"The cards the Bomber hasn't obtained yet are... 0, 2, 75..."
"As for the Sequence 2 card, One Tsubo of Coastline, you can get information about it in Soufflabi..." Kazsule began explaining the plan again after Killua and the woman completed their trade.
"Wait a minute..." A voice interrupted, cutting off his words.
Kazsule fell silent and turned toward the person who had spoken.
"We? These people are the teammates collecting cards together?" The white-haired boy, lazily leaning against a white tiger, casually gestured at the group, his tone full of surprise.
"...Yes. Do you have a problem with that?" Kazsule took a deep breath, trying to keep his patience.
I have a huge problem with it…
This team… was at the level of people blindly playing the game? He had expected at least a few decent fighters.
But after one glance, they were mostly nobodies.
"...I don't want to join a team of cannon fodder." Cyr muttered to himself.
Just looking at their strength, they were definitely going to fail. They wanted to beat the Bomber to collecting cards? They were more likely to get killed by him first.
"You—!" That single phrase, cannon fodder team, instantly provoked everyone except Killua and a few others.
"Enough. You don't have to join." Kazsule stopped his teammates and looked at Cyr.
While he acknowledged Cyr's strength, they were confident they could get the cards even without him.
Besides, it was better to avoid someone so selfish and uncooperative.
"Fine, I won't join." Cyr shrugged, completely indifferent—if anything, he looked relieved.
He had nearly ended up in a group of cannon fodder. If he had joined, wouldn't that make him cannon fodder too?
If he was going to form a team, it would have to be a team of champions.
"You…" Killua and Gon looked at Cyr.
Was he really not going to join them?
"I'll be waiting for you to fail." The white-haired boy grinned, his voice light, as if he had already seen the future.
Killua and Gon weren't exactly weak, but they weren't strong enough to carry a team either.
Biscuit was the only one who actually had impressive strength, but she spent 90% of the time pretending to be a helpless little girl with nothing but good looks.
And yet, they were bringing ten other weaklings along…
Ha. If they actually succeeded…
It would have to be pure protagonist plot armor. But the problem was—did these two even have protagonist plot armor?
Cyr had some doubts. His own protagonist aura was probably stronger than Killua and Gon's combined.
Shonen battle manga protagonists usually struggled a lot, right? It wasn't like they were the overpowered harem protagonists who won effortlessly.
Probability of failure: 99.99%.
Kazsule's team used Companion to leave the valley and collect cards.
"Nobody ever said you have to form a team to clear the game, right?" Cyr sat in place, lost in thought.
But since Killua and Gon—who were clearly the main characters—chose to team up, even if they failed, this had to be important.
They were bound to stumble upon some key intel along the way.
Otherwise, this whole team-up plotline would be pointless.
In this game, there were many ways to obtain cards. And in games he had played before...
Some dungeons required solo play, while others required a team with a minimum number of players to enter.
Could forming a team be a prerequisite for obtaining One Tsubo of Coastline? If so, how many people were needed?
No idea.
Oh well. Either way, it wouldn't take long. They would fail and come crawling back soon enough.
"Book, use Companion—teleport to Chrollo Lucilfer." Cyr activated his card.
Along with Maro and Sora, they transformed into a streak of white light, flying toward the unknown.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Hisoka was mingling with Shalnark and the others, discussing Chrollo's situation—until a flash of white light appeared between them.
"Wow, what a coincidence." As the light faded, a white-haired boy stood in place, blinking in surprise.
What kind of luck was this...?
To his left was the Phantom Troupe, to his right was Hisoka, and he had landed right in the middle of them.
"…So, you came to this island too, huh?" Shalnark was a little surprised to see him but still smiled warmly, looking as harmless as ever.
"More importantly, I'm curious why you guys are here. Where's Chrollo?" Cyr asked directly, without the slightest attempt to be subtle.
Off to the side, Hisoka narrowed his eyes with an intrigued expression.
Little Apple seems pretty familiar with the Troupe...
Was it because they were both from Meteor City?
"When did you get to know our leader...?" Shalnark diverted the question with mild surprise.
Chrollo's whereabouts weren't something they could just casually share—even if Cyr was from Meteor City and could technically be considered an ally.
"We met by chance before." Cyr waved his hand dismissively and glanced at the number of Troupe members present.
This lineup... they were only missing a few members before it was practically a full-scale deployment.
"Where's Uvogin? He's not here?" The white-haired boy asked curiously.
Uvogin was strong, but if they fought again, Cyr would definitely win this time.
"Uvogin..." The expressions of the Troupe members darkened.
The way they reacted… it was as if Cyr had hit a sore spot.
"..." Cyr hesitated.
Ah. Did Uvogin... die?
He knew it wasn't the best timing, but he really wanted to know.
"Did he get killed by a blond guy with chain-based weapons?" Cyr asked.
In the original story, Uvogin was killed by Kurapika. But that shouldn't have happened—events had already changed.
Unless Kurapika hadn't left with Neon that night and had still gone after the Troupe like in the original timeline?
"…How do you know that?" Phinks asked.
So it was true.
The original storyline remained unchanged?
Should he call this fate's resistance to change… or just Kurapika's sheer obsession with hunting the Troupe?
"Just a guess. What a shame, I wanted to fight him again." Cyr sighed in a tone that was half-genuine, half-mocking.
"Hmm~ Were you looking for me, Little Apple~?" Hisoka, who had been ignored all this time, finally spoke up with a grin.
Not long ago, he had received a mysterious call. The moment he picked up, there was silence—then the line was abruptly cut off.
Now, just moments later, Little Apple appeared right in front of him.
From that, Hisoka deduced that Cyr had made the call. The kid clearly knew Chrollo and was naturally curious about him.
Hanging up immediately after recognizing Hisoka's voice… that was so in line with Little Apple's personality.
"Almost forgot—Hisoka, I came to team up with you."
"There are so few people in this game that I actually trust to be strong..." Cyr sighed.
"Some cannon fodder tried to invite me to their team earlier. They really have no self-awareness..."
"The prerequisite for obtaining that card might be based on party size, so I came to ask if you'd join." The white-haired boy clicked his tongue, a little impatient.
Honestly, he preferred soloing dungeons.
"Why not ask us?" Shalnark asked with an easy-going smile.
"You guys have other things to do, right? But if you're free, I wouldn't mind you joining either." Cyr shrugged and let out a short laugh.
Of course, he'd be happy if they joined. The Troupe was way stronger than most players.
But would they really agree?
Shalnark just smiled without answering, but several thoughts had already flashed through his mind.
This kid from District 12... does he know too much?
°°°
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