Chapter 345: Random Simulation World Training Card? A Must-Buy!
A Random Simulation World Training Card…
It would select one of three random worlds to enter and train in for a year, using that world's power system to improve oneself. And in reality, only one week would pass.
Shane had to admit, this item was very tempting.
If he had gotten this last year, or even a few months ago, he wouldn't have considered it. But now, things were different. He had truly reached the ceiling of what he could achieve in this world. And he had completely fallen out with Imu. That guy couldn't leave the Chamber of Flowers for now, but no one could say how long that restriction would last. He had to become stronger before then!
But…
"50,000 points?" he muttered, glancing at his current balance.
20,600. He was more than halfway short. And the next refresh was in thirty days. Could he gather 50,000 points in thirty days?
"Maybe it's worth a try."
Shane calculated. It was now early September of the year 1517 in the Sea Circle Calendar. A year ago, he had been on Mihawk's island, training with his crew for two months, before they had even entered the New World.
In other words, the characters he had fleeced before reaching Fish-Man Island had passed the one-year cooldown period and could be fleeced again. This included Water 7, Alabasta, the Sakura Kingdom, and…
"Kaido."
Shane snorted. That guy shouldn't have been on the list, but he had insisted on showing up in Water 7.
Perfect.
Now, among the Yonko crews in the New World, Red-Hair and Whitebeard had been thoroughly fleeced by him, from top to bottom. Only the Beast Pirates were still a fertile, untapped land.
Although Shane didn't think much of Oden, Momonosuke, the Kozuki clan, or the samurai of Wano—in fact, he despised them—that didn't mean that after unifying the New World, he would continue to tolerate Kurozumi Orochi ruining the country.
He had been busy fighting the World Government and hadn't had time to deal with it. Now, with his shortage of points, it was time to handle it and harvest a fresh wave of wool while he was at it.
Shane quickly formulated a plan.
Of course, he had to check the rest first. He flipped through the pages to see if there were any other useful items in this batch. If there wasn't anything reliable, he was determined to get that training card.
Shane turned the page to the next item—
[EVA Unit-02]
[Type: Equipment]
[Price: 9,000 points]
[Description: From the world of Evangelion, a red humanoid decisive battle weapon, about 80 meters tall, equipped with a Progressive Knife and a Positron Rifle. Original pilot: Asuka Langley Soryu.]
[Seller's Note: Finally got it! Who needs Asuka when you have this?! Hahaha! Launch, Crimson Typhoon!]
Shane clicked his tongue. Good stuff. But unfortunately, useless to him right now.
Next!
[Infinite Happy Beans]
[Type: Special Item]
[Price: 3,000 points]
[Description: From the world of DouDizhu (Fight the Landlord), a supreme item. Upon purchase, you gain the privilege of claiming 3,000 Happy Beans an infinite number of times.]
[Seller's Note: Dou-dou-dou-dou-dou-dou-dou!]
"?" Shane was baffled. He wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him. What the hell is this? He knew the multiverse was full of weird things, but could such a world really exist? Did that fellow transmigrator just play cards all day? Sounds relaxing.
Shane rolled his eyes and continued flipping. Envy aside, please don't pollute his gacha pool with items he had absolutely no use for.
However… it seemed this pool didn't need polluting. Perhaps it was karma for his good luck in the previous rounds. Page after page, without exception, was filled with useless trash.
"The Krabby Patty Secret Formula? How can you even sell this? And for 10,000 points? Oh, the note says he transmigrated as Plankton. Never mind…"
"A tennis racket that creates mini black holes? 20,000 points?"
"What is Kyubei's penile implant?"
"Wait, what does Shin-chan's elephant mean?"
Shane's face grew darker with each page. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and closed the system panel, his eye twitching. He realized that this round of the trade market was all about weirdness. He had thought he would get a big haul, but apart from the training card, there wasn't a single thing worth looking at!
But that was fine. It saved him trouble. It allowed him to focus all his energy on one thing—gathering 50,000 points within a month to buy the card!
