Chapter 84 They waited for the players for 800 years…
[The "Angry Desert Lion" event is complete!]
[Event Rewards: Automatic Tiller (Blueprint) *1, Flame Wand (Blueprint) *1]
Congratulations on obtaining the title "Dog Training Master"!
[Dog Training Master]
[Description: Dogs, creatures with dog-like personalities, and creatures who consider themselves dogs, have a chance to gain a 5-minute "Pleasant" state when exploited or scolded by you, gaining 1 point of sanity per second.]
Great! It's an automatic tiller!
Once we get back, we can negotiate with the Whitebeard Pirates for the new island, and then R'lyeh's production capacity can be expanded again!
Peru stared blankly at the incredibly docile desert antlion standing beside Violet: "Is it... over?"
“Okay.” Violet patted the desert antlion’s paw. “Take down those sandcastles. We need to prepare to leave.”
"From now on, we can no longer create storms and earthquakes casually, understand?"
Looking at Violet talking to the desert antlion, Peruv thought the scene was truly magical.
The desert antlion rubbed its forelegs together awkwardly, then lay its upper body on the scorching sand, staring intently at Violet with its white eyes.
Peruv nervously trembled its wings. What... what does this mean?
"Haha, stop being so cute. We can't stay here with you." Vera shook her head. "No, you can't go to human towns."
Crocodile looked at Violet, discreetly probing for information: "Can you understand it?"
Violet looked up at Crocodile with a strange expression: "Of course not, how could a human understand animal speech? We can only guess from its body language."
It's surprising that Crocodile, at his advanced age, still has such a childlike heart.
Icarum stepped forward and bowed to Vil and Crocodile: "You two have been instrumental in resolving the desert ant lion disaster."
"Please accept Alabasta's sincerest gratitude."
To celebrate Alabasta's narrow escape from this disaster, Kobra announced a grand feast to be held in the capital, in which all the people of Alabasta could participate, to celebrate their joint efforts in overcoming another calamity and to thank the heroes who fought against the desert antlions.
The approachable king, unpretentious and down-to-earth, opened the four gates of the royal city, and tables laden with precious wines and fruits flowed across the entire city like water.
Unable to leave the enthusiastic Alabasta women, Violet reached out to Law and Sabo for help.
"Don't be so shy, little hero. Come on, would you like to try some of my wine?"
The tanned, curvaceous Alabasta woman breathed sweetly and smiled radiantly at Vera, who was still struggling just moments before, and was instantly captivated.
"Ladies, could you spare our island lord for now? King Cobra seems to have something to say to him."
"Wow, what a handsome young gentleman!"
The ladies looked at Sabo, who was poised and elegant, with a rare casual and carefree air about him, and sighed, "Since it's the king who wants him, there's nothing we can do about it."
"Have fun, little hero of Alabasta."
Cobra chuckled and half-squatted down to smooth out Violet's crumpled sleeves: "Sorry, I made you laugh."
The people of Alabasta have a fiery personality, just like the country's climate.
"They just wanted to express their gratitude to you."
In arid Alabasta, alcohol is a very precious and rare commodity, and people only drink it freely when important guests arrive.
Kobra remarked, "The desert antlion uprising has subsided, and hopefully there will be enough rain for the rest of the year."
Violet followed Cobra's gaze to the cloudless night sky, where the town was brightly lit under the silvery moonlight.
Is the climate in Alabasta always this dry?
“Yes,” Cobra sighed. “And in recent years, rainfall in Alabasta has been decreasing.”
This information was derived by agricultural officials within the royal palace based on comparisons with rainfall data from previous years, and has not yet been released to the public to avoid panic.
If things continue like this, Alabasta may cease to exist in a few decades.
Violet was shocked: "Is it that serious?"
Having learned of Violet's combat prowess from the Kingdom Guard, Cobra no longer sees her as an ordinary child.
"We can barely maintain our drinking and domestic water needs, but we don't have enough water for agriculture." Kobula feels heartbroken every time he passes by the farmland and sees the withered crops.
