Four years, or perhaps six?
There were many places he wanted to set foot in, but he couldn't go.
Looking back on this return, it was hard to put into words what he had gained.
Ging wanted to see what he had brought back.
After a moment of contemplation, Law retrieved half a stalk of golden rice from Kuro's space.
"What's this?"
Ging raised an eyebrow. The moment he saw the golden rice, he felt an overwhelming surge of vitality, more than ten times denser than the power of a Angel's Breath… no, it was on an entirely different level.
"Nitro Rice," Law said.
Among all his gains, he had chosen to take out the Nitro Rice first, precisely because of the relationship between Ging and Don.
The longevity food, Nitro Rice, was a golden rice plant laden with abundant fruit.
Ging instinctively took two steps closer, his attention converging on the half stalk of golden rice like a spotlight on a stage.
This guy, Law, had truly brought back a Hope.
With mixed emotions, Ging took the half stalk of Nitro Rice from Law's hand. Strangely, seeing the Nitro Rice with his own eyes didn't bring him excitement or joy. Instead, he felt a slight dissatisfaction, as if someone had beaten him to it.
That flicker of dissatisfaction was justified, and Ging accepted the feeling without hesitation.
At the same time, he couldn't help but admire Law.
In a way, Law could be considered a pioneer now.
At this thought, Ging sighed softly to himself, feeling somewhat troubled, 'How had I fallen into that old man's trap back then? Now, I couldn't even secure a fraction of the qualifications to go there.'
He hadn't been in a hurry before, and he could have taken his time to appreciate the various sights while obtaining the qualifications.
But Law had already made the trip, successfully bringing back a Hope, which made Ging's desire to go to the Dark Continent swell instantly.
"I always thought the Gatekeepers wouldn't easily allow humans to bring Hope back from the Dark Continent. On the contrary, whether intentionally or not, they would make humans bring back Calamity." Ging adjusted his mood and carefully stroked the Nitro Rice.
"That's exactly right."
Law's eyes narrowed slightly as he recalled the troublesome Gatekeeper. A faint trace of killing intent flashed deep in his eyes.
At that time, Biscuit, Tonpa, Bruna, and even he himself had nearly been wiped out by the Calamity the Gatekeeper had summoned.
Although everyone had returned safely, that encounter had been a close brush with death.
He had originally thought the Gatekeepers were active only on the hypothetical continent between the Six Continents and the Dark Continent.
Unexpectedly, they were an entire race, with many of their figures scattered across the Dark Continent.
Their duty seemed to be maintaining order on the Dark Continent or something else entirely.
Thanks to the sudden appearance of the Gatekeeper, Law had been forced to bring back a Calamity.
Fortunately, he had a way to deal with it, otherwise, he would never have been able to return to the Six Continents.
"I brought back more than one Hope. Additionally, there's also a Calamity," Law slowly raised his eyelids and looked at Ging calmly.
Ging's hand trembled slightly as he asked solemnly, "One of the Five Great Calamities?"
"No, the two are not on the same level." Law touched his left shoulder and said, "The thing I brought back has a spread area more than twice the combined size of the Six Continents. Let me think of a word to describe its power."
"How about…'scorched earth'? That strangely fits."
Hearing Law's words, Ickshonpe showed no reaction. As a resident of the Digital World, he had no interest in real-world matters.
Ging rubbed his nose and let out a soft sigh, "So, to eliminate any threat that could destroy the world, should I hand you over to the V5's International Permit Agencies? Or lock you up thousands of meters underground?"
"That won't be necessary. I've already contained it." Law said casually.
Ging's eyes deepened with a thoughtful intensity, "I'm not some warrior guarding the world with love and justice, but I need to confirm with you… is it one hundred percent contained?"
The atmosphere grew slightly tense.
Law didn't seem to mind at all. He chuckled lightly before adopting a serious expression and replying firmly, "It's one hundred percent."
"Good." Ging gently shook the half stalk of Nitro Rice in his hand.
"But…" Law's tone shifted, "As long as I'm alive, I can guarantee it won't break free. But if I die, there's no guarantee."
Ging fell silent for a moment before saying helplessly, "You've really brought back a super big trouble."
"I didn't want to either. Considering the cost was only my left arm, I'd say it was fortunate." A cold glint flashed in Law's eyes as he said calmly, "The Gatekeeper forced this Calamity on me. His intention was probably to kill me, but he didn't expect me to handle it."
"I suspect what he least expected was that I could bring this thing back. However, whether the Six Continents are destroyed by the Calamity probably doesn't matter to them at all."
At this point, Law looked at Ging and said, "By the way, this half stalk of Nitro Rice was left behind by Don."
Ging was still processing everything Law had said when another bombshell dropped. He exclaimed in surprise, "You met him?"
"No." Law shook his head and briefly explained the matter of the Slu Tribe.
With so much information suddenly coming his way, Ging couldn't even sit still. He stopped Law from sharing any more details.
"What? You don't want to know more? I still have a lot of information stored up," Law said with a smile, looking at Ging.
"No, that would rob me of the fun. You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" Ging replied.
"Is that so?" Law walked over to Ickshonpe, who was yawning out of boredom, and glanced back at Ging, "You don't want to know too much because you're afraid you might not be able to resist 'breaking the agreement' later. When the day comes that you can go, you'll still have to ask me for the information."
Hearing this, Ging crossed his arms and sat down cross-legged.
Law had hit the nail on the head.
So Ging chose to remain silent, or at least pretend he hadn't heard.
Seeing Ging's reaction, Law felt grateful that he had first reached an agreement with Linne instead of meeting Netero first.
Otherwise, he might have ended up following in Ging's footsteps.
"Ickshonpe, sorry to trouble you." Law said as he handed the memory card to Ickshonpe.
Ickshonpe took the memory card and immediately digitized its data without another word.
"What's that?" Ging couldn't suppress his curiosity and suddenly leaned in.
"Photographs."
"Photos you took in the Dark Continent?"
"Yes, but there was an accident. I'm not sure if Ickshonpe can repair them. If they can be restored, you should take a look. Netero was right to strongly advise the V5 not to provoke the Dark Continent."
Ging looked at Law but said nothing. Then, he turned his attention to Ickshonpe, who was busy working.
He had seen that memory card earlier. It seemed related to [Time Erosion].
After a while, Ickshonpe dispersed the cluster of tiny square light particles, and the memory card was nowhere to be seen.
He looked at the two and said, "Most of the data has been corrupted. Only a small portion could be restored."
"Well, there's nothing to be done about that," Law sighed softly, "Let me see the restored data."
Ickshonpe nodded and summoned several virtual screens, displaying the repaired photographs.
As he looked at the photos, Ging's eyes narrowed sharply.