I'm extremely interested in Nen abilities.

She smiled slightly and said, "As for the soul, if you believe it exists, then it is more likely to exist; if you believe it does not exist, then it is really difficult for it to exist."

Jingyang and Xiaodi exchanged a glance.

Bisky asked, "Do you know what happens after death?"

The two nodded.

“The thoughts that remain after death are often the last and greatest attachments of the deceased in life.” Bisky gave a cryptic smile. “So, what if, after a person dies, their remaining thoughts contain all the memories and emotions from their life?”

“Then it’s not wrong to call this kind of thought a soul,” Jingyang said to himself. “It doesn’t have to be restricted to whether it’s before or after death. As long as a thought can replicate and carry all of one’s memories and emotions, it can be called a soul. If it can only carry a part of one’s emotional memories, it can also be called a lingering thought or a remnant soul.”

That Sky Master from Xianshui Mountain can probably be considered a remnant soul of the former Gro = Gray Guo Rou.

Xiao Di chimed in, "In other words, the soul is just a concept, something artificially defined. That woman's brain was destroyed but perfectly restored, and all her memories were intact, so there's no need to go through the trouble of introducing the concept of a soul..."

Jingyang nodded. In other words, as long as Kurapika's resurrected clansmen have intact physical bodies, everything will be fine. What's with all this talk about souls? Originally there was nothing, so where can dust settle? Let's take it easy, family.

While they were discussing some mysterious and mysterious things, in the hospital room, Batra and his girlfriend poured out their hearts to each other for a long time. The latter couldn't hold back and wanted to go and thank the doctor who saved her in person. Batra hurriedly tried to stop her, but found that his lover could already get out of bed. If he hadn't stopped her, she could not only walk, but also run and jump!

"It's really that good... really that good?" Batra was overjoyed and carefully helped his girlfriend out to thank Jing Yang profusely. He immediately made a call to prepare a private jet and car. "No problem, you just want Greed Island game consoles, right? I'll give you all 30 sets of mine, along with the ancient castle where the game consoles are stored. I'll personally take you there in an airship!"

What's there to say? Let's go!

Jingyang waved his hand and said, "Lead the way."

Seeing Juzjuela beside him, he was quite tempted and, being quite considerate, invited him to join them. Strictly speaking, Juzjuela's mission was over after Batra's lover woke up; after settling his payment with Batra, he should have been busy making some money...

The group boarded a zeppelin in high spirits, then transferred to a train. To show his respect, Batra used his remaining funds to charter the entire train. As soon as they got off the plane and onto the train, it started moving immediately, heading straight for the remote ancient castle.

Jing Yang disembarked from the airship that had been flying south and sat on a train still heading south, gazing at the scenery rushing past the window. The location of Batra's ancient castle, where the hunters he hired had conquered the Greed Island game, wasn't geographically too far from the Barusha Islands at the southern tip of the Eurubian continent…

-

It was a dark and windy night with a bright moon and few stars. Jingyang and Xiaodi huddled together in the back seat of the car. Xiaodi was reading a book with one hand, her head resting on Jingyang's shoulder. She had gotten used to this posture ever since Jingyang grew to 1.9 meters tall. Jingyang, on the other hand, had his legs crossed and was writing and drawing in a notebook with a pen.

Bisky looked back from the front seat. The journey was boring, and she would ask Xiao Di what she was looking at, and Jing Yang what he was writing from time to time... Damn it, these young couple were inseparable and did everything in perfect harmony, making her, an old lady, feel very uninvolved!

At this moment, the convoy slowed down, and Jingyang stopped writing and looked out. The outline of an ancient castle on the edge of the cliff was vaguely visible, like a black behemoth lying on the mountaintop, opening its silent maw to swallow the oncoming traffic under the pale moonlight...

Wow, my house is quite big!

It's time to examine the elements of the TV adaptation of The Three-Body Problem!

Chapter 226 Game Consoles

"This is Captain Sabaz, in charge of security inside and outside the castle. I've already handed over the formalities to them. Their employment agreement will terminate in 24 hours. If you wish, you can renew it. I highly approve of Captain Sabaz's abilities; the mercenary team he leads is of excellent quality, and the castle has never been disturbed by outsiders for many years..."

Inside the castle's passageway, which had the feel of a horror movie, Batra led the way while introducing the place to Jingyang and the others.

Very strong, undoubtedly a master with Nen abilities... Zetsu Zetsu glanced at the short man with a beret, mercenary clothes, and a small mustache out of the corner of his eye.

The short man was also observing the people Batra had brought. Juezi Juezi was a renowned bounty hunter, and indeed, his skills were exceptional. However, the young couple gave him a much more dangerous feeling… He glanced at the Can Yuehu following behind Jing Yang, then at Bisky walking beside him. This little girl, however, looked quite ordinary, yet she had also entered the castle with them. Could she be related to Batra or the couple?

Soon, Batra led the group to the most secluded underground depths of the castle, a spacious cellar that had been simply modified.

