"Crash—crash—crash—crash."
A rapid, piercing noise echoed.
When Lu Ou began to regain consciousness, his mind was completely empty—emptier than if it had been licked clean by a Taotie. In that blank world, a speck of black slowly appeared and began to spread. First black, then red, then green. Before long, a rich, colorful world took shape.
Lu Ou came back to his senses and finally remembered what had happened.
This was a tragic story…
Originally, he had been an ordinary man in his thirties, working overtime late into the night in the real world. A magician who had never even held a woman's hand—an utterly successful example of romantic failure.
On October 6th, 2017, at 4:14:15 PM, he had been hiding in a bathroom, sneaking in a ranked match of Honor of Kings. Who would have known—just as he was about to score a glorious pentakill, his phone suddenly exploded.
"My phone isn't even a Samsung from Bangzi-land…"
That was the last thought in Lu Ou's mind. Before the thought could even finish, his consciousness went blank, his vision went dark, and he knew nothing more.
"Hiss—"
Before he even had time to poke at the golden, glowing gift box floating in his mind, a bone-chilling pain dragged Lu Ou back to awareness. Now was clearly not the time to be spacing out and reminiscing.
With a whoosh, he snapped his eyes open—only to be terrified by what he saw, his mouth falling open and refusing to close.
Green seaweed. Fish swimming past. Deep blue liquid all around.
Everything was telling Lu Ou one thing very clearly—he was underwater. And very likely in the sea. No wonder he had heard that crashing sound earlier.
Before he could even wonder why he could breathe freely underwater, why opening his mouth didn't make him choke, another sharp pain forced him to look down.
Only then did he realize several thorn-covered claws were gripping him tightly, embedded deep into his flesh. Instinctively, Lu Ou struggled—but it only made the grip tighter.
Claws this large—what kind of creature was this?
Lu Ou refused to give up and struggled with all his remaining strength.
Only then did he see the creature's true form: a red, several-meter-long sea beast resembling a tiger-headed fish, with claws growing from its belly.
Lu Ou was being dragged along in a posture almost like an embrace, held tightly by those belly claws.
A sea creature with claws?
Based on Lu Ou's limited ocean knowledge, this thing was extremely unnatural.
"Crash—crash—crash!"
Suddenly, the strange fish lashed its tail and surged forward, struggling violently. The water churned as underwater whirlwinds formed, sand and silt billowing up from the seabed. Its claws loosened slightly, and Lu Ou was nearly flung away.
Through the murky water, he vaguely saw something silver—like a fishing line.
If he were thrown down to the seabed, with his half-baked swimming skills, there was no way he'd make it back up.
"If I don't risk it, I have no chance."
Lu Ou clenched his teeth. In one decisive move, he grabbed the creature's belly claws with both hands and pulled himself with all his strength toward the direction the line was pulling.
The rapid ascent made it impossible for him to open his eyes. He endured it, and only when he felt the moment of breaking through the surface did he finally relax slightly.
Splash—bang!
As his head burst out of the water, Lu Ou immediately opened his eyes. What greeted him was a tangled mass of enormous roots and lush green surroundings. With a thud, he landed on the ground.
"Ah!"
Along with a cry, Lu Ou saw a green figure rushing down from above.
"Hiss—!"
Pain.
Before he could process the situation, the thorns embedded in his flesh dug even deeper. He struggled instinctively—uselessly.
"Huh? There's a person?"
A clear, youthful voice sounded, tinged with surprise, followed by several whack noises.
Lu Ou suddenly felt his whole body loosen and rolled to the side.
Before he could even register what felt wrong, the first thing he saw was a mouth full of extremely sharp teeth—far more terrifying than a shark's.
"Thank goodness I just got grabbed and didn't get bitten," Lu Ou muttered.
"Um, who are you? Why were you caught together with the King Fish? Did you dive into the sea to catch it yourself? That's amazing!"
The same voice rang out again.
Lu Ou looked up and saw a boy of about eleven or twelve, staring at him with a pair of golden eyes full of curiosity and admiration.
"Admiration?"
Lu Ou choked on the thought. He slowly sat up and examined the boy—who looked like he could give Dragon Ball's Goku a run for his money—and felt utterly confused.
One second he'd been in a bathroom. The next, in the sea. Now he was on land—but the boy circling him filled him with a growing sense of unease.
The boy was dressed entirely in green—even his boots were green. The hairstyle looked familiar. And the more familiar it looked, the stronger Lu Ou's bad feeling became.
"Um… you are—"
Lu Ou stopped mid-sentence when he realized something horrifying.
He was speaking fluent Japanese.
"That's terrifying."
"Hello! I'm Gon. Did your aunt also tell you that you had to catch the King Fish before you could take the Hunter Exam? But I've never seen you on Whale Island."
As he spoke, Gon discreetly compared their heights with his hand.
Hearing the name Gon, Whale Island, and Hunter Exam, Lu Ou felt his soul leave his body.
That was the final straw.
"I'm done for… of all the worlds I could've transmigrated into, why did it have to be Hunter × Hunter—where the death rate is absurdly high? There's not even a sliver of hope."
His mind boiled over. The shock of transmigration mixed with every other emotion, leaving his thoughts in complete chaos.
Faced with Gon's enthusiasm, Lu Ou didn't know whether to respond or not.
What crushed him even more was the height comparison. He'd seen it clearly.
He was actually slightly shorter than Gon.
This meant it was a soul transmigration, not a physical one.
But being shorter than Gon was scientifically impossible—
Unless it was just the hair.
Gon glanced between Lu Ou and the King Fish on the ground. He had already assumed Lu Ou had gone into the river to catch it, so ownership was obvious—but this was already the sixth time.
Gon hesitated, unsure what to do. Lu Ou's complexion looked really bad.
"You caught it. It's yours."
Lu Ou noticed Gon's hesitation, recalled the plot, and spoke up directly. This should be the day Gon had agreed on with Aunt Mito.
"Thank you! Do you want the King Fish too? I can catch you another one!"
Gon beamed, looking ready to roll up his sleeves and go at it the moment Lu Ou nodded.
Facing one of anime's three greatest single-cell organisms, Lu Ou found it a bit overwhelming.
But it was also because of Gon's lighthearted chatter that the unease of suddenly arriving in an unfamiliar world faded considerably.
"No need. Thanks."
Though he had no idea why he was here, Lu Ou still forced a smile.
"Oh."
Gon nodded, clearly disappointed he couldn't show off again.
Watching Gon, Lu Ou couldn't help but feel amused. He was immensely grateful that it was Gon he'd run into—if it had been anyone else, who knew what might've happened.
Boom!
The golden gift box in Lu Ou's mind finally couldn't stand being ignored anymore. It exploded open, announcing its presence—
And a line of text appeared…