Overwhelming Force X An Excellent Test Subject (Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!)

Amidst the harsh weather of swirling snow and wind, a figure appeared on the horizon, braving the howling wind.

Long was still wearing a black suit and leather shoes. Although this place was located in northern Grusia and the environment was cold all year round, he was here to rescue people, not for tourism, and he didn't change his clothes.

"Hmm... this must be it..."

After a while, Long walked closer, hooked the sunglasses on his nose down with his finger, revealing a pair of eyes gazing at a cliff under the dark clouds in front of him.

It was a large prison.

However, it has already been occupied by the Shadows.

Oh no, the current Jed leads a new organization that calls itself 'Darkness'.

He abandoned the title of Shadow.

It represents a fresh start.

"Cursed Grudge ..." Oboro murmured softly, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Another reason he was willing to take action was that he was quite interested in the energy of resentment. Some of the characteristics of resentment were quite compatible with his soul -Nen, especially the attribute of amplifying will and emotions. Whether it was malice or negative energy, it seemed that it could be released to the greatest extent through resentment.

It seems to have some use in developing Thresh's Nen...

The main focus is on the development of the 'ghost' aspect.

"There are a lot of people."

With a soft murmur, Oboro patted the snowflakes that had accumulated on her shoulders and sensed them slightly.

They strolled closer with smiles on their faces.

V5 is actually quite disgusting... If they really wanted to take action against the Shadow, they could simply make a phone call to the ruler of Grusia, and the latter would send a large number of troops to wipe them out, without even using a single soldier of V5's own strength.

Even so, they were unwilling to do it.

Although the Kingdom of Grusia is small, it is still a country. No matter how much trouble Jed and his group can cause, they cannot compete with the army. At most, they will just waste some time.

After a while, Long followed a mountain path along the cliff and arrived at the majestic building standing on the mountaintop.

The prison base was locked, and the walls were covered with cameras.

"Could you open the door?"

Long stepped forward, took out an ID card from his pocket, held it up to a camera, and flashed it.

The document bears the official Grusia departmental logo.

Quite by chance... Grusia, this small country, is one of the territories whose regime has been infiltrated by the Fills Family, so it couldn't be easier for Oboro to obtain the travel documents.

He waved his ID, but the door remained unmoved, showing no sign of opening.

No one responded.

Seeing this, Long casually threw away the documents.

As expected...

There's no other way to get in.

He walked up to the heavy gate and touched the cold metal panel.

It was daytime, but dark clouds hung overhead, and the wind and snow made the light dim, as if it were approaching night.

He bent his elbow and raised his fist, exhaling a white breath from his mouth due to the cold air.

Yes... he didn't plan to sneak in and carry out any covert rescue mission; it would be better to just walk in openly... to save time.

The next second, a fist flashed out and slammed into the door.

The door panel dented instantly, and then the huge screws connected to the wall and the chains at the welded joints snapped and exploded, scattering in all directions.

The massive gate, weighing several tons, flew out suddenly and landed heavily on the ground inside the prison walls, seemingly hitting several guards as well.

Without the gate to block the view, Oboro could see what was inside. In the prison base, there were rows of armed soldiers. They used to be the prison's staff, but now their faces were ferocious and their eyes were filled with a black aura. It was clear that their minds had been corrupted by the Cursed Grudge and they had been controlled.

There were at least a hundred people...

"Putting aside the side effects, resentment seems to have a more obvious effect on the inner self and amplifies it than Nen power... Is it more in line with the spirit?"

Long glanced at the enemies in front of him, noticed their unusual situation, and stroked his chin as he analyzed.

Da da da...

Immediately, a barrage of gunfire rained down on him.

Long walked forward on his own, bullets hitting him but falling to the ground without even damaging his clothes.

He slowly walked to the open space inside the prison, ignoring the ordinary soldiers who were still firing their guns, and instead looked up at the figure standing on the eaves of a building.

A burly man with a striking rooster-like hairstyle was looking down at him.

I vaguely know this person.

She is a character from the original movie, one of the descendants of the shadows, who injured Zushi at the Heavens Arena and also met Biscuit.

It seems to be called... Hungry Ghost.

The other two are named Purgatory and Asura.

The Hungry Ghost crossed his arms and looked indifferent.

He sensed the extraordinary strength of this man in the suit... Even amidst the fierce gunfire, he remained unaffected, walking confidently to the center of the crowd and looking up to meet his gaze.

"You... are the monster sent by the Association?" The Hungry Ghost stared at Oboro.

"Monster?"

He was startled.

Then, with a look of realization, she said calmly, "For you, I guess it counts..."

