The Final Mission Begins (As Promised, Bonus Chapter)

PS: First, thanks to the book friends "Bug in the House Secondhand" and "Little Yogurt Selling Girl" for their tips. Also, you guys are way too awesome—the votes exploded instantly. If I don't do a double update tomorrow, wouldn't that be letting you down? So, I've decided to add another update tomorrow too!

"The script is written now, and the actors are in place. Just waiting for the show to begin." Meruem stood atop a tall building, looking down into the distance with a sinister smile.

"King, we've successfully bribed the high-ranking officials of various countries. Now, as soon as the plan is implemented, we can immediately contact the heads of state." Reporting to Meruem was Already Snake, still clad in black. Money? Where there are people, there will always be the greedy. When Meruem was still human in his past life, he also liked money. But after becoming a Chimera Ant, that kind of thing became utterly meaningless. Besides, having already conquered a country, Meruem still had plenty of money—enough to bribe a few officials, at least. Isn't there a saying? Money makes the world go round. That's the power of money, even if it only works among humans.

"Well done." The left corner of Meruem's mouth curled into a beautiful arc, revealing sharp fangs.

"Now, Netero is yours to handle, Jed. Don't disappoint me. Otherwise, I'll tear you apart—though no matter the outcome, you must die." Meruem murmured to himself, feeling the gentle breeze blowing from the high altitude.

"Then let's begin. This script—Hunter x Hunter: The Last Mission. Hmph, hahaha." A wild madness flickered in Meruem's eyes. This time, I'll wipe you all out in one fell swoop.

Heaven's Arena

Although there were plenty of skilled fighters here, most were martial artists from all over the world. Among them, the Nen Users were mostly Enhancement Type, Transformation Type, and Emission Type, and their Nen abilities were generally straightforward. So, facing an opponent like Evil Spirit, who didn't talk and just fought, with an incredibly tough body, was a real pain. Enhanced by Jed's Resentment ability, Evil Spirit's body and combat talent, while not on par with a Chimera Ant, far surpassed ordinary human bodies.

Especially those who hadn't yet developed their own unique Nen abilities—they were completely suppressed the moment they resisted. And they were injected with Jed's blood, which acted like a biochemical virus; once injected, they were controlled. Though it wasn't contagious, it was still extremely powerful. As time passed, the areas around floors 200 to 230 were mostly filled with these Resentment people controlled by Jed.

But these guys could only scare ordinary people. Those under control couldn't even unleash half of their original strength, aside from becoming more durable. Everything has its pros and cons.

As for the ordinary spectators, they were all locked up near the main hall, surrounded by members of the Dark Shadow Tribe. With the entire building's weapon systems, defense systems, and surveillance systems controlled by Asura, no one could escape. The iron doors were sealed tight, and since there were no powerful Nen Users among the spectators, they were solidly taken hostage. What's more, unlike the Movie Version—where at least Gu Yun and Bisky, two strong Nen Users, could keep things in check—the real version had nothing. The hostages were just hostages, never turning into beasts.

Because the protagonist, Gang Ge, was still training far, far away, completely unaware of this incident.

Of course, unlike the Movie Version, the Hunter Association, the world's most powerful organization, had sent several members to infiltrate Heaven's Arena. But the number of experts was still limited—not every one-star Hunter had strength like Morel's. And a two-star Hunter wasn't necessarily stronger than a one-star. Among the infiltrators were members of the Zodiac Twelve, like Yin Hu, who had originally mocked Morel's strength.

Although the Zodiac Twelve were made up of members whose strength Netero had acknowledged, it was really unclear where Yin Hu got the conclusion that Morel's strength was barely passable and not even half as good as his own.

Maybe Yin Hu was truly the strongest existence in the Hunter World! Punching Netero, kicking Meruem! One breath could kill the Black and Tough! His real identity was—the ruler of the Dark Continent!

The above is pure nonsense.

"The Chairman's idea is for us to sneak in and rescue the trapped hostages. I think we should—" Morel began speaking. As a member with high combat intelligence and considerable strength, he was qualified to take the lead.

But—

"Don't try to order me around." Yin Hu rudely cut off Morel's words. What right did a mere one-star Hunter have to boss him around, a member of the Zodiac Twelve? Besides, Yin Hu had long disliked Morel. Being one of the two generals who always followed Netero naturally attracted some inexplicable hatred—or maybe jealousy.

"I have my own plan. You can scheme here all you want." With that, the hot-tempered treasure hunter Yin Hu, Kanzai, left Morel and the others behind, completely ignoring everyone else's feelings.

