Chapter 144: Task Objective: The Near Sea King Contest!

"Strange."

"To think that even Arlong and Krieg have run off to Orange Town; this is truly interesting..."

Fang Yi stepped onto the deck, and soon an employee dressed as a waiter led him into the restaurant.

This was a ship, and also a restaurant.

The Baratie, the most prestigious sea restaurant in the East Blue, was a place even some Navy generals would make a special trip to for a taste of its delicacies.

Fang Yi led the white-haired loli A Fu to a seat in the corner of the restaurant and said politely, "Bring out all of your signature dishes."

In the center of the restaurant, a giant Den Den Mushi screen was playing a documentary resembling a Navy exercise.

"All of them..."

The waiter gave him a quick look and said hesitantly, "Our menu at the Baratie is quite extensive; if you were to taste them all..."

With his normal, well-proportioned build, and the little girl he was leading being even less of a factor, they didn't look like a pair capable of finishing all the signature dishes.

"Sorry, guest, but if you waste food, even a Navy general would be fined!"

Hearing Fang Yi's request, a waiter nearby with golden hair, curled eyebrows, and a suit spoke in a somewhat stiff tone.

He hated people who wasted food more than anything.

"It's fine, we will eat it all."

Fang Yi waved his hand to indicate it was no problem.

Although A Fu was a weakling, she was also the World Consciousness; swallowing the entire East Blue in one go would be a breeze for her, let alone a table of food.

"Is that so?"

Sanji did not argue, but his eyes remained full of doubt.

If it weren't for the fact that he had been punished by the head chef for repeatedly talking back to customers, and that he would lose his qualification to cook if he made another mistake, he wouldn't have served a customer like this at all.

But hindered by the authority of the head chef, Red Leg Zhepu, he had no choice but to endure it.

He whispered to the waiter, "Serve each dish slowly; once they are full, they naturally won't keep ordering."

"Is that okay?"

The waiter asked nervously.

Other chefs didn't share Sanji's habit of hating food waste, and ordering every signature dish was definitely a hefty bill.

Sanji scanned left and right, and after finding that no one was paying attention, he said, "I'll do the cooking; don't tell the others."

Having been kicked out of the kitchen for two days, his hands were itching to cook.

Moreover, Sanji had absolute confidence in his culinary skills; Fang Yi and his companion would definitely finish every dish until they were stuffed.

"Logically speaking, the Contract Fruits I scattered should trigger tasks closest to the Contractor; it's impossible for everyone to be attracted to Orange Town."

"So, is the Pirate World Consciousness more active, sensing that I've taken the East Blue's origin, and intentionally guiding the pirates to slaughter each other?"

When a pirate dies, their origin is reclaimed by the Pirate World Consciousness.

No wonder the famous and powerful pirates of the East Blue were all gathered together.

A Fu asked anxiously, "Master, what should we do? Should we stop their slaughter?"

Once the pirates die, the power of the Contract Fruit will also dissipate.

The Samsara Game would not only fail to obtain the origin, but even the origin rewarded to the pirates through the Contract Fruit would be swallowed back by the Pirate World.

Fang Yi shook his head and said helplessly, "It seems the Pirate World Consciousness doesn't want to cultivate pirates and the Navy, but intends to place all its bets on that Rubber Fruit."

For example, the Ninja World, while also rejecting outsiders, does not resist me drawing out its origin to cultivate ninjas.

Because ninjas are also a part of the Ninja World; as ninjas grow stronger, the Ninja World also grows stronger and evolves.

The Pirate World is the same.

If pirates and the Navy keep getting stronger, the Pirate World would also grow into a higher-ranked world.

Therefore, the Ninja World judged my actions as a win-win situation and would not interfere.

But now, I am facing resistance from the Pirate World.

A Fu asked hesitantly, "Do we need to issue a new Contract Task to forcibly separate the gathered pirates?"

"Separate the pirates and avoid the slaughter?"

Fang Yi laughed and asked in confusion, "Do I look like a nice guy, or some self-proclaimed moral saint?"

"Neither."

Fang Yi's smile was gentle, yet carried a faint coldness as he said, "I am just an ordinary person resisting the Pollution Source to avoid being swallowed!"

"The win-win situation exists because resisting the Pollution Source is a lonely task, and I need countless worlds as partners."

"But if they are unwilling, rather than waiting for the Pirate World's origin to be swallowed by the Polluted World and become a blade aimed at my neck, it would be better to be swallowed by me directly."

"I scattered the Contract Fruits and recruited players, but I never had any intention of negotiating with the Pirate World!"

Fang Yi pretended to reach into his pocket,

and pulled out a pitch-black, towering Trial Tower, opened the window, and tossed it into the sea.

An invisible ripple began to spread rapidly from the Baratie across the entire East Blue.

Rules.

The rules of the Samsara Game instantly covered the entire East Blue.

In the distant Orange Town,

the surrounding sea began to boil as if it were being cooked; a Game Trial Tower suddenly emerged from the water, and an invisible force instantly enveloped all the nearby fruit Contractors and players.

【Event: Near Sea King Contest】

Game Content: Whoever can hunt the 【Near Sea King】 will be the final winner.

Event Reward: Lucky Roulette draw attempts *9

Game rules: All Reincarnation Players and Contract Fruit possessors.

……

Inexplicable black text suddenly appeared in the sky over the East Blue.

No matter where one stood in the East Blue, as long as they looked up, they could clearly see the light screen and the black text.

Some newspaper offices with keen instincts, though unable to figure out what the light screen was, had already set up Den Den Mushi to capture the changes happening in the East Blue and broadcast them via Den Den Mushi.

Their newspaper offices were not the Navy, which maintained order; the livelier and more sensational, the better.

"Near Sea King Contest?"

On an island used as a base by the Black Cat Pirates, the new Captain Jango looked up at the moving text in the sky.

Ever since becoming Reincarnation Players, they had found an island rich in resources and started a legitimate business, hiring local villagers to mine mineral veins and excavate resources, then selling them for money to exchange for a steady stream of Reward Points.

"It's an event from the Samsara Game; should we participate?"

The one speaking was the new Vice-Captain of the Black Cat Pirates, the cat-man brother Sham, with sharp claws and well-groomed green hair that looked exceptionally eye-catching.

Beside him were the burly and sturdy Captain-Commander of combat Buchi, and the rest of the Black Cat Pirates' players.

"We are stationed on this island, selling resources—isn't it all for the sake of Reward Points?"

Jango pushed up his pink glasses and said, "Any reward drawn from the Lucky Roulette is a high-end item worth tens of thousands of Reward Points; even if we sell it, it would offset our entire year of operations. We must participate in the event!"

(End of this chapter)