"I am a little curious." Zhang Da Ye studied Rayleigh's weathered face. "Since you already know the truth, why not just tell me directly?"
"…" Rayleigh fell silent. This kid doesn't play by the rules. I've been talking so much to inspire him to chase dreams, to brave the seas. And now he just asks me for the answer key?
Rayleigh rose to leave. He realized this young man had no dreams in his heart. The cat and the other two clearly respected him too much to set sail on their own.
The moment Zhang Da Ye asked that question, Rayleigh knew there was no point in continuing. Other than closing a small deal, this trip had been a waste.
Before Rayleigh could step out, Zhang Da Ye threw out another question that actually mattered to him: "Wait—just now you said the weakest in this tavern could beat an ordinary Marine colonel. Then what level do you think I'm at?"
Rayleigh really left this time. But before going, he cast Zhang Da Ye a long, meaningful glance. In that look he conveyed one thing: this young man had not only no dreams, but also no sense of self-awareness.
Still, the old pirate didn't forget to pay. Considering what that shipwright said about Rayleigh losing everything at the casino, the money might very well have come from pawning himself off—or fleecing some unlucky noble the day before.
Zhang Da Ye had no interest in pirate dreams. What lingered in his mind was that final glance. After a while, something clicked, and he looked at Rui Mengmeng in disbelief.
"Boss, why are you… looking at me like that?" Rui Mengmeng shrank back timidly, showing not a shred of a warrior's aura.
"Nothing." Zhang Da Ye turned to Artoria. "Tell me—between me and Mengmeng, who's stronger?"
Artoria thought it over. "Mengmeng's fighting skills are far below yours. But purely in terms of physique, she surpasses you. And it's improving fast."
So she started stronger, and she's growing faster too. A tragic story. Zhang Da Ye asked anyway: "How fast?"
Artoria gave a vivid comparison. "As fast as her appetite grows."
"Ohhh~" Zhang Da Ye instantly grasped it. Today Mengmeng had added three bowls of rice-worth of physique. He'd found a new unit of measurement.
"Boss, I won't eat the tavern into bankruptcy, will I?" Rui Mengmeng blushed. Since coming here, she had eaten four meals, each bigger than the last. If not for Artoria eating even more, she wouldn't dare lift her chopsticks.
"Not anytime soon. We'll find some side business to bring in extra cash," Zhang Da Ye replied. He planned to stir up more action once the "flying house incident" fully died down.
"I'll help too!"
"Let's hope you can adapt to it."
"Adapt? It won't be anything illegal, right?" Even with her superpowers, Rui Mengmeng still thought like an ordinary girl—just like Zhang Da Ye did when he first arrived.
"It's about taking down criminals—traffickers, pirates, that sort of thing." Zhang Da Ye remembered something. "Oh right, I never finished explaining this world to you. Let's continue."
"Okay." Rui Mengmeng nodded.
"The laws and enforcers here aren't reliable. Many villains go unpunished. Like human traffickers…"
Zhang Da Ye rambled on, basically teaching her that against evil, she'd need to be ruthless. He stopped before her head spun too much.
Just days ago he was tangled up about all this. Now he was lecturing others with conviction. "Over the next few days, I'll take you out more. See the world with your own eyes."
"I'll do my best to adapt!" Rui Mengmeng clenched her fists in determination.
Zhang Da Ye believed she would. After all, she was still the kind of super-soldier who could fight aliens.
They chatted while tidying up the tavern.
Tom placed the empty milk bottle outside, dropped a coin into the mailbox, then shut the tavern door. The day's business was officially over.
"The weakest in the tavern" Zhang Da Ye didn't give up. He trained harder, believing diligence would pay off. At the very least, he still had hope of surpassing Rui Mengmeng.
So what if she was a second-generation super-soldier? So what if she could beat down aliens several meters tall? So what if—ugh, how sour.
Zhang Da Ye shook his head. "Tom! Face my blade!"
…
"Even though I saw it yesterday, it still feels magical. Like something out of a fairy tale." Rui Mengmeng caught a bubble that swelled up from the ground, then let it float away. "And to think they can even make cars out of these."
"Want to try riding one?" Zhang Da Ye was introducing her to bubble cars.
"Really? I can?" Rui Mengmeng was fascinated—it looked like a sci-fi hovercar.
"Come on. You'll be the driver today. It's pretty much like riding a bicycle." Zhang Da Ye plopped Tom into the basket on the handlebars. "Navigation's your sacred duty, Tom."
Tom sat upright, gave a crisp salute, then squatted in the basket with arms folded. He would be a cold, emotionless feline AI.
Zhang Da Ye and Artoria sat side by side in the back, leaning back-to-back. If they pulled their legs up a little, they could probably launch a fashion trend.
Rui Mengmeng, a newbie driver, wobbled at first. But soon she steadied and followed Tom's directions, stopping first at a vegetable stall.
Tom whipped out a shopping list longer than his own body, dragging on the ground.
They picked out a pile of vegetables. The vendor weighed them happily, Zhang Da Ye paid, and Tom crossed them off the list before moving on.
"Boss, you don't haggle when you shop?" Rui Mengmeng asked.
Zhang Da Ye hesitated. "But the prices are all marked."
He might haggle in a clothing shop, but when it came to food—like supermarket produce—he just couldn't bring himself to argue.
Probably the same reason he once fell victim to the "ice cream assassin." A stronger-willed person would've just put it back on the shelf.
"But in a market, not bargaining is a big loss," Rui Mengmeng said, speaking from experience. "Want me to handle it?"
"Sure. Want a commission?"
"No, no." Rui Mengmeng waved him off. She already felt guilty about eating too much and doing too little.
They set off again, stopping next at the fruit shop.
From then on, Tom handled the list, Rui Mengmeng bargained, Zhang Da Ye paid, and Artoria… sampled the goods.
Each item didn't save much, but with the quantities they bought, the savings piled up.
Tom finally flipped the bottom of the long list back to the top and confirmed one item left.
He licked his lips, drool forming. It was time to buy fish!