"Sorry, but I'm very tired tonight." Pariston smiled, turned, and left. Cheadle entered her room, sat in her office chair, and leaned back,
"Sorry, but I'm very tired tonight."
Pariston smiled, turned, and left.
Cheadle entered her room, sat in her office chair, and leaned back, sighing softly.
She had previously handled Association matters on the Chairman's behalf, but now that she had truly taken over the Chairman's responsibilities, she understood.
Being Chairman was far more complicated than she'd imagined.
The endless stream of tedious and useless documents, which she couldn't ignore, had already consumed most of her time.
She was only handling half of the Hunter Association's affairs; Pariston handled the other half. Even so, Cheadle felt incredibly exhausted.
'No wonder Netero didn't want to be Chairman.
It's probably too much trouble,' she thought.
Just as Cheadle was complaining, her phone rang—an unknown number.
"Hello? Who is this?"
"It's me!"
Netero's voice came from the other end. Hearing his voice, Cheadle stood up abruptly.
"Chairman! Where are you now?"
Netero hadn't contacted them for so long; Cheadle was naturally worried.
"Haha! I'm fine, don't worry."
"But Chairman, please return to the Hunter Association!"
Netero chuckled. "I can't return yet. Didn't I say? I won't return until this matter is resolved."
"Stop with the 'buts.' I have something to ask you."
"What is it, Chairman?"
Standing in an open field, Netero looked at the bloodstains on the ground. "Has anything unusual happened?"
Cheadle opened her computer and began searching.
Cheadle replied confidently, "No! Nothing unusual has happened recently, Chairman. Have you discovered someth—"
Beep beep beep! Netero hung up before she could finish.
Netero, ending the call, stroked his beard, looking at the bloodstains.
"This happens at this time of all times!"
Morel and Knov came out. Morel frowned.
"There aren't any bodies in the village."
"Everyone has been taken away. Judging by the traces, they were killed and then taken away," Knov added, adjusting his glasses. "This is strange. If it were a typical attack, why would they take the bodies?"
"And the village isn't wealthy. Robbers, bandits, or other criminals wouldn't target such a poor village."
Netero remained silent, looking into the distance. "Let's go. We'll continue forward. We'll find the answers."
"The smell of blood is so strong!"
Entering the dilapidated factory, Ponzu immediately covered her nose. The pungent smell of blood hung in the air like a red mist.
Even without smelling it, it was clearly visible.
Hisoka, however, seemed more excited in this bloody environment.
This place evoked a long-lost feeling.
"This so-called nature reserve… how could there be a place like this?" Loki said, looking around.
"Didn't they say no mechanical devices were allowed here?"
Balda's companion looked at the various pieces of machinery around them, confused.
Loki suddenly spoke. "It's naive to believe that there are still places in this world untouched by 'pollution.' Everything has a bright side and an inevitably dark side."
Turning to his companion, Loki said, "The world isn't composed of pure white or absolute black, but a mixture of gray."
Loki didn't wait for a response, walking forward.
The excavated passage was covered in bloodstains, recent judging by their appearance, but there were no bodies.
They must have been taken to the Chimera Ant nest.
The plot seemed to be unfolding as expected.
Reaching a slightly wider space, Hisoka examined the bloodstains on the wall, stopping and turning to look down the dark passage.
He smirked. "Looks like there are more bugs waiting for us."
"Bugs?"
Balda, checking the surroundings, turned to look in Hisoka's direction.
Tap tap tap!
Crisp footsteps echoed.
"Hurry up, Pochi, Koro."
The footsteps were mixed with the sound of a human's muffled sobs.
An ugly face slowly emerged from the shadows.
The clanking of chains followed, and a centaur-like creature appeared—Yunju, one of the Chimera Ant Squadron Leaders. In his hands, he held chains, the other ends bound to two humans.
They crawled on their knees and elbows like dogs.
The two humans appeared to be in their twenties or thirties, but they looked like eighty-year-olds. Their hair was gray and sparse, their bodies emaciated to the point of barely resembling humans.
The moment they appeared, Ponzu gasped, her mouth covered in disbelief.
Balda grabbed Ponzu, moving closer to Loki.
Although Loki was a terrifying criminal, at this moment, he provided an oddly strong sense of security.
Their other companion also moved closer to Loki.
The three stood to Loki's left, right, and behind.
Loki, about to speak, glanced at Balda and the others, then turned back to the centaur Chimera Ant.
"Ah!! Help! Save us! Please!"
One of the kneeling humans cried out upon seeing them, a flicker of hope returning to their eyes.
"Pochi, you're just a dog. How dare you speak without my permission!"
Thump! Yunju crushed the man's head with his hoof.
"Oops! Accidentally killed him!" Yunju looked at the other human he was holding. "Let's deal with Koro too!"
Ponzu couldn't bear to watch, but Pakunoda held her head still.
Pakunoda's hand rested on Ponzu's head. "Don't look away. No matter what you see, you must keep your eyes fixed on your enemy."
Pshhh! Another kill. Yunju laughed. "Haha! Fun! Too bad they're so weak. They're already dying after just a few days. Useless!"
Having toyed with and killed the humans like dogs, Yunju found them weak and disappointing.
Two of Yunju's Squadron Leaders stepped forward.
"Yunju-sama, don't worry. These humans look stronger than the previous two."
"Let these humans be Yunju-sama's new pets!"
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