The Opening of the Great Age of Navigation

He said awkwardly, "You should get back to your own business, boss. I won't bother you any longer!"

After saying that, Cao Renqi immediately slipped into the crowd.

[34. Chapter Thirty-Four: The Closed Beta Ends]

Adrian gave a faint smile, then looked toward a dark-skinned man in coarse homespun clothes not far away. He gave him a slight nod. "Sir, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so long."

The dark-skinned man's heart jolted. He hurried forward and said humbly, "I really can't accept such words from Mr. Tao Ya. I'm only here to pass along a message from my superiors."

Adrian narrowed his eyes slightly. The fact that the man knew the title "Tao Ya" meant he had already met at least one of Gion or Boss Cui Ze.

"It seems I underestimated your intelligence-gathering abilities. But then again, Flower Country is your base of operations. It would be strange if you didn't have plenty of informants. Which navy are you working for?"

By the end, Adrian's expression had grown more solemn.

The dark-skinned man extended his thumb and index finger and quietly formed the number eight.

Adrian's face fell. What is this? Can't you just say it normally? Why does this look like a meeting between agents?

Still, it was better that the Happo Navy had come looking for him than the Second Treasure Navy.

Considering the increase in his faction affinity earlier, he probably wouldn't have to fight the Happo people.

After pondering for a moment, Adrian asked again, "May I ask why the Happo Navy wishes to see me?"

"I'm afraid I don't know that," the dark-skinned man said with an apologetic smile. "When my superiors gave me the order, they only said to invite Mr. Tao Ya for tea and music."

Did the gangsters of Flower Country have this kind of hobby?

Is this what they call a Flower Country specialty?

Adrian neither agreed nor disagreed. "Is Chinjao still the one in charge of the Happo Navy?"

"No. After what happened five years ago, Chinjao retired near the Jade Treasure Ice Bed and stopped managing the navy's internal affairs," the dark-skinned man said. "The current leader of the Happo Navy is Chinjao's son, Lord Bean."

"Tsai Dou?" Adrian asked suspiciously.

"Mr. Tao Ya may not know this, but Chinjao's original name was Tsai Qing. Very few people outside Flower Country know that."

That made sense.

Adrian suddenly understood. Decades later, the thirteenth-generation pillar of the Happo Navy, Sai, would be Chinjao's grandson. That meant Chinjao's family name really was Tsai.

But Tsai Dou...

That name is far too casual...

An image of a round-bodied man with short limbs involuntarily surfaced in Adrian's mind.

"Wait. I remember that Chinjao was the twelfth-generation pillar of the Happo Navy. So Tsai Dou is the thirteenth-generation pillar?"

The dark-skinned man revealed everything. "No. Lord Bean felt that his strength was too weak to bear the responsibility of being a pillar, so for now, he is only serving as the navy's acting pillar."

That explained why the thirteenth-generation pillar was Chinjao's grandson rather than his son...

Adrian's doubts were resolved. He said calmly, "I have no habit of drinking tea and listening to music with strangers. Besides, I have no connection with the Happo Navy, and considering what I just did, I think I'll decline this invitation."

The dark-skinned man gave a bitter smile.

It's precisely because of what this man did that Lord Bean invited him to tea and music! At the very least, he has to figure out what this man intends to do.

He had arrived in Flower Country less than half a day ago and publicly killed the Second Treasure Navy's pillar. If this "Mr. Tao Ya" continued staying in Flower Country, who knew what else might happen?

"This..." The dark-skinned man sounded troubled. "I..."

Adrian thought for a moment. "Don't worry. I understand what the Happo Navy means. As long as nobody comes looking for trouble, I'm usually quite easy to get along with."

The dark-skinned man continued smiling bitterly. Before coming here, he had already investigated the entire sequence of events. He naturally knew that the man before him had acted in self-defense, and that the true culprit was the drunkard named Sili.

The problem was that Adrian's retaliation had been far too powerful. He had taken down the Second Treasure Pillar outright.

He had heard that the Huo Family of the Second Treasure Navy was in an uproar. From top to bottom, they were all shouting about coming here to avenge Hog.

Before the dark-skinned man could say anything else, Adrian waved his hand. The fact that he had allowed the man to speak this much was already out of respect for the Happo Navy.

Watching Adrian's retreating back, the dark-skinned man took a Den Den Mushi from his pocket. "Lord Bean, Mr. Tao Ya declined the invitation. But he said that as long as nobody provokes him, he won't cause trouble for no reason."

