Deep in the Woods

"There are four slices of Qi and Blood Pumpkin left, the Bomb Pomegranate stock is back up to thirty-two, and nine new stalks of Nen Komugi have been harvested!"

Standing on the thick wooden planks of the storeroom floor, Carl fretted over the Nen Komugi in her hand, golden light flowing across it.

The slender stalk of wheat, a full 1.2 meters long, glimmered faintly in her hand. Its stem was as thin as a silver needle, yet unusually hard.

When she brushed her fingertips over the grains, a sensation like an electric current shot through her nerve endings.

"Eating the pumpkin raw wasn't a problem..." She glanced at the four crescent-shaped slices of orange-red flesh in the corner. They were what remained of her Qi and Blood Pumpkin.

By comparison, she had no idea how to eat this stalk of wheat, which looked as though it had come straight out of a myth.

Swallow it raw? Carl was afraid she'd get indigestion!

"I guess this is a happy problem to have?"

After a long while, Carl sighed helplessly.

In less than a week, she had gone from going hungry to worrying about how to handle her food and turn it into something delicious.

Who knew how many orphans in Meteor City would cry with envy if they heard about it...

"I wonder what's going on outside now. Did Sarasa make it back...?"

Through the floating external-interface panel, Carl took a quick look around the woods. Everything was the same as before, with dead branches and splintered wood everywhere.

From the looks of it, that smoking Nen user had come back quite a few times afterward!

"If it weren't for this heavy rain, could I really have taken on seven of them by myself?"

Carl had woken early, so she had plenty of time to let her thoughts wander-or rather, to review what had happened!

"He found me from hundreds of meters away. Was that an advanced use of En? Or was it his special Nen Ability?"

She had watched the anime too. What normal person had an En with such an enormous range?

He could detect someone hundreds of meters away just like that?

"Leaving that Nen user aside, the ordinary people were relatively easy to kill!"

"In the end, it was all about firepower. They had no chance to struggle against the bombs, or those thugs wouldn't have died to the last man!"

Having blown up nearly ten people one after another, she had gained some experience with it!

As she thought about it, Carl's heart began pounding. She raised her hand and saw that it was trembling.

The first time.

No! This should count as the second time she had killed. A fruit that took only six hours to ripen had claimed several times as many lives as she had!

People's ingrained assumptions left them completely unguarded against the Bomb Pomegranate's plantlike appearance.

In other words, as long as she wanted to, ordinary people wouldn't even have a chance to notice before being killed by some inconspicuous fruit by the roadside!

The only regret was that she hadn't been able to test whether a Nen user would be injured or even killed by a Bomb Pomegranate's explosion!

There was none of the retching or nausea she had imagined. Carl found that she had accepted the fact that she had killed with ease.

"It hasn't even been that long, and I've already adapted to this world..."

Having reached her final conclusion, Carl was just about to put down the wheat when a sudden burst of footsteps came from the external-interface panel.

Someone was there?

Who could it be?

Had that guy still not given up?

With those questions in mind, she slowly turned her gaze to the panel.

Deep in the dense woods, damp moss soaked through Chrollo's straw sandals.

He crouched and picked up half a piece of scorched cloth from a branch. After examining it for a few seconds, his pupils suddenly contracted.

"This is..."

"This is the wrapping cloth I gave Carl!!!"

How could he not recognize something he had given her himself?

But why would Carl go into the woods for no reason?

If he remembered correctly, another few hundred meters ahead lay the outskirts of Meteor City.

A place like that had always been forbidden territory for orphans like them!

"Should I go in? Maybe Carl just sprained her ankle and is waiting for me to help..."

After standing there for a long time, Chrollo finally turned around.

"You should go back. Any farther out, and we'll reach the outskirts of Meteor City!"

"I'll be fine on my own the rest of the way!"

Chrollo looked around at everyone and forced his mouth open, only to discover that, at some point, he had become completely unable to smile.

"What kind of joke is that?"

Paku raised an eyebrow and looked at the boy before her in disbelief.

Everyone knew what the outskirts of Meteor City meant-a danger zone that even the Council of Elders had expressly forbidden people from entering!

She didn't understand why the boy had suddenly changed his mind.

Seeing someone object, Chrollo hesitated for a moment, then his gaze grew even more resolute:

"Sarasa will be fine. Once she's recovered, you'll still be able to see her..."

"Carl is my friend, not yours. I can't ask you to come in with me."

"After all... any farther out, and we'll reach the outskirts of Meteor City!"

Chrollo answered.

For the group, there was no way the members of the Phantom Troupe could risk their lives going to the outskirts of Meteor City for a stranger.

For himself, Carl was one of the few friends he had, and there was no way Chrollo could give up on her!

So the rest of the Phantom Troupe could go back, and he could stay and search by himself!

"I'll stay."

Feitan suddenly stepped out of the crowd, his raspy voice coming from beneath his worn scarf.

Why?

The other members of the Phantom Troupe looked at one another, the question in their eyes.

"His foster mother was once my foster mother too. I guess that makes us... brothers."

Before they could speak, Feitan offered an explanation.

"What? You're that bitch's... too?"

Hearing that, Sheila blurted out half a sentence without thinking.

The moment the words left her mouth, her face went deathly pale as she realized her mistake.

"Sheila! Shut up!"

Paku rushed forward and clapped a hand over Sheila's mouth.

She didn't know Carl, but she knew Feitan very well... He had always been quick and efficient, and when he attacked, he showed no mercy.

"I'll stay too!"

Phinks gave Sheila a cold glance, then strode over to Feitan's side.

As he did, he subtly positioned himself in front of Feitan, whose body was poised to move.

They were still companions, after all, and he didn't want Feitan to attack Sheila on impulse!

"Uvogin, Machi, and I will go back and check on Sarasa first!"

Nobunaga glanced at Uvogin beside him and spoke decisively.

They had grown up together, after all, and he knew the guy was too concerned about saving face to say it himself!

As soon as he finished speaking, Uvogin's broad back abruptly relaxed, making Machi, who was on his shoulder, sway visibly a couple of times.

"Sheila has trouble walking. I'll take her back."

Noticing everyone's gazes fall on him, Franklin clenched his fists, lowered his head, and spoke softly.

He knew everyone disliked Sheila, but no matter what, they couldn't just leave her here, could they?

"Tap, tap!"

The dispute was interrupted by sudden footsteps.

As everyone turned around, Hank's towering figure emerged from the woods.

On Hank's back, Sarasa was wrapped in bloodstained bandages, clutching the black cloak Carl had given her tightly in her arms.

As her gaze moved farther, Sarasa noticed the members of the Phantom Troupe, and her eyes suddenly lit up.

"Quick! Go find Carl!"

"She's still in the woods. There are lots of bad people chasing her..."

The girl's pale fingertips dug into the canvas, as though she were clutching her last hope of survival.

Chrollo's face suddenly darkened. This was the worst outcome he had anticipated!