Encounter X An Untimely Guest

A deserted village.

Kite was walking here alone.

I slightly raised my head and took a sniff of the air.

"The smell of blood—has it already started to rot?"

The air smelled of blood and the stench of rotting corpses.

But amidst all these stenches, Kite did not smell the stench of rotting flesh, a stench deeply ingrained in human genes and never to be forgotten.

That was a smell I would never forget, a smell distinctly different from the stench of any rotting corpse.

"Aren't there any human corpses?"

Kite muttered to herself.

The village has been inspected; it is deserted.

There were almost no signs of resistance; the only traces of battle appeared to be objects destroyed by the Chimeric Ant soldiers during the capture.

"Has all the food turned into food?"

Kite pondered the smell and followed it to the other side of the Village.

I saw three bare trees, with the Village's horses and livestock stuck in them, emitting a foul stench.

"The act of impaling prey on a tree branch seems to be—"

That's a habit of birds.

Red-backed Shrike.

Kite immediately realized why this had happened.

This area has the habitat for these birds, so it's normal for them to inhabit it.

Clearly, the Ant Queen mixed the genes of this bird with human genes, giving birth to the corresponding Subsequent Soldier Ant.

"Hello!"

In the nearby grove of trees.

A strange bird with upright arms and wings emerged, as if it had stood up.

"This is my territory."

Kite frowned as she looked at the Chimeric Ant soldiers that had suddenly appeared.

I didn't even sense his presence just now.

Are they instincts inherent in living organisms, hidden within their environment?

Kite looked at the other person carefully.

They're not Nen user, which is a stroke of luck amidst misfortune; at least these Chimeric Ant haven't learned Nen ability yet.

But the strong life force emanating from his body was undeniable.

Not Nen user, yet better than Nen user.

He could see the anger on the Chimeric Ant's anthropomorphic face.

Does the mixing of genes give the other person the emotions of some other species?

And because it contains human blood, it possesses intelligence.

The other party wanted nothing more than to kill him immediately, but he stood guard, not daring to approach rashly.

The instinct of living beings to seek advantage and avoid harm.

Kite was certain that although the other party did not possess Nen ability, they could clearly see the energy emanating from their life force.

That is, you can see the air.

What about the other person's level?

What rank does the other party belong to within the entire Chimeric Ant colony?

Acting alone doesn't seem like the behavior of Division Leader.

Could he be Combat Soldier?

No, if Combat Soldier alone could achieve this level, that would be a bit of an exaggeration.

Army Leader?

"Chimera Ant soldiers? Did you eat all the humans here?"

Kite suddenly asked.

He observed the other person and clearly sensed their anger and dissatisfaction at being looked down upon when he called them a soldier.

It seems he's Army Leader.

"Humans, rare resources like you are the Queen's favorites."

"Chimera Ant like you, clearly furious, yet forced to suppress your anger, what a cowardly creature."

Kite suddenly cursed.

These words thoroughly enraged the other party.

Without hesitation, the Chimeric Ant leaped off the ground and shot towards Kite like an arrow.

Kite produced an object with Crazy Slots's head on it, and with a whooshing sound, the number on it was marked as Number Four.

It instantly transformed into a strange pistol with a stock.

"What bad luck."

Kite muttered something, dodged the attack by sidestepping, and then slammed her elbow down hard.

It slammed into the opponent's lower back in an instant, knocking the Chimeric Ant to the ground.

"Ah, cough cough!"

The Chimeric Ant screamed in agony, spitting out large amounts of blood.

Kite raised her gun and prepared to fire at the other person's limbs.

He planned to capture someone alive; this incident had far too many problems, and the Chimeric Ant were now quite numerous.

This is no longer a problem he can solve alone. Before reinforcements arrive, he must gather more information to formulate an attack plan for them.

One survivor is very important.

In essence, creatures like Chimeric Ant are unlikely to obtain any useful intelligence even if they capture someone alive.

But the exchange and the fight just now convinced Kite that such an opportunity existed.

Perhaps due to the incorporation of human genes, these Chimeric Ant are vastly different from the meticulously organized Chimera Ant that they should be.

They have their own emotions; they can get angry, and even feel resentful when others look down on them.

They might be blinded by insults and belittling.

This is no different from being human.

That part of the human gene is controlling these Chimera Ant, causing them to inherit both the good and bad traits of humans.

