"Well, it's mainly because when I passed by here before, these little guys gave me a good idea, which advanced the progress of a certain project of mine."
Ging Freecss casually touched the forehead of a nearby Two-headed Wolf.
"So, I wanted to do them a favor, too."
Repaying kindness, never forgetting a debt, even if it's to a wolf, was Ging Freecss's code of conduct.
And the Two-headed Wolf, being petted, didn't shy away from Ging Freecss at all.
Far from being wary, it even looked quite content and was enjoying it. Clearly, it already had a pretty good relationship with Ging.
"Just helping out as a way of repaying them?"
Luke nodded, accepting the reasoning.
If it had been anyone else, such a thing would never have happened. But with Ging Freecss, Luke felt it was entirely within reason.
"Well then, have you thought of any solutions to their reproduction problem?"
Luke also approached, examining this unique and endangered creature with some curiosity.
The Two-headed Wolf immediately grew alert when they saw a stranger approaching.
Unlike with Ging Freecss, they bared their fangs at Luke.
But after Ging Freecss patted their heads…
"Not yet."
The Two-headed Wolf fell silent and continued to lower its head.
Ging Freecss continued to pat one of the wolf heads.
"But after thinking about it, I've come up with some ideas."
"That is..."
Ging Freecss said seriously: "To solve their reproduction problem, they have to start with themselves."
"They have two heads, each with different thoughts, and these thoughts often clash."
"From what to eat, where to live, to which side faces the sun, and so on, the two heads have different thoughts and experiences."
"Naturally, when it comes to reproduction, the issue is even more critical."
"If the two heads' thoughts and decisions aren't aligned, then no matter how much effort we put in, no matter how much we try to promote it, we can't make the two heads agree on a shared action for their one body."
This was the insight Ging Freecss had gained after arriving here.
He didn't hold anything back; he simply shared it openly with Luke and Ginta.
Clearly, his true purpose was to help the Two-headed Wolf reproduce.
As for the reputation and benefits he would gain by solving their reproduction problem, and whether his insights and ideas would be stolen… to Ging Freecss, none of this mattered.
All he cared about was resolving the Two-headed Wolf's problem, nothing more.
"Well, ideas like yours have been mentioned by experts and scholars over the past two hundred years."
When it came to professional knowledge, Ginta put aside his prejudices and proactively engaged in a discussion with Ging Freecss: "But in their view, balancing the thoughts of the Two-headed Wolf is extremely difficult, even practically impossible."
"Because in order to balance their thoughts, you first need to know what each of the two heads is actually thinking and comprehend their intentions."
"But the Two-headed Wolf's behavior doesn't align at all with what we know."
Ginta explained, trying his best to use the words Luke could understand: "For example, among us humans, nodding represents agreement and approval."
"But for a Two-headed Wolf, one head might think it's a fight, while the other might think it's about time to groom fur."
"So it's very hard to unify them."
"And the most troublesome thing is..."
Ginta said, almost losing his composure. "In the Two-headed Wolf's mind, this perception isn't static."
"For example, today they may think meat tastes good, so they're unmistakably carnivores."
"But five minutes later, they might suddenly decide that grass is more to their liking, and they will revert to being herbivores."
"Experts speculate that this might be because they have two heads, with two different mindsets, causing their body's habits to change constantly."
"This, in turn, makes investigating them extremely difficult."
This is also the main reason why their reproduction problem has remained unsolved for two hundred years.
"But during these two hundred years, there have been some gains..."
Ginta's face twitched more and more as he continued: "Once, in the Hunter Association, there was a Beast Hunter."
"His Nen ability was to understand the language of animals."
"At that time, he sought out the Two-headed Wolf specifically to solve their reproduction problem and used his Nen ability on them..."
"Are you talking about the famous beast whisperer?"
Ging Freecss suddenly interrupted him.
"Yes, that's him."
Ginta nodded weakly. "According to the records in the book, this senior went to great lengths to communicate with the Two-headed Wolf."
"But the end result..."
Ginta took a deep breath. "It wasn't quite what we expected."
"What? Even that didn't work?"
Luke, who had been listening, was a little surprised.
"If they can already communicate, how could he still not solve their problem?"
If that were the case, then even with three heads, they should still be able to talk to each other... Right?
But reality proved that Luke had underestimated the peculiarity of the Two-headed Wolf.
"At first, that senior thought so too, but..."
Ginta sighed: "Only after they actually started talking did he discover a serious problem."
"The two heads of the Two-headed Wolf speak completely different languages!!"
"Even within their respective languages, there are many contradictions and incompatibilities!!"
Ginta said this, feeling somewhat speechless about the Two-headed Wolf beside him.
"And what was even more frustrating was that, because they grew on the same body, their language systems could actually transfer to each other."
"Yes, they couldn't understand each other's meaning, but they could swap language systems."
"It might be that one moment you're communicating with one head in its language, but the very next moment…"
"The language shifts, and suddenly everything you just said becomes meaningless."
"And what drove that senior to despair was that he couldn't even tell when the wolves switched language."
"It might happen three minutes, five minutes, ten minutes into a conversation, without warning."
"As a result, all his efforts failed again and again."
"In the end, even that senior gave up in frustration."
Even a Nen user, fluent in animal language, gave up on communicating with the Two-headed Wolf.
You can imagine how difficult and daunting it is to solve their problems.
"Well, I've been pondering this question for the past couple of days."
