Chapter 7: Only Adults Make Choices
After watching the Lord of the Coast depart, Shane continued his climb up the rope ladder.
He reached the top a moment later. Grabbing the railing, before he could even flip over, a dozen arms suddenly reached out for him.
—Someone hooked him under the armpits, another supported him behind the knees. The boy was held fast, unable to move, and carried like a freshly caught barrel of fish through the cheering, whistling crowd.
"Hey? Wait, what are you guys doing?!" he shouted in alarm.
Unfortunately, no one answered him. In his peripheral vision, he only saw Garter smiling as he pulled out his pipe again, tapped it, and lit it. The scent of tobacco wafted over.
The next moment, Shane felt his body go light as he was tossed into the air.
"Hoo-rah!"
"Don't do this, put me down!"
"Hoo-rah!"
"I'm afraid of heights... er, no, I just ate, I'm going to puke if you keep this up!"
"Hoo-rah!"
"That's enough! Is this how you repay kindness? I should have let the Sea King eat you all!"
"Hoo-rah!"
"Just let it eat me too!"
...
Some time later, Shane was finally set down. The world was spinning, and he nearly stumbled and fell to the ground.
The old sailors had been doing heavy manual labor for years, and the strength in their arms was no joke. Being tossed and caught in the air felt like riding a roller coaster for an entire day. Even though he could quickly overcome seasickness, he now had the urge to lean over the railing and vomit his guts out again.
"Amazing, little bro Shane!" Garter gave him a thumbs-up, blowing out a smoke ring, his face full of emotion. "You're really something else. I can't believe I doubted you earlier and treated you like a child. I must be old and blind. Now I don't even know if I should apologize or thank you first."
In that desperate and oppressive situation earlier, even an old sea dog like him, who had sailed the seas for decades, had given up and was preparing to die in vain. In contrast, this boy, at his young age, had remained calm, accurately judged the situation, and acted decisively and without hesitation when it was time to move.
He truly admired the boy before him from the bottom of his heart. Even his form of address had unconsciously changed from "kid" to "little bro."
"An apology will do. You don't need to thank me," Shane said, rubbing his still-dizzy forehead. "You make it sound like I was just a bystander. I'm on this ship too. It was just for self-preservation."
"How can you say that, little bro!"
"Yeah, you saved our entire ship!"
"I'll never forget you for the rest of my life!"
The crowd grew noisy again with everyone talking at once. Someone muttered, "Should we continue the banquet?" which was followed by a debate. "You idiot, weren't we just having a banquet?", "That one was too small, it's not enough to celebrate escaping death!", "True, we need a bigger, grander one!"
Then, all their voices merged into one, echoing across the deck—
"BANQUET! BANQUET! BANQUET!"
"Alright!" Garter, fired up as well, laughed heartily and slapped his thigh, making the decision. "Then everyone, get to it! Let's get the party going again immediately! No one leaves tonight until we're all dead drunk!"
"DEAD DRUNK!"
The sailors scattered in a hubbub, each getting busy. Some cleaned the party area, some moved barrels of alcohol, others prepared food and cut meat, and more reassembled the tables... Seeing this, it looked like they were determined to get the new banquet started within half an hour.
Leaving only Shane standing there, disheveled in the wind.
Wait, this isn't right, is it? We were just rammed dozens of times by a Sea King. Shouldn't the first priority be to check if the hull is leaking or if the keel is broken?
The next day.
When Shane woke up, his head was splitting. A hangover? Blinding sunlight shone through the porthole; it must have been noon already.
He patted his head and finally, vaguely remembered that he had been the guest of honor at last night's party, plied with who-knows-how-much alcohol by the enthusiastic sailors. At first, he had been reserved, but later he had gone wild too, his face flushed red as he put his arms around the sailors' shoulders, dancing and singing crazily around a bonfire.
What is wrong with these people? I'm still a minor. How can I drink alcohol?
As he carelessly pulled on his wrinkled coat, Shane suddenly froze. This cabin, with its velvet curtains, was ridiculously large. It could fit his old bed as a footrest. From the private bathroom, he could even smell the scent of lemon fragrance.
Whoa, an upgrade. These accommodations... this must be the best room on the ship, right?
