In the dim, damp prison cell, a nauseating smell of mold and sweat permeated the air.
Cheng Xiaoyu slowly opened his eyes, his consciousness gradually clearing from the haze.
He tried to move his body, and a wave of soreness instantly hit him, causing him to grunt.
"Where is this?"
Cheng Xiaoyu looked around, the unfamiliar environment raising a hint of alarm in his heart.
The mottled walls, rusty iron bars, and the distant wails all made him uncomfortable.
"Impel Down?"
A thought flashed through his mind.
He vaguely remembered losing consciousness after a great battle with that old man Garp; now it seemed he had been captured by the Marine and thrown in here.
"Impel Down's third level, the Starvation Hell."
A cold voice sounded from outside the cell as a jailer walked past the cell door with a key. "Kid, welcome to your new home."
Impel Down's third level—the Starvation Hell.
It was said that only pirates with bounties exceeding 50 million Berries were imprisoned here.
Cheng Xiaoyu ignored the jailer's mockery. He slowly stood up, stretched his limbs, and felt the strength in his body gradually returning.
Impel Down? So what?
Twenty-two years ago, Golden Lion could escape from here, and now I can too!
What made him even more incredulous was that the Marine had not put Sea Stone handcuffs on him!
This was simply unbelievable! With his strength, without the suppression of Sea Stone, he could escape from here at any time.
"How foolish." Cheng Xiaoyu sneered. It seemed Impel Down knew nothing of his strength.
But this was good; it saved him a lot of trouble.
Determining the imprisonment level solely based on bounty was clearly a wrong rule! And it would surely pay the price for it!
However, Cheng Xiaoyu was not in a hurry to leave.
He suddenly realized that this was simply an excellent holy land for grinding experience!
The Starvation Hell held a large number of pirates, and each one was worth at least 50,000 experience!
For him, who desperately needed to raise his level, this was simply a feast delivered right to his doorstep!
"Hehe, since you're so hospitable, I won't refuse." Cheng Xiaoyu licked his lips, his eyes glinting with greed.
A few days later, Cheng Xiaoyu felt his body had fully recovered, and it was time to begin his "leveling journey"!
He took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and Armament Haki instantly covered his entire body.
"Boom!"
With a loud bang, Cheng Xiaoyu punched a large hole in the cell wall! Debris flew, and dust filled the air.
The jailers outside heard the commotion and immediately rushed in, but only saw a black shadow flash past.
"What's going on?!"
"Enemy attack!"
"Someone's escaping!"
A shrill alarm echoed throughout the entire third level.
Cheng Xiaoyu, like a fierce beast, rampaged through the prison.
He completely ignored the jailers rushing over with weapons, pushing the power of his Shadow Fruit to its limit.
"Shadow Spikes!"
Countless sharp black spikes surged from the ground and walls, instantly piercing through the jailers, splattering blood.
The third level's guard force was simply no match for Cheng Xiaoyu. Before long, all the guards on the entire third level were cleared out by him.
"Next, it's your turn." Cheng Xiaoyu's gaze turned to the pirates in the cells.
"Open the doors! Let us out!"
"Help us!"
The pirates in the cells, seeing Cheng Xiaoyu appear, excitedly shouted, treating him as their savior.
He slowly walked to a cell and kicked open the cell door with a fierce blow.
The pirates in the cell were first stunned when they saw Cheng Xiaoyu, then erupted into deafening cheers.
"Great! Someone's here to save us!"
"We're saved!"
However, their cheers quickly came to an abrupt halt.
Cheng Xiaoyu curved his lips into a cruel smile and whispered, "Sorry, you've misunderstood."
The Starvation Hell, as its name implied, had no food. The criminals imprisoned here were already skin and bones, and Cheng Xiaoyu gave them no chance to resist.
"Shadow Spikes!"
Countless black spikes appeared again, like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, instantly transforming the entire third level into a living hell.
Screams and wails rose and fell, blood stained the ground, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood.
"Experience +50000!"
"Experience +73000!"
"Experience +56000!"
…
System notifications kept ringing, and Cheng Xiaoyu's level rapidly increased.
Level 50!
Level 53!
Level 56!
…
Level 59!
In just over ten minutes, Cheng Xiaoyu gained 13 levels!
Looking at the corpses scattered everywhere, Cheng Xiaoyu felt no guilt, but rather a surge of excitement.
"This leveling speed is amazing!"
Level 59! The feeling of expanding power almost made Cheng Xiaoyu groan. He could feel that all aspects of his body's attributes had greatly improved!
Now, he could not only perform the Fruit Awakening operation, but also extract a Vice Admiral-level shadow with just one more level.
Don't underestimate a Vice Admiral; this was also an extremely significant improvement!
A Vice Admiral-level strength was not ordinary. Aside from freaks like Garp, the strength of other Vice Admirals was also excellent within the Marine.
…
At the same time, on Impel Down's fourth level, a colossal figure slowly opened his eyes.
His body almost occupied the entire bathroom, and dense poisonous gas emanated from him, making one nauseous.
This person was none other than the Warden of Impel Down—Magellan.
"Warden Magellan, a riot has broken out on Impel Down's third level, and all prisoners have been killed!"
A jailer ran in, panicking, his voice trembling and his face pale.
"Who did it?!" Magellan's voice was low and hoarse, as if coming from the depths of hell, carrying a chilling pressure.
One must know that as the Warden of Impel Down, his duty was to guard these criminals well.
The previous Chief Guard Shiryu, who had abused and murdered prisoners, was imprisoned by him on the sixth level, and now another one!
This was a challenge to his authority!
"It's a criminal named… named Cheng Xiaoyu!" The jailer was so scared he almost knelt, sweating profusely.
"Cheng Xiaoyu?" Magellan's massive body trembled slightly, a sinister glint flashing in his eyes.
"Is it the newcomer who just arrived a few days ago?! Doesn't he only have a 60 million Berries bounty?!"
"Could it be… that you missed a zero in the bounty?!"
He roared, poisonous gas spewing out, staining the surrounding air green.
"Absolutely not, Warden! I'm sure his bounty is 60 million Berries!"
The jailer quickly explained, afraid of being sprayed by Magellan's poison.
"A mere pirate newcomer with a 60 million Berries bounty… yet he massacred the entire third level…"
Magellan fell into deep thought, his poison-emitting face filled with doubt.
"Could it be that this kid's bounty… has definitely been severely underestimated!"
He slowly stood up from the toilet, his massive body like a small mountain, full of oppressive presence.
"It seems I'll have to go myself."