"Another high-ranking member of the Hunter Association... Heh, the more people like you the better. After we've all been executed, let's see if they can still keep their composure." The Hungry Ghost shouted, and countless dense black shadows appeared on the surrounding buildings.

They were all prisoners who had been held in this prison before.

These are all villains, unlike ordinary people... After being corrupted by their minds, they have become puppets.

Not only that, Oboro also noticed that there were some Nen user mixed in with the crowd, who were probably members of the Hunter Association before... also controlled by Cursed Grudge.

"Hundreds of people..."

Long stretched his shoulders.

It seems that quite a few Hunter x Hunter have been captured by the Shadow; if you include Netero and Killua, there are at least twenty.

Should we kill him?

In this situation, even killing him wouldn't be a big deal; he could even collect a bunch of souls... But after thinking about it, Oboro gave up the idea. For Hunter x Hunter of this level, the souls that drop are practically useless to him... probably not even worth as much as a few ants.

The Chimera Ant in the Mitene Union are rampant and are excellent supplies, so there's no need to focus on them.

Saving their lives will also benefit the election of the president in the future.

Besides, Netero is still in prison...

Boom! Then, the Hungry Ghost leaped down from the building, landing like a cannonball, kicking up a flurry of snowflakes, its power was considerable.

He stood directly in front of Oboro, a chilling black aura emanating from his body... the power of Cursed Grudge.

"Compared to Nen, it seems to rely more on the power of the mind... Unlike Nen, where one's strength is directly proportional to the strength of their flesh and blood, Nen is very balanced. Even though the strength of one's Nen power is crucial, one's overall strength cannot be ignored. In other words, the greater the darkness within one's heart and the stronger one's will, the more power one can obtain from it. It has a larger proportion in terms of 'mind.' If, for Nen user, Nen is fifty percent of the body and fifty percent of the mind, then Cursed Grudge... is thirty percent of the body and seventy percent of the mind?"

"This is why Cursed Grudge is so good at corrupting the mind..."

Ignoring the Hungry Ghost's fierce expression, Oboro instead observed the energy it released, speaking softly in a probing tone.

"Understood..."

After a short while, Long nodded slightly.

Around them, a large number of prisoners and controlled Association members also jumped down and moved toward Oboro.

"Today..."

The Hungry Ghost unleashed all its pent-up Cursed Grudge, gathering its strength for an attack.

However, he had only uttered two words when suddenly, the man in front of him disappeared.

In that instant, his heart turned to ice.

Where did they go?

Where are they?

With a whoosh...

He seemed to hear a very faint sound appear beside him.

Before I could even look in the direction of the sound, or even react physically, something seemed to be flung at me, and then... it disappeared.

The Hungry Ghost's pupils contracted as he realized that his head had inexplicably flown away. He saw his headless corpse standing on the ground, and he also saw a man in a suit walking past him like a ghost, without any warning.

The other person didn't even glance at his corpse, just kept muttering to themselves...

It seems... that I am still immersed in experiencing the energy of Cursed Grudge.

How could you kill me?

How did I die?

The Hungry Ghost's head, with its frozen expression, was filled with blankness.

He didn't understand...

He didn't sense the Nian... he didn't see the murder weapon, he didn't see anything... and the person died.

With its head still floating in mid-air, the Hungry Ghost's consciousness, before fading away, witnessed the next scene unfold.

The surging crowd, like locusts, rushed towards the man.

But the next second, a gale seemed to rise from the man in the suit, and blades moved with terrifying speed within the array.

In an instant, flesh and blood flew everywhere...

These puppets, controlled by the Cursed Grudge, flew up or fell in pieces, like shredded paper torn apart by a spinning blade.

It's completely impossible to get close.

It was dismembered from a distance! Thud, the Hungry Ghost's head landed on the snow, its eyes fixed on the entrance to the prison gate.

In just a few seconds, the team he had assembled, apart from the Association members who had been knocked unconscious, was completely wiped out.

"It's a hand..."

The Hungry Ghost finally saw clearly what Oboro's weapon was.

It's just a pair of fleshy palms, but they swing so fast that ordinary people can't catch the trajectory... and it seems to be able to cause attacks that go beyond a certain range.

What's even more terrifying is that the man acted casually, using only a very shallow layer of Nen power, so weak that even he didn't notice it. However, the power he displayed was disproportionate to the amount of mental energy he consumed.

This can only mean one thing... the opponent's Nen power is unimaginable! "This... is this... the monster from the Association?"

Thinking about it, the Hungry Ghost's consciousness returned to nothingness.

Long walked to the prison entrance and reached out to open the door.

Just as he was about to step into the corridor, a sharp knife was thrust out from the shadows, aimed straight at his face.

"Interesting..."

