Empty Household Storage Room

"There's Cup Voice from inside." Nami slammed her Clima-Tact onto the deck, the metal end sliding a short mark against the wooden planks. "Lin Qi, don't let them open the door yet, it's too noisy inside."

Buggy stared at the small door deep inside the old warehouse in Loguetown, his expression much uglier than before. "Do you even need to tell me? With so many cups falling at once, who knows if there's a person behind that door, or a ledger trap planted on the Throne?"

Akainu looked at the Loguetown sub-screen. "Momonga, keep the old warehouse area sealed off. No one is allowed to access the Empty Household Storage Rooms."

Momonga's voice came from off-screen, "Roger that. The navy is only sealing off the outside passage. No entry, no taking anything, and no Receipt."

The dragon continued, "The Revolutionary Army has sealed off the back alleys, all civilians have evacuated the old warehouse district, and informants are forbidden from touching the house numbers."

Robin stared at the words "Empty Household Storage Room" on the doorplate, his fingertips pressing against the edge of his notebook. "Empty Household don't mean unclaimed houses. The Throne records living people as unclaimed households, so they can move around anywhere without relatives or village/town certificates."

East Tax Nine sat amidst a pile of ledgers, the pages on his chest illuminated by Golden Light of light, still gazing up at the Sky Screen. "Empty Household have no owners; the storage room is merely for storing unclaimed amounts. You even need to audit this?"

Nami turned to look at him, "You said the Empty Household has no owner, so why would a cup fall out of it?"

East Tax Nine didn't reply. The overturned cup beside him was still spinning on the table, its rim hitting the cover of the ledger with a soft sound.

Ju Bei sat on the blanket in Cocoyasi Village, holding the water cup in his arms. After hearing the sound, he shrank back into the blanket, but his fingertips slowly tapped three times.

Mia immediately looked down and flipped through the code. "The Ju Bei says someone inside the door is mimicking his voice."

Naji's face was half-covered by the thermal blanket. He raised his hand with difficulty, "It's not learning, it's being trained—mutual recognition by Cup Voice."

Luo Ya, leaning against the narrow white door, said hoarsely, "The second group heard each other and realized they were still alive."

Lumi hugged Xing tightly, her voice strained, "Then we can't let the Throne mistake the Cup Voice for warehouse noise."

Lin Qi looked at the input box, his fingertips hovering over the cracked keycaps, and pushed the question page up to the Sky Screen.

[Qualitative Question about Sounds in Empty Household Storage Room]

[Question: Can the Cup Voice emanating from the Empty Household Storage Room the old warehouse in Loguetown be classified as warehouse noise or an echo of empty accounts by the East Tax Nine or the Throne Livelihood System?]

[A. Yes, Empty Household has no owner.]

[B. Yes, warehouse records take priority]

[C. Can be explained by East Tax Nine]

[D. No, the Cup Voice should be considered as evidence of a potential victim's distress and mutual verification; it is forbidden to dismiss it as noise, and it is forbidden to destroy it under the guise of Empty Household.]

Akainu said, "Navy Seat, D."

Longdao: "Revolutionary Army Seat, D."

Makino stared at the door on the screen, the ledger clasped in her hands. "Civilian Witness Seat, D."

Lumi said, "Victim Seat, D."

Buggy slapped his hand, "Pirate Joint Seat, D. Investigate if the cup rattles. Don't try to fool us with an empty room."

[Answer: D]

The Cup Voice behind the door didn't stop; instead, it broke into several rhythms from the chaos. The edge of the doorplate for the Empty Household Storage Room was lifted by Golden Light, revealing an old label underneath.

Robin read aloud, "Temporary Empty Household, awaiting registration. Safeguarded by East Tax Nine."

Nami looked at East Tax Nine, "You signed Chao Bei to Empty Household, is that also this kind of thing?"

East Tax Nine put his glasses back on, his fingertips unable to touch the table, his voice forced out from behind the ledger pages, "Those who drift overseas have no land residency; signing them to Empty Household at least provides a safekeeping place."

Nami scoffed, "You call this safekeeping?"

Buggy retorted, "Stuffing someone behind a door and changing their name to an empty account—that's called safekeeping? Then if I stuff you in a delivery box, that's called valuable cargo safekeeping?"

Akainu said in a deep voice, "Deal with Chao Bei first; he's still in the pontoon."

In the footage at sea, the Chao Bei lay on the floating mat, their shells still slowly tapping out a rhythm. The dispatch crew held the rescue rope at a distance, and no one dared to cross the golden line.

Mia listened for a while, then said, "Chao Bei said there's his signature inside the door."

