Shopping

Carrying an empty suitcase, he said, "Let's go, Tashigi!"

"Can I bring this book?" Tashigi asked, raising her hand.

How long had it been? She was already engrossed!

"It's for you. You can read it later. Don't you want to see my country?" Zhou Qi asked.

"Huh?" Tashigi thought giving her a book meant she'd pay less attention to the outside world. She hadn't expected it was just to keep her busy!

"Of course, I do!" Tashigi quickly replied, "But I want to read the book too."

"You can read the book anytime. If we miss the chance to visit the country today, who knows when we'll be able to come again..." Zhou Qi said.

"Okay!" Thinking about it, Tashigi readily agreed and put the book down.

"Put your sword down too. We don't allow carrying swords on the street here!" Zhou Qi said.

"What if we encounter danger?" Tashigi asked.

"Then I'll get it for you again. Don't forget my abilities!" Zhou Qi chuckled, "Besides, I brought this. With your skills, this will be enough!"

He took out a transparent acrylic ruler, 50 centimeters long and nearly 1 centimeter thick, bought from Teacher Chen HeGao's shop.

"Oh, oh..." Tashigi quickly placed Small Night Rain on the table, took the ruler, and tried swinging it. It felt a bit strange, but it wasn't a big issue.

"Wait a minute..." Zhou Qi noticed Tashigi's clothes again.

A purple printed shirt, blue skinny jeans. The outfit was actually quite modern.

But the problem was, this outfit was too Tashigi!

What if they met some veteran pirate fans on the street? She'd be recognized at a glance!

"Change your clothes!" Zhou Qi went back to the bedroom, searched around, and found a white shirt.

This style of shirt was unisex.

The blue pants didn't need changing; the material was similar to jeans, and they were everywhere!

"Huh?" Tashigi blinked, unsure why again.

Did her current outfit violate some taboo?

Because she didn't understand, a sense of inexplicable reverence made her comply again.

A moment later, Tashigi, now dressed in the new clothes, came out of the bedroom, shyly adjusting her glasses. "H-how is it?"

"Mmm... you look beautiful!" Zhou Qi gave a thumbs-up.

A white shirt was standard professional attire for many companies. With Tashigi wearing it, paired with her red-rimmed glasses, she surprisingly gave off the impression of a budding urban beauty.

And because she had trained with a sword since joining the military, Tashigi possessed a sharpness rare in modern women, which could be described as a heroic spirit.

"With your looks, if you walked down the street three years ago, you'd definitely turn a lot of heads!" Zhou Qi exclaimed.

"Three years ago?" Tashigi blinked. "Not now?"

"Probably still would!" Zhou Qi shook his head. "Maybe some perverts have developed the skill to see through masks!"

As he spoke, he handed Tashigi a mask.

"Do as I do, put it on..."

"And cover my face..." So many strange rules.

Tashigi put on the mask and took a few breaths, finding she could adapt to it.

"Alright, let's go!" Carrying a suitcase, Zhou Qi opened the door.

"Shall I help you with that?" Tashigi quickly reached out to take it.

"It's empty, it's empty!" Zhou Qi quickly said. "It's not heavy. I'll carry it!"

Even someone of Lang Lang's status would be criticized for letting a girl carry luggage.

"Oh..." Tashigi nodded and followed Zhou Qi out to the elevator. When the elevator arrived, they got in.

This thing existed in the One Piece World, so he didn't need to explain it.

In the elevator, a girl in a pink t-shirt with a SpongeBob SquarePants print on the chest was also going down. She was holding a dog. She ignored Zhou Qi at first but then covered her mouth when she saw Tashigi!

"Holy crap!" Zhou Qi was startled. No way, the first person they meet recognizes Tashigi? She even changed her clothes and wore a mask!

The girl looked down at Tashigi's flat-soled shoes, then spoke with a shocked expression.

Zhou Qi couldn't stop her in time, nor did he dare to.

"You're so tall!" the girl finally said.

"Holy crap!" Zhou Qi clutched his chest, You scared me to death!

But honestly, at 1.70 meters, Tashigi was indeed quite tall on Earth, especially compared to this pink-clad girl who was only about 1.55 meters.

"What did she say?" Tashigi didn't understand.

"She's saying you're tall!" Zhou Qi translated.

"Huh? And she's Japanese too?" The girl was even more surprised. "Aren't Japanese people supposed to be short? A Japanese girl should be even shorter!"

"She's from Okinawa, and Okinawan girls aren't short. My wife Aragaki Yui is 1.7 meters tall too!" Zhou Qi said.

"Oh, oh!" The girl nodded repeatedly, her knowledge expanding!

But she quickly snapped back to reality, glaring at Zhou Qi. You have a girlfriend this beautiful and tall, and you're still thinking about Aragaki Yui!

"What else did she say?" Tashigi asked curiously.

