Human trafficking and organ trade.
Such phenomena were far from uncommon in the world of Hunter x Hunter.
In fact, there were specialized channels and information exchange platforms catering to both buyers and sellers.
Countless twisted desires from purchasers could be satisfied through these platforms.
If nothing unexpected happened, Morrow and the others would be treated like piglets, picked at will.
The unlucky ones would have their organs harvested outright or be turned into grotesque statues or display dolls while still alive.
The slightly more fortunate might become a buyer's plaything—perhaps enduring physical torment, but at least surviving.
Morrow sat cross-legged, recalling the events that were about to unfold.
This truck would arrive at a mental institution in a few hours.
As for the exact timing, Morrow couldn't be certain, but he knew the journey would take at least two hours.
And once the truck reached its destination, it would be attacked by an unknown group during the 'unloading' process.
Back then, most of the piglets locked in cages like him had died in that assault.
His survival had been partly due to luck—he had been moved away from the initial explosion during unloading.
The other reason was Morena's timely appearance. She had taken an interest in him as a buyer and somehow convinced the far-reaching organization to cancel the original organ order.
Had it not been for Morena back then, Morrow might have become the fastest transmigrator to die.
Now, facing the same crisis again, Morrow felt as though he stood at a crossroads, forced to make a choice.
Should he follow the original path and let Morena buy him, or should he find a way to escape while the truck was still moving?
His gaze flickered uncertainly as he thought of Chrollo and the others who had attacked him, of Dogman who had recently left his shop, and of Morena's abyss-like eyes.
But soon, Morrow steadied his thoughts and made his decision.
Now, he not only understood this world but had also mastered its common language.
For the early transition period, there was no need to rely on Morena's acceptance again.
Naturally, he couldn't let things play out the same way.
This time, Morrow didn't want to have any connection with Morena.
"I need to open my aura nodes within two hours. If possible, I should also adapt my body to the techniques of 'Deceptive Shooting Star'..."
Morrow raised his eyes to the rusted vertical bars of the cage.
Since he had decided to escape while the truck was moving, Nen awakening was an absolute necessity.
Normally, without guidance from a Nen user, even if one had theoretical knowledge of Nen, it would be nearly impossible to achieve self-awakening in practice.
Even if one could awaken Nen in a short time, mastering the subsequent techniques would be another hurdle to overcome.
Ten, Ren, Zetsu, Hatsu.
These were the Four Major Principles—the foundational Nen techniques. Under normal circumstances, Nen users would spend considerable time and effort practicing and reinforcing them.
The trope of casually awakening Nen and mastering its techniques within an unrealistically short time had a probability close to zero in reality.
Nen itself was an incredibly profound power.
Awareness, contact, learning, application, refinement, mastery, precision, transcendence...
Every stage of interaction with Nen required immense dedication and effort.
Characters like Gon, Killua, or the Fourth Prince of Kakin in the original story... In reality, there aren't so many monstrous geniuses.
But now—
Morrow would become one of them.
Closing his eyes, Morrow instinctively began to meditate, allowing his consciousness to settle gradually as he sought to sense the latent aura within his body.
His accumulated experience of over half a year played an irreplaceable role at this moment.
Within just a few seconds, Morrow effortlessly touched upon the latent aura and immediately attempted to guide it to unclog his aura nodes.
The entire process proceeded smoothly.
Under Morrow's precise control, the aura within his body flowed like a gentle stream toward every single aura node.
It was as natural and simple as eating or drinking...
One by one, the aura nodes were unclogged by the latent aura, then surged like turbulent currents, fluctuating across Morrow's body.
Excellent.
Morrow opened his eyes and looked down at his hands, now shimmering with a white glow.
The aura gushing out from within his body was like a wild horse, galloping and escaping recklessly.
Given Morrow's current physical state, if left unchecked, he would likely collapse from exhaustion within ten minutes.
But this was clearly a minor issue.
With a single thought, Morrow smoothly and naturally employed the technique of Ten, wrapping the wildly escaping aura around his body's surface and suppressing the intense consumption.
It was even easier than expected...
The effortless Nen awakening and mastery of the Four Major Principles techniques left Morrow feeling even more composed.
Successfully awakening Nen meant he now held a weapon representing the initiative.
All that remained was to create a disturbance when the time was ripe, forcing the driver to stop the vehicle.
Morrow reached out and grasped the rusted railing in his palm.
—--
Inside the cargo truck's cab.
The driver's seat was occupied by a disheveled middle-aged man.
Perhaps due to the rugged and difficult mountain road, the middle-aged man was driving with intense focus.
In the passenger seat sat a lazy-looking young man with a buzz cut, slouched as if trying to merge with the seat.
But a closer look at the young man's eyes would reveal that his gaze never settled in one place, constantly shifting between the rearview mirror and several surveillance monitors.
Vigilance and observation seemed to be his duty.
"Huh?"
The buzz-cut young man's gaze swept over a monitor hanging diagonally from the ceiling of the compartment, and he suddenly let out a surprised sound.
Hearing the exclamation, the middle-aged driver instinctively asked, "Something wrong?"
"..."
The young man didn't answer immediately but stared fixedly at the image on the monitor.
The screen clearly showed Morrow's figure.
"How is this possible...?!"
Through the real-time feed from the monitor, the young man witnessed Morrow awakening Nen within seconds and immediately mastering the technique of Ten.
Instantly, his eyes widened, his previous laziness vanishing as disbelief, as if he'd seen a ghost, took its place.
Awakening Nen autonomously within seconds already shattered the young man's understanding, let alone mastering Ten immediately after awakening.
Had he not seen it with his own eyes, the young man would never have believed it.
As for the possibility of Morrow hiding his abilities...
Impossible.
This batch of piglets held extremely high value as human commodities, specially reserved for high-ranking officials and nobility. Every single one had been personally handled by him, and he knew their backgrounds inside out.
The disheveled middle-aged man glanced sideways at the buzz-cut young man's reaction and frowned, "Zarzan, what's going on?"
"Stop the damn truck!"
Zarzan barked, his voice cracking under the weight of disbelief. Without explanation, he ordered the middle-aged man to stop in an unquestionable tone.
Trusting Zarzan's ability, the middle-aged man stepped on the brakes immediately despite his confusion.
Zarzan rummaged through the storage compartment for a pistol and tossed it to the middle-aged man. Ignoring the man's changing expression, he pushed the door open, jumped out, and strode toward the rear of the cargo compartment.
The middle-aged man gripped the gun, silently released the safety, and followed, approaching the back of the cargo compartment from the other side.
—--
Inside the cargo compartment.
When the transport truck suddenly stopped, Morrow seized the moment to wrench the rusted iron bar apart.
Squeak, creak—
The sound of bending metal immediately drew the attention of the other piglets.
They turned toward the noise, their minds freezing in shock.