The iron bars of the cage were rusted and had become brittle.
Under the amplification of Nen, Moro forcefully bent the vertically arranged iron bars, creating an opening large enough for him to leave the cage.
Ignoring the terrified gazes from around him, Moro bent down and exited the cage.
Hearing movement from outside the compartment door, he immediately turned sideways and reached out to grasp an iron bar.
He intended to break the iron bar, but was unable to do so.
Under time pressure, Moro noticed that the top and bottom ends of the iron bar were not welded shut, so he forcefully pulled the bent iron bar out of the cage frame.
Just then, the compartment door was opened, and sunlight poured in.
A tall figure could be seen, along with—
A pistol!
Moro's eyes suddenly changed.
At his current level, having just awakened Nen, even a small-caliber pistol could inflict substantial damage on him.
Furthermore, a Nen user's control over "Nen" comes more from cumulative practice, allowing the body to instinctively remember and adapt.
So even if Moro successfully awakened Nen, he would still need a period of adaptation to allow his body to familiarize itself with Nen's operation.
In this situation, the threat of firearms to him was obvious.
Almost at the same time he saw the pistol, Moro had no room for further thought and immediately threw the bent iron bar in his hand.
Thanks to his proficiency in Emission-type abilities, there was no problem with the direction or accuracy.
The rapidly spinning iron bar, accompanied by a whooshing sound, accurately struck the person who had opened the compartment door.
With a scream, the person was struck and sent flying backward.
But at that moment, accompanied by a slight sound, a Nen-infused throwing knife shot through the air, aimed directly at Moro's leg.
It was an attack from another person…
And a Nen user at that!
In haste, Moro barely managed to sway his body.
Whoosh.
The throwing knife grazed Moro's knee, spattering a streak of blood.
Moro's expression tightened.
Enduring the pain from the wound, he decisively retreated deeper into the carriage, putting distance between himself and the iron compartment door.
He knew there were two people responsible for transporting the goods, so he had been mentally prepared from the start.
However, the sudden stop of the transport vehicle, and the fact that one of them was a Nen user, still caught him somewhat off guard.
More critically—
Judging by the timing of the throwing knife attack, the opponent likely already knew the situation inside the compartment before stopping, which is why they had their armed companion open the door.
Furthermore, judging by the lack of extreme vigilance when the compartment door was opened, the opponent must not have revealed too much crucial information to their armed companion.
In other words, the opponent deliberately had their armed companion open the door, so that while highlighting the threat, the armed companion would also serve as a decoy.
The opponent…
was quite ruthless.
Moro leaned tightly against the side wall of the compartment, his expression grave.
He looked up and scanned the dimly lit corner of the compartment ceiling, vaguely spotting a faint red light.
It was a surveillance camera.
Withdrawing his gaze, Moro frowned.
Not having anticipated these situations beforehand was his oversight, failing to cover all bases.
Especially the possibility of a Nen user among the transporters…
But Moro never dwelled too much on remorse and regret; learning from mistakes and failures was the principle he had always adhered to.
This was also the fundamental reason he was able to establish an antique shop and achieve stable profits in less than half a year.
It should be known that in the industry involving antique and handmade art transactions, it is virtually saturated with fraud, schemes, and counterfeiting.
Moro had, of course, been deceived, and fallen victim to schemes more than once.
But it was precisely these experiences that forged Moro's crucial ability to handle numerous situations today.
Moro looked towards the compartment door.
The opponent had not shown themselves since making their move.
And there was one thing that particularly concerned Moro.
He was certain that the timing of the opponent's earlier attack presented a definite opportunity to severely injure or kill him.
But the opponent didn't do so, choosing instead to attack his leg.
Clearly a ruthless individual who could decisively sacrifice a companion in a short amount of time, yet chose to hold back in this situation.
"Is the importance placed on the 'cargo' higher than the risk of a companion dying while acting as a decoy…?"
Moro realized this.
The so-called cargo, of course, referred to their group of "piggies."
From this, Moro deduced that the opponent must be responsible for ensuring the integrity of the cargo as much as possible, which inevitably led him to recall the incident where the transport vehicle was attacked, resulting in the death of most of the "piggies"…
Was there some underlying reason for this?
And could this indirectly confirm the importance and value of their current batch of cargo?
Unfortunately, although he had miraculously survived back then, he quickly lost consciousness.
Upon waking, he was already on a spaceship heading to the Kakin Empire.
At that time, he had no memories of this world, and what was more troublesome was the language barrier, making it impossible to understand the whole story immediately.
Afterward, he hadn't paid much attention to these matters.
Otherwise, if he had understood, he should have more information now.
What could be confirmed at present was that the attacker's responsibility to ensure the integrity of the cargo took priority, even over the life of their companion.
Perhaps this could be exploited…
Moro quickly checked his wound; it wasn't deep, but without hemostasis, it would remain a potential problem.
He didn't have much time left.
"Hmm?"
Thinking of this, Moro's pupils contracted.
He stared intently at the motionless area outside the compartment door, then quickly glanced back at the throwing knife stuck in the compartment wall.
Time…
The opponent undoubtedly held the initiative, yet showed no signs of using it to press their advantage, not even showing their face.
Was it excessive caution, or were they waiting for something?
Moro gazed at the throwing knife, unable to discern anything for the moment, and had no intention of rashly pulling it out to use as a weapon.
He just vaguely felt that he couldn't maintain this stalemate any longer; he had to make a decision.
"Let's take a gamble."
Moro abruptly charged towards the compartment door.
Out of sight, Zazan heard the movement and subconsciously raised his left hand.
As Nen surged, a throwing knife materialized out of thin air, and he was about to throw it, following the sound.
The entire sequence of actions, as well as his on-the-spot reactions, were based on his combat instincts.
But the rationality that followed made him forcefully suppress the urge to throw the knife.
Because, under the influence of the blind spot, his pre-emptive attack could very likely accidentally kill one of the "piggies."
It was precisely this split-second hesitation that allowed Moro to successfully leap out of the carriage, landing more than ten meters away, and then see Zazan standing beside the transport vehicle.
He gambled correctly.
Seeing that the opponent didn't attack, Moro steadied himself, discreetly glancing at the location of the throwing knife deep inside the carriage.
Then he tensed his nerves, ready to react to anything.
Zazan clutched the throwing knife, his gaze at Moro filled with undisguised surprise.
"This kid… is too strange."
"Are you always this brave?"
Zazan impassively fiddled with the throwing knife.
Moro remained silent, seizing the time to let his body adapt to the flow of Nen.
Seeing Moro's silence, Zazan frowned slightly and said coldly,
"If I had made a move just now, you would have lost at least half your life, if not died."
"You could have done that from the beginning, couldn't you?"
Moro's expression was calm.
"..."
Zazan's expression shifted.
(End of chapter)
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