Netero had played himself… and as a result, Law won the game. However, his hands were severely injured, which was the consequence of forcibly catching that one ball.
Law was willing to endure injury to win this seemingly casual competition, partly because of the stakes and partly because he simply didn't want to lose.
That refusal to lose was the same no matter who he was up against.
When the game reached its later stages, turning defeat into victory was the most exhilarating experience. At that moment, Law saw a glimmer of hope for victory, and he seized that light at all costs.
Once the game ended, Machi.
Once the game ended, Machi and the others entered the court to check on the injuries to Law's hands. They couldn't understand his actions… After all, it was just a casual game...
As for the stakes, Law wouldn't bring it up in front of everyone, and Netero had no reason to mention it after the game. So only both of them knew the truth.
Since Machi and the others weren't aware of the stakes, they naturally couldn't make sense of it.
With Law's hands injured, Netero's plan to play with Law until dawn was ruined. Combined with the fact that he had lost the game due to his carelessness, he could only turn his attention to the others.
In another ball game, Buhara, Uvogin, and Nobunaga were forced to stay in the training room to serve as Netero's outlets for frustration.
Law returned to his room. Since Sanbica wasn't around, he contacted the Heavens Arena's doctors to come and treat his injured hands.
Biscuit and Machi stood to the side, quietly watching as the doctors worked.
Injuries were a daily occurrence at Heavens Arena, so the doctors here are highly skilled. They provided proper treatment for Law's hands.
After the doctors left, only Law, Biscuit, and Machi were left in the room.
Law lifted his hands, which were wrapped up like dumplings, and thought to himself, 'Having injured hands is really troublesome.'
"Don't be so reckless next time." Biscuit said.
Law smiled slyly and said, "It was worth it."
"Hmm?" Biscuit seemed to catch the hidden meaning in his words.
Law just smiled without saying anything. He hadn't yet figured out how to use the request he had won, but since there was no time limit, he could decide later.
Seeing Law's smile and recalling how he had endured injuring his hands to catch the ball and used a nearly underhanded method to win, Biscuit guessed that Law must have gained something significant from this game.
'In other words, Law might have made a private bet with Chairman.'
"If you won, did Chairman promise to give you a Hunter License?" Biscuit asked tentatively.
She speculated that the bet might have been related to the Hunter License.
"It's not the Hunter License." Law rolled his eyes when he heard that, 'Hunter License? With his current abilities, obtaining such a thing would be easy. Why would I need to take shortcuts to get it?'
"Then what is it?" Biscuit asked.
"Hehe." Law chuckled mischievously, "A request with no limit on scope or time!"
Biscuit was shocked when she heard that, 'I didn't expect that Chairman would bet something so significant. Not only that, he even dared to go easy on Law!'
'Given Chairman's status, this bet was far too careless.' Thinking of this, she asked curiously, "And what if Chairman had won?"
Law fell silent for a moment, then replied, "If Chairman wins, I would have had to accept the Hunter License he gave me."
"…"
Biscuit nearly choked upon hearing this.
'Chairman... you really knew how to play.'
…
Two days later, Biscuit left.
Although communication and transportation were highly advanced, making it easy to stay in touch and meet up, Law still felt reluctant to see her go. He had grown accustomed to Biscuit's presence and the guidance she provided as his master.
However, as Biscuit put it: "I'm not a babysitter. Once things are done, I'll leave sooner or later."
After seeing Biscuit off, Law returned to Heaven's Arena. Chairman Netero was still there, but no one was willing to play with him anymore. Buhara and the others had been thoroughly worn out and were now avoiding him.
In the room, Netero watched as Law opened the door and walked in, "Biscuit's gone, huh?"
Law nodded and sat down on the sofa.
"What request do you want to ask for?" Netero asked, sipping on a glass of juice. Two days had passed, and he was now bringing up the stakes.
"I haven't thought about it yet. How about giving me the position of Vice Chairman?" Law joked.
"Okay." Netero's eyes lit up and he replied decisively.
Seeing Netero not only not objecting but responding so decisively, Law's mouth twitched. He said helplessly: "I was just joking. I haven't thought of anything yet. I'll let you know when I come up with something."
"Young man, make sure you seize the opportunity." Netero stroked his beard and said with a tempting tone.
Netero was more than happy to accept Law's joking request. However, after spending these past few days with Law, he had a rough understanding of Law's personality. Forget about being Vice Chairman, even getting Law to become one of the Zodiacs would be a challenge in itself.
'Not long ago, it had taken considerable effort to convince Ging to join the Zodiacs. Now, it seemed I had another difficult case on my hands.'
"Forget it. I'm not interested in doing thankless work." Law curled his lips and said.
Currently, the Hunter Association didn't have a Vice Chairman's position. Moreover, with someone like Netero as the Chairman, it was easy to imagine the kind of disaster a Vice Chairman would face.
Netero's original intention in coming here was to find Law to play with… no, to personally meet Law and offer him a backdoor opportunity to obtain a Hunter License directly. However, that plan had failed.
There were still two vacancies among the Zodiacs, and Netero wanted Law to fill one of them. After all, if Law became a Zodiac, Netero could have him around to play with anytime.
However, he also knew that this matter required careful handling. Not only did Law not yet have a Hunter License, but convincing him to agree would also be a hassle.
"Are you planning to take this year's Hunter Exam?" Thinking of this, Netero decided to drop the previous topic and shift the conversation.
"If nothing unexpected happens, I probably will." Law replied, thinking that as long as nothing major came up, he would likely participate.
Netero nodded and finished the drink in his glass in one gulp.
Beep beep.
At this time, Netero's phone rang.
Netero casually took out his phone, pinching it between his index and middle fingers, holding it a short distance from his ear before answering.
"Chairman!"
As soon as the call connected, a loud, resentful voice erupted from the phone!
The voice belonged to Beans. After Netero sneaked away, he was tactful enough to give Netero a few days and only came to find Netero today.
Because, if Beans had contacted Netero immediately after he snuck off, it would have backfired.
Netero's eyes turned deadpan as he waited for Beans's initial outburst to end before bringing the phone to his ear and said, "Oh, it's you, Beans."
On the other end of the line, Beans felt like he wanted to die. He shouted angrily, "I'm already on the helipad on the roof of Heavens Arena. Please come back with me immediately."
"What a coincidence? I just got back to the Association." Netero said calmly.
"Do you... really think I'd believe that?" Beans's forehead was covered in black lines.
Beans was probably too agitated, as his voice was loud enough for Law to hear clearly even without the phone on speaker. At this moment, seeing Netero lie without batting an eye, Law felt utterly speechless.
…
Inland on the Yorbian Continent, there was a large city called Amber. Half a month ago, a suspected flu-like 'virus' broke out, spreading to surrounding areas at lightning speed.
After discovering the crisis, the local authorities immediately took action, but in the end, they were powerless and could only implement temporary quarantine measures.
As a Virus Hunter, Sanbica, along with two other Hunters from the Hunter Association, had entered the heavily affected areas of Amber three days ago.
At this moment, inside a tent, more than ten people stood, all wearing protective suits. Sanbica was among them.
Everyone gathered around a table with a world map on it. And on the map, a peculiarly shaped island was circled in red.
The topic that everyone is discussing about is not the virus, but the island.