The Chimera Ant have lost that part of their power of order.

Just as Kite was about to pull the trigger, a powerful gust of wind came from above, like a meteor about to strike.

Sensing the two streams of energy, Kite didn't hesitate; she leaped backward with a powerful jump.

Then look to the side.

"Reinforcements? And—"

This power is definitely Nen ability, and its arrival at this time is very likely due to reinforcements from the Chimeric Ant.

Damn it, did Chimera Ant actually learn Nen ability after all?

However, as the two bursts of Nen Aura slammed down...

There were two children.

Everything happened so suddenly and so illogically.

Kite could only keep her distance and observe cautiously.

The two bursts of Nen Aura that followed were from Gon and Killua, who had arrived using [Accompany].

Their eyes immediately fell on Kite.

Killua couldn't help but speak up.

Is this your father?

Gon looked at Kite, his eyes widening in surprise.

"I've seen him before, but he's not my father. He saved my life when we were on the island."

Looking at Kite, Gon immediately remembered who she was.

It happened many years ago, but Kite's appearance hasn't changed much, so Gon recognized her at a glance.

At this moment, Kite remained extremely vigilant.

But as he listened to their conversation and looked at Gon, a certain figure flashed through his mind.

"You are... you are Gon?"

Disbelief flashed in his eyes.

Why at a time like this?

It was such an inopportune time.

"Get out of the way!"

Kite yelled, raised her pistol, and pulled the trigger.

As soon as the words were spoken, Gon and Killua reacted instantly, scattering to either side.

Due to the actions of the two individuals, the bullets were fired at the wrong angle and failed to hit their target.

Bat ant with bat wings and a Chimeric Ant passed between the two, then flew straight toward the Chimeric Ant lying on the ground, hooking its claws and soaring into the sky.

From the very beginning, he was actually targeting his own teammates.

However, the arrival of Gon and Killua, coupled with their youthful appearance, made the other side feel that an opportunity had come, and they reacted instantly.

In fact, his judgment of the opportunity was very successful.

Kite didn't care about anything else and frantically pulled the trigger in that direction.

However, the opponent was extremely fast and never seemed to have any intention of engaging in direct combat.

The bullets all missed their mark.

"Cloth!"

"Lightning!"

Killua and Gon reacted almost instantly.

Upon learning that the other person was Kite, the two immediately aligned themselves with her.

In the battle, they almost instinctively took the necessary countermeasures.

The lightning bolt shot into the sky in the blink of an eye.

The Chimeric Ant in the sky tried their best to dodge to the side, barely managing to avoid the lightning.

However, the Nen Bullet that followed landed squarely on his back.

My whole body sank downwards, but I managed to regain control and flew further and further away as I could.

"Did they get away?"

Kite's tone was silent, somewhat helpless. Then she turned to look at Gon and Killua.

The two looked somewhat embarrassed.

Gon said, quite embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, it seems we've arrived at the worst possible time."

Neither of them were fools; they knew almost instantly that Kite was fighting a monster when they landed.

Their intrusion at this time was extremely ill-timed.

Looking at the two children, Kite could only shake her head helplessly.

"It's alright, nobody expected this to happen."

He then beckoned to the two men and led them casually into a private house.

"So you're Gon. What brings you here?"

This is what Kite doesn't understand the most.

Gon quickly recounted his experience, including how they got there.

Kite nodded slightly after listening.

He immediately realized that it must have been his master, Jin, who had done something.

But Gon's ability to achieve this much already demonstrates considerable skill.

But even in such a situation, one's master must leave behind a trap.

Am I being too harsh on my son?

Thinking of this, Kite slapped her forehead; now was definitely not the time to be thinking about such things.

He organized his thoughts and looked at the two of them with a very serious expression.

"You must have seen those two monsters just now. They don't have Nen ability, but they are extremely powerful."

"In this area, these monsters have already caused a disaster, and I am currently working on related tasks."

"In other words, this place is extremely dangerous, practically hell. You've come at a terrible time. If you were still outside, I would absolutely welcome you."

Saying such things is tantamount to telling someone to leave.

But before the two could speak, Kite added.

"But I must say that I do need some companions to support me right now, because the information I can gather by myself is extremely limited."

"And just now, your strength has already been proven."

As he spoke, he looked at Killua again.

"I feel like I've seen you somewhere before?"

At this point, Killua became somewhat puzzled, as he had no idea that he had met the other party before.