Sheep of the four seas, your king is returning!
Shane grinned, looking out past the railing to the distant horizon. And just in time, the grand banquet to celebrate their victory in the war was about to begin. He would start there, taking the first step! He would try not to miss anyone, harvesting the wool from all the sheep attending the banquet!
Two days later.
Dawn Island, the headquarters of the Curtain Call Adventurers.
A celebration banquet of unprecedented scale was being held here, as scheduled.
It was evening at the port, and the lights were just coming on. Ships were constantly arriving, and people in uniforms were walking in groups towards the castle in the center of the island, chatting and laughing. From the insignias on their chests, it was clear that the attendees came not only from the Combat Corps, but also the Infrastructure Corps, the Training Corps, and the Garrison Corps…
They came from various islands in the New World, from the Curtain Call's ever-expanding territories. There were officers and ordinary grassroots representatives. Together, they celebrated the defeat of Marine Headquarters and the complete victory of the Curtain Call!
Of course, there were also some guests not in uniform, allies and partners from various industries who had traveled from afar. Among them, the most eye-catching was undoubtedly the massive, white whale-shaped Moby Dick.
Marco walked at the front, hands in his pockets, smiling. Behind him, Diamond Jozu, Vista the Flower Sword, Izo, and other commanders disembarked, immediately causing a stir among the onlookers.
"Hey, even the Whitebeard Pirates are here for the banquet!"
"Hehe, of course. Who in this sea would dare not give Lord Shane face now? I heard even Whitebeard himself is here!"
"Hah? Really?! I have to go tell my grandma! She's been a fan of Whitebeard since she was young!"
"Pwahahaha, go get her! Would I lie to you? Look! Isn't that him coming down?!"
…
In the center of the island, on the castle square. Long tables had been set up, and the place was packed. Food and wine were constantly being served, the sizzling of barbecue grills mingling with cheerful music.
The accompaniment came from a musician who had recently become famous in the New World. This renowned musician traveled with a giant whale, free and unrestrained. Many dreamed of hearing him play but never got the chance. His appearance on Dawn Island was not at the Curtain Call's request. It seemed Lord Shane had done him a great favor in the past. Out of gratitude, he had come voluntarily to perform for free.
"Let me play 'Binks' Sake' for everyone! Oh? The atmosphere has heated up! I see it all! Ah, although I don't have eyes anymore, I can still feel your passion! Yohohoho~"
The crowd burst into laughter.
"Then, let's begin!" Brook smiled. He plucked the violin strings deftly with his skeletal fingers and began to sing.
"Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho~"
"Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho~"
"Gather up all of the crew, it's time to ship out Binks' brew~"
"Sea wind blows, to where, who knows? The waves will be our guide~"
The melodious song and violin echoed under the night sky. People joined in from time to time, pushing the banquet's atmosphere to a climax.
Shane sat at the main table, drinking with Whitebeard. The surrounding officers were laughing and chatting. The two sides had always had a good relationship, and after fighting together, it had reached a new level.
"Come, another glass, Newgate! You can still drink, right?!"
"Nonsense! Who do you think you're talking to?!"
CLINK!
Shane raised his glass and clinked it heavily against Whitebeard's. The liquid rippled in the moonlight, reflecting their hearty smiles.
"GURARARARA!" Whitebeard drained his glass in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and laughed. "Good wine! Truly good wine! I can't remember the last time I drank so freely! Good thing that brat Marco isn't here, or he'd be stopping me again…"
"I'm right here, Pops!" At the next table, Marco rolled his eyes. "Stop testing me. Since this is a super banquet celebrating a great victory, I'll let you drink freely this once."
"Gurararara! You said it!" Whitebeard's eyes lit up. He slammed the table and stood up, shaking the entire long table. "Brats! Drink up! We're not stopping until we're drunk tonight!"
"YEAAAAHHHH!!!!" The Whitebeard Pirates cheered in unison. Jozu brought over two large barrels of wine, one on each shoulder. Whitebeard took one and, skipping the glass, chugged straight from the barrel.
