Germain and Shizuku returned to Greed Island on February 8, but this time, instead of taking an airship, they traveled by yacht.
What made the trip even more interesting was that the yacht wasn't piloted by some stranger—it was steered by Dwun, one of Greed Island's Game Masters.
He had just spent a delightful week-long vacation on the Yorbian Continent with his new girlfriend.
This yacht had been their mode of transport while exploring the harbor cities of Yorbian Continent.
After saying goodbye to his girlfriend and promising to meet again, Dwun had to return to Greed Island—so he decided to give Germain and Shizuku a ride along the way.
As Dwun often bragged, ever since Ging changed his name, his luck with women had skyrocketed.
With a cigarette dangling from his lips and his hands skillfully on the wheel, he smiled and casually chatted with Germain in the cockpit.
"Greed Island's beta testing phase is over, so List and I finally have time to take turns going on vacation."
"In February, we'll make a few adjustments based on player feedback, and by March, Greed Island will officially be back on the market."
"The players seem pretty excited about the new version, but that billionaire, Battera, is once again trying to solve everything with money."
Dwun sighed and rubbed his forehead in frustration.
"Billionaire Battera?"
Hearing that name, Germain immediately connected it with a familiar figure from his memory.
"Yeah, the guy who spent a fortune buying up Greed Island's software and hardware. Now he's trying to get an official guide to gain an early advantage."
Dwun shook his head, the cigarette smoke swirling with his movements.
"When is he going to understand that we're not short on money? There's no way we'd ruin our own reputation just to help him cheat for a few hundred billion Jenny."
Yep, it was definitely that Battera.
Hearing about this kind of "throwing money at a problem" approach, Germain was certain—it had to be that billionaire who spent a fortune just to wake up his comatose lover.
"Breath of the Archangel"—it really could bring his lover back, restoring her health. The chances of success were actually quite high.
"I heard he's a devoted man."
Germain said this, but in truth, he felt nothing about Battera's story. He was just keeping the conversation going out of social obligation.
At that moment, Dwun noticed that Shizuku, not far away, had coughed a few times from the cigarette smoke. She then took out Blinky and vacuumed up the smoke in the room.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, he quickly stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray before continuing the conversation.
"Battera spending half his fortune for his lover is touching, sure. But that doesn't mean we have to give him a free pass."
"To put it bluntly, we're not that sympathetic. His wealth didn't come from charity, and besides, he needs money now more than ever."
"Even if, worst-case scenario, we helped him cheat or straight-up handed him Breath of the Archangel to save his lover—"
"What about all the people his business monopolized, crushed, and drove into bankruptcy? Are we supposed to help each and every one of them too?"
"Why should we save Battera's lover but turn a blind eye to those struggling in poverty? Just because he's rich?"
"We can't make everyone happy. But we can make sure no one feels unfairly favored. Maximizing fairness—that's what real 'justice' is."
Like Germain, Dwun didn't feel much for Battera's story.
If Battera were a close friend, sure, they wouldn't mind lending a hand.
"Oh, right. For the new version of Greed Island, let's use the tagline you told Ging before."
"Tagline?"
"You know, the one that goes—' Greed Island is an all-new open-world adventure game, independently developed by Ging's Greed Island Team…' "
"Ah, that."
With Dwun's reminder, Germain finally remembered.
He had indeed come up with that modified promotional line to explain the existence of Greed Island to Sheila and the others.
At the time, Ging found it amusing and told someone to actually implement it. Germain didn't expect that Ging had really mentioned it to Dwun, List, and the others.
"Besides that," Dwun continued, "we discussed it and decided to slightly change the name of the new version of Greed Island."
"As per tradition, the initials of the main creators should be included."
Germain shook his head. "Count me out. If we include every Game Master's initials, the name would be way too long."
"Granny Linne said the same thing." Dwun smirked. "But adding Shizuku and Biscuit's initials should be fine, right?"
Shizuku, after using Blinky to suck away the cigarette smoke, shook her head. "I don't care."
"Alright, then let's add them." Dwun stroked his chin. "Shizuku's initial is 'S,' and Biscuit's is 'B.' So, how about SB Greed Island or Greed Island SB?"
The moment Germain heard that, he knew it would spell disaster in the future. He hadn't cared much about renaming before, but now he had to step in.
"There's really no need to force our initials into the title. What's more important is emphasizing that this is a new version of Greed Island. Something like Greed Island GX or Greed Island Z would work just fine."
Dwun glanced at Shizuku again. "Shizuku, what do you think?"
Shizuku had already put away Blinky and was flipping through a magazine. She simply replied, "I don't care."
"I see…" Dwun thought for a moment before nodding. "Alright, I'll respect your opinions since you're the ones involved."
"That Greed Island Z you mentioned, Germain—I like it. You got that from Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball Z, right?"
In this world, Dragon Ball was still a hugely popular manga, so Dwun naturally recognized the reference.
Germain had no intention of getting involved with Yu-Gi-Oh! and simply nodded, saying, "Yes."
"Alright, then. I'll discuss it with List later, and we should be able to finalize the new name—Greed Island Z."
Soon, the yacht passed through the vast, misty sea and approached the actual Greed Island Z they had mentioned.
The coastline became clearer before their eyes.
"I imagine everyone is eager to hear about your journey and what you've gained from it."
Dwun had already heard from Germain about what had happened in Meteor City, the Zoldyck family, and Heaven's Arena.
"Unfortunately, Chairman Netero is not on the island. Shortly after you left for Meteor City, he also left Greed Island, and no one knows where he went this time."
The reason Dwun said this time was because it wasn't the first time Chairman Netero had disappeared like this. Even Granny Linne probably had no idea where he was.
"However, before he left, he invited two people to Greed Island and assigned them different tasks."
"You know these two. They are fellow members of the Zodiacs, just like you and Morel—the Rabbit, Pyon, and the Chicken, Cluck."
"They have secretly joined the Dark Continent Exploration project and have already begun their work."
"Pyon is working on deciphering and translating the strange text left behind by Don Freecss, while Cluck is attempting to cultivate Herb for All-illnesses and Alchemy Plants on Greed Island."
"If you ask me, Greed Island Z has a bright future ahead."
Dwun rolled up his sleeves, clearly feeling a surge of motivation to take action.
********
Support me on my patreon and read upto 30 early chapters.
https://www.patreon.com/Unique_Writer