Adults Make Choices

After watching the King of the Near Sea leave, Xianuo continued to climb the rope ladder.

He soon reached the very top. Grabbing the railing, he didn't even have time to climb over before a dozen arms suddenly reached out.

—Some hooked his armpits, others supported his knees. The young man was completely immobilized, like a bucket of freshly caught live fish, steadily carried by the crowd through cheering and whistling people.

"Huh? Wait, what are you doing!" he cried out in panic.

Unfortunately, no one answered him. In his peripheral vision, he only saw Gatt smiling as he took out his pipe, tapped it, and lit it. The scent of tobacco wafted over.

The next moment, Xianuo felt his body lighten as he was suddenly thrown up.

"Hoo—Hey!"

"Don't do this, put me down!"

"Hoo—Hey!"

"I'm afraid of heights... uh, no, I just ate! If you keep this up, I'm going to throw up!"

"Hoo—Hey!"

"That's enough! Are you ungrateful? I should have let the Sea Kings eat you all!"

"Hoo—Hey!"

"Just eat me too!"

After who knows how long, Xianuo was finally put down. He felt like the world was spinning and almost stumbled to the ground.

The old sailors, accustomed to years of hard physical labor, had incredible arm strength. He had been tossed around in the air like he was on a roller coaster all day.

He could overcome seasickness quickly, yet now he had the urge to throw up over the railing.

"Amazing, little brother Xianuo!"

Gatt gave him a thumbs-up, exhaled a smoke ring, and his face was full of emotion.

"You're truly hiding your strength. I doubted you earlier and treated you like a child. I must be senile and blind. Now I don't even know if I should apologize or thank you first."

In that desperate and oppressive situation earlier, even he, a captain who had sailed the seas for decades, had given up and prepared to die for nothing.

On the contrary, this young man, despite his age, had remained calm. He could accurately assess the situation and, when the time came, acted decisively without fear.

He genuinely admired the young man before him from the bottom of his heart. Even his address had unconsciously changed from "kid" to "little brother."

"Apologize first. No need for thanks."

Xianuo rubbed his still dizzy forehead. "It makes me sound like a bystander who had nothing to do with it. Aren't I on this ship too? I was just protecting myself."

"How can you say that! Little brother!"

"Yeah, you saved our entire ship!"

"We'll never forget you in this lifetime!"

The crowd started chattering and making noise again. Someone mumbled, "Should we continue the banquet?" followed by discussions like, "Idiot, weren't we just having a banquet?" "That was too small-scale, not enough to celebrate surviving death," "Indeed, we need a livelier and grander one."

Then, their voices merged into one, echoing across the entire deck—

"Banquet! Banquet! Banquet!"

"Alright!" Gatt also got excited, immediately laughing heartily and making the decision. "Then everyone help out. Let's get the banquet going again immediately. No one leaves tonight, we'll drink until we drop!"

"Drink until we drop!"

The sailors scattered, each busy cleaning up the banquet site, moving wine, preparing food and meat, reassembling tables... Judging by their actions, they intended to have the banquet set up within half an hour.

Only Xianuo was left bewildered in the wind.

Wait, this isn't right?

After being slammed dozens of times by the King of the Near Sea like a cup, shouldn't the first priority be to check if the hull was leaking or if the keel had fallen apart?

The next day.

When Xianuo woke up, his head was pounding. Was he hungover? Blinding sunlight streamed in through the porthole. It looked like it was already noon.

He patted his head and vaguely recalled that he had been the guest of honor at a banquet last night, and the enthusiastic sailors had forced him to drink an unknown amount of alcohol.

He had been reserved at first, but later he went wild, his face flushed red as he slung his arms around the sailors, dancing and singing crazily around the bonfire.

The most ridiculous part was that he had used a coconut shell as a megaphone, climbed the crow's nest, and led the entire crew in singing the East Blue classic song Sailor Embraces Mermaid off-key eight times. He was still blushing just thinking about it.

What was with these people?

He was still a minor, how could he drink alcohol?

As he haphazardly put on his wrinkled jacket, Xianuo suddenly froze—this cabin, with its velvet curtains, was ridiculously large. It could fit his old bed as a footrest. In the en-suite bathroom, there was even the scent of lemon.

Wow, an upgrade. This must be the best room on the ship, right?

Compared to the simple cabin he used to stay in, it was like a special single room upgraded to a presidential suite.

