Chapter 35

Cao Renqi's face darkened instantly. "What do you mean, 'One-Step Quick Man'? I have my own title! Call me 'One Who Roams Ten Thousand Miles'!"

"Come on, brother. Anyone can see that your teleportation skill is incredible, but its cooldown is way too long. If you can't take someone out with it, you're stuck waiting for them to take you out. Honestly, 'One-Step Quick Man' isn't a bad nickname. It's a lot better than 'Half-Point Man.'"

The man offered his right hand in a friendly gesture. "Nice to meet you. I'm Golden Spirit." (Come on, here's the first player extra.)

The ID sounded oddly familiar to Cao Renqi. After thinking for a moment, he exclaimed, "You're that famous player who does everything his own way?"

Cao Renqi didn't know much about most games, but lately he had been making up for lost time by learning the basics of gaming culture.

Golden Spirit was a renowned expert player, a fervent VR enthusiast, and the strictest of the Realism Enthusiasts. He insisted that game worlds follow exactly the same rules as reality—especially when it came to letting players take off their pants.

His most famous feat had been finding angles in a certain zombie game that let him glimpse a mature, beautiful vampire lady's white lace underwear. He recorded it from his own point of view and shared it freely with the game's many enthusiasts.

For his trouble, he received countless heartfelt wishes that a good man like him would live a long life.

Everyone agreed that a "Golden Spirit" ought to embody selfless generosity, firm principles, and gentlemanly conduct.

"If the game doesn't allow duplicate IDs, then I'm probably the guy you mean."

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

Cao Renqi hurriedly took it and gave it a vigorous shake.

He was meeting a legendary player face-to-face. Still considering himself an innocent little newbie, Cao Renqi felt both delighted and at a loss—the perfectly ordinary reaction of someone meeting a celebrity up close.

Just as he tried to pull his hand away, the expert's sturdy right hand tightened around it.

His hand was so big. So strong...

"...Golden Brother?"

"Brother, I have a question. Mind if I ask?"

"Golden Brother, please don't."

"Here's the thing, Quick Man," Golden Spirit said, looking Cao Renqi straight in the eye with unwavering sincerity. "I tried it over and over during the closed beta, but I never succeeded."

"To understand anything, you have to investigate it.

"I checked the game rules, and this damn company didn't even provide a detailed explanation.

"I couldn't sleep, so I spent half the night combing through the official website. Between the lines, all I could make out were two words: 'the players'!

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

"Hey, why are you blushing?"

Tears sprang to Cao Renqi's eyes.

"Golden Brother, we really shouldn't! If this goes on any longer, this chapter will get censored!" Cao Renqi's face was bright red.

Golden Spirit released his hand, looking thoroughly disappointed. "I really think I'm just one step away from success."

Cao Renqi, who had nearly met his doom right there, breathed a sigh of relief. "Golden Brother, I'm not trying to discourage you, but this game doesn't even have a toilet function. How could it possibly let you take off your pants?"

Golden Spirit froze. Then his expression turned strange. He looked Cao Renqi up and down with inexplicable respect. "Quick Man, I think you really do have a problem. You... seem to have that backward...

"Even I only wanted to test a game feature. You, Quick Man, seem to have something much wilder in mind..."

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

After a long pause, he managed to say, "Golden Brother, I lagged just now. Would you believe that?"

Golden Spirit patted his shoulder consolingly. "It's fine. We're both men. A little curiosity is understandable."

Cao Renqi wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded. "Exactly! What's wrong with a man being a little perverted—"

"...Brother, I think you've just said another unforgettable thing..."

Elsewhere, beyond the closed-beta players' little comedy.

The huge wave of players arriving for the open beta eagerly began exploring the game.

Some threw themselves into quests. Some delighted in the scenery of another world. Others busily collected game footage and shared it on the Player Forum.

The same scene played out on every beginner island.

On the first day of the open beta, nearly every player was having a blast.

But plenty were also posting "friendly greetings that would get censored if written out" to the game company on the Player Forum.

Four Seas Voyage Plan

The inhabited regions of the "Pirate King" world could broadly be divided into three areas: the four outer seas, the Grand Line, and the Red Line. Numerous beginner spawn points were scattered throughout them, and open-beta players were pouring into the game.

Some took the conventional route: they filled out a questionnaire, had their personal preferences assessed, and landed in the peaceful East Blue.

Others trusted their luck, took a bold gamble, and randomly landed in the New World...

Naturally, most of the people sending the game company warm greetings on the forum were the unlucky few who had spawned in the New World.

Sarcastic posts sprouted across the official game forum like mushrooms after rain.

"So this is the world's first immersive Full-Dive VR Game? What a joke. I climbed into the game pod and might as well have climbed into a coffin."

"No way. You're telling me some people can actually play the game after logging in? They don't just die immediately and get locked out of respawning for half an hour?"

"So this is the world's first immersive Full-Dive VR Game? Love it! I guess only fictional characters can play it~"

"Don't pick the New World! Don't pick the Grand Line! Starting in either one means getting dumped straight into the sea! I haven't seen land since I logged in!"

"Exactly! The same thing happened to me in the closed beta! Half a month of testing, and I never even got into the game! For fuck's sake!"

"Fuck you, give me my money back!!"

Still, players who landed in the New World were a tiny minority—a drop in the ocean compared with the vast open-beta population.

Players from every region and beginner zone kept sharing their experiences on the official forum, quickly pushing the angry posts out of sight.

