Chapter 12 – Interrogation & The First Hidden Reward
Ding! "Congratulations, Host. +13 emotion points collected."
The chime jolted Ding Li awake. He stretched, yawned, then froze.
Every single islander—men, women, even Aunt Kri—was standing in a solemn circle around his bed, staring down at him with dead-serious expressions.
"Uh… morning, everyone? What's with the funeral vibe? You're scaring me here…"
His bewildered grin broke the tension. Laughter erupted.
Koya's voice came from behind him, soft and a little embarrassed. "They just got here, Ding Li. You were still sleeping. They wanted to ask… what do we do with the pirates? Keeping 22 mouths fed is going to burn through our food fast."
Ding Li sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Oh. That. Don't worry—I have plans for them. Trust me, I can't explain yet, but it'll be useful. As for food… they're pirates. Their ship has to have treasure. Go search it."
The group nodded eagerly and marched off to ransack the captured vessel.
Half an hour later they returned triumphant: Thirty thousand Berries in gold, jewels, and stolen goods—enough to feed twenty-two prisoners for months on two meals a day.
With logistics solved, Ding Li stood and walked (still a little stiff) toward the storage hold.
The heavy wooden door creaked open with a long "screeeech." Twenty-two pairs of terrified eyes snapped toward him.
Ding! "+21 [Fear] … +1 [Affection]"
Ding Li blinked. Affection? From who—?
His gaze landed on one pirate in the back row—big, burly, bearded, staring at Ding Li with dreamy, sparkling eyes like a schoolgirl with a crush.
Ding Li's soul nearly left his body. Oh no. Is that guy… gay?
He was very, very straight.
Without thinking, he kicked the man square in the chest. The pirate flew backward, hit the wall, and passed out with a blissful smile still on his face.
Ding Li exhaled in relief. Crisis averted.
He was still low on stamina from yesterday, so he silently dumped today's points into Vitality.
Status:
[Physique: 440] [Vitality: 68] ↑ [Soul Strength: 108] [Total Emotions: 586 / 10,000,000,000,000] [Spendable: 0]
"Better," he muttered. "Need Vitality to 100 soon or I'm still a five-second man in a real fight."
The pirates shrank back even further.
Ding Li grabbed the nearest one by the collar, voice low and cold. "Your captain. What level was he in the East Blue?"
The man stammered, "I-I just joined recently… I don't know—"
Another pirate, braver (or stupider), raised a trembling hand. "I-I know, sir! If I tell you… will you let me go?"
Ding Li's stare was ice. "You're not leaving. You'll stay locked up two months. Behave, maybe I'll reconsider. Now talk. No conditions. You know what happens if you waste my time."
The pirate swallowed hard. "Our captain… Black Rat… he was strong. Most people died the moment they saw him. Only once, a year ago, he fought a Navy Branch Lieutenant. The Lieutenant ran away, but the captain took some damage too."
Ding Li frowned, mind racing. "If a Branch Lieutenant fought him evenly… and I one-shotted Black Rat even while exhausted… That puts me at least Lieutenant-level in the East Blue, maybe even Headquarters Lieutenant or Branch Lieutenant Commander."
Ding! "Congratulations, Host. Hidden Quest [Initial Self-Awareness] completed: Clearly understand your current rank relative to this world. Reward: [Complete Guide to Power Levels in the One Piece World] Note: Compiled from Host's existing knowledge of the series, common perceptions in this world, and system analysis of energy levels from the weakest to the strongest beings."
Ding Li's brain short-circuited. "System! What the hell is a hidden quest? Why didn't you mention it before? And what is this guide thing?"
"Hidden quests are not announced in advance. Reward granted automatically upon completion. [Complete Guide to Power Levels in the One Piece World] — self-explanatory. View at will."
"Anything else you're hiding?"
"No permission to disclose. Explore on your own."
Ding Li sighed. "Fine. Show me the guide."
A massive wall of text unfolded in his mind—detailed tiers, estimated power brackets, comparisons to canon characters, Marine ranks, pirate bounties, Haki thresholds, everything the system had reverse-engineered.
He skimmed it quickly, eyes widening. This was a cheat sheet for the entire power scaling of the world.
Outside the hold, the villagers finished securing the pirates. The ship was now their prison and food bank.
Ding Li stepped out into the morning sun, Koya at his side. The island felt different now—safer. And he felt different too.
He wasn't just surviving anymore. He was starting to understand exactly how strong he'd become.
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