Chapter 6: This is Real

When Su Xiao got the [Shabby Flintlock pistol], he received a lot of hints.

But he didn't receive any hints when he got this dagger. There seemed to be no information on this dagger in the system.

Su Xiao assumed that he was lucky to get the [Shabby Flintlock pistol] or it could have been an elaborated arrangement by "TRP".

It meant that he could get weapons as long as he takes an equivalent amount of risk. This must be how the 'TRP' system works.

The dagger in his hand didn't seem special. It was sharp, but other than that. It had no defining characteristics. He can use the dagger, but it seems it's impossible to keep it after leaving this world. On the other hand, the flintlock pistol seems like a type of Item that he could take with him to other worlds.

It made sense when he thought about it. If everything could be sold for paradise coins, it would be easy to cheat the 'TRP' currency system.

Su Xiao approached the gate with his new carriage, and some soldiers' figures came into his sight.

This old brown horse seemed a bit jumpy because he was unfamiliar with Su Xiao, and Su Xiao didn't know how to calm a horse down. He could only hope that the soldiers don't find him suspicious because of the horse.

The soldiers were standing in front of him. There was no turning back.

The horse snorted and stopped in place. Su Xiao was nervous, but he tried to hide it as much as he could. According to what he saw prior to jacking the carriage, the soldiers were more lacks when inspecting carriages leaving the city, but when someone was entering the town, they made sure to thoroughly check their carriage.

The soldiers walked toward Su Xiao with a bored expression on his face. His eyes didn't match his expression. They were sharp and would probably not miss a single detail during the inspection.

"What's wrong? Why are you coming back so early today?"

This kind of familiar attitude from soldiers made Su Xiao feel nervous.

These soldiers may be familiar with the merchant. The way they are speaking makes them sound like more than just acquaintances. This made the situation difficult. Su Xiao needed to think of something before they became suspicious.

"Boss, I just got out of town. Toby grabbed, vomit~."

Su Xiao's voice was very vague. Since he was wearing the clothes he made dirty on purpose, he decided to fake vomiting. His voice was different from that of the driver, so he faked being sick.

Because of the stench coming from his clothes, the soldiers didn't want to approach him.

"What? Toby? Are they crazy, they even dare rob you, don't they know who you are?"

The soldier in front of Su Xiao seemed a bit angry, but another soldier said:

"Boss, Toby's grew recently. According to my investigation, Toby just killed Roger's gang. No one can match Toby in the 'Gray terminal' at the moment, except for the Bluejam Pirates."

"So do we just ignore this? What about the money?"

The soldiers looked at each other. Even though they felt the situation wasn't fair, they had no methods with which they could deal with Toby, who hid in the 'Gray terminal'.

"You!, If this kind of thing happens again, you don't need to come back anymore, just 'live' in the 'Gray terminal'!" – The soldier said sternly.

Su Xiao nodded and lowered his head to appear apologetic.

He should be calm. A person is the weakest when he is certain of his victory.

Su Xiao whipped the horse lightly, making it move forward slowly.

A soldier checked if anything was hiding under the carriage before Su Xiao passed through the gate. The soldier did it just to make sure that nobody was hiding there. Hiding under a carriage was a common way for people to try and sneak out of the Grey Terminal.

Su Xiao did consider hiding under the carriage, but after seeing the guards constantly looking under them, he scrapped that plan. His second plan was to kill someone who comes to throw their trash and then impersonate them. It was risky, but it was also a way to avoid the inspection. He was forced to go with this plan because his time was limited. The garbage car gradually passed through the gate and drove forward steadily. Three meters, five meters, ten meters. Just as he was feeling the tension disappear, a voice called out, making him freeze.

"Carlos, wait."

The sound came from the soldier, Su Xiao's was panicking. If he were to be discovered now, the soldiers would definitely kill him.

"I have settled your nephew's problem by using enough 'sincerity'. He can report to the Guard today."

The soldier rubbed his thumb over his middle and index fingers when he was saying the word 'sincerity'. Sincerity, in this case, most likely means money.

Su Xiao nodded quickly and thanked him, but the man pinched his nose with one hand and was using the other hand to fan the air away from him.

.

"Hurry up and get lost. You stink so bad I can even smell it from here."

Su Xiao would never miss such a good opportunity, so he took the reins and whipped the horse, which made him start running.

"Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop."

A crispy sound came. The old horse mourned and sped up.

Su Xiao successfully got into the capital of the Goa Kingdom.

Though he had a safer way to get into the capital, it needed time, and he didn't have any to spare

.

In the few short conversations he had with those soldiers, Su Xiao got a lot of useful information.

First, the current time is before the original protagonist Monkey D. Luffy sets out to the sea, which means that Luffy and his brother Ace are children at the moment. There is a chance that Luffy hadn't been born yet, but that didn't seem likely.

The basis for this conclusion is the existence of Bluejam Pirates. If Su Xiao remembered correctly, the Bluejam pirates were the ones that attacked Luffy, Ace, and Sabo in the original story.

The Bluejay Pirates were used by the king of the Kingdom of Goya in the original book to burn down the Gray terminal, and then they were abandoned and left to fend for themselves in the fire.

And second, a lucky piece of information fell into his lap. Maybe this will be the key Piece of the puzzle that will enable Su Xiao to accomplish his mission.

The sentence 'I have settled your nephew's problem with enough 'sincerity', he can report to the Guard today.' from the soldier's mouth gave him some crucial info. It seemed that the dead merchant had a trade of some sort with that soldier. They probably used cash to lobby the merchant's nephew into the Guard. If they needed cash to get the nephew into the Guard, that probably means it isn't a simple soldier unit. There is a chance that this is the king's Royal Guard. If Su Xiao pretends to be the nephew and enters this unit, he might be able to assassinate the king.

Although this is risky, it's a good place to start. He would have an identity. 'TRP' didn't assign him any kind of identity, so this is a great place to start.

Su Xiao rode on the horse carriage through the streets of The Goa Kingdom. He was currently inside an outer district of the capital. It was mostly populated by poor merchants, craftsmen, and other low-class workers. The streets in this district were clean and well maintained. There were street vendors on both sides of the street selling various goods.

The streets were full of pedestrians, which made the city appear loud and full of life, but many of those residents were suffering.

The only difference between these residents and the Gray Terminal people was that they weren't starving. But they still had difficult lives.

This was a dangerous time in the world of One Piece. A time full of wars and pirates, which in turn brought difficulties to the lives of commoners.

The more Su Xiao saw of this world, the more real it appeared to him. The people had emotions, and the world seemed too realistic to be a 'fake' world.

Thanks to those soldiers, Su Xiao was able to cook up a plan. But it also made him realize that he can't underestimate anybody in this world.

The first thing he needed to do now is to find a place to wash his body and open the [treasure chest (white)]. He was curious about what was inside.

Su Xiao, who was only LV.1, found it hard to do things in this dangerous LV.6 world. That was also probably the reason why 'TRP' gave him 72 hours to assassinate the king.