By the time they reached the campsite, night had fully fallen, and the temperature in the forest was steadily dropping.
Joey's clothes were soaked with sweat. When the cold wind brushed against him, a chill ran straight through his body.
Despite that, no one suggested lighting a fire.
After confirming the presence of Chimera Ants in the area, doing so would have been the same as announcing their position.
Ponzu continued attempting to contact nearby teams through her bees, while Pokkle divided the group into two shifts for night watch.
Joey was assigned to the second half of the night—likely because Pokkle had noticed his poor condition.
He didn't object.
He was genuinely exhausted.
After a brief nod, Joey found a large tree, leaned back against its trunk, and drifted into a light, uneasy sleep.
His mind remained tense.
Even in rest, he couldn't fully relax. The slightest sound threatened to jolt him awake.
His sleep was shallow, fragmented.
He feared two things:
An ambush by Chimera Ants.
Or being abandoned by Pokkle and the others.
Fortunately, neither happened.
His wallet continued to supply him with energy, and by the time his shift came in the middle of the night, he felt noticeably more alert.
Ponzu and Pokkle hadn't slept much either.
And worse—there had been no response.
The bees had brought back nothing.
It was as if the other teams that had entered NGL… had already been wiped out.
Pokkle and Ponzu didn't look well after realizing this.
Still, from Joey's perspective, the sight of them leaning on each other in quiet tension was oddly reassuring.
At least he wasn't alone in his unease.
He discreetly took out his phone, shielding its faint glow, and checked the time.
12:30 AM.
Based on the earlier sunset, dawn would likely arrive around 4 AM—bringing light, and perhaps a little warmth, back to the forest.
He put the phone away and pulled out a piece of flatbread.
With no water, he had no choice but to chew slowly and swallow with difficulty.
His damp clothes clung to his skin as he shivered.
Even without hunger, he forced himself to eat.
In this situation, maintaining strength was more important than comfort.
At the same time, he quietly reached for his wallet.
Carefully, he transferred it into the bag on his back.
The Nen emanating from it had already grown faint.
At this rate, it would likely disappear completely within an hour.
Joey had no intention of testing what would happen after that.
So he put some distance between it and himself.
Even so, because the bag was still on his back, he soon felt a faint connection again.
The transfer hadn't stopped—just slowed.
After a moment of thought, Joey removed the bag entirely and set it down on the grass beside him.
Only then did the connection fully vanish.
---
Around 2:00 AM, Pokkle woke the group.
At last, Ponzu's bees had returned with useful information.
A team located several kilometers to the north had responded—and sent out a distress signal.
They were in trouble.
The news wasn't good.
But strangely, Joey could see relief on their faces.
For them, the worst part hadn't been danger—
It had been the silence.
After a brief discussion, Pokkle and Ponzu decided to move out and provide support.
Joey knew better than to argue.
He picked up his bag, secured it tightly, and followed.
---
A few kilometers wasn't far under normal conditions.
But in a dense forest, at night, it still took them over half an hour to follow the bees to the source of the signal.
What they found…
Was a massacre.
Scattered across the ground were mangled human corpses—and broken Chimera Ant bodies.
The humans had been torn apart.
The ants, on the other hand, had been crushed and split into pieces.
Whoever led that team had been strong.
Very strong.
From the number of bodies, Pokkle concluded that some survivors might still be out there.
He exchanged a glance with the others.
Then gave a silent nod.
The group split up.
Each began using their own methods to track any remaining traces.
The man with grayish brows crouched low, carefully observing the ground. Even under moonlight, he could distinguish subtle marks with impressive precision.
Joey followed nearby, overhearing fragments of his muttered analysis.
Another teammate—ash-haired—relied more on smell, picking out anomalies even through the heavy scent of blood.
Near a large tree, he seemed to find something important.
He turned, about to call out to Pokkle—
—and froze.
A faint rustling sound came from above.
At the same time, he saw the expressions of the others.
Shock.
Alarm.
And something else—
Resignation.
Why—?
The thought barely formed.
A nauseating stench filled his nostrils.
Darkness fell over his vision—
A maw of jagged teeth.
Crunch.
His body collapsed.
Headless.
At that exact moment, an orange arrow sliced through the air, striking the Chimera Ant—a grotesque creature with a pink, worm-like head—that had just devoured him.
Green fluid burst outward, mixed with red and white.
"Run!" Pokkle shouted.
But it was too late.
Cracking sounds echoed through the forest.
One by one, Chimera Ants emerged from the shadows.
Joey's eyes swept the area.
At least five.
They had been waiting.
Lying in ambush.
Killer Queen materialized instantly beside him.
Without hesitation, Joey opened fire.
Gunshots shattered the silence.
The Chimera Ants reacted immediately, darting behind trees to avoid the bullets—they had already learned the danger of firearms.
At the same time, Pokkle's hands glowed orange.
Arrows of Nen shot forward—faster than bullets—piercing the ants that failed to dodge in time.
Three fell instantly.
Clean kills.
But then—
A sharp whistling sound cut through the air.
Stones—each the size of a fist—shot out from the forest.
Killer Queen reacted instantly, intercepting them with precise strikes.
Joey remained unharmed.
But one of the others wasn't so lucky.
The gray-browed man took a direct hit.
His body was flung backward, slamming into a tree.
Behind it—
A Chimera Ant was waiting.
Its body resembled a rhinoceros beetle, a massive horn extending forward.
Before the man could even recover—
Thud.
The horn pierced straight through his chest.
But even then—
He didn't give up.
His rifle lifted.
A burst of gunfire erupted at point-blank range.
The Chimera Ant staggered.
Its body convulsed.
Then collapsed forward—crushing him beneath its weight.
His eyes dimmed.
He never moved again.
---
Elsewhere, Pokkle pulled Ponzu aside, narrowly avoiding another stone.
With a flash of orange, he fired an arrow toward the attacker.
Faster than the projectile that had been thrown.
But—
A thick, pale arm intercepted it midair.
Covered in fine scales.
The arrow stopped.
Crushed.
A figure stepped out from behind the trees.
Taller than the others.
Its face resembled a crocodile, its cold eyes gleaming with curiosity as it examined the broken arrow in its hand.
"What… is this?"
Its deep, grating voice sent a chill down Pokkle's spine.
But before he could react—
A furious roar echoed from nearby.
"My roast chicken is gone!"
The crocodile-like Chimera Ant turned instinctively toward the voice.
At that exact moment—
A deafening explosion erupted.
Flames engulfed its body in an instant.
___________________________
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