Chapter 4: A Lonely Man and a Widow
Cheng Lang found it a little funny.
But it also confirmed something indirectly.
This must be why, when Alvida reappears in the original story, she has no crew around her.
It seems they all defected.
After all, going from serving a fat woman to serving a beautiful one—Cheng Lang doubted those pirates were loyal enough to stick around for the transformation.
Then he noticed another ship in the distance.
Loaded with cannons?
Do they know how to build ships too?
He decided not to overthink it.
Instead, he turned his attention to something else.
He walked to the beach and dipped his hand into the seawater.
No physical reaction.
Then he gradually submerged more of his body.
Soon, a "Weakness X" debuff appeared at the bottom of his status bar.
"Weakness 10? Can I use milk to remove this?"
He pulled back from the water.
The debuff vanished instantly.
The feeling of powerlessness faded.
"Too bad I don't have a bucket. I'd love to test infinite water."
He looked down at himself.
"I refuse to believe I won't find iron today. But first—I need storage. I'm covered in dirt."
He quickly crafted a wooden chest and dumped all the dirt and stone into it.
Just like in MC, the box had plenty of space.
Then he grabbed his tools and began mining underground.
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With a stone shovel and pickaxe, his digging speed was much faster than before.
Once he reached the stone layer, Cheng Lang kept going without pause.
But this time, he was more cautious.
No "real man" mining method.
He dug out half a backpack of stone, then switched to fishbone mining.
Time passed quietly.
Cheng Lang stared at his full backpack, deep in thought.
Am I being naive?
Games are games. Reality is reality.
In MC, iron ore is a neat square block.
In real life, it's tiny particles scattered in stone.
You need to refine it—with a screening machine from the tech mod.
But let's not talk about tech mods yet.
Even if he could build a screening machine, he'd still need iron ore.
And he hadn't found any.
After thinking for a while, Cheng Lang decided to try chain mining.
He set the target to stone, range 12×3.
The excavation was slow.
His hunger bar dropped by half.
Whoa.
Thirty-six more stones on the ground.
Just rocks.
He kept expanding.
And finally—success.
A mine.
Getting closer, he saw it was coal.
Cheng Lang was thrilled.
He rushed over and started digging.
Bang!
The stone shattered.
Coal exploded everywhere.
"I was so hyped I forgot to turn off chain mining!"
He looked into the darkness.
Picked up some coal and crafted a torch.
Coal was everywhere.
But Cheng Lang wasn't focused on that—he checked his XP bar.
No level-up from mining.
That's different from the game.
He didn't fully understand it, but it didn't matter.
There were many ways to level up in MC.
And if coal existed, other ores must too.
He just hadn't found the veins yet.
He grabbed a new pickaxe and kept digging.
Might as well fill the backpack before leaving.
He compressed the coal into blocks and finally filled his inventory.
But there was still plenty of coal left in the mine.
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By the time he returned to the surface, it was dusk.
A macho pink boat was docked at the shore.
Not large—but good enough for long-distance sailing.
"I thought you ran off," Alvida said, sitting on the deck with her legs crossed.
"You built this yourself?"
"You really overestimate me," Cheng Lang replied.
Alvida patted the stool beside her, inviting him up.
He climbed aboard.
"This was the boat I used when I first went to sea. I worked on it all afternoon—it's barely usable now."
She stepped on the deck.
It creaked loudly.
Clearly, the quality was questionable.
"Alright, leave it to me. I'll upgrade it."
Night fell as Alvida watched her tiny boat transform into a sleek, angular ship.
On the shore, Cheng Lang admired his work.
Years of playing MC had paid off.
He wasn't a master builder, but he'd built plenty out of boredom.
"Your Devil Fruit is amazing," Alvida said.
She walked across the deck, feeling the smooth planks—no nails, no seams.
It was surreal.
"Necessary," Cheng Lang replied.
"With more materials, I could do even crazier stuff."
"This torch shrinks in my hand. It has no heat, but it keeps burning. Wow, this fruit is insane." Alvida marveled at the torch.
It was cool to the touch, yet it glowed steadily.
It hadn't gone out since Cheng Lang started building.
Just… incomprehensible.
While Alvida played with the torch, Cheng Lang focused on something else.
Even though he'd modified the ship, he couldn't move it like in MC.
After all, this wasn't a game.
But he let it go.
Watching the boat sway with the waves, he felt satisfied.
"Test the floor's durability."
Alvida didn't hesitate.
She grabbed her mace and slammed it into the deck.
A tiny crack appeared—then vanished instantly.
Fixed.
She was stunned.
She hit it again, harder.
Same result.
Tiny cracks, instantly healed.
"This?! It's too strong."
"Try hitting it continuously, but gently."
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