Robin looked up. "The signature is in the Empty Household Storage Room, while the person is in a floating container at sea. That's two separate controls: the right to Receipt and the person's physical presence are separate."

Vegapunk magnified the structural projection, "If we rescue people first and don't deal with the issue of the contract, the Throne will say that the body of the Chao Bei has left the box, the Empty Household will automatically receive the data, East Tax Nine will be able to regain control."

Long said, "Then let's first ask if the fortune stick and the person can be separated."

Lin Qi's hands landed on the keyboard.

[Questions on the Separation of Receipt for Empty Household]

[Question: Can the Throne Livelihood System keep Chao Bei himself in a floating container at sea while hiding the right to Receipt property in the Empty Household Storage Room in Loguetown, thereby maintaining control over his identity?]

[A. Yes, the right to Receipt can be kept independently.]

[B. Yes, Empty Household shareholding is valid.]

[C. Can be re-signed by East Tax Nine]

[D. No, the right to Receipts must not be outside the control of the person receiving the goods. Empty Household signatures should be frozen and preserved as evidence of a crime. The wishes of the person Chao Bei take precedence.]

After the five unanimous votes for D were cast, a wet account paper slid out from the crack in the door of the Empty Household Storage Room. The words "Chao Bei" were written on it. The writing was barely formed when it was pulled back by Black Line extending from inside the door.

The delivery captain's legs went weak. "Boss, is that paper still moving?"

Buggy yelled back, "Ignore whether the paper moves or not, keep an eye on the child, and call the doctor as soon as the shell stops moving."

Chao Bei's fingers touched the shell, and Mia quickly said, "He agreed to freeze the contract. He said, 'Don't let the door eat my waves.'"

Lumi immediately said, "The Victim Seat requests that the temporary protective name of the Chao Bei be registered, along with the victim's wishes."

Lin Qi added the missing information.

[Question for confirming the temporary protected name of the Chao Bei]

[Question: After the target of a floating container at sea is represented by the Chao Bei of seashells indicating tidal activity, can it be registered as a temporary protected name and given priority over Empty Household Receipt records?]

[A. No, Empty Household records take priority]

[B. No, confirmation from East Tax Nine is required]

[C. Registration Deferred]

[D. Yes, the name "Chao Bei" can be used as a temporary protective name, and the user reserves the right to change it in the future. Receipt for Empty Household cannot be used to cover the user's name.]

[Answer: D]

The black water inside the floating hull receded, revealing the original white of the shell on Chao Bei's wrist from the darkness. The wet account paper with Chao Bei's name on it in the Empty Household Storage Room of Loguetown was nailed to the outside of the door by Golden Light, and the Cup Voice inside the door suddenly became chaotic.

East Tax Nine chuckled softly, "For every one of you who registers, there will be one less spot inside."

Nami turned to him, "Is it a lack of positions, or a lack of evidence?"

East Tax Nine did not reply.

Robin glanced through the crack in the door. "He's trying to trick us into opening it. If the location inside is linked to a person, opening the door rashly will automatically invalidate the Empty Household, and the person inside might be declared unclaimed."

Vegapunk nodded. "The storage room can't be opened directly; we need to first confirm whether the Empty Household inside corresponds to a living person."

Akainu said, "Ask."

Lin Qi typed out the question.

[Verification Questions for Living Entities in Empty Household]

[Question: Should the location of Empty Household in the Loguetown Empty Household Storage Room be verified to correspond to a living person or victim's disability certificate before deciding on the opening method?]

[A. No verification required; Empty Household can be cleared]

[B. No verification is required; interpretation will be uniformly provided by the East Tax Nine.]

[C. You can directly open the door to collect your payment]

[D. Verification is mandatory; no Empty Household properties may be cleared, transferred, or reset to zero before the status of living persons and disability certificates is confirmed.]

After the unanimous vote of D, a row of blank spaces appeared below the doorplate. The first space read Chao Bei), and the next six spaces were flashing. Two of them made the Cup Voice clinking, one made the sound of seashells clinking, and the remaining three were silent.

The cup in Ju Bei's hand stopped in mid-air; he didn't tap it.

Nami stared at the six empty spaces, her throat tightening. "Six more?"

Void Seven turned the page, the rustling of the paper sounding dry and harsh against the Sky Screen. "Second batch of East Blue branch chain, records of Empty Household Storage Room, seven temporary locations, Chao Bei for sea drift label, one for Orange Tax Difference, one for old warehouse in Loguetown, the rest pending verification."

East Tax Nine looked up, and the number behind his glasses slowly lit up. "Do you still want to open the door now?"

Suddenly, the sound of a glass shattering came from inside the door, and a line of black characters crept up through the crack in the door.

[Application for internal Empty Household Storage Room]