Long raised an eyebrow.

He was completely unaware of the man's attack; he was very well concealed.

Regarding the changes and concealment of his aura, Oboro did not believe that anyone could shield his senses... and that he could not detect it, which could only mean that this was a characteristic of Cursed Grudge.

A unique and extraordinary achievement.

It seems... Netero was also tricked.

Long slightly turned his head, causing the dagger to miss its mark.

He was able to react because the other party was too slow... Although Jue maintained secrecy, once he was seen, he would have nowhere to hide.

The difference in physical abilities is still too great. If Beyond or Netero had struck, Oboro would probably have been injured... Even if Silva, with his level of flesh and blood density, had launched a sneak attack, Oboro might have been hit as well.

But the person in front of me is too slow... Of course, the opponent may already be attacking with all their might.

After dodging, Long immediately swung his hand and slapped the approaching black shadow.

With a loud bang, the attacker was struck as if by lightning, his frail body crashing into the wall, bleeding from all seven orifices, and experiencing a brief moment of dizziness.

Before he could even stand still, Long's large hand gripped his head like an iron clamp, pressing his skull against the wall of the corridor.

It was as if they wanted to embed half of his face into the cement.

The attacker was one of Jed's henchmen, a descendant of the Shadow, a long-haired Asura.

In the original manga, she controlled all the communication devices in the Heavens Arena and even fought against Kurapika ...

As soon as Oboro's hand touched Asura, the Cursed Grudge surging from the other's body, like a miasma, rushed along his arm and covered his entire body in an instant. Not only that, the resentment also surged into Oboro's eye sockets and invaded his body.

It began to corrupt his spirit...

The Cursed Grudge and Oboro's own Nen intertwined, the two completely different energies colliding and fluctuating.

It was as if Oboro was about to have her mind devoured by resentment.

But before even half a breath had passed, a wave of energy surged forth, instantly dispelling the resentment clinging to the surface of the demon's body. This left the struggling Asura in disbelief.

"I see..."

Long regained his senses and looked at the man pinned to the wall, unable to move. He said indifferently, "Although it resonates more with the mind, this kind of energy is far less stable than Nen... Amplifying negative emotions is itself planting the seeds of future problems... Moreover, once this power originates from within fully expands, it will completely dominate, turning you into a walking corpse. In other words, your personal will as the entity will be lost, losing its initiative... becoming an empty shell of negative energy."

Long frowned slightly. "It does have some merits... but overall, it's still too rubbish and can't compare to Nian at all."

As soon as he finished speaking, Long stepped forward, his five fingers contracting.

With no intention of letting go of Asura, he simply grabbed the other's head, pressed against the wall, and walked down the corridor.

This caused Asura's cheekbones to twist and shatter continuously... even his eye sockets were bleeding, his feet were off the ground, he kept kicking, and he couldn't even scream.

In the quiet corridor, only the sound of his bones gradually cracking could be heard.

"Essentially, it's the same as with Nen; you want to erode my mind... In any case, your will must be stronger than mine; that's the prerequisite..."

"It's a pity. Judging from the resentment you've shown me, your resolve for revenge is far too frivolous... This won't do. But at this level... it's unlikely to succeed." After a while, Oboro walked from the corridor into a room, released his grip, and threw away Asura's corpse.

Half of the other person's face had been worn away, leaving a shocking bloodstain on the wall.

The person has long since passed away...

I couldn't hear his advice or words of advice at all.

Ahead of the obscure lay the entrance to the various cells, the heart of the prison, blocked by an iron gate.

The iron gate, as tall as a person, was wide open...

The lights hanging on the wall flickered, sometimes bright and sometimes dim.

In his field of vision, deep within the prison, a surging, ominous aura permeated the air.

The concentrated, condensed black resentment formed a vortex-shaped abyss entrance within, seemingly poised to devour everything.

We await his arrival.

Even more resentful forces, like raging waves, surged forth.

This mental pressure finally made Oboro take a slightly more serious look.

A faint green mist slowly drifted from his body...

His leather shoes pierced the fog, and he strode forward without the slightest hesitation.

"You... are the best experimental subject... Don't let me down..."

Long muttered something to himself.

I have some expectations.

Cursed Grudge is not entirely bad... it has some redeeming qualities that can be utilized.

This allows for better development of Thresh's Nen.

There are several characteristics of resentment.

Negative emotions, the transmission and pollution of the spirit, and the isolation and concealment of the atmosphere.

It fits perfectly... those ghosts he controls...

On this Mid-Autumn Festival, I wish all my readers good health and happiness.

Eat and drink well today... For those of you working away from home, make time to go out and have a good meal tonight, don't neglect yourselves.

You are all the best!