For Uvogin, it was already annoying enough that a group of outsiders had barged into his territory and looted things from it.
What made him feel even worse was that he hadn't managed to keep a single one of them behind; every last one had gotten away.
And then, just when he was feeling extremely unhappy, a silly child approached them and naively asked him if he was hungry…
Uvogin was practically laughing with rage.
"Hungry, of course I'm hungry, how could I not be..."
He raised his head, glaring at the foolish boy fiercely, the corners of his mouth slowly stretching into a grin: "I really want to eat you right now!"
"Is that so..."
Luke wasn't scared at all by his intimidating words; he just nodded.
"If you're hungry, follow me."
He turned around first. "I have food here to replenish your energy."
Huh?!
Hearing this, Uvogin couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, glancing a few more times at the silly boy's back.
He had lived in Meteor City for thirteen years, and this was the first time he'd ever heard of someone willing to share their food with others.
A person like that was either a naive fool or someone with ulterior motives.
And naive fools could never survive in Meteor City.
Especially one he had never really seen before, suddenly popping up and asking if he was hungry…
If that was the case…
Uvogin's eyes gradually grew more vicious.
"What? Didn't you say you were hungry?"
Noticing no movement behind him, Luke turned around and caught sight of Uvogin, his eyes filled with hostility.
"I know what you're thinking, but I have no ill intentions."
Luke said calmly and directly: "If you feel unsafe or afraid, then you don't have to come."
"It's up to you."
With that, he ignored the reactions of the two figures behind him and headed towards his home.
"..."
Uvogin stared in the direction Luke had left, his fingers twitching unconsciously.
And suddenly, a tattered wooden stick rose before him.
"Although I find his invitation puzzling, I don't feel any danger..."
At this moment, Uvogin's face displayed a calm and composed expression, completely different from his rugged figure.
"What do you think, Machi?"
He glanced at his companion, who had been through thick and thin with him.
If Uvogin were truly just a reckless, foolish fellow who only cared about fighting, he would have died countless times.
"..."
The little dusty face of the girl, dirtied from their earlier chase, calmly shook her head and lowered the wooden stick in her hand.
Though smeared with dirt, her delicate features still faintly showed the outline of a beauty-to-be.
"I see, so you don't sense any problem either?"
Uvogin's frown finally relaxed, and a smile spread across his face.
"Your sixth sense is more accurate than mine."
"Then let's see what that foolish boy is up to!"
"He's not really planning on treating us to food, is he?!"
He patted his butt, stood up, and swaggered towards where Luke had left.
Machi remained silent while following closely behind Uvogin.
…
Running into Uvogin and Machi so soon was something Luke hadn't expected.
But although surprising, it wasn't incomprehensible.
With Uvogin's boisterous personality, he was easy to find.
And compared to the other old folks and unfamiliar residents of Meteor City, he was relatively easy to deal with.
While still in Meteor City, Uvogin faced Chrollo, Shalnark, and Franklin, who came to steal in his territory.
Back then, when Chrollo led Shalnark and Franklin to raid Uvogin's turf, Uvogin's first response had been to threaten, then fight.
And when trying to stop them from escaping, what he threw was also one of Machi's broken wooden sticks, not something sharper or more dangerous, like a piece of broken iron.
He even engaged Franklin in a truly manly one-on-one battle.
It wasn't until later, when Chrollo and his buddies put on their grand little cartoon play for the kids of Meteor City, that Uvogin developed a deep admiration for him, and the two began to become friends.
In other words, at this point, Uvogin was just a thirteen-year-old boy who could still communicate normally.
Of course, if the two really did have other intentions… Though Luke might look weak, he was a genuine Nen user; his power wasn't just for show...
"Are you both here?"
At his doorway, Luke glanced back to see Uvogin, arms crossed and head held high, with Machi standing at his side.
"Come in."
Without waiting for Uvogin to reply, Luke casually opened the door and walked in first.
Seeing this, Uvogin raised his eyebrows and remained silent for two seconds.
"Fine, I'll go in, what's the big deal?"
He scoffed, then strode towards the door.
Now that they'd come this far, leaving would only make them a laughingstock.
Uvogin definitely didn't want to hear someone mocking him next time, saying: "You walked all the way to his front door but didn't even dare step inside."
Besides, Machi's sixth sense was always right; he had no doubt about it.
"What the hell?!"
Upon entering, Uvogin immediately surveyed the interior of the house.
Finding it completely bare, practically empty, and impoverished, he couldn't help but grumble: "Machi has more stuff than you do!"
"..."
