Chapter 16

Especially that bastard who clearly possessed Admiral-level strength, yet shamelessly insisted on staying in the Vice Admiral position and refused to move!!

"Damn you, Garp!!!"

Whenever he thought of that lazy bum, Fleet Admiral Kong could not help cursing him under his breath.

Come to think of it, eating, sleeping, and cursing Garp seemed to be the traditional routine of every Fleet Admiral.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door, and Fleet Admiral Kong's expression quickly returned to its usual calm.

"Come in."

After receiving permission, a messenger entered from outside the office.

The young soldier first cast a fervent glance at the utterly unruffled Fleet Admiral, then respectfully performed a military salute.

Kong set down his pen and asked calmly, "Is something wrong?"

"Yes!" the messenger shouted. "Reporting to you, Fleet Admiral, a very strange incident has been coming in from all across the Four Blues with astonishing frequency recently. There have also been quite a few similar cases in the Grand Line."

Fleet Admiral Kong rubbed the bridge of his nose and said in a deep voice, "Is this about the Pirates again?"

"No." The messenger replied, "It concerns a group of Drifters."

"Drifters?" Kong raised his eyebrows, curious. "What could possibly be so strange about a group of Drifters? Wait, did you say this has happened throughout the Four Blues, and even in the Grand Line, with similar cases occurring at the same time?"

"Yes!" The messenger nodded vigorously. "Drifter-related affairs are not normally within the Marines' jurisdiction, but the intelligence is simply too strange. The Marine Branches had no choice but to report it."

After a brief pause, the messenger continued, "Over the past five days, strange Drifters have suddenly appeared simultaneously in various parts of the world. Most Marine Bases have reported similar information."

"The Drifters behave mysteriously all day long and seem especially fond of asking local residents about the situation. Most of them vanish into thin air during a certain period, only reappearing in public after some time has passed."

If Adrian had been present, he would have understood the messenger's meaning perfectly.

As players, naturally, they moved mysteriously and behaved strangely. Their fondness for asking local residents about the situation was merely an attempt to trigger quests and earn experience. Their vanishing into thin air at specific times was simply them logging off to rest.

But to the other inhabitants of the Pirate King world, the various things the players did truly seemed bizarre.

The conversation in the office continued.

"A large group of people suddenly vanishing into thin air?" Fleet Admiral Kong's expression grew noticeably more solemn.

"That's exactly what happened!" The messenger nodded hard. "Some time ago, we received information that when a pirate crew in the North Blue attacked a town, they happened to capture a large group of Drifters as well. Yet by nightfall, every one of them had vanished. Most astonishingly, those Drifters had all been locked inside iron cages at the time! And—"

At this point, the messenger's throat bobbed as he swallowed. "The most important intelligence reported from that incident was that every one of those Drifters was undying!"

"What?! Undying people?!"

Fleet Admiral Kong was stunned. If he could barely accept the earlier reports, this news was utterly earth-shattering!

"Yes, Fleet Admiral!" the messenger answered seriously. "And the North Blue wasn't the only place where this happened. There have been cases elsewhere as well. After that incident, whenever someone killed one of those Drifters, their bodies would turn into a streak of white light and disappear. Then, after some time had passed, they would revive at a specific location."

"Is this some special phenomenon caused by a Devil Fruit User?" Fleet Admiral Kong's brows drew together. "But I've never heard of a Devil Fruit capable of affecting such a vast area..."

After silently pondering for a while without reaching any conclusions, Fleet Admiral Kong continued asking questions.

"Approximately how many Drifters are there? What is their exact distribution? Finally, how strong are they?"

"The total number of Undying Drifters has not yet been fully counted, but there should be at least a thousand. They are distributed from the four outer seas all the way to the first half of the Grand Line, though there have been no discoveries in the New World so far," the messenger replied point by point.

"As for their strength, they're weak—extremely weak. The Undying Drifters generally aren't even as strong as ordinary human children! A well-trained Marine soldier could take on at least twenty of them!"

Fleet Admiral Kong's expression froze. He had nearly prepared himself for an even greater shock, but if those Undying Drifters were merely this weak, they would not cause any serious trouble. The local Marines could suppress them with ease.

"Have the Marine Branches that noticed similar incidents made any other discoveries?"

