Leo walked down the stairs and stepped onto the plains where the green grass swayed.
He didn't rush to move forward, but instead turned his head and used 'Gyo' to look at the stone pillar beside him.
A faint residue of Qi remained on the surface of the stone pillar—it was Hisoka's.
That guy had deliberately left it before leaving, the handwriting scrawled but carrying his characteristic enchanting curves.
"How boring, I'll go on ahead. See you in town, hmm~♦"
Leo smiled and withdrew his gaze.
Boring?
He was probably in a hurry to find the Game Master who could "make him explode with pleasure."
However, he hadn't told Hisoka that Razor was in Soufrabi; let him take his time searching.
Leo set off, walking toward the depths of the plains.
The green grass billowed in the breeze like a green ocean, stretching all the way to the horizon.
Leo had walked for about ten minutes when he suddenly paused.
He looked up keenly toward the sky.
In the distance, a beam of light accompanied by a sharp whistling sound was rapidly diving toward his direction!
The point of light grew larger and brighter, trailing a white wake.
A smile curled at the corner of Leo's mouth.
"Finally here."
"Swoosh—Bam!"
The ball of light slammed accurately into the grass a dozen meters in front of Leo, kicking up a shockwave that flattened the surrounding grass.
The light instantly retracted, revealing a human figure.
The newcomer sported a head of greasy, knotted dreadlocks, with several strange metal pins embedded in his face.
Massive headphones were on his head, the wires dangling over his chest, swinging back and forth with his movements.
He first looked around warily to confirm that only Leo was within sight, then shook his head, a smug smile appearing on his face.
"Seeing this great one and you don't even shout 'BOOK'? Definitely a newbie! Hehe, what luck..."
As he spoke, his right hand already naturally reached for the Binder floating beside him—
That was standard equipment for this game, a card collection Binder that every player could summon.
His fingers skillfully reached for the pages, preparing to pull out a spell card.
The movement was fluid and seamless, clearly something he had done countless times.
However, at the moment his fingertips were about to touch the Binder—
Everything went black before Nego's eyes.
He didn't even see how the man in white moved.
He only felt a gust of wind, and then the whole world became a blur.
His vision gradually dimmed, his consciousness feeling as if it were being drained away, a final thought flashing through his mind.
'Oh... oh no! I've kicked a steel plate?!'
Then, he collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness.
Leo looked down at the unconscious Nego, shaking his head in disdain.
"So much nonsense, as if you're afraid others won't know what you're trying to do."
He crouched down, his gaze turning to the Binder floating beside Nego.
In the game, even if one loses consciousness after summoning the Binder, the Binder will not disappear; one must shout 'BOOK' again to retract it.
This hidden setting gave players the opportunity to steal cards from each other.
Leo reached out his finger and casually flipped through the pages of the Binder, browsing the cards stored inside.
"Hmm... although it's a bit sparse, it'll do."
He commented as he flipped.
"But that's normal; a player like you who can only ambush newbies won't have many cards anyway."
He flipped to the last page, closed the Binder, and the corners of his mouth curled slightly.
"Thanks. As a newbie gift pack, you're qualified."
He began to take stock of the spoils.
Spell Cards: [Accompany] ×1, [Return] ×2, [Drift] ×1, [Communication] ×4, [Insight] ×2, [Peeping] ×2, [Come Again] ×1, [Pickpocket] ×1, [Theft] ×1, [Collision] ×3, [List] ×3, [Lucky Draw] ×2, [Reflect] ×1.
Specified Slot Cards: Ten types, all low-Rank collectibles, but a decent start for a newbie who just entered the game.
In addition, there were several daily necessity cards—[Bread], [Water], and the like—as well as an 800,000 Jenny [Money] card.
Leo took all the cards from Nego's Binder and then summoned his own.
"Book!"
An empty Binder appeared floating beside him, and he put the cards seized from Nego into it one by one.
After finishing, he retracted the Binder and took one last look at Nego, who was sleeping peacefully on the ground.
"Sleep well. When you wake up, remember not to talk so much."
He turned and continued walking forward.
Half an hour later.
The silhouette of Andochibbal, the City of Rewards, gradually became clear.
Towering spires, exquisite stone buildings, heavy city walls—this town was larger than he had imagined, with a constant flow of people entering and leaving.
Leo walked through the city gates; the architectural style on both sides of the street was uniform and refined, with vines climbing the stone walls and flowers placed on windowsills.
Pedestrians were dressed in various ways, each busy with their own affairs.
Leo's gaze was quickly drawn to the things on the walls.
Almost everywhere he looked, every reasonably flat wall was covered with all sorts of reward notices.
He approached a wall and browsed casually.
