Inside the Game World.
The first rays of morning sunlight filtered through the digital sky.
Ryker lay in a luxurious, king-sized bed, looking down at the two beautiful women sleeping soundly on either side of him. Shizuku and Machi. The "Oreo" experience was quite pleasant.
As the Game Master, this pocket dimension was entirely his sandbox. He could shape reality to his whims, turning the post-apocalyptic New Eridu into a private paradise whenever he pleased. Meanwhile, back in the real world, a simple lightning clone handled his physical presence.
Ryker's body dissolved into data and vanished from the game world.
A moment later, Shizuku and Machi slowly woke up. As the memories of last night's intense "interrogation" flooded their newly reprogrammed minds, the two women lay frozen, their faces flushing crimson.
The Next Day. The Real World.
Yorknew City. Southernpiece Auction House.
Ryker, Killua, and Gon arrived at the grand venue.
Their next major objective was to enter the legendary Hunter-exclusive video game: Greed Island. According to their intelligence network, several physical copies of the game were scheduled to be sold at today's Southernpiece Auction—the largest legal auction in the world, second only to the Mafia's Underground Auction (which Ryker had already systematically destroyed).
As they walked in, Ryker couldn't help but sigh in satisfaction.
Yorknew City's criminal underworld was essentially his personal piggy bank now. The Ten Dons were terrified, obediently paying their 300 billion Jenny tax.
As for the Phantom Troupe? They were completely broken. The surviving members—Phinks, Bonolenov, Chrollo, and Hisoka—had fled the continent, scurrying away like terrified rats entirely outside of Ryker's immediate sensory range. The rest were either dead, harvested for traits, or currently serving as Ryker's personal playthings inside his [Gaming Console].
Ryker felt no urge to chase the survivors down. The Spider was functionally dead. If Chrollo and the others ever decided to seek revenge, they would just be delivering their traits directly to his doorstep.
"Wow! This place is massive!" Gon marveled, looking at the thousands of wealthy elites filling the theater. "But Brother Ryker... do we have enough money? The starting price for one copy is around eight or nine billion Jenny. We'll need at least thirty billion for three copies..."
Kurapika and Leorio had declined to come. Kurapika had achieved his vengeance and needed time to process, while Leorio wanted to return to his medical studies. Melody and the other bodyguards also knew their limits; Greed Island was a death trap meant only for top-tier Hunters.
On the Auction Stage.
An elegant, statuesque female auctioneer stepped up to the podium, her voice projecting clearly across the massive hall.
"Next up, we have the legendary, mythical video game: Greed Island! Please direct your attention to the center screen."
A high-definition image of a retro, bulky JoyStation console appeared on the screen. Surprisingly, despite not being plugged into any power source, the console's power light was blinking steadily.
"Brother Ryker! It's the game!" Killua's eyes lit up.
Gon leaned forward, practically vibrating with excitement. Greed Island was the only tangible clue his father, Ging Freecss, had left behind.
"As many of you have noticed, this console requires no electricity. It operates on an incomprehensible, mystical power," the auctioneer smiled, gesturing to the stage. "Furthermore, the casing is entirely indestructible."
A heavily muscled man walked onto the stage carrying a massive steel sledgehammer.
SMASH!
The man swung the hammer down onto the console with bone-crushing force. The wooden pedestal beneath the console shattered into splinters, but the JoyStation itself didn't have a single scratch on it.
"Ah, the console is protected by a permanent layer of Shu (Aura Envelopment)," Ryker observed, his eyes gleaming with professional interest. "Creating a Nen system that sustains itself perfectly over years without any active maintenance... Ging Freecss's mastery over Nen is truly impressive."
Ryker's own [Gaming Console] would vanish if he stopped supplying it with aura or dispelled it. Ging, however, had managed to anchor his Nen constructs to the physical world permanently.
There are still things I can learn from the top tiers of this world, Ryker thought.