Shane shook his head with a smile. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Brook finishing a song and walking over. The skeleton musician bowed gracefully. "Lord Shane, were you satisfied with that song?"
"A perfect performance," Shane gave him a thumbs-up and offered him a glass of wine with a smile. "Have a drink with us. By the way, how is Laboon doing?"
"Thanks to you, he's very happy every day!" Brook said cheerfully. Laboon had been able to let go of his obsession and stop harming himself at Reverse Mountain because of this man. Even he himself had been able to escape the Florian Triangle and wander the world with Laboon because of him. Coupled with the stories he had heard and seen about the Curtain Call over the past year… he had nothing but heartfelt reverence for Shane.
How high was this reverence? Even though Kuina and Robin, sitting next to Shane, were both beautiful and charming ladies, the skeleton gentleman resisted the urge to ask to see their panties.
After draining his glass, Brook bowed to Shane again and happily returned to the stage to continue playing. Being praised by his idol made his work even more exciting!
But… the skeleton gentleman stood in front of the microphone, tiptoeing and then crouching down, looking all around. Finally, he stood there blankly, scratching his head in confusion.
Eh, where's my violin? It was just here a moment ago. Did some mischievous kid steal it? Speaking of which… didn't the Curtain Call have a notoriously mischievous young lady? Brook turned his head, his suspicious gaze falling on Nami, who was giggling and teasing Gin…
Meanwhile.
The crowd at the tables continued to drink to their heart's content.
[You have sacrificed Brook's violin. You have received 1,800 points.]
Not bad. Shane withdrew his gaze from the system panel with satisfaction. The banquet was lively and chaotic, and everyone had been drinking quite a bit, so it was easy to make his move. Even if someone lost something, they would never suspect the highly respected "King of the Four Seas."
Halfway through the banquet, he had already used a few bathroom breaks to sweep the entire venue and make a fat profit. Besides Brook, there were dozens of other sheep he hadn't fleeced before, contributing 2,600 points. This brought his total points to 25,000. The goal of 50,000 points was suddenly much closer, exactly halfway there.
"Shane…" a low murmur came from across the table.
Hmm? Shane looked up, puzzled, at Whitebeard.
"You remember, right? You saved me twice. I promised I would repay you properly…" Whitebeard hiccupped. His face was flushed red, and he reeked of alcohol. It looked like he was about to pass out on the table.
"Yeah, yeah, I remember," Shane dismissed it, thinking the old man was just drunk. "You can't hold it, can you? I've already arranged a room for you. Shall I have someone help you there?"
"Who can't hold it, you brat!" the old man suddenly shouted, slamming the wine barrel on the table so hard the entire square went silent.
"Pops?" The Whitebeard Pirates instinctively looked over.
"GURARARARA!" Just as everyone thought the two big shots were having an argument, Whitebeard pushed himself up to his full height of nearly seven meters, visible to dozens of tables around him. "Hey! Looking around, everyone from both sides is here. Taking this opportunity, I have something important to… to tell you all!"
Whitebeard looked around, his gaze sweeping over the faces of every Whitebeard commander and Curtain Call officer. He grinned, a hint of relief flashing in his drunken eyes.
"Gurararara, I'm almost seventy this year," he patted his muscular chest and chuckled. "Although I can still fight and have a bit of a reputation, this war has made me realize something. The remnants of the old era should have left the stage long ago. This sea, this era, ultimately belongs to the young!"
Diamond Jozu sensed something, his face shocked, and he shot to his feet. "Pops, are you…"
"Let Pops finish, Jozu," Marco pushed Jozu back down.
"Marco," Jozu turned. Marco was smiling slightly. Clearly, the man who knew Pops best had already anticipated Whitebeard's decision.
"So!" Whitebeard announced with a laugh.
"Starting today, I am retiring! The Whitebeard Pirates are officially disbanded! All territories, shipping routes, trade, and all other assets we control… will be taken over by the Curtain Call!"