From the moment he killed members of the Phantom Troupe, Qiao Lun knew that he and the Troupe were locked in a fight to the death.
The only reason he had not continued attacking the Phantom Troupe in Yorknew City was that their repeated setbacks had left them jumpy as startled birds.
He had originally put out two pieces of bait: the bodies of Pakunoda and Shalnark, and Neon.
But no one had come to collect the former, while Light Nostrade had his own ideas about the latter.
So Qiao Lun had turned his attention to Greed Island.
Chrollo would not let him off, but neither would he let Hisoka off.
And the consequence of his conspicuous contact with Battera was that Chrollo would certainly investigate Battera, and even Greed Island.
Once he investigated, he would realize that the gravely injured Hisoka was bound to enter Greed Island in search of a way to recover.
The Phantom Troupe would act more cautiously, and Neon's prophetic poems might even offer hints, but as long as the Troupe dared to enter the game, its items would become the key to Qiao Lun's next attack on them.
That was also why he had chosen Greed Island as the battlefield.
If Chrollo really was cautious to the point of cowardice and abandoned any attempt to attack him and Hisoka, then the only future battlefield Qiao Lun could think of would be when the Chimera Ants invaded Meteor City.
But in the manga, the Phantom Troupe had pursued Hisoka relentlessly after he killed only Kortopi and Shalnark. There was no reason for them to retreat completely into their shells when it came to him.
The prophetic poems were not invincible. The future they predicted could change, and even a slight change could make the future completely different from the prophecy.
So what decision would Chrollo make?
Qiao Lun picked a seat at random and sat down, putting the Phantom Troupe out of his mind and turning his thoughts to his own condition.
What if I completely suppressed my cursed energy and used only Nen to fight and train?
He needed to understand the characteristics of Nen fully so that he could better develop his Nen Ability and coordinate his Nen with his cursed energy.
If he could add Nen the next time he used Black Flash, could entering the "zone" also deepen his understanding of Nen's essence?
No.
When he had used Black Flash three times in succession last time, his own aura reserves had increased. In other words, Nen had also been involved in the Black Flashes he had landed then!
Qiao Lun closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he had entered a state of Ren.
The activated Nen continuously streamed from his aura nodes, gathering around his fist under his control. During this process, the Nen around the rest of his body began to recede.
Eventually, aside from the Nen on his fist, not a trace of aura escaped from his body.
"It's improved," Qiao Lun said with certainty as he sensed the power in his fist.
What he was using now was the advanced Nen application known as Ko.
Without spending a great deal of time honing and practicing the fundamentals of Nen, this technique would not be easy to master.
Yet Qiao Lun, who had only learned Nen ten days ago, had easily mastered it on his first attempt. Although the entire process was still somewhat slow and awkward, he had indeed done it.
That was enough to prove that his understanding of Nen had already reached the level Gon and Killua had attained after several months of training following their initiation into Nen.
Is this the benefit of Black Flash? As the thought struck him, Qiao Lun dispersed the Nen on his fist, because someone else had appeared at the room's entrance.
It was a scruffy young man with rather rough features and an enormous nose.
His gaze swept over Qiao Lun before he warily moved aside and sat down quietly.
When he entered, he had caught sight of the Nen gathered on Qiao Lun's fist. It was powerful. He was certain that if that punch landed on him, he would die!
So from the moment he entered the room, he had labeled Qiao Lun "not to be messed with."
Qiao Lun did not care about the man's attitude. Lowering his hand, he closed his eyes and rested in his seat.
More people entered the room over the following stretch of time, but once their numbers reached eight, there was a long lull.
Biscuit was among those eight who had passed.
When the ninth person entered, Qiao Lun opened his eyes, because the newcomer was Killua.
Upon seeing Qiao Lun, Killua strode over as well.
"Not bad," Qiao Lun praised him.
"I wonder how Gon's doing," Killua said with some concern as he sat beside Qiao Lun.
"He'll be fine." Qiao Lun had barely finished speaking when he heard a boom.
