Chapter 27: Base × Encounter × Assignment
The moment the new map appeared, Joey felt somewhat awkward.
Yet things had already reached this point, leaving him with no choice but to bite the bullet and forge ahead. "How did you know?"
"I learned it from an Antique Book Hunter." Kite spoke concisely, and after giving the map a careful look, said, "Let's go."
Kite's lack of hesitation actually made Joey heave a sigh of relief, but the deliberate yet seemingly casual glance Kite cast him right before they left made suspicions churn wildly inside his heart once again.
He always felt that Kite grasped a great deal of secrets concerning him that even he himself did not know, but was that even possible?
Because Chimera Ants might still be lurking nearby, all four of them simultaneously chose to enter the state of Zetsu as they moved forward this time.
Moreover, Joey's running speed caused their movement to slow down slightly, though it did not affect much; the few of them spent a few minutes easily entering the base.
Everywhere on the ground were bloodstains left behind after corpses were dragged away, and a thick stench of blood permeated the entire base.
Still, as they pressed further inward, some equipment for producing anesthetics, raw materials, and other tools began to appear before everyone's eyes.
This filthy nation hidden beneath an environmental facade was gradually revealing its mysterious veil bit by bit.
In a hall that branched off into three separate pathways, the group slowed their pace.
"There's no one here; it looks like they were probably all wiped out by the Chimera Ants." Killua made his judgment.
"Even with guns to arm themselves, amateurs couldn't beat the opponent. It seems the enemy has some capability." Kite offered an evaluation.
"Then we-"
"Shh." Kite made a silencing gesture, then lowered his voice. "There are a few Chimera Ants here; they're walking out from the tunnel ahead."
That pitch-black cavern looked somewhat eerie and dusky even with the base's original illumination.
"It's En!" Killua instantly made his judgment, realizing the technique Kite used to discover the enemy. "How far is the radius of your En?"
En was a combined advanced application of Ten and Ren, allowing aura to expand outward from one's own body as the center, enabling one to detect intruders within the aura's coverage area.
Joey could not help looking toward Kite with curiosity; as for this kind of combined application technique, he didn't need to think about it for the time being.
"Greater than forty-ameters, with a fluctuation of two to three meters depending on physical and mental state." Kite did not hide it either.
Yet from this point, Joey abruptly wondered whether Kite had been constantly maintaining the release of En the entire way here.
"They're coming!"
Following Kite's words, human males crawling on all fours gradually appeared at the tunnel entrance.
The two had collars around their necks, and their clothes had long since been stripped off. To say they were alive was perhaps more accurately described as clinging despicably to survival.
They were just like two genuine stray dogs!
The instant they caught sight of the group, one of them wept all over his face and let out a plea for help in a hoarse voice.
Yet the moment his words left his mouth, the ant dragging the rope around his neck had already stepped out from the darkness and accurately brought a horse-like hoof crashing down onto the pleader's head.
Splitch!
As if smashing a large watermelon, the man whose head had been popped open twitched once on the ground before completely going still.
"Who are you guys? How dare you barge in-"
Before his words could finish trailing off, Gon shouted for them to stop and charged out.
That instantaneous change exceeded the expectations of the three people in the rear, and Kite even frowned secretly at the sight.
Yet the Clown had already appeared in Kite's hand, and amidst the Clown's chatter, it transformed into a long spear with a clown's head at the butt of the weapon.
At the same time, seeing that Kite had taken action, Killua also burst forth with an aura and flashed forward in pursuit of Gon.
The only difference was that Joey, standing at the very back, wore a deeply furrowed brow without the slightest intention of helping to fight.
It seemed the plot had shifted once more. Was it because his positioning was closer to Kite, preventing Kite from stopping Gon in the first place?
Clenching the pistol in his hand, Joey summoned Killer Queen, having it stand guard carefully around him.
Right at that moment, the centaur-like ant that had stomped a man to death spat out a tongue like a snake's, and an ugly human face even revealed an expression of malicious success.
From the dark caves on both sides of him, two Chimera Ants rushed out at high speed the moment Gon drew near.
