"I will wait to hear from your father, then."
Standing just outside the massive, intimidating Testing Gate of the Zoldyck estate, Liam turned to say his goodbyes to Killua. As the head of the family, Silva naturally was not going to walk a guest dozens of kilometers down the mountain just to see them out. Killua, however, had been enthusiastic. He had brought both Alluka and Nanika along, accompanying Liam all the way down the winding forest paths to the front gate.
Someone had paid the Zoldyck family a fortune to buy the life of a new recruit in the Phantom Troupe. However, the Spiders were notoriously unpredictable, and tracking their movements was incredibly difficult. That was likely the exact reason the target had joined the Troupe in the first place—for the ultimate protection of anonymity. Even for a legendary family of professional assassins like the Zoldycks, digging up concrete intel on the Spiders across a vast world of six continents and three oceans was not going to happen overnight.
Liam certainly did not expect his own tracking skills to match the absolute intelligence network of the Zoldyck family. So, he had simply handed Silva his contact information and told the patriarch to call him the moment they found a lead.
Liam mentally calculated the stakes. If he could successfully complete this assassination order, the rewards would be massive. He would gain a significant boost in professional standing with the Zoldycks, he would likely earn a massive amount of trust from Kurapika, he would permanently damage his relationship with the Phantom Troupe, and he would gain invaluable, high-level combat experience. Not to mention the sheer amount of death energy he could absorb if he managed to kill a Spider.
It was a guaranteed profit.
The only catch, of course, was that he actually had to survive the encounter.
Therefore, before Silva called with the target's location, Liam needed to focus entirely on improving his own strength and mastering his Nen.
Having made up his mind, Liam was just about to turn and begin the long walk down Kukuroo Mountain when he noticed Killua lingering by the gate, looking uncharacteristically hesitant.
"What is it?" Liam asked.
"Thank you!" Alluka suddenly cheered, leaning forward. The child then turned and stared pointedly at Killua.
Killua rubbed the back of his neck, looking slightly awkward under his sibling's intense, expectant gaze. Finally, he looked at Liam and sighed. "Look, about everything that happened with Alluka and Nanika... just... thank you. Seriously."
Liam smiled, waving a hand dismissively. "Do not worry about it. I was just trying to save my own skin."
"Just accept it when someone says thank you!" Killua snapped, his embarrassment flaring up. "You are so awkward!"
Liam let out a genuine laugh and reached out, affectionately ruffling Killua's messy white hair.
Beside them, the physical clone of Nanika stood quietly. Her body and clothes were identical to Alluka's, but her face retained that dark, ink-like, hellish smile. She looked up at Liam and used the only syllable she was currently capable of speaking.
"Ai."
Alluka reached out and took Nanika's cold hand. He beamed up at Liam. "Nanika says you can ask her to do one thing for you!"
Killua blinked in surprise. "Wait, he didn't trigger a wish cycle, did he?"
Alluka leaned in and whispered something to Nanika. The dark entity nodded slowly. Alluka turned back, shouting happily, "Nanika says it is not an official wish! So there will not be any requests or penalties! Hehe!"
Has she started treating me like she treats Killua? Liam thought, equally surprised. Or is this just a one-time reward for helping her?
"Ai," Nanika chimed again. She maintained her dark, strange smile, staring up at Liam expectantly. It was the exact same expression she wore when waiting to grant a wish, though the context felt entirely different now.
The Wish-Granting Girl was offering him a completely free chance. No strings attached.
Liam stood quietly, turning the possibilities over in his mind.
Should he just ask for the exact location of the Phantom Troupe? No, that felt like a waste. Let Silva and the Zoldyck intelligence network handle the heavy lifting.
Should he ask for a perfect, invincible Nen ability with zero blind spots? No, wishing for absolute power always came with horrific, unforeseen consequences. The universe punished greed.
Should he ask to be teleported directly to Shizuku? Also a waste. Why use a miracle from the Dark Continent to do something he could accomplish by just buying a plane ticket?
Liam crouched down slightly and smiled at the dark-faced entity waiting patiently for his command. "I want Nanika to be able to speak normally, just like everyone else. That will make life a lot easier for her, right?"
"Huh?" Killua gasped, his eyes going wide. He truly had not expected an answer like that.
Liam looked back at Nanika. The crude, ink-like smile slowly wavered. The thick, dark lines drooped, shifting from a terrifying grin into a wobbly, deeply emotional crying face.
"Ai," Nanika whispered, her voice trembling.
A sudden, invisible wave of pure power radiated out from Nanika's small body, washing over the clearing before vanishing in a flash of light.
"Uuuuuuu," Alluka sniffled, biting his lip as thick tears welled up in his eyes. He looked at Liam, completely overwhelmed by the gesture.
Nanika took a hesitant step forward and wrapped her small, pale arms around Liam's hand. She looked up, and for the first time, she spoke in a clear, albeit slightly hoarse, voice.
"Thank... you."
"You are very welcome," Liam smiled warmly.
"Why..." Killua muttered to himself, watching the interaction. But his sharp mind quickly pieced the logic together.
Why was Killua the only one who could unconditionally "order" Nanika without triggering the deadly requests? Because Nanika fed on love. She constantly drew pure, unconditional love from Killua, and she returned that love by granting his desires without cost.
Why had Nanika suddenly offered Liam the exact same privilege? Because, through his actions, Nanika had sensed a similar kind of unconditional, unrequited kindness from him.
And Liam's choice had just proven her right. Handed a free, consequence-free miracle, Liam had not used it to satisfy his own selfish desires or gain ultimate power. He had used it entirely to help Nanika.