The dim lights snapped on, revealing three rows of long tables extending into the cellar. On each table sat thirty large-screen monitors, and in front of each monitor was a plain-looking game console, which looked quite like the Little Tyrant game console from Jingyang's previous life...

"This is the Greed Island arcade machine I've been searching for all these years..." Batra sighed with a complicated tone as he looked at the scene.

His girlfriend, who was recovering, held his arm tightly. Batra gently patted her hand and then took it in his.

Bisky smiled and said, "You went to all this trouble, not just to save your little girlfriend, right?"

Batra frankly stated, "No, I initially collected this special game because I heard it contained the so-called 'Archangel's Breath' ability to cure all diseases and pains. However, after successfully obtaining a few game consoles and hiring a few people to experience it firsthand, I learned that it also contained another miraculous medicine that could restore youth..."

At this point, he shook his head with a wry smile, "Let's not talk about it anymore. The latter was just my insatiable greed." He looked tenderly at the young woman beside him and said, "As long as you can wake up, what do all the others matter?"

The woman was also very moved, but Xiao Di said from the side, "You will die much earlier than her." Judging from her expression, there was no sarcasm or anything like that. It was as if she was just kindly pointing out the truth, or perhaps she wanted to explore her doubts: Batra seemed to know this, but did this woman know it?

The woman knew, and she smiled wryly, but more than that, she felt relieved. She gently stroked Batra's cheek. "Batra always regretted our age difference, but so did I. I was also resentful, wondering why I was born so late, why couldn't you wait for me? You got old before me, it was really too much... But since I decided to accept Batra's pursuit, I no longer care about these things. Life is short, how many years can we truly love each other? As long as we loved each other, as long as I had this sincere love, I will never feel lonely again."

Perhaps because she had survived a near-death experience, this young woman, whose name Jingyang still didn't know, seemed to be worried that she might encounter another misfortune at any moment, and therefore expressed her feelings to Batra frankly and passionately.

Poor old man Batra was so moved that his eyes turned red and tears streamed down his face. He held the woman's hand and kissed it, unable to utter a single word.

Jing Yang, however, spoiled the mood by saying, "Whatever you have to say, there will be plenty of time later. Let's start by introducing these things."

He pointed to the pile of game consoles in the cellar in front of him.

Batra wiped away his tears, mustered his strength, and recounted everything he knew about the Greed Island game, including all the precautions for using the game consoles, without reservation. He had already handed over the 30 game consoles and the castle to Jingyang; whether Jingyang kept them for his collection or resold them was entirely up to him.

Jingyang listened and nodded.

Greed Island game console is indeed similar to the NES, with 1P and 2P versions. However, instead of a controller, you insert a game memory card. After inserting the memory card, you release your Nen energy into the game console with both hands, and the Nen user will be taken into the game world—the island that Jingyang, Shizuku, Pariston, and Kubi drifted to.

Therefore, generally speaking, each Greed Island game machine can only be used by two players, 1P2P, to insert cards. However, since each 1P2P player can also connect to a 4-segment splitter, theoretically, the maximum number of players per machine can be expanded to 8.

Of the 30 game consoles in Batra's cellar, 9 are currently in 1P2P mode with only one memory card inserted. This was a mistake Batra made when he first started collecting these consoles and was still a novice. It wasted a lot of extra slots that could have been created using a splitter. In other words, these 9 game consoles are occupied by 18 players. They can't remove the memory cards or destroy the consoles until they quit the game. They can only watch helplessly.

Batra said that he knew nothing back then and had no idea just how unskilled the amateur hunters he hired were—these people hadn't even thought of using a splitter for him! —How unskilled were they? These 18 people disappeared after entering the game and never came back, but they certainly didn't die, because if someone dies in the game, their body will be sent back to the real world, which frees up a slot and saves trouble.

"Just a slacker!" Jingyang knew what was going on.

This game has no time limit for completing levels, so some players who aren't very skilled have given up hope of clearing the game. Some have even gotten married and had children in the game, determined to just stay on Greed Island and coast through life.

Besides these 9 machines, there are several other game consoles with a memory card inserted on one side and a splitter inserted on the other. There are also several game consoles with splitters on both sides. In short, many game consoles are occupied, but they are not reaching their theoretical maximum utilization rate, and many slots are being wasted.

Because Batra had not yet hired a suitable hunter, there were only eight clean and innocent game machines left.

“If they don’t voluntarily leave, or get killed in the game, there’s nothing anyone can do,” Batra said apologetically to Jingyang. “Of course, even these Greed Island game machines that are currently occupied can fetch a high price at auction. If you find it too troublesome, I can help you resell these occupied game machines…”

Jingyang considered for a moment, "If they all withdraw, the price of the game console can definitely be higher, right?"

“Of course,” Batra said.

"That's good. Then I'll keep it with me for now, and I'll ask you for help later, how about that?"

"Yes, yes, but..."

Jingyang smiled slightly, "Don't worry, they will withdraw on their own."

Batra nodded and said no more.

Juezi Jue La, who was listening nearby, had an idea. He pointed to one of the game machines that was being used and asked, "Do you need any help?"

