9
Survival on the Ninth Day: I Don’t Care About Others
Ninth Day of Survival:
Doflamingo dreamed of that most humiliating past he wished to erase.
It was when his foolish father abandoned the status of Celestial Dragons, taking the whole family away from Mary Geoise to live among ordinary people. After their identity as Celestial Dragons was exposed, those commoners picked up weapons and sought revenge with pure hatred… They were tied up and hung on the wall, while a mob of lowlifes below held torches, wanting to burn them alive. Fear, confusion, and anger intertwined, ultimately settling into endless hatred.
And this hatred continues to burn even today.
Though that past is now distant, he still occasionally dreams of it.
He heard Wendy’s voice and looked over, gradually concealing the emotions on his face until they returned to calm. In a low voice, he asked, “What is it, Wendy?”
His tone was colder than usual, carrying a hint of scrutiny.
However, Wendy completely missed this. She merely noted with slight surprise that Doffy indeed took off his sunglasses while sleeping, then wandered around briefly without finding any Shadow Creatures. Trotting over at her steady pace, she opened her big eyes wide and asked, “Did Charlie give you nightmares?”
Doflamingo was taken aback: “…Charlie?”
“Yeah, Charlie attacks people in the dark,” Wendy said, placing the small lantern she was holding aside. “So you can’t stay in darkness.”
This was background lore from Starvation – Wendy had seen the PV during the game’s loading screen. The reason characters in Starvation can’t remain in darkness is because they’ll suffer invisible attacks – from Charlie.
Basically, getting hit a few more times would mean certain death.
Wendy had specifically checked around for any Shadow Creatures… but it seemed she could only see them when her Sanity was too low. Though defeating them could drop Nightmare Fuel, fighting them was too risky – she wanted to maintain her survival record to see if she could unlock gift packages, so she’d avoid reckless behavior for now. Compared to currently useless items, she wanted new skins more.
Doflamingo pieced together information from her somewhat illogical words – probably something from fairy tales she’d read before, with this “Charlie” being the rumored monster that attacks people in the dark.
Since she didn’t dwell on the nightmare itself and believed it was caused by that “Charlie,” Doflamingo saw no need to clarify. Instead, he asked, “So this is why you always carry a light?”
Wendy replied matter-of-factly, “Of course. If you’re in darkness, Charlie will attack you.”
In this regard, Wendy truly seemed like a naive child.
Realizing this, the faint killing intent that had surfaced in Doflamingo vanished completely. His expression softened as he curled his lips into a smile, emitting a low chuckle from his throat. He gestured for her to come closer, gently stroking her beautiful, fluffy golden hair as he responded, “Alright, I understand.”
Unlike Dragon, her second companion always enjoyed ruffling her hair, and Wendy had long grown accustomed to it. After all, different companions naturally had different habits. According to the promotion of Starvation, some of her future companions might not even be human. If they were to team up, she would adapt and accommodate them all.
“If you want to sleep properly, Doffy, you should set up a tent,” Wendy said, glancing at her pack. Noticing she lacked materials, she added “Wait a moment” before scurrying off energetically with her little lantern.
She returned shortly and whoosh—placed a large tent right in the center of Doflamingo’s room.
Doffy stared at the crude green tent that appeared utterly shabby, falling into silent contemplation.
…What is this? Why place it in his room? What genius would pitch a tent indoors?
“Tents are perfect for sleeping at night,” Wendy declared, wearing a proud “no need to thank me” expression as she cheerfully departed with her lantern. Showing comradely concern, she called back, “I’ll head back now. If you wreck the tent while sleeping, just call me to make a new one. The materials are really simple.”
…Indeed it was simple—it looked like just some branches tied together with rope holding up a sheet of cloth. The materials were probably just twigs, fabric, and grass rope? Even among tents, this was the most basic design!
Doffy felt somewhat speechless, but as long as it didn’t violate his principles, he was quite tolerant toward his subordinates—especially someone as special as Wendy.
Watching Wendy appear and disappear like a whirlwind, Doflamingo’s previously turbulent emotions had now calmed considerably.
He observed the crude tent occupying significant space in the center of his room, initially intending to dismantle it immediately. But as his hand touched the tent, he paused.
He recalled the strange yet special items Wendy crafted, and remembered the little pride she’d shown when leaving…
“…Fine, let’s see.” Doffy steadied himself, lifted the tent flap, and stepped inside…
When Doflamingo regained consciousness, he found himself outside the tent. Startled, he checked the time—four hours had passed.
His physical condition… his spirit had never felt better. He could sense the fatigue and agitation from nightmares completely gone, replaced by intense hunger.
He looked at the tent with a complex expression—a tent that could rapidly restore energy? Trading food for recovery?
Wendy really was good at creating strange yet useful things…
Doffy summoned Wendy and first asked the crucial question: “Do you lose consciousness after entering the tent?”
