The Unfathomable Disaster's Invitation

"How long ago did Beyond?"

After taking her seat, Biscuit couldn't help but ask.

Nobu, who was about to say something, didn't think much of it and said directly, "It's been almost two years. They brought back Alchemy Plant when they returned."

Upon hearing this...

Everyone couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

They've been back for almost two years. If they did indeed bring back the Undying disease Zobae, then the disease has been spreading in the human world for two years.

They still don't know how this disease develops or what the consequences will be.

So Biscuit asked again.

"Beyond returned, did any problems arise in society?"

This left Nobu somewhat puzzled, but he roughly understood everyone's concerns.

He shook his head.

"No, when we returned, all the countries attached great importance to it. The Hunter Association was directly ostracized. The information and intelligence we were able to obtain were obtained with great effort, and they were already outdated."

"It's not just us; even the newly formed Kakin Empire, despite being a V6 power, has been excluded."

No matter how big the Hunter Association is, it can't be bigger than a world-class country.

Not to mention it's one of the countries that truly squeezed into the V5 tier through its own national strength.

Morel paused for a moment before saying strangely, "I thought that after the battle on the ship, the Kakin Empire would at least be thrown into chaos and be squeezed out of V6."

"So this is a price to pay," Nobu said.

I see.

Everyone understood.

After all, this exploration of the Dark Continent was ostensibly led by the Kakin Empire.

As a result, the Host was sidelined, which was clearly the price paid.

However, it is a good thing that the country was able to preserve itself during such a crisis and have a period of stability.

"You set off six months ago, which means that at least six months ago, human society hadn't encountered any major problems, right?"

Hearing Qiduo's serious expression...

Nobu frowned and spoke seriously.

"At least I don't know anything about it, and I believe the Chairman isn't too sure either."

"But things have become unclear over the past six months, because this place is more than two months away from human society, and communication is inconvenient and troublesome, so it is impossible to know any accurate information about human society."

As he spoke, Nobu thought for a moment.

"But if something happens, it's possible I overlooked something. After all, the Association's power is still too weak here."

In this Imaginary New Continent, although there are many Hunter x Hunter, the Hunter Association is not very capable of commanding Hunter x Hunter.

Essentially, everyone is a mutually beneficial group; Hunter x Hunter do not entirely belong to the Hunter Association.

While Nobu was waiting for them here, he was also in charge of building the Hunter Association branch. The branch was still under construction, so naturally, the various forces and information channels were not yet complete.

After all, most powerful and capable Hunter x Hunter know what the Imaginary New Continent is all about, so they aren't very interested in it.

At this point, Kevin spoke directly.

"We learned from the Gatekeeper that Beyond brought back disaster—a real disaster, not just a corpse used as a warning."

"What?!"

Upon hearing this news, Nobu immediately stood up from his chair.

No wonder they were so serious.

"Undying disease?"

Kevin nodded.

Nobu sat back down in his chair, clenching his fists and pressing them against his chin.

"Wait a moment, I'm going to get something."

As he spoke, Nobu quickly got up and walked outside, while everyone waited in the Meeting Room.

A short while later, there was a knock on the door, and Buhaci, who was standing by the door, casually opened it.

It turned out that it was Goreinu came in.

"Goreinu? What are you doing here?"

Bellolight was surprised to see that it was someone she knew.

Shouldn't they still be at the Nosra Manor?

Ce rolled his eyes.

"Idiot, of course you'd wait for us here."

"Long time no see, everyone!"

"Goreinu said with a smile."

Most of the people here are acquaintances from the Nosra Manor.

However, as soon as he stepped into the room, he couldn't help but shrink back.

"The aura emanating from you all is truly terrifying; it feels like I've entered a den of wild beasts."

Fortunately, it was still tolerable; it was just the natural scent emanating from people who had been outdoors for a long time.

Kevin and the core members were not surprised that people from the Nosra Manor were waiting for them there.

With Nion's Prophecy Poem, it was naturally possible to know their whereabouts as soon as they set off on their return journey.

At this moment, Nobu, who was returning, also saw Goreinu.