"Not for now!" the messenger answered. "However, Vice Admiral Tsuru from the Intelligence Department has already dispatched specialists to investigate."

"Oh? Whom did Tsuru send? And where did they go?"

"Vice Admiral Tsuru did not disclose the personnel involved, but she said the mission location was the West Blue, the Flower Country."

[Chapter 28: The Flower Country's Special Character]

Flower Country.

After leaving the docks, Adrian made some preliminary plans for harvesting experience from players during the future open beta.

He looked up at the sky. Seeing the sun hanging high overhead, he decided to find a nearby place to gather some information and, by the way, see what the Flower Country's closed-beta players had been doing over the past few days.

As everyone knew, the two best places to gather information in another world were taverns and brothels.

Adrian did not smoke, and he only took the occasional sip of alcohol. When Doctor had tested his body at the Agent base earlier, the doctor had said that his physical condition was unbelievably good.

Therefore, to maintain his excellent health, Adrian decided not to go to a tavern.

Besides, what was drinking compared to looking at pretty girls?

Every country had its own special character.

In this land, brothels were not called brothels. They were called pleasure houses and pleasure quarters.

Speaking of the traditional culture of pleasure houses, they actually contained a wealth of postures—cough, knowledge.

Especially since the Pirate King world itself was a great melting pot of races, the pleasure industry contained not only ordinary humans, but also women from various other races, such as Merfolk, the Snakeneck Tribe, and the Three-Eye Tribe...

Hiss—

Maybe I could write an "Appraisal Guide"?

An idea flashed through Adrian's mind, and he seemed to be possessed by the adventurer Stark.

The next second, reason reclaimed the high ground in his mind.

Forget it, forget it. My book would get banned...

Back to the Flower Country's special character.

In the pleasure district, pleasure houses and pleasure quarters served the same function. Both offered activities of every kind, and which one to visit depended on one's personal needs.

Relatively speaking, pleasure houses catered to more upscale clients and charged correspondingly higher prices. Pleasure quarters, on the other hand, catered to the broader common population—yes, the "poor" kind of poor—and were livelier and more convenient for gathering information.

Adrian touched his wallet. It contained a total of 100,300 Beli.

Restricted Skill: [Hundred-Thousand Beli Hand]. Current uses available: 1.

"Since it's my first time going to, uh, gathering information, it's probably more appropriate to keep things wholesome. Yes, my current identity is that of a down-and-out novelist seeking spiritual comfort. I need to exchange artistic insights with workers of considerable caliber while drawing literary inspiration from them..."

The dream-filled youth took his brave first step into the adult world!

However, Adrian, whose excitement had gotten the better of him, had clearly overlooked one thing.

Who would come out to sell their wares in broad daylight?

As the saying went, one day and one night—the literary workers usually came out at night to work, all right?

With regret and resentment in his heart, Adrian entered a tavern called [The Abundant Hostess].

"Ah, a young stranger. I'm Cui Ze, the owner of this tavern. What can I get you?"

Behind the tavern counter, the young owner, dressed in a black tailcoat and wearing a blue bow tie, greeted him with a beaming smile.

Adrian took the empty seat at the counter and chatted with the owner. "Boss Cui Ze, you gave the tavern such a grand name. Are you actually deceiving customers into spending money?"

"How could I?" The tavern owner hurriedly waved his hands. "The tavern's previous owner really was a very 'abundant' woman."

"How abundant?" Adrian raised his eyebrows. "A glass of Rum, please."

"Skin like milk, lips like honey, chestnut hair like silk..." Boss Cui Ze poured the drink while adopting a wistful expression.

"Hey! Gambler, don't forget that Aunt Mia celebrated her fifty-fifth birthday five years ago!" a drunkard suddenly shouted from where he was drinking.

Adrian's mouth twitched, and his opinion of the tavern owner instantly changed.

Good grief, the real-life version of a sixty-year-old woman's birthday celebration?

"So what? Drink your own booze!" Boss Cui Ze laughed and cursed. "Besides, didn't Boss Mia say it herself? She's a member of the Giants! Even a sixty-year-old Giant is still a fairly young lady!"

Unexpectedly, Boss Cui Ze's words drew even louder laughter.

"Hahaha..."

"A one-point-eight-meter Giant?"

"I've never seen such a petite and adorable Giant woman!"