Compared to the simple cabin he had before, it was like going from a budget single room straight to the presidential suite.
He opened the fridge and took out a cola. The sound of the can popping and the refreshing feeling of the ice-cold sweet liquid flowing down his throat finally cleared his head.
"Oh? Little bro Shane, you're awake?"
A passing sailor heard the noise, and his enthusiastic voice sounded from outside the door. "How about it, are you hungry? What would you like to eat? I can go get it for you."
"No need to trouble yourself, thank you," Shane said quickly. "You go on with your work. I'll go to the dining hall myself if I get hungry."
"Alright, you got it! Just let us know if you need anything!"
After the sailor's footsteps faded away, Shane fell back into the sofa and eagerly opened his system.
Eat? I just got a huge fortune yesterday, and the trading market was supposed to refresh these past few days. Who has time to eat? Shopping is far more important!
The deep blue panel appeared before his eyes. Shane's gaze skipped past the initial stats and landed directly on the last two lines.
[Remaining Points: 10025]
He finally understood those people who liked to grin foolishly at their treasures. Once you had a lot of savings, sometimes even just staring repeatedly at your bank account balance, without doing anything, would bring a rush of satisfaction and security that made you feel like you were on cloud nine.
After a long while, he finally moved his gaze away from his balance.
Looking to the right, a new page immediately appeared, showing product images with detailed descriptions and prices below. If he was interested, he could add it to the shopping cart. If not, he could just mentally swipe down to browse the next item.
This was the Trading Market.
Every month, ten new items would randomly refresh. As long as he had enough points, he could buy whatever he wanted before the next refresh.
At first, Shane thought it was all direct sales from the system, but he quickly realized the truth. It was more like a Taobao that connected countless worlds. Apart from a few items provided by the system, the vast majority seemed to come from individual sellers in other worlds. The things they sold were incredibly varied, all sorts of random stuff, as if every world had a transmigrator assigned to dig for treasures.
Every time he swiped down, it felt like opening a blind box. He quite enjoyed this part. As soon as the refresh happened each month, he would be the first to browse.
Unfortunately, he used to be dirt poor and could afford almost nothing, so he could only look on with envy. Occasionally, there would be something cheap, but he would have to weigh the pros and cons and usually give it up reluctantly. In three years, he had only bought the Breathing Fist manual and a basic swordsmanship book.
Now, he was rich.
This time, he was going to shop until he dropped. If he saw something he liked, it was going straight into the cart!
Only adults are indecisive and need to make choices. I'm still a kid, so obviously, I want it all!
He quickly focused and began Browse the first item.
[Statue of Heracles]
[Type: Buff Item]
[Price: 2000 Points]
[Description: The greatest hero of ancient Greek mythology, who ascended to Mount Olympus after his death and became synonymous with strength. This intricately carved statue is about 20 cm tall. Placing it within a ten-meter radius while training your body will provide a 3x efficiency buff. This buff can stack with other items.]
[Seller's Remark: Based on precedent, beware of theft! Some people are like they have auto-loot on, they'll steal any damn thing.]
"A three times efficiency buff for physical training?"
Shane was slightly taken aback, a look of joy flashing in his eyes. He added it to his cart without hesitation. There was no need to even think about it. With Arlong's arrival less than a year away, this item effectively extended his training time to three years! And it was permanent, meaning for the rest of his life, his training efficiency would always be three times what it was before! Yes, he had a knack for martial arts, but who would complain about having too much talent?
"Good stuff!" Shane was full of anticipation for the effects it would have. He swiped down to the next item.
[Shadowheart's Camp Clothes]
[Type: Equipment]
[Price: 200 Points]
[Description: Black, form-fitting, casual attire. No stat bonuses. More suitable for rest and leisure. When you wear it to sleep, you might hear the surge of darkness in your ears, the whispers of Lady Shar.]
[Seller's Remark: I really wanna lick white-haired Shadowheart's feet.]
"..." Shane's face was expressionless.
He swiped it away immediately. Next! If there really is a Transmigration Management Bureau, I hope they make a rule that pervy otaku are forbidden from transmigrating!
