The stadium, with thirty minutes left before the game's start time, was crowded with people. This was because many of the spectators had gathered under the stage set up in the center. Within that crowd were the figures of Chel and Tokunosuke.
"I have nothing but a really bad feeling about this."
"I should have brought some stomach medicine..."
Of all things, a trouble that crushed the perfect opportunity they had envisioned for their first meeting with the girl presumed to be a Calamity. Far from dark clouds hanging over the situation, the two felt like a storm of heavy rain, strong winds, and thunder had already broken out.
Many of the gazes of the people waiting impatiently for the start of the game were directed toward the stage. It was only natural, since the players who were the protagonists of the game were there. However, the curious eyes being gathered contained a hint of frustration.
And for good reason—even though the game was starting in thirty minutes, the players were just nonchalantly talking among themselves, ignoring the audience. There was no sense of them fighting at all. Perhaps the microphones picking up the voices on stage had their power cut, as what they were talking about couldn't be heard from here either. The fans cheering for them could do nothing but wait.
The stadium's electric scoreboard displayed the names of the Children and the total number of teams each belonged to. The names of some Children who had already been eliminated were not displayed.
[JACK HIGH (RED TEAM: 31 PEOPLE)]
[BLADE MAX (YELLOW TEAM: 972 PEOPLE)]
[J.J.J. SIMON (BLUE TEAM: 7 PEOPLE)]
[NOAH HELIODOR (GREEN TEAM: 319 PEOPLE)]
[ANSWER BAT (BLACK TEAM: 2 PEOPLE)]
[GRANDFATHER OF THE GALAXY (BROWN TEAM: 147 PEOPLE)]
[TSUKUTEKU (ORANGE TEAM: 181 PEOPLE)]
[VELVET ALECTO (PURPLE TEAM: 2 PEOPLE)]
[SIX (SILVER TEAM: 4 PEOPLE)]
It was clear that the team numbers were incredibly skewed. The main reason for that was likely the prize money placed on the game. One million Jenny would be given to everyone on the winning team. Anyone would want to jump on the winning horse. Even if they had a Child they usually supported the most, many were switching to other players out of a desire for money.
Furthermore, because the tally of how many people were participating in which team was displayed in real-time on the scoreboard, teams with many people resulted in drawing even more in.
The most popular was the Hunter-type, Blade. Above all else, he was a Pro Hunter. The difficulty of that qualification exam was known to everyone, and his strength could be said to be guaranteed. Coupled with his sensible personality, nearly half of the total participants had gathered.
The runner-up was the idol-type, Noah. He had many fanatical female fans who weren't swayed by money, and his team was probably composed mostly of women.
The third was the "I made it"-type, Tsukuteku. Looking at his usual profile, he wasn't a particularly promising player, but the reason he still gathered people was that he was evaluated for his skill in taking down one of the Children with a swift attack even before the game started. Even for ordinary people who hadn't awakened to Nen, they probably sensed the dignity of a strong person from the intimidation he emitted.
The fourth was the mentalism-type, Grandfather of the Galaxy. While losing to the top three in popularity, the fact that such a number had gathered under him, who didn't have the image of being good at fighting at all, meant he was putting up a good fight. That's how many devotees of his fortune-telling there were.
As for the remaining members, their team numbers were so small they could be counted. Even if you added up everyone displayed, it didn't reach two thousand people, but these were thought to be the people who hadn't put on their distributed wristbands yet.
In reality, not all the people whose numbers were displayed on the screen truly wanted to participate in the game from the bottom of their hearts. Many must have simply chosen a team for the time being and were unable to keep up with the situation.
Even the people making a big fuss sensed a suspicious air about this game somewhere in their hearts. However, they were unable to direct that anxiety anywhere. Even if they asked the staff, they also knew nothing. The big reason many people remained in this stadium was probably "because everyone else is here."
If this wasn't a surprise party planned by Pomerni, then what on earth was it? When that possibility was denied, the venue would surely turn from joy to shouts of anger and screams. No one wanted that. So for now, they were still trying to believe that this was just a game.
The game had started and the locks on the tranquilizer guns had been released, but no shootouts had occurred yet. There were those who were chatting normally even between enemy teams. That attitude spoke volumes about the spectators' stance toward the game.
No matter how much prize money was at stake, people hesitated to shoot others with tranquilizer guns. At least until the moment that first shot was fired.
For now, it didn't look like trouble was occurring on the surface, but there were surely those who were exploding with dissatisfaction in various places. It was only a matter of time before such negative emotions infected the whole.
It seemed like many people were enjoying the event, but that pleasure was built on a precarious balance that could collapse at any moment. Whatever form it took, once the game started moving, there would be no turning back.
In the strange air where enjoyment and tension sat side by side, a wristband emitting a silver light shone on Chel's right wrist.
"I can't believe you can put on such a suspicious thing."
"You were the one who said it was okay!"
Naturally, she was suspicious at first and didn't think about putting it on right away. However, Toku, who was knowledgeable about handling mechanical systems and also had qualifications for disposal and dismantling of explosives, checked it thoroughly and it was judged that there was no danger.
The built-in device, as explained, was only a reader for vital signs like pulse and a transmitter to signal location information. This transmitter was capable of emitting signals via ultra-low-frequency sound waves, a function designed for use even during radio interference over short distances. Normally, there was no need to go out of one's way to incorporate a transmitter with such special specifications, so there was a high possibility that this radio interference was planned.
