When the first ray of sunlight shone on the deck of the explorer.
Over two hundred hungover pirates slowly opened their bewildered eyes.
"Ugh... my head..."
"Water... someone give me some water..."
"Where is this? Why is it shaking so much? More than my mother's rocking..."
Amidst the continuous, winding groans, a burly One-Eyed Man, who was Buck from last night, was the first to sit up.
He looked around blankly.
An unfamiliar deck, an unfamiliar ship, and all around him, lying crisscross, were all his drinking buddies from last night!
"Damn it! We've been kidnapped!"
Buck's desperate roar instantly sent the entire deck into an uproar.
The pirates scrambled to their feet, looking around warily.
Just then, the Captain's Cabin door opened.
Roger, dressed in a sharp captain's uniform, walked out with an arrogant stride.
Behind him followed Elizabeth, her face flushed.
"Oh, you're awake?"
Roger scanned the two hundred fierce pirates before him, showing no fear, but instead a benevolent smile.
"Welcome, new colleagues, to the explorer's onboarding ceremony."
"What kind of damn onboarding ceremony!"
Buck raised his scimitar, pointing at Roger and roaring.
"Kid! What do you want to do with us on this ship?!"
"Don't get excited, Buck, right?"
Roger slowly walked up to him.
"I just want to give you all a chance to change your destiny."
"A chance to become superior people."
He cleared his throat and began his "pirate onboarding training" speech.
"I know many of you have unsatisfactory lives."
"Going out to rob, nine out of ten times you come back empty-handed, and the remaining one time you get chased across the sea by the Royal Navy."
"But! From today on, everything will change!"
"As long as you join us, you will not only have an endless supply of rum, but also gain the ability of immortality!"
Roger's words caused a stir among the pirates.
"Bullshit! Didn't that kid get stabbed to death yesterday!"
Someone shouted from the crowd.
"Dead?" Roger smiled.
"Who said he was dead?"
He snapped his fingers.
"Billy!"
Billy, with his big yellow teeth, made another dazzling appearance.
He walked up to Buck and pointed to his stomach.
"Come on, yesterday was yesterday, today is today."
"Stab me again."
Buck was skeptical, but the knife in his hand still plunged in without hesitation.
"Pfft!"
The familiar recipe, the familiar taste.
The knife, it went in again.
Buck was about to mock, but was shocked to find.
This time, not a single drop of blood flowed out.
Billy looked down at the knife in his stomach, and then, under everyone's horrified gaze, he pulled the knife out.
The hideous wound healed rapidly at a visible speed, leaving no scar behind.
"..."
The entire deck was silent.
"Surprised? Unexpected?"
Billy held the still-dripping knife and waved it in front of Buck's eyes.
"Now, do you believe me?"
Buck's face instantly turned paler than Elizabeth's dress.
He looked at Billy's perfectly intact stomach, then at the knife in his own hand, feeling his brain wasn't working.
"This... this is witchcraft! It's the devil's trick!"
"Brothers! Don't be fooled by him! Kill him!"
Buck roared, feigning courage.
A dozen pirates, terrified but also pushed to a dead end, charged at Roger like madmen.
Roger didn't even bat an eyelid.
"Gibbs, Hanson, stretch your muscles."
"Yes! Captain!"
Hanson and several other old crew members grinned menacingly and met them.
A bloody and violent one-sided beating began.
"Clang!"
A pirate's knife slashed Hanson's neck, and Hanson's head fell off.
He fumbled on the deck for a long time before finding his head and reattaching it.
That pirate rolled his eyes and fainted straight away.
"Pfft!"
Another pirate's longsword pierced Gibbs's chest.
Gibbs didn't even look, directly grabbed the pirate's head, and slammed it hard against the deck.
The most exaggerated was Billy.
He simply spread his arms, allowing three or four knives to simultaneously hack at his body.
Then, he grinned.
"Haven't you all eaten? You... are truly terribly weak!"
In less than a minute.
A dozen rebellious pirates were all lying on the deck, bruised and swollen, having lost their fighting ability.
As for Hanson and the others, although they had several holes in their bodies, they were still full of vigor.
They were even comparing whose wounds looked cooler.
The other new pirates were completely dumbfounded.
Their worldview, outlook on life, and values were shattered at this moment.
What the hell were these people?
These were clearly a group of monsters crawled out of hell!
Roger then slowly walked up to Buck, who was terrified and slumped on the ground, squatted down, and patted his face.
"Now, any more questions?"
Buck shook his head frantically.
Damn it, this was cheating, how could he fight, he wisely chickened out.
"Very good."
Roger stood up and surveyed all the new crew members who had been scared out of their wits.
"I announce that the explorer's new recruit training is successfully concluded!"
"From now on, you are all my people."
"As long as you are willing to serve me wholeheartedly, I can bestow upon you the ability of immortality!"
Roger said, while fiddling with the system.
He was observing the loyalty of these new members.
Now, he just needed to pick the biggest idiot, the one with the least sense, and max out his loyalty.
After he demonstrated the miracle of immortality, they would naturally obey him.
But Roger searched for a long time and couldn't find a typical one.
Most of these pirates' loyalties were negative.
Well, it wasn't surprising that they were all negative.
Anyone who was abducted here would feel resentful.
Roger's eyes darted around, and an idea came to him.
After some thought, Roger pulled out his "old actor"—the remaining gold coins in his pocket.
Then, under the greedy gaze of all the pirates, he directly threw them to the bewildered Buck.
"Buck, I've always thought you have great organizational skills."
"I greatly admire your courage and wisdom."
"Now, these gold coins are all yours!"
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