"You're Killua, right?"

Do you know me?

Being able to say your own name means that the other person truly knows you.

I visited Sky Arena a few years ago, when you were still very young.

Killua nodded knowingly.

So that's what happened back then.

Although these two children are young, their strength already surpasses that of most Nen user.

If neither of them can offer help in this situation, then there are very few Nen user can. That's Kite's opinion of the two.

But he was still young, so he had to make it clear.

"Those two monsters were called Chimeric Ant, a type of—"

After she finished speaking, Kite added something else.

"Now those two monsters have run away, which means that our whereabouts have been discovered by them, and this place has practically become their territory."

"We're easily tracked and constantly monitored. Compared to Professional Hunter like us, these monsters are the real creatures of these forests."

That ability to conceal one's presence alone was enough to monitor them from a relatively hidden location the entire time.

"In other words, if we continue, we will definitely be surrounded."

As he spoke, he looked at the two of them.

"Do you want to stay or leave? If you two are strong enough to leave, you won't face too much danger. I'll show you the way."

Gon and Killua exchanged a glance and shook their heads together.

"They eat people, so we have to get rid of them."

At this inopportune time, the three decided to Accompany.

At the foot of the Volcano.

Kevin's camp.

Kevin had just emerged from the Ruins.

I answered the phone and listened to the voice on the other end.

That was a call from Pakunoda had escaped.

After learning all the information, Kevin hung up the phone and walked into the camp with a somber expression.

When Kevin entered the camp, everyone sensed something was wrong.

"The boss seems very angry?"

Ce pushed up his glasses.

Ann glanced at the child; he had returned to the camp a few days ago because he could no longer find any information there.

All communication has been cut off.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "He hasn't seemed to be in a good mood since midnight last night, has he?"

"What happened?" Beget had just finished adjusting some data, walked over and asked Kevin.

At this moment, besides the four boys from Meteor City, only Ann, Beget, and Kevin remained in the camp.

The others were ordered by Kevin to leave this place in the middle of the night yesterday.

"One of my apprentices has just escaped from that disaster-stricken area, and his condition is not optimistic."

Upon hearing this, everyone gathered around.

It's really boring here.

The only thing that has been of interest to them lately is the news of Tell's death.

And the conspiracy hidden behind it.

So they're all quite concerned about it.

Kevin looked at everyone and briefly explained the information he had learned from Pakunoda.

"The situation is developing very rapidly and the harm is increasing. Even considering the best-case scenario, the number of casualties may now exceed tens of thousands."

"This number is still increasing, and the NGL Autonomous Region may very well have become a deserted area."

Beget's eyes widened. "Has the problem gotten that serious?"

Kevin sighed.

"Not only that, the problem may be more than ten times more serious than we imagine."

Because last night, he had already received the prophecy given by Nion.

The prophecy was directed at none other than Kite and Pakunoda.

Pakunoda's information from the beginning indicated that there was no danger, and this can now be confirmed because he escaped today.

But Kite's information is a serious issue.

Because it was cut off directly, there's only one segment.

This means the other person will die in the first week.

According to the prophecy.

Two unknown entities will suddenly appear beside him, both to provide assistance and to deliver information.

Even so, he encountered danger from an alien race and ultimately died.

Moreover, the language used to describe the death, upon closer examination, made Kevin somewhat angry.

Because it will become a [training puppet].

While it's impossible to pinpoint exactly what it is, it's definitely not a good future.

The only positive word in the prophecy is just one.

[Continued Rebirth]

The problem is that the prophecy has been broken.

That is, a person dies, so this term is interpreted as the transmission of some kind of will.

It's even possible that they have children with them.

After all, Kevin doesn't know much about Kite's private life, so he can only speculate.

But regardless of the circumstances, the fact remains that he encountered a powerful enemy from Alien Race and died.

Fortunately, it happened in the first week, not immediately.

It is certain that there will be a certain buffer period.

It can now be confirmed that it is indeed Chimeric Ant.

Kite is not weak, and she also has Nen ability, which means that these Chimeric Ant are either extremely powerful in their original form or possess Nen ability.

Combined with the information Pakunoda has provided, it can be confirmed that these Chimera Ant likely already possess Nen ability, or are in the process of acquiring Nen ability.

That's why Melusina isn't here.

She was leading a team towards that disaster-stricken area.