One Piece: I Loaded the Game Panel

Cao Renqi's expression instantly darkened. In his rough voice, he said, "What do you mean, 'One-Step Quick Man'? I obviously have my own title. Call me 'One Who Roams Ten Thousand Miles'!"

"Quit spouting nonsense, brother. Anyone with eyes can tell that although your skill's teleportation effect is insanely powerful, its cooldown is far too long. You can't do anything to others, so all you can do is wait for them to do something to you. To be honest, I think 'One-Step Quick Man' is a pretty good nickname too. At least it's much better than 'Half-Point Man.'"

This brotherly fellow amiably extended his right hand. "Let's get acquainted. I'm [Golden Spirit]." (Come on, take away the first player extra.)

Cao Renqi only felt that this ID sounded inexplicably familiar. After thinking for a moment, he exclaimed in surprise, "You're that eccentric top-tier player?"

Although he did not know much about many mainstream games, during this recent period, Cao Renqi had frantically made up for his basic knowledge of the gaming world.

The ID [Golden Spirit] belonged to a famous top-tier player, a fanatical VR enthusiast, and the gaming world's strictest [Realism Enthusiasts]. He demanded that the game world follow exactly the same rules as the real world—especially that players had to be allowed to take off their pants.

The most famous thing he had done was in a certain [zombie game]. He had successfully found angles from which to glimpse the white lace underwear of a rather mature and beautiful vampire lady, then recorded it from a first-person perspective and shared it freely with the vast number of game lovers.

He had received countless heartfelt praises of "May good people live long and peaceful lives."

Everyone praised him, saying that "Golden Spirit" should possess qualities such as "selfless dedication," "steadfast integrity," and "gentlemanly conduct."

"If this game doesn't have duplicate IDs, then I should be the person you're talking about."

Golden Spirit smiled and shrugged. His right hand was still held up in the air.

Cao Renqi hurriedly raised his hand, grasped it, and shook it vigorously.

To think he was interacting with a legendary top-tier player at such close range! Cao Renqi, who still considered himself a pure and innocent newbie, was delighted yet somewhat bewildered—the perfectly normal reaction of an ordinary person encountering a celebrity up close.

Just as he was about to pull his hand away, the top-tier player's sturdy right hand suddenly exerted force and gripped him tightly.

The great master's hand is so big and powerful...

"...Great master?"

"Brother, I have a chrysanthemum. I wonder if it can be used as a paddle."

"Golden Brother, maybe not?"

"It's like this, Quick Man brother." Golden Spirit looked at Cao Renqi with an extremely sincere gaze. The meaning in his eyes was unwavering. "During the closed beta, I already tried many times, but I never succeeded once."

"Everything requires research before you can understand it.

"I checked the game rules, only to discover that this damn game company hadn't even provided a detailed explanation of the rules.

"I couldn't sleep no matter what, so I carefully read the official website for half the night. Only then did I see the truth hidden between the lines. It only contained two words: 'players'!

"I can't do it alone, but with you, it'll definitely work!

"Hey, why are you blushing?"

Tears, the empty space, split eyes, and piercing shock burst out.

"Golden Brother, this isn't good, is it? If we keep writing, this chapter will get blocked!" Cao Renqi's face was flushed bright red.

Golden Spirit withdrew his right hand with some disappointment. "I feel like success was really only one step away."

Cao Renqi, who had almost suffered a calamity, breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, "Golden Brother, I'm really not trying to persuade you, but this game doesn't even have an excretion function. How could it possibly have a pants-removing function?"

Golden Spirit's expression froze, then suddenly turned strange. He looked Cao Renqi up and down, a baffling respect in his eyes, and slowly said, "Quick Man brother, you really do seem to have a bit of a problem. Your words... seem to be backward...

"Even I only wanted to test the game's functions. But you, Quick Man brother... you seem to be playing even more perversely than I am..."

Cao Renqi fell silent. He was only 0.01 millimeters away from dying on the spot.

After a long while, he finally managed to say, "Golden Brother, actually, I was lagging just now. Do you believe me?"

Golden Spirit patted the other man's shoulder and consoled him. "It's all right. After all, we're all men. Being a little more curious is understandable."

Cao Renqi wiped the sweat from his forehead and agreed. "That's right. What's wrong with men being a little perverted—"

"...Brother, you seem to have said another astonishing aphorism..."

