After Jay promised Buck a 10% commission on the sale, Buck acted like he was on steroids.
Not only did he volunteer to stay behind and sail the pirate ship, he even pounded his chest and swore up and down that his buddy was totally reliable and would definitely fetch a good price for it.
Jay didn't want to kill his enthusiasm, after all, no matter how much Buck made, Jay was going to make even more.
And he wouldn't have to lift a finger.
So, the group went off to sell the captured pirate ship.
This time, Buck finally wasn't full of hot air.
The buddy he mentioned actually came through, offering a very fair price for the ship, without lowballing them just because it had been a pirate vessel.
Jay figured the guy was probably being nice because of their Marine uniforms. Buck's connections helped a bit too, sure.
After the smooth transaction, the group set off again.
Now it was Jay's turn to handle some personal business.
When the others heard he needed help, they all agreed without hesitation.
With money in hand, Jay was able to finally pay off the remaining balance and pick up some custom-made items he'd ordered earlier.
They were:
Two solid alloy nunchucks
A massive pouch made from a special resin-fiber material
And the most elastic and durable rope the shop could offer
Just like that, over a million Beli went out the door again.
The alloy nunchucks alone cost 800,000 Beli, custom weapons weren't cheap.
As for what kind of alloy exactly…?
Don't ask. Nobody knows.
Along the way, Jay also "invited" a doctor to come with them, willing or not, he was going.
Once everything was prepared, Jay continued to unofficially use the Marine warship and returned to the small island.
"Brother Jay, if you've got a problem, just tell us! We'll help you figure it out, you don't need to jump off a cliff to solve anything!"
When they reached the riverbank beneath the cliff and heard what Jay was planning to do, Buck and the others were stunned.
Jump off a cliff over 100 meters high?
If that's not suicide, what is?
He's gone mad!
Brother Jay has completely lost it!
"What are you doing?!"
Jay's expression darkened.
Buck rushed up and threw his arms around him, refusing to let go.
"No, Brother Jay! Calm down! You can't jump!"
Buck was so emotionally moved he was about to cry.
Everyone else jumped in to stop him, too.
They had just found a rising star to follow, someone with real power. And now he was about to throw it all away? No way. Absolutely not.
Jay sighed and explained, "You don't get it, but just think of this as a form of self-breakthrough."
"I'm using the intense stimulation of flirting with death to push my body past its limits, to awaken the untapped potential inside me and grow even stronger."
"As long as you follow my instructions, I'll be fine."
Only then did Buck and the others hesitantly let go.
Given how fast Jay had improved, maybe there really was something to his theory.
Following his orders, they stood on both sides of the river, spread out the massive pouch, and tied it securely to several large trees along the bank, this was the first buffer layer.
Next, they made wooden sticks and began stirring the river water to break its surface tension.
Meanwhile, Jay climbed to the top of the cliff and secured one end of the special rope to his body with a complex knot. The other end he hammered into the ground with thick steel spikes and weighed it down with a large rock.
That was the second line of defense.
Once everything was in place, Jay stood at the edge of the cliff for the first time, looking down.
How high is 100 meters?
It doesn't sound too crazy.
But standing there and actually looking down from that height? It's enough to make most people dizzy with vertigo.
That's like standing on the roof of a 30+ story building.
Jumping from this height, even with all the prep, still took serious guts.
Below, everyone stared up at him, tense.
Jay took a few deep breaths, tugged the rope to make sure it was secure, then locked onto his landing spot, and jumped!
The moment they saw him leap, Buck and the others felt like their hearts were about to leap out of their throats.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH
Wind howled past Jay's ears as he plummeted.
How many seconds does it take to fall from that height?
Jay didn't bother calculating. He focused on keeping his posture feet-down, head-up, and tensed every muscle in his body.
The Innate Strength ability gave him more than just physical power, it also boosted his durability.
On top of that, he activated Ghost Back mid-fall!
While it didn't help much in terms of raw strength during free fall, the perfect muscle coordination it offered allowed him to absorb the impact more efficiently, minimizing the damage.
And once activated, Ghost Back also boosted his resilience and recovery speed.
The next moment, the elastic rope attached to him kicked in, stretching out and easing his fall significantly.
But, it wasn't designed for extreme bungee use.
Snap!
The rope broke clean in the middle with a sharp crack.
"Damn it, shady merchant!" Jay cursed in his mind as he felt the break, but he didn't panic.
Because below him was the high-priced custom-made pouch.
BOOM!
The pouch caught him perfectly.
The special material held up, it stretched and twisted under the force but showed no signs of tearing.
The problem was... the trees anchoring the pouch couldn't handle the force.
CRACK!
A few large trees snapped under the tension, and Jay, along with the pouch, plunged into the river with a loud splash.
If there had been a diving judge nearby, it probably would've been straight zeroes across the board, zero form, zero style.
But it was thrilling to witness.
"What are you all standing around for?! Go save him!"
Buck was the first to react, diving in without even taking off his clothes.
The others snapped out of it and leapt in after him.
Anyone in the Marine not knowing how to swim would be a joke.
A few seconds later, before anyone could reach him, Jay burst up from the water on his own, swam quickly to the shore, collapsed on the riverbank, completely unbothered by how he looked, and let out a wild, booming laugh.
"HAHAHAHA! I'M STILL ALIVE!"
The doctor rushed over in a panic to check him.
The good news? No internal injuries. His life wasn't in danger.
The bad news? Multiple fractures, and his body was covered in rope burns.
Turns out even high muscle density had its limits.