Chapter 12: The Players Decide to Double-cross Each Other
"We found out that we want to get a coating, but we're currently in a queue, and the earliest we can get a turn is a week later."
A tall, handsome samurai, dressed in a kimono, walked gracefully onto the deck, but when he spoke, it was clearly a mature male voice.
"I was right after all." The man with the exaggerated pompadour hairstyle sighed. "It'll be a long time before I see Dad and the others again."
Since the Great Earthquake in the New World, the coating business in the Sabaody Archipelago has been booming day by day. In addition to speculators who want to try their luck and make a fortune in the newly transformed New World, there are also young and ambitious pirates who want to take advantage of the chaos to seize a few islands and challenge the emperor of the New World.
Of course, the sea emperors will teach them humility and respect with their fists.
The two people speaking were Thatch, the 4th Division Commander and cook of the Whitebeard Pirates, and Izo, the 16th Division Commander. A few days ago, the two left the New World to replenish the supplies that the Whitebeard Pirates had lost due to the earthquake. However, when they returned to Sabaody Archipelago to try to return via coating, they found that the queue was already a week in advance.
Looking down at the sea of people, Yi Zang rubbed his temples, his head aching.
Sachi wasn't in a hurry. Although the things on their ship were things that couldn't be obtained in the New World, they weren't scarce. A week's delay wouldn't matter; it would just mean that the Whitebeard Pirates' overall dining standards would drop for a week.
Sachi looked at the dense crowd below and said, "Dad shouldn't be bored these days."
It's estimated that quite a few promising young talents will challenge the old man, which is just his pastime. Perhaps when they go back this time, they'll find that they've gained a few more brothers.
Izang: "Hmm?"
Izang narrowed her beautiful eyes slightly, her gaze still fixed on the strange group she had just seen in the crowd.
Izang: "When did humans and fish-men get along so well?"
Although the Whitebeard Pirates had a fish-man named Namur serving as a squad leader, they were still the Whitebeard Pirates, and the old man embraced everyone with his magnanimous heart. Whether fish-man, human, or not, in the Whitebeard Pirates, they all had only one identity: the old man's son.
However, Izang had also heard about the complex history of hatred between fish-men and humans from Namuel, so seeing fish-men and humans getting along well in public still surprised him.
Sachi: "What's wrong?"
When Izang looked again, the two figures had completely disappeared into the crowd.
"...No, it's nothing."
"No, this is too strange!"
The octopus-man named Hachi tries to free his arms from Violet, but because he has six arms, he always manages to lose control of one.
The newspaper that Violet had used to cover her face had been ruined a couple of days ago due to the increased humidity at sea. Since she didn't have to worry about being inexplicably added to a certain faction, she was too lazy to make another one and just walked out like that that day, startling many of the fishmen in the Sun Pirates.
Vera pressed the suction cup on Xiao Ba's arm, feeling the suction from the suction cup and the ticklish sensation of the sharp beak inside lightly biting her palm. Then she suddenly raised her hand, making a crisp "pop" sound.
Violet: "Haha, this is so funny."
Xiao Ba pressed one hand to his face: "Oh no."
As the last stop on the way to the New World, the Sabaody Archipelago attracts a large number of pirates every year, and even the Navy here usually turns a blind eye to the appearance of pirate ships.
After all, the vast majority of them would die on the "undersea route," and even if they were lucky enough to survive, they would be consumed by the pirates in the New World, leaving less than one in ten alive.
In short, the Navy was quite happy to see these pirates venting their energy on other pirates and killing each other.
However, bringing the stolen naval warship ashore was a different matter, so Jinbe and Tiger "prepared" another ship midway through the journey.
In her heart, Violet silently said "Amen" for that poor pirate crew.
Therefore, it is perfectly normal for pirates to steal each other's ships, especially since there are many pirates in the Sabaody Archipelago who failed to cross into the New World and urgently need a new ship. Jinbe and Tiger had no choice but to stay on the ship to guard it.
Therefore, the task of finding the coating craftsman was entrusted to Violet, who was unwilling to give up exploring the new map, and Hachi, who was relatively friendly to humans and had decent combat skills.
Vera: "There are so many people."
Violet: "Haha, I'm still moving forward even though my feet are dangling in the air!"
Xiao Ba, sweating profusely, quickly pulled Vera out of the crowd. With Vera's size, she could easily be swallowed up by the throng. Xiao Ba couldn't imagine what would happen if he lost Vera.
Vera grabbed the pinch (on her arm) that Xiao Ba offered to distract her: "Do we have to wait in line for our number to be called?"
Vera frowned. Did she have to experience this kind of thing in the game too?
Violet: "Let's just kidnap a coating craftsman!"
Xiao Ba: "No, wait, I have an internal line, we can cut in line!"
Xiao Ba led Wei Er to a bar.
[You have unlocked a new intelligence point]
So this was the real intelligence point? No wonder the bar owner she met on the island before knew nothing about it.
