Chapter 166: Warship Island, Treasure Hunting, and Farming Points

The sun was bright and the weather was pleasant. Having spent three grueling days in the gloomy Trick Tower, the group felt as though they had been reborn under the warm glow of the sunlight; the drain on their spirits and vitality had been significantly alleviated. It is truly said that humans are creatures meant to live under the sun.

Hao Ren’s perpetually taut expression finally relaxed, and Yusuke and Kuwabara followed suit, looking like office workers sipping tea after finishing dessert at three in the afternoon.

"Hey!" A young girl in white clothes waved at Hao Ren from afar with a gentle smile.

In stark contrast, Hao Ren looked as if he had just been forced to swallow a raw insect patty made of grasshoppers, ants, and moths.

"Hey! Black Flame Dragon, such a cute young lady is greeting you—what’s with that grimace?" Kuwabara, who fancied himself a romantic expert, barked at Hao Ren indignantly.

"I can't be bothered to explain. If you like her, go talk to her yourself. She’s quite easy to get along with." Hao Ren wasn't lying to Kuwabara; in a sense, Saya was indeed easy to deal with, provided you kept her well-fed. Of course, based on Hao Ren’s memory, Saya was currently in a stage where she required male essence. Kuwabara, being a very energetic type—unlike a shut-in like himself—would likely catch her eye. *Should I warn him for the sake of our friendship?*

While Hao Ren hesitated over whether to set a trap for Kuwabara, he was abruptly slapped hard on the head by his companion.

"You jerk! My feelings for Yukina are wholehearted! How could I be interested in a bitch who acts pure on the surface but gets screwed until she pukes by some pot-bellied boss behind the scenes!" Kuwabara ranted with righteous indignation, spewing rather harsh words.

"Whoa, Kuwabara, you must have hidden quite a few books in the floorboards behind your sister's back," Yusuke said, looking at Kuwabara with the gaze of a kindred spirit.

"Yusuke, how did you know?" Kuwabara’s heart skipped a beat. Why did this jerk Yusuke know where he hid his collection?

"Otherwise, how could you come up with such a vivid description? I never expected that you, a virgin who has only ever known unrequited love, would be so interested in things like compensated dating and NTR. I really misjudged you." Yusuke had once been bribed with lewd books by other thugs; seeing the menacing Yusuke, those losers had even confessed their first masturbation experiences to him, though Yusuke had zero interest in such information. However, Keiko, possessing the keen sense of a bloodhound, had rooted out every single book Yusuke had hidden under the floorboards and destroyed them all.

What breed of dog is capable of sniffing out adult literature, anyway?

"What’s with that look of mutual misery?" Yusuke asked, curious to see Hao Ren silently wiping away a tear.

"It’s nothing, just thinking of the past." Hao Ren was mourning his lost folder titled "Scientific Social Research Based on Self-Organized Mechanisms," and the 480 gigabytes of data it contained.

"Gentlemen, congratulations on successfully escaping Trick Tower. I am Lippo, a bounty hunter and prison warden, and I will be your examiner for the third phase of the test." With a five-foot-tall, flamboyant hairstyle that was hilariously absurd, he certainly left an impression. However, after Hao Ren glanced over at the Sentai team each striking their own poses, he felt at ease. Only those with limited experience would find such things shocking.

"Although it is sudden, please board this airship." Lippo snapped his fingers, and an airship descended from the sky.

*What’s with the theatrics? Would it kill you to act normal?*

The group boarded the airship. After flying for about three hours, they arrived above a small island shaped like a crescent moon. Hao Ren looked down and wondered, *Are you sure this isn't in Inner Mongolia? Is this really not Crescent Island?* He scratched his head, suddenly remembering that the *Hunter* world was modeled after Earth. While the geography and ecosystems weren't identical, the shadows of famous cities were still visible. For instance, Yorknew City in the middle of the story was a replica of New York. So, it was best not to be too surprised by familiar sights. *Clearly, my experience is still too limited.*

The airship descended, and the group stepped onto the deck of an old warship embedded in the island. An elderly couple who looked exceptionally kind came out to greet them.

"As you can see, we are the managers of this Warship Island inn. My name is Bana, and this is my husband, Gina." The old woman spoke without changing her expression, despite the motley crew of strange humans before her; it seemed she had encountered plenty of bizarre events in her long life. "Now, I must convey a message from the Hunter Association: to those who passed, thank you for your hard work in the third phase. The fourth phase will begin in three days; please use this time to rest well."

But then, one sentence from the couple left everyone dumbfounded.

"The accommodation fee is ten million Jenny per person."

When they heard the cost for three days was ten million Jenny, those with a normal sense of money nearly dropped their jaws. One particular brother-complex, who was most sensitive about money, nearly threw the thumbtacks he was holding. The purchasing power of Jenny was roughly equivalent to the Japanese Yen; in other words, staying here for three days cost the equivalent of 580,000 RMB—enough to buy a 2DK apartment in a third-tier city. What kind of madness was this?

Seeing the distressed expressions of the examinees—some even shedding tears of blood (Akihisa Yoshii, Anna Oriobe, Kazuma Kuwabara, Leorio) and others drooling (Ataru Moroboshi)—the couple calmly offered a hint: there were numerous shipwrecks around the island, and they contained plenty of salvageable treasures.

Everyone rolled up their sleeves and threw themselves into the frenzy of hunting for "One Piece."

From that moment on, Hao Ren’s "Golden God" descended. Do you remember the "Remnant Machine" ability? One of its effects included a point-multiplier. After passing Trick Tower, various bonuses had raised his original 700 points to 1,200. *That was 60 hours of hard work—these points are way too low!*

When a resentful Hao Ren touched a platinum necklace buried under a pile of pulverized bones inside a shipwreck, his "Remnant Machine" points instantly surged by 1,000. The necklace vanished, and upon checking the master record, he found that his "Law of Gold" had a double multiplier for point acquisition, albeit only regarding financial assets.

This did not stop Hao Ren’s desire to grind points frantically. In fact, he was briefly tempted to rob the others, but after seriously considering his own combat capability, he suppressed the urge and obediently went diving for treasure.

67,200—that was the current point total of Hao Ren, who lay on the bed giggling to himself. Simultaneously, his "Remnant Machine" count had increased to [3]. The count had increased when he reached 10,000 points, but adding another 50,000 hadn't triggered any further increase; Hao Ren estimated the next reward would be at 100,000 points.

Hao Ren decided to rest for an hour before heading out to hunt for treasure again.