What alarmed Kobra even more was that the spirit of solidarity and mutual assistance that the people of Alabasta had developed in order to combat the harsh climate was being undermined by the reduction in water use and the resulting conflicts and contradictions.
"Perhaps we could try some crops that require less water?"
"The crops cultivated in Alabasta are already the ones that require the least amount of water, selected over generations." Any less than that would fall outside the realm of biology, into the realm of mysticism and magic!
Violet: "I've heard that the Kingdom of Alabasta has a history of over 800 years?"
“Yes.” Even though she was still feeling down, Cobra couldn’t hide her pride when talking about the history of Alabasta. “Alabasta has a very long history. Ever since the first queen chose this place as the capital, the people of Alabasta have lived and thrived here.”
Violet: "Have you ever seen a wind-up robot?"
Clockwork warships, clockwork knights, clockwork bishops... these purely metallic creations, bearing the marks of rust and wear from countless storms, yet still incredibly aggressive mechanical artifacts, are currently Violet's primary source of [gears].
These machines, created by an unknown person and for an unknown reason, have gradually spread to every corner of the world over a long period of time. When players approach their detection range, they will immediately launch an attack, and there is no way to stop their berserk attacks unless they are completely defeated and destroyed.
The gears dropped by these clockwork machines are important raw materials for building items on the technology side, and Violet has been struggling to find a stable source of them.
Cobra: "A wind-up robot?"
Violet: "You might not call it that, but it's basically a bunch of robots made of gears, springs, and sheet metal."
"If you can give me clues about these robots, I can build you a certain number of [snowball launchers] as a reward."
"The snowball launcher, is it the one you built in the palace back then?"
"Well, although its main function is firefighting, if there are crops withered due to drought within the range of the [snowball launcher], it will automatically launch snowballs to irrigate them."
More importantly, like the magical [refrigerator], the [snowball launcher] does not require electricity or water to operate; it only needs to be refueled periodically to work indefinitely.
Aside from its inability to move, the Snowball Launcher is an incredibly useful farming tool for water-scarce Alabasta.
Violet decided to personally demonstrate its effects to Cobra.
The king, who loved his people dearly, abandoned the lively banquet in the palace and ran with Violet to a deserted farmland in the suburbs. Standing on the dry, cracked soil, they looked at the withered yellow wheat seedlings all around.
Cobra squatted down next to Violet without any airs, watching the child take out several ice cubes from her backpack, and then quite magically pull out brass-colored gears and electronic components with wires from her pocket.
Violet built the snowball launcher on the ridge of the field and added some wood as fuel. Two puffs of white mist came out of the iron exhaust port of the snowball launcher, and two spoon-like snowball shapers emerged from the top, spinning and throwing round snowballs into the soil that was cracked by drought not far away.
Amazing, and far more captivating than any jewel Cobra had ever seen, unfolded—the snowball melted on the still-warm soil, the meltwater seeping into the earth through the cracks, and the tips of the previously withered wheat seedlings began to show a visible green.
As more and more snowballs melt into the soil, this green gradually spreads from the tips of the leaves.
In the end, the wheat seedling that was about to wither was reborn, and its tender leaves trembled gently in the moonlight, injecting nutrients into the shriveled wheat.
"This, this is..."
Cobra wanted to get a closer look, but his excitement caused him to stumble and fall to the ground. Startled, Violet rushed forward to help Cobra up, but he raised his hand to stop her.
Kobra's hands, supporting him on the ground, slowly tightened, feeling the damp soil in his palms being clenched into a ball, and his eyes gradually reddened.
“Do you know what’s going on with Vil?” Cobra seemed to be speaking to Vil, but it was more like he was talking to himself. “In the past few days, even in the fields near the capital, the soil just won’t clump together when you grab a handful.”
Those were probably the fields with the best hydrological conditions and the most meticulous care in all of Alabasta, but the drought still meant that they could be blown away by a mere gust of wind.
The people of Alabasta are not lazy; they dig deep wells and build canals. But when the scorching sun rises, those precious water resources will disappear along with sweat and tears on this beautiful yet cruel land.