Everyone in the room looked toward the sound. A few seconds later, a boy with spiky hair pushed the door open and walked in.
Gon's gaze swept around the room. "Killua, Qiao Lun! Great, you got picked too!"
"Of course. Was that sound just now you?" Killua asked curiously.
"Yeah. Tsezguerra told me to try hitting the wall with that, so I..." Gon looked a little embarrassed.
Meanwhile, looking at the badly damaged wall, Tsezguerra could not help wondering what was going on with all these kids he had tested one after another!
Qiao Lun watched the lively pair without joining their conversation.
He had no intention of forcing his way into Gon and Killua's circle. There was no need, and it was not his style.
Before long, Tsezguerra entered the lounge.
However, the thirty-two places announced earlier had not all been filled. Only twenty-two people had actually entered the room.
"First, congratulations on passing the screening. On Mr. Battera's behalf, I will grant the twenty-two of you the right to play Greed Island." As Tsezguerra spoke, someone helped him place contracts before the successful applicants.
"As long as you can clear the game, Mr. Battera will pay a reward of fifty billion Jenny. The specifics are all written in the contract. You can read it first.
"We'll leave Yorknew City at five this afternoon. Please finish reading and signing your contracts before departure. Once you're ready, gather at the central exit of Tashedo Station. We won't wait for latecomers."
There was nothing more. Once he finished speaking, Tsezguerra turned and left.
After leaving Nanpis, Qiao Lun returned to the hotel with his contract. He still needed to meet Kurapika before leaving.
In that short time, Kurapika had already established a foothold in Yorknew City.
With sufficient funds, Kurapika's ability to get things done had not disappointed Qiao Lun in the slightest.
Their meeting place was a barbecue restaurant. When he walked in, Kurapika had already arrived with Feitan and Melody.
"We passed!" Gon happily shared the good news.
"Congratulations!" A rare, heartfelt smile also appeared on Kurapika's face.
Leorio was the last to arrive, while Feitan sat down right beside Qiao Lun.
"Next, I'll be entering Greed Island with Gon and the others. If anything comes up and you need to contact me, just send a message. I'll see it when I come out of the game," Qiao Lun said as he ate the grilled meat.
Meanwhile, Gon had already pushed his contract in front of Leorio, asking him to check it for any traps.
"All right, understood." Kurapika had been keeping an eye on Battera's situation all along.
Even after Qiao Lun entered the game, he would continue monitoring Battera.
As long as the Phantom Troupe made a move, he would notice immediately.
He also knew that after entering the game, aside from training, Qiao Lun would obtain a way to leave it at the earliest opportunity.
However, his exit point would not be Battera Castle, where he entered the game.
The two of them had planned this long ago.
Leorio finished reading the contract just then. "Overall, there are only three points. First, you can't complain whether you're injured or killed. Second, ownership of any items brought out after clearing the game belongs to Battera. Lastly, Battera will pay whoever clears it a reward of fifty billion Jenny."
"No problems, right?" Killua asked.
"Right." Gon nodded earnestly.
"I'm just a little curious about the things you bring back after clearing the game. Are there actually things inside the game that you can bring into the real world?" Kurapika was good at picking out the key points.
Although he was not entering Greed Island, he had done some research on it.
He knew it was a game open exclusively to Nen users, but even so, bringing game items into reality was rather unexpected.
"What Battera needs is probably some item inside the game," Killua agreed. "But that has nothing to do with us. Our goal is just to get into the game."
"Not necessarily," Qiao Lun said.
That made Killua and the others turn their eyes toward him.
"Isn't Gon's goal to find his dad? If his dad isn't in the game, could the clue to finding him be some item or tool inside it?" Qiao Lun suggested a possibility.
And that possibility was indeed real.
After clearing Greed Island, Gon would have a chance to find Ging directly.
However, Ging had provided two options. If Gon went alone, he would arrive right in front of Ging. If Gon brought companions along to find him, then the only person he would find was Kite.