Anyone using those old phones knows this.
On those nine-key phones, with their tiny screens, the back button was down at the bottom right.
For people who had the habit of always pressing the back button whenever something went wrong, lag, a screen not opening, or even just landing on the wrong page, they would immediately hit that button to exit.
That was a habit carved into nearly everyone who ever used a phone.
But here, that exact action cut off their last chance to get out.
"We weren't trying to trick them or do anything to them. All we did was pull them into the chat room."
Luke said calmly and openly: "If they explored further afterward, they would actually know how to exit it."
Well, it was precisely because there were three separate mechanisms for phone users to quit that Ickshonpe managed to spread this message to other users.
Then, when those hunters who claimed to be sharp received it, they walked right into the trap.
It could be said he had thoroughly studied both people's daily phone usage habits and their mindsets.
[Now I finally understand...]
The following words suddenly reappeared on Ickshonpe's cardboard: [Why did that guy, Ging, give you that invitation number...]
[You're just as much of an asshole as him!!]
Ickshonpe's graffiti face revealed an expression of absolute certainty.
This kind of making people extremely angry by toying with them was exactly the same kind of thing Ging Freecss, that bastard, would do!!
"Don't put me on the same level as that guy with low emotional intelligence.
Luke flatly declined.
Compared to Ging Freecss, he was still quite humane.
At the very least, he gave people the chance to back out.
Well, it all depends on whether they can seize it.
Meanwhile, in the Hunter Association headquarters building.
"Botobai!!"
Pyon's shrill voice echoed throughout the entire floor.
It startled all the staff in the hallway, those heading home and those working overtime alike.
Pyon ignored their shocked and puzzled looks, storming straight into Botobai's office.
Well, as a Paleograph Hunter, Pyon had her own office here due to work duties.
Botobai, on the other hand, remained purely out of voluntary service, choosing to help the association with its tasks.
"What's wrong?!"
At that moment, the younger-looking but stern, square-jawed Botobai raised his head. His serious expression fixed on the fiery Pyon barging in.
"Can't you be a little more composed?"
Botobai Gigante frowned. "If you're always so rash, what if you mistranslate an ancient text?"
"You know full well, even a small radical or character component can change a word's meaning."
"Which in turn could distort the meaning of an entire sentence, even a whole passage."
"It could even mislead historical research!!"
Like a responsible leader, he lectured Pyon about her mistakes.
"Don't worry about that for now! Geez!"
Pyon, fully aware of Botobai's sense of responsibility, knew everything he said came from a purely professional perspective.
But she brushed it aside and pulled out her phone: "Did you receive that strange message about the chat room?!"
"Yes."
Botobai's answers were always crisp and precise.
One was one, two was two. No wasted words, strict and exact.
"So how did you handle it?"
Pyon's questions fired like a machine gun: "Did you press the button on it? Did you get dragged inside, too?!"
"I didn't click it."
Botobai looked at her calmly. "When it comes to the unknown, you should observe first, then take action."
He always practiced a rigorous and serious work attitude, especially when faced with things he didn't understand or know.
"And then what happened?!"
Pyon immediately asked.
"Then after waiting five seconds, it automatically jumped to the next screen, as if I had agreed."
Botobai crossed his arms. "Even if I didn't do anything, it would still proceed based on the option I have agreed."
"Did you press the back button?"
Pyon stared at Botobai intently.
She had come here mainly to confirm that she wasn't the only one who fell into this trap.
If even Botobai had, then it meant she wasn't stupid, just that the other side was too cunning.
But…
"Press the back button? Why would I press it?"
Botobai raised an eyebrow, looking curiously at Pyon, who was staring at him expectantly.
"Huh?"
Botobai's question actually left Pyon stunned.
"If you don't press it, then it will enter..."
Pyon rambled on, describing what had just happened on her phone.
Botobai simply listened quietly until Pyon finished.
"It won't enter."
Botobai said calmly to Pyon.
"The medium for their interface is the phone. In that case..."
He glanced at the trash can nearby.
Pyon's eyes instinctively followed.
And then, she saw…
"What is this?"
Pyon stared at the debris in the trash can in astonishment.
"My phone fragments."
Botobai's tone was very calm. "As soon as I noticed the signs of something unusual happening, I immediately snuffed it out."
Pyon: "..."
What you call snuffing it out was crushing the phone along with it, right?! As expected of you, Botobai, such a rigorous attitude and conduct.
Pyon was truly impressed.
This way, there was no way to take the bait, minimizing risk to the greatest extent…
She was thinking this when she suddenly froze.
Botobai had quietly stood up and moved some distance away from her.
Pyon: "...?"
"What do you mean?!!"
"From your tone, I can tell you've been dragged into that chat room."
Botobai Gigante's tone remained as calm as ever: "Then, the best thing we can do is keep a certain distance."
"That way, any danger emanating from your phone won't reach me."
"You've already been infected, so it's best not to spread the danger."
Pyon's face flushed upon hearing this.
Wasn't he basically saying she was useless for getting caught, and shouldn't drag others down?!
Even though Botobai probably didn't mean to look down on or mock her, precisely because his perspective was so serious and pure, Pyon found it even harder to accept.
So she had become the one holding everyone back?!!
"I don't believe this..."
Pyon was so angry that she pulled out her brick phone.
