Hunter x Hunter : Germain Joins The Hunt

Perhaps sensing the heavy atmosphere, Bisky tried to break the silence. She took pictures of the towering buildings that resembled stone pillars and casually brought up a topic.

"Ging, I've actually been paying attention to the players of Greed Island these past few days. I feel like your game is quite dangerous. What happens if a player dies on Greed Island?"

"What do you think happens? Their body is transported back to where they entered the game, appearing next to the console," Ging replied from the front of the group.

"They were warned about the high risk before entering. But from another perspective, as long as they can endure it, Greed Island serves as a great training ground for Nen users."

"'High risk'… it's real death, after all." Bisky suddenly realized she had brought up an even gloomier topic, and a hint of regret settled in her heart.

At the same time, she became aware of a growing sense of unease taking root inside her. This anxiety was slowly affecting her mind, clouding her judgment. 

Bringing up 'death' so early in their exploration was not something she would normally do.

Is this the 'pressure' that Germain talks about? Am I finally starting to feel this tangible sense of pressure?

Ging said at that moment, "Speaking of which, thanks to you all, you managed to take out that guy Genthru and his partners. They were habitual killers in Greed Island."

"Since those three died, the death rate on Greed Island has visibly decreased. Before that, both Dwun and List were quite troubled by them."

"While their actions didn't break the game's rules, they went against the original spirit in which we designed Greed Island."

"Greed Island isn't like the battle-hungry Heaven's Arena. At its core, it's still a game. If everyone resorted to killing as a shortcut to collect cards, it would defeat the purpose."

"'Bomber' Genthru…" Bisky thought for a moment, raising her hand to make a spiky gesture above her head. "The spiky-haired guy who could plant bombs with Nen?"

"That's the one," Ging replied without turning around. "Dwun and List had seen photos from the train hijacking case and recognized him immediately."

Bisky nodded. "Then it's good they're gone. Maybe it's true that 'evil deeds will be punished eventually.' This time, Killua and I were the ones to deliver that punishment. With them gone, they can't hurt anyone else."

Germain observed everything ahead and noticed that the previously tense atmosphere was gradually dissolving with the conversation between Ging and Bisky.

Under normal circumstances, when Bisky was in a good mood, the rest of the team would often be influenced and become cheerful as well.

After all, Germain was reserved, Shizuku had an unusual way of thinking, and Ging was somewhat prideful. In such a setting, Bisky acted as the emotional stabilizer for the team.

After walking a while longer, Ging looked down at the unfolded paper map, traced a few circles in the air with his finger, and then pointed to the right. "We go this way," he said.

The gesture seemed casual, as if he had picked a direction at random, but Germain trusted Ging. Contrary to the rumors of him being a reckless fool, Ging was anything but. 

On the contrary, when he put his mind to something, he became methodical and reliable—just like now.

Leading the group, Ging turned right and walked past a stone pillar, only to be met by even more stone pillars that looked identical. However, these pillars bore numerous marks left by those who came before.

The group instinctively looked up at the marks.

As an experienced Ruins Hunter, Ging immediately urged Bisky to capture the scene. These ancient imprints held an abundance of valuable information.

Walking at the back of the group, Germain ran his hand over the many scratches on the stone pillar. Some bore the large "USS" insignia, the abbreviation for the United States of Saherta.

He guessed that members of a special forces team had carved these marks as a way to guide themselves back or to help separated members regroup.

Above all, there was a striking carving at the top—a Möbius strip.

Even after two or three centuries, wind erosion had failed to erase it. It stood as a beacon, much like a lighthouse, signaling the way forward.

This mark was left by Don Freecss, a message to himself and future travelers. It indicated that this was a confirmed location on his map.

Seeing the Möbius strip, Germain thought that the special forces from the United States of Saherta must have felt a sense of reassurance at that moment, just as he and his team did now.

It meant that the path was correct, that someone had already walked this way before them. All that remained was to figure out how to deal with one of the Five Great Calamities: the "Botanical Weapon Brion."

They didn't linger for long and soon set off again.

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