"But honestly, only the simple-minded Giants would take it so seriously and lose their own tavern to an old gambling addict, right?"

Adrian casually accepted the glass of Rum and set it on the counter. Resting his chin on one hand, he watched the tavern's patrons chat and joke around in boredom.

From the sound of it, there seemed to be a very interesting story hidden behind this tavern.

Just as the tavern's boisterous atmosphere grew livelier, a new customer suddenly entered through the door.

With his back to the entrance, Adrian only felt the tavern's atmosphere abruptly fall silent.

The next moment, the men's flirtatious whistles rang out without end.

"A glass of red wine, please!"

A fragrant breeze swept past, and a magnetic voice sounded beside Adrian's ear.

He turned his head, and his eyes immediately lit up.

The newcomer was a stunning young woman with an elegant bearing, seemingly in her early twenties. She was tall and slender, wearing a pink dress, with smooth, fair thighs exposed to the air and a large expanse of delicate, pale skin revealed above her chest.

What captivated Adrian most was her breathtakingly beautiful face, along with the alluring beauty mark beneath the right corner of her mouth.

"Ah, ah, yes, all right. Red wine coming right up!" Boss Cui Ze suddenly began to stammer.

"Young man, staring at me so intently is rather rude, you know~"

The beautiful woman turned toward Adrian and smiled faintly. Her every movement carried an indescribable charm, along with a hint of languid indifference.

Adrian's gaze burned brightly.

"I'm sorry, but I truly can't take my eyes off your face, miss."

"Young man..." The woman leaned forward, her black hair sliding across her cheek as her beautiful eyes stared straight into Adrian's. "You aren't thinking about anything improper right now, are you?"

"Sorry again." Adrian's nostrils flared slightly as he carefully savored the fragrance that had suddenly intensified, putting him in a much better mood. "What I'm thinking about right now is probably a hundred times worse than what you imagine."

"Giggle!" The beautiful woman laughed coyly, entirely unconcerned by the flirtatious undertone of Adrian's words. "Young man, you really are quite an interesting person."

"That's the first time anyone's described me that way. I wonder if I might have the honor of learning your name, miss?"

"Mm, my name is G—" The beautiful woman's eyes shifted. "My name is Tao Zhi."

"Is that so? It seems Miss Tao Zhi and I really are fated to meet." Adrian smiled shamelessly. "My name is Tao Ya."

What a liar!

The same thought flashed through both their minds as they smiled and chatted pleasantly.

Clearly, Adrian had recognized her identity the instant he saw her.

Momousagi Gion!

A future candidate for the position of Marine Admiral!

Although he had no idea why he had encountered Momousagi in the Flower Country, that did not stop Adrian from continuing to flirt with her.

"Meeting Miss Tao Zhi today must be Heaven's blessing. I wonder if Miss Tao Zhi would be willing to share a seat and a bed with me tonight?"

[Chapter 29: Beauty Brings Disaster]

At these words, a strange glint suddenly flashed through Gion's eyes, but she did not show any disgust.

When it came to lewd remarks, looks mattered!

When some people imitated Boss Cao, it was sexual harassment.

When Adrian imitated Cao Cao, it was humorous flirting.

Gion reached out, lifted a lock of hair from her forehead, and wound it around her finger as she asked softly, "Young Mr. Tao Ya, don't you think the way you speak is a little too open and direct?"

"Is it?" Adrian took the red wine from Boss Cui Ze and handed it to Gion, revealing a frank, clean smile.

"Because this is a rare chance to approach an unparalleled beauty, I have to put in all my effort. Besides, whether they're men or women, don't people come to taverns to seek pleasure? Speaking in a coy and evasive manner only exposes one's lecherous nature."

Boss Cui Ze, brimming with resentment, was completely ignored.

Gion was rendered speechless. As a newcomer to the world, this was the first time she had encountered a man so aggressively forward.

For some inexplicable reason, Gion thought of Tokikake, who had joined the Marines in the same period as her. He was also one of her fervent admirers, but his manner of speaking had always been blunt.

Back when they trained at the Marine Headquarters' Elite Training Camp, Tokikake had already confessed to her thirteen times in total, but his words had never changed: "Miss Gion, I like you. Please be my girlfriend!"

What woman could accept such a painfully awkward confession???