Chapter 2: Chapter Two: The Hunter

The “Hunter,” this mysterious “Cycle Paradise” had called Su Xiao by this name from the very beginning.

This title made Su Xiao feel strange, because he had never signed the so-called contract.

“What does the title ‘Hunter’ mean?”

Su Xiao’s question triggered a massive reaction from the “Cycle Paradise.”

【Ordinary people who sign the contract become Contractees, undertaking tasks for the Paradise in exchange for rewards.】

【A Hunter is a Contractee with special innate talent—these Contractees are better suited for combat.】

【While Hunters carry out ordinary tasks, the Paradise will simultaneously issue Hunter missions to eliminate “abnormal” Contractees.】

【Query limit exhausted. The Paradise will no longer answer any questions from the Hunter. Sign the contract or await death.】

All light faded, leaving the surroundings pitch black.

An ancient-looking parchment appeared in midair, hanging suspended.

Su Xiao struggled to his feet and walked to the parchment.

The parchment was covered in strange symbols; at the bottom lay a large blank space.

【Yes/No: Sign the contract.】

Su Xiao vaguely sensed that if he signed this contract, his life would be utterly transformed.

He had too much to do—even if the path ahead was a bottomless abyss, he had no choice but to leap into it.

“I… agree.”

The moment Su Xiao spoke, his hand rose involuntarily, and his thumb pressed against the blank space on the parchment.

A sharp pain shot through his fingertip; a streak of vivid red blood stained the parchment, turning the entire sheet a pale crimson and emitting a faint metallic scent.

【Contract established! Beginning to repair the Hunter’s injuries.】

A pale green light appeared around Su Xiao, clinging to his body; within seconds, his injuries were completely healed.

【Injury repair complete. Forcing awakening of Hunter talent.】

No sooner had his body returned to normal than a searing pain erupted across every part of him.

The pain struck suddenly, causing every vein on Su Xiao’s body to bulge.

But Su Xiao’s endurance surpassed that of ordinary men—he let out only a muffled groan and knelt on one knee.

The pain came abruptly and vanished just as quickly; Su Xiao sensed something within him had been awakened.

The sensation was not jarring—it felt as though he had always possessed this ability, but had never noticed it before.

【To visually represent the Hunter’s overall attributes, semi-digitalization is activated.】

【Warning: Semi-digitalization is a combat aid. If the heart, brain, or other vital organs suffer severe damage, the Hunter will still die. Exercise caution when entering “derivative dimensions.”】

【Hunter-specific trial begins. Failure to complete the trial will strip the Hunter’s status, reducing them to a regular Contractee. Death during a mission will result in permanent death.】

【Paradise Statute: Everything must be exchanged at equal value.】

No sooner had Su Xiao finished reading the text than his vision went black and he lost consciousness.

【Transportation initiating…】

When Su Xiao awoke again, he was inside a dilapidated hut.

The hut was only about ten square meters, its roof half-collapsed, with sunlight pouring directly through.

Thick webs lined the corners, caked with dust; the windows and door had vanished entirely, yet no light entered from outside—only piles of garbage filled the space, some having spilled in through the missing openings.

The ruined hut was buried beneath a massive garbage heap, with only the roof serving as an exit.

A pungent, sour stench filled the air; just as Su Xiao prepared to leave, a burning sensation flared on his arm.

A black tattoo shaped like a blade appeared on his forearm.

The pale blue text reappeared,

but this time it did not float in the air—it appeared directly within his vision, motionless even as he shifted his gaze, as if embedded into his retinas.

The text read:

Entering world: One Piece

World difficulty: Lv.6. Hell (This difficulty is exclusive to Hunter trials.)

World source: 0% (World source increases through exploration or interaction with current world characters; at the end of the world phase, it is combined with mission difficulty to determine the final rating.)

World overview: Sea, freedom, pirates, Marines, World Government.

Main quest: Assassinate the King of the Goa Kingdom.

Side quest: None.

Warning: Do not mention anything about the Paradise in this world. Violation will result in immediate execution!

Tip: This world is a high-tier “derivative world.” Do not leave the Goa Kingdom region, or world difficulty will rise drastically!

Tip: As this is the Hunter’s first entry into a world, the local language is automatically mastered. Duration: Three natural days.

World, begin!

The text vanished. Su Xiao began organizing the information he had gathered.

First, he had arrived at a mysterious place called the “Cycle Paradise.” He did not know its purpose, but his own goal was clear: gain power within the Cycle Paradise, for only with power could he seek revenge.

Second, he had somehow ended up in the “One Piece” world.

Though his aim was revenge, he sometimes watched anime to relax—no one could remain tense forever.

Based on his knowledge of the One Piece world, it was a high-risk realm where, in its later stages, powerful figures could sink entire islands or single-handedly annihilate nations.

Though skilled in killing techniques, Su Xiao was merely an ordinary man here—in a world teeming with inhuman monsters, every step was a struggle.

The word “Hell” in the world difficulty rating alone revealed how dangerous this world was.

As for the final mission, Su Xiao had no idea what it meant.

【Assassinate the King of the Goa Kingdom】—only those simple words, with no other clues.

As Su Xiao’s head throbbed, information flowed from the blade-shaped tattoo on his arm.

He could activate the “Mark” with his mind—the Mark being the blade tattoo on his forearm.

This object was vital and possessed many functions.

Su Xiao attempted to activate the Mark—he succeeded easily, and several lines of text floated before him.

One: Personal information.

Two: Missions.

Three: Storage space.

Four: Skills.

Five: Equipment.

Rank too low. Other functions locked…

At this point, Su Xiao could only use the first (Personal Information) and second (Missions) options.

He urgently needed to know the mission’s details; judging from the Cycle Paradise’s previous behavior, it would never tolerate failure—failure likely meant death.

The notion of being downgraded to a regular Contractee was almost certainly impossible. Though his contact had been brief, Su Xiao had sensed the Cycle Paradise’s cruelty.

He opened the mission option. The full mission details appeared.

【Main quest: Assassinate the King of the Goa Kingdom】

Difficulty level: Lv.3.

Mission overview: The Goa Kingdom lies in the East Blue, ruling nearby towns and villages, with the Windmill Village and Coroban Mountain nearby.

Mission details: Kill the King of the Goa Kingdom, “Philip Herbert,” who resides permanently within the royal palace—assassination difficulty is high.

Mission deadline: Within seventy-two hours.

Mission reward: Full activation of Hunter status.

……

Seeing this information, Su Xiao finally understood who he needed to kill and where he was.

No wonder the surroundings were filled with garbage—he was currently in the “Garbage Terminal,” the very trash mountain from the original story, burned down after the arrival of the Celestial Dragons.

In the original story, the protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and key figures Ace and Sabo had grown up on Coroban Mountain, where a band of bandits also lived.

He didn’t know what time period this was—had the three brothers already set sail? If they were still children…

The capital of the Goa Kingdom lay just beside Coroban Mountain, adjacent to his current location, the “Garbage Terminal.”

All this garbage was produced by the capital of the Goa Kingdom.

Realizing this, Su Xiao no longer rushed to leave—the Garbage Terminal swarmed with vagrants and was extremely dangerous. He would first gather more information before deciding his next move.

He closed the mission panel and opened his personal information.