69novels Chapter 164 Familiar Residual Energy
Chapter 164 Familiar Residual Energy
Chapter 164 Familiar Residual Energy (Part 2)
What the Six-Eyed One sees is life energy; even from a great distance, it can sense energy that does not belong to humans.
Even if you don't know their appearance, you can see their essence. You can discover everything from their life energy to any residual energy they may have accidentally picked up.
Upon closer inspection, Su Wu recognized the familiar residual energy.
It is a residual energy from a non-human being, yet it differs from that of ants; it is a trace left by another creature.
"...Those two sheep?" Su Wu recalled the figures she had seen before.
Two years ago, when I took the Hunter Exam, I met a brother and sister who were probably from the Dark Continent. Their true form was an unknown black, flowing substance, somewhat similar to Alluka.
As I recall, after the exam, those two guys jumped into the sea, seemingly intending to drift back to the Dark Continent with the current...
They even invited him to visit the Dark Continent sometime.
Wait, where did these chimera ants come from? They seem to be from the Dark Continent too? How did they get here? Could they have drifted here with the ocean currents...?
Judging from the remaining energy of the two siblings, they must have stayed with the Chimera Ants for quite some time.
Could it be that we met while adrift at sea...?
It's been two years already, haven't they returned to the Dark Continent yet? Or did they go back and then come back? Could the appearance of the Chimera Ants have anything to do with them?
How did the Chimera Ants come to be in the original story?
Su Wu withdrew her gaze and turned to ask Pampas, "When did the monster appear?"
"Our people spotted them a week ago, but nobody knows when they arrived," Pampas shook his head, his tone ambiguous.
Those who first saw the monster probably became monsters themselves. In Meteor City, the disappearance of people is a common occurrence and doesn't attract much attention, which makes it impossible for them to investigate when the monster appeared in Meteor City.
"This seems to fall under the Hunter Association's jurisdiction..." Su Wu said thoughtfully, stroking her chin.
The Hunter Association wields considerable power and offers generous treatment around the world, but this treatment comes at the cost of other conditions.
For example... when something like this happens, the Hunter Association has to be the first to respond.
It can be described as a professional thug organization.
"What are you thinking about? This is Meteor City." Pampas's smile was enigmatic.
An unmanaged area, the world's garbage dump, an existence that has vanished from the map. Even the millions of people living in Meteor City are all unregistered once they leave Meteor City.
Even if Meteor City is destroyed, no one will care.
Furthermore, the residents of Meteor City also refuse help from outsiders.
"We'll find out by checking." Su Wu said, pulling Ugly Baby off her body, stepping on its body with one foot, and forcibly pulling a computer bigger than Ugly Baby's mouth out of its mouth with the other.
He did the same thing when he shoved it in, stepping on Ugly Baby and prying open its mouth to force it in.
The ugly baby, who might have some intellectual disabilities, just writhed listlessly and wrapped itself back around him.
To those who can't see Ugly Baby, the white-haired boy's actions seem a bit... crazy.
But when he pulled out a computer and other miscellaneous parts, no one thought that way anymore; they just thought it was a unique way of using his abilities.
Normally, there is no internet access in Meteor City, but since this is a church, after some effort, the computer was successfully activated.
Log in to the Hunter website to investigate when the monsters appeared.
After screening and investigation, it was discovered that as early as two months ago, there were instances of people suddenly disappearing.
All the people on a tourist boat bound for the Balussa Islands have disappeared, leaving behind only torn clothes and bloodstained shoes; no bodies have been found.
After that, there was no further news.
It seems to have disappeared over in the Balusa Islands.
"As expected, it first appeared on the coastal side..." Su Wu looked at the message, her tone full of "I didn't expect it."
Another species that has drifted across the ocean from the Dark Continent.
Did they find it unbearable to survive in the Dark Continent? So they came here?
What roles did the two siblings play in it?
In a scene that clearly indicates an important plot point, the main characters will definitely play a role, right? Hmm... I think I saw a video of Gon transforming into a burly man who could kill Hisoka with a single punch...
"Maro, call Killua and see if they've left the game," Su Wu instructed without turning her head, her eyes fixed on the computer screen.
"Understood." The blond youth went to the side again to make a phone call.
I dialed three times in a row, but no one answered.
"That shouldn't be the case..." Su Wu squinted and whispered.
Whether it's a game or anime, the plot is designed so that there's not much activity when the protagonist isn't around, but the plot starts to move forward when the protagonist is available, and then the progress is rushed as soon as the protagonist gets involved.