Outside the closed-beta player skit.

The large numbers of players who had arrived simultaneously for the open beta also began enthusiastically experiencing the game.

Some were busily completing quests, some were savoring the scenery of the other world, and others were happily gathering game materials and sharing them on the Player Forum.

The same scene was unfolding on every novice arrival island.

On the first day of the open beta, nearly all the players were having a blast.

However, quite a few people were sending the game company "friendly greetings that would get censored if typed out" on the Player Forum.

[62. Chapter Sixty-Two: Four Seas Voyage Plan]

The human activity zones in the world of "One Piece" could mainly be divided into the Four Seas, the Grand Line, and the Red Line. Numerous novice arrival points were scattered throughout these regions, and large numbers of open-beta players were continuously pouring into the game.

Some players started conventionally, determining their personal inclinations by filling out a questionnaire before arriving in the peaceful and tranquil East Blue.

Naturally, there were also those who boldly took risks, confidently trusting their good luck, only to be randomly sent to the New World...

At present, the ones mainly sending warm greetings to the game company on the Player Forum were naturally the small group of players who had randomly arrived in the New World.

On the official game forum, sarcastic posts kept springing up like mushrooms after rain.

"Is this the legendary world's first immersive Full-Dive VR Game? It's truly hilarious. I lay down in the game pod, and it felt like lying in a coffin."

"Really? Really? Are there actually people who can still play games after entering the game? Didn't they just go in, die, come back out, and then get restricted from reviving for half an hour?"

"Is this the legendary world's first immersive Full-Dive VR Game? I'm sold, I'm sold! As expected, it's a game that only virtual paper people can play~"

"Don't choose the New World! Don't choose the Grand Line! Starting in either of these places is basically getting thrown into the sea! I haven't seen land once since entering the game!"

"Exactly! It was the same when I was in the closed beta! I spent half a month in the closed beta and couldn't even enter the game! Fuck!"

"Fucking hell, give us our money back!!"

However, the open-beta players who had arrived in the New World were ultimately still only a minority. Compared with the enormous number of open-beta players, they were nothing more than a drop in the ocean.

At that moment, players from various locations and novice areas were constantly sharing their experiences on the official game forum, quickly burying the posts made by those irritable hotheads.

Two or three days later.

As the forum's popularity continued to rise, the official "One Piece" account finally stopped being secretive. Instead, it generously released the first proper game promotional video.

This was the first time the official account had proactively leaked video materials!

The promotional video showed the varied scenery and environments of the different novice islands: natural, modern, technological, medieval...

The civilizations' wildly different styles immediately drew away most of the players' attention.

But after watching the promotional video carefully, they instantly began complaining nonstop.

"What the hell? I really thought this was official material released by the game company, but isn't this just a montage?"

"They casually cut and spliced player-made recordings, then released them as informational material. What kind of company is this?"

"Come to think of it, is there even a game company? Could it be..."

"'One Piece' Company: When did you start thinking I would actually release informational materials?"

"Anyone who seeks realism in a fictional story must have something wrong with their head."

With the powerful support of the [Official Bootleg], the Player Forum's popularity exploded.

Adrian had also been secretly observing the players' movements on the forum. After deliberately waiting several days, he finally decided to take action.

The timeline shifted back a few days.

Loguetown, at the docks.

A peach-blossom flush spread across the alluring face, gradually staining the crystal-clear earlobes and the fair neck...

After a long, satisfied moan, Gion's hazy eyes finally saw reason reclaim the high ground of her mind, and she fully understood what reaction she had just made.

"Th-this really is an impressive ability!" Gion's cheeks were still red, and it was obvious she was stubbornly putting on a brave front. "I feel much better now. Could you move a little farther away from me?"

Adrian rubbed his fingers and pretended to be calm. "Positive Hollow: Universal Panacea works by intensely stimulating a person's consciousness, which then feeds back into the physical body, producing an effect similar to treatment.

"As for the slight twitching, it seems to be a very common reaction."

Seeing that Adrian's expression was professional and did not seem fake, Gion could only forcibly suppress the embarrassment and anger in her heart. She deliberately changed the subject. "Gecko Moria has already been dealt with by you. What are we going to do now?"

