It was late at night.
The alcohol was gone, and so was the food.
Shanks and Jesus had left.
Before they left, Alex promised Jesus that he would take good care of the gun, just like he would his own son.
After Jesus left, Alex silently gave the shotgun a new name: Usopp.
As the night deepened, Alex, who had obtained the gun and bullets, lay down contentedly on the bed and gradually fell asleep.
Vaguely, he could hear Thor shouting that he had been cheated and cursing why the wine was all gone again.
But that no longer mattered.
What mattered was that Alex had a gun and bullets, and he had taken a big step toward his second hunt.
The next day, Alex woke up early again.
He did a few sets of high-intensity exercises before going downstairs.
By this time, Sunny had already prepared a table full of an overly nutritious breakfast, and Thor had already gone to Flower Street for his morning exercise.
Once again, it was not an exaggeration to say that the food in the store was heavenly.
But what made Alex wonder was how Sunny, who ate so much at every meal, managed to maintain such a slim figure.
Strange as it was, he didn't dwell on it for long.
After gobbling up his breakfast, Alex cleaned the table without being told to do so by Sunny and then cleaned the shop as usual.
Seeing that there was still some time left, he also cleaned the corridor and other areas.
Afterward, Sunny went downstairs and took out a measuring tape to measure the placement of the goods one by one.
Once all this was done, the shop began a new day of business.
Naturally, just like the day before, after a few hours had passed, there was not a single customer.
However, after Jesus bought two guns for five million berries the previous day, Alex had already changed his opinion of the store.
This was clearly a boutique-style weapons store that would probably go out of business for three days and then make a profit for three years.
When he was not busy, Alex would either refresh his memory or do some exercise.
Sunny, on the other hand, sat at the counter and read the daily newspaper.
She ignored Alex's exercise routine and did not interfere.
Alex was very happy about this relaxed management style.
As noon approached, the door was pushed open.
Alex thought it was Thor returning from his morning exercise, but when he looked up, he saw that it was the undertaker, Arthur.
Arthur walked into the shop, closed the door behind him, and then looked at Sunny and Alex.
"Has Thor returned yet?"
"Not yet," said Sunny, putting down the newspaper.
Arthur was surprised. "It's already this late, and he still hasn't returned? He's getting younger and younger every day."
Sunny didn't say anything.
Arthur didn't care and walked over to the counter, leaning halfway over it. He started complaining to himself.
"Yesterday, nearly a thousand slaves were killed or injured in a riot at the pig farm. It really tired me out. I don't know what these slaves were thinking. Wouldn't it be better to live in peace? Well, now that so many have been killed or injured, the pig farm won't be able to keep up with production in the short term. Won't the other slaves suffer?"
As Arthur kept referring to the slaves, Sunny's expression gradually turned cold.
Noticing Sunny's reaction, Arthur patted the mask on his face and apologized insincerely, "Sorry, I almost forgot you don't like hearing this."
Sunny snorted, too lazy to pay Arthur any more attention.
Arthur saw the atmosphere was a bit tense, so he smiled nonchalantly, took out an unremarkable-looking booklet from his pocket, and placed it on the counter.
"This is the auction catalog that just came out today. I think Thor will be very interested. By the way, please tell him that I'll be waiting for him at the entrance to the auction at the end of the month."
"Oh," Sunny replied coldly.
Arthur shrugged and turned to leave.
Before leaving, he glanced back at Alex and said sinisterly, "Little guy, you'd better not go out on the street during this period, so as to avoid being caught and sent to the pig factory."
After saying this, Arthur pushed the door open and left, not forgetting to maintain the unspoken rule in the shop—leaving the door ajar.
After Arthur left, Alex went up to the counter and asked, "Sunny, what kind of place is a pig factory?"
"Some of the meat you ate this morning came from a pig factory. What kind of place do you think that is?"
"But that has nothing to do with slaves..."
Halfway through his sentence, Alex suddenly associated it with certain images that would be censored, and his face immediately changed. He exclaimed, "Could it be that the meat is..."
Seeing Alex's reaction, Sunny knew that he must have thought the wrong thing.
"What are you thinking? It's just a food production base with a sound animal husbandry and farming industry. Most of the people working there are ordinary people who were plundered from all over the world by slave ships and pirates, and there are also a few naval soldiers who were captured by pirates. That's why it was given the nickname."
After explaining this, Sunny suddenly glanced at the bandage that had not yet been removed from Alex and said pointedly,
"In the eyes of those animals, a target with more serious injuries is worthless. Sometimes, considering the cost of transportation, it's impossible to take the time and effort to sell it on the black market. It's usually just thrown into the sea and disposed of."
After a pause, Sunny said calmly, "So, Alex, you are very lucky."
"Lucky..."
Alex thoughtfully looked at the disfiguring scar on Sunny's face and nodded. "Indeed, it is my good fortune to wake up here."
"In fact, you should thank Thor. He..."
Sunny flipped through the album left by Arthur, and her words suddenly stopped halfway through. Her expression became agitated.
"Devil's Fruit? There's actually a Devil's Fruit at this auction!"
"Huh?"
Alex raised an eyebrow and, without thinking about the consequences, walked up to the counter to look at the picture book in Sunny's hands.
A fruit with strange ripples suddenly came into view.
Looking at the picture of the fruit, Alex's eyes immediately changed.
The Devil's Fruit—the shortcut to becoming stronger that most people dream of!
Unfortunately, with his current funds, it was undoubtedly impossible to obtain this Devil's Fruit.
Alex didn't even dare to think about it and quickly calmed down.
He noticed Sunny's fingers, which were white from gripping the picture book too tightly, and could clearly feel her excitement.
That excitement came from a desperate desire to become stronger.
"A benefit as great as the Devil's Fruit is not for me, at least for now," Alex thought.
He looked away and stopped paying attention to the picture book.
Although the Devil's Fruit could allow him to quickly embark on the path to hunting and becoming stronger, he currently had no money and no strength. Why waste his emotions?
Still, he was a little interested in the auction at the end of the month.
Even if he had no money, he could at least go and have some fun, right?
Moreover, it was possible that there would be trouble at the auction because of the Devil's Fruit.
At that time, the aging Usopp might have a firing accident and shoot someone unexpectedly from a distance. That shouldn't be a big deal.
"There are more than 20 days left until the end of the month. If I can hunt a few prey before then..."
Alex pondered the feasibility.
Suddenly, the shop door was pushed open for the second time.
The person who came in was still not Thor, but a strange man with long blonde hair and a mask with a blue hole on his face.
Alex looked at the man and recognized him at once.
Wasn't this Kira, one of the Supernova members who had been with Kid?