The First Person to Hear Him

"Don't touch the computer yet."

As soon as Mo'er finished speaking, A Hui pressed him further into the blanket.

"Don't worry about the computer for now."

"I didn't care."

Your head has already turned away.

"Your neck can still move."

"When the doctor arrives, I'll have him bandage your neck too."

Lin Qi stood behind the counter; the inverted cup on the screen remained unchanged, and the handwritten text was still there below.

The first person to hear Lin Qi's voice is still waiting for him in the Calm Belt.

Makino gathered up the old Tavern debts and stood between Lin Qi and the computer.

"If it says it'll wait for you, does that mean you absolutely have to go?"

I haven't said I'm going.

"You've already brought out the nautical chart."

Lin Qi glanced down at the East Blue nautical chart in his hand.

"Smoothly."

The Calm Belt is not on this map.

"Then I took the wrong one."

A Hui stood with his back to the basement door, completely blocking Mo'er's view.

"You're not allowed to leave even if you took the wrong one."

I'm not going down.

You checked the door three times just now.

"That's to Black Cup from flipping over again."

"If it dares to flip over, I'll smash it."

Mo'er reached out from under the blanket and grabbed A Hui's clothes.

Smashing the cup won't help.

"Then fill in the well along with it."

"The well is connected to the Tavern's load-bearing line."

"I'll throw you out first, then fill in the rest."

You can't bear to part with it.

A Hui tucked his hand back under the blanket.

"One more thing, I'll try it now."

The sound of tapping on a table came through the regular Den Den Mushi; Vegapunk ignored the two's argument.

"The text on the screen is leaving physical traces, Lin Qi, move the light closer."

Don't let him touch it.

"Ms. Makino, all we need is lighting."

"You always say you only need a little, but in the end you always end up tearing down half the Tavern."

Lin Qi picked up the oil lamp and shone it on the screen from a table's distance.

A thin line appears below the handwritten text, extending to the right, wrapping around the cup, and landing at the edge of the screen.

"Like a route?"

"Doesn't seem like it."

Robin's voice came from another Den Den Mushi.

"The thread has a folded end, and there's no location marking at the end, making it more like a receipt."

"Receipt?"

"Someone sent that message, Echo Node confirmed that Lin Qi heard it and is now trying to send the reception result back."

Mo'er spoke up by the wall.

"Turn off the computer."

It's already over.

"Tear it down."

That's my computer.

"Is your memory more important, or your computer?"

"You just said that destroying it directly would damage my memory."

"Remove the outer casing."

"The casing also costs money."

A Hui looked at Lin Qi.

Where's the hammer?

"Behind the kitchen door."

"Hey, you're really going to tear it down?"

Makino took the hammer first and put it under the counter.

"Nobody move! The naval medic is almost here, and Vegapunk is watching too."

"Doctors can't cure Echo."

Mo'er tried to sit up straight, but as soon as his back left the wall, the blanket slid down.

A Hui reached out to support the person and pulled the blanket back onto his shoulder.

"You said you resigned."

Even if I resign, I know how to get a ban.

Knowing something doesn't mean you have to do it.

"The Echo from the Calm Belt was able to get the message into the node before Lin Qi arrived; it had already bypassed the Throne's listening system."

Lin Qi put the oil lamp down.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Bypass the Throne, and bypass the system."

"So what?"

Nobody can see what it's trying to do.

The thin line at the edge of the screen continued to move, slowly winding its way to the back of the computer.

"It's looking for a way out of reality," Vegapunk said.

Makino put all the cups on the counter into a wooden box.

What else in the Tavern can Echo to you?

Mo'er named several things.

"An empty cup, old debts, IOUs, unmailed letters."

Garp immediately connected to the line.

Why can someone accept an IOU?

"An IOU is a record of unfinished tasks."

"That's two different things."

"You've owed it for over forty years, and you still haven't finished."

"I will pay!"

"When?"

"When you can drink!"

"That would incur interest."

"You'd better live to see the day you collect the interest!"

The Den Den Mushi's mouth was open, but the rest of the sentence didn't come out; only Garp's short, heavy breathing remained.

Mo'er turned his face toward the window.

"Good."

Makino retrieved a wooden box from under the counter.

All the unmailed letters are here.

"Whose letter?"

"Some villagers wrote the letters but dared not mail them, some couldn't find the addresses, and a few were soaked in seawater."

"Don't open it."

"I know."

The thin wires on the back of the computer stopped.

The sound of papers turning over came from inside the wooden box.

Makino didn't touch the lid; she simply pushed it to the center of the table.

"It's looking for the letter itself."

Lin Qi squatted down by the table, his gaze fixed on the seam of the box.

Who wrote it?

"Wait for it to choose."

The lid of the box was slightly ajar, and half of the letter at the bottom was squeezed out from the side.

There was no recipient on the envelope.

The paper was damp, and the seal was covered with blackened salt grains.

