
————
[Sephiroth's Masamune]
[Type: Weapon]
[Price: 500 Points]
[Description: From the world of Final Fantasy VII, the blade of the ultimate antagonist, Sephiroth. Resembling a katana, it is named 'Masamune.' The overall length exceeds two meters, with a hilt about fifty centimeters long. The blade is only three centimeters wide and a few millimeters thick.]
[Seller's Note: "What you see now is reality. What you remember is the illusion."]
This made him hesitate.
Xiano stroked his chin in contemplation. His swordsmanship talent wasn't great, and he had no plans to practice swords in the short term.
But in the world of pirates, swords and knives were inseparable and ranked as the foremost among weapons. Having a reliable weapon at hand seemed like a given.
The blade forged by Shinra Electric Power Company for the 1st Class SOLDIER was undoubtedly of top-notch quality. In the world of pirates, it would at least be on par with a Skillful Grade Sword, if not a Great Grade Sword.
"Buy it!"
Xiano made his decision, and another item was promptly added to his shopping cart.
If the price had been any higher, he might have just given up on it.
Continuing to scroll down, he quickly skimmed through several items, either finding them uninteresting or not worth the cost, and soon reached the end of the list.
Finally, he checked out, purchasing a total of three items for 3300 Points.
[Remaining Points: 6725]
Items that could speed up his cultivation were among the things he needed most right now. It was a stroke of luck to have found one this time. Next month, if he could get his hands on some cultivation manuals, the timing would be just about right to complete his re
turn to the village. By then, he could dive headfirst into intense cultivation.
Satisfied, Xiano cracked open another can of cola, closed the trading market, and then, while sipping his happy drink, eagerly opened his inventory.
(End of Chapter)