However, other than that, there was nothing particularly suspicious. There was no sign of any Nen being infused into it either. It was just a wristband that was free to put on and take off. By the way, if you left it without selecting a color after putting it on, it seemed a color would be forced by roulette. Once a color was decided, the light would blink, making it easy to distinguish teams, but it was annoying.
"That's right, Mr. Hideyoshi! If you are also a member of the 'Six-chan Imperial Guard', you should house the proof of that silver light in this hand! And don't you want to raise your shining fist to the heavens?!"
"Seconded."
"Is it not a comrade we have finally met in this vast venue? There is no need to be shy."
These three who had interrupted Chel and Toku's conversation were just ordinary guests who had absolutely nothing to do with the mission that would sway the fate of the world. They were three of the four members of Six's Silver Team displayed on the scoreboard (the remaining one was Chel).
Lock the short one, Peipa the fat one, and Caesar the tall one. The three were equipped with their respective handmade Six-chan goods. There was a Six-chan fan, a Six-chan happi coat, and one was hanging a self-made Six-chan figure from his neck. One thing common to the three was that, for some reason, they were all wearing dog-ear headbands on their heads.
In normal times, they were certainly the type of people one would absolutely not want to get involved with, but they had been drawn together by the silver light. Like insects gathered at a moth trap. Chel couldn't quite understand their vibe, but she could empathize with that love for Six. And on a miraculous balance, they hit it off and decided to act together. Toku thought, please give me a break.
For the time being, Chel and Toku were under cover as fans of Six, so acting with other fans would serve as camouflage. Once the game started, they would eventually be active as the same team sooner or later. And if something happened, they would prioritize the mission. Chel also understood that line.
By the way, since they couldn't reveal their real names, Toku was calling himself Hideyoshi and Chel was calling herself Arthur. These were the names of the characters who served as models for the cosplay outfits they were wearing, and the trio took it as them doing roleplay.
So, the five members of the Silver Team were waiting impatiently for the players on stage to move, but there seemed to be no sign of progress at all. It didn't seem like the atmosphere would develop into a fight, so they weren't that worried, but they had another worry: that they would be left as they were.
Partly because of the unexpected situation where most of the Children were Nen users, this game had become a structure of Nen user vs. Nen user combat. To put it bluntly, there wasn't much that could be done by gathering hundreds of ordinary people armed with trash-like tranquilizer guns.
It went without saying that more weight was placed on watching the trends of other Children than on the crowd of ordinary people. Rather, the Children's side probably wanted the audience not to move recklessly and make the fuss bigger. At least, it felt like the players remaining on stage were trying to settle things peacefully.
However, from Chel's perspective, that was inconvenient. Even though it was a chance to approach Six in a natural way, if they just sat with their hands folded while being left out of the loop, it would also interfere with the mission.
"Alright, change of plans. We're going to storm the stage now."
"What?! Seriously?! But the game hasn't even started yet, maybe we should wait a bit longer..."
"Is your love for Six only at that level?!"
"Oooooh!! Follow Sister Arthur!"
The Silver Team pushed through the crowd to the front. It got more crowded as they approached the front row, but at a certain line, the row of people was interrupted. Even though they weren't separated by something like a barricade, none of the bustling crowd tried to cross that line and go forward.
This was an effect caused by Nen. It wasn't a special ability, just mere bloodlust. It wasn't powerful enough to make one feel danger, but it created an air that somehow made one avoid stepping in. The one doing it was Velvet.
The way she used bloodlust, spread thin like a barrier to keep people away, was brilliant, but if the opponent was a Nen user, it wouldn't be any obstacle. Following Chel and Toku as they strode onto the stage, the trio of general fans also tagged along fearfully. Just in case, Chel was creating a small protection area with En so the trio wouldn't be hit by the pressure.
"So, who exactly are you?"
Naturally, the gazes of the Children on the stage gathered all at once on these sudden visitors. Looking at the flow of aura shrouded around Chel and Toku, it was clear they were Nen users.
"Listen up, guys... Formation A!"
"Aye, aye, sir!"
Velvet and Blade braced themselves, thinking they were going to start a fight without further ado, but the action taken by the five suspicious people exceeded their expectations in a way. Each of them struck a pose like a hero squad from a special effects show, introduced themselves, and held up their silver-glowing wristbands.
"We are the Six-chan Imperial Guard! We have arrived!"
The emotions contained in the gazes staring at that scene were varied. Blade was bewildered. Velvet had a look in her eyes as if to say, "Oh, these guys are idiots." Toku had the look of a bystander at a step's distance.
And as for Six, though not much change could be seen in her expression, she showed a gesture of walking toward the Silver Team hesitantly. Chel smirked inwardly, thinking it was just as planned. At this rate, the plan was to rapidly approach Six as fans and become close all at once. Doubt would probably be cast as to why two Nen users happened to be mixed in so conveniently, but she intended to gloss over it with momentum.
"Six, don't be fooled-muscle."
However, there, Blade placed a hand on Six's shoulder and held her back.
"It's no use trying to approach while hiding your identities-muscle. Chel Haas and Tokunosuke Amamiya, we already have the information that you are intelligence agents for the United States of Saherta-muscle."
This time it was Chel and Toku's turn to be surprised. Where had that information leaked from?
"To think you'd shamelessly approach from the front under the guise of fans. Six, these guys are dangerous people aiming for your life..."
"Mind your next words carefully."