"System, is there any way to level up quickly?"
Cheng Xiaoyu sat cross-legged on the deck, the sea breeze gently caressing him, making his clothes flutter.
At this moment, his eyes were filled with a desire for strength. In this cruel Pirate World, strength was the foundation for survival.
The strong had absolute say, while the weak could only be beaten.
"Ding! Detecting the host's need for rapid leveling, two upgrade plans are now available."
The system's cold, electronic voice echoed emotionlessly in his mind, breaking the brief silence.
"Tell me about them." Cheng Xiaoyu raised an eyebrow, a flicker of anticipation in his eyes.
"Plan One: By killing Sea Kings, you can directly gain a large amount of experience!"
"Sea Kings?" Cheng Xiaoyu scoffed, his face full of disdain and helplessness.
"What kind of joke is that? Sea Kings range from a few hundred meters to over five thousand meters. Are you telling me to go commit suicide? That old guy Rayleigh can swim through the Calm Belt, but I can't."
He knew the terror of Sea Kings. Those behemoths could instantly capsize his ship with a single movement. This plan was undoubtedly a fantasy to him.
"System, open the global map!" Cheng Xiaoyu said loudly.
A massive virtual map appeared out of thin air before him, its detailed graphics making him feel as if he were truly there.
Various sea areas and islands were clearly marked, even the weather conditions were indicated.
The Red Line stretched across the map like a winding giant dragon, and the Grand Line resembled a mysterious passage.
The latter half, the New World, exuded an aura of unknown danger, everything was laid out before his eyes.
His gaze was fixed on the edge of the Red Line, the entrance to the New World, where key locations like Fish-Man Island and Sabaody Archipelago shimmered faintly.
However, his current location was merely the East Blue, a calm yet somewhat insignificant "small pond."
He gestured towards the Calm Belt, the closest area to him in a straight line, marked red as dangerous, and Cheng Xiaoyu decisively shook his head.
"Forget it, I'm not doing anything suicidal."
"System, are there any other plans?" Cheng Xiaoyu asked, unwilling to give up.
"Plan Two: Killing pirates with bounties from the World Government can convert their bounty into experience points (1,000 Berries = 1 experience point)."
"There's such a good thing?!" Cheng Xiaoyu's eyes instantly lit up, and he almost leaped off the deck in excitement!
"Why didn't you say so earlier! If I had known, I would have become a bounty hunter like Zoro long ago!"
Being able to level up and earn money at the same time, what could be better?
In the Pirate World, bounties are closely linked to the degree of threat pirates pose to the World Government.
Existences at the pinnacle of the Pirate World, like the Four Emperors, have bounties in the billions, and the Shichibukai's bounties are also in the hundreds of millions!
Further down, notorious pirate crews also have considerable bounties.
"So, that means I just need to follow that kid Luffy and pick up the scraps?" Cheng Xiaoyu stroked his chin, a sly smile on his face.
He couldn't help but recall the high-bounty pirates Luffy had defeated along the way: Crocodile, Eneru, Moriah...
These powerful individuals were all defeated by Luffy, but because Luffy never delivered a finishing blow, they were merely beaten, not truly killed.
He wouldn't be so merciful. Pirates, at the end of the day, were still thieves and not good people.
Thinking about how he could take the opportunity to deliver the finishing blow and gain a large amount of experience, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Other transmigrators properly followed the ship and acted as nannies, but Cheng Xiaoyu transmigrated and treated Luffy as his own nanny...
"Luffy, oh Luffy, you truly are my chosen lucky star! And the kind where I can steadily reap the rewards!"
"Captain, what are you laughing about?"
Kuina's clear voice came from behind him, tinged with curiosity.
Her bright eyes were full of confusion, not understanding why Cheng Xiaoyu was suddenly so happy.
Cheng Xiaoyu's laughter abruptly stopped. He awkwardly turned around, looking at the confused Kuina, and waved his hand.
"Nothing, I just thought of something interesting."
After speaking, he stretched, stood up, and stretched his limbs, emitting cracking sounds, trying to cover up his gaffe.
"Oh, by the way, have you heard an old saying?" Cheng Xiaoyu asked mysteriously.
Kuina tilted her head, her adorable appearance making it hard not to laugh. She looked at Cheng Xiaoyu in confusion, "What old saying?"
"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it!" Cheng Xiaoyu's lips curved slightly, revealing a meaningful smile.
As if he could already see his bright future of easily gaining experience and rapidly increasing his strength behind Luffy...
"I don't understand..." Kuina shook her head, clearly not grasping the ancient saying from the Eastern Great Nation.
"You'll know when the time comes." Cheng Xiaoyu smiled mysteriously, secretly planning his next move.
He had already decided to closely follow Luffy's route, looking for opportunities to "pick up scraps."
This way, the problem of slow leveling would be perfectly solved.
However, Cheng Xiaoyu then thought of another crucial issue, which was Haki training.
In this Pirate World, where experts were as numerous as clouds, it would be impossible to advance later without Haki.
Even if he had a Logia Devil Fruit, he wouldn't be able to elementalize in time in front of someone with a higher Haki level than his own.
To be precise, as long as Armament Haki + Observation Haki are strong enough, they can pose a threat to Logia Devil Fruit users.
"According to the host's needs, the Haki training module has been loaded."
Armament Haki: 5,000 points / Beginner, 50,000 points / Intermediate, 150,000 points / Advanced, 300,000 points / Ryuo!
Observation Haki: 8,000 points / Beginner, 80,000 points / Intermediate, 150,000 points / Advanced, 250,000 points / Observation Kill!
Haoshoku: 10,000 points / Awakening, 100,000 points / Intermediate, 150,000 points / Advanced, 250,000 points / Haoshoku Infusion!
Cheng Xiaoyu looked at the Haki training information displayed on the system panel and couldn't help but exclaim repeatedly: "This is good, this is good..."
But then, he frowned, "But where do I get points from?"
The points required for Haki training were not a small sum, and given his current situation, it would be difficult to obtain enough points.
"Points can be acquired in two ways: active and passive."
"First, actively complete main quests to gain a large amount of points."
"Second, passively gain points as the host's personal bounty increases (1,000 Berries = 1 point)."
"Interesting, my personal bounty?"
"Does that mean I have to become an extremely vicious criminal to attract the World Government's focused attention?"
It doesn't matter. To become stronger, one must pay the corresponding price and bear the corresponding risks.
From this moment on, Cheng Xiaoyu decided to stir up his own storm in this Pirate World.
To level up, to gain points for Haki training.
He chose... to become that extreme villain!