Chapter 431

As he spoke, Robin noticed Sima Di's flickering gaze. The asylum he had mentioned to her earlier had not been brought up. He must have felt that the process was not as simple as he had described, but even harder to put into words.

Perhaps this experience was something that could not be confessed even to the closest of people.

"... In the end, I figured it out. Running away forever leads nowhere; the situation would only keep getting worse. Once they found a new successor, this game would continue. And I would die, and my parents would not be spared."

"Besides... why did the experiment turn into a death game? Mostly because of the absurd rules set by the organizers. If the experiment could study the evil side of humanity, it could certainly study the good side. So I began to think about how to make people trigger positive emotions in such an extreme environment, and even find a way for everyone to survive."

"Finally, I thought of it. And I wrote a book..."

"That book is called the Death Game Survival Guide, right?" Sanji continued Sima Di's sentence.

"Huh? How did you know?" Sima Di was stunned.

"In Alabasta, I once met that so-called Seventh Generation, and he mentioned my book title to me. At first, I thought that guy was a fan of Little Sima Di. I never expected... If I had known this, I would have tried my hardest to keep that guy. Then Little Sima Di's eyes wouldn't have been injured." Sanji's eyes held some guilt.

"What are you trying to prove? You didn't attack the Seventh Generation, but his deputy, Machinaga. He is a genuine man. Although his clothes are a bit strange, I can't imagine you attacking a man." Sima Di said with a smile.

"Then... Sima Di." Nami interrupted, looking at Sima Di with expectant eyes, "In the end, did you succeed?"

"Yes, of course." Sima Di smiled as he thought of it. "Cheng Yu, Xue Lihong, White, Zi Zi Busheng, Bruce... were all survivors of that generation. That means, besides us, there were thirteen companions who fought against the Spades together with us."

"I see... no wonder I always had a strange feeling. I was wondering how Sima Di could have so many relatives." Nami nodded.

"There were people helping... that makes it much better..." Usopp seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Hey, Sima Di, according to your story, you failed once before, right? The Ninety-Ninth Generation." Zoro said.

Sima Di was stunned, and the smile on his face quickly faded. "Uh... I didn't know about that generation at the beginning. How should I put it... At that time, my guide was only ninety percent complete. But the butler couldn't wait any longer; a game had to be held at least once a year, and my reasons had already caused a delay. So he had to hold it, and thus he took that unfinished book and held that generation's game on his own. Dong Yi of the Eleventh Generation was the sole survivor of that generation. I once wanted to crush him in the cradle, but it seems I failed... That's roughly the situation."

The image of that young man appeared again in Sima Di's mind. He had a delicate appearance like the fresh meat idols of today, quite handsome, but his body was very frail, and his face always carried a gloomy expression.

Although Dong Yi was a taciturn child, he was quite close to Sima Di, always smiling and calling him "Xi" over and over. Perhaps because of this, Sima Di lowered his guard, thinking he was a survivor who had survived by luck just like himself. Out of pity, Sima Di kept Dong Yi by his side as his deputy.

However, by the time Sima Di recognized Dong Yi's true nature, it was too late. He had already grown up, and even if Sima Di wanted to kill Dong Yi, it had become a difficult task. So much so that Sima Di had to use that method of poisoning, wanting to send both of them to Huang Quan together.

Everyone nodded, indicating they understood.

"Anyway! Our target is that Heitaona Gang, right!" Luffy rubbed his hands together.

The others also showed expressions full of fighting spirit. And Usopp, who was usually timid, showed no fear at all at this moment.

Under the surprised gazes of everyone, Sima Di knelt down with a thud, tears glistening in the corners of his eyes buried in the shadows.

"With my own strength alone, I cannot stand against those guys! So, everyone, please!"

"Ooh!"

Everyone answered loudly.

(However, at this moment, no one among them could have expected that fate would play such a trick on the world.)

"Speaking of which..." Luffy's face suddenly became extremely serious.

Everyone's gaze instantly focused on him, and Sima Di was even more nervous. Did Luffy notice something we didn't?

"We..."

Everyone nodded, waiting for Luffy's next words with full concentration.

"... 1.0 What are we eating for dinner tonight?" Luffy chuckled.

"Damn it! Go eat your dragon meat!" Sima Di punched him without hesitation.

Luffy took the punch, showing no sign of remorse; instead, his eyes sparkled, and drool flowed all over the ground.

"Dragon meat... must be delicious..."

"I was just making a metaphor... there isn't any, you won't find it." Sima Di shook his head hurriedly. "You should go catch your fish."

"Huh~~~~ Why like this... so disappointing." Luffy puffed his cheeks. "I want to eat dragon meat..."

