Choice X Adaptation

Attack range increased by 95 meters, Life Steal by 100%!

That's enough!

Another half month passed, and after calculating the time, Long was quite satisfied with the values displayed on the system panel.

The Life Steal effect of the Absolution skill has already reached its maximum value; the only further increase is in attack range...

Critical hit damage is also 100%.

Based on the hunting over this period, Oboro deduced that at least a quarter of the ants in the entire ant colony had died at their hands. In the latter half of the plan, the Squadron Leader became noticeably more vigilant and stopped launching attacks. Even the hunting routes of their Soldier Ant became quite secretive.

Large-scale hunting is no longer possible...

Even if Chimera Ant are warlike creatures, those Squadron Leader aren't fools.

In the face of absolute power, one must know how to make choices.

He believed that the current Squadron Leader's curiosity and desire to explore Nen had reached its peak!

Oboro's goal has been achieved...

Next up is the Hunter Association.

The only attributes that Oboro needs to improve are attack range, armor, and magic power, which have almost no upper limit.

In other words, Life Steal and critical hits have reached their limit.

The stronger one becomes, the more difficult it is to advance again, even though Oboro has painstakingly achieved this level.

The core elements that truly limit his potential are actually attack range, ability power, and armor.

In addition to the effect of the Absolution, his psychic rating on the panel also rose by one place, reaching 6th.

Today is May 6th. Their hunting trip has lasted for more than a month, exceeding Long's expectations... He originally thought that Kite and the Association would arrive at NGL around mid-April, but the reality is that it took longer than he thought.

This was under the premise that he had Menchi pass on the intelligence in advance.

Killua and Gon left Greed Island too late in time, which triggered a butterfly effect that implicated Kite... If it had been any later, something terrible might have happened, because once the Chimera Ant King was born and did not leave NGL, the Hunter Association would have faced more than just the Chimera Ant King and his three Royal Guards.

"Let's go... We don't need to worry about what happens next."

Immediately, Long led Anthony and Fante to a relatively secluded spot within the ants' territory and hid there.

Stop eradicating Chimera Ant.

"Captain...the ants definitely know about us now, not to mention that the guy named Kourudo has already been released. So if anyone comes into contact with the ants, they will still know we exist... If this gets to Pariston ...even if it gets back to the Association, the management will realize that we were aware of this crisis long ago but didn't report it in advance."

On the way, Anthony thought of something.

"It's alright... Those who know won't leave alive..."

"By the time the news gets out, neither Netero nor the Association will have the energy to focus on us."

Long casually agreed.

Anthony seemed to understand, but not quite.

Hunter Association Headquarters.

Pariston sat in his own small office.

He looked at the documents in his hand with a big smile on his face.

It's about Chimera Ant...

This report comes from Kite's investigation team.

The problem is that, according to his understanding, Kite and his team, along with Kim's son and the Zoldyck Family kid, went to Southpiece after completing a month-long investigation in Kakin, and had just finished their journey and set off for the Mitene Union.

In other words... how could Kite, who had never been to NGL, know that the Chimera Ant's nest was there?

The report didn't contain much information about Chimera Ant; it only identified the location of the nest and highlighted the danger posed by this species...

The Association has now issued a mission, dispatching some professional Hunter x Hunter. Although the documents have raised the danger level of the Chimera Ant, these people still haven't taken the threat of this species seriously. Only after they go there and suffer serious casualties will the situation change completely.

Just then, Pariston's phone rang. He answered it, spoke with the other person for a moment, and then hung up.

Oboro is already at NGL! Pariston trusted his intuition, but the person on the other end of the phone just now said that Oboro's squad may have gone to the 'transfer station'.

The so-called transit station is a 'outpost' that humans can set up on the islands in the sea between the human continent and the Dark Continent, at the very limit of their reach... It can also be seen as the outermost edge of the human world, not the hypothetical New Continent mentioned by Kakin. The hypothetical New Continent is closer to the Dark Continent and has already escaped human control.

