Walking through the streets of the royal capital, Su Xiao carefully observed the shops on either side until his gaze settled on one named "Dulu General Store." His footsteps halted.
This was exactly what he was looking for. Su Xiao entered the sparsely frequented shop.
"Huh? Officer, our shop already paid the public security fee three days ago. What's the matter—?"
The shop owner looked at him as if he were some harbinger of misfortune—clearly, the guards had extorted him many times before.
"I'm not here for the fee. Do you have a certain type of plant here...?"
Half an hour later, Su Xiao left the store with a satisfied smile, the shopkeeper enthusiastically seeing him off. It seemed he had bought quite a few things.
Killing the Master of Mt. Colubo would be no simple task.
From Su Xiao's memories, that tiger was at least several times larger than an ordinary one, standing around four to five meters tall—a complete monster.
Instead of heading straight into the wilderness to hunt the beast, Su Xiao first returned to the guard headquarters.
After wandering around for a while, he made his way to the storage warehouse.
With Oka's death, the guards were now leaderless. In just one morning, factions had already begun forming.
Hank and Oka's two trusted subordinates each led their own groups, engaging in open and covert struggles.
Tomorrow night was the scheduled burning of the Terminal, so the higher-ups would undoubtedly appoint a new guard captain today—otherwise, it would disrupt their plans.
Amidst this chaos, Su Xiao easily infiltrated the warehouse. After spending some time inside, he left the headquarters and headed toward Mt. Colubo.
Looking at the city gate in the distance, Su Xiao recalled how he had once sneaked in through it. Now, leaving the city was as simple as walking straight out.
The gate guards nodded at him in recognition and let him pass without question.
After passing through the gate and traversing the Terminal, Su Xiao entered a vast stretch of forest—Mt. Colubo, the place where the original protagonist, Luffy, had grown up.
Stepping into the forest, Su Xiao immediately noticed how much fresher the air was, filled with the scents of various plants. Unfamiliar birds chirped noisily from the branches, while docile herbivores occasionally darted through the undergrowth, showing little fear of humans.
Though Mt. Colubo was beautiful, it was equally dangerous, often frequented by wild beasts. Most people dared not venture deep inside.
Walking alone through the uninhabited woods, Su Xiao kept his hand resting on his sword hilt. Though he appeared relaxed, he remained acutely aware of every rustle in the surroundings.
The dense forest around him wasn't suitable as his "hunting ground." He needed a clearing.
It didn't have to be large, but it needed to meet two conditions:
A water source. The Kingdom of Goa was situated on an island, and water scarcity was common. Thus, Mt. Colubo didn't have many water sources. Finding one would significantly increase his chances of locating the giant tiger.
Vegetation coverage. This would make it easier for him to set traps.
Of course, the trap Su Xiao had in mind wasn't as simple as digging a pit and luring the Master of Mt. Colubo into it.
The soil on Mt. Colubo wasn't particularly firm. For a creature of that size, unless the pit walls were reinforced with concrete, they would collapse—leaving him with no escape route.
Finding the perfect spot for his trap wasn't easy, but persistence paid off. After three hours of searching, Su Xiao finally found an ideal location.
It was a clearing surrounded by trees, covered in lush green grass and dotted with wildflowers of various colors, emitting a faint floral fragrance.
The scent made Su Xiao frown. While the fragrance might interfere with his plan, it also had its advantages—it could mask the smell of certain items he intended to set up.
Taking a shovel from his storage space, Su Xiao removed his upper garment and began digging.
Two hours later, he concealed himself in a nearby tree. The clearing appeared unchanged, save for a few dried fruits scattered casually on the ground.
Sweat dripped down Su Xiao's face as he sat shirtless, revealing his lean but well-defined muscles. His physique wasn't overly bulky—his muscles were smooth and balanced.
In truth, those with exaggerated, explosive muscles weren't necessarily suited for combat. While massive muscles enhanced strength, they often compromised speed and flexibility—critical disadvantages in battle.
Su Xiao had once tested this theory. He visited a renowned boxing gym and sparred with their strongest coach.
By his estimation, that muscle-bound coach had at least twice his raw strength and threw punches with incredible speed.
Yet, within five minutes, the man—who had supposedly won a city-level freestyle fighting championship—was lying on the ground, twitching and groaning in pain, much to the sympathy of the female trainees.
Su Xiao trained in lethal techniques, while that coach practiced sports combat. The difference was fundamental.
Under rules, Su Xiao might have lost. But in a life-or-death fight? He could have killed the man in two minutes.
The coach, seeing Su Xiao's average 1.8-meter frame and unimpressive build, had arrogantly declared, "No need for rules in a friendly match."
That overconfidence had sealed his fate.
Now, perched on a thick tree branch, Su Xiao held the [Worn Flintlock Pistol], which still had three bullets left.
He had tried reloading it earlier, but the Reincarnation Paradise warned him that due to severe wear, attempting to do so might render the gun unusable.
This was likely a restriction—since he had picked up the gun rather than obtaining it from a treasure chest.
After opening two white treasure chests, Su Xiao had gained some understanding of the Reincarnation Paradise's rules.
Items obtained from chests were generally "regulated" and could be taken out of the One Piece world. Meanwhile, items picked up or acquired during missions had only a chance of being portable—like the [Dragon-Slaying Flash] at his waist.
Through preliminary exploration, Su Xiao reached a few conclusions:
Semi-digitalization of living beings served more as a reference. For example, his Strength increasing from 6 to 7 gave him a clear sense of growth.
Health points couldn't be quantified precisely—at most, they were displayed as percentages. There was no "X HP lost per hit" mechanic.
The health bars above enemies mainly indicated their vitality. The lower the bar, the weaker the enemy.
A fatal injury would kill an enemy instantly, even if their health bar was full.
As for equipment and item digitalization, it was even more intriguing.
Take [Dragon-Slaying Flash], for instance. He understood attributes like Durability and Bonus Effects, but Attack Power: 5~16 referred to the weapon's sharpness and striking force.
The most crucial metric was an item's Rating, which directly reflected its value.
After several battles, Su Xiao realized that while the semi-digitalization helped estimate strength, reality took precedence. There was no "game-like" simplification.
The system existed to provide a clearer understanding of his capabilities and the worth of his gear.
And that was the greatest assistance the Reincarnation Paradise had given him.