That's when I remembered him.

"Sorry, I forgot to tell you."

However, Goreinu had only arrived a few days ago and was not familiar with Nobu.

At that moment, Nobu walked in carrying a Notebook.

Kevin, already aware that Nobu had only recently arrived, asked directly.

"Has something happened at home?"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Goreinu.

Goreinu nodded without hesitation.

"The specifics were not clear when I took action, but there were indeed many problems."

"First, the Chairman came and told us not to go out casually. Later, Light Blockade the Manor and isolated it from the outside world."

"But no one can clearly explain exactly what happened."

As if remembering something, she said, "On the day I left, I watched the news, and it seemed that there was fighting in many places."

As expected, something went wrong.

But it wasn't what I expected.

According to the information they had, the disease Zobae, the disease of Undying disease, turned those afflicted into immortal, walking corpses.

It doesn't seem to have much to do with this chaos.

There is no such thing as being controlled or following orders.

Furthermore, the information they possessed was the latest data from the International Voyage Bureau, collected with the help of the then-head of the Hunter x Hunter Chairman.

Its credibility is naturally extremely high.

At this point, Nobu spoke.

"This Notebook is a product of Nen ability; the words written in it will also appear on another copy, allowing for rapid communication over long distances."

He then opened his Notebook and began writing in front of everyone.

The first paragraph indicates that Kevin and his team have been received.

A short while later, a different color of text appeared below.

"Return immediately."

There are only two words.

But those two words alone were enough to make Nobu's brows furrow.

Kevin said directly, "Then let's prepare to set sail. We can think about these things along the way."

That makes sense, and everyone immediately sprang into action.

The ship set sail again early the next morning.

After a night, the amount of information exchanged in the notebook had increased considerably, and everyone had a general understanding of the current state of human society.

"The Undying disease can actually replace the personality of a living person; only after a certain period of time will the person become a mere walking corpse."

Biscuit was somewhat surprised as she looked at the returned information.

Looking at the information, Qiduo said, "Is this really considered an infectious disease? It feels more like a mental parasite."

After all, I've seen and used it on the Dark Continent; the illness and this parasite are completely different things.

"The concurrent undead husks seem more like a sequela of being parasitized."

Koto said, "According to the information above, we cannot identify the individuals infected by the disease at the moment. What is clear is that the personalities of the infected individuals have been replaced, but the replaced personalities should share the same memories as the original personalities, so they can basically perform and simulate perfectly, making it impossible for people to tell."

"Furthermore, some people are taking advantage of the situation, which greatly increases the difficulty of identification."

"These people are just like that, "Pairo said bluntly. "They're disgusting."

Perhaps the initial instigators were the parasitic individuals who exerted their influence, but once such a fire is ignited, various ambitious individuals will naturally take advantage of the chaos and exert their influence.

As a chain reaction, once the flames of war spread, many situations become beyond one's control.

Once the initial opportunity is missed, the opportunity is lost entirely.

"How many people were replaced? There's no way to tell. All one thousand team members that Beyond brought back are dead—"

That means at least a thousand individuals with the disease started to spread the infection, and the number is certainly higher now.

And what is clear is that they are intelligent, so the people they choose to reinfect must be of paramount importance.

The ordinary people at the lower levels are not worth worrying about, because they are of no value for the time being.

When one possesses wisdom, one is bound to be either in the upper-middle class or at the top level.

If this parasitic growth is silent and insidious, then the problem becomes exceptionally serious.

"The most important thing now is to find a way to parasitize, but it must meet certain conditions. If parasitism can be achieved simply through contact—"

Qiduo didn't say it explicitly, but the meaning was self-evident.

If the conditions could be met so easily, it would be extremely fatal.

On the bright side, at least in this chaotic situation, fewer people will be in the mood to bother us.

1

Suddenly, Pairo said something.

Everyone looked at him.

Biscuit rolled her eyes. "We'd rather let those annoying people bother us now."

Morel adjusted his sunglasses. "Still too young, kid. Even in this situation, they'll bother us."

