"It has already been a month since I came to this world."
The morning sun rose, and the morning glow hovered across the horizon.
Tang An lay on the lounge chair on the balcony, looking out at the boundless, rootless sea and sky. Calculating the time, a full month had passed since his transmigration.
This meant Tang An could roll the dice.
An opportunity to roll the dice was granted once every calendar month.
Pulling open the light screen, it remained crudely minimalist and utterly unremarkable, simple and easy to understand.
There was zero user experience to speak of.
The dice rolled and bounced with practiced familiarity, finally landing on the number six.
The model airplane looked just like the real thing, complete with a rumbling sound effect, and stopped after passing through six spaces.
The dazzling light vanished, and an item appeared before Tang An's eyes.
"One bottle of extreme spicy laxative, one bottle of antidote."
"Description: A medication that increases intestinal water content, promotes peristalsis, softens stool, or lubricates the intestines to facilitate bowel movements. Primarily used for functional constipation, categorized into bulk-forming, stimulant, lubricant, osmotic, and expanding types.
This laxative is colorless and odorless. A single drop has the effect of making your 'daisy' sting with fiery pain and hollowing out your body until you lose all your strength. Please consume with caution!"
He wasn't angry.
Tang An wasn't angry at all.
He had already seen people without clothes on plenty of times, so he had grown accustomed to it.
Damn it.
The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became. What a piece of trash!
The opportunity he waited a whole calendar month for was just this?
A bottle of laxative?
If he actually had constipation, pulling this item would be fine, but he damn well didn't!
Besides, what did "extreme spicy" mean? Wasn't it supposed to be colorless and odorless?
A single drop had the effect of making your "daisy" sting with fiery pain and hollowing out your body until you lose all your strength.
Turns out this extreme spicy effect was specifically targeted at the "daisy"?
What brand was this even?
Son of a bitch.
Tang An's pale face flushed a furious red, forced up purely by anger.
Right now, he didn't want to look at this useless golden finger any longer.
Leaving the room to begin his daily routine of training, Tang An attempted to use cultivation to calm his agitated mood.
Shave--he was now able to step off the air 8 times.
This was a miracle.
He didn't know if it was because practicing push-ups, sit-ups, and other foundational Military Combat Technique exercises every day had pushed his physical constitution beyond that of a normal adult, which made progress so rapid.
However, Tang An had a premonition: going from 1 step to 8 steps was very simple, but successfully executing a 9th or 10th step would likely be extremely difficult.
Much like a watershed, the difficulty would multiply exponentially.
Yet before Tang An could even step out of his room, a spasm wracked his body and he collapsed to the floor. His pale face was completely devoid of blood, twisting hideously like a ghost as he curled his body up. It felt as though all his intestines were being churned together and chopped up piece by piece with a knife; that soul-suffocating pain swept through his entire being.
His cancer was acting up again.
His vision was bloodshot, and his entire body was soaked as if he had just been fished out of water, leaving a pool of sweat on the floor.
The crucial part was that the light screen appeared on its own, though it was no longer in its crude appearance. Instead, it was dripping with fresh, vivid red, and a countdown had appeared.
Three months and seven days.
Tang An curled his body up, gritting his teeth as he endured it with all his might.
The pain brought on by this flare-up far surpassed the previous few times.
It lasted a full ten minutes, only gradually subsiding just as Tang An was on the verge of fainting.
Lying sprawled out on the floor with his clothes completely soaked through, Tang An stared at the ceiling and panted heavily.
The dense web of red blood cells in his eyes had yet to dissipate, and his palms were stained with blood where his fingernails had dug deep into his flesh.
The terrifying crimson light screen hung right before his eyes, and the "three months and seven days" written on it was glaringly harsh.
Even a fool could tell what this time meant.
He had three months and seven days left.
The appearance of this life countdown disrupted the plans Tang An had already laid out.
He could no longer afford to waste time.