Why aren't the monsters appearing in Meteor City following the script?
"Ah, I understand." Su Wu pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized.
It must be because the monsters that appeared in Meteor City were just cannon fodder.
Those cannon fodder characters who don't need the protagonist's intervention might have been eliminated directly by the people of Meteor City, such as the summoned Phantom Troupe, in the original work.
If they're just cannon fodder, then there's no point in it. Killua and the others can't possibly come all the way to Meteor City to fight monsters.
The appearance of these Chimera Ants in Meteor City was probably just to give the Phantom Troupe a highlight moment to showcase their strength.
Their strength shouldn't be considered cannon fodder, since they're meant to be the Phantom Troupe's opponents. If they were too weak, they wouldn't stand out, and if they were too strong, they'd look pathetic. So, their strength level is probably somewhere in between.
Although it's unclear, there are quite a few countries in the Balusa Islands, so how did the Chimera Ants end up in a junkyard like Meteor City...?
With that in mind, Su Wu directly called the Hunter Review Committee. The chairman of the review committee was also Netero, and—he would answer the phone even faster.
After all, the logistics department is much more efficient and service-oriented than the Hunter Association.
"Hello, this is the Hunter Review Committee..." The operator's voice was interrupted as soon as it started.
"Transfer me to Chairman Netero, or if that doesn't work, transfer me to that bald guy, what's his name again, Bean Man..." Su Wu said quickly.
"...Please wait a moment." The operator was taken aback for a moment, but quickly replied.
A few minutes later, the voice answering the phone changed to that of the man from Laidoumian.
That person was like a secretary who always followed Netero around.
"Hello..." the bean-faced man answered the phone politely.
"When are we going to fight the Chimera Ant King? Let me know when we go," Su Wu said directly, stating what she wanted to say.
"...This..." The bean-faced man, who had no idea who was on the other end, wiped his sweat.
"Whose call was that?" Netero saw the Bean Man wiping his sweat and stroked his beard, laughing.
"My hunter ID is..." Su Wu recited a string of numbers.
The bean-faced man quickly identified the corresponding face based on the number.
"It's Hill Deville, a one-star bounty hunter," the Bean Man quickly answered Netero's question.
"I'll take it." Netero held out his hand, gesturing for the Bean Man to hand over the phone.
The bean flour man did as instructed.
"Old... Guild Master, remember to call me when you're fighting the Ant King." Su Wu swallowed the "old man" that almost came out of her mouth and said with a grin.
"Ant King? You mean the Chimera Ant King? How do you know about the existence of an Ant King? Has he already been born? Or have you already seen him?" Netero laughed and then threw out a series of questions.
These are questions that even the Hunter Association hasn't figured out, such as whether the Chimera Ant King has actually appeared.
All they knew was that, according to their clan's customs, there would be a queen responsible for laying eggs and creating more chimera ants.
"No? Ah, actually, I heard it from the Chimera Ants I met before. They told me very proudly that the King will lead them to rule the world and keep humans as food reserves." Without the slightest hesitation, Su Wu shifted the blame to the non-existent Chimera Ants.
"So I think the association will definitely try to defeat the Ant King," Su Wu said.
Species that feed on humans will inevitably be eliminated by humans.
Even in the ordinary world, animals that have eaten humans will be killed.
Because once animals have eaten humans, they will include humans in their diet, and their offspring will also hunt humans for food.
"It seems the Ant King has been born. This is a real problem..." Netero sighed, seemingly worried, but the worry vanished in an instant, quickly replaced by a cheerful smile, as if everything was under control.
"May I ask where you saw the chimera ants?" Netero asked again.
"Well..." Su Wu looked at the map and picked one of the countries in the Balusa Islands area.
"Passing through the Balusa Islands, near the NGL Autonomous Country," he said, spouting nonsense with his eyes wide open.
Anyway, NGL is behind on information, and they don't even have computers in the country, so they won't know he's talking nonsense outside. The Hunter Association shouldn't expect to get any information from NGL either.
That was a very, very, very backward country that believed in the principle of life and death being predestined. During major infectious diseases, they wouldn't even allow teams with cash and medical equipment to enter, insisting that people just wait to die.
Other countries are not so obsessively secretive.
Thinking about it this way, NGL and Meteor City are both suitable places for the Chimera Ants to develop, so the main characters' battlefield should be there, right?
The situation in Meteor City is that everyone is an unregistered person who cannot be found. Compared to Meteor City, which does not exist on the map, NGL, which is indeed a country, needs more help.