“Not at all, you just fall asleep immediately upon entering. But you’ll wake right up if there’s noise around, so you need quiet surroundings to rest properly.”
Reassured, Doflamingo nodded in satisfaction and asked another question: “Can that tent you made be mass-produced?”
Creating such a useful recovery item with such simple materials—this was definitely good business.
“I can make more, but this can’t be moved – only I can place it.” Wendy frowned as she spoke, thinking the other party wanted her to make tents for others, so she preemptively refused with righteous indignation, “I won’t make extras! I only made this for you because you have nightmares. I don’t care about anyone else.”
She was still holding a grudge about the other executives reporting her for taking things before.
Doflamingo had guessed there would likely be some restrictions, so he wasn’t particularly surprised by the answer. As for sending Wendy out to make tents for others – that was impossible anyway. Wendy’s value far exceeded any monetary worth, and he couldn’t let others learn about her uniqueness either.
He had originally considered getting some for his executives, but Wendy’s subsequent words actually improved Doflamingo’s mood considerably. His originally intended words shifted at the last moment: “In that case, don’t bother with them then.”
After all, this was just an item that could quickly restore energy and ensure sleep – the others didn’t need it that badly anyway. Plus, the food Wendy made could restore conditions faster and more effectively, which was sufficient enough.
Wendy herself wasn’t stingy about sharing the food she prepared. In this game, if you couldn’t find a specialized chef, cooking was essential, and stockpiling meals was necessary. Even if you made too much and stored it in the refrigerator, it would gradually lose freshness, and if it spoiled, it would become inedible – better to give it to others then.
She could eat food made by others too, but only her own cooking had such powerful restorative effects, while other dishes only provided satiety without restoring sanity or health.
It was precisely because she could provide these foods and some magical little items that Wendy held quite a high position within the Donquixote Family, unofficially recognized as an executive. In fact, due to Doflamingo’s favoritism, her status was arguably higher than even the four main executives.
Among the four main executives, Pica of the Spade position held the highest favor toward Wendy. Because Wendy never mocked his high-pitched voice that didn’t match his large build – she impartially ignored everyone equally;
Diamante of the Diamond position followed Doflamingo’s lead completely. Although he felt Wendy was overly spoiled, since it was Doflamingo’s order, he wouldn’t voice any opposition;
Trebol of the Clover position had the worst relationship with Wendy. Everyone generally agreed it was because Trebol looked too slovenly, making the young girl dislike him;
As for Vergo of the Heart position… Vergo was extremely loyal to the Donquixote Family and treated his comrades as family. Doflamingo had once mentioned that if he weren’t occupying the Heart position, Wendy might have become the Heart instead. Because of this, Vergo somewhat regarded Wendy as his successor and treated her quite favorably too.
Just like when Wendy asked for sea ivory, even though he mistakenly thought Wendy wanted to beat up Trebol, he remained silent and didn’t report it, simply consistently bringing back various Sea Kings’ teeth.
Wendy picked through them and found sea ivory substitutes that the system recognized, happily crafting a golden Walking Stick to carry in her hand. Her walking speed immediately increased significantly.
【Walking Stick】— A great helper for exploring maps and increasing walking speed! Provides 25% speed boost when equipped!
Although the current Walking Stick doesn’t look particularly appealing… it’ll be worth it once the skin gacha feature unlocks! All the Walking Stick skins are gorgeous!
The only prerequisite for unlocking the skin gacha is surviving 1000 days… and there’s still quite some time left before that happens.
After obtaining the Walking Stick, Wendy started running all over the ship showing it off.
This behavior made Vergo understand why she had been so persistent in searching for walrus tusks, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought the walrus illustration Wendy showed him resembled Trebol, and assumed she wanted him to beat Trebol up out of some grudge…
Trebol, who usually carried a cane himself, felt somewhat envious seeing Wendy’s clearly enhanced Walking Stick. However, when he asked for one, he was refused.
Wendy did consider giving one to her companion Doflamingo, but she remembered how he hadn’t seemed impressed with the tent she gave him last time. Perhaps he was someone who cared about appearances.
Just like his fluffy pink feather coat.
After some thought, Wendy decided to wait until the skin shop opened before giving him one.
Overall, Wendy was quite satisfied with the development of her second companion’s situation. With logistics secured, resources abundant, and map expansion possible, everything was great except for Doflamingo forbidding her from farming.
The Donquixote Family continued to develop during this period, constantly recruiting new members. No matter how many people joined, Wendy always received special treatment.
Doflamingo was also planning his expansion strategy, intending to send Vergo on a secret special mission… As for who would take over the Heart position after Vergo’s departure, it went without saying that Wendy would assume the role.
But plans often change, because right after he made this decision, someone unfamiliar to others but very familiar to Doflamingo appeared – his younger brother, Donquixote Rosinante.
Author’s Note:
Doflamingo’s perspective: She really loves me [dog head]
Wendy’s perspective: Mold release celebration [vegetable dog]