Little Machi, standing nearby, glanced at the idiot Uvogin but ignored him.
Instead, she looked at Luke, the boy who had brought them here for an unknown purpose.
Although she trusted her sixth sense, that didn't mean she would completely let her guard down.
"Didn't you say there was food here and you wanted to treat us?"
Uvogin plopped down on the ground, unaware of the danger, and said casually: "You live in a place with nothing around, and you still say there's food?"
"Or... ?"
He looked up at Luke, revealing his white teeth: "You want to treat yourself as food?!"
"With that tender flesh and skin of yours, you wouldn't even be enough to get stuck in my teeth!"
Luke ignored Uvogin's threats and provocations and asked again.
"You're hungry, so you need me to treat you, right?"
"Didn't you say there's food here and ask us to come?!"
Uvogin was growing impatient: "Of course, you can put it that way. As long as you serve me something delicious, that's enough!"
"Of course, if you say that the only thing you're serving us is that moldy, stinky bread..."
"Then don't blame me for... Lifting your roof!"
Uvogin was about to flip the table, but realizing there wasn't even a decent table here, he changed his mind.
"Don't worry."
Luke said nothing more, simply lost in thought.
Uvogin and Machi also fell silent and just simply stared at Luke.
Ten or so seconds passed like this.
"Um..."
Luke slowly opened his eyes and coughed softly.
"Is there anything specific you guys want to eat?"
"Anything specific?"
Uvogin scratched himself. "What? You can make me anything I want?!"
"Well, if I want to eat something..."
"Sticky rice cakes."
Machi, who had been silent, suddenly spoke, interrupting Uvogin's rambling.
This was the first time she spoke, and she raised her head to look directly at Luke.
"Sticky rice cakes."
Uvogin smacked his lips, remembering something.
That was the food they had snatched from Feitan and Phinks, the motorcycle duo, some time ago.
Feitan and Phinks had snatched it from another child who had prayed fervently in the church and received the approval of Father Lisores.
Across from their garbage heap, there lay a magnificent church. Inside, Father Lisores was in charge of collecting the bodies of those who died in Meteor City, praying for them, and erecting tombstones.
The people of Meteor City didn't want to suffer in life, only to have their bodies tortured after death.
Therefore, few ever disturbed the church.
The church seemed to have connections to the outside world, often receiving food from the outside.
Father Lisores distributed it to the children, who were praying devoutly there.
Sticky rice cakes were one of those treats.
While they didn't taste as fragrant as the meat others had mentioned, for a group of people who had barely tasted a proper meal, they were quite delicious.
"Sticky rice cakes? I understand..."
Luke nodded and closed his eyes again.
Well, although he had just received the food commission from Uvogin, that fulfilled the conditions.
But he had overlooked another important issue.
That was whether his aura was sufficient to support his invention.
As we all know, any product of Nen inevitably requires a significant expenditure of aura.
Only if his aura is sufficiently strong can he withstand increasingly unreasonable and difficult requests.
For example, if someone were to ask Luke to destroy the world, then the aura required to invent something that would achieve this effect would be enormous.
Just like now, Uvogin had sent Luke a request for food. If he were to invent something that could create food out of thin air, like the classic Gourmet Table Cloth from Doraemon, then the aura required would be beyond Luke's current capabilities.
So, he had to settle for the next best thing: specify the specific type of food he was requesting.
"Strength is still what I need..."
Luke once again reaffirmed his resolve to improve his strength, especially his aura capacity.
If only he were like a transmigrator with Doraemon's 4D Pocket, able to directly conjure any gadgets, things would have been so easy!
Luke sighed again.
"Perhaps I could also try using Vows and Limitations to lessen the consumption of my invention..."
His thoughts turned as he focused on inventing the machine needed to make the sticky rice cake.
Soon, just as Uvogin's eyes grew bored and he began to wonder if he'd gotten too carried away playing games with this foolish boy.
Suddenly, a bright glow began to emanate from Luke's hands.
"Huh?!"
Uvogin instantly raised his head, and Machi's gaze followed suit.
Under their intense gaze, their pupils contracted in surprise.
In their sight, a strange purple machine, seemingly from nothing, gradually took shape in this empty space, before Luke's eyes!
It had a chimney-like top and an opening at the bottom, seemingly a small opening for transferring the finished product.
On one side of the machine was a lever, likely used to activate it.
"What the heck is this?!"
Uvogin's eyes widened, and he jumped up from the ground.
With the expression of a toad catching sight of the sky outside the well for the first time, he surveyed the machine with a look of wonder and disbelief.
Although Machi remained silent, she stared intently at the machine.