Surfing the World

"There are six major continents and six major oceans in the world... The international order is led by V5, composed of the United States of Saherta (Black Country for short), the Ochima Federation (Ochima for short), the United Kingdom of Begrose (Begrose Country for short), the Republic of Minbo (Minbo Country for short), and the Ancient Gukang Jade Country (Jade Country for short)..."

The world map was laid out as follows:

Africa Continent (Minbo Country),,,,Aizen Continent (Kakin Kingdom)

Samsame Continent (Jade Country),,,,Nu'amili Continent (Ochima)

European Continent (Black Country),,Wos Continent (Begrose Country)

Jing Yang studied the Hunter World map on the computer screen for quite a while. The more he looked at it, the more he felt that Beautiful Country—uh, Black Country—should swap places with Big Mao—uh, Ochima.

If he looked at the map that way, then Yorknew City, the mafia capital located on the European Continent in the manga, was basically New York?

The Little Rock Sparrow on his shoulder turned its head and watched Jing Yang amusing himself, utterly baffled.

With his Hunter License clearing the way, even though Jing Yang had brought a bird inside, the Internet cafe attendant did not say much.

Besides, the bird really did seem well-behaved. It neither chirped nor fussed, nor did it fly around. It simply perched obediently on the boy's shoulder. The attendant secretly marveled at this. No wonder they were called Hunters. If they could not even handle an animal, could they really call themselves Hunters?

Based on the manga's plot, Jing Yang renamed the regions of the world map, and it became this:

Zoldyck headquarters + Heaven's Arena,,,,where Kite's team investigated animals

Hunter Association headquarters + exam site,,,,no plot

Yorknew City + Meteor City + Chimera Ants,,no plot

"..."

After reaching that conclusion, Jing Yang was left speechless. According to the map, he was currently in Ochima, a place never touched by the plot at all—an archipelago in the upper-left corner of the Nu'amili Continent, separated by sea from the Aizen Continent, where the Kakin Kingdom lay to the northeast.

The right half of this world map was way too unfamiliar. Once he had grown a little more and prepared himself properly, he would set off and tour the three continents on the left side of the map!

With a plan in mind, Jing Yang glanced at the time and date in the lower-right corner of the screen.

"December 26, 1994, 3:44 p.m."

Now he understood. The newspapers on that cruise ship had been nearly a month old.

Still, it was easy enough to understand. His godmother had probably fled by cruise ship from the Aizen Continent, where the Kakin Kingdom was located, across the sea to this place. The ship might not even have belonged to them.

He just had not expected that they still could not escape their pursuers and had died as strangers on this remote island at the edge of the Ochima Federation.

"A vendetta? A crime of passion? Or some other reason?" Jing Yang pondered. "Or was it simply an internal mafia feud... But since one of my godmother's bodyguards was a Professional Hunter, it doesn't seem that simple. Damn it, don't tell me I got transmigrated and, the moment I landed, got tangled up with those self-slaughtering lunatics of the Kakin Royal Family? Could I really be that unlucky?"

Nen Users were powerful, sure, but in the Hunter World, they were still somewhat lacking when compared to the machinery of a state.

The Ant King was powerful, right?

In the manga, Netero, the Hunter Association Chairman and once the strongest human in the world, unleashed everything he had on him, yet it was practically like scratching an itch for the Ant King. In terms of individual strength, the Ant King possessed the overwhelming aura of someone who could kill heaven, earth, and air in a second—he was practically one step away from punching through the sky. Yet one "Rose" still blew him half to death, didn't it?

And the Rose's full name was the "Poor Man's Rose."

Bandits too poor to afford anything better, or low-grade terrorists looking to make headlines, could barely afford this "cheap, effective, and easy-to-produce" poisonous bomb.

Even East Gorteau, that remote and isolated country occupied by the Chimera Ants, was in fact conducting research into real nuclear weapons. If the Chimera Ants had not been so aloof, if they had not looked down on most of East Gorteau's humans, if they had been willing to learn a little more about East Gorteau's military research, then the damage they inflicted on human society would not have matched that of a hundred Ant Kings combined...

And what about the Kakin Kingdom?

Jing Yang only had to do a quick search to find results showing that it was no less prominent than any of the V5's Five Great Nations. The current King of Cascadia, Nasubi Hui Guo Rou, was so well known that even kindergarteners had seen him in their textbooks... No wonder Kakin had been qualified to join the V5 alliance later in the manga, changing V5 into V6.

How many nuclear bombs did a country like that have in its hands? How many Roses had it secretly stockpiled? And how many conventional and unconventional military weapons...

One person against one nation was probably something one could only dream about.