A somewhat shrill middle-aged man's voice came from the other end. "He declined? Forget it. Withdraw all our people. Reckless young men who dare anything aren't easy to deal with... Tao Ya? I've never heard of that name. It's obviously an alias. Since when has the West Blue produced someone like this? The Hollow-Hollow Fruit, and..."

The Den Den Mushi went silent. The dark-skinned man had not heard the rest. He only knew that it concerned the legendary treasure of the sea, the Devil Fruit. A trace of envy appeared in his eyes, and he soon disappeared into the crowd at the dock.

Time passed.

The closed beta had been outside Adrian's expectations, but so far, it had not affected the overall situation.

Players would need at least two or three more versions before they could grow strong enough to influence the direction of the world. The closed beta lasted only half a month, so they could not accomplish much.

Aside from Cao Renqi, Adrian made no further attempt to approach any other closed-beta players.

At this stage, the players were all poor. There was little profit to squeeze from them. During the future open beta, players would become stable, qualified leeks with reliable spending power.

Apart from practicing his swordsmanship and researching new skills, Adrian spent some of his free time browsing the Player Forum.

"The girls on the sea are all so beautiful! But the old ladies are so ugly too... I really don't get it!"

"Eighth day of beachcombing. Look what I found!"

"I'm completely despairing over this game. My starting location was [New World], but it turned out I was in the middle of the sea! One wave came over and killed me! I haven't even seen land in days! No! I haven't even properly entered the game in days! I die the moment I log in! I ********!"

"East Blue. Another peaceful, tranquil day."

As the closed beta continued, the Player Forum gradually became more organized. The most obvious change was the sharp decrease in useless information.

At present, most posts on the Player Forum were requests for help and intelligence-sharing posts. There were also various soft advertisements from player guilds, professional studios, and the like.

Nine days passed in the blink of an eye. Today was the final day of the closed beta.

[Closed Beta Ended, Open Beta Countdown: 350 Days]

Adrian, who had been practicing his swordsmanship, came back to himself. He checked the Player Forum entrance and found that it had indeed turned gray, displaying a notice that it could not be accessed.

"The gap between the closed beta and open beta is nearly a year. But according to what I saw on the forum before, the open beta in the real world will begin in one or two months. That means the flow of time in the real world and the game world isn't the same."

"The name of the game's 1.0 version is [The Opening of the Great Age of Navigation]. I wonder how long it will last inside and outside the game..."

"No matter what, I can finally set the players aside, focus on leveling up, and complete the [Navigator] quest while I'm at it!"

[35. Chapter Thirty-Five: A Letter Bearing Bad News]

At Ohara's dock, a cream-colored Small Boat slowly came to a stop.

Compared to when he had left, its hull now bore several black marks from gunpowder smoke.

A small boat sailing alone across the sea without any obvious identifying marks had always been a favorite target of Pirates, who loved to harass such vessels with cannon fire—or attack and rob them outright.

The trip to Flower Country had not felt especially dangerous, but on the return journey, Adrian had encountered three pirate attacks in total. He had begun to understand the impact of Pirate King Roger's rise to the top.

The Great Pirate Era had indeed officially begun only after Roger's Execution, but even now, its initial signs had already appeared.

The pirate crews that attacked Adrian were all thoroughly insignificant. Their pirate flags were unknown, and not a single captain had a Bounty exceeding five million Beli.

Adrian simply treated them as they had treated him, bombarding the Pirates from a distance.

A wave of Mini Hollow: Nova Fire sank every pirate ship that attacked him. According to the panel, most of the Pirates were only around LV20, barely providing some experience to fill his empty experience bar.

The return voyage from Flower Country to Ohara took Adrian eight days, longer than the trip there. The extra time was spent charting the Sea Areas he passed through.

This time, upon returning to Ohara, Adrian also planned to borrow a complete sea chart of the West Blue from the Tree of Knowledge Library.

After all, he was not a native of the West Blue and knew only a little about many aspects of it. The Tree of Knowledge Library in Ohara happened to be able to fill in the gaps in his basic knowledge.

Tree of Knowledge Library, first-floor hall.

Dr. Clover, still dressed like a clover, stopped Adrian as he was about to head to the geographical information section.

"Is there something you need, Dr. Clover?" Adrian asked, slightly puzzled.

Was the old doctor about to lecture him again?

"Where have you been for the past half month? Little Robin came to the library several times looking for you, but she never found you," Dr. Clover complained first, then took a kraft-paper envelope from his pocket.

Why was Little Robin looking for me?

But if Dr. Clover didn't say, it probably wasn't anything important.

Adrian's thoughts raced as he accepted the envelope. "What is this letter?"

