As Joey pushed forward through the forest, flashes of Hunter × Hunter's storyline flickered through his mind.
It was an old series. If not for the rebooted anime, and the recent wave of rumors about Togashi's return to serialization before Joey had crossed into this world, he might've forgotten it all by now.
Even so, it had been years since he transmigrated. Remembering every detail would be a miracle.
But the iconic moments, the basic lore, the broad narrative arcs—those still lingered in his memory.
Ponzu getting her head blown off and eaten.
Pokkle being captured and fed to the ants—that's how they first learned Nen.
Kite receiving a bloodstained warning and leading a team to a base.
The brutal fight that followed.
Then, the ambush outside the base.
Neferpitou arriving.
Kite battling while Killua knocked out Gon to escape.
All of that was still vivid.
But Joey didn't dwell further. He turned his attention to the phone he'd just powered on.
A beetle-shaped flip phone—classic.
He remembered this model. Leorio's favorite, if he wasn't mistaken.
Long battery life, excellent reception, affordable, durable as hell.
Kira had good taste.
Joey flipped through it, but the phone was a dead zone.
No contacts.
No messages.
Not even spam.
No call history.
No photos.
If it weren't for the one flickering signal bar, Joey would've thought the phone didn't even have a SIM card.
The remaining features were barebones—
Compass. Alarm. Empty notepad.
Voice recorder. Camera.
Calendar.
Snake Game.
Just a survivalist's toolkit.
Joey checked the time, then slipped it back into his pocket.
Battery's full.
At the very least, it could serve as a watch, a flashlight, and a camcorder.
The explosions in the distance had gone quiet several minutes ago. The draining sensation—both mental and physical—had also ceased.
Which meant one of two things:
Sheer Heart Attack had finished its job and was returning,
or
it was being delayed.
He was hoping for the former.
The earlier fatigue had caught him off guard, but now that it was gone—and no pain radiated from his left hand—he figured the tank hadn't been damaged.
Then again, Sheer Heart Attack was absurdly durable. Even Star Platinum couldn't crack it.
Most normal attacks wouldn't leave a scratch, so of course he wouldn't feel a thing in his hand.
Still, all he could do now was hope it returned quickly.
He'd been trekking for over ten minutes since leaving the village. No matter how things had gone, it was only a matter of time before the Chimera Ants noticed the corpses and reported it up the chain.
That meant Division Leaders might soon be dispatched.
And those guys?
They weren't fodder.
Joey needed distance.
Fast.
Before nightfall.
Once it got dark, the forest would become their domain—a realm ruled by bio-fused monsters with superior traits from every creature they'd eaten.
Chimera Ants evolved through feeding.
And feeding meant breeding.
Unlike typical insects, Chimera Ants didn't need males to reproduce. The Queen only needed to be fed enough biomass to birth new offspring.
And those offspring would inherit the traits of what she'd eaten.
So the richer the Queen's diet, the stronger and more diverse the children.
Only Queens and Kings had reproductive rights.
The rest?
Soldiers.
Savage. Loyal. Always hungry.
The Queen would migrate, searching for optimal territory.
She'd build up a personal army of soldiers, scout the area, and when satisfied, lay down a nest built by a new wave of construction ants.
From then on, she'd remain in the hive until death.
Every few cycles, she would produce a King—and the King, once born, would leave with his Royal Guard, wandering the world, mating with various species, birthing the next generation of Queens.
A cycle of monstrous reincarnation.
The hierarchy was strict:
King
→ Royal Guards
→ Division Leaders (Squadron Leaders)
→ Captains (Senior Soldiers)
→ Foot Soldiers
Joey's current situation?
He was in a forest near a newly-established Queen's nest, right as she was preparing to give birth to the next King—and sending waves of soldiers to harvest human DNA.
The Queen had already consumed enough humans that her offspring were now intelligent.
And now Joey had to face smart, inhuman, predatory, Chimera Ants.
Each one armed with powers from different species.
It was a nightmare.
Clack… clack… clack…
The grinding sound of tank treads behind him grew louder.
Joey froze.
Then saw it—
Sheer Heart Attack, tearing through the underbrush, tracks carving deep grooves into the earth.
Killer Queen stepped out silently.
Raised its left hand.
The tank surged forward—
Zing!
A streak of blue light.
It vanished back into Killer Queen's hand.
But Joey's heart sank.
Those tread marks.
Clear, deep, obvious.
Anyone tracking him now had a glowing breadcrumb trail straight to his position.
He couldn't know if Chimera Ants had already picked up on it.
But he wasn't sticking around to find out.
He gripped his pack, tightened the straps, and picked up the pace.
Then he saw it.
Killer Queen, walking beside him, made a hand gesture—
a warning.
Behind him.
Chimera Ant presence.
Shit.
They'd found him.
Not surprising.
He'd expected it, in a way.
Even intentionally exposed his back earlier to bait them.
But now that they hadn't attacked yet…
Joey had a bad feeling.
Were they being cautious?
Or—worse—could they see Killer Queen?
If it was the former, fine.
If it was the latter…
Big trouble.
Either way, he had to deal with the tail.
If he let them stalk him, it was only a matter of time before reinforcements showed up.
And when that happened?
No Stand. No plan. No chance.
Joey clenched his fists.
Time to kill the tail.