"System? Supreme Being?"
Mark had been shouting in his head for ages, but there was nothing—no response, no divine cheat codes. His soft, fair little face darkened, and he let out a string of curses:
"Damn it! I transmigrated and didn't even get a system?! Where's my golden finger? This is bullsh—this is just dogshit!"
He stood still for a while, but as the heat grew more unbearable by the minute, Mark realized he couldn't stay there any longer. If he kept going without shelter or water, he'd be dehydrated in no time. Without a filtration device, seawater was undrinkable. He had to find some shade.
Afraid to venture into the jungle, Mark could only trek along the beach under the merciless sun, step by step.
With every step on the hot sand, his tiny footprints stretched out behind him like an endless trail. He had no idea how long he'd been walking—just that the sand was getting hotter and hotter beneath his bare feet. It must've been at least one or two hours, and he hadn't seen any cliffs or signs of civilization. Just the same endless beach, coconut trees, and a thick, suffocating forest.
His iPhone 5, for some reason, had shattered into pieces, so he had no way of telling the time.
As for wearing a watch? Mark hadn't had that kind of money.
By now, Mark was certain he wasn't on Earth anymore. The evidence was all around: trees with gaping mouths, black serrated flowers, beetles the size of fists, carnivorous rabbits bigger than he was, and enormous birds with wingspans stretching over ten meters. He even spotted two massive beasts locked in battle deep in the jungle.
One resembled a tiger. The other, a gorilla.
But the "tiger" was over seven or eight meters long not even counting the tail, and the "gorilla" wasn't King Kong, but it still stood two or three stories high and was swinging a massive four- or five-meter tree trunk like a club. So really... who knew what they were?
He didn't know what kind of world he'd transmigrated into, but ever the optimist, Mark resolved to survive. He felt guilty toward his parents, of course. But at least his annoying little brother was still around to take care of them. He'd have to live on—for his parents' sake.
"For God's sake! Is this a deserted island? Why can't I find a single damn person?!"
Mark licked his cracked lips and wiped the sweat off his forehead before plopping onto the sand. He was exhausted. He didn't know a thing about jungle survival, much less life on a deserted island. And this body—what, five or six years old? It had already pushed itself to the limit. Any more and he'd do real damage. Maybe even something permanent.
He pulled off his long-sleeved shirt and draped it over his head for shade, then slumped against a coconut tree.
Smack!
Suddenly, Mark slapped his own forehead hard.
"Damn! I'm really cooked from the heat! How did I not see this sooner? Coconut trees everywhere—massive coconuts everywhere—and I didn't notice a single one!"
Without hesitation, Mark—nicknamed "Monkey" by his elementary school teacher for a reason—scrambled up a six- or seven-meter tree like it was nothing.
Once at the top, he wrestled off a huge coconut and gave it a tap.
"Dang, this thing's hard. How the hell am I supposed to open it?"
Cradling a coconut bigger than his own head, Mark blinked, thinking hard. His dark eyes suddenly lit up.
"Wait! I've got it."
He reached around behind him—kid bodies didn't really have waists—and pulled out a keychain.
"Heheh... my little knife. It's your time to shine."
Hanging from the keys was a tiny titanium folding knife he'd bought online. The blade was barely ten centimeters long, cost only 3 dollars, with free shipping. It had been his emergency self-defense tool.
Coconuts had "eyes" that were easier to puncture. Mark jabbed one with his knife.
Thunk.
Didn't open.
One more time—
Still nothing.
"Are you messing with me just 'cause I'm a kid now? My strength's too low?!"
Narrator: "Let's be honest, were you ever strong?"
"Shut up!"
Thud, thud, thud—
After several angry stabs, Mark finally broke through.
Rubbing his reddened hands, he gleefully raised the coconut and began to drink.
Far out on the ocean, a black speck appeared—but Mark didn't notice. He was too busy sipping away, happy as a clam.
The speck grew larger and larger.
"Huh? What's that?"
Mark, now rehydrated, finally noticed it. He rubbed his eyes and blinked in surprise.
"No way... I'm not nearsighted anymore!"
Back in middle school, reading novels on his phone 24/7 had ruined his eyesight. Glasses were always a pain—they'd fall off in fights, and don't even get him started on kissing his girlfriend.
Narrator: "Don't you mean ex-girlfriend?"
"Shut up! No one asked you!"
Glasses were such a hassle. Always in the way.
Grinning with renewed excitement, Mark looked back out at the sea. The dark shape was much clearer now.
"Holy crap, it's a ship!"
Then he squinted.
"Wait... why does it look so beat-up?"
It was a wooden ship—something straight out of the age of sail—and it looked like it had been through hell. Maybe a massive storm?
"Whatever. Once it gets closer, I'll check it out."
He waited. When the ship finally reached the shore, Mark tossed his coconut aside, leapt down from the tree with a whoosh, threw his shirt back over his head, and sprinted toward it.
"Damn—it's over a hundred meters away!"
Panting and soaked with sweat, Mark finally made it to the vessel. The coconut juice was long gone.
"Whoa... it's huge!"
It was a wooden ship, sure, but it was massive. Three stories tall, at least fifty meters long—and it looked like a good chunk of it was missing. From keel to deck, it rose nearly five meters. The prow was shaped like a rhino's head, and the horn had been reinforced with iron, obviously for ramming.
"This design... it feels familiar."
Mark rubbed his smooth, childish chin, took a few steps back, and looked up.
There, fluttering from the main mast, was a pirate flag.
A skull, framed by the image of a rhino.
"Holy sh—A PIRATE SHIP?!"
Mark nearly burst into tears.
"Don't tell me... I'm in the One Piece world?! A place crawling with monsters who could crush me like a bug?!"
"Oh god... I want to go home... and I don't even have a cheat system..."
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