Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Goodman

Adrian couldn't believe it at first, but looking at Tom paddling beside him, it didn't seem so impossible...

One Piece, the endpoint of the first half of the Grand Line, the Sabaody Archipelago, also known as the Bubble Island.

Numerous pirates who had weathered harsh conditions would land here, along with many bounty hunters lurking in the gray area, various criminal organizations, and slave traders...

Adrian and Tom had been lucky enough to drift for five days in the Grand Line without encountering any bad weather, and they had managed to find an island where humans could survive.

At the same time, their luck had been bad enough to land them in such a dangerous place.

Adrian took a deep breath. At this point, they could only go ashore first. After all, there should be civilians surviving here. They shouldn't have trouble surviving completely.

First, he looked around to make sure there were no pirate ships. Adrian motioned for Tom to paddle slowly and approach the shore.

What he didn't notice was that during this time, the circular mark on the back of his left hand gradually increased to 81%.

Numbers 60GR on the left front and 59GR on the right front. These were the numbers of two large trees in front of Adrian.

From afar, the numbered tree trunks were much wider in diameter than ordinary houses, and their height was even more exaggerated.

Countless structures surrounded the tree trunks, extending into the distance, forming towns. The two trees or islands were connected by bridges, and there was a certain height difference between the coast and the sea level. It seemed that not every place was accessible.

Adrian rowed into the gap between islands 60 and 59, feeling relieved because he saw a seagull flag flying on a building on the left.

This meant that there was a Marine base nearby. Maybe watching anime had unconsciously influenced Adrian's perspective—while he had seen many less-than-impressive Marines in the show, now that he was in this world, seeing an actual Marine base provided a strong sense of security.

"Hey~" a deep voice came from the right shore.

Adrian and Tom looked up and saw a middle-aged man with sunglasses and a square face.

Seeing Adrian notice him, the man asked, "@#%×?"

Adrian was puzzled. He didn't understand what the man was saying and thought, "Oh no, we can't communicate."

Because communication with Tom had been so smooth and they hadn't encountered anyone else, Adrian hadn't considered this problem.

At this moment, the magic array on Adrian's wrist finally gained some presence. A burst of purple light flashed, and Adrian saw the translucent screen the size of a phone for the first time.

It clearly displayed:

[Loading language package... Obtaining universal language of this world, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing abilities.]

The screen turned off, and Adrian noticed that the number in the circular mark on his hand had changed to 81%. It quickly dropped back to 71%.

At the same time, he understood the meaning of the man's earlier words: "Did you encounter a shipwreck?"

This language package arrived just in time. Language barriers could cause significant trouble. He thought of the scene in a comedy movie where two characters from different worlds ended up fighting at the Forbidden City due to a language misunderstanding, leaving the audience amused and science fiction movie special effects in the dust.

"Did using energy change my language? When did this energy even charge up? Uh oh, the man saw it. Will there be trouble?"

The man seemed not to have noticed the change just now and explained, "I'm from Island 59, a shipwright. I'm not a bad guy. Look, I carry tools with me, and besides, the Marine base isn't far from here. No one would cause trouble here!"

The man seemed worried about being misunderstood. He pulled out a short saw hanging from his waist and waved it to show Adrian.

Tom, feeling frightened, hid behind Adrian, clutching his owner's thigh. He remembered Adrian's instructions and was prepared to draw his gun.

Fortunately, the man had no such intentions. He hadn't even noticed the screen just now. He continued, "I'm a shipwright from Island 59, my name's Goodman. You, young man, how should I address you?"