[Buying 'Blue Planet Coral' for a high price! Reward: One 'Unlucky Girl' card]
[Teach that bastard owner of the grocery store in the west of town a lesson! Just make his nose bleed. Reward: 'Cook's Weight Gain Pill'!]
[Buying 'Cyclops' at a high price! As many as you have!]
[Looking for missing pet cat 'Mimi'! Last seen near the South Gate. Reward: 7,000 Jenny]
[Help deliver a letter to Aunt Martha, she's on 3rd Street in the North District. Reward: 5,000 Jenny]
Various reward notices, some serious and some bizarre, covered the wall. Leo whispered,
"It really feels like the real deal. The game atmosphere is fully realized. Not bad."
He continued down the street and arrived at the central plaza.
The plaza was large, with a fountain in the center where the water spray refracted tiny glints of light in the sun.
Quite a few people had gathered around, some chatting, some looking at the notice boards, and some making trades.
In front of a huge reward notice board specifically set up at the edge of the plaza, it was even more crowded.
This notice board was several times larger than the ones on the street, and the rewards posted on it were on a grander scale.
Leo squeezed into the crowd, his gaze sweeping over the neatly written reward notices.
[Looking for beloved dog! Content: My beloved dog 'Blue' went missing three days ago in the east of the city. It is a small brown dog with a silver name tag around its neck. If found, I am willing to reward with a 'Cursed Statue of the Goddess of Luck' (B-20)!]
[Clean up the sewer giant rats! Content: Mutant giant rats have appeared in the central city sewers, threatening the safety of the pipes. Clear the giant rat nest (estimated number 10+). Reward: 500,000 Jenny and one 'Cleaner's Gratitude' card.]
His gaze was drawn to another even larger notice board nearby.
Posted on it was the monthly tournament schedule, neatly laid out with dates marked in red ink.
[Andochibbal Monthly Grand Tournament Schedule]
A specific competition is held every month, and the winner can directly obtain a Rank A or Rank B specified card as a reward.
Leo's gaze fell on the September column.
September Event: Rock-Paper-Scissors Tournament
Time: The 15th of every month, 2:00 PM, Central Plaza Arena
This Month's Winner's Prize: 'Sword of Truth'
Leo did a quick mental calculation.
It seemed like the 14th when he entered, so that would be tomorrow.
He didn't have much interest in this competition.
Leo left the notice board and continued wandering through the town.
The streets of Andochibbal extended in all directions, with a wide variety of shops—weapon shops, card trading shops, restaurants, inns, and grocery stores, everything one could need.
As he passed a card trading shop, he saw through the window that the glass cabinets inside were filled with various cards.
He was just about to look away when suddenly, two familiar figures appeared at a street corner in the distance.
Green clothes, spiky hair. White hair, cat-like eyes.
Gon and Killua.
The two were walking side by side; Gon was excitedly saying something, while Killua listened with his hands behind his head.
They seemed to have just completed some quest; Gon was still clutching a card in his hand, waving it smugly in front of Killua's eyes.
Leo smiled slightly and did not go forward to greet them.
His gaze shifted to the shadows behind the two.
There, a petite figure was stealthily following them, her footsteps light, her body almost merging into the shadows of the buildings.
Blonde hair in twin tails, a pink dress—Biscuit.
Her tracking technique was very sophisticated, but it couldn't hide from Leo's eyes.
Biscuit seemed to have sensed something; her body paused slightly, and then she slowly turned her head.
Her gaze pierced through the crowd and across the street, accurately meeting Leo's eyes.
The two locked eyes for a moment.
The corners of Biscuit's mouth curled up slightly, and then she quickly looked away, pretending nothing had happened.
Leo also looked away, likewise pretending he hadn't seen anything.
A mutual understanding.
Gon and Killua's figures disappeared around the street corner.
Biscuit didn't follow immediately, but waited for a moment before poking her head out from the shadows.
With her hands on her hips, a sinister smile—a mix of satisfaction and the success of a prank—on her face, she looked in Leo's direction.
"Hmph! At least you know your place, kid!"
She muttered to herself, her voice carrying a hint of smugness.
"If you dared to follow as a third wheel and interfere with my 'plan'..."
She squeezed her fist, her knuckles making a light cracking sound.
"I'd let you have a good reminder of what 'the whip of love' feels like!"
Her gaze turned toward the direction where Gon and Killua had left, her eyes flashing with a mischievous light.
"Partners with such a good relationship are rare!"
She tilted her head, hands on her hips, talking to herself.
"...Perfect, let me 'add' a little difficult 'test' for you guys~!"
She giggled low, her figure merging back into the shadows as she followed silently.
Standing in the distance, Leo watched Biscuit disappear around the corner and shook his head.
"Gon, Killua, good luck to you both."
He turned and continued his own wandering.