He opened the refrigerator and took out a can of cola. The sound of carbonated gas escaping as he popped the tab, and the refreshing sensation of the icy sweet drink flowing down his throat, finally made him feel much better.

"Huh? Little Brother Xianuo, you're awake already?"

A passing sailor heard the commotion and called out enthusiastically from outside the door, "How is it, are you hungry? What do you like to eat? Should I go get it for you?"

"No need to trouble you, thank you," Xianuo quickly replied. "You go ahead and be busy. If I get hungry, I'll go to the restaurant myself."

"Alright, whatever you say! Just let us know if you need anything!"

After the footsteps faded away, Xianuo leaned back into the sofa, eagerly opening the system.

Eating? He had just gotten a huge sum of money yesterday, and the trading market was due to refresh any day now. What time was it to be eating? Shopping was far more important!

A deep blue panel appeared before his eyes. Xianuo skipped past the earlier sections and focused directly on the last two lines.

[Remaining points: 10025]

He finally understood those people who liked to chuckle foolishly at their own treasures.

Once the savings grew, sometimes even without doing anything, just repeatedly staring at his bank balance would bring a flood of satisfaction and security, making him feel like he was floating on clouds, completely refreshed.

After a long while, he finally shifted his gaze away from the balance.

Looking to the right, a new page immediately appeared, displaying product images with detailed descriptions and prices below.

If he found something interesting, he could add it to his shopping cart. If he didn't want to buy it, he could simply swipe down with his mind to browse the next item.

This was the trading market.

Every month, ten new items would be randomly refreshed. As long as he had enough points, he could purchase them freely before the next refresh period arrived.

At first, Xianuo thought everything was directly sold by the system, but he quickly caught on.

This was more like a Taobao connected to countless worlds. Besides a small number of items provided by the system, the vast majority seemed to come from individual sellers in other worlds.

The items sold were incredibly diverse, all sorts of random things. It was as if each world had been assigned a Transmigrator to dig for treasures everywhere.

Every time he swiped down, he felt the thrill of opening a blind box.

He quite enjoyed this part.

As soon as the monthly refresh period arrived, he would visit it immediately.

Unfortunately, he had been dirt poor before, basically unable to afford anything, and could only watch with longing eyes.

Occasionally, there were cheap items, but he had to weigh the pros and cons carefully. Most of the time, he had to reluctantly give them up. Over three years, he had only bought Breathing Fist and Basic Swordsmanship.

Now he was rich.

This time, he would buy to his heart's content! If he saw something he liked, he would add it directly to his shopping cart!

Only adults were indecisive and had to make choices. He was still a child, so of course, he wanted them all!

He quickly entered a focused state and began browsing the first item.

[Statue of Hercules]
[Type: Buff Item]
[Price: 2000 points]
[Description: The greatest hero in ancient Greek mythology, who ascended to Mount Olympus after his death, becoming synonymous with strength. This exquisitely carved statue is about 20 cm tall. Placing it within a ten-meter radius while training your body will provide a threefold efficiency buff. This buff effect can be stacked with other items.]
[Seller's Note: There are precedents, beware of theft! Some *people* are like auto-loot, stealing *all sorts* of junk.]

"A threefold efficiency buff while training my body?"

Xianuo was slightly taken aback, a glint of joy flashing in his eyes. He added it to his shopping cart without hesitation.

There was no need to think twice.

He was indeed talented in physical cultivation, but who would complain about having too much talent?

Actually, based on past experience, most items refreshed in the market were within the three-digit range. The price of two thousand points was a bit steep, but buff items were almost all treasures and shouldn't be missed. Moreover, this one had no time limit; as long as it was placed, it would be permanently effective!

"A good item!"

Xianuo was filled with anticipation for the role it would play in the future.

With a threefold increase in efficiency, would his own physical cultivation finally be able to rival those true top-tier geniuses on this sea?

He swiped down and continued browsing the next item.

[Shadow Heart's Camp Uniform]
[Type: Equipment]
[Price: 200 points]
[Description: A black, form-fitting casual outfit. No attribute bonuses, more suitable for leisure time. When you wear it and lie down to sleep, perhaps you'll hear the surge of darkness by your ear, as if Madam Shar is whispering to you.]
[Seller's Note: I really want to lick White Shadow Heart's feet.]

"..." Xianuo's expression was unreadable.

He swiped directly to the next one!

