The photos on Germain's phone... weren't exactly reassuring.
Most of the people were in them—Reynard, Bisky, Sigman, Shizuku, and Hart.
There were group photos with Germain, and also ones of them with each other.
The only ones missing were Ging Freecss and "Curse-Bound" Leonardo.
Ging scratched his head and explained, "You know how I am. I don't like group stuff. And I hate taking pictures."
Leonardo didn't say anything. But his eerie, withdrawn personality said it all.
Originally, "Shield Breaker" Sigman was also the reclusive type, but even she appeared in a few group shots—mostly because Bisky dragged her in front of the camera.
"How could this happen?" Bisky stared at the photos, genuinely confused.
But Germain already understood.
"They're not just messing with perception. They're affecting reality too—only the process takes time. We noticed something was off before the full memory and reality rewrite completed."
Ging then suggested another possibility. "Or maybe… it's on purpose."
"Because their goal isn't to fully replace one of us. It's to make us fight. Turn us on each other."
"Letting a few cracks show—making us sense that something's wrong—could be part of the plan."
Everyone felt a chill crawl down their spine.
If that's true, then things are way more complicated than they thought. How much of what they see now… can they even trust?
Ging added, "Either way, everything we believe has to start from one baseline—Germain is real. Everything begins there."
The room fell silent.
Being forced to rely on someone else just to confirm your own existence… no one could feel good about that.
But Germain better be real—because if he's not, then it means everyone's memories have been completely rewritten.
Even things like how to get to and from the Dark Continent, whether this is actually the Dark Continent or not—everything would be thrown into doubt.
And that would truly be the beginning of collapse and despair.
Still, everyone agreed—it probably hasn't gotten that bad.
Since they're all still alive, still able to sit down and talk instead of turning on each other, it means only parts of their memories were changed.
Now, all the pressure was on Germain.
"Then let's start from the beginning. I'll be the reference point. I'll lay out a timeline based on my actions and when I met each of you. Let's see what we can figure out."
The others looked at each other—and agreed.
After seven rounds of solo recounting, under the glowing firelight, Germain began writing everything down in a notebook, drawing out a timeline.
It started in 1997.
November 22nd — he met the "Gem Hunter" Bisky. She came after the "Promised Ruby" that Germain had on him.
Then came 1998.
January 10th — he met the "Crusader" Reynard during the Hunter Exam. Reynard was hiding inside the "Trap Mansion," the setting for the second phase.
He pretended to be a fully armored knight controlled by traps, attacking the examinees and knocking them out one by one. But he lost to Germain. They fought, and that fight made them friends.
January 16th — he ran into "Underworld Cleaner" Shizuku by chance. She was actually chasing him down to collect a debt. That's how they met.
January 22nd — Germain, Bisky, Reynard, and Shizuku teamed up to head toward the Dark Continent.
After battling the giant serpent and spider, they returned to the Six Continents and established a cooperative relationship.
On February 9, Germain was training alone in the mountains, practicing his Nen abilities when he unexpectedly met Hart, a "barbarian warrior" also training in the wild.
The two exchanged insights, and many of Hart's suggestions helped Germain successfully set up his unique "Vows and Limitations."
On March 25, Germain received a notice from Bisky to meet, so he invited Hart along.
On April 1, Germain, Bisky, Leonardo, Shizuku, Hart, and Wing formed a team and headed toward the Dark Continent.
They were later sent to the Ancient Labyrinth by the Wall Faced Man before returning to the Six Continents.
On April 13, after killing Feitan and Franklin, Germain was severely injured and hospitalized.
To avoid being pursued by the Phantom Troupe, "Shield Breaker" Sigman followed Chairman Netero's instructions and accompanied Knov and Palm to help Germain transfer to another hospital.
On May 15, Germain, Bisky, Leonardo, Shizuku, Hart, Menchi, and Buhara went to the Dark Continent before returning once again.
On August 14, during a massive battle on the Kakin Empire train, Germain called upon Bisky, Leonardo, Shizuku, and Hart to help fight the main force of the Phantom Troupe.
Everyone also participated in the assassination of Kakin Empire's Fourth Prince, Tserriednich.
On September 9, Germain and his group encountered Beyond's group, but Ging, having received information from Chairman Netero in advance, came to their aid.
Later, it was revealed that the anonymous informant who sent Ging the intelligence was "Curse-Bound" Leonardo, who was working for Chairman Netero.
On September 25, Germain, Ging, Bisky, Leonardo, Shizuku, and Hart teamed up to challenge the Ancient Labyrinth.
On September 28, for the future, Ging, Leonardo, and Hart stayed behind in the Ancient Labyrinth.
On October 19, for the same reason, Bisky and Menchi stayed in the Ancient Labyrinth as well.
On November 23, during the final battle against the Chimera Ants, Sigman and Leonardo were part of the expedition team.
December 5th
A few days after the celebration banquet, Germain was preparing to return to Greed Island. Sigman and Leonardo received instructions from Chairman Netero and followed Germain.
December 10th
Germain, Sigman, Leonardo, Shizuku, Buhara, and Sanbica formed a team and headed toward the Ancient Labyrinth.
The last entry is from 1999.
January 23rd
Except for Germain and Shizuku, who returned to Greed Island, the rest of the team stayed in the Ancient Labyrinth.
January 27th
Germain and Shizuku set out together to eliminate Gyro and Zazan, who had been occupying Meteor Street.
Afterward, the two visited the Zoldyck family on February 2nd.
February 15th
Germain, Shizuku, Morel, and Knuckle teamed up to head for the Ancient Labyrinth.
March 1st
Except for Buhara and Leonardo, who stayed in the Ancient Labyrinth, the rest of the team challenged the Steep Mountain Range and returned to the Ancient Labyrinth on March 7th.
July 26th
Except for Germain, Shizuku, and Morel, the other members stayed in the Ancient Labyrinth. These three were teleported back to Greed Island.
August 17th
Germain and Shizuku returned to the Ancient Labyrinth.
August 20th
The Stagecoach Group challenged the Rainforest Swamps.
August 21st, early morning
Germain and the others discovered abnormalities within the team.
Germain looked at the timeline and immediately noticed many flaws in it.
This was because his "Teleportation Lantern" was originally incapable of teleporting more than three people at once.
So, there were several instances where the number of people teleported exceeded four, which was clearly illogical.
After clarifying the timeline, everyone began to speak up, offering their own pieces of information.
However, the overwhelming amount of details only served to confuse the real situation, making Germain frown in concentration.
At this point, he could only confirm who two of the real people were, and he wasn't sure about the third.
********
Support me on my patreon and read upto 30 early chapters.