Merchant Ship

"What a damn bear! If I weren't currently unable to beat you, I would definitely teach you a lesson!"

It had already been a few days since the Summit War. Chen Qiang lay alone on a wooden plank drifting on the sea, feeling bored out of his mind. He tore a bite off a fresh fish he had just caught and complained viciously.

As for why Chen Qiang was here and why he had ended up in such a state, that went back to a few days ago when he was swatted away by the bear.

At the time, Chen Qiang had clearly told the bear that he wanted to travel to the East Blue, but the bear hadn't listened to a word he said and simply swatted him into the sky.

Furthermore, the bear had kept Chen Qiang flying through the air for an entire day before he finally plummeted down.

The place where he landed wasn't some island, but the vast, boundless ocean where not even a single ship was in sight. Since Chen Qiang had been a complete landlubber in his past life and couldn't swim at all, he might have drowned in the sea if not for the existence of his powerful cheat, Super Speed Regeneration.

Later, after struggling in the water for half a day, Chen Qiang had barely managed to learn how to swim. He surfaced and luckily found a floating wooden plank, which meant he didn't have to stay submerged in the sea forever.

For the next few days, Chen Qiang drifted with the waves on the plank. When he felt hungry, he caught fish to eat; when he felt thirsty, he drank seawater. The only reason he hadn't died yet was because of his powerful cheat; if it had been an ordinary person, they would have either drowned, starved, or died of thirst.

So, after venting his boredom with a few complaints to let off some steam, Chen Qiang lay back down on the plank to rest, taking the time to organize everything that had happened in the two months since he transmigrated.

First, two months ago, he had transmigrated into Impel Down, where he was tortured in various ways by Hannyabal, only to discover his transmigration cheat: Super Speed Regeneration.

He began to use the powerful ability of his cheat to start escaping. For two months, he never stopped; no matter what kind of punishment was inflicted, it couldn't stop Chen Qiang's yearning for freedom.

During these escapes, Chen Qiang gained a deeper understanding of his cheat. By constantly getting injured and then recovering, his body grew stronger, and he eventually grasped a crimson energy formed from his own blood and spiritual power.

Later, he developed various moves based on this crimson energy, which made his escape capabilities even more formidable. At the same time, the constant fighting and injuries during his escapes allowed Chen Qiang to develop his own insights into his combat style.

Of course, during this period, Chen Qiang also discovered the flaw in his cheat: although his physical recovery speed was incredibly fast—no matter how badly he was beaten, as long as a single drop of blood remained, he could recover—his spiritual recovery, while better than an ordinary person's, was much weaker compared to his physical recovery.

Additionally, his cheat had a very weak resistance to poison. While it could ensure Chen Qiang didn't die, the time required for his body to produce antibodies and clear the toxins was very long.

This was why, in the final month, Chen Qiang was strictly suppressed by Magellan. Every time he tried to escape, he was quickly subdued. If not for the fact that the other man's Devil Fruit had the flaw of causing diarrhea, Chen Qiang might not have even found a chance to escape.

Lying on the wooden plank, Chen Qiang thought about his experiences over the past two months and even felt a bit nostalgic for that time. Although he had been shackled every day, he had seized every opportunity to try and escape.

Those days had been fulfilling. Every time he was injured, Chen Qiang could feel his strength increasing, not to mention the battles that occurred after every escape. Those were the moments Chen Qiang loved the most; not only could he improve his strength, but he could also constantly refine his combat experience.

It went without saying that Chen Qiang loved the feeling of battle. That sense of going all out was something he had never experienced in the dozen or so years of his past life. Especially since he couldn't die no matter how reckless he was, and instead grew stronger, Chen Qiang enjoyed it even more.

However, although Chen Qiang couldn't fight while on the wooden plank, he had used these past few days, relying on his cheat and the crimson energy, to research a cultivation method that could make him stronger.

That was to use his spiritual power to burn the blood within his body. As long as it was consumed to a certain degree, the cheat would determine that Chen Qiang was injured and begin to repair his body, simultaneously increasing his strength. It was just that this method was much slower than actual combat, and he didn't know if that was because the cheat had its own internal judgment system.

But that didn't matter; at least this kept Chen Qiang from being too bored while drifting alone at sea, and it could be considered finding something to do for himself.

Just as Chen Qiang finished eating his fish, woke up from a nap, and began to practice his Blood Refining Technique, a massive ship flying merchant flags was rapidly advancing toward the sea area where Chen Qiang was located, propelled by the wind in its sails.

"Captain Gill! It looks like we've managed to shake off those guys behind us!"

On the ship's observation deck, a man with long hair, wearing a trench coat and a sword strapped to his waist, lowered his binoculars and spoke to the man beside him. The man was wearing a captain's uniform and sported a handlebar mustache, with a potbelly that made the uniform look quite out of place on him.

"Barque, I told you before: in our line of work, you must be careful, and then careful again. You cannot have even the slightest lapse in vigilance. Even if we can't see those guys right now, it doesn't mean they aren't still chasing us!"

From the captain's words, it could be inferred that the man who had spoken earlier was named Barque.

"Yes! The captain is right to lecture me! What should we do next?" Barque said with a face full of smiles at Captain Gill's words, and after speaking, he asked for instructions on their next move.

"Pass the word down! Continue at full speed. Once we reach the next sea area, we'll take a detour to that underground city!"

Captain Gill seemed very pleased with Barque's words; he nodded at him with satisfaction before revealing his plan.

"The captain is brilliant! This way, even if they are still following us, they will have no idea what our destination is!"

"Hmm! Go and make the arrangements!"

Captain Gill was very satisfied with Barque's words, then waved his hand to dismiss him.

Just as Barque left the observation deck to relay the captain's orders below, the lookout who had been scanning the surroundings from the deck approached Captain Gill to report.

"Captain Gill, I've spotted something strange at the eleven o'clock position!"