Chapter 9:The Desperate Search for Jenny
[ ** SYSTEM MESSAGE: USER ADAM RICHTER. NEW OBJECTIVE: ACCUMULATE 20 UNIQUE DEATHS FOR SYSTEM UPGRADE LVL 1. CURRENT PROGRESS: 9/20. FINANCIAL REQUIREMENT: 10,000,000 JENNY. CURRENT JENNY: [CLASSIFIED]. ** ]
The Zoldyck Estate was behind them, Killua was free, and the group was heading towards a new adventure. But for Adam, one thought consumed him: money. He needed 10 million Jenny for his first System Upgrade. That was a mind-boggling sum for someone who had, until recently, considered a fresh packet of instant noodles a luxury.
" Okay, 10 million Jenny. That's… a lot of noodles. I'm going to need a plan. A highly illegal, yet ultimately harmless, plan. Or maybe just a slightly shady, ethically ambiguous plan. My 'Enhanced Sense of Smell' isn't exactly helping me find hidden treasure, unless it's a treasure of unwashed socks. Which, frankly, given some of the Hunters I've met, is a distinct possibility. "
He started by trying the simplest approach: exploiting his meta-knowledge. He found a local newspaper and scanned the stock market reports, trying to remember any major market shifts or lottery numbers from the HxH timeline.
"Alright, System," Adam muttered, hunched over a dingy table in a cheap cafe, trying to decipher the financial pages. "Give me a hint. What's the next big thing? Am I supposed to invest in 'Giant Hippo-Pig Farms Inc.'? Or perhaps 'Hisoka's Discount Card Trick Emporium'?"
[ ** SYSTEM MESSAGE: USER'S META-KNOWLEDGE IS A NON-SYSTEMATIC ADVANTAGE. NO DIRECT FINANCIAL GUIDANCE PROVIDED. ** ]
"Useless! Absolutely useless!" Adam grumbled, throwing his hands up. "So, I know who wins the Greed Island game, but I can't predict a simple stock market surge? This is discrimination against dimension-hoppers!"
His attempts at stock market prediction were, predictably, a disaster. He made a few small, cautious investments based on vague memories, only to see the numbers go nowhere or even dip slightly. He quickly abandoned that idea. He wasn't built for the slow, agonizing torture of financial speculation. He was built for quick, dramatic deaths. And maybe quick, dramatic money-making.
He then tried his hand at street performing. He set up a makeshift stage in a busy market square. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and various suspicious-looking individuals!" Adam announced, holding out a tattered hat. "Prepare to witness the impossible! The unbelievable! The mildly distracting! Presenting… Adam Richter's Illusory Spectacular!"
He attempted a few tricks with his 'Minor Illusion' skill. He tried to make a single flower blossom instantly, but it just flickered erratically and then looked slightly squashed. He tried to make a coin disappear, but it just seemed to wobble in the air before dropping to the ground with a clang. The crowd, unimpressed, started to disperse.
"Oh, come on!" Adam protested. "It's subtle! It's nuanced! It's… okay, it's not great. But the effort was there! The artistic intention!"
A small child threw a rotten tomato at him. It splattered harmlessly against his newly 'Hardened Skin,' but the indignity was palpable. "Alright, fine! No street performing! Clearly, my talents are too avant-garde for the common man!"
He considered getting a regular job, but the thought of washing dishes or flipping burgers for years to earn 10 million Jenny made him want to self-destruct. Figuratively, of course.
" I need a hustle. A proper hustle. Something that leverages my unique, chaotic skillset. Something that doesn't involve me smelling people's lunch from a mile away. "
Then, an idea sparked. An illegal, but potentially lucrative, idea. He remembered the underground betting rings, the shady information brokers in the HxH world. With his 'Enhanced Sense of Smell,' he could detect hidden items or people. With 'Minor Illusion,' he could create diversions. With 'Basic Trap Disarmament,' he could… well, disarm traps. And his 'Basic Knife/Axe Proficiency' meant he wasn't entirely useless in a scuffle.
He found a small, grimy bar known for its illicit dealings. He approached a shifty-looking man nursing a drink.
"Excuse me, sir," Adam began, adopting a serious, low tone. "I couldn't help but notice you seem to be in need of… specialized services. Let's just say, I have a nose for things. Literally. And I'm quite adept at making things disappear. Or reappear, in a different form. Or just generally cause a delightful distraction." He subtly shimmered his hand using 'Minor Illusion' for a split second.
The man looked him up and down, unimpressed. "What are you, a kid trying to be a spy?"
"A connoisseur of secrets, sir," Adam corrected. "And a master of… unconventional solutions. Let's say you need to find a misplaced item. Or perhaps you need a distraction during a… delicate transaction. Or maybe you just need someone to tell you if the guy across the room is sweating because he's nervous or because he just ran a marathon. I can help. For a fee, of course. A rather large fee."
He landed a few minor, low-paying jobs. Retrieving a "lost" (stolen) watch from a pawn shop (using 'Minor Illusion' to create a diversion, then 'Basic Knife Proficiency' to pick a lock – surprisingly, it translated). Helping a nervous gambler detect if his opponent was bluffing (using 'Enhanced Sense of Smell' to pick up on subtle physiological changes, though he just called it "super intuition"). He was essentially a chaotic, junior-level information broker and low-tier criminal consultant.
He pooled his earnings with Gon and Killua's. Gon, with his natural ability to find rare creatures and resources, was surprisingly good at earning money. Killua, with his assassin background, was also alarmingly efficient at acquiring funds (Adam didn't ask how).
"Alright, boys," Adam announced one evening, counting a meager stack of Jenny. "We're making progress! We're almost… single-digit millions away from my glorious power-up! Just a few more years of petty crime and street performance, and I'll be able to… well, I'm not entirely sure what I'll be able to do. But it'll be amazing! Probably!"
He was nowhere near 10 million Jenny yet. The cost seemed insurmountable. He felt the weight of the requirement. He needed a big score. And Heavens Arena was coming up. That was his best bet. Tournaments meant prize money. And Nen users meant new skills. He would find a way. Or die trying. Again.