As everyone knows, the timeline of Hunter x Hunter officially begins when the protagonist Gon Freecss sets out to take the Hunter Exam in search of his father, Ging Freecss.
That year was January 1st, 1999.
Right now, however, it was 1983, a full sixteen years before the main story begins.
"So that means…"
Arvin Locke rubbed his forehead more than once.
"Great Deity Tonpa is thirty years old right now, and that diamond-loving old lady… well, she's not an old lady yet. She's only forty-one."
The word "only" was used very deliberately.
Which meant that the Meteor City outside probably wasn't quite the same as the one he remembered.
For the past 1,500 years, Meteor City had already been a dumping ground for waste.
During all that time, it remained a forgotten corner of the world.
The moment it truly entered the world's attention would come in 1989, six years from now.
A certain country once suspected a wandering man without identification of committing murder and arrested him.
After verifying his identity, they found he had no nationality and no record of existence in any society.
The man claimed he was a resident of Meteor City, yet the country forcibly prosecuted him despite his denial of the charges.
The court gave him no opportunity to explain and directly declared him guilty.
Three years later, the true criminal—a drug-abusing killer passing through—was captured, and his other crimes gradually came to light… proving that the wanderer had been innocent all along.
Immediately afterward, something terrifying happened.
The police officer, the judge, the prosecutor, the witness, the jurors, the lawyer…
Thirty-one people connected to that wrongful conviction were all killed.
As for how the murders were carried out—
It was said the killers carried switch-activated bombs, detonating them together with their targets, essentially committing suicide.
According to eyewitnesses, they would smile, shake hands with their target…
And then the bomb would explode.
Thirty-one people in different locations were killed at the exact same moment.
"We accept anything you leave here, but don't ever try to take anything away from us."
That sentence eventually became how many people came to understand Meteor City.
But as for right now…
"Even the famous Phantom Troupe are still just little brats."
Arvin Locke shook his head.
No point thinking about all that yet. Regardless of whether he arrived early or late in the timeline, the first priority was taking care of himself.
Right now, the most urgent issue was filling his stomach.
"I need to find someone who's also hungry. If they come to me with a [Commission] or [Request], then I can create an invention related to food…"
People like that were everywhere in Meteor City.
Most people here struggled every day just to find something to eat.
But the problem was…
How many of them could he trust enough to ask him for a request?
Arvin Locke suspected that might actually be harder than stealing food from them directly.
"Troublesome…"
He frowned slightly.
And right at that moment—
A sudden commotion outside his house interrupted his thoughts.
"What's going on?"
He walked over to the door and opened a small crack.
Before he could even see clearly what was happening, an angry shout came from outside:
"You bastards actually dared to steal stuff in my territory! You've got some nerve!!"
At the top of a slope formed by piled-up garbage stood a tall, muscular man with an afro hairstyle, wearing a tattered tank top and shorts.
"You damn thieves! I won't let you off this time! Just wait to die!!"
With his arms crossed and a ferocious grin on his face, he continued:
"But if you hand over the stuff nicely, I'll let you die quickly!"
"And if you still try to run~~~"
He flexed his dark, bulging muscles.
"I'll make you wish you were dead. I'll kill you ten times over!!!"
"..."
Next to the big man, crouching on the garbage pile, was a little girl who looked almost like a wild child—like a small ape raised in the wild.
She had pink-purple hair.
Holding a broken wooden stick, she waved it around in imitation.
However, the calm expression on her face—whether natural or deliberate—greatly reduced the intimidation factor.
Under the threats of the big man and the little girl, the group of people they were confronting simply scattered and ran.
"That guy is just as stupid as ever!"
"Either way we're dead, so why would we go over there?!"
"And talking about territory in Meteor City? Is Uvogin an idiot or what?"
"If he doesn't die at least once, that stupidity probably won't change~~~"
As the group scattered in all directions, they mocked the man on the hill without holding back.
Of course, despite the taunts, their bodies were very honest—they ran away even faster.
In a dangerous place like Meteor City, getting injured could easily mean death.
Going head-to-head with someone like Uvogin—who might not be very bright but possessed overwhelming physical strength—was clearly not a wise decision.
Winning brought no benefits.
Losing was even worse.
And if they got injured during the fight, the situation would become even more disastrous.
"Hey! Get back here!!"
Seeing everyone running away, Uvogin roared again.
He stopped standing around, rolled up his sleeves, and charged down toward the fleeing crowd.
"..."
The small pink-purple-haired girl hopped along behind him.
It had to be said—although Uvogin was only thirteen years old, his height and physique were already comparable to that of an adult.
His body clearly showed exceptional natural talent.
Unfortunately, against the many experienced scavengers of Meteor City, he was completely outplayed.
Despite exhausting himself chasing them, he couldn't catch anyone.
He could only watch helplessly as the group slipped away right under his nose.
"Those bastards!!"
Uvogin plopped down onto a pile of garbage, panting heavily while angrily scratching his hair.
"What are you looking at?!"
When he noticed someone watching him from behind, he immediately turned around and glared at the clueless onlooker.
Couldn't they see he was in a terrible mood right now?
Coming over at a time like this…
If the guy weren't even younger than him—and clearly empty-handed and looking like a clueless fool—
Uvogin would've already punched him.
"Hmph. Thought you were one of the idiots who didn't escape. Turns out you're just a dumb kid. Tch."
Feeling bored, Uvogin waved him away impatiently.
"Hurry up and get lost. Want me to beat you up or something?!"
Arvin Locke looked at Uvogin, who radiated the restless aura of an overly aggressive brute.
Then he looked at the small Machi, who stood beside him holding the broken wooden stick.
He thought for a moment.
Then he asked:
"Are you two… hungry?"