If there really was a Transmigration Administration, he truly hoped they would enact a rule: perverted, fat otaku are forbidden from transmigrating!

[Sulawesi 3 Turning Engine]

[Type: Wonder]

[Price: 10000 points]

[Description: Located in the equatorial region, one of the largest turning engines built for the Wandering Earth project, over 15 kilometers high with a base diameter exceeding 60 kilometers. If fueled sufficiently, a single unit's thrust can reach 200 trillion tons.]

[Seller's Note: Just dug it up, still warm]

No, man.

Who the hell are you?

Even if you were Ultraman, you couldn't dig this thing up.

The price was even more outrageous, the highest he'd seen in three years. But Wonders, no matter the world, were never something for the early or mid-game to consider.

It was truly tempting; if he had a million in his balance, he'd buy it in a heartbeat.

Someday, when he died and still had points left, he'd definitely summon this thing and let everyone feast their eyes.

[Ren Amamiya's Black Canvas Bag]

[Type: Miscellaneous]

[Price: 600 points]

[Description: A portable school bag suitable for a middle schooler, filled with textbooks from the second year at Shujin Academy. Occasionally, you can hear a cat meowing from inside, but you can't be sure if the cat is alive or dead until you open the zipper.]

[Seller's Note: Found it next to the subway gate]

"Hmm..."

Xianuo pondered for a moment, then shook his head and gave up.

He searched his memories of his past life, but his knowledge of anime and manga was limited, and he couldn't recall which world this item came from.

However, based on past experience, items categorized as miscellaneous were generally not very useful, much like the hair clips and headbands he had sacrificed.

Unless he was particularly interested, he wouldn't buy it just for collection. Spending 600 points here would be a pure waste.

[Rokushiki Training Manual * 2]

[Type: Training Manual]

[Price: 800 points]

[Description: A manual detailing the comprehensive training methods for Rokushiki martial arts. Soru, Kami-e, Geppo, Rankyaku, Tekkai, and Shigan are known as Rokushiki. Each manual, upon opening, will randomly grant one of these techniques.]

[Seller's Note: None, direct sale from system]

"Rokushiki?"

Xianuo's spirits lifted.

Although system-direct items were rare, they were often incredibly practical. Unlike those individual sellers who were always looking for ways to mess around.

This one was no exception.

This was the hand-to-hand combat technique trained from a young age by the CP department. Within the Marines, usually only those from the elite camps of Headquarters were qualified to practice it.

Someone who could master these techniques was more than capable of walking sideways outside the Grand Line.

He had been coveting this martial art for the past two years, always hoping to find it in the trading market. Now, his wish had finally come true.

"And I can get two random ones out of six..."

Xianuo decisively added it to his shopping cart.

These were two manuals for only 800 points. No matter which two Rokushiki techniques he randomly obtained, it would absolutely be worth far more than the price!

[Sephiroth's Masamune]

[Type: Weapon]

[Price: 500 points]

[Description: From the world of Final Fantasy VII, the blade of the ultimate villain Sephiroth, shaped like a katana and named "Masamune." Its total length exceeds two meters, with a hilt about fifty centimeters long, a blade width of only three centimeters, and a thickness of only a few millimeters.]

[Seller's Note: "What you see now is reality. What you remember is the illusion."]

This made him hesitate.

Xianuo rubbed his chin and pondered. His swordsmanship talent wasn't great, and he had no plans to practice sword fighting in the short term.

However, in the world of pirates, swordsmanship and bladesmanship were closely related, and the sword was considered the foremost weapon. It seemed only natural to have a handy blade.

The quality of the blade forged by Shinra technology for its 1st class warriors was definitely reliable. In the pirate world, it would be at least comparable to a Fine Grade Sword, possibly even reaching the Great Grade Sword level.

"Buy!"

Xianuo made a decision, and another item was immediately added to the shopping cart.

If the price had been a bit higher, he might have given up directly.

Continuing to scroll down, there were several consecutive items that Xianuo was either completely uninterested in or that offered too little value for money. He quickly reached the end of the list.

Finally, checking out, there were three items in total, costing 3300 points.

[Remaining Points: 6725]

Items that speed up cultivation were one of the things he needed most. It was good luck to find them this time. Next month, he would get some cultivation manuals, and by then, it would be just about time to return to the village, where he could start cultivating intensely.

Xianuo contentedly opened another can of cola, closed the trading market, and then, while drinking his happy water, he eagerly opened his backpack.