"I heard shark meat is very similar to dragon meat, go ahead." Sima Di casually made an excuse.

"Is it true?"

"Yes, go quickly."

"Okay!" Luffy immediately perked up, preparing all the fishing gear within a second. "Usopp! Let's go catch sharks!"

Usopp looked at him with a face full of cold sweat. "No way... it looks like a lie at first glance. It's definitely a lie."

However, Luffy completely ignored Usopp's protest and stuffed the fishing rod and bucket into his arms.

"I hope they catch something good... I'll go make some afternoon tea for the Ladies first." Sanji put out his cigarette and turned to walk into the kitchen.

The others dispersed, each attending to their own duties.

"Then... Sima Di, you should prepare to start cultivating too." Zoro threw a sentence at Sima Di and then walked towards the training ground.

Although Sima Di wrinkled his whole face, he obediently followed Zoro.

Originally, Zoro was responsible for the crow's nest, which also had a series of fitness equipment. But with the addition of Merry, it became Merry's residence, filled with a pile of dolls.

Although Sima Di had modeling abilities, his capability range was only to protect the ship and explore a limited area of nearby seas; further areas still required human vigilance. In the past, this task was completed by Sima Di's spirit constructs, but now it was officially handed over to Merry, who needed no sleep or rest.

Correspondingly, at Zoro's request, Franky built a relatively large training ground on the First Basement Level, on the same floor as Usopp's workshop, Franky's weapon development room, the shipyard system, the ammunition depot, and so on.

The training ground was fully equipped with facilities, and the space was large enough to serve as a training room for everyone. Moreover, since the hull was made of Adam Wood, there was no need to worry about it being easily destroyed.

About an hour later, Sima Di suddenly felt something and looked up sharply.

"What's wrong?" Zoro asked.

"Luffy and the others seem to have pulled up a rather interesting bucket... Want to go up and take a look?"

Sima Di said with a smile.

In this mysterious sea shrouded by fog, a pirate ship moved slowly within it, as if walking in an endless darkness, making one's heart race.

The crew on the ship said nothing, staring wide-eyed at this mysterious and unpredictable sea area.

It is said that ships entering this terrifying triangle area would disappear forever.

It is said that dozens of ships have disappeared here this month, as if swallowed by a black hole, leaving not even a scrap of residue.

It is said that a crew member who barely escaped was so emaciated he looked like a corpse crawling out of a graveyard, and the moment he touched the sunlight, he let out a scream like a dying vampire.

They were merely sailing normally in this sea area.

How did we end up in this sea area?

The silence pressed heavy psychological weight upon them. One crewmember tried to speak and break the tension—but the instant he opened his mouth, a hollow, icy song drifted from deep within the mist.

That long, lilting tune carried a sorrow that had lingered for a hundred years.

"Yohohoho~ yohohoho~ yohohoho~ yohohoho~"

"I'll bring you Binks' Sake~"

"I sail the open sea, riding the wind and waves~"

"Waves surge~ the sunset stirs~"

"Birdsong pierces the endless sky~"

Heaven knows what impulse Sima Di held back, refraining from joining Brook in "yohohoho."

It was like hearing ordinary disco and Quan Yu Tian Xia on the street and still managing not to nod your head or shake your leg.

After much discussion, they finally resorted to drawing lots to decide who would board the ship to investigate.

Sima Di looked at his white slip, and sighed, shrugging.

It seemed he wouldn't meet Brook face-to-face after all.

The crew watched Luffy, Nami, and Sanji depart, burdened with the mission to investigate the ghost ship.

"I'll go find crosses! Garlic! And everything I can think of to ward off evil!" Usopp trembled all over.

"Give me some too!"

"Me! Me! Me! And me!"

Chopper and Nami each clung to one of Usopp's legs, weeping.

"Don't forget rooster's blood and black donkey hooves," Sima Di added.

"Where the hell are we supposed to get that stuff?" Usopp complained.

"You don't need it…" Sima Di said, grinning wickedly. "Virgin urine wards off evil too. Come to think of it—you all… hehehe… should have no trouble getting it."

"Oh! Right! That's another way!"

To everyone's surprise, Usopp enthusiastically agreed—even Chopper nodded vigorously. Both completely ignored the grim expressions on Zoro and Franky's faces.

"It seems they've taken it completely seriously," Robin said with a smile.

"Haha… I was just joking," Sima Di said, slightly embarrassed. "Since they're gathering warding items, I'll go change clothes too."

"Wait… what's the connection between warding items and changing clothes?" Zoro said.

Sima Di shrugged.