Shucheng, China, Earth.
Wei Ke was an orphan. His father had died when he was young, and his mother had to work to support the family, so she had no time to look after him.
He had loved watching cartoons since he was little. They made him feel less lonely.
As he grew older, he became obsessed with One Piece.
As the saying went, misfortunes never came singly, while good fortune never came in pairs. His mother fell gravely ill and died while he was in high school.
Despite the devastating blow, Wei Ke did not stop moving forward. He used the money his mother had left him to go to college.
While in college, he became a part-time One Piece commentary creator, making video commentaries on the series.
Because he majored in applied physics, his videos were highly logical, and many of his imaginative theories and predictions were refreshingly original.
Wei Ke's videos got plenty of views, and he had a large following. The income from his videos was enough to keep him fed.
After graduating, he did not look for a job. Instead, he became a full-time anime video creator.
That night, he had gone through a mountain of material to make the latest installment of his One Piece commentary videos.
He had reread plenty of old manga chapters in search of foreshadowing. After three days of nonstop work, Wei Ke finally collapsed onto his keyboard.
Before he fell, an ethereal voice rang out in his mind, as though it came from the heavens!
"Vic, stay alive. You have to live!!!"
Laipe Island, East Blue.
This was an island with four distinct seasons. Many of its young people had joined the Marines, and some retired old marines lived there too, so the island was relatively peaceful and safe.
The island lay along a trade route, so its local specialties could always be sold promptly. The residents were relatively well-off and led fairly comfortable lives.
Near the seaside docks was a town called Yarlin, named after Yarlin, the first mayor who had founded it.
The town was not very large, and it bordered both the sea and a forest. Its residents lacked neither food nor clothing, making it the wealthiest area on the island.
The people here were friendly, kind, and honest. They had their own shopping street, with a full range of goods that completely met the townspeople's daily needs.
Yet this town no longer looked as beautiful and lively as it once had.
There were signs of burning and destruction everywhere, and sorrow showed in the residents' eyes. Many of them had lost family and friends!
Inside a house in this pirate-stricken town, Wei Ke slowly woke up.
He found himself lying facedown on the floor, his head heavy and dazed. He rolled over and rested for a while before trying to sit up.
With a thud, his forehead struck something hard. Wei Ke winced and hissed as he sucked in a breath.
"Damn, that hurt! Where am I?"
He felt his way out from beneath the low, hard object. By the faint light from the window, he realized he had been under a bed.
It was a tall, unfamiliar room. Wei Ke swore he had never been there before.
"How did I end up here? What happened?"
Puzzled, Wei Ke slowly left the room, moving quietly and looking around.
The house was somewhat messy. When he went downstairs and reached the entrance, he saw an unfamiliar little black-haired boy, about 1.2 meters tall, in the entryway mirror.
Wei Ke froze. An instant later, a rush of memories struck him, and poor Wei Ke fainted again less than half an hour after waking up.
Vic's eyelids twitched, and he gradually regained consciousness. His body told him he was not lying on the floor, but in a warm bed with a blanket over him.
He slowly opened his eyes and saw a wooden ceiling and a white hanging lamp.
As his senses returned, he realized he had transmigrated to the world of One Piece.
He had become Orens Vic, the ten-year-old son of Orens, secretary to the mayor of Yarlin on Laipe Island in the East Blue.
Both of the body's original owner's parents had been killed before the child's eyes. Unable to bear the blow, the child's soul had become unusually frail and empty, allowing Wei Ke's soul, which had wandered here, to take over the body.
Thinking of the original owner's parents' deaths, especially what his mother, Ann, had said to him before she died, Wei Ke could not help feeling a wave of sadness!
"So this is the world of One Piece, where the weak are prey to the strong.
"Since I've transmigrated, so be it. There's no one left in that world for me to care about anyway.
"Maybe Ann summoned me here. That faint voice I heard in my head when I collapsed onto the keyboard sounded a lot like hers."
From the memories he had absorbed, Wei Ke knew that Pirate King Roger had been executed less than a month ago.
He murmured, "The Great Pirate Era is about to begin. Without strength, you can only be at others' mercy, just like this town."
After reflecting on that, he turned to look at a little girl with wine-red hair resting against the side of the bed.
From his memories, he knew she was Rebecca from next door, a year younger than Vic. Looking at the furnishings, he realized he was now in Rebecca's home.
Vic sat up and stretched. His body had not suffered any injuries, so now that he was awake, there was no need to stay in bed.
He reached out and rubbed Rebecca's head. It did not feel strange at all; it was like a bodily instinct.
Rebecca woke up and grabbed Vic's hand. "Vic, you're finally awake!" she said in delight. "You've been unconscious for three whole days!"
Three days? Who would have thought that just merging with a child's memories would take me three days to wake up? Vic thought.
"Vic, you haven't eaten for days. You must be hungry. I'll go get you something to eat."
Seeing that Vic was in a daze, Rebecca added this, then ran out.
At the mention of food, Vic's stomach immediately started rumbling!
He said to himself, "I was unconscious for three days. I don't know how long I was under the bed, either!"
"When I came out from under the bed, I didn't find the original owner's parents' bodies. Someone had obviously come and taken them away."
Before long, two figures entered the room.
Besides Rebecca, there was an old woman with graying hair and a wrinkled face. She was Rebecca's grandmother, Maria.
The old woman carried a large tray piled with food. Seeing that Vic had gotten out of bed, she smiled and set the tray on the table beside him.
She said gently to Vic, "Little Vic, how are you feeling? Nothing's bothering you, is it?"
Vic replied, "Grandma Maria, I'm fine now. I just fainted from the shock earlier. You don't need to worry anymore."
"I'm very sorry about your parents, but you must be strong and keep living!" the old woman said earnestly.
"I know. I'll keep living!" Vic said seriously.
Hearing him say that, the old woman felt much more at ease. She urged him to eat first; the rest could wait until he was done.
Vic ate every bit of food on the tray, but he still wanted more.
He was not full yet, but he was too embarrassed to ask for more. After all, he was in someone else's home.
The old woman was a little surprised to see Vic finish everything. The old Vic could never have eaten so much; less than half of it would have filled him up.
"Little Vic, are you full? There's plenty more in the kitchen. I'll have Rebecca bring you some."
"Rebecca, go bring up some more food. Vic isn't full yet. He's probably been hungry these past few days, heh heh!"
Seeing that Vic still wanted more, the old woman spoke with a smile.
Vic smiled a little sheepishly.
Eating more after all that was not very proper. He could only repay these two poor people, who depended on each other, in the future.
Rebecca's parents had both been marines. Her father had been killed by pirates while on a mission!
When her mother, who was on a mission aboard a ship, heard the news, she was so distracted that she lost her life in battle with pirates.
That left an old woman and a young girl living together on Laipe Island. If not for the monthly benefits the Marines paid to the families of fallen service members, and help from their neighbors, they would have been unable to survive long ago.
Seeing Vic's embarrassment, the old woman smiled and said, "Go ahead and eat. Grandma doesn't have much money, but I can still afford food."
"When the pirates left a few days ago, they didn't take the food. They just looted all the money, so there's still no shortage of food in town."
"Your parents helped me more than anyone when they were alive, so I won't let you go hungry. You can eat here from now on.
"When you're finished, I'll take you to pay your respects at your parents' graves. Sigh, that poor family."