Antokiba, the City of Prizes; Masadora, the Magic City; Dorias, the Gambling City; Soufrabi, the Port City...
It had to be said that Ging and his team poured a massive amount of effort into creating this game. It was essentially building a fully enclosed miniature world from scratch. Each city acted like a micro-nation, possessing distinct architecture, customs, and cultures.
If a person were sent to this island at birth, they might very well believe it was the entirety of the world, much like most ordinary people believe the "world map" they know represents the true extent of the earth. Little do they know that beyond Lake Mobius lies the vast and terrifying Dark Continent.
To some extent, Greed Island served as a reflection of the real world. Based on this alone, Allen felt that Ging truly deserved his reputation as one of the top five Nen users in the human world. In terms of vision and mindset, he stood at an unprecedented height, far beyond the reach of the masses.
While Allen was busy gathering clues about Doyen's Growth Pills and dealing with players foolish enough to try and rob him of his cards, a major event finally occurred that would shake all of Greed Island.
Genthru and his "Bomber" squad finally dropped their disguises and activated Countdown, the Nen ability they had secretly planted on dozens of players.
"Now, I have a proposal. How about trading your lives for ninety of the Specified Slot cards? If you accept, I'll disarm everyone's bombs at once," Genthru said, his mouth curling into a wicked grin. He had plotted for this day for a long time, and now it was finally harvest time.
"In your dreams! You think you can stop all of us by yourself?" one player roared in fury.
"That's right! Don't be afraid! Let's get him! If we catch him, we can force him to remove the bombs!" another shouted in agreement.
Led by these two, dozens of players summoned their courage and charged the Bomber from all directions. But at the critical moment, Genthru calmly raised his hands, using Little Flower to blast back the frontrunners. He then summoned his binder with lightning speed and laughed at the unfortunate souls.
"Hahaha! Sorry, but I've got to head out first. Looking forward to our next meeting! Cast Leave!"
Instantly, he transformed into a streak of golden light and flew out of the cavern.
By using that card, he was effectively leaving the game and returning to the real world. Seeing the culprit escape, everyone present was stunned, quickly descending into a state of chaos and frantic debate. Genthru's abilities were simply too overwhelming for them; most couldn't even withstand the explosive power of Little Flower, let alone the more potent Countdown.
Ultimately, with their lives on the line, the group decided to negotiate. However, one man realized the Bomber was not the type to keep his word. He quietly slipped away from the crowd with a stack of spell cards and began using Magnetic Force to find players who hadn't been tagged with Countdown, intending to expose Genthru's identity and abilities.
This man was Abengane, the Exorcist whom Chrollo and the Phantom Troupe would eventually seek out in the original timeline.
As an Exorcist capable of removing Countdown, Abengane hid himself remarkably well. He never revealed his ability to anyone, had no intention of exorcising his companions' bombs, and even used his status as a "victim" to gain sympathy. He wanted to use others to take down Genthru before faking his own death to escape.
As he told the same story to different players, the truth about the Bomber spread rapidly. When he had only one Magnetic Force card left, Abengane glanced at the final names on his list. He froze for a long moment before muttering in disbelief, "Allen? Is it really the Allen? The Grim Reaper is in this game? Cast Magnetic Force! Target: Allen!"
Without hesitation, he used his last spell card and vanished into the sky as a streak of light. Seconds later, he descended beside a small stream.
"Hmm? It looks like we have company," Baise said, looking up at the man stepping out of the pillar of light. Her eyes shimmered with a predatory glint.
Lately, she had become quite addicted to seizing cards. A single kiss was often enough to make an opponent lose the will to resist, leading them to hand over their entire collection. She was currently the most "productive" member of the trio.
"Don't be tense, I mean no harm," Abengane said quickly, raising his hands.
"Then can you explain the countdown timer currently ticking away on your shoulder?" Baise asked meaningfully.
"This is Countdown, a Nen ability placed on us by the Bomber, Genthru. When the counter reaches zero, the bomb explodes, killing me instantly. In fact, that's exactly why I'm here. Which one of you is Allen?" Abengane bypassed the small talk.
Specifically, he had no time for small talk. The bomb was currently at less than two thousand counts.
"I am. If you have something to say, say it now."
Allen calmly handed a piece of grilled fish to Lupos, gently comforting the pet who had been feeling quite "hurt" and irritable lately. Following the rules of the Pregnancy Stone, the Shadow Wolf King had officially, and predictably, become pregnant!
It was true. This item could actually make a male creature without a uterus conceive. It was a standard case of ectogenesis; a pouch resembling a brood pouch had grown out of thin air on Lupos's belly, and a newly formed wolf pup was currently thriving inside.
Naturally, the Wolf King rejected this change with every fiber of his being. He had even tried to tear the pouch off when it first appeared. But ultimately, in a state of utter despair, he accepted the cruel reality: he was going to have a litter.
"Whine..." Lupos let out a low growl, protesting his unscrupulous master's experimentation, but he didn't refuse the delicious grilled fish. It smelled too good to resist.
"You're Allen? The legendary Bane of Evil? The 'Grim Reaper' criminals whisper about?" Abengane looked the boy up and down. Allen was almost excessively handsome, possessing a somewhat androgynous beauty.
"The 'Legendary Bane of Evil'? Am I really that famous now?" Allen asked playfully.
"It seems it really is you! I didn't think a Bounty Hunter like you would show up in Greed Island. But that's for the best, at least there's someone here who can bring the murderous Bomber to justice."
Since time was short, Abengane dispensed with the pleasantries and summarized Genthru's actions and two main abilities as concisely as possible. Of course, he added a bit of artistic flair and exaggeration to better paint Genthru as an irredeemable villain.
In his mind, if he described Genthru as evil enough, the "Grim Reaper" would surely execute him, just as he had done to so many cold-blooded murderers in the past.
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