Gadget Master from Hunter x Hunter

But Meteor City was special—it wasn't an urban slum.

Although the area outside Meteor City was basically piled high with garbage, the streets inside Meteor City were very clean and simple.

The buildings were mainly yellow and white in color, and the materials used weren't bad either. If you set aside the garbage dump outside Meteor City, this would be a normal town.

The residents living in Meteor City were all abandoned people, also the world's undocumented, with no way to trace any background information. The residents here mainly survived by recycling usable things from the garbage dump.

Even though they lived off garbage, the people of Meteor City were actually positive and lived cheerfully.

Of course, the rules they lived by had nothing to do with the moral laws of the mundane world.

The survival of the fittest, the strong preying on the weak—this predator's law that all Meteor City residents followed was simple and fair. Under its light, the straightforward character and simple emotions of Meteor City's natives were born. Morin hadn't expected that he'd wanted to develop slowly in this Hunter x Hunter world, prioritizing safety.

But he never thought he'd start in such a dangerous place.

The so-called hell difficulty was exactly this.

"If this is Meteor City, then you..."

Morin stared at the girl in front of him, who was becoming more and more familiar and was stripping off his clothes.

Her meaning just now should have been to take his clothes, go somewhere, and change into the white judo training uniform she was now wearing.

"What's your name?"

Morin asked.

"Machi."

The girl with pinkish-purple hair replied calmly.

"And you?"

"Morin."

Morin answered with a strange expression.

It really was her!!

He hadn't expected to connect with a character from the Hunter x Hunter world so quickly.

Meteor City, a girl with pinkish-purple hair, and that kind of training uniform decoration—only the Machi in Morin's mind could match up.

The current Machi looked like a very cute little girl, enough to stir up the "surging affection" of lolicon fans everywhere.

But Morin wasn't a lolicon, and he knew very well that this seemingly adorable little girl was not to be trifled with.

This was a future member of the world-famous Phantom Troupe, a band of thieves who had committed heinous crimes across the globe—far from the harmless appearance she showed now!

"Why did you... save me?"

Morin asked curiously.

"Two reasons."

Machi's expression didn't change. "One, the clothes. Two, intuition."

Hmm, quite concise.

Morin understood.

"Intuition, huh?"

The clothes went without saying, but intuition?

Machi's sixth sense was incredibly strong and accurate.

Once her woman's intuition kicked in, it never missed.

It could already be used as a supplementary ability.

"Is there anything else?"

Machi asked, looking at Morin, who was still lost in thought.

"If not, I'm going to sleep."

Sleep?

Morin was stunned for a moment, then realized it was already late at night.

"I woke up at just the right time?"

Watching Machi, who was completely ignoring him, lie down on the hammock, Morin shook his head.

"Let me rest a bit more, or my brain is going to explode."

Transmigration, Nen ability, memories... this series of events, plus the lingering pain in his head, left Morin physically and mentally exhausted even after awakening his Nen ability.

Morin flopped down and continued lying on the shabby wooden bed.

"Judging by Machi's current appearance, she should only be about eleven or twelve years old. I remember that in the original, when the Phantom Troupe first gathered and appeared in You Kiss City, she was twenty-four."

"So that means it's about twelve or thirteen years before the story officially starts?"

"I don't know if the Phantom Troupe has been formed yet. Seeing Machi alone like this, I guess it probably... hasn't... yet?"

Morin's eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and before long, he drifted off to sleep.

As for the future dangerous female criminal on the hammock beside him, Morin didn't think much of it.

He simply figured that this girl, who would one day become a member of the Phantom Troupe, was still just a child for now.

In Meteor City, what mattered most?

He couldn't deny her present just because of her future.

Of course, the key point was that Morin felt Machi bore him no ill will.

Otherwise, she could have just taken his clothes and left him alone on the trash heap to fend for himself.

Instead, she'd even found him a coarse linen shirt—clearly, she had no major designs on him.

That was why Morin could sleep without worry.

But?

He slept soundly enough, while on the hammock beside him.

o o o

o o o

Machi turned over, quietly watching Morin, who was already breathing evenly. Her gaze was calm, and no one knew what she was thinking.

The next day.

"Mm?"

Morin was woken by a strange smell.

"What's that smell?!"

He opened his eyes and sat up from the bed, only to see Machi holding a wooden bowl with a chipped rim.

Using a spoon that was already broken in half, she was scooping up some black, mushy substance from the bowl.

"You're awake?"

She replied without lifting her head.

"What are you eating..."

Morin pointed at the bowl in her hands.

"This is half of today's rations."

Machi said, shoving the stuff—blacker than black sesame paste—into her mouth.

"Do you eat this every day?"

Morin quickly glanced over Machi's underdeveloped upper body, which couldn't even be called a small pigeon yet.

This stuff looked bad, smelled bad, and probably had no nutritional value.

"There's none for you."

Machi said while chewing.

"I saved you from the trash heap before and took your clothes—we're even."

"Now you're staying in my place. If you want to eat, you'll have to pay a price to get food."

[This smell is almost as bad as stinky tofu—I don't want to eat this stuff either...]

Morin complained inwardly, but his mouth honestly asked:

"What kind of price?"

He had no choice. After opening his Nen ability and sleeping through the night, Morin felt his condition and energy were better than ever.

On the flip side, his stomach had never been this hungry.

The fact that it hadn't growled loudly in front of Machi was already doing Morin a favor.

"In a bit, you're coming with me to the landfill, aka the trash heap."

Machi scooped another spoonful into her mouth. "I'll get you a free protective suit—it's the lowest grade, but it should be enough against radiation and exhaust fumes." That "should" was used quite cleverly...

Morin complained inwardly again.

"Looks like I'm destined to go hungry this morning."

He sighed, then suddenly remembered he hadn't done his daily item sign-in yet.

"Draw!"

His mind sank into the Four-Dimensional Pocket once more.

Then, the next second, his body paused slightly.

Immediately after, he lifted his head, a smile spreading across his face as he looked at Machi.

"Hm?"

Machi, drinking the black sludge, raised an eyebrow.

For some reason, she suddenly felt that Morin's smile seemed to carry immense confidence and abundant confidence, and it was unusually...

"Machi."

Morin puffed out his chest and asked with a smile, "What's the most important thing in Meteor City?"

"Supplies for survival."

Machi glanced at him and answered.

"Food, weapons, and medicine."

Asking for a beating?

Food was essential for survival, weapons were indispensable for winning fights and staying alive, and medicine was needed for treatment after battles or injuries from scavenging the garbage mountains. Without these three, you couldn't take a single step in Meteor City.

"What's the most important?"

Morin's smile deepened as he pressed on.

"Food."

Machi answered without a second thought.

If you could avoid fights, you might not need weapons, and if you were careful while scavenging the garbage mountains, medicine wasn't always necessary.

But food—that was something you absolutely couldn't go without in Meteor City.

At the same time, it was also the hardest to come by.

Weapons and some medical supplies could be found in the abandoned landfills, but food was scarce.

Or rather, even if you did find some, with all the radiation, it was completely inedible.

"Exactly!"