บท 188: Chapter 188: A Broken World, a Major Event Right from the Start?

Chapter 188: A Broken World, a Major Event Right from the Start?

This was a tranquil town.

The houses lining both sides of the street had rounded rooftops, resembling the architectural style of Central Europe. The design was simple yet elegant.

It was afternoon.

Sunlight bathed the town, bringing warmth to its quiet streets.

Suddenly.

A man and a woman, hand in hand, appeared in the middle of the street.

And they appeared out of thin air.

Fortunately, the street was deserted at the moment, or they would have surely startled any onlookers.

The two who appeared were Chen Ye and Qin Muyin.

Upon entering the secret realm.

Chen Ye immediately let go of Qin Muyin's hand, his eyes scanning their surroundings.

Qin Muyin glanced at Chen Ye and then also began observing the area.

At this moment, Qin Muyin felt a bit nervous and on guard.

Every time she previously thought about entering the secret realm, she would feel a sense of unease. This indicated that Secret Realm No. 30 held unimaginable dangers!

At least for her, it was highly lethal.

Even with Chen Ye's assistance this time, she didn't dare to let her guard down.

"It doesn't look like there's any danger here," Qin Muyin said.

Chen Ye responded, "Strange, these houses don't look abandoned, but where have all the townspeople gone?"

"I can sense some movement," Qin Muyin said. "It seems there's a crowd gathering up ahead."

This young woman's mental strength was astonishing, so sensing people in the distance was normal for her.

Chen Ye, unable to hear anything himself, asked curiously, "Captain Qin, if I may ask, what is your current mental attribute level?"

Qin Muyin thought for a moment and replied honestly, "Just over 5,500."

Hearing this number, Chen Ye was taken aback.

Good heavens! No wonder she was regarded as a pillar of stability—truly formidable!

At that moment.

A notification suddenly appeared in Chen Ye's mind:

[Your identity as an assistant has been detected. You will not receive any rewards in this secret realm...]

[The duration of your stay in this secret realm is linked to your employer. You will leave once your employer completes their task or perishes.]

[You have gained the ability of temporary language proficiency...]

At the same time.

Qin Muyin received a notification as well.

However, her prompt was slightly different from Chen Ye's.

"Chen Ye, I just received a task notification."

Qin Muyin proactively informed Chen Ye.

She had promised beforehand to follow Chen Ye's lead this time.

"Oh? What task is it?" Chen Ye asked.

"The first task is for me to become a naval officer and reach the rank of vice admiral within a year!"

Hearing the details of this task.

Chen Ye was momentarily stunned.

Secret Realm No. 30 actually issued such a task? It truly was different from the previous secret realms.

Qin Muyin then added, "If I fail to complete the task within the given time, I will be permanently trapped in this world..."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye's expression turned serious.

"You just said this is only your first task? Does that mean there are others?"

"Yes, there are three tasks in total," Qin Muyin nodded. "However, the second and third tasks haven't been issued yet. I assume they will appear after I complete the first one."

Chen Ye thought for a moment and said, "The first task shouldn't be too difficult. With your strength, any faction would be eager to recruit you with favorable terms... For now, we need to figure out what's happening here."

Qin Muyin nodded in agreement. "Let's go and ask around."

She was used to giving orders, so she said this reflexively.

Thankfully, Chen Ye didn't mind.

As long as she followed his overall plan, these small details didn't bother him.

The two of them walked down the main street.

They continued until they reached the harbor, where they saw a large crowd gathered, chattering away.

There were even children playing nearby.

It seemed the whole town had gathered at the harbor.

Chen Ye stepped forward and stopped a middle-aged man who couldn't squeeze into the crowd. "Sir, why is everyone gathered here?"

The man sized up Chen Ye and Qin Muyin, noting their unusual attire, and asked, "You two must be outsiders, right?"

"Yes!" Chen Ye nodded. "We just arrived."

Although the man was not speaking Chinese, Chen Ye, with his temporary language proficiency, had no trouble communicating.

The man smiled and said, "We're here because we received notice that the navy is recruiting on a large scale, and this time, the benefits are excellent."

"Oh? I see. Thank you, sir."

With that, Chen Ye pushed into the crowd to take a closer look.

