News

Only when the entire Nen space extends and covers everything, freezing in that instant, does the ability's mechanism officially activate.

Before that, the Balance aura erupting from the Temple's Release Pond still has a few seconds of activity time.

If that Nen Exorcist hadn't left the Temple first, he'd likely be in grave danger.

"Hope he manages to escape this."

Moyu thought to himself.

Though that stiff-faced Nen Exorcist gave off an arrogant, superior vibe, his dedication was admirable.

If he could dodge this disaster, it would certainly be something to celebrate.

Looking away, Moyu headed toward the nearest city.

After walking for about two hours, Moyu suddenly heard the sound of a vehicle, and a beam of light shone from behind him.

Moyu turned to look, but could only see the blinding high beams.

As the light drew closer, the driver noticed Moyu, switched the high beams to low, rolled down the window, and leaned out to look at Moyu standing by the roadside.

"Little buddy, it's the middle of the night—what are you doing out here alone? Heading somewhere? If so, hop in, I'll give you a ride."

The person leaning out the window was a middle-aged man with a thick beard and a simple, honest face.

"Thanks, Uncle. I want to go to a nearby city."

Moyu looked at the middle-aged man, a smile spreading across his face as he didn't refuse the kindness.

"A nearby city..."

The middle-aged man thought for a moment, then asked, "Going to Ganlin City?"

"Yeah."

Moyu nodded with a smile.

He knew nothing about Ganlin City; any relatively prosperous city would do.

Somewhere like that should have a way to get a fake ID.

"Oh, that's on my way. Get in."

The middle-aged man beckoned Moyu into the car.

Moyu opened the door and sat in the passenger seat.

"Buckle up."

The middle-aged man reminded him, then shifted gears and stepped on the gas.

The blue pickup truck loaded with vegetables slowly moved forward, picking up speed.

"Little buddy, from here to Ganlin City, it's a seven- or eight-hour drive. In the dead of night like this, you're not having a fight with your family and running away from home, are you?"

The pickup truck drove steadily along the road, and the middle-aged man started chatting.

Moyu smiled and replied, "Nothing like that. I have relatives in Ganlin City, I'm going to stay with them for a few days, and the adults at home agreed."

"I see."

The middle-aged man paused, then said earnestly, "Little buddy, don't take this the wrong way, but are your folks out of their minds? Letting a kid like you walk all the way to Ganlin City in the dark? Oh, right, should I call your folks?"

"No need, thanks for your concern, Uncle."

Moyu kept a smile on his face.

It was clear this warm-hearted middle-aged uncle was a chatterbox.

And so, Moyu half-heartedly dealt with the uncle's nonstop chatter. By the time the pickup arrived in Ganlin City, it was already dawn.

"Uncle, thank you so much."

Moyu slipped a large-denomination bill into the gap between the seats, opened the door, and got out.

"Ah, no big deal."

The middle-aged uncle grinned at Moyu, then shifted gears and started off. The pickup truck slowly moved forward.

Moyu stood by the roadside, watching.

Suddenly.

The pickup truck rolled down its window.

Moyu looked over in confusion, only to see a ball of paper fly out of the window and land in front of him.

Then, the pickup truck roared as it floored the gas, speeding away.

Moyu glanced at the departing truck, then looked at the crumpled bill.

"This uncle..."

Letting out a soft laugh, Moyu bent down and picked up the money.

On the way here, he'd mentioned paying the uncle for gas, only to be shut down by the threat, "Mention money again, and I'll kick you out of the car."

That's why Moyu had secretly slipped a ten-thousand-Jenie bill into the seat gap before getting out.

There was no helping it—every single one of the dozen or so bills Cheadle had given him was this large denomination...

After secretly stuffing the money in, he hadn't expected the uncle to notice, only to have it crumpled into a ball and tossed back.

Putting the wrinkled bills back into his pocket, Moyu glanced once more in the direction the pickup truck had driven off, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Evil people, once they awakened Nen, would give birth to even more evil Nen abilities.

Conversely, simple, kind-hearted people, once they awakened Nen, would surely give birth to even more benevolent Nen abilities.

He wondered what kind of Nen ability this uncle would develop after awakening Nen.

Such strange thoughts spread through his mind, and Moyu couldn't help but shake his head with a wry laugh.

Nen abilities weren't knowledge taught in schools, nor were they widespread across the world, so ordinary people like that uncle would probably never encounter the existence of Nen in their entire lives.

Moyu set aside these pointless thoughts and walked along the road toward Ganlin City.

After arriving in the city, Moyu found a private inn, rented a room, and slept straight through until evening.

Waking up, he washed up briefly, left the inn, grabbed a quick bite from a roadside stall, and then began looking for channels to get a fake ID.

As a newcomer, he could only search for small ads for fake IDs in places like public restrooms and utility poles.

After several rounds of searching, he finally found a small ad for fake IDs, so he found a nearby phone booth and dialed the number on the ad.

Soon, the call connected.

"Talk."

A slick, rough voice came through the receiver.

"I need an ID identification card."

Moyu stated his request directly.

"20,000 Jenie deposit, another 30,000 after it's done. Any problem?"

"No problem."

"8 PM, in the alley behind the Ai Ai Bar on Jinze Street. Bring the money on time."

"Got it."

The call ended.

Moyu stepped out of the phone booth and walked along the street looking for a newsstand.

It took him over ten minutes before he spotted one on the sidewalk.

The newsstand was run by an old man wearing reading glasses, who was intently watching a small TV on the counter.

Moyu walked over and, from the dazzling array of magazines, brochures, and newspapers, picked out a world map and a map of Ganlin City.

"Boss, how much?"

"200."

The boss glanced at him, then looked back down at the small TV.

Moyu took out two coins and set them down, turning to leave, when he heard the news broadcast coming from the small TV.

"Our station has just received a report: around 7:20 this morning, a citizen discovered a blue pickup truck on Gonglan Avenue that appeared to have been attacked. According to police on-site investigation, the blue pickup truck was cut into six pieces by what is suspected to be a tool like a chainsaw."

"And in a greenbelt 100 meters from the scene, fragments of the driver's body were found."

"Based on the perpetrator's modus operandi at the scene, police have deduced this to be the work of Dis Mendico, a Class C wanted fugitive previously responsible for the major malicious murder and dismemberment case at the Meiyou Cabaret."

"Currently, police have confirmed the victim's identity..."

Moyu stepped forward and reached out to turn the small TV in front of the old man toward himself.

On the screen, the victim's ID identification card photo was playing—it was unmistakably the uncle who had driven him to Ganlin City.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

The old man was furious, grabbing a magazine and smacking it hard against Moyu's hand.

Moyu didn't react, only staring silently at the middle-aged uncle's photo on the screen.

Originally, I was going to peg the Jenie to the 1999 yen exchange rate, but then I thought, forget it—let's go with the current rate, which is 1:20. Ten thousand Jenie is equivalent to 500 RMB.