Chapter 42: New Map, Players' Fishing Tips...
"Is the child really okay?"
Ginny watched as Val and the armored ship gradually disappeared into the distance, and a worried look appeared on her face.
"It's just a transaction. The Big Mom Pirates aren't crazy people who don't listen to reason..." As Dragon said this, he couldn't help but recall the strange jelly salads that Violet had packed in her backpack, as well as the equally impressive leaf meat cake. His voice lost its confidence.
"It should be fine, probably, maybe... there shouldn't be any problem."
Big Bear looked blankly at his two worried revolutionary comrades: "Why are you worried?"
More than the various amazing buildings and dishes, Big Bear felt that the most incredible thing about Violet was her wonderful charm.
Those around her are always unconsciously drawn to her; even those about to drown in the deep sea will be pulled up by her.
The darkness of R'lyeh is deadly; it is home to countless terrifying monsters.
But they are safe.
Violet is like a firefly on the island; when the sunlight fades, she becomes the sun that illuminates them.
Big Bear: "Besides, didn't Violet make an ice wand with sapphire before she left?"
That power is so great that even a dragon would be frozen for two seconds if it were hit.
With such powerful attack and escape abilities, how could there be a problem with Violet just going to make a deal?
We don't have any grudges against each other, right?
Upon hearing the bear's question, the dragon looked at the sea and sighed deeply.
"Hard to say."
——
They say a mother's love is like a child traveling a thousand miles... Pshaw, anyway, after confirming that Vera was going to the Kingdom of Treasures to find the ghost, Luo didn't say anything, but just silently helped Vera pack her luggage.
As Violet prepared to leave, Law brought his newly minted student Chopper to see her off.
Chopper, who hadn't been separated from Violet since leaving the reindeer herd, cried very sadly. Law simply stuffed a handful of candy into his mouth to physically silence him.
As Luo and Violet said goodbye, Luo whispered a devilish message in her ear.
"I won't bother with your carnivorous plants. If they don't come back before the rainy season ends, they'll probably just dry up and die."
"If you come back early but are injured, I will release them in front of you while you are unable to move."
What a vicious NPC!
The players will definitely return unharmed before the rainy season ends!
Dragon drew a map of the world to Violet. His drafting skills, honed by a member of the naval elite, allowed Violet to unlock nearly half of the map after reading it.
As seen on the map, the World of Glory is a sea area centered on the largest island, "Cake Island," radiating outwards from dozens of islands of varying sizes.
Considering the geographical location and the food she brought, Vera decided to make Candy Island, managed by the Candy Minister Perospero, her first stop.
Although she didn't have the Rainbow Beans that could only be obtained by defeating the Queen Bee, which had permanent preservation and increased health by two points every two seconds after consumption, Violet believed that the toffee would be enough to attract the minister's attention.
Charlotte Linlin, the Queen of Whole Cake Island and a great pirate, has a very lofty dream: to create a happy homeland where all races can live in harmony, a homeland filled with flowing honey, sweet cream, an endless supply of cakes, and...
Every six months, she pays a tax equivalent to one month's lifespan.
Fairy tales were imprinted on the corpses of trees; a perfect heavenly kingdom requires the lives of countless ordinary people to support it.
Violet paid an "entry tax," a deposit of three months' rent plus one month's rent in advance. She paid four months' worth of her lifespan upfront. If she stayed on Candy Island for more than six months, she would continue to pay the tax. If she stayed for less than six months, the remaining amount would not be refunded.
Violet: "..."
It feels like we've suddenly gone from an idyllic rural life to a brutal capitalist society that devours people without spitting out the bones.
Violet stepped onto Candy Island, checking her status bar as she went.