He had to find a way to hunt targets to extract rewards, and then head to the New World to find the Healing Fruit.
With a thought, the blood-red light screen vanished. Tang An looked at the extreme spicy laxative he had just drawn, his gaze turning fierce.
Clambering to his feet to take a shower, Tang An changed into a fresh set of clothes and resumed his usual training as if nothing had happened.
"Good morning, Mr. Tang An!"
"Morning!"
"Good morning, Mr. Tang An!"
"Sanji, up so early today?"
Tang An looked at Sanji and greeted him with his usual smile.
"I researched a new dish today, and I'll make it for Mr. Tang An at noon!"
Sanji was very excited.
"Is that so? Then I'm looking forward to it."
Tang An waved his hand and continued his run around the Baratie.
Before he knew it, the sun was right in the middle of the sky.
Tang An arrived punctually at the window seat in the main hall, and Sanji punctually served the new dish.
"Dessert?"
Looking at the cake and dessert set before him, Tang An looked at Sanji sitting across from him.
"Yes. As a chef, you must not only understand the characteristics of various ingredients, but also how to combine them. This is what I've been researching lately."
Sanji said with a solemn and serious expression.
"Then I'll have a taste."
Under Sanji's expectant and nervous gaze, Tang An began to taste it.
"How is it?"
"Mhm, it's delicious. This is the most delicious dessert I've ever eaten. Sanji, you're a genius; you'll definitely be the world's greatest chef in the future."
"I knew it, Mr. Tang An is the one with an eye for talent. Unlike old man Zeff, who's clearly just jealous of my talent."
Sanji beamed, utterly thrilled.
"Sanji, today is my birthday. Can you teach me how to make this dessert cake?"
"Ah... Today is Mr. Tang An's birthday?"
"That's right. Your dessert cake is the best gift I've received. Everyone has been so good to me during this time, so I want to take this opportunity to make a cake for myself and also thank Mr. Zeff and the others."
"Mr. Tang An, leave it to me."
Sanji patted his chest.
"Then let's go make the cake! Let's make a giant ten-layer cake. Don't tell Mr. Zeff and the others yet--we'll give them a surprise tonight!"
Tang An hushed him.
"Mm-hmm."
Sanji nodded hurriedly, and the two of them sneaked off into Sanji's small kitchen.
His very own exclusive small kitchen.
All the new dishes Sanji had researched previously were born right here.
"Damn Sanji, slacking off again."
Zeff hadn't seen Sanji all afternoon and couldn't help cursing angrily.
"I saw Sanji and Tang An staying in the small kitchen the whole time, looks like they were studying something."
Patty picked his nose while stir-frying dishes.
"Is that so?"
Zeff frowned slightly, lost in thought.
Tang An had already stayed here for over twenty days, which was somewhat unusual.
Though he couldn't figure out anything amiss, Zeff always maintained a shred of vigilance.
After all, he had come up through backstabbing and knife-edge survival; the necessary caution was always preserved.
The setting sun stretched like a rainbow, and red clouds wound across the horizon.
Tang An and Sanji pushed out a cart carrying a delicate, beautiful ten-layer cake into the main hall.
It instantly caught the eyes of every waiter and customer present.
"Mr. Tang An, Sanji, what is this?"
"Whose birthday is it?"
Patty and the others poked their heads out from the kitchen, and even Zeff was startled.
"Today is my birthday. This is a cake Sanji and I made together to thank everyone for looking after me during this time."
Tang An smiled.
"So it's Mr. Tang An's birthday!"
"You should have told us in advance."
"No wonder you and Sanji were holed up in the small kitchen all afternoon, you were making a cake!"
"Happy birthday."
"This is Sanji's newly researched dessert cake, everyone come try some! Though the shape was designed by me."
Accompanied by a birthday song and well wishes, the atmosphere in the entire hall came alive.
After making a wish, Tang An began cutting the cake, making sure everyone got a piece.