Cobra's ancestors, along with 19 kings, created the World Government, but ultimately rejected the ultimate glory that led to Mary Geoise, choosing instead to stand with her people, carrying secrets that could overturn the world.
The Nefertari family, unwilling to compromise their loyalty and pledge allegiance, became traitors to the Celestial Dragons. Traitors are far more despicable than enemies.
Over 800 years of silence earned the Neferutari family and the people of Alabasta the right to survive, preventing them from disappearing completely into the sea like Ohara.
But the storm had already begun, and Cobra, as the King of Alabasta, had to decide within a limited time whether to furl the sails and hide in a corner to wait for the storm to subside, or to raise the flag that had not seen the light of day for 800 years and face the storm head-on.
Violet stood on the ridge of the field, with the brightly lit capital of Alabasta in celebration behind her.
She opened her arms and met Cobra's gaze, asking, "What do you think of it?"
“It doesn’t need electricity or water.” Vera patted the rough metal surface of the snowball launcher and pointed to the thermometer-like markings. “As long as it’s supplied with enough fuel, it can keep working.”
“Very good, I mean, very good.”
Cobra stood up and looked at Violet: "Regarding the clockwork robot you mentioned, I think there's a place you might be interested in."
Meanwhile, Crocodile, who had also left the banquet early, arrived at a secluded warehouse in the suburbs.
The heavy iron gate was opened, revealing layers upon layers of neatly stacked boxes inside.
The light swept across the boxes, illuminating the words painted on them—a taboo in Alabasta—named "dancing powder."
Crocodile walked up to one of the boxes, and with a gentle stroke of his golden hook, the wooden box was torn open, revealing the magical powder inside that could summon wind and rain.
Cobra was a good king—enthusiastic, diligent, and approachable—but these admirable qualities, which were a bonus in times of peace, would become insignificant as disaster spread and continued. Cobra's prestige would be completely exhausted in a drought that was the worst in centuries.
Then, everyone will know that Cobra used dancing powder to maintain rainfall in the capital.
The collapse of trust and the continuation of disaster will bring devastation to this 800-year-old island, and then—
Crocodile: "A 'hero' will appear in Alabasta."
Alabasta and its secrets will be accepted by him without hesitation as a reward for his years of hard work.
Times create heroes; isn't this truly the best of times?
——
“This place is an absolute forbidden zone in Alabasta,” Cobra said. “Aside from every king of Alabasta, very few people have ever entered here.”
"The original queen forbade anyone to reveal the secrets of this place."
“But you are different, Violet. You are a hero of Alabasta, and you will be an indispensable force in the changing world.”
Listening to King Cobra's solemn words, Violet looked up at him and said, "Isn't this just the way it is?"
The players are the center of this world.
The players are the main characters in the whole story.
This world exists for her, and this story is written from her perspective.
From the moment the game starts loading, a legend begins, and players can freely bring destruction or rebirth to this world, following their own will.
"You guys are really lucky," Violet remarked.
Cobra had no idea what terrible things the little girl beside him, whom he regarded as an "absolutely trustworthy Alabasta hero," was thinking at that moment.
Cobra simply recalled Violet's victory over the desert ant lion and the snowball launcher she had shown him that was enough to save Alabasta, and couldn't help but laugh sincerely, "Yeah, we're really lucky."
Cobra led Vera to an area heavily guarded on the outskirts. Inside, they found a narrow cave on the ground. Below the cave was a spiral passage leading downwards, widened on both sides but still only wide enough for two or three people to pass side by side.
The passage initially consisted of natural rocks with numerous chisel marks on both sides. As the two ventured deeper, Violet noticed that her sanity was rapidly decreasing at twice the rate it would have been at night.
"Vell?"
Cobra looked at Violet, who had suddenly stopped, with a puzzled expression. Violet raised her torch and approached Cobra, observing his expression by the light of the torch.
Vera: "Don't you feel dizzy, nauseous, or want to vomit?"
