The News Coos, who sold newspapers daily, had a lot more tasks these days.
For islands without a fixed newspaper selling point, News Coos would sell phones when passing by or flying over pirate ships.
Although these pirates were brutal, they shared one consensus: News Coos were sacred and inviolable. They would pay honestly, and no one ever dared to owe a News Coo money.
On certain islands with fixed newspaper selling locations, they would also place the phones there for centralized sale.
The price was clearly marked: 200 Berries per unit!
This price wasn't expensive for most people, and for pirates and those with some status, it was practically free.
Marineford, Marine Headquarters newsstand.
Regarding the daily newspapers, the Marine Headquarters base had a yearly subscription, so News Coos would deliver a large quantity of newspapers there every day.
Today was no exception, except that today's News Coo brought not only newspapers but also one hundred phones!
Before this, Morgans had promised these News Coos: a reward of ten Berries for carrying one phone, with more work earning more.
But one hundred phones was its limit.
The weight of a single phone wasn't much, but a hundred combined was an unusually heavy burden for the News Coo.
"Coo coo??" The News Coo tilted its head, letting out a soft query.
"Got it. Here's your payment for delivering the newspapers. And here, this one is for delivering the phones," the newsstand attendant said, handing the money to the News Coo.
"Coo coo coo!!!" Seeing the money, the News Coo immediately became excited, tucked the money securely into its pouch, turned, and quickly flew away.
It calculated the time—it could still make another trip!
Seeing this, the news agency staff at the newsstand said enviously, "Boss Morgans is really generous. He's never stingy with these News Coo brothers."
"Heh heh, don't be envious, brother. Hurry up and sell these phones—we get a commission too!" another person chimed in, looking at the phones displayed on the counter as he spoke.
"Even though these phones aren't expensive, it's not easy to get the Marines here to buy into a new gadget," he shook his head, a little worried.
The other person disagreed. He opened a phone, tapped on the TikTok app, and held the screen up to the other person, grinning. "Brother, look what this is."
"Huh? What could it be? It's just the news we film, isn't it?" Although he said that, he couldn't help but glance at the phone screen.
With just one look, his gaze fixed there, unable to move away. His breathing gradually quickened, and his heart pounded.
"This... When did this exist!"
"This one is beautiful, this one is also beautiful, hurry and follow me! I want to follow her!" he said eagerly.
"Heh heh, there's also the Empress! But I advise you not to look—we still have work to do today," the other person reminded.
The man immediately took out his phone, followed those few beautiful women, and then nodded in strong agreement. "You're right. The Empress is the recognized most beautiful woman in the entire sea."
"I heard Boss Morgans just glanced at the Empress yesterday, and it got so dark he couldn't see," the other person joked.
The two chatted idly. Soon, a Marine walked over and shouted, "Hey! One copy of today's newspaper!"
The person who came was Helmeppo. After Grandpa Garp brought him and Coby back to the Marine base, they had been serving as chore boys. They did small tasks, and buying newspapers was a common occurrence.
Seeing a customer, the two in the shop immediately perked up and politely took out a newspaper to hand to him.
Then, as Helmeppo was about to leave, they quickly took out a phone and promoted it. "Brother, do you want to buy a phone? Grand opening special! Buy it with a newspaper and get a 50% discount!"
"Phone?"
Helmeppo was stunned. He had clearly heard the word "phone" for the first time and didn't know what it was.
However, hearing that he could get a 50% discount if he bought it with a newspaper, he was tempted!
Adhering to the principle that "it's a fool not to take advantage of a bargain," he took two steps back, came back, looked at the two of them, and asked curiously, "What do you mean? What's this new gadget, a phone?"
Seeing that this Marine had stopped and looked interested, the two were immediately overjoyed. They quickly stepped forward, took out a sample unit, and began demonstrating the phone's features.
"Brother, this is a phone. Its function is very simple: entertainment."
"Entertainment?"
"That's right, look at this."
As he spoke, the attendant tapped on the TikTok app. As a large musical note flashed, a beautiful woman in revealing clothing immediately appeared on the screen.
The video showed a forest. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the layers of green leaves, softly scattering onto the forest path.
"This picture... it's so realistic!" Helmeppo couldn't help but exclaim.
Suddenly, the video zoomed in, and the bikini-clad beauty was magnified. Her fair skin, willow-leaf eyebrows, every frown and smile were breathtaking.
She plucked a pink flower with her slender fingers, sniffed it gently, and instantly bloomed a stunning smile. Helmeppo's breathing immediately became rapid.
When he was a delinquent, he didn't have the mind to look at these things—he just played with dogs and pets. And there wasn't much to see in the small town. Now, seeing the beautiful woman in front of him, he knew what true beauty was!
Even Coby would probably be amazed if he saw this!
"Don't rush, brother, there's this too." Seeing his reaction, the attendant knew this sale was secured!
"Quick, quick, what else is there, tell me quickly!" Helmeppo urged, his tone anxious as if he would lose something the next second.
The attendant smiled slightly, deciding to use the killer move. But he himself looked away, not watching the video, otherwise, he wouldn't sell anything today.
Just as Helmeppo was waiting, the attendant's finger gently slid, and a video of Empress Hancock appeared!
The Empress was simply sitting quietly on her high throne, her gaze cold, looking down on everything, full of dominance.
Her proud posture made it seem as if she was the ruler of this world, unmatched by anyone.
"Hiss!!!" Helmeppo gasped, his eyes instantly widening.
"Em... Empress, Hancock!!! So beautiful!" he murmured, his voice full of shock and infatuation.
"Goddess, my goddess!!"
His eyes had already turned into two little hearts, and his heart was beating uncontrollably and violently, even jumping out of his chest at one point.
The attendant looked at his infatuated expression and chuckled internally: The appeal of this phone was even stronger than gold!
After silently counting for two seconds, the attendant chuckled and pressed the screen-off button.
Click, and the phone screen went black.
"Ah!!! My goddess!" Helmeppo screamed. This forced termination was too painful!
"Quickly open it, quickly open it, I want to see my goddess again," he urged anxiously, his eyes full of eagerness.
But the attendant was unmoved. Instead, he put the phone away and pointed to the sign next to it, which read:
"To continue watching, please purchase a phone."
"New product sale promotion! Buy with a newspaper and enjoy a 50% discount on the phone purchase. Don't miss this opportunity, it won't come again."
"Two hundred Berries, take your goddess home!"