One had wings, wore a nurse's uniform, possessed a female physique and an arthropod insect torso, and wore a nurse's uniform along with a strange mask.
As for the other, it took the form of a sturdy, bald man with over a dozen arms.
The moment they appeared, they lunged at Gon. Yet reckless as Gon was, he also possessed genuine skill.
He swiftly dodged the punches swung by the multi-armed Chimera Ant while blocking the arm swung by the nurse Chimera Ant, taking advantage of the momentum to kick the nurse Chimera Ant's second calf joint.
The nurse Chimera Ant's slender shin failed to block his Nen-covered leg and snapped directly into two sections. Yet right at that moment, the nurse Chimera Ant's head violently aimed at Gon's skull, and a sharp barb rapidly thrust outward from the vicinity of its mouth.
However, with the sound of a gunshot, the nurse Chimera Ant's lower half vanished completely into thin air, along with the slender tail stinger she had silently thrust forward.
It was Kite, who had instantly judged that Gon could not withstand the Chimera Ant's sneak attack and delivered the most timely strike.
Gon's reaction was also extremely fast; the moment the gunshot rang out, he had already arched backward while grabbing hold of the venomous stinger thrust out by the nurse Chimera Ant.
Wrapped in Nen, the poisonous stinger could not even pierce Gon's skin.
And with a burst of furious strength, Gon yanked on the venomous stinger, slamming the nurse directly onto the ground. Following that, the amount of Nen on his fist surged massively, and he smashed a heavy punch right down onto the nurse Chimera Ant.
With a boom, all that remained on the ground was a heap of mutilated Chimera Ant parts.
Meanwhile, Killua, who had rushed over simultaneously, flashed and appeared on the back of the multi-armed Chimera Ant that had attempted to take advantage of the situation to ambush Gon.
His hands gave a rapid twist at the multi-armed Chimera Ant's smooth head, causing its head to rotate around until it faced him.
Even so, the multi-armed Chimera Ant still wasn't dead, and its curved arms swung back in an attempt to attack Killua.
Yet at that very moment, the sound of a pistol shot-different from the gunshot Kite had released earlier-suddenly rang out, and a bullet zipped past the group, shooting directly into the cave on the left.
With a crisp ding, the bullet was intercepted.
The next second, however, an explosion erupted fiercely within the pitch-black cavern. Reflected in the firelight, four Chimera Ants inside the cave were revealed to view.
And this was just one cavern; the other two seemed to harbor Chimera Ants as well.
Footsteps were even slowly drifting in from the path behind them where they had just come, and judging by the chaotic sound, there were clearly more than just one.
Joey, who had fired a single shot, took a few steps forward to bring himself closer to Kite.
Only then did he notice that, before he knew it, the Chimera Ant that looked like a centaur and had crushed a man to death right at its entrance had already lost its head and collapsed in a pool of blood.
Meanwhile, Kite stood holding a gun near that very spot.
Joey retrieved a magazine and touched the bullets; otherwise, relying solely on ordinary bullets would not inflict effective damage on the Chimera Ants.
"A good hunter must constantly maintain calm observation of nearby conditions. Gon did a very poor job of this, just like back in the day."
Kite spoke as if teaching a lesson, yet casually sent a bullet into the body of the multi-armed Chimera Ant, which was still in sound condition.
"Furthermore, you cannot let your guard down just because an opponent's head is severed.
Their vitality is formidable; even if separated from their bodies, they may still survive for a day. What you must do is ensure they can no longer pose a threat whatsoever."
Killua, who had stepped back, shrugged his shoulders, though beneath his feet lay the shattered bald head.
"To push it a step further, when killing someone, you should be as swift as possible and remain quiet, heh heh heh." This sentence was not spoken by Kite, but rather suggested by the Clown at the butt of his weapon.
"Mm, though it's annoying, it's a good suggestion. Let's treat this as a warm-up-one cave for each person." Kite aimed toward the path they had come from, leaving the three inner tunnels to the three of them.
Killua and Gon rolled up their sleeves and eager to go, leaving only Joey with a bewildered expression on his face!
"No wait, I-"
Before the words had even finished falling, where in the world were those three figures anywhere near Joey anymore?
Before you continue