Cobra paused for a moment, then quickly understood: "That is indeed the case. My ancestors tried it before. People who enter here react differently depending on how closely they are related to the Neferutari family."
Direct descendants of the Nefertari family can stay here for about a day before feeling uncomfortable.
People who have lived in Alabasta for generations can stay here for about six or seven hours.
As for those people or creatures from overseas, the discomfort accumulated over about an hour forces them to leave.
Cobra: "It's probably due to poor air circulation underground, combined with toxic substances released by some plants and animals living in the dark."
While the Neferutari family and the people of Alabasta live on the ground, they must have been exposed to these airborne toxins to some extent, so it's not surprising that they would have stronger resistance over several generations.
That's not the case. As you can see from your status bar, Violet can say with certainty that she has neither lost health nor is she suffering from any poisoning.
All symptoms are caused by a decrease in sanity.
But why are the people of Alabasta, especially the royal family, so resistant to the dark effects that reduce their sanity?
Violet put a flower wreath on herself, and after confirming that her current mental strength was not enough to attract the Shadow Monster, she nodded to Cobra: "I'm fine, let's continue."
I don't know how many meters it dropped, but the temperature of the surrounding environment dropped from a level where walking outside would cause severe heatstroke to an acceptable level.
"We've arrived."
Stepping out of the ancient spiral staircase, what came into Violet's view was an ancient realm that had been sleeping in darkness for who knows how long.
Is it the remains of an ancient battlefield, or a centralized disposal site for abandoned machinery?
Countless broken machines were half-buried in the moss-covered, dark brown soil, and some of them even had giant mushroom trees growing on them. As Violet approached, the stimulated mushroom trees released light green spores that circled around the two of them.
The soil is home to a completely different species of organisms than those on the ground. Bizarrely shaped ferns, colorful mushroom trees that are tens of meters tall, and fluorescent fruits with slender leaves that glow are scattered around the ancient, abandoned metal artifacts, creating a strange yet harmonious and wonderful scene.
Violet carefully approached the most eye-catching "hill" in the ruins, holding a torch.
It was a "small mountain" made up of a large number of discarded metal products. After hundreds of years, the outermost metal products of the "small mountain" had developed a thick layer of brown rust. Curled purple ferns took root and sprouted in the soil accumulated in the grooves, and their leaves easily pushed open the soft rust to grow out.
Clang—
The sounds of gears grinding and springs turning suddenly rang out, and a clockwork bishop who had been lying quietly at Violet's feet suddenly rose up and attacked Violet.
This attack was like flipping a switch, and the wind-up machines that had been dormant for hundreds of years, whether intact or broken, all awoke at this moment and looked at the uninvited guests who had entered their protected territory.
Completely caught off guard, Cobra frantically spread his arms wide: "Wait, what do you want to do?"
After assessing Cobra's fighting ability, Violet decisively threw him out of the fighting circle.
After rolling twice on the ground, Cobra barely managed to get back to his feet. He didn't have time to wonder where Violet got such strength to throw him with one hand. He saw Violet already locked in battle with the group of awakened wind-up robots.
The torch in her hand was somewhat hindering Violet's performance. She glanced at the fluorescent fruits growing everywhere and simply put the torch away, replacing it with tentacle spikes.
This was a one-sided, crushing battle.
Those clockwork robots were too ancient and their preservation conditions were too harsh, leaving them with less than one-tenth of their health bars.
The damaged condition, thick moss, and rust severely slowed them down, preventing Vera from being surrounded.
As king, Cobra was unable to witness Violet's battle with the desert antlion firsthand; he could only imagine the scene through the descriptions of the kingdom's guards.
But at this moment, Cobra finally caught a glimpse of the battle and held his breath at the sight unfolding before him, a battle far more thrilling than any performance.
Cobra knew very little about combat and couldn't discern the exact difference in strength between the two sides. But Violet displayed remarkable ease, turning what should have been a terrifying battle into an artistic performance under the spotlight.
The sparse fluorescent fruits growing near the ruins could only illuminate a small part of the area, causing the figures of Violet and the clockwork robots to appear and disappear in the darkness and fluorescent light.
