LightReader

Chapter 205 - Chapter 205: Experiment

"This stuff …"

One month later, inside the palace compound of Edi, one of the Ten Dons.

Xiang Nan was working in a secret laboratory.

He severed a mouse's neck and dripped some Altana onto the wound.

Within seconds the white mouse in the cage began to show signs of life—a genuine resurrection.

Tests revealed, however, that the mouse must not have been dead for more than one minute; only freshly harvested Altana works.

Also—because a mouse's vitality is so weak—the Dragon Vein effect stands out all the more.

Even so, it is astonishingly potent …

For a whole month Xiang Nan had buried himself in research, devouring every scrap of information he could find in order to understand how a planet's life‑force acts on living flesh.

He is a doctor, not a scientist, yet to study Altana he had to "cram at the last minute."

Luckily, his medical background gave him a basic grasp of life structures, and Linne's earlier note—Altana energy remains constant—let him push the experiments further and brainstorm more uses.

He now drew a second vial of Altana and injected it into the mouse.

Seconds later the mouse convulsed; its white fur turned crimson, sprouted madly, its body swelled—until, with a bang, it burst apart.

The Altana he used on the mouse was not of one single type;

In other words, it came from different planets.

Some planetary life‑forces are ferociously strong; some are dark, some comparatively gentle.

Each seems to have its own property.

Whether flesh can endure them depends on the individual body.

"This stuff can strengthen, save—and kill."

Xiang Nan's eyes lit up.

Raw Altana from a planet with overwhelming life‑force is tantamount to deadly poison if it cannot be digested; it can make a body explode in an instant. Used in battle, that would be a trump card.

A moment later he dripped that same liquid onto a cut on his own palm.

The Altana seeped into his bloodstream.

He focused on the sensation—the energy was savage; even a few drops felt like molten lava against living tissue.

But his body is far sturdier than a mouse's, and the Riot of the Blood inside him seems able to hold it at bay—though actually digesting it is unlikely.

"Planets differ in strength too—some are mere moons, some are stars; their size determines the life‑energy they breed … "

After several minutes his palm did not explode, but it did rot and shrivel.

Without blinking he chopped the hand off and went straight to surgery, pulling out a prepared graft and, using Nen, attaching a new hand.

Only he would dare such tests on himself: for anyone else even one drop of Altana coursing through the vessels would be fatal. Beforehand he had used Nen to stitch every blood vessel shut so the Altana could not spread.

"This round lasted longer than the previous one—probably increased resistance. But different energies mean different resistance‑times. The more complex and powerful, the longer it takes to adapt. Normal people can't build resistance at all: the instant this stuff touches them it floods the whole body. In that sense my Nen ability is the perfect workaround."

Xiang Nan smiled.

He flexed the new hand, then opened another cut with a scalpel.

This time he dripped a different Altana onto it.

Sure enough, this one was gentler; the wound closed at once.

Even with the vessels open, the Altana entered his body with no ill effect—instead he felt a comforting warmth and a lift in spirits.

"The two source worlds differ greatly. To Hollows, even a Nen user's body is plain mortal flesh …

In the Gintama world, whether Earthlings or Amanto—Yato aside—most physiques are below those in Hunter × Hunter. That gives humans on the Hunter side better absorbability, and Nen lets them convert energy faster—far beyond what the Hollows imagine."

"Less than half a year should do …"

A timeframe flashed through his mind.

He had already singled out the most brutal Altana specimens; for ordinary planetary life‑force he needs but two or three more months of resistance work before he can absorb it.

But if he absorbs anything, it will be the strongest energy; preparation will take longer, yet the payoff will be worth it.

By contrast, Manman and the others probably cannot manage it.

He relies on Nen to heal his body over and over, hammering in resistance by the most brutal, damaging method.

Manman, Beishi and Orban can only cultivate minimal resistance and then take in gentler Altana.

Compared with the power of an entire planet, the Altana they hold is a drop in the bucket. Humans simply cannot absorb a planet's full energy—indeed, even a tiny celestial body's life‑force would overwhelm them.

Flesh as a vessel has limits; a human body can house only a fraction of such power.

After all, Hunter × Hunter is not Dragon Ball; its very setting says their bodies can't reach such extremes—at least for now. In future it depends on whether life can evolve far enough.

Were they Saiyans from Dragon Ball, maybe;

Nen users? No chance.

Dark Continent aside, within the known human world of Hunter × Hunter Xiang Nan is certain nobody can do it.

"This stage proves the 'first‑kill Armband can sometimes throw a team into special worlds. More resources like this will crop up; whether we use them ourselves or to advance Hunter‑world society, we'll need research and a feasible integration method. I won't have to become a proper scientist, but I need some groundwork."

He murmured the words.

Never had he imagined being spoken of alongside scientists.

He took out his phone, called Beishi and the others in turn, and briefed them on Altana progress.

Immediately Edi's men arrived: the old don wanted to see him.

Xiang Nan left the makeshift lab to meet Edi.

He knew why the urgency: the Yorknew auction arc was looming. Players in the underworld were moving; everyone knew the Ten Dons were due to be wiped out, so now was the time to shore up their own forces and backing.

Across every continent the Dons' turf was turning chaotic.

Players working from the shadows were stirring up ever more trouble—enough to anger the Ten Dons.

As the Dons' hidden trump cards, the Shadow Beasts would soon have to act—and restore order.

More Chapters