The Terrifying Ring

"I never expected to see you here!"

"What a coincidence!"

The waiter walked over to Ian with a delighted expression, acting as though they knew each other extremely well.

Ian naturally knew the man was under the influence of the Good Friend Ring, so he played along and said with a smile,

"Yeah, it's been a long time. I have to say, it really is a small world."

Uvogin, Nobunaga and the others watched their conversation in confusion.

Although they suspected Ian's item might be taking effect, the waiter acted so familiar with him that they couldn't help considering the possibility that he really did know Ian and that the two were good friends.

Wasn't Ian even greeting him?

"Oh, look at my memory! I almost forgot—you haven't eaten yet!"

The waiter slapped his forehead and hurried over to the food cart he had wheeled in. He gestured with his fingers, apparently picking something out.

"This one... this one... right, and this one!"

He took five or six dishes at once, set them on the table and smiled at Ian.

"You ordered a lot of dishes, but these are the only ones that are really good. A lot of customers have complained that the others aren't very tasty!"

"I picked them all out for you!"

"Wait here a moment!"

With that, he darted out the door. The others looked at Ian, still somewhat puzzled. Pakunoda hesitated, then asked,

"Ian, was that your friend?"

Ian nodded with a smile, then said with a mysterious grin,

"I suppose so... at least for the time being..."

Hearing that and recalling how Ian had said he would show them what the ring could do, the others looked thoughtful.

"Coming through!"

Before long, the waiter arrived at Ian and the others' private room, pushing a cart piled high with food.

"Hahaha, here we are! Look, these are the real delicacies this place has to offer! Teppanyaki spiny lobster, Angus ribeye with black truffle sauce, ten-spice eggs Benedict..."

He listed several delicacies in succession, setting them on the table before Ian and his companions as he spoke.

"Haha, my friend, it's been so long since we last met. This meal is on me. Enjoy your food."

Ian knew the man was under the ring's influence, so he smiled and said,

"Then thank you."

The waiter winked at him and said happily,

"There's no need for thanks between us. After all, we're... good friends!"

Only then did he turn and leave.

He walked with a carefree stride, looking as happy as if he had won a hundred-million-yuan jackpot.

Uvogin and the others at the table were dumbfounded.

"Th-this... was all the ring's ability!?" Nobunaga said, somewhat horrified.

Ian nodded noncommittally.

"You really don't know each other, Ian?"

Uvogin could hardly believe it. The waiter had clearly seemed so close to Ian that Uvogin had even been a little jealous.

Uvogin was fairly straightforward.

He hadn't thought that deeply about it, so naturally he didn't understand how terrifying the ability displayed by the ring before them was.

Casually warping and manipulating other people's minds...

The mere thought was enough to send a chill down one's spine...

Chrollo, Pakunoda and the others naturally realized at once what made the item so terrifying, and understood what Ian had meant earlier.

An item with an ability like that indeed couldn't be allowed to fall into someone else's hands so easily.

Feitan's pupils also contracted slightly. He took a deep breath and finally abandoned his plan to fight Ian again.

He was afraid... Ian would use all sorts of bizarre items to toy with him until he died...

To some extent, from Feitan's perspective, Ian was now practically a legendary mad scientist. You never knew what strange things he had in his hands.

Just then.

The ten minutes were up!

"Ah!"

"What have I done?!"

Amid hurried footsteps, the waiter suddenly ran back, his face pale and his eyes red.

Even so, faced with this somewhat frightening group of customers, he didn't dare act up and only pleaded,

"S-sorry, customers, I... please just treat what I said earlier as nonsense!"

He didn't know what had come over him either.

He had acted like a madman, as though he'd lost his mind.

He was just a waiter. Even if he worked from dawn to dusk for a month, his wages probably wouldn't cover a few dishes here.

How had he dared boast that he would treat this whole group to a meal?

He couldn't afford it even if he sold himself!

Seeing his miserable expression, Ian walked over and smiled.

"Don't worry. Of course we should pay for the dishes we ordered ourselves. How could we possibly let you foot the bill?"

As he spoke, he pulled out tens of thousands of Jenny and tucked them into the breast pocket of the waiter's uniform, wearing a smile that seemed as radiant as the sun to the waiter at that moment.

"You can go. Don't worry, we're very satisfied with your service. This is the reward you deserve."

The waiter left, overflowing with gratitude.

By testing it on him, Ian had gained a rough understanding of how much the Good Friend Ring could warp an ordinary person's thinking.

Although it wasn't clear for now whether Nen users could be immune to it,

the item's power had already been demonstrated.

As long as it was used at the right moment,

this item could play a strategic role in turning a situation around!

After that, no one mentioned the item again.

The group finished their meal and left the restaurant.

For now, it wasn't suitable for them to stay outside for too long, because they had no real identity information.

If they happened to be investigated by the police or another government department, they would be in a very passive position. Whether they fought back or not, they would find themselves in trouble.

Therefore, after showing Uvogin and the others around and giving them a general idea of how ordinary people in the outside world lived,

their best choice for the time being was to stay at the house they had been in earlier.

They only needed to send one or two people out each time. Sorting out their identity information wouldn't be troublesome either. They just had to find the city's underground gangs, which had their own methods. As long as they could pay enough, the gangs had plenty of ways to solve the problem.

They hadn't had any money before, but now they had a fairly comfortable amount on hand.

As for the gangs, the Kalie Gang wouldn't do. Ian wasn't about to let people traffickers off.

The group soon returned to their previous lodging.

After they came back,

Ian discovered that the woman of the house had disappeared with her child. The man of the house, however, was still at home. He hadn't run away and had been waiting for them.

Clearly, when he saw them return,

the man of the house was also very frightened. Perhaps a moment ago he had still been praying they wouldn't come back. Unfortunately, his faith hadn't been devout enough. He forced himself to remain calm and said,

"My wife couldn't sleep peacefully at all with you here."

"She took our child back to her family. She won't tell anyone about you."

Ian had no intention of harming or deceiving him, so he nodded casually and said softly,

"It's all right. When all's said and done, we're the ones who caused you trouble..."

Palu froze.

He had even thought he might get a severe beating, but he hadn't expected such a mild reaction.

Smack!

Just then, a backpack was thrown down in front of him.

Immediately afterward, he heard words he thought he must have imagined.

"There's a million Jenny in here, for you. For the time we'll be living together, I hope we can get along without trouble. So take this money quietly and help us deal with any unexpected situations that might arise. Can you do that?"