Chapter 83: Greed Island
"My strength still isn't enough," Mord muttered, rubbing his forehead as he recalled the battle with the Phantom Troupe.
The final form of Gonryōmaru's Bankai, Kōkō Gonryō Rikyū, was capable of summoning eleven bolts of lightning. Yet, after using just two, Mord's body was completely drained.
If the Phantom Troupe had held out just a little longer, at most one or two more of them would have died. Without them even needing to strike, Mord would have collapsed from exhaustion first.
Leaning against the headboard, Mord checked the time on his phone. The date was now September 6th.
The turmoil caused by the Phantom Troupe had gradually subsided, and the Yorknew Auction was proceeding as scheduled.
The item up for auction today was—
Greed Island!
This was Mord's third objective in coming to Yorknew. The first two had already been perfectly accomplished.
As for the Terrio family headquarters, Mord would pay them a visit personally someday—their heads could remain on their shoulders a little longer.
The auction for Greed Island was not held at the underground auction's Cemetery Building but instead took place at the Southernpiece Auction House.
The Southernpiece Auction, with its long and storied history, was the most prestigious auction house in Yorknew City. It ran annually from September 1st to 10th.
Every year, wealthy individuals from around the world attended. To gain entry, one had to purchase a catalog of auction items.
The catalog alone cost 10 million jenny!
Mord certainly didn't have enough money to bid on the Greed Island game.
But he absolutely had to attend the auction—because that was where he could find a way to enter Greed Island.
...
...
"Welcome!"
"I'm here to purchase the catalog." Mord looked at the auction staff and spoke directly.
The staff member glanced at Mord—wearing an ordinary T-shirt, a baseball cap, and looking listless as if he hadn't woken up properly.
Many wealthy people dressed casually, and the staff member was long accustomed to it. She offered a professional smile and said, "The Southernpiece Auction catalog costs 10 million. Will you be paying by card or transfer?"
Mord nodded and directly swiped his Hunter License to transfer 10 million.
Having money meant being bold, but unfortunately, he couldn't claim bounties on the Phantom Troupe's corpses.
The bodies of Phinks and Bonolenov had been taken away by the Troupe, while Nobunaga and Uvogin had been blasted to ashes by lightning.
"Here is the auction catalog. Please keep it safe."
The staff member handed over a thick auction catalog.
"It lists all the auction items for this year and comes with a card that serves as an entry pass. During the auction, this card allows five people to enter and exit the venue freely. However, when bidding, you can only participate as an individual or a team."
Mord opened the catalog and quickly flipped through it, soon finding the Greed Island game.
The auction was scheduled for tonight!
...
Night fell.
Mord entered the Southernpiece Auction Hall. His casual attire stood out against the formal atmosphere, but he casually found a seat and waited quietly for the auction to begin.
The lights brightened!
The hostess responsible for the auction appeared on stage and bowed to the audience.
"Welcome, esteemed guests. Hall B features a variety of unique items, and those of you drawn to these bizarre pieces must be quite eccentric yourselves."
"But this is the mark of a true collector—the pride of a connoisseur!"
"Feel free to bid on your desired items without worrying about worldly eyes!"
"First up, fossilized dung of the Brazilian Dragon!"
...
"Next is the dream game Greed Island! Please direct your attention to the center of the screen!"
As she spoke, the large screen behind her displayed an image of a game console.
"Hmm... that machine is strange. It's not plugged in, yet the power light keeps blinking," someone in the audience murmured.
"I'm sure some of you have noticed!" The hostess raised a finger and smiled. "This game console doesn't require electricity—it operates on an incredible power!"
She then snapped her fingers.
On the screen, a muscular man wielding a large hammer suddenly emerged from backstage and swung it hard at the game console.
Bang!
After the loud impact, the game console in the image remained completely unscathed.
"As you can see, even a hammer strike leaves it undamaged!"
"This console is an ordinary JoyStation Console—under normal circumstances, it would shatter from such a heavy blow... But thanks to the mysterious power of the game card, it can withstand any impact."
"As long as someone is playing inside..."
"Now, let's take a look at the game screen."
Following the hostess's introduction, a middle-aged man's portrait appeared before the audience, with the words "Now Playing" displayed below it.
The consecutive supernatural phenomena quickly sparked discussions among the crowd.
"As everyone can see, he is a game player currently engaged in gameplay. The screen remains in this state, though the specific game content is only visible to the player himself."
"As for how we obtained the game... it's actually because we made a contract with the player shown on the screen."
"He is the professional hunter Jetshari, who owns seven copies of Greed Island, each valued at 5.8 billion jenny."
"He drafted a contract to his lawyer with the following contents..."
"Before January 1, 2000, if no one has claimed and proven that they have cleared the Greed Island game, then even if the seven players including myself are still playing at that time, I am willing to hand over these seven copies of the game and consoles to the Southernpiece Auction without charge—"
"Leaving the dream of clearing the game to those capable, professional hunter Jetshari hereby declares."
"Thus we acquired these seven copies of Greed Island. Unfortunately, two of them have already game over."
"Game over means the player has died. The bodies of two players were found lying beside the consoles that had ceased functioning."
"This game is extremely dangerous, and we advise everyone to purchase with caution."
"Finally, we welcome prepared collectors to participate in this auction."
"Bidding begins now, starting at 1 billion jenny!"
...
The auction attendees were all top-tier wealthy individuals, including many who were interested in the legendary game Greed Island.
The bidding proceeded fervently, with the price quickly soaring past the original selling price of 5.8 billion jenny.
Sitting below, Mord paid no attention to the auction. He had come here to find someone.
Scanning the room, he spotted many familiar figures.
Gon, Killua, and Leorio—they had indeed come. Kurapika, however, was nowhere to be seen.
He felt somewhat apologetic about the Scarlet Eyes he had promised to find for Kurapika, as there had been no progress so far.
Aside from them, he noticed a chubby young man fiercely competing in bids with an elderly man.
Without much thought, it was easy to guess the identity of this young man—Killua's older brother, Milluki Zoldyck.
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