#2 - Chapter 2 Bartholomew Bear
Jin An looked at the boy in front of him, feeling like he had seen him somewhere before.
"What's your name?"
The boy seemed surprised by the question and paused for a moment.
"My name is Bartholomew Kuma, you can just call me Kuma."
Although he didn't know what this person was planning, he still answered politely.
Hearing the name, Jin An understood somewhat, the figure in his memory slowly overlapping with the boy in front of him.
"Pirate King? No wonder it's so chaotic..." Jin An muttered.
Then he replied, "I'll go with you."
He believed in Kuma's character, he was the kind of man who would fulfill his promise even if it meant death.
They traveled in silence.
......
"Thank you, this knife of yours is really good, it cut through the chains so easily, heehaw!" Ivankov took the severed chains off his wrists, grinning widely.
Jin An stroked the gleaming blade in his hand and nodded, "I put a lot of effort into this knife."
"Kuma, you're a big help!" Ivankov patted Kuma lightly on the shoulder with his newly freed hand, praising him.
If Kuma hadn't brought Jin An, it would have taken him some effort to get rid of these chains.
"It feels so good to have my hands free, heehaw!"
Putting away his playful expression, Ivankov looked serious and said to Jin An beside him, "Join us, let's escape this cage together."
"That's right, join us, your chances of survival will increase a lot," Ginny, who was feasting nearby, advised while looking at the Den Den Mushi beside her, "And joining us might bring unexpected gains."
"After all, the main goal now is to save our lives, there's strength in numbers."
"......"
Jin An's eyes flickered. After this period of contact, he learned about the island's situation from these people.
The island was surrounded by the World Government's navy, making escape extremely difficult.
Moreover, he believed in the abilities of these individuals and knew that most of them would survive for decades, so following them would guarantee a certain level of safety.
Seeing that his persuasion seemed to be working, Ivankov kicked off and jumped onto the highest rock nearby, looking at the panicked people around him, and said loudly:
"That's right, this is God Valley, a place targeted by so-called 'Gods'."
"This place is full of despair, helplessness, and death for us."
"At the same time, it provides joy, laughter, and pleasure for those executioners."
"Are you satisfied with the current situation?"
Hearing these words, most of the people below lowered their heads in disappointment.
They were also very unwilling, but they had no way to resist, and resisting would only lead to a faster death.
The only motivation that kept them alive now was the Celestial Dragons' promise of 'freedom after surviving three weeks'.
Jin An took in the expressions of the people around him. What did these people do wrong?
Nothing!
It was the Celestial Dragons' greed and brutality that forced them to live such miserable lives.
Just because of the island's rich resources, just because the island was crowned with the name of 'God'.
He clenched his fists, he was angry at the distortion of this world, but he was powerless to change it.
Although he was a transmigrator, he had nothing but a knife. Although he had learned some martial arts, his physical fitness was completely incomparable to the people of this world.
However, he still wanted to try to do something, so that he wouldn't have come to this world in vain.
"No one can approach this place, and no one can escape from this island!"
"Everything that actually happens here will be erased from history!"
"This is a massacre race to drive out the natives and plunder resources!"
"The survival rate of the 'race' used to be 0! Wake up, everyone, it's impossible to stay here for three weeks."
The competition lasted for three weeks, and the Celestial Dragons could not kill more than 100,000 people instantly, they still had plenty of time to escape.
Jin An chose to join Ivankov and persuaded the crowd, although his voice was not loud, his sincerity made the surrounding people slightly calmer.
They tried to awaken the slaves, and they almost wore out their lips, but it was still ineffective.
Just when people were still harboring illusions and were extremely entangled in their hearts.
"Buzz..."
A broadcast sound covering the entire island rang out, and the host's excited voice immediately followed, announcing the 'good news'.
"Congratulations to Lord Garling Saint for being the first to obtain 100,000 points!"
Following the broadcast were the revelry of the nobles and the lamentations of the 'prey'.
There were about 100,000 "prey" on this island, including slaves captured by the Celestial Dragons and the natives who lived here.
The targets painted on the back of their clothes were death warrants, and every gunshot would take a life.
The Visual Den Den Mushi captured all the 'heroic figures' of Garling Saint and the other God's Knights and transmitted them directly to the 'Land of the Gods' in Mary Geoise.
In the picture, Garling Saint was riding a bird-type flying mount, constantly charging and slashing through the crowd.
"Lord Garling Saint, who was originally penalized to start from 'negative 10,000 points' for killing the king, is now leading by a landslide."
The host said loudly, "Lord Garling Saint's actual score should be 110,000 points!"
......
"Listen to me," Ginny said to Jin An and the other two while listening to the information coming from the Den Den Mushi.
"The prize for this competition is the key to our escape!!!"
"As long as you eat it, you can transform into the Mythical Zoan 'Azure Dragon', that strongest level 'Devil Fruit', and another one."
Ginny paused and continued, "The ability to instantly blast others and yourself to a distant place! The thing called the Paw-Paw Fruit is on this island!"
"In this way, as long as one of us can eat that fruit, we and more people can escape from this island," Jin An slightly pondered and came to the conclusion.
"That's right, this is the easiest way for us to escape this island," Ginny nodded, her eyes scanning over the people around her.
"Sigh~"
Jin An sighed.
"Such important things, it won't be easy to get them."
"That's right, these things are stored as prizes in the center of this island," Ginny nodded with a smile.
Jin An couldn't help but admire this little girl for being so optimistic in this situation.
Seeming to see the discouragement of the people around her, Ginny continued, "I am an expert in theft, eavesdropping, and communication. I sent the information here two weeks ago, maybe someone is already rushing here now."
Jin An stared at the harmless Ginny in front of him. Stealing the Den Den Mushi, eavesdropping on this key information, and releasing it to the outside world were most likely all done by her alone.
It seems that I have caught a ride on a big shot, Jin An muttered to himself, touching his nose.
"Although it is our operation, in order to ensure success, bait is necessary," Ginny added.
"......"
The scene was silent, and no one made a sound.
Some people even moved back two steps silently to make themselves less conspicuous.
They knew the danger of being bait, and no one wanted to go.
Just when everyone lowered their heads, Kuma raised his hand with a smile.
"I'll do it, I think, my body is very strong, I will live longer than others!"
Kuma looked around at the people staring at him dumbfounded, and touched his head shyly.
"And I don't want to see anyone die."
"!!!"
Ginny put away her smile and couldn't speak for a moment, lowered her head, not knowing what she was thinking.
Jin An pulled down Kuma's raised hand, "You are still a child, let an older person like me do this kind of thing."
Was Jin An afraid of death?
No, he was more afraid than anyone else, but he always believed that a share of investment would bring a share of return, and a little danger was nothing in order to survive in this world.
A crisp electronic synthesized sound suddenly rang in his mind.
[Ding! Detecting that the host has made a major choice, the system is officially online.]