Seeing Botobai's increasingly cautious and wary look, she walked out the door in a rage.
"I want to see what this so-called chat room is all about!!!"
She angrily returned to her office and began to scroll through the messages.
What caught her eye was the following: [Welcome to the chat room, where you can discuss interesting topics with other users from around the world.]
[First, please read a short story provided by user Dr. Heimerdinger.]
Pyon coldly observed the content.
Especially when she saw the user Heimerdinger, she knew for sure…
"This guy is the real mastermind, right?!!"
She gnashed her teeth in hatred. "I want to see what tricks you're up to!"
She has already been tricked, so she will just have to keep going this way until the end of the world!
But…
"You read it, then write it out for me!!"
Pyon wasn't stupid. She barged into the office next door, grabbed a staff member still on duty, and dragged him over.
Then she shoved the brick phone in front of his bewildered face.
In this world, there are all sorts of bizarre abilities.
What if one of the conditions for activating the other party's Nen ability requires that she read the entire story herself?
Wouldn't that mean she had fallen straight into their trap?!
She wouldn't fall for that!
"So if someone else reads the story and writes it down for me, that's fine!!"
Pyon placed a pen and paper in front of the bewildered staff member: "Write it for me!"
The staff member was startled and immediately began writing out the story on the brick phone.
Pyon glanced over and saw the title of the top story: "The Honest Woodcutter."
"The Honest Woodcutter, a story about a woodcutter?"
Just as Pyon began to ponder, in the office next door...
"A fable?"
A certain person with striking blond hair, a gentle smile on his face, sat calmly at his desk, studying the board before him.
An assistant wrote the contents on his brick phone on the board.
"A short story from the so-called chat room?"
Pariston Hill, a senior staff member of the Hunter Association who has yet to become Vice Chairman and is one of the future Zodiac Twelve, Rat, was also reading a short story he had received from one of his assistants.
"The Honest Woodcutter."
[Once upon a time, a woodcutter was chopping wood by a river. His axe accidentally fell into the water. He sat on the bank and wept bitterly.]
[Hermes, the Messenger of the Gods, happened to be passing by and, after asking why he was weeping, felt sorry for him and jumped into the river to retrieve the axe.]
[The first time, he retrieved a golden axe, but the woodcutter said it wasn't his.]
[The second time, he retrieved a silver axe, but the woodcutter also denied it.]
[The third time, he retrieved the woodcutter's axe, and the woodcutter said that was his axe. Seeing the woodcutter's honesty, Hermes gave him all three axes.]
[The woodcutter returned home and told his companions what had happened.]
[One of his companions, also eager to profit, took an axe and went to the river to chop wood. After a few strokes, he deliberately threw the axe into the water and sat there.]
[Soon after, Hermes appeared again and asked him what had happened. He replied that he had lost his axe.]
[Hermes fished out a golden axe and asked if it was his.]
[The man immediately claimed it was his.]
Hermes, understanding his intention, not only did he not give him the golden axe, but he also left the axe he had dropped in the river.]
This is a classic fable that teaches others about honesty. The earliest origin of the story comes from Aesop's fables.
Of course, in this world, there's no such thing as a Hermes.
Luke also made appropriate modifications when spreading the story.
And the professional hunters who read it all gave it a thumbs-up.
"It's a pretty good story, interesting and meaningful, perfect for extracurricular reading for children."
"And as a short story to pass the time, it's quite suitable..."
Pyon's immediate evaluation after reading the story was…
"It seems... There aren't any other problems, right?!"
She became a little uncertain.
"What's going on on the phone?"
She glanced at the staff member she had roped in to do the hard labor.
"Um, it says you've finished reading. Would you like to chat and exchange stories with other users?"
The staff member read out the message carefully, word by word: "If your review gets a lot of discussion, we'll give you a nice gift."
After that, he looked up at Pyon and said: "Then there were a lot of reviews..."
"Nothing else?!"
Pyon demanded.
"It seems... There's nothing else."
After checking again and again, the staff member replied to Pyon.
"Let me see!"
Pyon immediately snatched the phone back.
Then, she saw a stream of messages appearing on the phone.
[What is this?!]
[Is this a new feature developed by the phone developers?!]
[What is this chat room? Is it just for chatting?!]
[It looks quite interesting. So many people can all send messages!]
[Nobody's mentioning that story just now?!]
[Well, it's a good story indeed. The moral story of the Honest Woodcutter is quite interesting.]
[Right, I can tell the kids about it later.]
[Leave a review to win a gift? Are we supposed to write based on the story?]
[Do you really care about the gift?]
[Nah, I'm just curious about this feature.]
[Yeah, whoever developed such a feature, I'm also curious about the gifts they would give.]
[Heh, you guys probably have the Nen ability that can trace the origin of items back to the real owner, right?!]
[??????]
Another series of question marks followed Pyon's message.
It seemed her guess was correct, but she also directly exposed the main purpose of those who wanted to leave a review.
Well, very few people who can become professional hunters are fools.
Being sent such a message out of nowhere, unable to refuse, forced to read through a story, and then gathered together here to chat…
So many professional hunters all in one place, posting and messaging, it really did feel refreshing, very convenient.
But at the same time, quite a few were secretly planning to use their abilities to trace back the one behind it all.
Or others were testing the chatroom in different ways.