"That guy—" A two-star bounty hunter with glasses was very annoyed by Yin Hu's attitude. This two-star Hunter had worked with Morel before and deeply respected his strength and intelligence. Combined with Yin Hu's arrogant and dismissive attitude, if it weren't for the mission, he would have gone up to teach him a lesson. So what if you're one of the Zodiac Twelve? Let's see who's better! Have the guts to fight head-on! And he wasn't the only one thinking this way—even those who didn't know Morel were furious at Yin Hu's behavior.

Before the operation, Netero himself had ordered everyone to follow Morel's arrangements. What was this now? Netero's prestige in the Hunter Association was at the level of worship—aside from Pariston, who didn't hold deep respect for him? Even Pariston in the original story said he was saddened by Netero's death, though who knew if it was true. But to reach that level, Netero had done a great job as Chairman.

"Forget it, let's focus on rescuing the hostages." Morel calmed the hunters down. For this mission, the Hunter Association had dispatched five hunters, plus Netero made six. Though the Association was huge, not many hunters were idle. Besides Yin Hu and Morel, the other three were: the two-star bounty hunter with glasses, a one-star gourmet hunter with headphones and rainbow hair like Master Wang's haircut from the next village, and a muscular one-star crime hunter.

Two two-star hunters, three one-star hunters, plus Chairman Netero—this lineup was already formidable.

Unfortunately, their opponents were no pushovers either.

"I really don't know what that old man Netero is thinking. Not letting me, a proper member of the Zodiac Twelve, lead, but instead letting that one-star Hunter take command. What use is someone whose strength isn't even half of mine?" Yin Hu grumbled to himself as he climbed the stairs to the top of Heaven's Arena. The elevators were now fully monitored by Asura's intrusion. Yin Hu was just hot-tempered and arrogant—his actual strength and intelligence were decent, or Netero wouldn't have acknowledged him. Yin Hu thought it was better to deal with the Nen Users stronger than Jed, the biggest boss, rather than rescue those useless hostages. Once the enemy's strong ones were taken care of, the rest were just small fry. Besides, Yin Hu had a file on the so-called experts under Jed—honestly, he didn't think much of Asura, Evil Spirit, and Purgatory. As someone at the mid-to-upper level of the Zodiac Twelve, if he couldn't handle these small fries, how could he call himself a member?

Unfortunately, Yin Hu's file didn't include information on the three Chimera Ant Squad Leaders.

Ever since Heaven's Arena was taken over, for some reason, all the lighting systems flickered on and off, giving it a haunted house vibe.

"? Strong Nen! Does that guy Jed have someone of this level among his subordinates? But is it really okay to expose it like this? Or is it a challenge to me? Don't look down on me." Yin Hu sensed a very powerful opponent at the end of the corridor, one that also gave him a hint of danger. This guy wasn't simple. By now, Yin Hu had left Morel and the others dozens of floors behind, reaching above floor 220.

"Tch, I thought some big shot was coming, but it's just a Shorty." At the end of the corridor, the one giving Yin Hu that dangerous feeling was Scorpion Girl Zazan. But Yin Hu was about the same height as Feitan, and Zazan had suffered a big loss at Feitan's hands, so her tone was harsh.

"What the hell are you, a freak? How dare you talk to me like that? Looking for death?" Yin Hu had a short temper too.

To be honest, neither of them looked like normal humans. Forget Zazan's pale purple skin and scorpion tail—Yin Hu had inexplicable tiger stripes on his face and a tiger tail behind him, whether it was a decoration or real. If he wasn't a severe chuunibyou, he might not be an ordinary human either. And if that tail wasn't real, was it like those fox tails sold on Taobao, stuck up his butt? That's some heavy taste.

"You dare call me a freak? Fine, Shorty, I'll slowly torture you to death!" Zazan's aura shifted, and a fierce killing intent burst out like crazy, clearly aimed at Yin Hu of the Zodiac Twelve.

"Scary killing intent, strong Nen. I hate to admit it, but this looks like a tough fight. But there's no way I'm losing here." A bit of cold sweat formed at his temples, but Yin Hu had been through many battles. Even if Zazan was the strongest opponent he'd ever faced, judging the enemy's strength was a basic skill for any qualified Hunter. Yin Hu might be a brute at heart, but he wasn't an idiot.

Enhanced Zazan was strong. Squad Leaders had great potential, and after developing that potential, her real strength was definitely above Yin Hu's.

Meanwhile, Netero, led by a guard from the Dark Shadow Tribe, arrived at the rooftop of Heaven's Arena, where Jed was waiting for him.