Zhang Da Ye seemed to know both of these items. The cigar, needless to say, was what Tom used to show off and flirt with female cats, capable of blowing fancy smoke rings.
As for the milk, it seemed Jerry was always stealing milk, and Tom, to get revenge, poured a bunch of dangerous chemicals into it. Unexpectedly, after Jerry drank it, he turned into a demonic muscle mouse and gave Tom a severe beating.
Perhaps this could be understood as a berserker potion?
With this, he felt a bit of security; at least he wasn't a complete weakling anymore.
Zhang Da Ye took out a cigar from his inventory, planning to see if it was really that magical.
Looking at the brown stick-like object in his hand, Zhang Da Ye was stumped. He didn't smoke himself, and with the cigar in his hand, he didn't even know which end was up.
He could only ask Tom how to use it.
Tom, of course, was an expert. He reached behind his back, pulled out a small tool, and clip-clip, trimmed the cigar for Zhang Da Ye, then put it into Zhang Da Ye's mouth.
Then he reached behind his back again, pulled out a match, and with a 'shhh' sound, struck it against the sole of his foot. The match lit up, and he gestured for Zhang Da Ye to bring the cigar closer and inhale deeply.
Zhang Da Ye did as he was told. The cigar lit smoothly. Mimicking a smoker, he held the cigar between two fingers, took it from his mouth, and exhaled a puff of white smoke.
"Hello world!"
The white smoke condensed into two words, maintaining its shape for a few seconds before drifting away with the wind.
"It actually works!" Zhang Da Ye found it very novel. Other than that, he didn't understand anything; he couldn't even smoke, he just took a puff and blew it out.
Tom watched Zhang Da Ye blow smoke rings, showing a very interested expression. He also pulled out a cigar from behind him, trimmed and lit it himself.
White smoke formed: "Go on!"
Zhang Da Ye was amused. He took another puff and blew it out, but nothing happened. He tried again, disbelieving, but it still didn't work: "No use, only the first puff can be controlled."
Tom tilted his head, inhaled, exhaled, and white smoke formed two Chinese characters: "Really?"
Zhang Da Ye was dumbfounded, but Tom's performance wasn't over. From simple round smoke rings to English letters, then to Chinese characters, he could do almost anything, even blowing smoke rings from his ears.
Finally, he blew a smiling cat face as a finale.
"Alright, Tom, you're really amazing. I'm just a weakling who relies on items." Zhang Da Ye could only admit his inadequacy.
Tom crossed his arms, his mouth moving, the cigar shifting from the left corner of his mouth to the right, revealing a smug expression.
Zhang Da Ye snatched the cigar from Tom's mouth and extinguished both it and the one in his own hand: "Okay, stop playing. Smoking is bad for your health."
This was definitely not jealousy. By the way, would smoking really harm Tom's health?
Zhang Da Ye made a motion to throw the cigars away, then thought better of it and pulled his hand back, trying to put them into his inventory. Tom's cigar couldn't be put in, but his own could, though it took up an extra slot.
Used Show-Off Cigar: No special effects, but for smokers, its taste is truly wonderful.
No idea what's wonderful about it... Forget it, I'll keep it for now. Anyway, there are plenty of slots. What if I need it later?
The hamster-player mentality kicked in: as long as there's space in the backpack, he couldn't bear to throw anything away.
As for the other item, the Magical Milk, Zhang Da Ye took it out, looked at it, and put it back. It was genuinely bubbling and looked like it was about to explode at any moment; even Tom looked a bit nervous.
Zhang Da Ye didn't dare to try it, nor did he want to waste it. He'd save it for later when there was danger and he needed to go all out.
Checking the time, Zhang Da Ye decided to exercise a bit longer. It could both charge the magic array and strengthen his body, killing two birds with one stone.
Watching the numbers slowly rise, Zhang Da Ye was invigorated. "Help me up, I can still run!"
He managed to run for half an hour, raising the energy to 43%. This time, Zhang Da Ye was truly exhausted, panting non-stop.
He found that running speed also affected the energy increase. Overall, a slow jog for an hour and a half would accumulate enough energy, and running faster might achieve it in an hour.
He also tried other exercises like push-ups. They did increase energy, but their efficiency seemed lower than running.
In short, he would have to stick to at least an hour and a half of exercise every day from now on. As his stamina grew, he might be able to charge it multiple times a day.
Given Zhang Da Ye's current physical strength, any type of exercise was a tough challenge. At this moment, he deeply envied those fitness enthusiasts.
But no matter how difficult, he had to persevere. If he was too weak, he would never feel safe in this world.
Zhang Da Ye, dragging his weary body, slowly walked back with Tom.
He had been so focused on charging earlier that he hadn't properly admired the island's scenery. Fortunately, he didn't have Zoro's severe sense of direction, or he definitely wouldn't have found his way back.
He looked left and right, observing the exotic buildings, the bustling pedestrians, and the bubbles that occasionally rose from the ground.
Tom curiously watched people riding bikes inside bubbles, and others putting their luggage into bubbles, pulling them with a rope like balloons.
"Tom, try this!" Zhang Da Ye casually caught a bubble floating in front of him and pressed it onto Tom's head.
Before Tom understood what was happening, his head was already inside a basketball-sized bubble.
At first, he was a bit flustered, but then he realized it was fine. His breathing was smooth, and his vision wasn't affected.
Zhang Da Ye waved his hand in front of Tom's eyes: "Don't feel uncomfortable, do you? Want to try getting completely inside?"
Tom was tempted; cats always inexplicably want to get into round things.
So, curious Tom was completely stuffed into a bubble by Zhang Da Ye, curling up into a cat-ball, his big eyes blinking innocently.
As Zhang Da Ye let go, the bubble containing Tom floated upwards.
It is said that the bubbles here are formed when the roots of the mangrove trees below breathe out gas, filling the special resin secreted by the roots.
These bubbles would continue to rise until they left the special environment of Sabaody Archipelago before bursting.
As a science student, Zhang Da Ye instinctively thought about the density of the air exhaled by the tree roots compared to normal air. The bubbles' ascent seemed unscientific?
Not to mention there was a cat inside.
Huh? Where's my cat?
Zhang Da Ye looked up and saw Tom staring in terror at the ground getting further and further away, struggling to get out of the bubble.
"Tom, use your claws! Make bigger cuts and you can get out!"
Tom looked as if he had been granted a great pardon. He extended his claws, scratched hard, and the bubble popped with a 'pa' sound.
Tom's face lit up with joy, then he seemed to suddenly remember something. He poked his tail downwards and found it was empty. With a 'whoosh,' he plummeted, scaring Tom so much his eyes bulged, and his limbs flailed in the air.
Zhang Da Ye quickly reached out to catch him, but was a step too slow.
Tom hit the ground with a 'paji' sound, flattened into a cat pancake.
"Uh..." Zhang Da Ye bent down, peeled the cat pancake off the ground, and held it in his hands. Then he saw Tom instantly puff back to his original shape.
"Tom, I remember your profile saying you have an immortal body. How about we do some tests or something?"
Zhang Da Ye remembered that Tom could recover no matter if he was chopped, flattened, burned to ashes, or anything else. He had just witnessed him flattened; should they try something else next?
Tom looked at Zhang Da Ye in horror, his eyes as if looking at a demon.