Instant Kill X Reaction X Contrast

Illumi made no sound when she made her move.

Under the gray-white sky to the north of the old industrial area, smoke was still rising from a dozen or so Dawn Society tents.

The sentry, rifle in hand, leaned against the pile of scrap metal, his gaze lazily sweeping across the surroundings, completely unaware that a dark figure had already crept close to the edge of the camp, skimming along the shadow of the scrap heap.

The moment the first Nen Needle flicked from Illumi's fingertip, the outermost sentry didn't even have time to open his mouth.

The needle pierced the back of her neck, and she instantly went limp.

The second and third arrows fell silently less than two breaths apart, and the sentries in the other two directions also fell to the ground without a sound.

Illumi emerged from the shadows, her steps as light as ever. Her dark eyes swept over the swaying canvas of the tent, but her hands never stopped moving.

A dozen or Nen Needle slid out from between his fingers, as if he were holding a handful of toothpicks. With a flick of his wrist, several needles shot into the gaps in the tent canvas at the same time.

A few muffled groans came from inside, then silence.

Tent after tent, all quiet and still; even the crackling of the firewood in the campfire was louder than the noise.

Someone in the last tent sensed something was wrong. Just as their hand touched the hilt of their knife, Irmmi lifted the curtain and entered, striking the person's Adam's apple with one hand, while simultaneously piercing their heart with Nen Needle from her other hand.

The man fell straight back, smashing a corner of the cot in the tent.

Illumi stood at the tent entrance, tilted his head, and glanced around at the corpses.

After confirming there were no survivors, he pulled the black flat box from inside his collar, glanced at it, put it back, and turned to walk back the way he came.

From sneaking into the camp to completing the cleanup, it took less than three minutes.

Jiang Ye received the report from Gray Beak the next morning.

"All seventeen men from that outpost to the north are gone."

Gray Beak stood at the container door, his face still showing signs of exhaustion from lack of sleep.

"The person with the Shattered Eye went to check, but found no signs of a struggle."

"Most people are killed instantly by a needle-like object piercing their vital organs."

"One of the six people in the tent didn't even touch a weapon."

Jiang Ye was binding lead weights to his legs next to the iron-framed bed.

This is his first training session every morning: weight training within the Zoldyck Family system.

The lead weights sank heavily onto his calves. After tying the last strip of cloth, he straightened up and stretched his ankles.

"Illumi's Nen Needle"

His tone was calm, showing no surprise.

I told him he would handle it.

"Among those dozen or so people, the team leader is Nen user."

Gray Beak took half a step forward, lowering his voice.

"Based on the lingering scent from the wound, Shattered Eye determined that the person had activated the Entanglement spell, but the Nen Needle pierced through the spell's protection and stabbed into the heart."

There wasn't even time to react.

Jiang Ye paused for a moment.

He knew Illumi was strong, but upon hearing such details, his mind would automatically calculate the corresponding difference in strength.

Can one's own binding force block that kind of Nen Needle?

The answer is clearly no.

Not to mention the nen acupuncture, just the fact that Yi Ermi used "condensation" to see through the existence of shikigami shows how solid the other party's nen foundation is.

He secured the lead weight to his other leg, stood up, and stomped his feet twice to make sure the straps wouldn't come loose.

"Knew."

He tilted his head slightly towards the Gray Beak.

"How's the clearing process going at that steel foundry?"

"The wall has been repaired, and the collapsed part of the roof has been resealed with sheet metal."

"The hardened ground layer is relatively intact; the gravel and rust have been cleared away, and it's more than four times the size of the flat area near the Toad."

Gray Beak flipped through the notebook in his hand.

"A 500-meter perimeter has been cordoned off, and Shattered Eye has set up shifts of sentries; not even a mouse can squeeze in."

I need it within three days.

Jiang Ye walked to the door and put on his old coat.

What day is it today?

"The next day."

"Finish it all by tomorrow night."

Gray Beak responded and quickly left.

Jiang Ye stepped out of the container and walked towards the open space to the north of the camp.

Bago was already there waiting, holding two newly whittled wooden sticks, squatting next to the pile of scrap metal and sanding the sticks with sandpaper.

Seeing Jiang Ye approach, Bago stood up and threw one of the sticks over to him.

Jiang Ye reached out and caught it, weighing it in his hand.

"Let's try a different training method today."

He stuck the stick into the gravel, bent down, picked up two fist-sized pebbles, and stuffed them into Bago's hand.

"You threw this at me."

Throw it with all your might, don't hold back.

Bago glanced down at the stone in his hand, his brows furrowing.

"Throw stones?"

One of the training components of the Zoldyck Family training system is projectile dodging.

Jiang Ye took ten steps back and stood still, his feet slightly apart, his knees slightly bent, and his center of gravity very low.

"In Meteor City's real combat, it's not just about swords and fists."

"Molotov cocktails, flying stones, hidden weapons—anything can come flying at us."

"I need to learn to dodge the fastest projectiles with minimal movement, instead of always using Shadow Stealth."

"Our gas capacity is limited, so we should conserve every bit of it."

After listening, Bago weighed the stone in his hand, and a smile spread across his face.

"Then, Alliance Leader, hold on tight."

The first rock came hurtling at you with all its might, and it was quite fast.

Jiang Ye tilted his head slightly, and the stone flew past his ear, the wind it created ruffling the stray hairs at his temples.

The second one arrived immediately, aimed at the chest area.

He leaned half an inch to the right, and the stone grazed past the outside of his left shoulder.

The third and fourth blocks were launched almost simultaneously, one high and one low, blocking the evasion route.

Jiang Ye's knees buckled, and he shrunk halfway as two stones flew past his head in a crisscross pattern.

Bago whistled, finished throwing the stones in his hand, and bent down to pick up two more.

"Continue?"

"Add to three pieces."

Bago paused for a moment.

Three pieces?

I only have two hands.

"Then let's think of a way."

Jiang Ye readjusted his focus.

"The battlefield won't wait for you to be ready."

Bago frowned, pondered for a couple of seconds, then suddenly bent down, picked up the stick, gripped the stone in his left hand and the stick in his right, tossed the stone up, and lashed the stick across it.

The stone was whipped around by the stick and flew out spinning, almost twice as fast as when thrown by hand.

Jiang Ye's pupils contracted slightly.

He could predict the trajectory of the stone, but the deviation caused by its rotation was more difficult to predict than that of a straight throw.

He dodged to the side, the stone grazing his clothes at the side and smashing into the scrap metal behind him, leaving a dent.

"That's interesting."

Jiang Ye's lips curved into a slight smile.

"Add another one."