Intelligence X Inducement

Commands could be simple or complex.

But they could not be used to control someone through real-time mental manipulation!

Simple commands, such as short phrases like "follow," "walk," or "ram," could exert either strong or weak control over a target's consciousness, affecting the target more on a subconscious level.

Complex commands were different. The more complex, detailed, or explicit the command, the more absolute the control over the target, who would carry out the order at any cost.

But regardless of the type, a manipulated target would not act independently outside its commands.

Hmm...

I'm a little surprised I can't control it in real time.

On the pig's back, Baishi rubbed his chin as he fine-tuned the commands he implanted, testing variations and combinations with the branch Nen Needle as his medium.

He had originally assumed that Manipulation could be used to control living or nonliving things in real time.

Only after experimenting on Illumi's needle person did he learn that he had to implant explicit commands in the Nen Aura medium before it could achieve complete control.

Maybe it's just this one case?

The image of Shalnark from the Phantom Troupe flashed through Baishi's mind. That guy's manipulation medium seemed to be some kind of specialized antenna, and he seemed able to control his targets in real time through a phone?

He couldn't remember the details clearly. The only thing he recalled was that some unlucky auctioneer Shalnark had manipulated in Yorknew City had behaved perfectly normally while under his control.

Different restrictions naturally produce different Nen Abilities. Even among Manipulators who control living beings, factors like will, environment, personality, interests, and knowledge could lead to different manipulation systems...

If I were a Manipulation user without a cheat, I'd probably choose to manipulate nonliving matter, like metal, earth and rock, or ice and water, right?

At that thought, Baishi shook his head with a chuckle, then looked around as he drew closer and closer to the warehouse.

The examinees who had been scattered throughout the forest were already nowhere to be seen. Clearly, those who had hunted down their targets had long since gone back to prepare and roast them.

As for those killed by the Great Stamps...

Baishi blinked. Based on his observations of the Great Stamp just now, if an ordinary person really took one hit from a boar's savage charge, damaged muscles and broken bones would be the least of their injuries.

Thud!

Just then, the Great Stamp reached the edge of the forest and came to an abrupt halt. The Nen Aura commands implanted in its brain had been used up, leaving only the slender branch sticking out of its head.

Since the manipulation had not been absolutely coercive, the Great Stamp's consciousness had not been destroyed by the Nen Needle. It jolted awake, and the inherently vicious beast furiously tried to throw back its head and roar.

Pfft!

In an instant, a sharp thrust pierced straight down through its entire head, and its roar silently turned into a feeble scream.

Unable to open its mouth and with its brain pierced and destroyed, the Great Stamp died with a muffled, aggrieved whimper.

Thud! Squelch-

You served as a taxi, so your pig life was complete.

Baishi pulled out his sharp sword cane and flicked the blood from its blade. He measured a spot on the Great Stamp's neck, preparing to cut a large opening and bleed it out.

Even without an edge, the slender, four-sided blade was still quite sharp when reinforced with Shu. Though it wasn't especially sharp, cutting through pigskin was no problem.

After finding some vines and forcibly hanging the boar up to drain its blood, Baishi gutted it, keeping nothing but the main body and discarding all its organs.

The Great Stamp was huge to begin with. If he dealt with all those organs as well, the first half of the test would probably be over by the time he finished.

When he was done, Baishi, who had deliberately used Nen Aura to keep the smell of blood and scraps from spreading, was still clean and elegant.

There aren't any seasonings or ingredients either. This will have to do...

Baishi tied up the prepared pork with vines, then hoisted it onto his shoulders with a somewhat exasperated look and strode out of the forest.

Whoosh~

As soon as he emerged, scorching heat, the smell of blood, and the aroma of roasting meat hit him full in the face.

He looked around.

The clearing in front of the warehouse was filled with rows of homemade grills. More than a hundred examinees were busily roasting whole pigs, some butchered and some not.

Ignoring the strange looks from the others, Baishi glanced around and quickly found where Gon and the others had gathered. An empty grill with a fire burning beneath it had been set up beside the four of them.

Is that for me?

As Baishi looked over in surprise,

Gon and the others also noticed his arrival and immediately greeted him with delight, urging him to hurry over and start roasting. Everything was ready.

At the sight, Baishi opened his mouth, then scratched his cheek and walked over with a smile. As a future "intelligence" hunter, he couldn't afford to be too thin-skinned.

Tap, tap, tap! Sizzle!

Taking the wooden spit Leorio offered him, Baishi copied the others and skewered the prepared pig, then followed their example and rotated it over the fire.

"There are some cumin spice balls here too. Want some?"

Beside him, Killua suddenly spoke. Baishi turned in surprise and saw Killua awkwardly offering him a red, tennis-ball-shaped ingredient. He took it, startled, then smiled and said, "Thanks. Killua, right? You're all so welcoming, I'm a little overwhelmed."

"Go on, is there some information you want to ask me about?"

The moment he said that-

Swish, swish, swish, swish!

As if a radar had been triggered, all four turned to Baishi with eager anticipation. They all spoke at once, their overlapping words becoming a hopeless jumble.

"Stop!"

Baishi raised a hand to stop them. Rotating the whole pig so it would roast evenly, he looked at them and smiled helplessly. "How am I supposed to make anything out when all four of you talk at once? One at a time!"

"Oh, right! Information has value, so don't forget that."

"The first three pieces of information I gave you for free were precious. If you want to ask for more... you'll have to think about what you have to trade..."

"..."

The four fell silent at that.

"Aw, don't be so distant..." Leorio broke the silence, raising a thumb and grinning. "We're all friends..."

"As the saying goes, even brothers keep clear accounts, let alone... friends who've only just met!"

After that teasing retort, Baishi smiled at the four of them.

"You can ask, but whether I can answer depends on what I need... If you can meet a certain special condition, it's not impossible for me to give you the information you want..."

"A special condition?" Kurapika's eyes lit up. "What special-"

"Since it's a special condition, naturally I can't tell you what it is..."

Baishi waved a hand and interrupted Kurapika with a smile, then shook his head. "The condition is mysterious and can't be disclosed. At least, you haven't met it yet..."

There was only so much information related to the original story. If he revealed it casually, it would seem too cheap.

What he wanted more was to obtain more weighting tasks through information!

But whether Temporary Weighting Tasks were still triggered by information remained to be seen.

Tch!

"Making it so mysterious..." Killua, who had been somewhat interested, saw Baishi put on that mysterious expression again. He curled his lip and muttered, "The world's a big place. Do you really think you know everything?"

Oh?

"Looks like someone isn't convinced."

Baishi's sensitive ears caught Killua's muttering clearly. He turned with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. He scanned the crowd of examinees and saw that Gittarackur was dozens of meters away. An idea immediately occurred to him, and he probed in a low, enticing voice.

"Don't you want to know... why you can't help running away every time you run into danger?"

Swish!

Killua's head snapped up, and his sharp eyes, filled with disbelief, fixed on Baishi.

"How did you know? Could it be..."