[Veer]
[Character: Fishman]
[Status: Lifespan Reduction (Max HP -50)]
[Health Points: 100/100 (150) (Lower back pain, backache, leg cramps, is your O-level deficiency? Try a heart stimulant, it will benefit you as well)]
[Satiety level: 150/200 (You're not hungry, but you feel like you could eat a little more; this proves that a vegetarian diet doesn't necessarily lead to weight loss)]
[Sanity: 70/150 (Since developing a mental illness, you feel much better mentally~)]
[Character Trait: Fish-Friendly: Sanity decreases continuously when there are dead or cooked fish, shellfish, or lobsters in the character's inventory; sanity increases continuously when there are live fish or live lobsters in the inventory.]
[Starting Items: Empty-handed]
[Survival chances: extremely slim]
Oh no, I've been so busy rowing that I forgot to pay attention to my sanity. Violet quickly put the flower wreath on her head and looked at her health, which was down to a third.
You created a "heart stimulant".
[Consumes 8 Rotten Items, 2 Saltpeter, and 1 Needle]
After receiving a stimulant, the discomfort caused by having her lifespan drained disappeared instantly.
Although the raw materials seemed to exacerbate the condition rapidly, the effects were immediate. It appears she wasn't entirely unprepared for this high-risk map; at least some of the Queen of Kingdoms' attacks would be neutralized by the stimulant.
Hmm, from now on I need to accumulate more rotten matter for future use.
The [Fishman] character has a completely different appearance from ordinary humans. Usually, when Vel goes out, she lets her hair down to cover the scales on her ears and cheeks to avoid any trouble.
However, on the islands of the Land of Treasures, the fish-man features alone are unlikely to attract anyone's attention.
Even because of Charlotte Linlin's hobby, the residents of Candy Island were not surprised when they discovered that Valerie had unusual fin-shaped ears. Instead, they seemed to understand and said "thank you for your hard work" while handing her a lollipop.
My imagination has conjured up incredible stories about my past.
While eating lollipops, Violet gathered information. The residents of Candy Island were quite talkative, and they generally did not interrupt their conversations even if they noticed Violet's presence.
[You have gathered intelligence: Charlotte Perospero lives in Perolin Town on Candy Island.]
[You've gathered intelligence: Charlotte Perospero loves to sample delicious candies from all over the world.]
[You've gathered intelligence: Charlotte Perospero seems to be troubled by something.]
Ah, here it comes! It's good to be troubled, because trouble gives players room to maneuver.
However, as a temporary resident who has just arrived on Candy Island, Violet obviously cannot meet Perospero, who is also the island's lord, the eldest son of the Emperor of the Sea, and a core member of the Big Mom Pirates.
"Vell?" The old woman who rented the pretty, colorful candy shop to Vill looked at Vill, who was standing by the well in the backyard with a bamboo pole, and asked in confusion, "What are you doing?"
"fishing."
"Fishing?" The old woman smiled helplessly. "That's not how you fish. You need at least a hook and a float, and you need to find a place where fish gather..."
Before the old woman could finish speaking, the bamboo pole in Violet's hand trembled twice. Violet pulled sharply and dragged a lively fish out of the well.
The old woman's mouth dropped open in astonishment.
Violet gave her the fish.
"I think the most important thing in fishing is the bait."
Violet runs a candy shop in the candy house. The shop only sells one type of candy, each priced at 10,000 Berries.
"Ten thousand Berries? Why don't you just rob it?"
Vera adjusted the flower wreath on her head expressionlessly: "Is it expensive? It's been this price for years, okay? If you think it's too expensive, reflect on yourself first. Have you been working hard and earning money properly...?"
The young man who asked the price left looking pale and sickly.
A day passed, and Violet hadn't sold a single toffee she had prepared.
But it doesn't matter, these aren't the fish she's after. While tending the shop, Violet also gathered some intelligence, such as the fact that Queen Charlotte Linlin of the Kingdom of Treasures has recently been suffering from a loss of appetite and irritability, and that her children are going out to sea in search of fresh and delicious food.
For example, Perospero, as the eldest son, also volunteered to take on the responsibility. He has been going out to sea several times in the past few months in search of food, and his most recent voyage was just a week ago.
