When Su Xiao had obtained the [Worn Flintlock Pistol] earlier, he had received numerous notifications.
But this dagger in his hand came with no prompts, no detailed information, and no indication of whether it could be sold.
This led him to speculate that acquiring the [Worn Flintlock Pistol] had been partly due to luck—and partly a deliberate arrangement by the Reincarnation Paradise.
The implication was clear: He could obtain weapons, but only by taking risks. This was likely one of the Paradise's fundamental rules.
The dagger in his hand, however, clearly fell outside this framework. It was sharp enough to use, but it couldn't be taken out of the One Piece world, nor could it be exchanged for Paradise Coins.
This was only natural. If every random item could be sold for currency, the Paradise's economic system would be a joke.
Guiding the stubborn horse forward, Su Xiao approached the city gates, the guards now clearly visible in his line of sight.
The old horse, unaccustomed to its new master, resisted his commands. Su Xiao had zero experience handling horses, but with the guards right in front of him, retreating was no longer an option.
He tugged sharply on the reins, forcing the horse to halt with a displeased snort.
By stopping voluntarily, he hoped to appear compliant. His guess was that while exiting the city might be lax, entering would be far stricter.
Several guards sauntered over, their postures relaxed but their eyes sharp as hawks.
"What's going on? Back so early today?"
The familiarity in the guard's tone sent a chill down Su Xiao's spine.
These guards likely knew the black-market merchant's identity. There might even be some under-the-table dealings between them. This complicated things.
"Sir, I was robbed by the Tobey gang as soon as I left the city. Ugh—"
Su Xiao's voice was slurred, interspersed with exaggerated retching sounds. His natural voice didn't match the coachman's, so he deliberately distorted it.
Combined with the stench of sewage clinging to his clothes, the guards didn't suspect a thing—instead, they recoiled in disgust.
"What? Tobey? That bastard's got a death wish! Does he even know who you are?"
The guard in front of Su Xiao seethed with anger, but another guard cut in:
"Boss, Tobey's been expanding his turf fast. According to my informants, he just wiped out the Roger gang. Right now, aside from the Bluejam Pirates, no one in the Terminal can touch him."
"So we just let it slide? What about the money?"
The guards exchanged glances, frustration evident in their eyes. But against Tobey, entrenched in the lawless Terminal, there was little they could do.
"You—whatever. Next time this happens, don't bother coming back. Just 'live' in the Terminal."
Su Xiao nodded meekly, but his mind remained ice-cold.
The closer to success, the more dangerous complacency became. Many failures happened at the brink of victory.
He urged the horse forward, the reluctant beast trudging ahead.
Just as Su Xiao was about to pass through, one guard crouched to inspect beneath the cart—a common hiding spot for stowaways.
Su Xiao had never considered hiding there. His method—killing the coachman and taking his place—was risky but exploited the guards' blind spot.
The garbage cart rolled steadily through the gates. Three meters. Five meters. Ten meters—
"Carlos, wait!"
A guard's shout rang out from behind. Su Xiao's pupils constricted, but his expression remained unchanged.
"About your nephew—it's all arranged. Bring enough 'sincerity,' and he can report to the guard corps today."
The guard rubbed his thumb and forefinger together—the universal gesture for bribery.
Su Xiao nodded eagerly, pretending to express gratitude but breaking into another fit of dry heaves.
"Get moving! You reek—I can smell you from here!"
Seizing the opportunity, Su Xiao snatched the horsewhip and lashed the old mare's hindquarters.
"Crack!"
The horse whinnied in protest but picked up its pace.
He was in.
Su Xiao had successfully infiltrated the capital of the Kingdom of Goa.
Though safer methods existed, they required time—a luxury he didn't have.
Moreover, the guards' offhand remarks had provided valuable intel.
First, the current timeline was before Monkey D. Luffy's voyage—either during his childhood or before his birth.
The key clue was the mention of the Bluesum Pirates.
If Su Xiao remembered correctly, the Bluesum Pirates were the group that clashed with young Luffy and Ace during the Terminal's great fire in the original story.
In the canon, the King of Goa had manipulated the Bluesum Pirates into igniting the Terminal, then abandoned them to perish in the flames.
Second, and more crucially, was an unexpected lead—one that might be the key to his mission.
The guard's words—"About your nephew—it's all arranged. Bring enough 'sincerity,' and he can report to the guard corps today."
This implied a deal between the deceased black-market merchant and the guards: money in exchange for a guard corps position.
If Su Xiao could pose as the merchant's nephew and infiltrate the guard corps, he'd be one step closer to his target.
Risky? Absolutely. But it was the best option available.
The Reincarnation Paradise hadn't provided him with an identity. He was an outsider, a ghost in the system.
Su Xiao guided the cart through the capital's streets. The outer districts were populated by commoners, their homes modest but orderly.
The commoners' district was relatively orderly, with vendors crowding both sides of the streets hawking their goods.
The roads buzzed with activity as residents moved about—some leisurely, others with harried expressions that spoke of quiet desperation.
The sole advantage these city-dwellers held over the starving outcasts beyond the walls was basic sustenance. Yet even here, survival remained a daily struggle against poverty's grip.
The world of One Piece was in an era of turmoil, rife with war and roving pirates. Life for the common folk was far from easy.
As Su Xiao navigated the noisy streets, he felt a surreal sense of displacement.
This didn't feel like a mission world—it felt real.
These weren't NPCs. They were flesh-and-blood people, with their own lives, ambitions, and fears.
The guards earlier had proven that. Their vigilance was sharp. If not for Su Xiao's meticulous preparation and quick thinking, he would have been exposed.
Never underestimate anyone in a mission world. He etched that lesson into his mind.
But his immediate priority was finding a place to clean up.
The [Treasure Chest (White)] he had obtained also needed to be opened. Every resource had to be utilized.
At only LV.1, Su Xiao was at a severe disadvantage in this LV.6 Nightmare-difficulty world.