Dr. Clover explained, "On the sixth day after you left Ohara, a small boat belonging to the Clearwater Trading Company came to the island. Someone had asked them to deliver a letter to you, but since they couldn't find you, they left it with me for the time being."

Clearwater Trading Company?

Adrian searched his memories for a moment and quickly found the answer.

Wasn't this Perona's family's fleet?

He remembered that after obtaining the Hollow-Hollow Fruit from Captain Clivatt, he had warned Mrs. Penelope that if she ever encountered trouble, she could send someone to Ohara for help.

Had something really happened?

Adrian accepted the letter and apologized to Dr. Clover. He then found an empty spot, opened the envelope, and quickly read through the letter.

Just as he had expected!

It was a letter asking for help from Mrs. Penelope!

Captain Clivatt had previously said that the Hollow-Hollow Fruit belonged to the Capone Gang.

But when the lives of everyone aboard were threatened, Captain Clivatt had broken with convention and offered the Hollow-Hollow Fruit as payment for Adrian's assistance.

Aside from losing the Hollow-Hollow Fruit and slightly frightening the passengers, the Clearwater had suffered no other losses. It had even exchanged the Pirates who had been so easily defeated for a substantial Bounty from a nearby Marine Base.

However, the Capone Gang's possessions were not so easy to take!

Mrs. Penelope's letter was written to explain exactly that.

The letter said that the Capone Gang had taken Captain Clivatt away, and that there had been no word from him for days. He had probably already met with misfortune.

With no other options, Mrs. Penelope had sought help from Adrian, who had previously promised to assist her.

Adrian calculated silently. "The Clearwater Trading Company's letter arrived six days after I left Ohara. Nearly twenty days have passed since then... Traveling on the sea is inconvenient, and news spreads slowly. In other words, almost an entire month may have passed since Mrs. Penelope wrote this letter!"

Adrian frowned slightly. After such a long time, he had no idea what other misfortunes might have occurred.

The only good news was that the Capone Gang had taken Captain Clivatt away while leaving Mrs. Penelope and her daughter behind. But that information was already a month old!

Dr. Clover appeared from somewhere and asked, "Young Adrian, you don't look well. Did something happen?"

"Nothing, Dr. Clover. I can deal with it myself." Adrian shook his head slightly. He had no intention of saying more to this elderly scholar devoted to his academic research.

As if remembering something, Adrian suddenly asked, "By the way, Doctor, do you know the exact location of Oatfee Island?"

"Oatfee Island?" Dr. Clover's expression changed, and his tone became urgent. "Have you had a conflict with the Capone Gang?"

As one of the five most notorious criminal organizations in the West Blue's underworld, the Capone Gang was an unreachable behemoth to ordinary people.

Even Ohara, which was renowned for avoiding worldly disputes, had heard of the Capone Gang.

Dr. Clover thought it over and quickly understood. "That letter... It was from the Clearwater Trading Company?"

"Yes. I have a friend from the Clearwater Trading Company." Adrian briefly explained, "For certain reasons, he came into conflict with the Capone Gang."

"The Capone Gang? That's quite troublesome..." Dr. Clover stroked his beard with a worried expression. "Young Adrian, can you really handle it alone?"

Adrian smiled confidently. "Please rest assured. I'll be fine."

"I don't think you're the sort of person who makes boastful claims. If you say you can handle it alone, then you should be fine." Dr. Clover was moved by Adrian's tone. "Then come with me. Oatfee Island is the Capone Gang's base. Even we in Ohara have heard of the famous Gangster Island."

Dr. Clover led Adrian to the geographical information section, pulled a rolled-up sea chart from the shelf, and handed it to him.

"This records the most convenient route from Ohara Island to Oatfee Island. As long as you don't lose your direction, a sailing ship can reach Oatfee Island in two days," Dr. Clover said earnestly. "Stay safe, young Adrian."

Adrian's spirits lifted, and he nodded solemnly. "Thank you for your help."

After quickly gathering his belongings, Adrian left the Tree of Knowledge Library. He had no intention of sailing there—it would consume too much time and energy. This time, he planned to fly straight to Oatfee Island!

[36. Chapter Thirty-Six: Oatfee Island]

The maxed-out Ghost Body had been immensely helpful to Adrian. His ability to defeat the leader of the Second Treasure Navy so easily had largely depended on its immunity to physical attacks.

Even so.

Ghost Body was passive and consumed nothing, turning [Flight], originally a rather rare ability, into one of Adrian's everyday methods of travel.

After entering his Ghostification state, Adrian shot into the sky, gradually increasing his maximum flying speed.

How fast was the flight speed of a [Ghost]?