The old woman watched Vera packing up the candies: "Lord Perospero will probably be back in a few days."
As the minister stationed on Candy Island, Perospero finds it difficult to leave the island for extended periods, as he is responsible for making all sorts of decisions.
A week later, Perospero's ship docked, and Perospero, wearing a long lemon-yellow trench coat, walked down a candy-made staircase and led his subordinates toward the center of Perolin town.
Perospero walked into the office, looked at the stacks of documents as tall as a person on the candy table, and weakly licked the candy cane in his hand with his long tongue.
Sigh, he was in such a bad mood that he couldn't even eat his favorite candy.
A few months ago, Mother suddenly developed a food craving disorder and went on a rampage on Whole Cake Island. Many unfortunate residents of Whole Cake Island died after Mother drained their lifespan. Although Mother eventually regained her sanity with the help of the Three Sweet Commanders and other children such as Perospero, from that day on, Mother became extremely dissatisfied with all kinds of desserts at every meal.
The mother had grown tired of the desserts on Cake Island, and even lost interest in what used to be her favorite birthday cake.
Unable to satisfy her appetite, Charlotte Linlin transforms into the most irritable emperor, casting a heavy shadow over Whole Cake Island and the entire Land of Twilight.
Perospero decided to disperse the Charlottes under the age of five to Candy Island where he was stationed, Biscuit Island where Cracker was stationed, and Wheat Island where Katakuri was stationed, so that these young Charlottes who had not yet grown up would not be harmed by their furious and irrational mother.
The older Charlottes, who were not currently on campaign or stationed, set sail in search of novel and delicious desserts, hoping to satisfy their mothers' appetites and restore everything to normal.
Perospero hooked a candy onto a chair and moved to sit down beside him, rubbing his temples as he looked at the documents, his head aching.
Actually, it wasn't entirely without gains. Perospero found a new flavor of candy, his brother Mondor brought lemon-flavored cheese, and his sister Smoothie even risked great danger to try extracting juice from an active volcano for a beverage.
But these foods can only soothe the mother's emotions for a few days at most.
Perospero, struggling with the mechanical fatigue of reviewing documents, habitually asked the person next to him, "Have any merchants from Candy Island recently supplied new desserts?"
This was really just a casual question. Charlotte Linlin's hobbies are known to everyone throughout the Grand Line and the world. It can be said that among all the great pirates, Charlotte Linlin's hobbies are the clearest and easiest to please.
After all, finding a good son for Whitebeard and a good way for Kaido to die is much easier than finding a delicious dessert for Charlotte Linlin.
There have always been merchants who have tried to rise to power by currying favor with the Sea Emperor. Fearing Charlotte Linlin, they would try to find her children indirectly.
"No...but a new candy store has opened on the island."
The exorbitantly priced candies and the arrogant shopkeeper—a week was enough time for these stories to spread throughout Candy Island.
Noticing that Perospero had stopped correcting the documents, the man continued, "It's a shop run by a new little girl, and they only sell one kind of candy."
"Priced at 10,000 Berries per stone."
"Ten thousand?"
"Ten thousand."
Perospero put down his pen and chuckled, "Hehehe, even the candy I made myself wouldn't cost this much, Perolin."
Otherwise, why would he bother with any business development or construction? He could just make hundreds of millions by selling candy every day. He could buy Katakuri in a few days.
Perospero chuckled to himself. He knew his subordinates had deliberately gathered this information beforehand. The pressure was being passed down layer by layer. When a mother was angry because her appetite wasn't being satisfied, her children had to live in fear, while these ordinary subordinates, who weren't related to them by blood, had to worry about their own lives.
"Call that shop owner over. I want to see just how amazing a candy can sell for ten thousand yen a piece really is, Perolin~"
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Author's Note: Giving Charlotte and her friends a shocking glimpse of food from Famine! [Exaggerated praise]
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