"As you can see, ladies and gentlemen, it is completely impervious to physical damage!" the auctioneer announced proudly. "But that is not all. As long as someone is playing inside..."
She paused dramatically. "Please look at the screen!"
The game console suddenly hummed, and the screen blinked to life, displaying the face of a rugged man.
"Wait... isn't that Jeet Shari? The Pro Hunter?!" a wealthy bidder in the front row gasped.
"I heard he vanished years ago! Where has he been?!"
"Can someone explain how a game without power is currently being played?!"
The crowd erupted into confused murmurs. Gon and Killua watched intently, fascinated by the strange mechanics of the game.
Ryker remained perfectly calm. As a transmigrator, he knew the secret: the console was merely a teleportation device. The game didn't take place in a digital world; it transported players to a real, isolated island in the real world. If you died on the island, you died in reality.
"He is currently inside the game," the auctioneer explained, cutting through the chatter. "The game's contents can only be seen by the players. We obtained these copies by signing a contract with Mr. Shari. He currently owns seven copies of Greed Island..."
After a lengthy explanation emphasizing that people had died playing this game, the bidding finally began.
"The starting bid is 10 Billion Jenny!"
Instantly, paddles shot up across the room. The price skyrocketed. Only the absolute wealthiest billionaires in the world could afford to play this game.
"Huh? Is that... Milluki?!" Killua suddenly gasped, pointing toward the VIP seating area.
His obese older brother, Milluki Zoldyck, was sweating profusely, frantically waving his paddle to push the bid up to 60 billion.
But before Milluki could raise it further, an elderly man in a sharp suit calmly raised his hand.
"One hundred and twenty billion."
A dead silence fell over the auction hall.
The crowd gasped. The market value for a single copy of Greed Island was roughly 90 billion. Bidding 120 billion for a single copy was an absurd, completely irrational overpay. No one else dared to raise their paddle.
"120 billion going once! 120 billion going twice!" The auctioneer raised her gavel, her face flushed with excitement.
Just as the hammer was about to fall, a calm voice echoed from the middle rows.
"Two hundred billion."
Ryker leisurely raised his hand.
The entire hall practically suffered a collective heart attack. Heads snapped around so fast several people nearly got whiplash.
Two hundred billion?! For ONE copy?!
"Who is that kid?! Is he insane?!"
"Does he even know who he's bidding against? That's the multi-billionaire, Mr. Battera!"
"He looks like a teenager! Can he even afford that? If he's faking a bid at Southernpiece, the Mafia will kill him!"
The crowd whispered frantically, staring at Ryker in disbelief.
In the VIP section, the elderly billionaire, Battera, frowned deeply.
Two hundred billion for one copy meant spending six hundred billion for three. That severely cut into the budget he had allocated to hire mercenaries to clear the game. But to save the woman he loved, he couldn't back down.
Battera raised his paddle again. "Two hundred and twenty billion."
"Two hundred and thirty billion," Ryker countered instantly, not even blinking.
Money was literally just a number on a screen to him now. He had just extorted 300 billion in pure cash from the Ten Dons yesterday, not counting the billions in assets and bounties he had lying around. His goal was to secure three copies of the game, and he would simply bury anyone who got in his way with cash.
Battera's face turned ugly. If this bidding war continued, his entire financial empire would take a massive hit.
He leaned over and whispered to a tall, gaunt man standing behind him.
The man had sharp cheekbones, a goatee, and eyes like a hawk. He immediately stepped away from Battera and walked briskly down the aisle toward Ryker's row.
"Gentlemen," the man said coldly, staring down at Ryker, Gon, and Killua. "I am Single-Star Hunter Tsezguerra. You are currently bidding against my employer, Mr. Battera. I strongly suggest you drop out of this auction. Do us this favor, and the Battera family will compensate you handsomely."
As he spoke, Tsezguerra subtly released a wave of his Nen aura—Ren—directing it at the boys to intimidate them.
The ordinary billionaires sitting nearby instantly turned pale, some even trembling in their seats as the oppressive, murderous aura washed over the room.
