The next thing to do was wait. Wait for fish to bite, wait for water to distill, wait for the wooden plank to drift toward land.
Zhang Da Ye sometimes thought about how to increase the 3% on the back of his hand, and sometimes chatted with Tom, asking if he could just fly up into the sky.
Unfortunately, even if Tom wanted to fly, he needed various tools. Give him a wooden plank, he could try gliding. Give him a special outfit, he could flap his wings like a bird. Give him a broom, he could ride it through the air.
The first two options couldn't carry a person, and even the broom method wasn't guaranteed to work, since Tom hadn't fully mastered the flying techniques he learned from the witch in his dreams.
While chatting idly, Tom suddenly stumbled, his whole body flattening against the plank, upper body stretching as he hovered above the water. A fish had bitten.
Zhang Da Ye grabbed Tom's tail. The next moment, Tom's hind legs were suspended in midair. A normal cat had been stretched to ten meters long.
Zhang Da Ye didn't care about Tom's discomfort. He held on tightly and retreated a bit, letting Tom's back legs rest on the plank again.
Tom pulled back with effort, gradually returning to his normal size, but the fish didn't slow down. Their plank was dragged forward toward it. What kind of fish had this much strength?
Were the shoelace and keychain he had made into a hook really strong enough for this?
Tom pulled the fishing rod hard. Zhang Da Ye saw the wooden rod bend into an exaggerated arc.
He didn't have time to think. First, they had to catch the fish.
Zhang Da Ye's hands climbed up Tom's body, alternating over his waist, chest, and arms, finally holding the rod with Tom.
The fish dragged them for over a thousand meters before losing its strength. Zhang Da Ye and Tom nodded to each other and started reeling it in. Without a reel, it had to be hand-cranked. A half-meter-long fish landed on the plank, flopping and opening its mouth.
Tom grabbed a small club and knocked the fish unconscious with two precise hits.
Looking at the poor fish, Zhang Da Ye couldn't help but feel sorry. He didn't even think about whether the fish's strength and size made sense.
Tom was professional when it came to handling fish, removing the innards and scales skillfully and slicing it into sashimi.
With no way to light a fire and unsure about parasites, survival came first. Just having food was enough.
By evening, the glass bottle had collected nearly half a bottle of water. Zhang Da Ye and Tom split it evenly, enough to wet their throats.
Though Zhang Da Ye felt the simple distillation setup shouldn't be this efficient, it was still a relief.
He loosened his collar and let Tom crawl inside his shirt. Tom was actually afraid of the cold.
One person and one cat huddled together, sleeping side by side. Zhang Da Ye survived his first day in this new world with Tom's company.
This was now the fifth morning drifting at sea.
Tom crawled out of Zhang Da Ye's shirt and stretched lazily.
The past few days had been merely surviving. Both of them looked haggard, their cheeks sunken.
Tom had no complaints. He could feel that his new owner cared for him.
Though Zhang Da Ye seemed not very smart, clumsy, and inefficient at even cleaning a fish, Tom didn't mind. As long as his owner treated him well, didn't abandon him, and didn't scold him when he failed at catching mice, he was satisfied.
Tom's standards were humble. Being kicked out for failing to catch mice was a pain he would never forget.
Thankfully, his new owner accepted him happily, even after knowing the reason he was thrown out.
Zhang Da Ye's eyes remained tightly closed, features scrunched from another nightmare. Tom was used to this. Every morning, Zhang Da Ye would wake up to tell strange dreams, like suppressing Five Finger Mountain or a fat orange cat sitting on his chest.
(I don't get the 5 finger mountain reference. Do tell if anyone understands.)
"Good morning, Tom."
Zhang Da Ye opened his eyes and first looked at the circular magic array on the back of his hand. The number had risen to 7%. He had no idea how it increased. Maybe it was solar-powered?
He yawned and told Tom about his nightmare: "I dreamt I became a scorpion demon and was crushed under a rainbow-colored mountain by the Calabash Brothers. That mountain was so heavy, I couldn't breathe…"
Normally, Tom paid attention to Zhang Da Ye's stories, but today he was distracted. He rubbed his eyes, blinked hard, and opened his mouth wide.
"What's wrong, Tom?"
"Ya-oh~~~"
Tom cheered, did a backward somersault along the plank edge, and finally leapt onto Zhang Da Ye.
He tugged at Zhang Da Ye's shirt and pointed in a certain direction.
Following Tom's gesture, Zhang Da Ye saw green breaking through the blue sea. Trees. Land.
His face lit up with joy. The drift was finally ending.
He cheered and lifted Tom high: "Let's go! We're rowing there!"
Tom and Zhang Da Ye paddled on either side of the plank, thrilled.
Tom's short arms shouldn't be effective, yet he rotated them like a propeller.
As the island drew closer, Zhang Da Ye noticed something off. Behind the small island loomed a massive red cliff, towering into the clouds, edges lost to sight.
No way, he thought, realizing the gravity of the situation.
He hesitated, slowing his paddling, but Tom didn't stop. The plank spun in place.
Tom gradually calmed down, looking at Zhang Da Ye as if to say: 'You're supposed to be paddling!'
"Sorry, Tom. I was distracted," Zhang Da Ye said. "We might be in a dangerous place. Let's approach slowly and be ready to draw our guns if needed."
Tom blinked, understanding the seriousness, and nodded thoughtfully.
One person, one cat, continued toward the island.
From morning until noon, they slowly saw the island's details.
Tall trees filled the view. White numbers marked their trunks. Bubbles of various sizes rose from the ground, sparkling in sunlight, colorful and beautiful.
In Tom's eyes, this place was like a fairy tale island.
For Zhang Da Ye, it was different. The scene reminded him of a place called the Sabaody Archipelago. That massive cliff in the distance was probably Red Soil Continent.
This was the world of One Piece.