"She thought you were from Wano Country and said people from Wano Country are short," Zhou Qi translated.

"Wano Country?" Tashigi shook her head. "I'm not from Wano Country, I'm from East Blue!"

"That's exactly what I told her!" Zhou Qi replied.

Okinawa is in East Blue, so it makes sense!

"Mhm, mhm!" Tashigi was a little happy. This was the first Huaxian person she had met besides Zhou Qi!

Half curious, half excited, she was so enthusiastic, complimenting her right off the bat!

"Let's go!" Waving his hand, Tashigi quickly followed, then curiously looked at the residential compound outside, the trees, and then stomped on the marble floor.

Children running and playing, old men playing chess under trees, puppies tumbling around together, everything seemed so novel.

Zhou Qi went into the small shop in the compound and bought two Chocollates, handing one to Tashigi, who was waiting at the entrance.

"What is this?" Tashigi curiously tore open the packaging and recognized it immediately.

"Ice cream?"

"This is called 'xuegao'. Ice cream is round! But they're pretty much the same!" Zhou Qi said. "Remember this packaging and brand. If you want to buy it yourself later, just buy this kind. Don't buy anything you don't recognize!"

"Mhm, mhm!" Tashigi wore a mask and didn't know how to eat it yet, but she noticed not everyone was wearing a mask.

So, she carefully lifted it a little, took a bite, and then quickly and stealthily covered it up, afraid Zhou Qi would notice.

However, Zhou Qi never looked back, so her courage grew. Just as she was about to lift her mask to take a big bite, Zhou Qi turned around.

"Ah, I like eating Chocollates like this too..." Zhou Qi commented, then pointed to the pillar in front. "This thing is the access control. You need this to open it. I'll get you one when we get back, or..."

He pondered if he didn't need to come back if he had a factory.

He'd worry about that later.

"Mhm, mhm!" Tashigi nodded repeatedly.

Outside the compound was a wide road with cars coming and going, which astonished Tashigi.

She had seen cars before; Smoker had a motorcycle.

But there were very few cars in Loguetown, and the number of vehicles passing by on this road in one minute was equivalent to the entire Loguetown!

Mary Geoise probably wasn't much different!

For some reason, she felt a little nervous. Seeing that Zhou Qi had finished his ice cream and had a free hand, she quickly took it.

Zhou Qi was startled and turned around, only to see Tashigi looking down with some unease.

She was like a cat that had just arrived in a new environment, full of fear of the unknown.

"Don't be scared!" Zhou Qi comforted her. "These are called cars, just a form of transportation. We're going to buy one later, and you can even sit inside!"

"Mhm, mhm!" Tashigi nodded, finally relaxing a little.

"And roads have rules. They can't just drive anywhere. See that light? It's called a traffic light. When the light is red, it's forbidden to pass; when it's green, you can pass. When cars are prohibited from passing, we can cross the road!"

Although there were many cars at this intersection, it was a residential area with many people, and the passing vehicles knew to slow down. Thus, no car accidents had occurred in recent years.

It was quite safe.

Zhou Qi pointed to the traffic police standing at the intersection. "Look at their hats and uniforms. They are police officers, responsible for managing the city's security. You can go to them if you have any problems, like getting lost, losing money, or being scammed..."

"Police? They have to do so many things?" Tashigi was a little curious. The One Piece World also had police; wasn't there a guy named Ah Jian in Orange Town?

But the police there weren't very helpful!

"I don't know about police in other places, but in our country, the police handle everything from fights to arguments between neighbors!" Zhou Qi said.

"Is that so!" Tashigi looked earnestly at the police officer diligently on duty, his back already soaked with sweat, and felt a strange sense of admiration.

It seemed like there were no police in Loguetown. The Marines only dealt with pirates, and the Marines couldn't handle the town's security. Most of it was maintained by the residents themselves.

After crossing the road, there was a commercial street with a convenience store right ahead. A customer was coming out with a cup of milk tea.

"Do you want a cup of milk tea?" Zhou Qi asked. "It's a specialty drink here!"

"No need to trouble you!" Tashigi quickly waved her hand.

"Not at all. If you're here for a visit, I must entertain you properly. Otherwise, people will say that a foreigner came all the way here, and you didn't even treat them to a cup of milk tea?" Zhou Qi said.

"Eh?" Tashigi blinked. "Is it that serious?"

"Much more serious than you think. Some people's fists can even grind down the Great Dao!" Zhou Qi said, walking past the convenience store.

"Eh?" Tashigi blinked. Weren't they buying milk tea? She actually wanted to drink some.

"It's too expensive here. There's a Mixue Bingcheng ahead. That's a shop from my hometown; it's cheap and good value. Let's go there!" Zhou Qi said.

"Mhm, mhm!"

Five minutes later, Tashigi held a cup of milkshake.