Gon and Killua tensed, their instincts flaring.
"Brother Ryker! Watch out, this guy is strong! Way stronger than a normal Hunter!" Killua whispered urgently.
"Heh."
Ryker let out a short, cold laugh. He didn't even stand up. He just locked eyes with Tsezguerra.
BOOM!
Without warning, an apocalyptic, suffocating wave of pure, condensed malice and aura crashed down upon Tsezguerra.
It felt as if a literal mountain had been dropped on his shoulders. Under the horrified gaze of the entire auction hall, the Single-Star Hunter groaned in agony. The floor tiles beneath his boots cracked and shattered.
Unable to bear the overwhelming pressure, Tsezguerra was forcefully driven down onto one knee.
Blood instantly trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Tsezguerra's pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks. His previous arrogance and superiority vanished, replaced by an absolute, visceral terror.
Impossible! Tsezguerra screamed internally.
The boy sitting in front of him looked like a teenager, but the sheer density and volume of his aura were god-like. It was so overwhelmingly vast that it crushed Tsezguerra's aura instantly. This kid wasn't just a Hunter; he was a walking natural disaster.
Tsezguerra's brain scrambled for a way out. He gritted his teeth, the veins on his forehead bulging as he desperately pressed his hands against the shattered floor to stop himself from being flattened completely.
"A-Apologies..." Tsezguerra forced the words out through bloody teeth, gasping for air. "It was... our mistake..."
The instant the apology left his lips, the crushing pressure vanished completely.
Tsezguerra collapsed forward, drenched in cold sweat. He didn't look at Ryker again. He didn't say another word to Battera. He simply stood up on shaking legs, turned around, and practically fled the auction hall in sheer terror.
With Battera's bodyguard neutralized, the billionaire wisely chose not to bid again.
Ryker successfully won the auction for three copies of Greed Island.
"Brother Ryker... what just happened?" Gon asked, utterly confused. He hadn't felt the aura clash at all; Ryker's control had been so precise that he only targeted Tsezguerra.
Killua, however, swallowed hard. He had felt the shift in air pressure. He knew exactly what Ryker had just done.
"Nothing. Just a minor disagreement," Ryker smiled, keeping his hands in his pockets. "We got our three copies. Let's go to the back and pay. The rest of this auction is boring."
As they stood up to leave, a massive, spherical figure came tumbling down the VIP stairs, practically rolling to a stop at their feet.
It was Milluki.
"A-Ah! Little Brother! And Lord Ryker!" Milluki scrambled to his feet, a sycophantic, greasy smile plastered across his face. "What a coincidence! I was totally going to bid on those copies to give to you as a gift, my Lord! But... hehe... you beat me to it!"
Killua rolled his eyes. "It's the thought that counts, Piggy. If you don't need anything, get lost."
"Yes, yes, of course! Lord Ryker, Killua, Gon, if you ever need anything hacked or tracked, just give me a call!" Milluki bowed repeatedly, scurrying away.
Milluki had made up his mind. He was going to cling to his little brother's coattails for the rest of his life. Killua was friends with a literal god.
Having secured the objective, Ryker led the boys to the VIP checkout lounge to finalize the payment for the three game consoles.
"My Lord! Here are your items," a beautiful receptionist said, respectfully presenting three heavy metal briefcases.
Ryker pulled out the Black Card he had extorted from the Ten Dons. But before he could hand it over, the receptionist held up her hands apologetically.
"My Lord, there is no need. Someone has already paid the 690 billion Jenny balance in full on your behalf."
"Paid?" Ryker blinked in genuine surprise.
He didn't have any friends in Yorknew City. And this was almost 700 billion Jenny. Who on earth had that kind of liquid cash and was willing to drop it on him anonymously?
Gon and Killua were equally stunned. 690 billion was a number they couldn't even fathom.
While they were trying to process the situation, a figure slowly stepped out from the shadows of the VIP corridor.
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