Nearly thirty armed personnel…
The moment they spotted Moro and Hisoka, they raised their assault rifles and submachine guns without hesitation and pulled the trigger.
As a barrage of bullets rained down, Moro immediately ducked behind Hisoka, using him as a human shield while holding his pistol in one hand.
Hisoka glanced at Moro's movement out of the corner of his eye and, without a word, calmly gathered his aura and activated Bungee Gum.
He suddenly stretched out his arms, pulling a large sheet of pink, transparent gum-like material from his palms.
With his feet, he anchored the other end to the ground, forming a flexible barrier in front of him to absorb the gunfire.
The swarm of bullets struck the pink membrane.
Instantly, all their kinetic energy and heat were neutralized, leaving nothing but sharp imprints on the gum's surface.
By the time the armed personnel ran out of ammo, Hisoka's barrier was completely covered in bullets, forming a dense, impenetrable wall.
Seeing their frozen bullets, the attackers were momentarily stunned, even forgetting to reload for a second.
At that moment, Hisoka calmly clapped his hands together, compressing the Bungee Gum and crushing all the bullets into a compact sphere.
"This is a magic trick~"
With an amused smile, Hisoka slowly opened his hands again.
The bullets, which had been compressed into a tight clump, were now perfectly arranged across the pink gum's surface—lined up with almost obsessive precision.
A perfectionist's dream come true.
Moro watched this unfold.
But what caught his attention wasn't the flashy magic act—
It was Hisoka's absolute mastery of his own ability.
And that was something Moro sorely lacked.
As this realization sank in, Moro's gaze lingered on Hisoka's exposed back.
For a brief instant, a murderous intent flickered in his heart.
But under the weight of rationality, that thought appeared and vanished in an instant.
Moro pressed his lips together, then took advantage of Hisoka's shield—raising his pistol under Hisoka's outstretched arm.
The enemy was still in shock—
Moro wasted no time.
He pulled the trigger repeatedly.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Gunfire erupted.
Each lethal bullet struck either the head or chest of the enemy.
In just a couple of seconds, six or seven of them had collapsed.
Moro emptied his magazine, tossed the spent pistol aside, and drew another from his waist, immediately resuming fire.
The armed personnel quickly snapped out of their stupor—
Some took cover while reloading, others reached for grenades.
But—
Hisoka didn't give them the chance.
With a casual flick of his gum, he rebounded all the bullets back at them.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
A series of dull impact sounds filled the air—
The remaining enemies fell like dominoes.
Even with advanced weaponry, they were utterly powerless against a Nen user.
A Virus Research Facility?
"Looks like this place is hiding something interesting~"
Hisoka shifted his gaze from the pile of corpses to Moro's face, his eyes gleaming with curiosity.
"For you to come here so deliberately… I wonder, what kind of fun secret is inside?"
"You're overthinking it."
Moro's tone was flat.
"It's just a virus research base. Nothing special. I came here to destroy it, that's all."
Hisoka studied Moro's expression, picking up on subtle cues.
From what he could tell, Moro wasn't lying.
Suddenly, his interest deflated.
He had assumed Moro's actions had some deeper, thrilling purpose—perhaps a hidden motive or a grander secret.
But in the end, it was just…
A simple mission to destroy a research facility.
"I see~"
Hisoka shrugged dismissively.
Then, out of nowhere—
"By the way… didn't you just try to kill me?"
Moro responded without hesitation:
"Did I?"
As he spoke, he calmly ejected the empty magazine from his pistol.
Hisoka narrowed his eyes at him, still smiling.
"Alright~ You didn't~"
"That's right. I didn't."
Moro smoothly loaded a fresh magazine and walked toward the front gate, stepping over the bodies.
After a few steps, he suddenly halted.
He glanced back—
Toward the wall they had climbed over earlier.
Hisoka's gaze followed.
A familiar figure had just leaped onto the wall and was staring right at them.
Sambika's Arrival
"You two…!"
The newcomer was Sambika.
She had rushed over upon hearing the gunfire.
Standing atop the wall, Sambika's dark eyes widened in shock as she took in the scene below.
Then—
Her gaze fell upon the piles of fully armed corpses near the mansion's entrance.
She froze.
In her understanding of the world, a highly trained and well-equipped private military force had no business being stationed in a small, forgotten village.
The sheer absurdity of it all sent a wave of confusion through her mind.
But before she could process her thoughts—
Inside the Underground Facility
The man in the black suit was named Retona.
Expression cold, he silently removed his tie and suit jacket, revealing a tactical harness strapped to his body.
From one of the holsters, he drew a Desert Eagle.
Muttering to himself, he said:
"I once believed guns were the best weapons. A simple motion, a squeeze of a finger… and life is erased."
Pointing the pistol at his own temple, he continued:
"I was convinced that with a gun in my hand, I could obtain both wealth and power. And I did. But I was wrong. There exists a weapon far greater than firearms."
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Suddenly—
Muzzle flashes lit up the dark tomb as a series of gunshots rang out.
But—
None of the bullets penetrated his skull.
Every single one was stopped by his aura, dropping to the ground without leaving so much as a scratch.
"Clink… clink…"
The flattened bullets fell onto the floor, ringing like tiny bells.
"I'm grateful I learned Nen… and even more grateful that I'm a Enhancer. It has elevated me beyond everything I once thought to be true."
Retona calmly stepped forward, letting his pistol slip from his hand.
"Clank."
As the gun hit the floor, the Nen aura surrounding him expanded further.
Ability: "Above All Else"
Retona's Enhancement ability—"Above All Else"—was a skill that allowed him to reinforce his own beliefs through words and actions.
The stronger his conviction, the greater his combat power.
This ability wasn't useless fluff.
If anything—
It was an incredible amplifier, overcoming many of the mental weaknesses that could diminish an Enhancer's real-time combat strength.
With this heightened state, Retona ascended the stone steps leading to the surface—
And soon, he stepped out into the courtyard.
Ignoring the corpses littering the ground, he coldly locked eyes with the three outsiders.
Moro's eyes lit up.
"At least this trip wasn't a waste."
Without hesitation, he raised his gun and fired.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
But—
The bullets stopped midair, unable to break through Retona's aura.
"Hmm?"
More importantly—
Moro instantly sensed that, upon being attacked, Retona's aura had actually increased.
Lv. 35… and rising.
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50 Powerstones? (5 Bonus Chapters)
20 Advance Chapters: patreon.com/milezen