Zhang Da also subconsciously thought it was impossible, but then he looked at Tom, who was slacking off beside him, and it seemed nothing was impossible... One Piece, the end of the first half of the Grand Line, Sabaody Archipelago, also known as the Soap Bubble Islands.
A large number of pirates who have been tested by harsh environments will land here, a large number of bounty hunters who wander in the gray area are eager to try, and there are even various criminal gangs and human traffickers gathered... Zhang Da and Tom were lucky enough to drift in the Grand Line for five days without encountering any bad weather, and successfully found an island where humans could live.
At the same time, they were also unlucky enough to end up in such a dangerous place.
Zhang Da took a deep breath. Now, they could only go ashore first. After all, there were civilians living here, so they shouldn't be completely unable to survive.
First, he looked around and didn't find any pirate ships. Zhang Da signaled Tom to paddle slowly towards the shore.
What he didn't notice was that during this time, the number in the ring on the back of his left hand gradually increased to 81%.
60GR to the front left and 59GR to the front right. These were the numbers of the two large trees in front of Zhang Da.
Looking from a distance, the numbered tree trunks were much wider in diameter than ordinary houses, and their height was even more exaggerated.
Countless buildings extended outwards around the tree trunks, forming a town. The two trees, or rather, islands, were connected by a bridge. There was a certain height difference between the coast and the sea level, so it seemed not just anywhere could be landed.
Zhang Da confidently paddled into the gap between islands 60 and 59, because he saw a seagull flag hanging on a building on the left from a distance.
That meant there was a Marine base nearby. Perhaps when watching anime, he automatically adopted the pirate's perspective and saw many unprofessional Marines.
But now, being there in person, seeing a Marine base truly gave him a sense of security.
"Hey~" A deep, uncle-like voice came from the right side of the shore.
Zhang Da and Tom looked up and saw a square-faced uncle wearing sunglasses.
Seeing that Zhang Da noticed him, the uncle asked, "@#%×?"
Zhang Da was stunned. He didn't understand what the man was saying, and thought, 'Oh no, a language barrier.'
Because he communicated smoothly with Tom and hadn't met anyone else, he hadn't thought about this problem.
At this moment, the magic circle on Zhang Da's wrist finally made its presence known. A purple light flashed, and Zhang Da saw the palm-sized translucent screen for the first time.
It clearly read:
"[Loading language pack... Acquired the common language of this world, including basic abilities such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing.]"
The screen went out. Zhang Da noticed that the number in the ring on the back of his hand had turned to 81% at some point and was now rapidly dropping to 71%.
At the same time, he understood what the uncle had just shouted—"Did you encounter a shipwreck?"
This language pack came just in time. A language barrier could cause big trouble. Back then, Hattori Hanzo and Lu Bu got into a fight at the Forbidden City because of a language barrier while asking for directions, forcing the audience to witness special effects that put many sci-fi films to shame in a comedy.
'Did it use energy to give me a language? By the way, when was this energy charged?
Oh no, that uncle saw this thing, will something happen?'
The uncle seemed to have completely missed the recent changes. He just noticed Zhang Da's eyes become wary and quickly explained,
"I'm a boatman from Island 59, not a bad guy. Look, I always carry my tools. Besides, the Marine base is not far from here, so no one would cause trouble here!"
The uncle seemed worried about being misunderstood. He pulled out a short saw from his waist and waved it to show Zhang Da.
Tom, scared, hid behind Zhang Da, his little paws clutching Zhang Da's thigh. He had already remembered Zhang Da's instructions and was preparing to draw his gun.
Zhang Da's mouth twitched. The uncle's burly appearance, waving a short saw, made him look even more like a bad guy, didn't it? And, did he not see the screen just now?
"We've been drifting at sea for five days. Where is this place, and can we land?"
Zhang Da's voice sounded a little weak, and he looked haggard, his clothes wrinkled.
The uncle looked at the fishing rod and water bottle on the wooden board and immediately believed Zhang Da's words.
Shipwrecks were all too common in this world, so encountering a disaster at sea was not surprising at all. This child didn't look very old; he must have suffered a lot, right?
"This is Sabaody Archipelago. Do you see the numbers on the trees? Each numbered tree represents an island.
Islands 60 to 69 are where the government and Marines are stationed, and islands 50 to 59 are where we boatmen and shipyards are located."
The uncle paused and continued, "If you want to land, follow me. There's a slightly flatter place ahead where you can climb up."
"Thank you, uncle!" Zhang Da continued to paddle forward according to his instructions. After a while, he indeed saw a relatively low area.
There was no beach, no port, just a simply lower elevation.
Zhang Da put Tom on his shoulder and climbed ashore using both his hands and feet.
The uncle reminded him, "Be careful! All the islands here are made of the roots of Yarukiman Mangrove trees, and the roots constantly secrete resin, which is very slippery."
Zhang Da did feel it—sticky resin and moss growing near the sea. If the slope hadn't been gentle, given his current physical condition, he might not have been able to get up.
Tom squatted on Zhang Da's shoulder, guarding against the uncle's sneak attack as his master had instructed.
Fortunately, the uncle had no such intention. After Zhang Da stood firm, he asked, "Little brother, where are you from? Did you encounter pirates?"
Zhang Da felt his legs a bit wobbly at this point. Perhaps he had been at sea for too long, and suddenly standing on 'land' still felt a bit disorienting. He kept feeling like the ground beneath his feet was still swaying.
"I'm from... a very distant place, and I encountered some... unexpected events."
Zhang Da chose not to rashly reveal his origins. He was also worried that being caught in a lie would be bad, so he could only speak vaguely. Who would believe that he had transmigrated right after stepping out to buy food?
"In short, Tom and I barely survived on that wooden board. It's probably good luck that we drifted here."
"Indeed, little brother, you're lucky. Most people would have starved to death or lost their lives in a bit of rough weather. The Grand Line is very dangerous," the uncle sighed.
Seeing that Zhang Da seemed reluctant to talk about his origins, the uncle didn't press. He figured Zhang Da might have had some unpleasant experiences he didn't want to mention, which was not uncommon in this world.
"Oh, right, my name is Goodman. As I just said, I'm a boatman and I work on Island 59. What should I call you, little brother?"