Two or three days later.

As activity on the forum continued to climb, the "Pirate King" team finally stopped being secretive and openly released its first proper promotional video.

It was the first time the official team had released video footage on its own initiative!

The video showed the varied landscapes of the beginner islands: natural, modern, technological, medieval...

Their wildly different civilizations immediately captured most players' attention.

But once they watched more closely, the complaints came pouring in.

"What the hell? I thought the game company had finally released official footage, but this is just a bunch of clips edited together!"

"They cut up player-made recordings, stitched them together, and released that as promotional material? What kind of company does that?"

"Come to think of it, is there even a game company? What if..."

"'Pirate King' Company: When did you get the impression I'd actually release any information?"

"Anyone looking for realism in a fictional story must have something wrong with their head."

With a powerful boost from this Official Bootleg, activity on the game forum exploded.

Adrian was quietly watching the players' activity on the forum. After deliberately waiting a few days, he finally decided it was time to act.

A few days earlier.

At the docks in Loguetown.

A peach-pink flush spread across Gion's lovely face, gradually coloring her delicate earlobes and pale neck...

After a long sigh of relief, clarity finally returned to her hazy eyes. She fully realized how she had reacted just moments ago.

"Th-that's quite an ability!" Gion's cheeks were still pink, making her attempt at composure painfully obvious. "I feel much better. Could you step away from me now?"

Adrian rubbed his fingers together and said with studied calm, "Positive Hollow: Universal Panacea strongly stimulates a person's consciousness. That stimulation then affects the physical body, producing an effect similar to healing.

"As for the slight trembling, that appears to be a common reaction."

Adrian looked so professional that Gion could hardly accuse him of making it up. She forced down her embarrassment and indignation, then deliberately changed the subject. "You've dealt with Gecko Moria. What are you going to do now?"

Mini Hollow: Astral Cruise.

Adrian released a scattering of Mini Hollows and sent them into the sky above Loguetown. Through their eyes, he carefully surveyed the fighting across the town.

Only after a good while did Adrian open his eyes and say to Gion, "At the moment, I don't think there's anything left for me to do."

In truth, there was something Adrian wanted to do.

He had maxed out two skills of the Hollow-Hollow Fruit in succession, but Armament Haki still troubled him.

According to what he remembered, Armament Haki was a powerful force capable of striking and touching the real bodies of Logia Devil Fruit users.

But could Armament Haki touch an intangible Hollow?

Adrian had never tested it, so he had no idea.

The original story offered precious little useful information about Hollow abilities.

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

She had indeed defeated the Haki expert Sentomaru in an instant while he was off guard, but only because he hadn't used Haki to defend himself against her Hollows.

The only incident with any real value as a reference was the War of Totto Land.

During that battle, Luffy had used Armament Haki to attack Prometheus, the "flame Homie" Big Mom had created with the Soul-Soul Fruit, to no effect.

Afterward, Knight of the Sea Jinbe had explained that Prometheus was an embodiment of concentrated flame, given a soul by Big Mom. He was different from an ordinary Logia user, and Armament Haki didn't work on him.

Which meant...

If Armament Haki couldn't counter Hollows, Adrian would be free to roam wherever he pleased.

If it could stop them, he would have to keep his head down, grow stronger, and wait another two years.

There were undoubtedly many Armament Haki experts in Loguetown right now, but they each had opponents of their own.

Adrian could hardly walk up, say hello, and announce that he was taking over the battlefield.

Besides, the game's open beta had just begun. Apart from Loguetown, there was another place where he could test Armament Haki against his Hollow abilities.

That was right!

Adrian meant the Flower Country, also in the West Blue!

Chinjao the Drill, twelfth leader of the Flower Country's Happo Navy!

"Adrian, are you planning to leave Loguetown?" Gion asked suddenly, as though she had sensed something.

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

"Then what will you do next?" Gion pressed. "Go back to being a Bounty Hunter in the West Blue?"

Adrian shook his head and smiled. "No. Right now, I have a plan for a Four Seas Voyage."

The harvest had arrived. If he didn't reap it now, when would he?

Razor Gang

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Cannons thundered, and spray flew.

"Hahaha! Blast the bastards!"

On the endless blue sea, a midsize three-masted ship flying a black pirate flag was pounding a merchant vessel whose flag bore crossed cigarettes and a whiskey bottle.

A middle-aged pirate captain in a "Roger-style red coat" planted one foot on his ship's railing. Holding an oak mug in his left hand and raising a cutlass with his right, he laughed wildly. "Hahaha! All the treasure's mine! I'm the next Pirate King!"

The merchant ship was fighting back, but most of those aboard were honest traders. They couldn't match pirates in a sea battle and spent most of the fight taking fire.

High above them.

Adrian watched the pirate ship and merchant vessel exchange fire below. In his hand was a copy of the World Economy News Paper he had recently bought from a News Coo. Two enormous headlines dominated its front page.

"Pirate King Gol D. Roger Executed—The Age of Pirates Nears Its End!"

"World Military Draft!"

"Heh. So this is what the end of the pirate age looks like?" Adrian glanced at the battle below and shook his head. "What a load of hypocrisy."

Roger's execution had certainly not brought the age of pirates any closer to ending.

Instead, his final words had inspired countless people who had never been content with ordinary lives to head out to sea. They dreamed of claiming the Pirate King's legendary treasure, a fortune beyond measure, and becoming the next Pirate King.