Ging Freecss said calmly: "I have some ideas and insights, but I don't know if they will work for them."
"You already have ideas?"
Ginta couldn't help but take another look at Ging Freecss.
He was indeed the legendary man known for his overwhelming skill.
Although his hunter specialization was a Ruins Hunter, it seemed he could handle any other type of work and do it well.
Thus, the rumors about Ging Freecss, his words, and his calm demeanor gave Ginta some hope.
"Maybe he really does have a way... Right, Luke... Luke?"
Calling out to his friend, but receiving no response, Ginta turned around in confusion.
There, he saw Luke staring at the Two-headed Wolf, with a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Communication and understanding, huh..."
After listening to Ginta and Ging Freecss's words, as well as the failures of his predecessors, Luke had a new idea: "What if, instead of us trying to understand their meaning, we let them express the thoughts in their own minds themselves..."
Luke smiled and said: "Then wouldn't the problem become simpler?"
"Let them express themselves?"
Ginta rubbed his head. "It's not like there haven't been experts in this field who have done this before."
"But the meaning of the Two-headed Wolf is difficult for us to understand, so..."
Luke interrupted him and asked: "How do they express themselves?"
"Uh, how..."
Ginta was stunned: "Through their daily behaviors, habits, or by guiding them in reproduction-related aspects and interpreting their responses..."
"In other words..."
Luke concluded: "No one has ever seen them personally write or draw out their true thoughts?"
"Let them... Write? Draw?"
Ginta scratched his ears, thinking he might have misheard it.
He could hear the words clearly, but the meaning... Why couldn't he understand it?!
Writing and drawing thought together into something coherent, was such a thing even possible?
So many predecessors and scholars hadn't managed this, yet Luke was saying…
"I know it might be difficult before, but if you need a little help..."
Luke smiled and once again brought something out: "It can help us understand them better."
It looked like an ordinary painter's hat, but it clearly wasn't ordinary.
It was a beret that resembled a red painter's hat.
At the top of the hat, there was a blue receiver resembling an antenna, and a small yellow ball on top of the receiver.
Around the beret's edge were square mechanical patterns.
Invention: Painter's Hat
Origin: Doraemon World — Future Tech Company
Function: Outwardly a beret, but once worn and paired with an automatic 24-color brush, it allows the user to draw what's in front of their eyes with photographic accuracy. Often mistaken for an actual photo rather than a drawing. Beyond the present view, it can also recreate images from memory.
In other words, this hat could project the pictures in one's mind onto paper!!
With it, a person could produce drawings as precise as those from a human camera.
How it works: The hat captures the colors and shapes the wearer sees.
The 24-color brush, receiving this information, sends commands to the muscles in the fingers and wrist, producing an exact copy.
Even memories from just minutes ago could be drawn, so long as the user still remembered them.
The so-called 24-color brush contained twenty-four colors in one, extremely practical and convenient.
With the painter's hat, it could produce lifelike drawings. Not only could humans use it, but even dogs could hold it with their mouths and use it.
Even unconscious individuals' memories could be retrieved through the Painter's Hat.
What's more, the small yellow ball at the top of the hat could adjust the timeframe of the unconscious memory recall.
Images from five minutes, ten minutes earlier, whatever the person was thinking then, could all be drawn with the pen!!
"Using this hat that looks like a painter's hat?"
Ginta looked at it, puzzled.
He couldn't see anything special about it.
But since it was something Luke brought out, it must have a unique function!
Ginta had such trust in Luke.
Ging Freecss, however, examined it closely.
"No sign of aura, it doesn't seem he's using his Nen ability."
"In other words, this isn't instant conjuration; it must have been materialized beforehand, and it is stored in some kind of independent hidden space."
"Then, whenever needed, he just retrieves it from there..."
It's worth mentioning that just from Luke taking out his invention, Ging Freecss immediately connected it to so many things and came up with a conclusion that was very close to the truth.
And it didn't stop there.
"So there are two possible explanations for his Nen ability."
"One possibility: his Nen ability is entirely random. He doesn't get what he wants on demand; it's all chance."
"The other: it's conditional. For example, based on specific needs being present before an invention appears."
"Like this painter's hat, it must have been invented because he once faced a similar need or problem."
"Otherwise, if he truly wanted to solve the Two-headed Wolf's issue, he would've pulled out an invention that addressed it directly."
"Instead of relying on the Two-headed Wolf to write or draw something to express their ideas..."
At that point, Ging Freecss shook his head inwardly: "There's no such thing as a truly unfettered ability. Otherwise, it wouldn't be an invention, but a wish."
"Even just being able to obtain information about the Two-headed Wolf is already impressive."
"His ability is already quite impressive."
These thoughts flashed through Ging Freecss's mind in an instant.
Then he began seriously observing Luke's next steps.
"First, place this hat on one of the Two-headed Wolf's heads..."
Before Luke could even explain, Ging took the initiative to help.
He restrained one of the howling, struggling Two-headed wolves, measured the size of its head, then took the painter's hat from Luke's hand and firmly pressed it onto the wolf's head.
"Next, let it hold this brush..."
Crack!
Ging Freecss calmly pried open the mouth of the Two-headed Wolf wearing the hat and roughly stuffed the brush into its mouth.
One of the Two-headed Wolf's heads: "...?"
Why me?! We clearly have two heads, yet you only picked me?!
Unfair!! I demand fairness!!
Unfortunately, no one paid attention to its protest.