They disappeared after leaving the Balussa Islands. If they had eaten people in another country, there would definitely be news about it, but I couldn't find anything on the entire internet.
The only companies that are this out of touch with the news are Meteor City and NGL.
Those appearing on Meteor City's side are cannon fodder, so those on NGL's side should be the main force of the Chimera Ants.
Su Wu pieced together various seemingly unrelated pieces of information and arrived at a very reasonable conclusion that was close to the truth.
Then he doesn't need to go with the Hunter Association; he can go to NGL on his own.
"That's all, I'm hanging up now." Su Wu hung up the phone without saying another word, intending to go it alone.
Who knows if the Ant King has shown up yet? If he's with the Hunter Association, he'll have to keep deceiving them. He might as well go by himself.
"Monsters have appeared in NGL too? Are you going there?" Pampas's expression showed a hint of doubt.
"I plan to go take a look in a few days," Su Wu said casually, shoving the computer back into Chou Bao's mouth.
"You haven't even resolved your own issues back home, and you're already running off to NGL to watch the show?" Sid said sarcastically from the side.
He looks like an honest person, so why does he act so strangely?
Besides, this isn't my hometown.
"...Never mind." Su Wu scratched her hair. "I need to go ask them something anyway."
As he said this, he walked outside.
"Be careful," Sid warned in a deep voice.
"Huh? Just a bunch of cannon fodder." The white-haired boy sneered, his eyes full of arrogance.
"I'll be back soon." He walked out the door and disappeared from the spot.
"Guess how long it will take him to finish?" Pampas nudged Sid with his elbow and asked, tilting his chin up.
"It's hard to say, I've never really figured out his strength," Sid said, shaking his head with a helpless tone.
The monsters were not weak to the two of them, but they weren't particularly formidable enemies either. However, they couldn't leave and had to stay here to watch over the child.
"...That's true." Pampas recalled a time when Sid once thought that the kid was weak, and his tone suddenly became subtle.
Let alone West Germany, even he himself can't figure out exactly how strong that kid is.
……
The monster's lair, constructed of spider silk, emitted a faint, salty, fishy smell, reminiscent of the slime of a tentacle monster.
The interior has many openings, and the routes are complicated, like a maze.
But all of this was in vain for Su Wu.
"You look delicious."
"Extremely rare food." A monster that looked like a skinny, bony hound stepped out, drooling greedily.
"It doesn't look like a human or an ant, but rather like a dog..." Su Wu looked at the other person with a scrutinizing gaze.
Every monster we've seen so far looks different; you could say they're all ugly in a variety of ways, with bizarre and varied appearances.
"I will offer you to the Queen, and she will surely praise me—" the monster shouted as it pounced.
The monster's sharp claws were about to grab the boy's body, but its movements became insignificant.
"What's going on?" He asked incredulously, tentatively raising his hand again to swing his claw downwards, only to stop just before touching the other person.
"No matter how you try, you can't touch me, look." Su Wu stretched out her hand and pressed it against the other's claw.
"Good, good dog, shake hands." He grabbed the other's paw and shook it up and down.
Even so, the monster still didn't actually touch his skin.
The hands, seemingly clasped tightly together, are actually still separated by an almost invisible distance.
"What did you do?!" The monster tried to pull his hand back, but it was firmly held. His expression turned to fear, and his tone was as if he had been violated.
"It's just..." Su Wu smiled, increasing the pressure on his hand, "just a friendly greeting." With a little force, he tore off the other person's arm.
The monster let out a muffled groan of suppressed pain, and blood fell onto the white spider silk like red plum blossoms on the snow.
"Claws, bones...it looks similar to a dog but not exactly the same." He weighed the arm in his hand, lost interest in it, and casually tossed it to the ground.
He casually walked towards a cave entrance, brushing past the monster.
The monster, which had been shouting and trying to capture him to claim credit not long ago, was now silent.
It stood there silently, like a lifeless sculpture.
Only after the white-haired boy's figure disappeared into the cave did the monster's figure, which had been standing there, shatter into pieces like a broken building block toy.
Even death didn't make a sound, only raising a little dust.
Blood flowed silently on the spider silk, being absorbed and turning the snow-white silk red.
A massacre silently descended upon the monster's lair, more and more spider silk was stained red, and the place became increasingly quiet.
"The clearing is over. Next, it's the so-called queen's turn."
After sensing that only one life form remained in the nest, Su Wu slowly approached it.
Clear out the mobs before engaging the monsters, and clear the minion wave before attacking the tower; these are basic operations.
(End of this chapter)