A quiet sigh escaped Ponzu's lips beside Joey.
But no one noticed that, at the very moment Joey's bullet grazed Bugs Bunny's foot, Killer Queen's thumb clicked down.
King!
The surreal, almost otherworldly sound of a button being pressed rang out.
Cracks began to crawl across Bugs Bunny's body, starting from the wounded toe and rapidly spreading.
As the flying Chimera Ant grasped Bugs Bunny's shoulders midair, firelight ignited along the fractures. Bugs glared down at Killua and Gon, his face twisted with rage and hatred.
But in an instant, all of it—his hate, fury, madness—was replaced by raw terror and disbelief.
The silent detonation gave him no time to contort his face again. Like a firework blooming in the air, he was obliterated midair, shredded into smoking pieces.
The assisting Chimera Ant only felt its feet go light. When it looked down, its comrade had already been reduced to charred chunks and splashes of blood, trailing flames like petals scattered from a burst.
Each remnant still flickered faintly with life energy, but it was already fading.
The Chimera Ant—white wings like snow, a garlic bulb-shaped head, and a hard carapace—furrowed its brow.
After glancing at its own untouched legs, then at the six humans below, it took off into the sky without a word, rapidly disappearing from sight.
The group on the ground stared after the fleeing Ant, their expressions a mix of disbelief and unease.
"He was clever," Kite said, breaking the silence. "Sent one of his own to test us. If not for Joey's final strike, that soldier might've escaped."
"When did you notice the backup?"
Kite's eyes passed from Killer Queen to Joey's pistol, then locked onto Joey's own.
"I didn't," Joey replied calmly. "But none of the Ants I've encountered have ever traveled alone."
It was the answer he had prepared—one built from observation and logic.
There were exceptions, of course. The gun-toting sadist and Cheetu, who darted like the wind. But other than those two, almost every Chimera Ant moved in groups.
So Joey had assumed the worst: someone was lurking nearby. Better to be wrong and prepared than right and dead.
Especially since he couldn't imagine how Bugs Bunny could have escaped Kite's team otherwise—unless there was help.
Compared to Joey's composed explanation, Gon and Killua were visibly disappointed.
"You want in?" Kite suddenly turned to the boys.
"Huh?" they blinked in unison.
"Your tactics weren't bad," Kite said. "There's no reason to be discouraged. What matters now is how much experience you can gain."
"If you want to stand on your own two feet, this is the best place to train. But if your nerves aren't solid, you won't take a single step. Where we're headed… whether we win or lose… will be hell."
His tone was serious, and now his gaze turned to Joey.
"You too. Joey."
"…Huh?"
Joey had been thinking of some excuse to stop Kite from dragging the boys into danger—he never expected to be roped in himself.
"Not me," he said without hesitation, reverting immediately to coward mode.
Everything he'd done up to now had been with one goal: get out of NGL as fast as possible. He knew what lay ahead was a black hole, and he wasn't about to jump in.
Dying in battle left a corpse. Dying in NGL meant getting ground up into meatballs by pig-faced monsters.
Besides, he wasn't delusional—he couldn't even keep up with Kite's team at full sprint. What was he going to do? Ask them to slow down?
"I figured you couldn't," Kite said bluntly. "But you can't go back to the border either."
That hit Joey square in the chest.
"Why not?! I'm a citizen of NGL! There's a massacre going on in the country—I'm supposed to just wait around to die?!"
His outburst wasn't fake—Joey was genuinely panicking.
Kite, of course, remained expressionless. "Exactly because you're a citizen, you can't leave. Unless, of course, you want to keep working with the drug cartel."
The hell kind of 'option' is that?! Joey wanted to scream. "If I bring that up, I'll probably get executed on the spot!"
"So the border checkpoint's going to detain me?"
It clicked for Joey. In that moment, the fake ID from Yoshikage Kira's wallet flashed through his mind.
He'd always suspected as much. The oral drug D2 was being sold worldwide. The only reason NGL could mass-produce "Bira trees" was with international backing—no way something that massive didn't have V5's support.
The border post wasn't just to keep people out—it was also to keep insiders in.
He'd assumed he might just get arrested. Worst case, locked up. With Killer Queen, he could always break out.
But now, with Kite involved, that plan looked a lot less safe.
It wasn't just about being detained anymore—Joey realized there was something hidden about his identity that even he didn't know.
And Kite knew.
"You're right," Kite said flatly, killing the last of Joey's hopes.
"…Then what do you want from me?" Joey asked, suppressing a sigh. "You've seen my level. I'd only slow you down."
Kite replied without hesitation. "I need you to lead us to the cartel's base. There are records there—proof that the V5 helped cover up the presence of drug syndicates inside NGL."
Joey wanted to shout "I don't know anything about that!"
But from Kite's tone, he was convinced Joey did.
"And why do you think I know about that kind of intel?"
"Because you're one of the handlers."
Kite's reply hit like a ton of bricks.
Joey froze.
He wanted to deny it—but if he protested too much, he'd draw suspicion. That was the last thing he could afford.
His identity as a cartel worker was currently his greatest shield. If he lost that, then to the Hunters he'd be nothing but a dangerous criminal with a unique ability—a threat that needed to be eliminated.
Even though Kite hadn't released a single drop of killing intent, Joey could feel it pressing against his soul.
So there was only one option—agree.
And if possible, bargain for something in return—even if it just gave him a slightly better chance at survival.
Still, he cursed "office worker" Yoshikage Kira for the hundredth time.
That bastard probably "controlled his scores" in the cartel too!
To be a handler with access to top-level intel… was Kira seriously ranked third in the cartel hierarchy?!
What the actual hell.
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