Despite the external crises, the profits must still be seized.

There's no use in rushing now; everyone already understands the general situation.

We can only go back and see if there's anything else we can do.

Inside the Captain's cabin.

Morel has taken the helm for the first time.

Returning to familiar waters felt like a fish in water, just like a fish returning to the ocean.

The speed of the entire ship increased significantly.

I believe the ship will be able to return to shore in less than two months.

Nobu stood beside him, looking out at the vast ocean.

It seems you've gained a lot from this trip.

Nobu looked at his colleague beside him.

Previously, everyone was just acquaintances, but during the ant extermination campaign, they got to know each other better and developed a camaraderie.

Actually, the Chairman wanted to invite Nobu to join the Twelve Zodiacs, but Nobu was traumatized by witnessing the Ant King's guards and the Ant King's power during the war and refused.

After so many years, Nobu has naturally adjusted his mindset to a similar state.

"Ah, yes, looking back now, these past few years have really been like a dream."

Morel said that this was the only word he could use to describe this experience.

"I feel that a deep chasm has grown between us," Nobu sighed.

He knew this from the moment he saw Morel.

It was an aura, a mysterious and profound feeling.

But that's how Nen user are; when the gap between two people is too large, they can vaguely sense this gap by looking at each other's Nen Aura face-to-face.

Just like when they faced the Chairman and the Ant King.

Even if the Ant King simply stood in front of them and did nothing, they could still sense the extreme danger emanating from Ant King and the presence of an apex predator.

After all, Nen Aura is the outward projection of Life Force and will.

When you can sense the other person's information, you are also revealing your own information.

What's the point of the differences between people?

Morel himself didn't seem to care at all, and casually asked.

Nobu was stunned when he heard this.

He then gave a helpless smile.

"Your horizons have really broadened."

"Is that so? Perhaps, but once you set foot on the Dark Continent and truly witness its environment, you'll understand that the chasm between humans is nothing compared to that between those monsters."

Lord, Overlord, and the like.

Just looking at it makes one feel powerless.

All sorts of strange and unpredictable monsters.

To put it bluntly, without Kevin's medicine and the comprehensive medical system that Qiduo had set up in the camp, it would have been impossible.

It's perfectly normal for them to lose limbs or die a few times.

Without Kevin's potion, Kim's team would have been wiped out on the spot.

Without the medical team composed of Qiduo, Koto, Illumi, the various diseases and viruses of the Dark Continent alone would have been enough to kill them.

There was no safe base that Kevin had already chosen.

Even rest has become a luxury for them.

It can be said that Morel understood this very well.

The key to their initial safe start was that they had a secure base.

That was the territory of a powerful Lord, who allowed them to reside there.

The surrounding area is a large, safe zone.

They could explore with peace of mind, and as long as they retreated, the enemy would not dare to pursue them.

The mental stress alone has been reduced by so much.

Even so, they still encountered many crises.

Later, when they began to relocate and build their own Forward Base, Kevin became the Lord.

They also possessed a strong deterrent force, and at that time they had several hopes. As a foundation, this also greatly enhanced their combat power.

All of these step-by-step plans were initially based on the need for a safe zone.

Once the snowball starts rolling, you'll find the road ahead is smooth.

But if there hadn't been a safe base from the start, they might have only gotten a glimmer of hope before slinking back home.

That's a completely different concept from the current achievements.

"To be honest, we'll be conducting a second exploration, and I suggest you come with us. You know, your Nen ability is always a priority, no matter what."

Nobu felt somewhat helpless upon hearing Morel's invitation.

He sighed.

"You know I'm not suitable."

Does Nobu want to? Nobu actually does.

But he was all too aware of his own inner problems.

Without such experiences and psychological issues, he wouldn't have such powerful Nen ability.

Everything comes at a price.

"You wouldn't understand. Never mind, once you witness Kevin's power, all problems will disappear."

Morel lit a cigar and said.

Enjoy a delicious puff.

Comfortable.

Such a thing would be unthinkable on the Dark Continent, but now that we're back in human society, we can finally enjoy ourselves.