Bai Zhu stood at the edge of the camp, the sea breeze whipping his clothes.
The distant sea glittered, looking calm, but his mind raced through possibilities.
The pursuit squad would arrive within a week.
The timing was tricky.
If he simply ran, Mystery International had his sample data. Sooner or later, they could track him down through resonance.
It would be just like back on the Basha Islands: led around by the nose, with nowhere to go.
But things were different now.
The Ruins Core was in his hands.
If Mystery International wanted to control these ruins, they would have to take the core back from him.
That gave him leverage instead.
Bai Zhu narrowed his eyes.
Help Ging finish the game, then leave with the core immediately.
That way, Ging and the others wouldn't get dragged into this, and he could find a new hiding place.
As for where to go, Ring Island... seemed like a good choice. He would have Landlord's protection there, too.
And there were the inverted Stone Gate in the underground lake, the giant hand reaching up from the lakebed, and Vick, trapped in 1879.
Those fragmented clues slowly pieced themselves together in his mind.
What was sealed behind the gate?
Why had Landlord stayed there all this time?
Bai Zhu shook his head, pulling himself out of his thoughts.
Now wasn't the time to think about that.
Finish making the card first.
When he returned to the Card-Making Workshop, Ging had already prepared a new blank card and an optimized Nen shell structure.
"There shouldn't be any problems this time." Ging pointed at the card on the table. "I've doubled the thickness of the energy buffer layer. Just pour your energy into it."
Bai Zhu picked up the card, examined it, and