"This is the necklace I bought for Lusha. It's only available in the city of Nanohana." Trens blushed slightly, looking a bit shy as he spoke.
"Oh, a gift for your sweetheart, huh? You're really going all out." Jason suddenly understood.
"Young people these days… willing to risk their lives just to please a lover? Crossing a desert like this…" The middle-aged man shook his head and sighed.
"No, no, it's not like that. Lusha's not… not my girlfriend," Trens quickly shook his head, trying to explain.
"It's just… just that I like her and wanted to surprise her."
Rojen was at a loss for words. Not even your girlfriend yet, and you're going this far? Just one look at the quality of the necklace, and at Trens, who didn't even have a decent set of clothes, and you could guess what hardships this kid had been through. From what he said, he probably wasn't from Nanohana either, meaning he had come from somewhere else.
He had spent a fortune and nearly died just to get this necklace, for a girl he hadn't even officially won over yet?
Young people these days really were like the middle-aged uncle said: they'd risk their lives for love.
"Where are you from, kid?" Jason asked bluntly.
Outside, the sandstorm raged. Yellow sand filled the sky, but inside the cart, the few passengers started chatting.
"I'm from Alubarna," Trens replied.
"To cross a desert and brave bandits for your lover, kid, you've got guts!" Jason praised him.
"Heh heh, Lusha said she liked this kind of necklace. I didn't have the money back then, and this kind is only found in Nanohana. So I came here first, worked odd jobs, saved up little by little, and finally bought it." Trens scratched his head as he spoke.
"So… does this girl even like you?" Jason asked curiously.
"She probably… likes me," Trens hesitated at that.
"But as long as I give her this necklace and surprise her, she'll definitely fall in love with me." He suddenly looked certain again.
"Trens, uh, Deluxe Milk, let me ask you something." Rojen cut in.
"My name's Trens. And what's 'Deluxe Milk' supposed to mean?" Trens corrected him, confused.
"Deluxe Milk, whatever. How long did it take you to leave Alubarna, earn the money, and buy this necklace?" Rojen ignored him and asked directly.
"One year and three months. Every single day of that year and three months, I kept thinking about how surprised Lusha would be when she sees this necklace." Trens clutched the necklace tightly, his face glowing with the sweet, innocent blush of a guy in love.
The other three just stared at him, completely speechless.
A year and three months? Never mind whether Lusha likes this guy or not, just consider whether, during all that time, someone else like "Yili" or "Sanlu" Deluxe Milk had come in to replace him. That was the real issue.
This kid wasn't just love-struck, he was love-dumb. And maybe not that bright either.
"Intelligence is a wonderful thing. Hopefully you'll gain some after getting rejected."
Rojen shook his head and said regretfully to Trens. He had completely given up hope for the guy's love story.
Trens's face went dark with embarrassment, but since these people had saved his life, he couldn't talk back. He turned to Jason instead. The big guy also looked completely at a loss.
"Sigh… Trens, by the time you get back, that Lusha of yours might already be a mom of three. Good luck to you, man." Hearing that, Trens's face turned green.
Three kids in a year?! You think my goddess is a pig or something?
The sound of camel bells rang through the yellow mountains, and the two carriages slowly made their way deeper into the heart of the sandstorm.
In front of them was a hazy sea of yellow. Nothing was visible at all.
The wind blowing up the yellow sand was immense, and the sand grains hitting the face stung painfully. The uncle driving the camel cart had long since wrapped himself tightly from head to toe.
"This sandstorm is kind of strange," The middle-aged driver muttered in a muffled voice.
"What's wrong?" Trens asked curiously.
"With a sandstorm of this scale, the wind shouldn't be this weak. But the intensity of the wind is way too low," the man said, confused.
"Didn't our captain say already? This was artificially created," Jason chimed in from the side.
"Maybe if we keep going forward, we'll finally see that guy." Rojen spoke calmly.
"Really made by a human? Now that gets this old guy curious, what kind of person could cause something like this?" The middle-aged uncle's interest was piqued.
He realized that although the floating sand in the air was quite troublesome, the wind itself wasn't strong. As long as they kept moving and didn't linger in one place, it wouldn't be a big deal.
"Hyah!" He gave the camel a slap, and the beast, obeying the command, began running faster.
Half a quarter-hour later, the sandstorm had calmed considerably, and the wind had also lessened.
Ding ding dang dang,
The camel bells rang out as the two carts trudged forward heavily through the desert, coated in thick layers of sand.
"We should be almost there. This sandstorm really is huge… I still can't believe it's human-made." The uncle was still skeptical.
Rojen didn't respond. Sitting in the cart, he had crossed his legs and closed his eyes, adjusting his breathing and calming his energy.
Jason loosened the cloth wrapped around his face. The sandstorm had become much milder here. He glanced around, searching for any sign of Crocodile.
"Captain, still no sign of that guy." All around was a sea of yellow sand, Crocodile was nowhere to be seen.
Rojen remained silent. Trens joined Jason in scanning the surroundings, his expression growing serious and tense.
"Jason elder brother, did you really fight that guy before?" Trens suddenly asked.
"Would I lie to you, you little brat? I've blasted that guy's head off multiple times,"
Jason rolled his eyes.
"But… if you blew up his head, wouldn't he be dead?"
"He's a Logia Devil Fruit user. He can elementalize, so he can't be killed that easily."
Jason replied, annoyed.
"What's a Logia Fruit?" Trens asked, curious again.
Jason finally gave up, waving his hand in dismissal.
"You'll understand once you go out to sea."
That last sentence forcefully ended the conversation.
Five minutes later, the sandstorm had nearly died down, and the sky was once again visible ahead.
"That guy's not here." Jason shook his head.
Along the entire way, there hadn't been a single sign of Crocodile.
"No, wait, Jason big brother, look over there!" Trens suddenly cried out in alarm, pointing to the right with a trembling hand.
"Huh?" Jason turned his head, and his expression shifted drastically as well.
"What the, ?!"
All six eyes turned to look at the right. The camel carts came to a stop.
And then they saw them, mummies standing upright in the middle of the desert.
Their faces were withered, their skin a brownish bronze as if all moisture had been drained from them in an instant. Just the sight of them sent a chill down the spine.
There were a lot of these mummies. A rough scan revealed over a dozen.
They just stood there, unmoving, in the sand. Their faces frozen in expressions of terror, as if they had died in the midst of some overwhelming fear.
(End of Chapter)
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