Although the harbor was tightly packed, Chen Ye's strength allowed him to easily make his way to the front.

At the edge of the harbor, a large table was set up. Several navy soldiers sat behind it, looking bored as they waited. If anyone wanted to join the navy, they would record the details on the spot.

When Chen Ye saw the uniforms of these navy soldiers, his face showed a hint of surprise.

The soldiers all wore white uniforms with the word "Justice" emblazoned on their backs.

Such uniforms were very familiar to Chen Ye.

He immediately realized which world they had entered...

Chen Ye thought to himself, "I didn't expect Qin Muyin's Secret Realm No. 30 to actually be the world of One Piece!"

If it really was the One Piece world, becoming a Vice Admiral within a year would be quite challenging. Although the One Piece world was one where strength was paramount, the internal promotions within the Marines were rigorous; strength alone wasn't enough.

Take Smoker, for example. Despite being quite strong and working diligently for years, he only managed to reach the rank of Vice Admiral after much effort.

Unless—

The Marine Headquarters faced an unexpected crisis and urgently needed manpower, in which case they might make exceptional promotions. Admirals like Fujitora and Ryokugyu were promoted under such extraordinary circumstances.

Next to the table, there was a massive black recruitment notice, listing the requirements and benefits of joining the Marines.

Chen Ye skipped over the benefits and focused on the requirements.

The standards weren't particularly high: young adults aged 16 to 30, with preference given to those with strong capabilities, provided they had no criminal record.

Chen Ye didn't step forward to ask questions right away. Instead, he observed from the crowd.

He noticed that despite the Marines offering enticing conditions for enlistment, there were very few applicants.

There were many onlookers, but no one seemed willing to join.

The Marine soldiers at the table were on the verge of dozing off...

Something was clearly off.

From what Chen Ye knew, the Marines in the One Piece world had a decent reputation. It shouldn't have been this difficult to recruit.

Then, Chen Ye remembered something.

"The Marines' large-scale recruitment... Could it be that this timeline is set after the War at the Top? Only after such a devastating battle would the Marines suffer severe losses and urgently need reinforcements. Fujitora and Ryokugyu were also promoted during this period."

At that moment, the conversation among a few nearby men caught Chen Ye's attention.

"Why would the Marines suddenly launch a large-scale recruitment campaign?"

"What? You don't know? That terrifying incident has spread across the world recently!"

"Could it be... the incident involving Admiral Aokiji's death?"

"Exactly. And it wasn't just Admiral Aokiji—an entire marine division was reportedly sunk, leading to the deaths of countless marine soldiers! That's why they're desperate for recruits."

"Whoever did that must be a fearsome monster!"

"No wonder no one dares enlist, even with such high incentives. Being in the Marines is too dangerous now."

Hearing these discussions, Chen Ye was stunned.

"What was going on? Aokiji died?

Who did it? Was it Luffy avenging his grandfather? (In the manga's later chapters, Aokiji and Shiryu of the Rain severely injured Garp...)

No, that can't be right!

According to the original story, after the War at the Top, Aokiji and Akainu battled for the position of Fleet Admiral for ten days and nights. In the end, Akainu won and became Fleet Admiral, while Aokiji chose to leave the Marines and ended up associating with Blackbeard.

But what these people just said clearly indicated that Aokiji died while still holding the rank of Admiral.

What on earth was going on here?"

After a moment of thought, Chen Ye joined the conversation.

"I heard you mention the incident with Admiral Aokiji. Is it true that he's dead?"

"It's definitely true. The Marine Headquarters even issued an obituary... Hey, who are you?"

"Oh, I'm from out of town, just passing through and unaware of this. Could you tell me more?"

"What do you want to know?"

"For example, who killed Admiral Aokiji? From what I know, he was one of the Marines' strongest forces. Who could possibly defeat him? Was it one of the Four Emperors?"

"No, it wasn't. From what we've heard, it was a terrifying newcomer, though we don't know the full details."

"When did this happen? How come I've never heard of it?"

"The incident occurred about half a month ago."

"Half a month, you say? I see..."

"Hey, I've already told you everything I know. Why are you still holding onto me?"

"One more question. Who are the current emperors of the sea?"

