999,999+ Max Stat: Even the Gods Can't Stop Me

Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Cheering

Cheering stared at the crumpled paper in his hands as the plane began its descent. The instructions from his father were clear, but they still pissed him off. He had expected a straight ticket to America.

One flight, some paperwork, and he would reach Amon. Instead, he was landing in India. The first stop on what his father called the only realistic path for someone with a Nepali passport.

"This... this is totally illegal," Cheering muttered under his breath. He folded the paper and shoved it into his pocket. The yeti fur sales had brought in real money for the village, faster than anyone expected.

His father had connections from those deals — smugglers, fixers, people who moved goods and people across borders. Cheering had never asked for details before. Now he had no choice.

The plane finally touched down, and he grabbed his small bag and joined the line to exit. His golden hair and beard drew stares, just like back home. He had tried dyeing it dark before leaving the village, but the color refused to stick.

It stayed bright, shiny, and completely out of place on his Asian face. He looked like some mismatched doll. Amon’s mark, probably. Everything near that man changed in strange ways. He didn’t know he would too.

Outside the airport, the heat hit him like a wall. He scanned the crowd until he spotted a man holding a cardboard sign: "Cheering, ready for parcel."

The driver nodded without saying much. "Come."

They drove for hours, first on wide highways packed with traffic, then narrower roads, and finally rough paths where the car bounced over potholes. Buildings grew scarce. Trees and thick vegetation closed in. Cheering checked the instructions again.

This was the pickup point. From here, the real journey started, the so-called donkey route. South America entry, the Darién Gap, Central America, Mexico, then the US border. Weeks of hiding, walking, and dodging authorities. All to reach him.

The driver stopped the car in the middle of nowhere. Cheering was confused as to why he’d suddenly stopped, with the jungle surrounding them on both sides.

"We here?" Cheering asked.

The driver pointed outside. "You out."

"What? This is a jungle — what do you mean?"

"No talk. You out, go out."

"Wait, you need to tak—"

"OUT! OUT! OUT!" The driver started to shout, forcing him to get out right away.

Begrudgingly, Cheering handed over the agreed cash. The man didn’t even count it; he drove off without another word, leaving Cheering alone on the dirt path.

He looked scared. What the hell...

According to the manual, smugglers would meet him here. So he waited, wiping sweat from his forehead.

The golden hair stuck to his neck. Minutes passed. Then he felt a sharp pinch in his back.

He reached behind him but couldn’t reach it. "What the hell? Insects?"

Another prick hit his shoulder. Then his chest. He finally knew what it was.

Darts.

More of them flew in. Ten, twenty, they kept coming. He tried to run, but his vision blurred. His legs buckled right then and there.

And slowly, men stepped out from the trees, surrounding him. Their faces were blurry, as his eyes were blurry, but he heard them talking.

"Why?... This one’s like an elephant... a big one..."

Cheering tried to stay awake.

Dad... what did you get me into...

Darkness took him.

When he woke up, his head was covered by a thick bag. His wrists and ankles were tied with rough rope. The floor rocked beneath him. Water sounds mixed with engine noise.

He didn’t need to think twice. He was on a ship.

Aaaa... they smuggled me. Here I... thought I would get a warm greeting.

He just lay down, not moving at all, when he started to hear voices.

Voices shouted nearby, but they weren’t like the calm ones of the smugglers. These were panicked yells, followed by—

Bang!

Gunfire and metal clashing.

What the fuck is happening?

The ship jerked hard. Cheering tested the ropes. They bit into his skin, but that was all. He should keep down, lay low.

But the shouts were getting louder and louder. So he simply flexed his arms. The rope snapped like old string. He tore the ones on his legs next, then pulled the bag off his head.

He was in a dim cargo hold. Crates and sacks surrounded him. Other people, bound migrants like he had been, lay nearby, some still unconscious.

The fighting sounds grew louder above deck. Without delay, Cheering pushed open a hatch and climbed up.

When the light hit him, chaos greeted him. The smuggling ship was under attack. Five other vessels circled them, smaller and faster, flying no flags at all. Men with rifles and blades swarmed the deck.

"Pirates..."

Some of the smugglers fought back, but they were losing. Bodies already lay on the blood-slick floor. Bullets whizzed past Cheering’s head.

He quickly ducked behind a metal container. His pace was light; his body felt stronger than normal.

Ever since the incident, from the time his hair changed, the yeti hunts, the training, the weird energy around the golden-haired guardian, Cheering had never tested his full limits. Now seemed like the time.

