Chance Encounter

Humans controlled by the Puppet Master Technique lose their shadows, but can use Nen to increase their strength.

Before the airship exploded, Kawahara hid in a normal person's shadow, then used a dozen puppet humans to surround the normal person, ultimately falling from a high altitude into a lake.

Facing the impact of hitting the water, several puppet humans were damaged despite being strengthened by Nen.

The normal person wrapped inside died on the spot.

Kawahara emerged from the shadow space and swam towards the shore.

The puppet humans under his command also returned to the shore with him.

After reaching the shore, Kawahara collapsed on the ground, his face etched with exhaustion.

The ability type of Shadow's End was incredibly complex; while it offered diverse applications, the cost was excessively high Nen consumption.

After all the trouble, Kawahara's stamina and Nen were practically depleted.

"Damn it... only managed to save seven."

Looking up at the seven puppet humans who were barely intact, Kawahara gritted his teeth.

In that situation, he had very little time to operate them.

If he had been delayed even a few seconds longer, he might have died in the explosion.

Being able to save seven puppet humans under such urgent circumstances was already a good outcome.

He was just angry that these troublesome matters had interfered with his mission.

He couldn't determine Moro's whereabouts at all, let alone make another move.

Kawahara slowly calmed his emotions, let out a long breath, and closed his eyes as if dozing.

He had lost an excellent opportunity to act, but it didn't mean the mission had failed.

Once he recovered, he would surely find another chance.

Bathed in moonlight, Kawahara leaned against a tree, surrounded by seven unmoving, zombie-like puppets who guarded him.

Compared to Kawahara's deep exhaustion, Moro, on the other hand, was in a much better state regarding stamina and potential aura capacity.

This was thanks to the upgrade benefits from the human head on the airship.

Nen surged around Moro as he walked along the shore, heading directly towards the three people who had just hunted the Great Horned White Deer.

He hoped to get some information from these three and, coincidentally, borrow a phone.

"Excuse me, everyone."

To prevent an overreaction, Moro raised his hand and greeted them from a distance.

At this moment.

The three were excitedly butchering the great horns when they suddenly heard Moro's greeting. Their expressions changed instantly, and without hesitation, they grabbed their hunting rifles, aiming the muzzles in the direction of the sound.

When they saw that the person calling out was a scruffy-looking youth, they couldn't help but exchange glances.

"It's a kid."

"So what? We've been seen."

"Kill him?"

"Obviously... what do you think we're doing?"

The oldest among the three, the Bearded Man, made a swift decision.

Poaching the Great Horned White Deer was a serious crime, with penalties calculated by weight. The coral horns of an adult white deer alone would incur a minimum sentence of twenty years.

A murderous glint flashed in the Bearded Man's eyes. What they were doing was inherently illicit, and they had no intention of asking Moro's purpose. He aimed and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The suppressed gunshot still echoed above the lake.

The bullet sliced through the air, heading straight for Moro.

The moment the Bearded Man harbored murderous intent, Moro had already sensed it and immediately dodged out of the line of fire.

The bullet whizzed past his side and disappeared into the night.

Seeing that Moro had dodged the shot, the Bearded Man was momentarily stunned. He quickly worked the bolt to eject the still-warm casing.

"What are you waiting for, shoot!"

As he urged his companion, the Bearded Man raised his rifle and aimed at Moro again.

But Moro didn't give him another chance to shoot.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

Several Nen Bullets crossed the distance between life and death, blowing the heads off the three men who were aiming their guns.

With an eruption of blood, the three men fell to the ground with their hunting rifles, making dull thuds.

Moro approached the three corpses and then glanced at the nearby deer carcass.

"Poachers..."

Moro withdrew his gaze, his expression cold.

He didn't recognize the Great Horned White Deer, but judging by the decisive way these three had opened fire, they were most likely criminals involved in poaching.

Perhaps they didn't care at all why a young man had appeared in the dense forest; all they cared about was how to cover up their criminal activities.

Moro half-crouched and retrieved a mobile phone from one of the corpses. After opening it, he dialed Kan Kai's contact number.

Beep, beep...

After a minute of ringing.

There was no response from Kan Kai's end, and the call automatically disconnected.

Moro tried calling several more times, but there was still no response.

"Could his phone have been crushed too? Unlikely... As a power-type member of the Twelve Zodiacs, he'd surely be proficient in advanced techniques like 'Zhou'."

Moro put down the phone and glanced at the faint, smoke-like mist surrounding him.

It's not like Kan Kai would be unlucky enough to fall into a swamp, right...?

The humidity in this area was heavy, so there were likely swamps. Therefore, it was a possibility.

Thinking of this, the image of Kan Kai diving headfirst into a swamp like a javelin flashed in Moro's mind, and he shivered.

That would be a terrible sight...

Moro shook his head, then sent a text message to Argo. Without waiting for a reply, he put his phone away and continued searching the bodies.

Pistol, cigarettes, lighter, compass...

He set aside the useful items he found, like the pistols, and then checked the backpacks of the corpses, finding some dried food, clean water, and poached items.

Claws of unknown creatures, sharp beaks mixed with several colors, and even beast eyes preserved in bottles with a verdant green hue...

Finding these items taken from some kind of animal, it was basically possible to confirm the identities of these people.

"No wonder they were so brutal."

Moro glanced at the corpses beside him.

He had originally intended to ask for directions, but he hadn't expected these people to bring their fate upon themselves.

Moro pulled over a backpack, took out a can of meat, pried it open, and began to eat.

After briefly filling his stomach, Moro cleared out a backpack and packed the usable items and food into it.

As for the claws, sharp beaks, and the deer antlers cut from the ground, there was no way he was taking those.

Based on the regional map found in the backpack, he had confirmed his location was within a forest in the Minbo Republic.

In terms of identity, it could barely be considered illegal entry.

If he were to also carry these potentially valuable poached items, it would be a double debuff.

Moro packed his backpack and suddenly felt a sense of alertness. He raised his pistol and pointed it towards the forest ahead, where visibility was quite low, while Nen naturally gathered in his other hand.

He hadn't let his guard down since dealing with the poachers.

Now, hearing some faint sounds, he immediately became vigilant.

Rustle.

A man pushed aside the thickly growing bushes and swaggered into Moro's view.

As if not seeing the gun in Moro's hand, the man's gaze swept over the corpses on the ground and the half-cut deer antlers, his eyes changing slightly. He then scanned the poached items scattered carelessly nearby.

Afterward, the man's gaze returned to Moro, and he said calmly, "Let's introduce ourselves. My name is Benjamin, a professional Gourmet Hunter."

"..."