Mini Hollow: Astral Cruise.

Adrian released specks of Mini Hollows and sent them flying into the sky above Loguetown. Through their eyes, he carefully observed the battle situation in Loguetown.

Only after quite some time did Adrian open his eyes and say to Gion, "For now, it seems I have nothing to do."

Actually, if he had to be honest, Adrian still had something he wanted to do.

He had continuously raised two of the Hollow-Hollow Fruit's skills to max level, but he was still wary of Armament Haki.

According to the information in his memories, Armament Haki was a powerful force capable of attacking and touching the physical bodies of Logia Devil Fruit ability users.

But could Armament Haki touch illusory Hollows?

Adrian had never tried to test it, so he had always felt uncertain.

There was also very little useful information in the original work, and the intelligence concerning Hollow abilities was still insufficient.

There was no helping it. Ghost Princess Perona had simply experienced too few battles.

Although she had indeed instantly defeated the Haki expert Sentomaru while he was completely off guard, that was because Sentomaru had not used Haki to defend against the Hollow at the time.

The only event with any real reference value was the battle in Totto Land.

At that time, Luffy had used Armament Haki to attack the flame Homie Prometheus, created by BIG MOM through the Soul-Soul Fruit, but the attack had no effect whatsoever.

Afterward, Knight of the Sea Jinbe had explained that Prometheus was the embodiment of concentrated flame, given a soul by BIG MOM. He was different from an ordinary Logia ability, so Armament Haki was useless against him.

And so...

If Armament Haki had no restraining effect on Hollows, Adrian would be able to "roam the world freely, going wherever I please."

But if Armament Haki could resist Hollows, Adrian could only "lay low and develop, then wait two more years."

There were undoubtedly many experts proficient in Armament Haki in Loguetown at that moment, but all of them had opponents of their own.

Adrian could not just go up, greet them with an attack, and announce that he was taking over the battlefield, could he?

Besides, the open beta had officially begun, and apart from Loguetown, there happened to be another place where he could test Armament Haki's effect on Hollow abilities.

That's right!

Adrian was referring to the Flower Country, also located in the West Blue!

Flower Country, the twelfth-generation leader of the Happo Navy, Chinjao the Drill!

"Adrian, are you planning to leave Loguetown?" Gion suddenly asked, seemingly sensing something.

"That's right. There's no longer any reason for me to stay in Loguetown."

"Then what are you planning to do next?" Gion pressed. "Continue being a Bounty Hunter in the West Blue?"

Adrian shook his head, a smile rising on his face. "No. For now, I have a [Four Seas Voyage] plan."

The leeks had arrived. If he didn't harvest them now, when would he?

[63. Chapter Sixty-Three: Razor Gang]

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Cannons thundered, and spray flew.

"Hahaha! Blast the hell out of them!"

On the boundless blue ocean, a medium-sized three-masted ship flying a black Pirates flag was launching a fierce bombardment against a merchant ship flying a flag bearing crossed cigarettes and a whiskey bottle.

The middle-aged Pirates captain, wearing a "Roger-style red coat," had one foot planted on the railing of his Pirates' ship. With an oak wineglass in his left hand and a saber raised toward the sky in his right, he laughed wildly. "Hahaha! All the treasure belongs to me! I'll be the next Pirate King!"

The merchant ship was not offering no resistance at all. However, most of the people aboard were respectable businessmen, and when it came to combat ability at sea, they were still no match for Pirates. Most of the time, they could only passively endure the attacks.

High in the sky.

Adrian gazed at the Pirates' ship and merchant ship exchanging fire below. In his hand was a copy of the World Economy News Paper that he had recently bought from a News Coo. The newspaper's front page was dominated by two enormous headlines.

"Pirate King Gol D. Roger Executed! The Age of Pirates Is Coming to an End!"

"World Military Draft!"

"Tsk, tsk. Is this the Age of Pirates that's supposedly coming to an end?" Adrian chuckled. He looked down at the two sides battling below and shook his head. "What shameless hypocrisy."

There was no doubt that Roger's execution had not pushed the Age of Pirates toward its end.

Instead, encouraged by the words he had spoken before his death, countless people who had never been particularly law-abiding began rushing toward the sea, dreaming of obtaining the legendary First Treasure worth more than any nation's wealth and becoming the next Pirate King.