A few minutes earlier.
Even after seeing Hisoka chase him across countless miles, Moro had never once regretted stealing that kill.
If given the chance to do it all over again, he wouldn't hesitate to make the same choice.
But now…
Now, he was starting to regret it.
Creeped out? Goosebumps?
Moro couldn't even find the right words to describe the feeling overtaking both his mind and body at this moment.
He realized something deeply unsettling—
Even though he had once read about this character "Hisoka" from the godlike perspective of a manga reader, that didn't mean he had fully grasped everything about him.
Hisoka's lack of morality far exceeded his expectations.
At this point, there was no use trying to negotiate with Hisoka to make him leave.
This guy was like a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of a shoe—no matter how hard you scrape, it just won't come off.
Moro gave up on the idea of getting rid of Hisoka and instead changed his strategy.
Originally, his plan had been to extract as much information as possible about the virus and research facility through Sambika.
But thanks to Hisoka's sudden appearance, Sambika had been scared stiff…
And to make things worse, even Moro himself—an entirely normal person—was now lumped in with Hisoka as a pervert.
A completely undeserved accusation.
However, their conversation had at least confirmed one crucial detail—
The "unknown virus" in the village had very weak transmissibility.
That being the case, there was no longer any need to press Sambika for more information.
Instead, Moro decided to bring Hisoka into the village and track down the research facility directly.
If he couldn't shake off this chewing gum, then he might as well stick it onto Nolan's people and disgust them instead.
That way, Nolan's organization would inevitably see Hisoka as an enemy as well.
This would force them to divide their firepower, making Hisoka absorb at least half the attacks.
With that thought, Moro ignored the eager, expectant look on Hisoka's face, adjusted his heavy backpack, and headed straight for the village.
"So heartbreaking~"
Seeing Moro's cold reaction, Hisoka tucked away his playing card.
He spoke words of sorrow, yet his face never stopped smiling.
The two walked in silence through the forest, one in front, one behind.
They didn't exchange a single word along the way.
It was only when they emerged from the forest that Hisoka, amused, finally asked:
"Your backpack… it's full of guns, isn't it? Quite a few of them, too."
"Yeah."
Moro didn't bother denying it.
Hisoka chuckled lightly, then asked with a subtle undertone:
"Your ability… surely it's not just for running away, is it? Could it be that in terms of practicality and firepower, it's actually weaker than guns?"
"?"
Moro turned his head, giving Hisoka a strange look.
Once he was sure Hisoka had received the message, he turned back and calmly responded:
"Your 'propulsion speed' can leave airships in the dust. Does that mean you don't need to ride airships?"
"…"
Hisoka was momentarily speechless.
Then, he heard Moro continue:
"Your chase speed is faster than a car. Does that mean you don't need to ride cars?"
"…"
This time, Hisoka stayed silent for a moment.
Then—
"Alright~"
He quickly shrugged it off, looking completely unbothered.
A short while later—
Moro and Hisoka crossed the open plains and arrived at the village outskirts.
Without sparing Hisoka a glance, Moro put on his gas mask, concealing almost his entire face.
Then, he set his backpack on the ground, unzipped it, and pulled out several handguns, strapping them onto his body one by one.
He grabbed spare magazines, sliding them into the pouches of his tactical belt.
Hisoka stood beside him, watching the process with a flicker of intrigue in his eyes.
He then casually glanced at the village ahead, its rows of mud-brick houses forming a quiet settlement.
Due to his lack of information, Hisoka couldn't yet understand Moro's actions.
But he also had no intention of asking.
He much preferred waiting for others to reveal their cards, rather than flipping them over himself.
And Moro, naturally, had zero interest in explaining anything to Hisoka.
He couldn't be certain that Nolan's virus research facility was actually inside the village or that there was any direct connection between them.
But—
There was a possibility.
And if that were the case, then he would likely face combat against Nolan's organization sooner or later.
By that point, Hisoka—who insisted on sticking around like a leech—would inevitably become one of their targets.
Moro didn't really need Hisoka to absorb enemy attacks.
But Hisoka had chosen this path himself.
And so—
This burden?
Like it or not, he had to carry it.
With his preparations complete, Moro shouldered his bag and walked into the village.
Hisoka followed naturally, falling into step beside him.
At first, the village was eerily quiet.
But as soon as Moro and Hisoka strolled in without a care, a few stray dogs, curled up near a crumbling mud wall, suddenly perked up and started barking furiously.
Within moments, their barking shattered the village's silence.
Moro listened to the chorus of dog barks echoing around them and cast a deep glance at Hisoka.
Hisoka met his gaze and immediately understood what it meant—
Yet he showed zero reaction.
Moro sighed inwardly.
The sheer thickness of Hisoka's skin…
Or maybe—
He just never had any to begin with.
Shaking his head ever so slightly, Moro continued scanning his surroundings.
On the night he followed Sambika into the village, the darkness had obscured his vision, and he had only reached the outskirts.
Now, walking through the main village paths, he found that it wasn't as rundown as he had expected.
But the population was strangely thin.
The dogs at the entrance barked non-stop, yet even now, only a handful of hidden eyes peeked out at them with cautious wariness.
Moro paid them no mind and kept moving deeper into the village.
The Research Facility?
Shanni Village wasn't very large.
After crossing several mud-streaked paths, Moro arrived at the village center.
Then, he noticed something immediately—
A tall concrete wall, over two meters high, stretching from one street to the next.
Behind it?
A compound, vastly different from the low, crude houses surrounding it.
Moro's eyes narrowed slightly.
He quickly spotted several security cameras mounted along the wall's edges.
That was all he needed.
Moro glanced sideways at Hisoka—who was also observing the compound—then leaped effortlessly onto the wall.
Seeing this, Hisoka copied him without hesitation, landing beside him.
At that very moment—
Their figures were captured by the security cameras, alerting the facility below.
Inside the underground tomb-connected research facility—
A black-suited man frowned as he stared at the surveillance feed.
In the courtyard below—
Moro and Hisoka strolled casually along the compound grounds.
Then—
A fully armed security force rushed out of the building, guns at the ready.
Moro smirked.
"Looks like we found it."
With that, he slapped a pistol into Hisoka's hand.
"Alright, buddy—let's wreck them."
"..."
Gunfire erupted.
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50 Powerstones? (5 Bonus Chapters)
20 Advance Chapters: patreon.com/milezen