Robin said, "First, check the year of the paper."

Makino took the letter out through the cloth.

"This isn't paper from Foosha Village; it has marine moisture-proof wax on the edges."

Mo'er glanced at it.

"Calm Belt."

"You've seen it?"

"The year Mo'er took me to the Foosha Village, there was a piece of paper in my clothes."

A Hui squatted down next to the envelope.

What was written on that note?

"No words."

"Then why did you keep it?"

It makes a sound.

No sooner had Mo'er finished answering than a soft sound came from the envelope.

Thump.

A Hui's hand froze in mid-air.

The second sound came a moment later.

Thump.

The third sound is even softer.

Thump.

Mo'er used the wall as a support to move forward.

"Don't open it, that's the three-beat confirmation of the Echo Source."

"Confirm what?"

"The Receiver is still alive."

Lin Qi pointed to himself.

"Is it confirming my identity?"

"It could also be about confirming someone else's identity."

The envelope rang for the fourth time.

The sound didn't linger on the paper.

The black cup pattern around Mo'er's waist lifted, and blood seeped from the old wound beneath the blanket.

A Hui lifted the blanket, and her palms immediately turned red.

"Who are you saying it's identifying?"

Mo'er looked down at his waist.

"Maintainer."

"You've already resigned!"

"It doesn't recognize it."

"Then let it recognize it!"

A Hui grabbed the envelope and raised his hand to throw it into the fireplace.

Mo'er lunged forward and grabbed his wrist, sliding down the wall.

"Don't burn it."

"Let go."

"After it's burned, the source will see me as someone who refuses to accept it."

So what if we refuse to accept it?

"It will get a different Maintainer."

A Hui looked at Lin Qi.

"Change him?"

Mo'er did not answer.

Hurried footsteps came from outside the Tavern, and the Marine Branch doctor pushed open the door and entered, his medicine box bumping against the door frame.

Where are the wounded?

"Here."

Makino cleared the long table, A Hui picked up Mo'er, but didn't put him down immediately.

"Tell me first, how do I prevent them from changing players?"

Mo'er leaned on his shoulder, his forehead against A Hui's neck.

"Return the receipt."

How do I get a refund?

Let the Receiver write it themselves.

Lin Qi dragged over a chair and sat down.

What to write?

"You've heard me."

Doesn't this answer its question?

"Only confirm the delivery location, do not respond to identity, and do not respond to the past."

Makino held the paper down.

"Can we write it for you?"

"No."

"Then I won't write it."

"If the receipt is not returned, the cup pattern on Mo'er's body will reconnect to the Calm Belt."

The doctor cut open the old cloth around Mo'er's waist, revealing skin that had been divided into several pieces by Black Lines.

A Hui placed the envelope in front of Lin Qi.

"After you finish writing, will it release the person?"

"Temporary."

"How long is 'temporarily'?"

Mo'er closed his eyes briefly.

"Have no idea."

A Hui bent down and whispered in his ear.

"If you keep trying to fool me with 'I don't know,' I'll stuff you and the letter into a barrel of wine."

The biggest one is missing.

"I've already made it up."

"You can't mend a bucket."

"The Old Carpenter taught me."

"When?"

"When you're down there and refuse to come out."

Mo'er didn't say anything more.

Lin Qi took the pen from Makino but didn't write on the envelope.

"I wrote 'Received,' will it come through the handwriting?"

Vegapunk replied, "Possibly."

Can it be prevented?

"To allow multiple people to leave their testimonies, the receipt shouldn't be solely linked to you."

Makino first pressed the Tavern's stamp on the table.

The Village Chief placed his cane horizontally next to the envelope.

"The Foosha Village bears witness."

Garp roared from the other end of the Den Den Mushi, "The Navy is a witness too!"

The dragon then spoke.

"The Revolutionary Army retains a copy."

Buggy shouted even faster.

"The Delivery Alliance will handle the return shipment; additional fees apply!"

"Shut up first."

Lin Qi placed his pen on the envelope and wrote four words.

[Location received.]

The envelope closed itself as soon as the last stroke left the paper.

The Black Lines on Mo'er's waist receded one by one from the old wound, and the bleeding finally stopped.

A Hui placed the person on the long table so that the doctor could treat the wound.

"It's over?"

The receipt hasn't been sent yet.

The envelope moved along the table, past old accounts and the oil lamp, and stopped in front of Lin Qi.

The seal will open automatically.

A narrow piece of paper slid out from inside.

The paper first showed the four characters Lin Qi had just written, followed by a reply.

[The location may change.]

Two blank lines were left below.

New ink seeped from the paper.

[Three days later, it will pass north of Amazon Lily.]

Lin Qi stared at the last line.

"Did it know we were going?"

Mo'er raised his bandaged hand and pointed to the back of the narrow piece of paper.

Lin Qi turned the paper over.

There is only one name on the back.

Monkey D. Luffy.