Bogard finally let out a breath he'd been holding. The frost on his face thawed into the faintest smile.
"Then come aboard with us. When Vice Admiral Garp wakes up, I'll introduce you properly."
Net-Addict Girl nodded. Bogard flicked his gaze to two Marine colonels.
"Carry the Vice Admiral up, dress the wound, let him rest."
"Sir!"
They bent to lift Garp—who blinked awake on his own, scratched his head, and stood up like he'd only tripped on a stair.
"Eh? What happened? Why does my chest hurt?"
The Shells Town officer in charge went pale. "Vice Admiral, I thought you were dead."
"Anyone hurt?" Garp asked, then looked down at the dark bloom of red on his shirt. "Oh. Me?"
He said it so calmly that even the Marines nearby went: "…Huh?!"
Chat stared too.
[Hero of the Marines… gets one-shot by Morgan?]
[No way. If Morgan got folded by Net-Addict in two punches, how could he drop Garp?]
[Feels like the old man's… playing.]
[Whatever—Net-Addict's Iron Fist is legit.]
[Rename confirmed: "Iron-Fist Girl!"]
[@WhiteRobedOldThief thoughts?]
White-Robed: [I…]
Garp turned. "Bogard, Morgan didn't get away, did he?"
"No," Bogard said, then inclined his head toward the pink-haired girl. "This lady dropped him when he tried to bolt. I've already invited her to join the Marines."
"Oh?" Garp's eyes lit. They slid from her face to her hands—small, pale, pretty. Pink hair would get side-eyed in the real world; on this sea, it barely raised a brow.
"When the old man dozed, I swear I heard you shout 'Iron Fist'," Garp said.
Net-Addict Girl nodded, not bothering to hide it. "I'm pretty handy with these."
Garp grinned. A kid with backbone. "What a coincidence. People call me Iron Fist too. How about a match?"
"Sure," she said. "What do I get if I win?"
Garp chuckled, thought for a beat. "If you beat me, I'll take you as my disciple. How's that?"
Net-Addict Girl wrinkled her nose. "Be a disciple of some crusty old man? Sounds like a bad deal."
Garp beamed at the first half… then the back half landed. His face warped theatrically.
"These fists of mine once ran wild across the Grand Line! That Pirate King Roger—"
She waved him off, smiling impishly. "Tell you what—if I win, make me a Marine Admiral."
Garp blinked. Around them, jaws dropped. Coby's heart dipped; that was his dream too—but he didn't have the guts to say it out loud.
Then Garp, of all people, nodded. "Done. If you lose, you'll be my disciple. If you win, I'll make sure you become an Admiral. Deal?"
"Deal." She bumped a small white fist to his broad, dark-tanned knuckles.
A strange, lopsided bond clicked into place.
One day, the name Iron-Fist Girl would roll across the sea like thunder, and pirates would flinch on instinct.
The escort line formed up again. They boarded the dog-headed battleship. As they were about to cast off, the Shells Town CO bowed.
"Please take care of your health, Vice Admiral."
"Right, you looked exhausted just now," another local Marine added. Net-Addict Girl hid a smile and glanced at her… provisional master.
Garp laughed twice, huge and booming. "That? I stayed up five nights trying to break my donut streak. After eight hundred forty-two without sleep, I got a bit drowsy."
He popped another donut into his mouth as if to underline the point.
Everyone: "Huh???"
Chat lost it.
[HE'S SO unserious 😂]
[Hall of Fame bio was right—favorite foods: donuts and senbei. Five days straight is criminal.]
[Is he really a Hero??]
[Bro this game is wild.]
[First time I've ever seen a three-sword swordsman who bites one in his mouth and it… works.]
[And this 'iron-fisted' Hero shows up as a lovable clown. Peak.]
The commotion ebbed, but the wave Garp kicked up didn't. The game's buzz climbed another tier; give it a few days of clips and shorts, and Gu Feng would be sitting on another 10+ million popularity points.
Outside town, the dog-headed battleship pulled away. On the mayor's recommendation, Garp took Coby and Helmeppo aboard, promising training at HQ. In another history, that would've been the turning point of their lives. In this one… the brightest spotlight had already been stolen. With her around, Garp's eye wouldn't stray.
…
Haifeng Studio HQ.
Knock, knock.
Li Jing stepped into Gu Feng's office. "Gu Feng, WindSnow just announced Fishermen Era public beta."
"How many slots?" he asked, eyebrow sliding up. He wasn't worried anymore; in her mind, Top 1 was only a matter of time.
"They opened a hundred for closed beta. This time they're adding four hundred, up to five hundred total."
"Got it." Gu Feng glanced at the dashboard: popularity north of 50 million now. He smiled. "We'll push an announcement too: ninety more public-beta slots at month-end."
"Only ninety?" Li Jing blinked. "We have cash after that ten-billion injection. We could scale the servers to match their five hundred."
Gu Feng shook his head. "Money's fine, Sis Jing. It's just… unnecessary."
What he didn't say: entry costs one million popularity each. He couldn't spin up extra seats even if he wanted to. But even 100 vs 500, he was confident. The Grand Line would be open by then.
"Alright, I'll prep it," Li Jing said, turning to go.
"Wait—one more thing," Gu Feng added, smiling. "Put this in the announcement: no lottery for our public-beta slots."
"No lottery?" She frowned. "Then how—"
"Applications. Full resumes. HR screens hard and sends me a final shortlist of a thousand. I'll pick the ninety."
Li Jing just stared. "We're… asking players to submit resumes for beta slots?"
"Problem?" he teased.
She opened her mouth, closed it again, thought about how different this game really was, and nodded. "On it."
That evening at 7:00 PM, the notice hit the Great Age of Voyages site. The forums, already hyper, went nuclear.
[Month-end public beta, fifteen days left!]
[Ninety slots… but did you see the form?!]
[I thought I'd click 'Enter' and pray to RNG. Instead—name, age, education, work history, skills?!]
[I'm here to play a game, not apply for a job!]
[No way I'm filling that. Boycott!]
[Yeah! Don't apply! Make Gu Dog cancel his test!]
WindSnow HQ hummed with the opposite vibe.
[Four hundred new slots—SO generous compared to "the other guy."]
[Other guy's doing ninety AND making you write a resume 🤣]
[Never seen a game demand CVs for beta. Peak clownery.]
Zhang Chi, Fishermen Era's lead, grinned at the praise—then, out of curiosity, opened the rival site. He clicked Apply… and laughed out loud at the questionnaire.
"Which genius cooked up this… strategy? Hunger marketing's fine, but for a game?"
He closed the tab.
He didn't notice his assistant—along with a dozen others—quietly filling in the form anyway. Nor did he see the top-floor corner office, where a woman in a white suit paused over the career field.
Qin Ruoxue typed carefully, line by line… and hit Submit.
Hook: Application inboxes began to flood. Somewhere in the stack, a pink-haired "Iron-Fist Girl" pinged a new mission:
[Marine Evaluation: Spar Garp (optional). Hidden: "Admiral Track" conditions unlocked (1/7).]
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