Late at night.
The wine was gone, and the food was finished.
Shanks and Yasopp had left.
Before parting, Maude promised Yasopp that he would cherish the gun like his own child.
After Yasopp left, Maude quietly gave the flintlock rifle a new name—Usopp.
As the night deepened, Maude, who now had both a gun and bullets, lay in bed contentedly, gradually succumbing to sleep.
In the distance, he could vaguely hear Thor’s shouts of being deceived, complaining about how the wine was gone again.
But those things didn’t matter anymore.
What mattered was that he had a gun and bullets, taking a significant step towards his second hunt.
The next morning.
Maude woke up early again.
He started with a few sets of high-intensity exercises before heading downstairs.
At this time, Sunny had already prepared a table full of nutritious breakfast, while Thor had gone for his morning workout at the red-light district.
It had to be said again, the meals in this shop were heavenly.
However, Maude was puzzled by how Sunny, despite eating so much at every meal, managed to maintain such a thin figure.
Strange as it was, he couldn’t stop eating.
After wolfing down breakfast, Maude cleaned up the table on his own without Sunny having to ask, then proceeded to clean the shop as part of his routine.
He even cleaned the hallways and staircases because there was still some time left.
Later, Sunny came downstairs and took out a measuring tape to carefully adjust the positions of the goods on display.
After she finished, the store began a new day of business.
As expected, just like yesterday, hours passed without a single customer.
However, seeing Yasopp spend five million berries on two guns yesterday had changed Maude’s view of the shop.
This was clearly a high-end weapon store, the kind that doesn’t open for three days, but when it does, it makes a fortune.
With nothing else to do, Maude spent his time either organizing his thoughts or doing some exercises.
Sunny sat at the counter, carefully reading the daily newspaper.
She paid no attention to Maude’s training in the store, not interfering at all.
This relaxed management style made Maude feel at ease.
Just before noon, the door opened.
Maude thought it was Thor returning from his morning workout, but it turned out to be the undertaker, Arthur.
Arthur entered the store, closing the door behind him, and glanced at Sunny and Maude, asking, “Has Thor returned?”
“Not yet,” Sunny replied, putting down her newspaper.
Arthur looked puzzled, “It’s already this late, and he’s not back yet? He’s getting younger as he ages.”
Sunny remained silent.
Arthur didn’t mind, leaning against the counter, complaining to himself.
“Yesterday, the pig farm had a riot, and nearly a thousand slaves were killed or injured. It was exhausting. I don’t know what those slaves were thinking. Isn’t it better to live peacefully? Now, with so many dead and injured, the pig farm’s production will lag behind, and it’s the remaining slaves who will suffer.”
Hearing Arthur constantly mention slaves, Sunny’s expression turned cold.
Noticing her reaction, Arthur lightly patted his mask and insincerely apologized, “Sorry, sorry, I almost forgot you don’t like hearing this.”
Sunny snorted, ignoring Arthur.
Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Arthur shrugged it off, pulling out a plain booklet from his pocket and placing it on the counter.
“This is the catalog for the upcoming auction. I think Thor will be very interested. Also, tell him I’ll be waiting for him at the auction entrance at the end of the month.”
“Okay,” Sunny responded coldly.
Arthur shrugged and turned to leave.
Before leaving, he looked back at Maude and said ominously, “Kid, it’s best not to wander the streets these days. You might end up being taken to the pig farm.”
With that, Arthur left, making sure to maintain the store’s unspoken rule by leaving the door slightly ajar.
After Arthur left, Maude approached the counter and asked, “Sunny, what’s the pig farm?”
“The meat you had for breakfast, some of it comes from the pig farm. What do you think it is?”
“But what does that have to do with slaves…”
Halfway through his sentence, Maude suddenly thought of some disturbing images, his face changing color as he exclaimed, “That meat couldn’t be…?”
Seeing his reaction, Sunny knew Maude had misunderstood.
“What are you thinking? The pig farm is just a food production base with a robust livestock and farming industry. Most of the workers there are ordinary people captured by slave ships and pirates, as well as some captured navy soldiers. That’s why it has that nickname.”
As she explained, Sunny glanced at the bandages still on Maude’s head and said pointedly, “To those brutes, severely injured targets are worthless. Considering the cost of transport, they won’t waste time sending them to the black market. They usually just throw them into the sea.”
Pausing, Sunny added calmly, “So, Maude, you’re very lucky.”
“Lucky, huh…”
Maude glanced thoughtfully at the scar on Sunny’s face and nodded, “Indeed, waking up here is my good fortune.”
“Actually, you should thank Thor. He…”
Sunny opened the booklet Arthur left, her words suddenly stopping as her expression turned excited.
“Devil Fruit! There’s a Devil Fruit at this auction!”
“Huh?”
Maude raised an eyebrow and couldn’t help but peek over at the booklet in Sunny’s hand.
A drawing of a fruit with strange patterns immediately caught his eye.
Seeing the illustration, Maude’s expression changed.
A Devil Fruit is the shortcut to gaining power that many dream of!
But with his current resources, obtaining this Devil Fruit was an impossible dream.
Maude didn’t even dare to entertain the thought, quickly calming himself.
Noticing Sunny’s white-knuckled grip on the booklet, he could feel her excitement.
That excitement came from a desperate desire to become stronger.
“Such a huge advantage as a Devil Fruit is out of my reach for now.”
Maude averted his gaze, no longer focusing on the booklet.
Despite the Devil Fruit’s potential to quickly make him stronger, he currently lacked the money and power to obtain it, so there was no point in getting emotionally involved.
Even though he thought this way, he was still somewhat interested in the auction at the end of the month.
Though he couldn’t afford anything, he could at least join the excitement.
And who knows, the presence of a Devil Fruit might cause a commotion at the auction.
If an old, malfunctioning Usopp were to have a misfire incident, shooting someone from a distance unexpectedly, it wouldn’t be a big deal.
“There are still over twenty days until the end of the month. If I can hunt a few targets before then…”
Maude pondered the feasibility.
Suddenly, the door opened again.
The visitor was not Thor but a strange man with long blonde hair wearing a blue mask with holes.
Maude recognized him immediately.
Isn’t this Killer, one of the Supernovas and a member of Kid’s crew?
Become a Patron read up to 40 chapter ahead public release ^_^
Please join Discord Server so we can talk ^_^
