The three of them found a hotel room and continued the conversation.
Kurapika's mind was a mess. He kept thinking about Smith's words. Recalling the indescribable sense of oppression he'd felt from the boy at that moment. The magical, impossible power.
Extraordinary power.
Kurapika calmed down and looked at Liam, who was currently discussing which dish tasted better with Shizuku. "I have one last question."
"Shoot." Liam made a gesture of invitation with one hand while flipping through the room service menu with the other.
"Why me?" Kurapika asked. "You arranged for someone to deliberately create a scene about the Phantom Troupe near Fountain Square because you already knew I was there and would definitely take the bait, right?"
He stared at Liam. "So why did you invite me to join your organization? I don't even know anything about your so-called Nen. With your strength, you could probably eliminate me easily. All I have is deep hatred for the Phantom Troupe. And you don't even seem to have a strong motive to be hostile toward them. You're just following my lead. So why me? What could I possibly provide to you?"
Liam smiled. "If I help you like this, you'll have to work hard for me in the future. Shizuku, what's the first rule of our organization?"
Shizuku said, "Listen to the boss."
"What's the ultimate purpose of our organization?"
"Explore the Dark Continent."
"That's right, the Dark Continent!" Liam tapped the edge of the table gently. "Kurapika, the Dark Continent isn't a place one person can visit alone. Throughout history, countless people have gone to the Dark Continent, overtly or covertly. But they either died there, died on the road, contracted incurable diseases, went insane, died, or disappeared. Wanting to explore the Dark Continent isn't something that happens overnight. Without sufficient preparation, without a reliable team, it's impossible to achieve."
"If you don't know about the Dark Continent, I can tell you." His enthusiasm ramped up. "It's an area thousands of times larger than the world we currently know. We don't even know how many vast and boundless continents exist there. There are countless miracles. Mountain-sized animals. Trees reaching into the sky and earth. Life forms that bring hope. Stones that generate endless electricity. Even rice that can make people live forever!"
"Eternal rice! What is rice? It's harvested in thousands of tons when it matures seasonally. And this rice can grant immortality!"
"Even such outrageous things exist in the Dark Continent. Who's to say there isn't hope for resurrecting the dead there?" Liam looked at Kurapika. "We want to explore the Dark Continent. But if there's even a glimmer of hope to resurrect your tribe there, you're the most determined, persistent, and willing to risk everything for it. With talent like yours joining, why would I hesitate? We have the same destination. You can be of great help to us. Kurapika, what do you think?"
Shizuku watched with mild surprise as Kurapika's expression changed from shocked to numb.
Kurapika murmured to himself, "Nitolomi. Hell's bells..."
"What?" Liam genuinely didn't hear what he was mumbling.
Kurapika said, "I—I once picked up a book. I always regarded it as a fictional fantasy adventure story written by the author, but... the content in the book is exactly the same as what you just said."
He looked stunned. "The longevity rice you mentioned is called Nitro Rice in that book."
Liam was also stunned. In Kurapika's backstory, there was something like this?
"What's the author's name?" he asked.
"There's no signature. It looks more like an unpublished draft." Kurapika's tone became a little lower, remembering something. "But in the book, the author calls himself 'Hunter D.' Of course, it's also possible that's merely the name of the adventure story's hero."
Holy shit. Don Freecss?!
Liam was genuinely shocked. As a child, Kurapika had picked up the draft of "Journey to the New World" written by Ging's ancestor?
This book had been banned by V5 International for ages. It would be extremely difficult to find another copy.
Don Freecss's travel notes on the eastern coast of the Dark Continent. Currently, only the International Permit Agency under V5 jurisdiction had backup copies of related information.
Liam wanted to go to the Dark Continent. If he could get this book, it would be a godsend. He'd planned to work with the Hunter Association in the future to find a way to obtain it.
He didn't expect Kurapika would provide an unexpected windfall today.
"Look, you've already provided huge help even before joining." Liam smiled. "I can't just let you go now."
Kurapika shook his head. "That book was lost in the disaster."
"But you read it," Liam said.
Kurapika hesitated. "I should be able to recount the general content."
Liam slapped the table. "The situation has changed, Kurapika. Even if I have to break your hands and feet, I'll make you join us. The information you learned from that book is incredibly valuable!"
"There's no need to break my limbs..." Kurapika closed his eyes and pondered for a moment. He had some mental barriers about saying the word "boss." But for the sake of his people, for that glimmer of hope, he could do anything. He opened his eyes and said seriously, "Boss, please teach me Nen."
Liam smiled. "To get started with Nen, you must first master aura. Aura is a life energy everyone possesses. To completely master aura, you must first open the aura nodes throughout your entire body. There are two ways to get you started. The first is slower: gradually opening your aura nodes through exercise and gradually perceiving the existence of aura. The second is very fast with immediate results, but there's a small risk."
"I choose the second option," Kurapika said decisively.
"The risk is—" Liam stood up and left his seat. He dipped his finger in some juice and walked to Kurapika. A Flying Star Bubble wrapped around the juice on his fingertip and floated out. "Next, you must trust me completely."
Kurapika couldn't see the Flying Star Bubble. But he could see a wisp of juice wrapped in the invisible sphere, vaguely twisting into a pentagram symbol in the air, slowly floating toward him.
He didn't understand what it was. He didn't know what Smith was going to do.
The corpses piled up by his tribesmen. The dark, empty eye sockets. Many images appeared in Kurapika's mind. He took a deep breath. "I'm willing to trust you."
Pop. The Flying Star Bubble struck Kurapika's forehead. After it shattered, a rose-gold pentagram remained.
The aura around Kurapika instantly changed.
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