[Prisoner's Single Room]

Joey's sincerity was genuine. After all, Kite was the powerful ally he had finally managed to secure. If he lost him in NGL just like that, he could face plenty of trouble down the line.

Although Kite might be reborn as a girl and become a Chimera Ant, just as in the manga, Joey preferred the human Kite, both in appearance and in species.

Besides, if he wanted to clear his name as a Murderer and live a quiet life in the future, he would need Kite's guidance to earn credit in NGL.

Otherwise, he might not even qualify to join the extermination team. He could sense that much from the way the chairman and his two companions looked at him.

He was too weak!

As for joining the extermination team, Joey had given it careful thought. At his level, Kite could not possibly assign him to fight Meruem or the Royal Guard.

That meant he would most likely handle peripheral tasks, much like the octopus, or follow Knov around providing support without fighting on the front lines.

As long as he stayed sharp and cautious when the time came, surviving should not be too difficult.

There was one more thing he had not said, though he assumed Netero and the other two understood.

At the site of Kite's battle, they were very likely to encounter Neferpitou, who had fought him.

Netero and his two companions left without any hesitation.

Joey did not know what the three would do next, but he wished them all the best.

Having fought Chimera Ants for two days straight since opening his eyes, Joey had absolutely no fondness for them.

What he hoped for most was that Netero and the others could resolve the Chimera Ant problem before Meruem was born.

But he knew even better that this was impossible.

Humans would not drop a nuclear bomb or a Rose on the ants' nest before understanding their enemy.

Especially once the Chimera Ants scattered from NGL to other regions, such a strategy would be even less likely.

And there was still far too much Joey did not understand about this world: the relationship between the Hunter Association and V5, how V5 viewed Netero, how others felt about the current situation, and so on.

Until everything became clear, someone like him, who depended on others even for his own survival, could only try his best to stay alive in the enormous maelstrom about to unfold.

A day later, three people entered NGL and reached Joey's hiding place.

Joey had met two of them before. They were Ditte, the young man with the afro among Kite's companions, and the dark-skinned Lapoy.

Joey did not recognize the third man, and he was certain that he was not one of Kite's companions.

"I'm Andrei, a bounty hunter and a friend of Kite's." The tall Andrei offered his hand, only to notice that Joey's left hand was missing. The stump was simply wrapped in bloodstained cloth.

"Looks like things are even worse than I imagined. Let's get you out of here first." A grave expression settled over the blond Andrei's face.

As Joey watched curiously, Andrei raised his hand, and a simple stone room for one person, with an unusual design, appeared out of thin air before them.

"Prisoner's Single Room!" Andrei explained, "Once you go inside, it'll transport you to a solitary cell I set up outside NGL in advance. Don't worry. We'll leave NGL shortly afterward and take you to the nearest city."

Joey nodded to show that he understood.

Without wasting any time, he stepped inside as soon as Andrei opened the door to the Single Room.

Just as Andrei had said, the Single Room really was nothing more than a room for one person.

Its only furnishings were an interrogation table and two interrogation chairs!

Once Joey sat down in one of the chairs, Andrei nodded to him, then raised his hand and closed the door.

Sitting in the chair, Joey formed a theory about Andrei's ability.

Prisoner's Single Room was probably an application of Conjuration. Like Knov's Hide and Seek, it expanded and made use of space.

After all, Conjuration and Emission were the two categories most adept at using space.

As for the ability's specific purpose, Joey could not quite figure it out. From what he could see, this looked more like an interrogation room. Coupled with Andrei's identity as a bounty hunter, it seemed to be an ability created specifically for interrogating criminals.

But why would interrogating a criminal require moving them-or rather, teleporting them-somewhere else?

Unable to figure it out, Joey stopped thinking about it and waited patiently in his chair.

He felt no discomfort throughout the entire process, nor did he notice any change in the Single Room. Yet when its door opened again several hours later, he discovered that he had already left NGL.

When Joey stepped out of the single room, he saw a group of people sitting together in the room beyond.

Some of them were people Joey knew, such as Killua and Gon, but most were strangers.

Among them were a huge fellow built like a bear, a young boy with meticulously styled, side-parted hair, a woman with short pink hair watching him curiously, and a pretty woman with long burgundy hair blowing bubble gum.

Although Joey did not know them, he knew that they were all Kite's companions.

"Welcome back to civilized, technological society." With a pop, the bubble burst and stuck to the burgundy-haired woman's lips. "I'm Spinner Clow. You can call me Shiping."

"I'm Stick Deena. We've met before. You can call me Stick. Deena is Kite's idea of a bad joke." The young man with the afro introduced himself with narrowed eyes.

"I'm Bondo Gollapoy." The short, dark-skinned man gave his name as well.

The remaining three were just as quick to introduce themselves. The tall, burly man built like a bear was Vantine Eulas, the neatly groomed boy with buckteeth was Rin Kushi, and the girl with short pink hair was Banana Kavaro.

Joey quickly memorized their names, then turned to Killua, Gon, and Andrei, the hunter who had brought him here.

"Let's treat your injury first. We probably can't reattach the severed hand. It's been too long, and it seems to have shriveled far too much-abnormally so."

Bondo stared with his round eyes at the severed hand tucked against Joey's chest, only a small portion showing, and could not help offering his assessment.

This was his specialty. Although he usually identified species from pieces of biological tissue, after examining so many, he had naturally become extremely familiar with the condition of severed limbs.

Joey knew very well that this was caused by Chariot's repeated explosions. Even now, he could still see wounds on the hand deep enough to expose bone.

"Leave it to me." Banana stepped toward Joey.

"How did that happen? Did something else happen while I was unconscious?" Gon was surprised that Joey had lost a hand.

"It was a problem with my own ability," Joey explained briefly, handing the severed hand to Bondo. "Please dispose of it for me. Preferably by cremating it."

The hand had not been completely destroyed, so presumably Chariot had not been completely shattered either.

Not wanting any unnecessary trouble later, Joey felt it would be best to dispose of the severed hand.

But as Bondo took it, Joey still could not keep a trace of reluctance, disappointment, and grief from showing on his face.

Ultimately, losing a hand would have an enormous impact on him.

"Don't worry. Leave it to me. I'm a professional." Bondo's expression was solemn.

"We don't have much time, so while you're being treated, Joey, I'll explain the current situation." Andrei was clearly the one primarily responsible for handling Joey's affairs at the moment.

"Of course. Please go ahead." Joey was very deferential.