Jingyang pouted and said, "You just wanted to go in and play, didn't you?"

He waved his hand, saying that the machine was already in use anyway, "Whatever, if you want to go in and take a look, then please."

Without any hesitation, Juezi Jue La took a blank game memory card, found a machine with 1P (1/1) and 2P (3/4) slots occupied, inserted the memory card into the last slot of the splitter, and then, as Batra had just instructed, gathered his energy with both hands and brought them close to the game machine. Immediately, he turned into a ball of Nen energy on the spot and disappeared into thin air.

"Caw caw!" The rock sparrow perched on the tiger's head was startled. What the hell was that noise? Where did that huge featherless bird go?

Batra was already used to it and was about to leave when Jingyang called him back.

"Let's find a suitable place to talk?" Jingyang pointed to the outside of the cellar.

The mercenary captain, Sabaz, was astute enough to take his leave, and the cellar fell completely silent. Since Greed Island didn't require power, there was no buzzing noise, making it exceptionally quiet.

"Is something the matter?" Batra looked at Jingyang with a puzzled expression.

Jing Yang flicked his finger, and a wisp of air flowed from his fingertip, turning into a bubble shape along the way. Inside, a section of red liquid materialized, and the liquid spontaneously formed a pentagram shape... The flying star bubble drew a parabola and landed precisely on the puzzled Batra's forehead, leaving a rose-gold pentagram pattern.

Although Batra knew about Nen abilities, he was a Muggle with his eyesight closed, so of course he didn't know what Jingyang was doing.

But he found out the next second.

Jing Yang snapped his fingers, and Batra felt as if a movie scene had transitioned, with a brief blackout. When he looked at Jing Yang, Xiao Di Biskey, and the other two again, they were all enveloped in a layer of bubble-like white light, as were the big tiger and the little gray bird...

"Such a beautiful young woman, it's such a waste that she's with an old geezer like you! Let me see the purity of your true love. If your obsession with fading youth is deep enough, perhaps it can give rise to some interesting Nen abilities..."

If you fail to win, try again tomorrow.

Chapter 227 Loading

"Even if you don't know Nen, you should be familiar with it. Your body is now ready to learn Nen. As for how to learn and train, you can spend some money to find a professional hunter to teach you later..."

This surging power... Is this really me...? Batra stared incredulously at his hands, the white aura flowing like water—this was what the hunters called 'qi'...

"Hey, are you listening?" Jing Yang pointed a finger at Batra's forehead.

The star under his finger vanished abruptly. Batra snapped back to reality and hurriedly said, "I'm listening! I'm listening! Of course, it's a small matter like learning Nen, I wouldn't dare trouble Mr. Jingyang any further. I'll find another professional hunter to teach me..."

Xiao Di asked curiously, "You still have money?"

“I have to keep some savings for myself…” Batra said apologetically. Besides, most of his fixed assets were still there, and he could recoup a lot of money by selling some of them in the future. “Professional hunters probably don’t need to do such simple tasks—” The old man suddenly remembered Zezzeira and looked at the Greed Island game machine that Zezzeira had just disappeared from.

"Looking for him? I advise you to forget about it," Jing Yang said, arms crossed.

Batra immediately realized, "Right, I can't let him connect my sudden awakening of Nen ability with you, Mr. Jingyang."

Jingyang explained, "No, it's just that Juezi is a bit incompetent. If you're going to find a teacher, at least find a decent one."

He and Little Drop looked at Bisky together.

Bisky looked back with a cute, innocent expression, puzzled.

"Don't cause trouble for your grandma." Jing Yang nodded knowingly, then briefly mentioned the Water-Seeing Appraisal Method and the differences between the six Nen systems to Batra before letting him leave the cellar with his girlfriend.

"Alice, can you also see the aura on me?"

"Yes, I thought there was something wrong with my eyes after I woke up..."

“Mr. Batra…”

Batra and his girlfriend walked up the stone steps, but after a few steps, someone came down and spoke to him. Batra quickly turned back, brought the well-dressed lawyer back, handed Jingyang a stack of documents, and then finally left.

Little Drop leaned closer to take a look and saw that it was Batra's statement terminating the agreement to hire hunters to clear Greed Island.

"You just got 8000 billion and a castle, and you're even going after these game consoles that are being used?" Bisky laughed. "You really love money."

"Waste is shameful!" Jing Yang glanced at the termination notice with a serious expression, then asked Xiao Di to materialize a vacuum cleaner to collect it. He put his hands on his hips, looked back at the more than 20 Little Tyrants running in the cellar, practically invincible, and said leisurely, "Besides, when you go into a game, you have to find a goal, right? You're going to get the Blue Planet, but I can't think of anything in that game that I'm determined to get..."

So your goal is to drive all these people out of the game? Bisky was very impressed.

Xiao Di replied, "Don't you have a goal? I think you do!"

"You mean Lei Zha?" Jing Yang suddenly remembered. Right, he needed to find that squinty-eyed Lei Zha to settle scores and avenge the deportation.

Little Di was full of questions. "Leizha? Who's that?"