The Phantom Troupe acted all high and mighty, yet he had never seen them dare to raid the palace of any major country.

...Damn it, stop scaring yourself. It was not like this necessarily had anything to do with the Kakin Royal Family!

Jing Yang patted his cheeks and let out a long breath.

Besides, aside from the godmother he had buried, the person the killers had been hunting was the baby she had once held in her arms.

And that baby was now five-year-old him—alive and kicking, able to run, able to eat, able to flirt with hot girls, and even able to use Nen Abilities... Unless whoever had sent the assassins had an imagination beyond the heavens, why would they be bored enough to connect the current him with that missing baby?

Jing Yang rubbed the Little Rock Sparrow's head while leaning back in his chair, closing his eyes in thought.

Neither of the two birds he had sent to monitor that small cruise ship off the North Coast had sent back a signal...

At most, he would stay here for one month!

He would level up and grow stronger while watching how things developed. If he could figure out what had happened for the sake of this body's birth mother and his newly acknowledged godmother, then once he had the strength, he would at least have a lead on how to deal with it. If there was still no progress within a month, then he would have to accept that there was no fate between them.

Having made up his mind, Jing Yang opened his eyes, set the Little Rock Sparrow down beside the keyboard, and continued surfing the web.

Since the Phantom Troupe had just crossed his mind, Jing Yang typed in a search. The first result that popped up was drenched in blood.

"...On June 6, 1993, an investigative team discovered the secluded settlement of the Kurta Clan. Unfortunately, every member of the clan had perished..."

"...At the horrific scene, only one line of writing was left behind: 'We reject no one, so do not take anything from us.'..."

"...There is no doubt that this tragedy was the work of the rumored 'Meteor City'..."

"...The Kurta Clan's 'Scarlet Eyes' are known as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, yet they suffered such a devastating catastrophe..."

"...After more than a year of investigation, this massacre was most likely carried out by the 'Phantom Troupe,' a group responsible for countless heinous crimes. And according to rumors that have circulated for years, these criminals came from 'Meteor City'..."

"...What secrets lie behind this tragedy that wiped out an entire clan? Did the Kurta Clan truly take something from Meteor City, or has Meteor City finally revealed its savage true face?..."

Jing Yang silently finished reading this old news story from about a year and a half ago.

Was Kurapika, the sole survivor of the Kurta Clan and one of the manga's four protagonists, somewhere in some corner of the world right now, looking at all these true and false reports flooding the news? He was only twelve or thirteen. That kid really had it rough.

Thinking of Kurapika naturally led him to the Hunter Association. Jing Yang then thought of Menchi, the Gourmet Hunter he had encountered in the woods before, and searched for the Hunter Association.

It actually had an official website open to the public.

He clicked in and found that the most conspicuous entry among the categorized listings was an introduction to the current Hunter Association Chairman, Isaac Netero. It did not include any description related to Nen Abilities. The language was extremely official—and extremely mundane.

He searched for "Vice Chairman," but the result showed that there was no such position in the Hunter Association.

It seemed that guy with the air of a Japanese male host had not joined the Hunter Association yet... Jing Yang searched again and discovered that the Hunter Association's official website actually listed the names of everyone who passed the Hunter Exam each year. He quickly found a photo of Menchi, the green-haired hot girl, among the successful candidates from the most recent exam—the 282nd exam in 1994.

"Chirp, chirp!" The Little Rock Sparrow suddenly tapped the keyboard with its beak.

Jing Yang turned around and saw Menchi, the green-haired hot girl, humming a tune as she slipped in—each computer booth in this "Internet cafe" Jing Yang had chosen was separated by partitions.

"Why are you such a Lingering Ghost?" Jing Yang said helplessly. "How did you find me?"

Menchi braced a hand on the corner of the desk and looked down at Jing Yang smugly. "I'm a Hunter! How could tracking down a little guy like you be difficult? And with the way you looked before, you were bound to attract attention the moment you entered a crowded place, making you even easier to find."

Jing Yang pointed at the screen and gave a dry laugh. "What are you so proud of? You passed the Hunter Exam almost a year ago, yet you're still muddling through your Nen Abilities. You've got the nerve to call yourself a Hunter?"

Menchi's face flushed red as she argued, "I told you, there was a reason for that! I spent several months halfway through competing in a gourmet competition! As a chef, how could I—"

"Why is this place called Ghost Island?" Jing Yang suddenly asked, casually tapping a few keywords into the search bar.

Menchi rolled her eyes. "Since it's called Ghost Island, obviously there must have been rumors about ghosts and spirits or something..." As she spoke, she bent down and leaned closer to the screen to look.