[Sulawesi III Steering Engine]
[Type: Wonder]
[Price: 10000 Points]
[Description: Located in the equatorial region, one of the largest steering engines built for the Wandering Earth Project. It is over 15 kilometers high with a base diameter exceeding 60 kilometers. With sufficient fuel, a single engine can produce a thrust of 200 quadrillion tons.]
[Seller's Remark: Just dug it up, still warm.]
Seriously, my man. Who the hell are you? Even if you transmigrated as Ultraman, you wouldn't be able to dig this thing up, right?
The price was even more ridiculous, basically the highest he had seen in three years. But Wonders were like that in any world; they weren't something you should even consider in the early or mid-game. It was incredibly tempting, though. If he had a million points, he'd buy it for sure. If I ever die with points left to spend, I'll definitely summon this thing to let everyone have a look.
[Ren Amamiya's Black Canvas Bag]
[Type: Miscellaneous]
[Price: 600 Points]
[Description: A shoulder bag suitable for a middle school student, filled with textbooks for a second-year student at Shujin Academy. You might occasionally hear a cat's meow from inside, but you can't be sure if the cat is dead or alive until you open the zipper.]
[Seller's Remark: Picked it up next to the subway turnstiles.]
"Hmm..."
After a brief thought, Shane shook his head and gave up. He searched through his past life's memories, but his knowledge of anime and games wasn't broad enough, and he couldn't remember which world this was from. Based on past experience, items classified as "Miscellaneous" were generally not very useful, like the hairpin and headband he had sacrificed. Unless he was particularly interested, it would be a waste of 600 points.
[Rokushiki Manual x2]
[Type: Training Manual]
[Price: 800 Points]
[Description: A manual detailing the training methods for the Six Powers martial arts. Shave, Paper Art, Moonwalk, Tempest Kick, Iron Body, Finger Pistol. These are the Six Powers. When you open each manual, you will randomly obtain one of them.]
[Seller's Remark: None. System Direct Sale.]
"The Six Powers?"
Shane's spirits lifted.
Although system-direct sale items were rare, they were often extremely practical, unlike the individual sellers who were always thinking of weird new gags. This time was no exception. This was the martial art that CP agents trained in from childhood. Within the Marines, usually only the elites from Headquarters were qualified to learn it. Someone who mastered these techniques could dominate anywhere outside the Grand Line. He had coveted this martial art for the past two years, always hoping it would show up in the market. Now, his wish had finally come true.
"And it's a random two out of six..."
Shane decisively added it to his cart. This was two manuals, equivalent to one-on-one instruction from a master teacher, guaranteed to teach him, for only 400 points each. No matter which two of the Six Powers he got, it was an absolute steal!
[Sephiroth's Masamune Sword]
[Type: Weapon]
[Price: 500 Points]
[Description: From the world of Final Fantasy VII, the personal blade of the ultimate villain Sephiroth, named 'Masamune'. It is shaped like a tachi, with an overall length of over two meters, a hilt of about fifty centimeters, a blade width of only three centimeters, and a thickness of only a few millimeters.]
[Seller's Remark: "What you are seeing now is reality. What you remember, that is the illusion."]
This one made him hesitate.
Shane pinched his chin, deep in thought. His talent for swordsmanship wasn't great, and he had no plans to practice it in the short term. But in the world of One Piece, where swords were the primary weapon, having a reliable blade seemed like a good idea. A sword forged with Shinra technology for a 1st Class SOLDIER was definitely high quality. In the world of One Piece, it would be at least as good as a "Skillful Grade Sword," maybe even reaching the level of a "Great Grade Sword."
"Buy!"
Shane made his decision, and another item was added to the cart. If the price had been any higher, he probably would have passed.
He continued to scroll down. The next few items were either of no interest to him or had a very low cost-to-benefit ratio. He quickly reached the end of the list.
The final checkout came to a total of three items, costing 3,300 points.
[Remaining Points: 6725]
An item to speed up his training was one of the things he needed most right now. Finding it was a stroke of good luck. If he could get some more training manuals next month, he'd be able to finish his trip and return to the village just in time to start training like a madman.
Satisfied, Shane popped open another cola. He closed the Trading Market, and while sipping his happy water, he eagerly opened his inventory tab.