Vir wasn’t in a hurry to act.
This had to be done a little more discreetly.
He was afraid Hancock might catch on from everyone’s reactions.
Stepping forward, he scooped her up in a princess carry.
Without hesitation, he strode toward the large bed Hancock had used to undress.
The others watched Vir’s actions, unsure of what to say.
Why did it look like he was actually about to do something shady?
First, he paralyzed her.
Then, he carried her to the bed…
Without context, who wouldn’t misunderstand this?
Who wouldn’t assume the worst?
And sure enough, Hancock completely misunderstood.
“You bastard! How dare you touch me! Once I get my strength back, I’ll tear you to pieces!”
But when she saw Vir carrying her toward that bed, her expression finally cracked.
Panic seeped into her voice as she spoke rapidly.
“W-What are you doing?! Where are you taking me?! You insolent brute! What do you want?! Rayleigh! Is this the doctor you brought?! Stop him, now!”
Seeing that Vir paid her no mind, Hancock could only shift her gaze to Rayleigh beside her.
“Join me, Rayleigh.”
But then, Vir actually invited Rayleigh to come along.
That left Hancock completely dumbfounded.
And the worst part—Rayleigh came over, smiling as if it were nothing.
What… what did that mean?
Could it be… Rayleigh was in on it?
Were they… doing this together?
At that moment, Hancock felt truly hopeless.
Why would Rayleigh do this?
Why had he become like this?
Why?
Feeling the weakness in her body, the helplessness of being at someone else’s mercy—
She couldn’t help but recall those agonizing memories.
An overwhelming surge of negative emotion erupted from her.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You’ve earned 800,000 negative points!]
Vir, who had just reached the bed while holding Hancock, froze.
W-What?
How… how much?!
E-EIGHT HUNDRED THOUSAND?!
That system notification nearly knocked him out.
His brain felt like it had taken a direct hit!
That sudden, massive wave of fortune hit him right in the chest.
Looking down at the Hancock in his arms, he suddenly felt a strange kind of affection.
Even his gesture of laying her down became much gentler.
This woman was a treasure.
His biggest money-maker.
He had to treat her well.
Not that he had a choice.
She was just giving too much.
He couldn’t possibly refuse.
Rayleigh, watching Vir grinning like an idiot, had no idea what was going on.
He assumed the kid was just struggling to stay professional in front of such a beauty.
If Vir really tried to take advantage of Hancock, Rayleigh would absolutely intervene.
That was why he was here—to supervise.
But please…
Take advantage?
Oh, he would take advantage—hard.
After all, he still had that lip-shaped device.
The goal was to make Hancock think he was the one shamelessly kissing her back.
That way, the Negative Points would pour in!
And hey, it was already working!
Before he even really started—eight hundred thousand.
This trip was gonna make him filthy rich!
This was too good.
He’d thought that since Hancock wasn’t as strong as Rayleigh, she wouldn’t generate as many points.
He hadn’t held out much hope.
But now?
All he could say was—
Time to crush the leaderboard.
If this was the start… let’s aim for 8 million.
Yeah. 8 million.
One hit. Eight million!
*Whack.*
Rayleigh slapped the back of Vir’s head.
“What’re you giggling about? You better behave, kid!”
That slap finally snapped Vir back to reality.
“Ah, right, right! Sorry, sorry! Starting now!”
He grinned, then flipped Hancock onto her stomach. Now, Vir and Rayleigh stood by the bed as Hancock lay face-down.
Her head dangled off the side of the bed, so she could only see their legs and feet.
The rest of the crew outside could only vaguely see what was going on behind the curtains.
Visibility? Super limited.
Sound? Crystal clear.
Marco frowned at the curtain.
He’d heard Rayleigh just now.
“Tch, and here I thought the guy was decent. Turns out he’s just as weak in front of a pretty face.”
Marco looked totally unimpressed.
But the others weren’t too shocked.
Yamato, for one, didn’t even know what was going on inside.
Luffy, sitting on Chopper’s shoulders, tilted his head curiously at the curtain.
“Hey, Chopper, that guy is Vi—”
Luffy’s words were cut off by Chopper shoving a hoof in his mouth.
They couldn’t say that name.
Big Bro had warned them—if they let anything slip, he’d demonstrate how to use an axe personally… on them.
That was not a joke.
“Okay, okay! I won’t say it!”
Luffy relented, then frowned.
“But what are they doing in there?” He asked, full of question marks.
Asking a reindeer? Yeah, that was a tough one.
“Treatment, obviously.”
Chopper answered without hesitation.
Luffy nodded in agreement.
Right, they’d mentioned scar earlier.
Probably something about the woman’s back.
If Vir could heal her, that’d be great.
Then Luffy blinked and asked again, confused.
“Hey, Chopper… why’re you carrying an axe? It’s poking my butt. You part of the Axe Gang now? When’d you join?”
That made Chopper puff up with pride. He unsheathed the little axe with a flourish.
With a few flashy swings (earning cheers from Luffy), he beamed.
“Hehe~ I learned from Big Bro! Once I master it, I’ll use it to treat everyone!”
Chopper looked overjoyed.
But those words left Luffy completely frozen.
…Huh?
Axe… treatment?
Oh no.
He’d been corrupted.
CHOPPER!!!
This was bad.
Their peaceful days were over!
The calmest one in the room was Robin.
Knowing Vir, Hancock probably wasn’t in for a pleasant experience.
She wondered if the Pirate Empress could handle it.
As for Vir developing feelings for Hancock?
Robin: (smiles)
Meanwile, Vir was finally ready to begin.
He’d already seen the mark on Hancock’s back earlier, so he skipped the small talk.
With a light tap of his finger on her back—
*Fzzzt.*
A flicker of purple lightning.
Her clothes instantly disintegrated into ash.
A deep, unmistakable brand now lay exposed before Vir and Rayleigh.
Seeing that brutal mark, Rayleigh’s eyes darkened with sorrow.
Back when the three sisters escaped, he and Shakky had taken them in.
Every time he saw this scar, it stirred something heavy in his chest.
Vir’s lightning had been precise—only the part covering the scar had been destroyed.
He reached out to touch it.
The flesh there was tough, as if it had rotted away and hardened.
Vir frowned deeply.
It was that bad?
He wasn’t sure if the lip-shaped device and the Restoration Oil he’d bought could handle something this severe.
But just as he touched it—
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You’ve earned 400,000 negative points!]
Vir froze again.
What?
Had he struck a goldmine of negativity?!
He’d barely touched her!
Literally just one touch!
He hadn’t even started yet!
This was insane.
If he’d known she was this potent, he’d have come to “treat” her way sooner!
He could’ve left Whitebeard for later.
Holy hell, she’s a goddess of negativity!
She was printing points like nothing!
Meanwhile…
Looking at those two pairs of feet—one old, one dirty—Hancock’s eyes dimmed.
Was this… her fate?
To always be powerless?
To always be controlled?
After everything she’d done… nothing had changed?
Why would Rayleigh help him?
Had he never cared about her?
Was she just… a tool to him?
The more she thought, the worse she felt.
The darker her emotions grew.
But then—
A glimmer of light flickered in her hollow gaze.
Because right in front of her…
A tiny piece of paper was moving.
So small, no one else noticed.
But Hancock recognized it instantly.
It was the fragment she’d torn from Vir’s vivre card.
That tiny scrap became her only light in the darkness.
Seeing it reminded her of him.
And under her gaze, the tiny scrap drifted closer… inch by inch…