Perhaps within Ironwood Mountain, the V5 too had its share of profit.
They were also a link in the chain of interests.
When the time came that their benefits were fully extracted, only then would they spare a hand to clean up the Ironwood Mountain.
Then they could seize this opportunity to expose Ironwood Mountain's crimes to the public and act on behalf of justice.
Once again, they could gain positive publicity through Ironwood Mountain and extract the last of its surplus value.
Everything was, in a sense, perfect.
If Mizaistom Nana wanted to take action against Ironwood Mountain at this moment... Perhaps, besides the resistance from within Ironwood Mountain itself…
"You might even face pressure from within the Hunter Association."
Luke kindly reminded him.
"How is that possible?!"
Mizaistom Nana frowned, still somewhat unconvinced.
"You have to understand, this world isn't just black and white..."
Luke looked at Mizaistom Nana's clothing and smiled. "Perhaps it's just a delicate gray."
"A delicate... Gray?"
Mizaistom Nana pondered Luke's words. The more he pondered them, the more... It seemed to make sense!
"I think the final curtain call of this sinister farce..."
Luke turned and left Mizaistom Nana with one final word: "It will end in a violent assassination, a mafia-on-mafia assassination."
"Sometimes, the power of justice is ultimately inferior to the forces of the dark world. It's far more effective…"
Mizaistom Nana's brows were nearly twisted into knots.
He didn't quite agree with this argument.
He wanted to open his mouth again to refute, but suddenly realized that Luke had already walked away.
"Who are you?!"
Mizaistom Nana demanded loudly.
"My name is Luke, and I'm an inventor."
A faint voice came from the distance.
Luke… An inventor?
Mizaistom Nana repeated the name several times in his mind, but nothing came to mind.
He was certain he had never heard of this person before.
"And... He calls himself an inventor, what does that mean..."
Mizaistom Nana had just finished thinking this when he heard a soft voice from afar: "If you're in danger, take those pills immediately."
"They might save your life at a crucial moment."
The voice faded to inaudible levels before vanishing completely.
"Pills?"
Only then did Mizaistom Nana notice that where Luke had stood earlier, at some point, a pink blister pack of pills had been placed.
Also, surrounding the two blister packs was a scripture that Mizaistom Nana couldn't decipher.
"Is this the language of some ancient kingdom?"
Mizaistom Nana pondered for a moment.
After all, this wasn't his strong suit, so he simply put it away before trying to figure it out.
Since the inventor named Luke knew his current situation and had given him something like this, if he was trustworthy, then this supposedly life-saving pill he had given him, perhaps it would actually work at a crucial moment.
As for the man named Luke, Mizaistom Nana had discovered through this conversation and brief observation, he should be trustworthy for the time being.
And this so-called life-saving pill offered by the other party certainly shouldn't be so easily believed.
He would only try it as a last resort, when there was no other way out.
Thinking this, Mizaistom Nana looked up at the ore from Ironwood Mountain not far away.
In his eyes, the gleaming ore was filled with sin, blood, and tears.
Luke deeply admired Mizaistom Nana's character, his unwavering ideals and principles.
So, although he wasn't interested in the affairs of Ironwood Mountain and didn't want to get involved, if a reckless pioneer like Mizaistom Nana was willing to go, Luke wouldn't stop him, much less attack him.
When others strive for justice and fairness in this world, even if he couldn't offer help or support them from behind, he should at least keep his mouth shut and refrain from hindering them.
So, given Luke's ability, he wouldn't mind offering a little help to pioneers like Mizaistom Nana.
For example… The Animal Type Tablet he left for Mizaistom Nana.
Invention: Animal Type Tablet
Origin: Doraemon World — Future Tech Company
Function: A set of four pills. After consumption, one would gain the survival ability of certain animals: Chameleon (Protective coloration, body and clothing change color), Lizard (tail-shedding survival, clothes tear apart), Turtle (Hard shell, head and limbs retract into clothing, clothing hardens), and Skunk (emits foul odor).
In essence, it's using the animals' protective traits to buy space and opportunities for escape.
Initially, there were only four types of these Animal Type Tablets.
But later, four additional pills were added, bringing the total to eight.
These four newly added pills grant the survival ability of the Opossum (Playing dead, fainting, and body stiffening temporarily), Octopus (Ink spray, squirts ink from the mouth), Porcupine (Back spikes, quills sprout from the back), and Electric eel (Electric shock, discharges when touched).
Well, the only thing Luke regrets is that they don't contain any Ox life-saving abilities. Otherwise, it would be quite fitting for Mizaistom Nana's future image and codename.
"But as for Ox, they're not small in size, and they're quite powerful. Nature really doesn't need to give them any extra abilities."
These thoughts flashed through Luke's mind as he walked away from the Ironwood Mountain.
Of course, none of this mattered anymore.
He had done everything he needed to do and provided adequate assistance to Mizaistom Nana.
What happened next depended on Mizaistom Nana's own abilities and methods.
As for Luke himself…
"So, I've already bought a cell phone."
He randomly found an electronics store and spent a considerable sum on one of the most advanced communications devices of the era... A brick-shaped pager phone comparable to a mobile phone.
Well, in the 1980s, what more could one ask for?
This was also why he hadn't liked using phones from this world until now.
Then he pulled out the business card Ging Freecss had given him and dialed the number on it.
The contact on the other end of the line was none other than the Ickshonpe that Ging Freecss had mentioned earlier.
A man who, after obtaining his hunter's license, vanished from the world, leaving virtually no trace.
A legendary figure that is impossible to find.
And if Luke remembered correctly, this guy's professional hunter classification seemed to be…
"Hacker Hunter…"
Luke looked at the screen of his brick-shaped phone, where a sudden invitation message appeared, and couldn't help but laugh.