Something shimmering rolled to his feet. Cobra bent down and picked it up, discovering it was a pure purple gemstone the size of an adult's fist.
Unlike any gemstone he had ever seen, Cobra had a vague feeling that this purple gemstone contained some mysterious energy. Looking through the gemstone into the darkness in the distance, he felt as if some terrifying creature, half-real and half-illusory, was lurking there.
Cobra shuddered and quickly moved the amethyst aside, only to find that Violet was already eating, leaning on one hand against the dismantled parts.
Cobra was stunned: "It's...it's already over?"
"Hmm." Vera relit the torch and began searching for the fallen items on the ground. The bronze gears were scattered everywhere, making it quite difficult for Vera to find them.
Cobra glanced at the amethyst in his hand, then at Violet, who was unceremoniously stuffing things into her pockets. He sighed for whoever it was, and decided to stop thinking about whether these machines, which were as old as Alabasta, were artifacts. He then set off to pick up the items.
Cobra handed the dozen or so gears he had found to Vera: "Actually, you're the first person to make these things react."
Cobra did not find much description of this cave located beneath Alabasta, or the clockwork mechanism within it, in Neferutari's family history.
He has reason to suspect that his ancestors intentionally erased that history for some reason and left an order "forbidding anyone other than the current king from approaching".
Of course, this order was violated several times by successive kings, including Cobra, due to the passage of time and various unforeseen circumstances.
However, because those wind-up robots were essentially worthless in the past, and outsiders could only last for a few hours before needing to leave, this secret has remained undisturbed for hundreds of years.
Until today, Violet came to this cave.
The clockwork robots, which Cobra considered scrap metal, suddenly awoke as Violet approached and launched a frenzied attack on her.
This made Cobra wonder if these clockwork robots were buried here 800 years ago just to wait for Violet's arrival today.
Violet gazed into the darkness, unlit by torches and glow-in-the-dark fruit: "How big is this cave?"
“It’s very, very big.” Cobra came to his senses. “And if we go any deeper, there will be all sorts of dangerous animals.”
This place is usually only accessible to Cobra. After one impulsive attempt to venture inside, only to be terrified by the giant red-eyed spiders inside and forced to flee in disarray, Cobra never had any more desire for adventure.
"I see."
Vera was quite interested in where this underground cave extended to and how big it was.
She remembered Katakuri, and the Moon Mushroom she had asked Katakuri to find was a special kind of mushroom that only grew deep in caves where the sun never shines.
If you have the chance, you could ask Katakuri which underground cave he was looking for the Moon Mushroom in.
The moment the thought crossed Violet's mind, images flashed before her eyes: Cracker lying on the ship's railing with black smoke billowing from his back, and Katakuri, whom she had bound to her as a mount with a cowbell.
Vera: ...
Hmm, her hatred level in the game seems a bit high. Let's wait until Katakuri's auto-follow effect kicks in before trying to find out anything from him.
However, it's a bit strange that even though she ultimately screwed over Charlotte and her allies, the attitude of the Tavern's forces towards her wasn't one of hatred.
This is also part of the complex personality development of the NPCs in this game.
Violet and Cobra discussed: "Give me all these gems and gears. You can exchange them for gold, food, or have me make you an equivalent snowball launcher."
Because Alabasta has a passage to the underground caves, Violet was even willing to make concessions to Cobra.
Cobra asked cautiously, "How many snowball launchers can you make?"
Violet: "I can make you twenty snowball launchers, each with a radius of about thirty meters. If they are kept running, they will need to be refueled every two to three days."
Twenty snowball launchers may not make a significant difference to the agricultural area of Alabasta, but if used properly, they could greatly improve the drinking water situation for the people of Alabasta.
At least the snowball launcher produces pure white snowballs without any pollution, and the melted snow water is clean and clear, far better than the dry groundwater from deep wells.
Kobra decisively said, "Okay, deal!"
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Author's Note: The cave [upright-eared rabbit head] is a cave map [Let me see].
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