But such a look only flashed in his eyes for a moment before he lowered his head, turned away from Ronnel, and hurried off.
No one found this behavior strange—Ronnel had long been accustomed to such glances and attitudes.
He followed silently behind Luca, and after a while, they arrived at their destination: a small, dilapidated garden.
"There are a total of one hundred and seventy-two people this time. They're all yours to handle."
Luca, the large man, stood at the garden gate and pointed to the disheveled figures lying inside as he spoke to Ronnel.
Ronnel glanced into the garden, then looked away, neither moving nor speaking. He merely stared at Luca with an indifferent expression, his silence heavy in the air.
The two stood there like that for a moment, the atmosphere thick with tension.
Finally, catching the faint smell of decaying corpses in the air, Luca's eyes twitched. With a grunt, he muttered,
"It's true there are more bodies this time, but the elders won't shortchange you."
Luca pulled out a black card from his pocket, holding it out to Ronnel under his cold, unflinching gaze.
"Here, this is the payment for this job. It's enough for you to trade for some supplies."
"Not enough," Ronnel said, taking the card but not breaking eye contact. His tone remained flat, unmoved.
"You're holding out on me. Give me what's mine, or I'll put you on the ground and take it myself."
A faint layer of energy began to wrap around Ronnel's body—Nen, the life force unique to this world.
Nen was the power of manipulating their own life energy (known as aura), the life energy within every person. When a person learned to open their Aura Nodes, they could release and control this energy, shaping it into a powerful force called Nen.
Luca's eyes, now clouded with tension, flickered as a similar white aura enveloped his own form. He glanced at the energy surrounding Ronnel, comparing it to his own. After a brief pause, he reached back into his pocket without a word.
"Here. This should settle it."
Another small card emerged from his hand, and only after inspecting it did Ronnel nod.
"Good. Next time, if you try to cheat me out of my full share, Luca, I won't be so polite."
There was no respect in his voice. He casually slipped his hands behind his back, and in an instant, the two black cards disappeared from sight.
Luca's brows furrowed at Ronnel's taunting tone, but wisely, he held his tongue.
In the Streets of Meteor City, the law of the jungle ruled supreme. Whoever had the strength could claim greater privileges.
To Luca, Ronnel's harsh words were justifiable—because Ronnel was much stronger. His power gave him the right to speak as he pleased. In this world, strength dictated everything. Luca knew that one day, if he surpassed Ronnel in power, he could take his revenge.
But Ronnel didn't think much of Luca's potential. He didn't even see Luca as a threat worth acknowledging.
Pocketing the cards, Ronnel walked into the small garden and closed the gate behind him, cutting off Luca's view of what lay inside.
Ronnel's confidence wasn't unfounded. Not only had he understood the harsh reality of Meteor City long before arriving here, but he also possessed a power that gave him an overwhelming advantage: Nen, the ability to harness and manipulate his life energy.
Moreover, Ronnel had a secret. He was not originally from this world.
He had once been a regular young man, born and raised in the 21st century. A perfectly ordinary youth, living under the red flag of modern society. He had just graduated when, without warning, he found himself transported to this strange world—the world of Hunter X Hunter.
The last thing he remembered before being thrust into Meteor City was reading a novel called "Hunter X Hunter: Write a Book and Become a God" and playing a casual game. Sleep had overtaken him at some point, and when he awoke, he found himself lying in a garbage dump.
Groggy and disoriented, he soon realized that his body had reverted to that of a sixteen or seventeen-year-old. The people around him, garbed in strange protective clothing, spoke in a language he didn't understand. If not for the kindness of a local family, who took him in, Ronnel likely would have ended up like the many lifeless bodies scattered in the garden now.
He glanced around the garden at the corpses piled in every corner, flies buzzing in the stifling air. The stench of decay hung thick around him. Ronnel shook his head, sighing softly. Without another word, he set to work, fulfilling his grim duty on the Streets of Meteor City.