Gelman's Mastery of His Methods

Chapter 49: Gelman, Who Had Mastered "Methods"

"I will pay you, and you can name your price next," Gelman replied sincerely. "Please, Biscuit."

Shizuku blinked her big eyes, put her hands behind her back, tilted her head, and pondered.

"Hmm... I'll pass. If I ask Little Biscuit for a massage occasionally, she'll probably be too embarrassed, so I won't need to pay her, right?"

"Hey, Shizuku, you just said what you were thinking!"

Biscuit jumped up from the bench and pointed at Shizuku.

"Also, I won't be 'embarrassed.' I'll demand full payment then!"

Shizuku covered her mouth, as if trying to block all the little thoughts that might escape from it.

"It's useless, I already heard it!" Biscuit crossed her arms, looking a little annoyed. She glared at Shizuku, then looked back at Gelman. "Are you really letting me set the price?"

Gelman nodded. "Of course. I'm asking a favor of you."

"Hmm..." Biscuit lowered her head and thought for a while, then finally sighed. "Gelman, do you know how many 'Hunters' are among the richest people in the world?"

"It seems to be more than half are 'Hunters'," Gelman immediately understood Biscuit's meaning, but still followed her words.

"That's just the data on the surface. There are also some 'Hunters' who are eccentric and don't reveal their wealth. Understand? As a veteran Hunter, I don't need your money at all."

"The reason I flew over to help you is because I find you quite agreeable. Shizuku is the same..."

As Biscuit was speaking eloquently, Shizuku interjected at this moment.

"You're a veteran Hunter, so how old are you?" Shizuku asked curiously.

"Oh, that... Actually, I'm under a curse that prevents me from growing. I'll always be twelve or thirteen years old."

Biscuit poked her cheeks with her index fingers, struck a cute young girl pose, and smiled.

This is a lie...

Gelman didn't expose her. Instead, he looked at Shizuku, who was nodding repeatedly, looking enlightened by Biscuit's words, and asked, "Last night, you saw a young girl come to see me. Didn't you find it strange?"

"Yes, yes, yes," Biscuit added with satisfaction. "Gelman is right, I am a young girl."

At this moment, Shizuku let out an "Eh" and looked at Gelman with surprise.

"Although I didn't think about it that way at first, now that I think about it carefully, there's nothing strange about it."

"It's not common for children in our Meteor City to awaken 'Nen' at twelve or thirteen, but it does happen."

Gelman finally understood why Shizuku wasn't surprised at all by Biscuit using "Nen ability," and nodded in understanding.

Biscuit watched this scene, falling silent for a while. She could guess that the actual situation was far from as simple and easy as the two of them described.

It wasn't that children who stayed in Meteor City easily awakened "Nen," but rather that children who couldn't awaken "Nen" faced a harsher survival environment and found it difficult to stay alive.

Gelman and Shizuku were both children who had been filtered out by the law of the jungle, which gave them the opportunity to grow to where they were now.

Biscuit thought for a moment and told the two of them her thoughts: "In my 'pricing,' there can be Jenny, but more than that, it's not Jenny, because I don't lack Jenny."

"Gelman, what truly attracted me here, besides yourself, is the secret you've been hiding. If I'm not mistaken, however unbelievable it may be, you must have come from..."

Before Biscuit could finish speaking, Shizuku interrupted her again: "Gelman, didn't you tell Biscuit about the 'Dark Continent'?"

"No," Gelman pointed at Biscuit and replied, "She is a disciple of the Hunter Association Chairman Netero. If I told her rashly, given her position, it would be difficult for her to handle this matter."

"One more thing. Shizuku, the matter of the 'Dark Continent' must be kept secret from the public. After all, it's a 'Taboo.' For now, it's best that only the three of us know."

"If we need to add teammates in the future, I will explain the situation to them then."

Shizuku nodded: "I understand. I thought you were friends, and that Biscuit already knew about this. I was the one who found out later. I didn't expect it to be completely the opposite."

Gelman turned to look at Biscuit, only to find her looking at him with an extremely complex expression.

"What's wrong?"

"It's not a matter of 'what's wrong,' is it? You actually told Shizuku, but not me. No, no, now is not the time to dwell on this..."

Biscuit poked her forehead with her finger, her expression troubled.

"Although I had a premonition, it's truly the 'Dark Continent' that the old man strictly forbade me from going to... What am I supposed to do with you two?"

"The 'Chameleon Stone' you sent me earlier, I couldn't find any related information on the 'Hunter exclusive website,' and you repeatedly refused to tell me its origin, which made me suspicious."

"If it were a product from the Six Continents, even from those 'forbidden zones,' you wouldn't need to be so tight-lipped."

"Coupled with the subtle changes in you, I couldn't help but think of the 'Dark Continent.'"

"It's just that I can't figure out how you managed to enter the 'Dark Continent' right under the noses of the 'Hunter Association' and the 'V5 nations,' and the time frame also doesn't add up."

Netero's adventure with his companions was to enter the 'Dark Continent' quietly, without the permission of the V5 nations, but even that wouldn't allow for a round trip in a few days.

Biscuit had been quietly following Gelman's movements, confirming that he had never left the Six Continents for an extended period.

How did he do it? Biscuit couldn't fathom it.

"Generally speaking, going to the 'Dark Continent' requires four conditions," Gelman didn't answer directly. "'Permission,' 'Means,' 'Qualification,' and 'Contract.'"

"I've only mastered one of them, and that's 'Means.' Explaining it to you and Shizuku in words would be troublesome, so it's better to see it for yourselves."

"Four days later, when we're fully prepared, I'll take you to the 'Dark Continent,' and you'll understand everything."

Biscuit paused, caught in an internal struggle over the very strange and suspicious invitation.

Gelman wasn't lying. His eyes showed no wavering, and there was no need for him to tell such an easily exposed lie... 'Means'?

A terrifying man, truly hiding terrifying secrets. But what should she do?

Should she heed Netero's warning and never go to the 'Dark Continent' privately, or should she follow her Hunter's instinct and take a look at the vast and magnificent 'New World'?

Ultimately, among the four conditions for going to the 'Dark Continent,' 'Means' was the most important. 'Permission,' 'Qualification,' and 'Contract' could be set aside.

It was a case of 'act first, report later.' As long as one achieved incredible results, the remaining three conditions would be automatically fulfilled.

This was the choice before Biscuit, and the choice before all Hunters throughout history. This decision would greatly shape their respective destinies.