There were two ways to retrieve Sheer Heart Attack, Killer Queen's Second Bomb.
One: it returned on its own after completing its mission.
Two: if it failed, Joey would have to go find it himself.
If the Chimera Ants didn't know Nen, then Joey wasn't worried. The tank would eventually wipe them out. It was only a matter of time.
Even if some smart ant figured out its attack pattern, without special powers, there was no way to stop it. If the ants retreated from the village, the mission would be considered complete—and the tank would return.
But if the Chimera Ants did know Nen…
Then this tank was Joey's best form of distraction. If it cost him a left hand to stall them, so be it.
Because Chimera Ants with Nen?
A completely different tier of threat.
A hand can be regrown in this world.
A life lost… is gone forever.
Cautiously threading his way through the forest, Joey wiped sweat from his forehead. His brows furrowed.
Something was off.
His stamina was dropping too fast.
Even if this was a newly claimed body, Joey knew its limits. A few hundred meters of sprinting, even under stress, shouldn't have him sweating like this or feeling his energy drain so quickly.
Something was wrong.
BOOM!
Another explosion. Another reminder.
Was it connected to Sheer Heart Attack's detonations?
Joey had always assumed Stand abilities consumed some form of "Stand energy."
He'd guessed it was mental strength—after all, Stands were born from the psyche. Draining the user's spirit made sense.
He remembered Stone Ocean, when Jotaro's Star Platinum stopped functioning due to insufficient spiritual power. That only supported the theory.
But now…
Now, the explosions weren't just wearing him out mentally. They were draining his body too.
He strained his memory, digging through old JoJo scenes—
In Vento Aureo, didn't Bucciarati show signs of fatigue during his Steel Chain Fingers fight?
In Stone Ocean, didn't Jotaro gasp after Time Stop?
It was hazy, but the signs were there.
Whether Stand energy was just mental force or included physical stamina, Joey wasn't sure anymore.
But he was certain of one thing:
He felt like shit.
Uncontrolled detonations from Sheer Heart Attack were bleeding him dry.
Mental focus. Physical strength.
And Killer Queen being constantly active didn't help.
But he didn't dare dismiss it. Not here. Not now.
This energy drain was a double-edged noose tightening around him.
Even if he still felt okay for now, he had that gut sense—an animal instinct—that things were going to get bad.
He didn't know how many Chimera Ants were left in the village.
Didn't know what Sheer Heart Attack was up against.
If the explosions kept coming, he'd collapse before long.
And if that happened—if Sheer Heart Attack couldn't return on its own—then what?
Would it keep detonating forever, draining him to death?
Or would it stop?
What if… the drain shifted from stamina… to something else?
Dark thoughts flooded his brain.
He raised his hand to bite his nails—
And nearly bit the grenade he was holding.
That snapped him out of it.
He lowered his arm. Took deep breaths. Forced the fear down.
No. It wasn't that bad yet.
First—if nothing unexpected happened, the tank would definitely wipe out the remaining ants.
There probably weren't enough of them to survive dozens of Sheer Heart Attack's explosions.
Second—worst case scenario?
He could still make the lizard's choice:
Cut off his own left hand.
Break the connection.
Stop the drain.
Live.
Hard, yes.
Terrifying, yes.
But if he had Killer Queen do it… guided his own hand…
He could do it.
He had to.
His steps grew firmer.
I want to live.
That became his mantra.
His only belief.
Joey gripped the pistol harder.
It gave him a false sense of security—but also made him uneasy.
He'd never held a real gun before.
He'd disabled the safety, chambered a round, followed all the basics he knew—but he had no illusions. If push came to shove, he couldn't rely on it.
And then the image hit him—
Ponzu.
Shot to death. In Hunter × Hunter.
That scene haunted him.
His palms were slick with sweat. His brows pinched into sharp lines of anxiety. He slipped the sweaty grenade back and pulled out the map instead, unfolding it to orient himself.
His survival experience helped him interpret details. Terrain. Tree growth. River bends. He cross-referenced with blurry memories.
At least one bit of good news:
He had a general idea of where he was.
But the map was sparse.
Three villages nearby.
And one… organizational base.
That was it.
His options were slim.
The villages? Out of the question.
They were already feeding grounds. Ant meat lockers.
Only choice: the base.
Even if the Chimera Ants had found it, the base was his best shot.
Weapons. Maps. Intel.
Maybe even communications.
All of that only existed in the base.
The memories Joey had of NGL… they were all macro-level stuff.
Big picture. Not what he needed now.
He couldn't just head east and hope for the best.
Sure, that direction led to a tech-based country bordering NGL, but…
Charge straight ahead with no intel? He'd probably stumble into the nest itself.
No thanks.
Thinking logically, Joey had one real hope:
Find the main cast.
Kite, Gon, Killua.
If he could locate their group investigating the Chimera Ants…
He might survive.
Escape.
Even fight back.
But that was wishful thinking.
Was the base nearby really the one Kite was heading toward?
Was Joey just being naive?
After all, this was the NGL Autonomous Region—
a place designed to trap you inside.