"You don't even know that? Did you just come down from a mountain or something? The Emperors are the Whitebeard Pirates, the Red-Haired Pirates, the Beasts Pirates, and the Big Mom Pirates."

After gathering the information he needed, Chen Ye's frown deepened.

Whitebeard is still alive!

This meant the War at the Top hadn't happened.

Yet Aokiji had died early.

Taking a marine division's troops with him to the grave...

Who could have done such a thing? And who would dare? A terrifying newcomer...

"Damn! Could this person be like me—a traveler from another world?"

Chen Ye thought, "This idea actually makes a lot of sense!"

Only then could the current broken plot be explained.

Moments later.

Chen Ye walked over to Qin Muyin.

"Chen Ye, did you find any information?"

"Yes, but it's not good news."

"Oh? Tell me about it."

"The marine recruitment point is just ahead. Let's join the marines first, and then I'll tell you everything."

"Alright."

The two squeezed through the crowd again.

Qin Muyin used her telekinesis to clear a path and easily reached the edge of the dock without anyone even brushing against her.

At the same time, Qin Muyin saw the recruitment point.

"Room and board included, 5,000 Berries a month? Berries must be the currency here, right? The pay looks decent," Qin Muyin said with feigned lightheartedness.

Chen Ye replied, "Let's go! We'll apply now!"

With that, he took the lead and walked toward the table.

Qin Muyin followed.

When the two stood before the table, the bored marine soldiers suddenly perked up.

"Are you two here to join the marines?" the lead marine soldier asked.

"Yes," Chen Ye nodded.

"Please show your identification."

"We've lived in a mountain village all our lives and don't have any."

"I see… Then I'm sorry, but we can't accept people with unknown backgrounds."

"Is that so?"

As Chen Ye finished speaking, he raised his right hand and, in full view of the crowd, opened his palm.

"Whoosh!"

A burst of flame rose from his palm.

The marine soldiers were startled.

The onlookers gasped in amazement.

"A Devil Fruit user!" the lead marine soldier exclaimed. "Are you a Devil Fruit user?"

"Yes," Chen Ye said. "I saw on the notice that strong individuals are prioritized. Do I qualify?"

"Yes! I'll process your enlistment records right away."

The marine soldier's attitude changed instantly.

"What's your name?"

"Chen Ye."

"Age?"

"Nineteen."

"So young…"

After they diligently processed Chen Ye's records,

Chen Ye added, "My companion is also a Devil Fruit user. She wants to join the marines too."

"Oh? Is that so?"

The marine soldiers all looked at Qin Muyin.

"Hello, could you demonstrate your Devil Fruit ability?"

Devil Fruit ability?

Qin Muyin didn't fully understand, but seeing Chen Ye's look, she raised her hand slightly.

Instantly, a green light emanated from her.

The marine soldiers immediately felt an invisible and powerful force lift them into the air, holding them several feet above the ground.

The onlookers gasped again.

"Ah! I'm afraid of heights…"

"Put me down!"

The marine soldiers shouted in panic.

Qin Muyin didn't intend to trouble them. After showing her power, she gently set them back down.

After that,

Qin Muyin's enlistment went smoothly.

"Please wait here for a moment, or feel free to explore the town. Our ship will arrive in about an hour, so just return to the dock before then," one of the marine soldiers said, looking at Chen Ye and Qin Muyin with newfound respect.

Especially Qin Muyin.

The soldier could tell from that display that this woman could easily kill him if she wanted to.

Chen Ye didn't leave or simply wait around. He pulled one of the marine soldiers aside to ask more questions.

"Hello, senior," Chen Ye greeted politely.

The marine soldier quickly waved his hands, startled. "You're too kind, sir. I'm just a new recruit, not a senior."

"Alright, I just have a few questions for you."

"Please, ask away."

"I heard that the reason for this large-scale recruitment is the incident involving Admiral Aokiji's death?"

At this question, the marine soldier didn't hesitate and said, "Yes!"

This matter was no longer a secret; it had become global news.

So, there was no reason not to share.

"Who could possibly kill Admiral Aokiji?"

"That… I'm not sure," the marine soldier replied after thinking. "But I heard that Headquarters has already identified the culprit and is preparing to issue a bounty. Once that bounty is posted, we'll know who did it."

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