"Huh? Coby, when did you get back?" Helmeppo finally snapped back to reality. Seeing Coby and smelling the food, his stomach grumbled uncontrollably. "Hiss... when did it get this dark!"
After glancing at Coby, he smiled mysteriously. "Heh heh, this is good stuff. Come on, come on, let's eat first."
Saying that, he jumped off the bed, dragged two stools to the dining table, took out a beautifully packaged box, and grinned at Coby. "Come on, Coby, this is a phone I bought for you."
"A phone?"
Coby took the square object from Helmeppo's hand and stared blankly at the packaging box, as if he still couldn't believe what was in front of him.
He carefully unwrapped the packaging, revealing the exquisite phone inside.
Helmeppo urged from the side. "Quick, open it and take a look. A phone is a good thing. I'll teach you how to use it."
"It's 50% off today—maybe the price will go up tomorrow," Helmeppo added, a hint of excitement in his tone.
Coby couldn't resist Helmeppo's enthusiasm and felt bad about rejecting his good intentions.
After all, a gift from a brother, no matter how small, is a sign of affection!
He held the phone, feeling its cool touch. It was just the right size and felt very comfortable in his hand.
"You've been playing with this thing all day?" Coby asked with some curiosity.
"What 'this thing' and 'that thing'? It's called a phone, and from now on, it's my good friend," Helmeppo said seriously. Then he guided Coby through the user manual, giving him a basic understanding of the phone's functions.
Just these few things left Coby speechless with shock, his eyes wide. "This... a phone can take pictures? And you don't need to change film no matter how many pictures you take? And you don't need to carry a visual Den Den Mushi?"
Coby could hardly believe his ears.
Such a small gadget, yet its functions were so powerful. He could even carry it in his pocket without affecting his movement.
"Hahaha, I told you you'd like this thing!" Helmeppo laughed proudly, continuing to explain how to use the phone. "Besides taking pictures, you can also record videos, which means storing the images so you can play them back anytime without having to connect to a screen."
"Amazing, it's too high-tech!" Coby held the phone affectionately, casually taking two pictures, his eyes full of shock. "The clarity is so high-definition—the display is exactly the same as what you see in reality."
Helmeppo smiled proudly. "Try using two fingers to spread the picture."
Coby did as he was told, and suddenly his eyes were filled with surprise. "It can even zoom in on pictures! That's incredible!"
Then, Coby suddenly stood up and solemnly apologized to Helmeppo. "I'm sorry, Helmeppo. I sincerely apologize to you."
"At first, when I saw you watching those videos of women not wearing clothes, I thought you were that kind of person. I didn't expect that I was being narrow-minded," Coby said awkwardly. "Thank you for giving me such a good gift. This gift must be very expensive, right? How much is it? I'll pay you back."
Helmeppo looked wistful. "Hmph! Although I, Helmeppo, was a scoundrel before, I've long since turned over a new leaf. How could I be someone who lusts after beauty?"
"I didn't go out all day today, not because I was watching those videos, but because I was studying how to use the phone."
"And this thing isn't expensive. Today is the store's grand opening—it only cost 200 Berries. Don't worry about it."
Coby's eyes were filled with emotion. Helmeppo was truly a good person.
"Of course, besides these uses, the phone also has powerful entertainment functions."
"While we train hard every day, we also need to balance work and rest, and relax our minds and bodies. Only then can training be twice as effective with half the effort," Helmeppo continued.
Coby nodded silently.
Although Helmeppo was usually a slacker, what he said made a lot of sense.
Training relentlessly would only increase stress—appropriate relaxation was also necessary.
"Quick, turn on the phone. I'll help you register a TikTok account," Helmeppo said, telling Coby to take out his phone. "The side button is the power button."
Coby nodded, indicating he hadn't forgotten how to turn the phone on and off. He pressed the side button, and the phone screen lit up.
"What is TikTok? Why do I need to register?" Coby asked, a little confused.
"Don't worry, I'll teach you slowly. Tap on the TikTok app, find 'My'..." Under Helmeppo's guidance, Coby registered a TikTok account in less than three minutes.
"Heh heh, I have a few recommended beauties here. Do you want to follow them?" Helmeppo asked with a sly grin.
"Ah? No, no, no..." Coby quickly waved his hands. He was practically terrified of beauties after his time on Alvida's pirate ship. Hearing the word "beauty" reminded him of those dark days.
"I'd rather watch the news. The news on it is quite interesting," Coby said.
"Tch, boring. Oh right, tap the '+' at the bottom—you can post videos, but remember not to leak private information," Helmeppo reminded him.
"Oh, okay, I understand," Coby nodded.
"Alright, you play with it. I'm going out for a walk. I haven't been out all day—I'm about to suffocate," Helmeppo said, already pushing open the dorm door.
Coby said 'Oh' and waited until he was sure Helmeppo had gone far away before carefully closing the door and starting to scroll through TikTok.
At first, every time he scrolled to a video of a beauty, he would immediately swipe past.
But then, he suddenly wondered what he was so afraid of.
"Hmph! I'm no longer the coward I used to be," he thought, and had already swiped to the next video.
And this video featured a beauty dressed simply.
She was wearing a white long gown and a white veil, sitting in a pavilion practicing archery.
Bending the bow, drawing the string, shooting, hitting the bullseye!
All the movements were completed in one smooth motion.
"Thank you, gentlemen, for watching. Next time, Xin'er will perform shooting three arrows at once. If you like Xin'er, could you please help by following? Thank you, gentlemen~"
The video ended there.
"So amazing!" Coby's mouth was half-open in surprise. "That distance was at least two hundred meters, and she could still hit it!"
He had thought the other party was just putting on a show with her beauty, performing some superficial moves, but he didn't expect her to have real skill!
"It's just a follow—I'll follow!" Coby thought, and casually tapped the follow button.
And with this action, all the videos that followed were of beauties showcasing their talents.
For example, beauties taming fierce beasts, hunting other fierce beasts, and some beauties performed a long spear dance with immense attack power, capable of splitting mountains and rocks!
Coby gasped in admiration repeatedly.
By now, he had followed no less than dozens of beauties, all of whom were masters in a particular area!
"Incredible! Too incredible!"
"This is good! This is good too, followed!"
"This is Armament Haki! Where are these beauties from, to have mastered Armament Haki at such a young age!"
Just as Coby tapped the follow button again, Helmeppo pushed the door open with a 'bang'.
"Coby, guess..." Helmeppo started to speak, then suddenly saw the beauty on Coby's phone and froze.
The two stared at each other, wide-eyed. Coby looked at Helmeppo, then at his phone, his face instantly turning red. He immediately started explaining. "Helmeppo, listen to me, it's not what you think."
"Hahaha." Helmeppo burst out laughing and walked over to Coby, patting him on the shoulder, showing an expression that all men understood. "Coby, no need to explain—I get it!"
Then, he solemnly nodded at Coby and gave him a thumbs-up of encouragement. "Men are boys until they die, but you still need to be moderate, Coby."
Coby: "..."