Killua felt a complicated knot of emotion tighten in his chest. He was deeply moved by Liam's kindness, but simultaneously furious with his own parents. How ridiculous was it that an absolute stranger cared more for his sibling's well-being than their own flesh and blood?
Suddenly, a sharp, electronic chime broke the quiet moment.
The heavy metal ring on Liam's finger—the player ring from Greed Island—began to glow with a bright, pulsing light. A thick cloud of white smoke erupted from the ring, and when it cleared, a massive, heavy binder materialized out of thin air, floating in front of him. It was the Greed Island card collection book.
"What is that?" Alluka asked, stepping back behind Killua.
Killua instinctively shielded both Alluka and Nanika, staring at the floating book in shock. He looked at Liam, only to see that Liam looked just as stunned.
A robotic, mechanical voice suddenly spoke from the book. "The special hidden copy has been successfully completed."
The heavy pages of the binder began flipping rapidly on their own, the sound of thick paper rustling loudly in the quiet forest.
"The completion reward will now be randomly awarded," the mechanical voice announced.
"Whoa, it is exactly like a video game!" Killua exclaimed, his eyes lighting up with sudden interest.
"Reward generated: One Customized Blank Card," the voice finalized.
The pages stopped flipping. A single, glowing card popped out of a binder slot and floated gently toward Liam. He reached out and snatched it from the air.
He looked down at the card. It was completely blank. The card number was blank. The difficulty rank and the rarity limit were blank. The title was blank. The main illustration box was entirely empty. The only text on the entire card was printed in the small instruction box at the bottom.
Instructions for use: Speak the name of any known card aloud, and this blank card will permanently transform into a perfect copy of that card. Once transformed, the effect cannot be withdrawn or reversed.
With a soft poof, the massive binder vanished back into thin air.
Liam stared at his empty hand, then tried shouting, "Book!"
Nothing happened. The heavy ring on his finger remained completely dormant.
In truth, this was exactly how the game was supposed to work. Outside the physical boundaries of Greed Island, not only was it impossible to summon the binder, but any cards stored within the ring would immediately expire and be wiped from the player's inventory. The only way to restore the "magic" was to physically log back into the game through a designated console.
But the fact that the strange "designer" program had managed to project the binder and issue a reward out here in the real world was staggering. The program had been dormant this entire time.
A sudden, terrifying thought crossed Liam's mind. Wait... is it possible that everything I just went through inside the Zoldyck estate was just a highly advanced, generated game copy? Like The Matrix?
"So, how do you actually use that card?" Killua asked, leaning forward to get a better look.
Killua's genuine curiosity instantly shattered Liam's paranoid theory. This was the real world. The Zoldycks were real.
Liam quickly slipped the blank, priceless card into his jacket pocket. "Do not worry about it, kid. Children shouldn't get addicted to video games. This has nothing to do with you."
"Stingy!" Killua crossed his arms and curled his lip. Then, a confident smirk spread across his face. "Whatever. I am going to find a way to play that Greed Island game eventually anyway."
"Are you just going to go there to get beaten up?" Liam teased. "You had better actually practice your Nen skills first."
The three siblings stood together in front of the towering Testing Gate, waving as Liam turned and began the long trek down the mountain path.
Inside the security booth near the gate, the old groundskeeper Zebro watched the scene with deep emotion. Master Killua had actually made a friend. And more shockingly, Master Silva had seemingly allowed the boy to leave alive.
"Alright, who wants a piggyback ride?" Killua laughed, turning away from the gate.
Nanika giggled, and Alluka immediately launched himself through the air, clinging tightly to Killua's back.
"Let's go, brother!" Alluka cheered.
The three siblings headed back up the winding forest path toward the main estate, the heavy stone doors of the Testing Gate slowly rumbling shut behind them.
Further down the mountain, Liam maintained a brisk pace. He glanced up at the sky. The sun was just beginning to set, meaning it was not quite dark enough to utilize the Moon Mark for long-distance communication.
He pulled out his mobile phone and scrolled through his contacts, intending to call Shizuku. But his thumb accidentally brushed against Biscuit Krueger's name, instantly dialing her number.
Beep... Beep... Beep... The line rang out endlessly. There was no answer.
How old are you, and you still manage to go missing? Liam thought, frowning as he hung up.
He quickly dialed Shizuku's number. The line clicked open almost immediately.
"Shizuku," Liam asked without preamble, "did you just receive a system reward for completing the level?"
"What level? Wait, did you get a random blank card too?" Shizuku's voice crackled through the speaker.
Liam let out a breath, continuing his hike down the mountain as the shadows grew longer. The sky was finally getting dark.
Back in the small suburban town, miles away from Kukuroo Mountain.
Leorio was sitting on the floor of his ruined bedroom, sweating profusely as he desperately tried to maintain his shaky Ten. Just as he felt he was getting the hang of it, a sharp, heavy knock echoed from his front door.
He broke his concentration, letting out an annoyed groan as he looked up at his recently patched ceiling. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he marched impatiently toward the front door and threw it open.
Standing on his porch was a handsome young man with bright blond hair and a dark blue tabard.
Kurapika stared coldly at Leorio. "Did you really think I wouldn't come looking for you?" he said, his voice laced with a dangerous, barely contained fury. It was a tone clearly meant for Liam, not Leorio.
Before Leorio could even register the confusion, a massive surge of dense aura flared around Kurapika's right hand. The blond teenager lunged forward, grabbing Leorio directly by the collar.
Every single hair on Leorio's body stood on end as every instinct screamed at him to run.