Violet excitedly walked into the "Shakky's Rip-off Bar," where there were only one or two scattered customers drinking. The deserted atmosphere made one wonder how this bar could survive in the Sabaody Archipelago, where land is incredibly valuable.
Behind the bar was a woman with short black hair and a hot figure whose age was hard to guess. After Vil walked in, she glanced at Vil, who was obviously still a child, against the light, and waved to her.
This is not a place for you.
"Are you Shaki?" Vera ignored her attempts to shoo her away. "The owner of this shop?"
"Um?"
Shakky then raised her head and carefully examined the fair-skinned girl in front of her. Just like her first impression of the Red-Haired Pirates, Shakky also thought that Violet was a lost noble girl.
She immediately thought of many ways to demand ransom, but the figure rushing over the next moment made Xia Qi give up her idea.
Xia Qi: "Xiao Ba?"
Xia Qi glanced at Xiao Ba and then at Wei Er, who was curiously examining the bar: "Friend?"
"Her intuition is really accurate." Xiao Ba scratched his head and once again marveled at how terrifying a woman's sixth sense truly is. Most people wouldn't guess that a fish-man and a human are friends after seeing each other.
Xiao Ba looked at Violet, who was trying to stuff the chair into her pocket, with a gentleness in her eyes that she herself did not realize: "She saved my captain... uh, former captain."
“Fisher Tiger?” Shakky, as an informant, keenly grasped the key phrase. “Former captain, who is the current captain of the Sun Pirates?”
Xiao Ba scratched his head and didn't hide anything: "It's Shi Ping."
“Him?” Xia Qi nodded, lighting a cigarette and elegantly holding it between her fingers. “A good choice.”
“Hey little girl, you’re the first person to dare steal from me right in front of me.” Shakky extended her hand to Violet. “I’m Shakky, a friend of Xiao Ba, and also an information broker. If you need any information in the future, you can contact me, and I’ll give you a discount.”
Violet: "I am Violet, a farmer who also works as a part-time adventurer."
"Oh, I thought you joined the Sun Pirates."
Xiao Ba: "We plan to apply the coating back to Fishman Island, but there are no coating craftsmen available in the entire Sabaody Archipelago right now."
“Ah, there have been quite a few pirates coming to the Sabaody Archipelago lately, almost as many as there have been since that guy died.” Shakky gestured with her chin toward a cracked table not far away, the dark red stains on it hinting at a bloody conflict that had taken place there. “The coating craftsmen are also extremely busy.”
"You're here to see Rayleigh, right? He left a few days ago because he was bothered by you."
Although no one can force Rayleigh to work 996, there are indeed people in the pirate world who are good at using a conciliatory approach.
Rayleigh couldn't take it anymore. Those bearded, unwashed men, who hadn't showered in days, clung to his legs, weeping and wailing. They said they had an eighty-year-old mother and a baby to feed, and that their families wouldn't survive if they didn't go to the New World. So he ran away early.
Shaki gave Xiao Ba and Violet a hint: "If you have money, you might want to try your luck at the auction house."
Vera and Xiao Ba were stopped outside the auction house.
[Your funds are insufficient to unlock the current scenario]
As a pirate crew whose main job is to liberate slaves, the Sun Pirates have no source of funding other than the occasional double-crossing, and Violet is even more penniless.
Xiao Ba looked at the silent Vera standing beside him and scratched his head awkwardly.
Violet wasn't disappointed; the interconnected missions were something every game protagonist had to go through.
Xiao Ba: "So we need to make money?"
Violet gave him a strange look: "How long will it take to make money like this?"
She took out a straw rope and tied Xiao Ba up: "I heard that fishmen can fetch a lot of money at auction?"
Bound up in a ball, Hachi looked around in a panic: "Huh?! What, Violet, are you going to sell me?!"
“No, it’s a double-cross.” Vera took out the last [Eye Gun] and stuffed it into Xiao Ba’s hand. “I will rescue you. If anyone dares to hurt you, use this to knock them out.”
The eyeball on the [Eye Gun] rolled around and looked at Xiao Ba. Xiao Ba immediately shuddered and almost dropped this strange weapon.
"This is a one-time use weapon, but it can stun anyone for 5 seconds."
While introducing the weapon, Violet pressed Xiaoba's hand and forcibly stuffed it into Xiaoba's belt. Feeling the sensation from under the belt, Xiaoba felt like he was about to cry from fright.
"Can you really rescue me? What if I get sold tonight?"
“No, I will get you out of here,” Vera said firmly.
"And tonight is the night of the full moon."
"A night of full moon?"
"Hmm." Vera smiled. "Beware of the hounds on a full moon night."
Hounds, aside from the seasonal bosses, are the most terrifying aggressive creatures in the game. They automatically spawn next to the player every so often, no matter where the player hides.
Violet will be attending an auction tonight, spending time with pampered nobles who have probably only ever seen cute handshake dogs in their entire lives.
"Tonight's going to be a complete mess," Violet sighed. "I'll drink it while it's hot..."
"No, I took the opportunity to snatch you back."
A note from the author:
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Rayleigh: This was all my doing!!! [Crying][Crying][Crying]
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