The informant reported finding traces of members of the Oboro Squad...

This made Pariston's speculation somewhat waver.

Are we preparing to head to the Dark Continent?

Is Oboro's plan to take advantage of the Chimera Ant distracting the Association and keeping the Chairman occupied, thus seizing this opportune moment to accomplish his long-held goal? If that's the case, Pariston feels like he's been tricked!

What Oboro coveted was not the Chimera Ant themselves, but Chimera Ant role and value in this situation... creating an opening for him to break through Netero's blockade.

The game between himself and Beyond turned out to be a boon for Long.

This doesn't seem like a smokescreen... The position of chairman, the Chimera Ant, Netero —perhaps from the beginning, Oboro never cared about them, and was deliberately feigning desire to create a false impression! That man is too cunning.

The Dark Continent has always been Oboro's ultimate goal, Pariston has reason to believe that Oboro will strike first and go to that unknown world.

He thought for a moment, then turned his phone back on and dialed a number.

If there is no waiting tone during communication, it means there is a busy tone or no signal.

No signal...

Both NGL and transit stations are possibilities.

Is it the Chimera Ant, or the Dark Continent? Pariston felt the pressure... Their battle of wits would come down to who understood the other better.

Just like how he and Beyond teamed up to target the chairman and orchestrated the creation of the ants.

The problem is... both options are so deceptive that it's impossible to tell the difference.

Unconsciously, Pariston sensed that Oboro himself was standing right in front of him, staring at him with a mocking expression.

"Tell the president? Let him stop Oboro..."

"But this would prolong the time... Not only for the Guild Master, but even for V5, the seriousness of Oboro's smuggling to the Dark Continent is no less than that of the Chimera Ant themselves. Perhaps the Guild Master will be entrusted with an important task, extricating himself from the ant matter. In that case, the whole scheme I carefully prepared for the Guild Master will be useless... V5 might personally eliminate the ants, and the Guild Master will survive..."

Pariston's mind was racing.

This is forcing him to choose between Netero and himself.

Was it the old man who died, or Oboro who perished?

Oboro broke his promise and went to the Dark Continent. Netero went to stop him, and a great battle between the two was inevitable.

Oboro has violated a taboo, and Netero will most likely not hold back... This is a matter of life and death for the entire human world.

"They're really... too difficult to deal with..."

Pariston's eyes darkened, and though he was smiling, his murmured tone sent chills down one's spine.

His original plan was good: if Oboro intervened in the Chimera Ant, he would inevitably leave clues that Oboro would discover, allowing him to expose Oboro's secrets after Netero's death and when Oboro smoothly became the chairman. This would imply that Oboro had already discovered the Chimera Ant but concealed it, indirectly framing Oboro for Netero's death.

Although Oboro enjoys considerable prestige within the Association, he still cannot compare to the association president.

Moreover, Pariston not only pitted the entire Association against Oboro, but also against V5 behind it all... He knew Oboro's background was that of a yakuza gang. The Fills Family, through some maneuvering, managed to restrain V5... but this balance was only temporary.

Pariston is 100% certain that several leaders of V5 have always been wary and hostile towards Oboro.

This incident could be the final straw that breaks the camel's back, causing the scales to tip and prompting V5's higher-ups to resolve to eliminate Oboro at all costs. Even if the plan fails, the blow to the Fills Family will be enormous.

But now, he must make a choice... whether to devote himself entirely to NGL, certain that Oboro is there, and to witness Netero's farewell.

We should keep an eye on the transit station and find and confirm irrefutable evidence of Oboro's crimes! Oboro is different from Beyond... Beyond's fangs have always been hidden, and V5 didn't see them.

But Oboro's fangs have already been revealed... so once Oboro breaks the taboo, there is only one way out: death.

Beyond, who was confined to a corner.

A 50% probability.

"We need to be flexible..."

Pariston read it aloud.