"Hey!"

A pirate spotted him and charged with a machete.

Cheering felt a bit weak in the legs, having fought beasts but not humans, but he stepped forward and punched the man square in the chest.

To his surprise, the pirate flew backward like he had no weight at all, crashing into two of his friends. They went down hard. Cheering blinked, twice, looking at his fist. He hadn’t expected that much force.

More pirates turned toward him. "What in Poseidon’s name? Get the big one!"

Three rushed him at once. Cheering grabbed the first by the arm and swung him like a bat into the second. The third slashed at his side.

The blade cut shallowly across his ribs. Pain flared, but it faded fast. Cheering headbutted the attacker, breaking his nose with a crunch.

Bang! Bang!

Gunfire erupted from the nearest pirate ship. Bullets peppered the deck around him. Cheering quickly dove behind cover again.

"What the... I almost died," he muttered.

His heart pounded. This was not the plan. He was supposed to be smuggled quietly, not fighting sea bandits in the middle of nowhere.

He spotted the ship’s captain, or what was left of the crew, hiding near the wheelhouse. The man waved him over frantically.

"You! You! Very strong guy! Help me... us, and we finish the route!" the captain shouted in broken language.

Cheering hesitated only a second. He needed this ship, or at least a way off this mess and back on track to Amon. "Okay, fine."

He charged out again. A pirate aimed a rifle at him from close range. Cheering closed the distance in three steps and ripped the weapon from his hands. He didn’t know how to shoot well, but he swung the rifle like a club. It connected with a sickening thud.

The pirate ships tried to board from multiple sides. Ropes with hooks flew across.

Cheering simply grabbed one rope and pulled hard. The pirate climbing it lost his balance and fell into the sea. He did the same with two more. On the fourth, he yanked so hard the entire boarding line snapped.

One of the enemy ships fired a heavier weapon. A burst of automatic fire tore through the smuggling vessel’s side. Wood and metal splintered.

"They’re going to sink us!" someone screamed.

Cheering ran toward the nearest pirate ship. It was close enough now. He jumped the gap. His powerful legs carried him across easily.

He landed on their deck among surprised pirates. They stared at the golden-haired man who had just flown over like some kind of demon.

He didn’t give them time to react. He grabbed the first man and threw him overboard. The second he kicked in the stomach, sending him sliding across the deck into a pile of ropes. A third tried to stab him. Cheering caught the wrist, twisted, and disarmed him.

The pirate captain on this ship, a scarred man with a bandolier, pointed and yelled orders.

Four men with guns opened fire at once. Cheering rolled behind a crate in haste. Bullets chewed through the wood but didn’t touch him.

He didn’t know what he was doing; the only thing he knew was that his adrenaline was running high and he would do anything to survive.

He picked up a heavy metal barrel nearby and hurled it at them. It crashed into two shooters, knocking them down.

He kept moving. The strength didn’t feel infinite, but it was enough. Each punch, each kick, made the power clearer.

Amon had lived with this for thousands of years. Cheering understood a fraction of why the man drank so much. This kind of strength made normal life feel small.

He reached the pirate captain and grabbed him by the collar. "Call them off, or I throw you in the water."

The man spat and tried to pull a pistol, but Cheering slammed him against the railing.

"Call. Them. OFF!" Cheering threatened.

The captain’s eyes widened in fear. "Stop shooting! Retreat!" he yelled to his men.

The other pirate ships hesitated. One kept firing, but the rest started pulling back. Cheering dragged the captain to the edge.

"Tell your friends to leave the smuggling ship alone. We go our way, you go yours. Simple as that."

The captain shouted the orders. Slowly, the attacking vessels turned away. They had lost too many men already, and this golden freak was not worth the cargo.

Finally, it was over.

As time went on, Cheering forced the pirates to transfer fuel and supplies to the damaged smuggling ship.

He worked alongside the surviving crew to patch holes and stabilize it. Hours passed. The sun dipped low.

His body ached from cuts and bruises, but nothing serious.

When the pirate ships finally disappeared over the horizon, the smuggling captain approached Cheering carefully.

"You... not normal man. We honor deal. We take you to next point. South America. Then Darién. Very dangerous, but we go."

Cheering smiled and nodded as he wiped blood from his hands. "Good. I need to reach America. My friend..." He paused. Amon had suddenly left him, left them; he didn’t know if seeing him again would make him happy or not.

But he still remembered the despair in his eyes. "My friend... needs me."