Cleanup, Gon, and Tracking

Chapter 28: Cleanup × Gon × Tracking

Kite's sudden decision left Joey completely bewildered.

He had no idea why Kite had made that decision. Did he genuinely think Joey could deal with the Chimera Ants in the cave alone, or was he planning to abandon him now that he had gotten what he wanted?

Either way, as Kite and the others began clearing out the Chimera Ants, Joey had no choice but to have Killer Queen release the chariot.

As for revealing Sheer Heart Attack, Joey did not mind in the slightest.

The moment people who knew Nen could see the Skeleton Chariot, its weakness-its slow movement speed-had become a fatal flaw.

Even Joey could evade Heartbreaker Attack at that speed. With Kite and the others' strength, how could the chariot possibly threaten them?

Still, the chariot was an enormous help to Joey right now. A confined space like this cave was precisely where Heartbreaker Attack could be most effective.

Besides, its opponents were ordinary Chimera Ants that had yet to awaken Nen.

That was why Joey backed away as he fired: to avoid getting caught in Heartbreaker Attack's explosions.

Boom!

Heartbreaker Attack's explosions were anything but discreet. In an instant, the roar echoed throughout the cave.

Just then, however, a Chimera Ant with a carapace like a giant cockroach lunged down from the cave ceiling toward Joey.

While Joey had been plotting against the four Chimera Ants he could see in the cave, another had been lurking overhead, plotting to get its claws on him.

But before the Chimera Ant could get close, Killer Queen's fist shot up to meet it.

A close-range Stand with automatic defenses would not let a Chimera Ant break through to Joey so easily.

Emperor Killer unleashed a rapid barrage of punches, while the cockroach Chimera Ant could not even see him.

It was an utterly uneven matchup-a one-sided beating.

Before that beating even began, Joey had caught an excited look on the cockroach's humanlike face, the sort of expression it should only have worn after succeeding.

By the time Emperor Killer threw his final punch, the entire cockroach had been battered almost beyond recognition.

But Joey followed Kite's earlier advice. He aimed his freshly reloaded gun at the cockroach's struggling body and pulled the trigger.

Killer Queen pressed down his right thumb in coordination.

A silent explosion instantly tore the cockroach Chimera Ant apart, leaving not a trace of its body in the flames.

This time, however, something was different. As Joey focused on blowing his opponent to pieces, he noticed that some of the Ten he was maintaining was consumed the instant the explosion occurred.

It was not much, but it had definitely been consumed.

That gave Joey an idea. With that thought in mind, he suddenly dismissed Killer Queen and tried mentally directing some of his aura to him.

When Killer Queen appeared again, Joey distinctly felt that some of his own Nen was missing. Just as he had imagined, Killer Queen now had a steady, flowing layer of Ten around him.

Could Killer Queen really have turned into a Nen Beast after coming to this world? Joey wondered as he studied the change.

He dismissed Emperor Killer again, and all the aura he had distributed returned to Joey's body.

Joey checked himself and found no noticeable consumption.

He did not continue exploring Killer Queen's abilities, because after five consecutive explosions, the Skeleton Chariot had returned.

Emperor Killer took it back into his left hand, and just then, Gon and Killua returned to the main chamber as well.

Both were surprised to see that Joey seemed not to have moved at all. In particular, the unmistakable smell of blood drifting from the cave proved that the Chimera Ants inside had all been cleared out.

Having attacked before the chariot appeared, the two cast curious looks at Killer Queen, whom Joey had left out beside him.

"Are Nen Beasts really that strong?" Gon's eyes shone.

"Not really. His ability just happened to counter the Chimera Ants in that cave," Joey answered modestly.

"If all the Chimera Ants are this weak, clearing them out shouldn't be too hard." Killua yawned, apparently disappointed by their strength. "These guys weren't even as interesting as that rabbit-eared one earlier."

"They should only count as Junior Soldier Ants. They haven't mastered Nen and, at most, have a few natural biological gifts. But if creatures like these all awaken Nen, things will probably get troublesome," Joey warned.

At the same time, he faintly heard sounds still coming from the cave Gon had entered.

But since Killua neither reacted nor seemed surprised, Joey said nothing more.

Joey knew all too well how terrifying the beings at the pinnacle of the Chimera Ants were compared with ordinary ones.

These foot soldiers might not even count as the same species as the Royal Guard. The gulf between them was simply beyond measure.

Then there was Meruem, who stood above even the Royal Guard. Thinking of him, Joey felt it would be best to leave NGL as soon as possible.

"Joey's right. These Chimera Ants were already aggressive by nature. Now that they've combined with thugs, their personalities have become more pronounced, and they've grown even more cruel and bloodthirsty."

Kite had already put away his weapon. His brow visibly twitched as he looked toward the cave Gon had cleared.

"And judging by our earlier encounters, it may well be inevitable that the stronger individuals will master Nen. That's why we should wipe out the Chimera Ants in NGL as soon as possible. Otherwise, once the situation escalates, it could very likely spill over into neighboring countries.

"And the Mitene Union has no shortage of countries with poor communications. Whether it's NGL or the East Gorteau Republic-or even the Republic of Rocario-only the major cities are relatively developed."

As Kite finished speaking, they headed deeper into the base once more.

No more Chimera Ants appeared along the way. Presumably, all those they needed to deal with had already appeared at the branching passages in the main chamber.

"It looks like our movements have been exposed." Kite, walking at the front, grew more serious.

"Have more Chimera Ants shown up? How are they doing it?" Killua asked.

"That's the troublesome part. Plenty of creatures in nature can detect targets from a distance. We can't search for every possible one," Kite concluded. "But if we ignore it, things will become difficult."

"First, we need to figure out how precise their detection is. If they can only identify a general area, we just need to move. If they can pinpoint us, everything we do next will be an uphill struggle unless we take them out," Gon suggested.

This was more or less the shared approach they took to problems during their operations.

An image of a dragonfly-like Chimera Ant suddenly flashed through Joey's mind. If his guess was right, that creature was behind what was happening now.

Its ability seemed to involve establishing a signal link with a Squadron Leader Chimera Ant, and that apparently was not a Nen Ability.

It seemed to be one of the lion Chimera Ant's subordinates, though it should have been killed later, its corpse becoming a disguise for the octopus.

But how was he supposed to warn Kite and the other two right now?

And if they did not kill it, would everything he did next be fully exposed to its gaze?

Joey's drooping brows drew into a deep frown. But before he could speak, Kite had already opened a concealed door that blended into the wall ahead of them. Beyond it lay the very documents Kite was looking for.