A few minutes earlier.
Even after seeing Hisoka chase him across great distances, Morrow had never regretted his decision to steal that kill.
To grow stronger as quickly as possible, he would make the same choice again without hesitation.
But now…
Morrow was starting to regret it.
Goosebumps? Chills down his spine?
Neither term, whether describing mental or physical sensations, could fully capture what he was feeling at this moment.
He realized with painful clarity…
Even though he had once "read" the character named Hisoka from the omniscient perspective of a reader familiar with the original work, he still couldn't claim to understand everything about him.
The depths of Hisoka's shamelessness far exceeded his expectations.
At this point, there was no hope of negotiating terms to make Hisoka leave on his own.
This guy… was like a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of a shoe, impossible to scrape off.
Morrow abandoned any thought of keeping Hisoka at a distance and shifted his approach instead.
Originally, his plan had been to gather as much information as possible about the virus and the research facility through his interactions with Sanbica.
But then Hisoka showed up, scaring Sanbica into trembling like a leaf…
What made it worse was that, thanks to Hisoka's antics, even someone as normal as him was now labeled a creep in Sanbica's eyes.
Talk about an undeserved disaster.
Still, from his earlier conversation with Sanbica, he had at least confirmed one crucial piece of information:
The "unknown virus" in the village had an extremely low infection rate.
With that in mind, he no longer saw the need to extract more details from Sanbica. Instead, he decided to take Hisoka straight into the village to search for the research facility.
This was Morrow's revised plan.
Since he couldn't shake off this human-shaped gum, he might as well use it to annoy Nolan's people.
By then, Nolan's organization would undoubtedly see Hisoka as an enemy too.
That way, Hisoka could draw at least half of their firepower.
With this in mind, Morrow ignored Hisoka's expectant gaze, adjusted the weight of his heavy backpack, and strode toward the village without another word.
"How heartbreaking."
Seeing Morrow's cold reaction, Hisoka tucked away his playing cards. Though his words sounded wounded, his ever-present smile never wavered.
The two walked single-file through the forest, neither speaking again during the journey.
Only after emerging from the woods did Hisoka finally ask with amused interest, "That backpack of yours… it's full of guns, isn't it? And quite a few, too."
"Yep."
Morrow didn't deny it.
Hisoka chuckled meaningfully. "Your ability… surely it's not just for running away, is it? Don't tell me its practicality and power are worse than firearms?"
"?"
Morrow glanced back at him with a strange look.
Once he was sure Hisoka had registered his expression, Morrow turned away again and said flatly, "Your 'ejection flight speed' could leave an airship in the dust eighteen times over; does that mean you never ride airships?"
"…"
Hisoka was momentarily speechless.
Then he heard Morrow continue, "When you chase someone, you're faster than a car; does that mean you never ride in cars?"
"…"
Hisoka fell silent for a beat.
"Fair enough."
Almost immediately, he shrugged it off with his usual carefree demeanor.
Before long.
Morrow and Hisoka crossed the plains and arrived at the outskirts of the village.
Without waiting to see how Hisoka would react, Morrow put on his gas mask again, covering nearly his entire face. After placing his backpack on the ground, Morrow rummaged through it and pulled out several handguns, securing them one by one on his person. He then grabbed some spare magazines and stuffed them directly into his portable tactical belt.
Hisoka stood nearby, watching Morrow's actions with a flicker of curiosity in his eyes before casually surveying the village ahead, where rows of mud-brick houses stood clustered together.
Due to the disparity in their information, Hisoka couldn't fully grasp the reasoning behind Morrow's current preparations, but he had no intention of asking outright.
Compared to actively flipping over the cards himself, he far preferred waiting for others to reveal them first.
Naturally, Morrow also had no intention of explaining anything to Hisoka voluntarily.
He couldn't be entirely certain whether Nolan's Virus Research Lab was located within this village or if there was any direct connection between them.
But the possibility existed.
Which meant they might soon find themselves in a situation where they'd have to engage in direct combat with members of Nolan's organization.
When that happened, Hisoka, who was sticking to him like a persistent burr, would inevitably become a target for Nolan's forces as well.
Truthfully, Morrow didn't particularly need Hisoka to draw enemy fire.
But this was Hisoka's own choice.
This was a pot he'd have to carry whether he wanted to or not.
Having mentally prepared himself for battle, Morrow shouldered his backpack and strode purposefully down the village path.
Seeing this, Hisoka followed along with natural ease.
The village had been quiet initially.
But as Morrow and Hisoka swaggered their way in, several village dogs curled up beneath the collapsed mud walls suddenly raised their heads and began barking.
In an instant, the chorus of barks shattered the village's tranquil atmosphere.
Listening to the canine clamor rising around them, Morrow couldn't help but shoot Hisoka a meaningful glance.
Hisoka met Morrow's gaze and immediately understood its implication, yet remained completely unfazed.
Witnessing this, Morrow silently marveled at Hisoka's sheer audacity.
Or perhaps, Hisoka simply lacked any sense of shame to begin with.
Morrow gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head before scanning their surroundings.
That night, under cover of darkness, he'd followed Sanbica into the village but only reached the outer perimeter's mud-brick houses.
Now, walking down the main path, the environment didn't appear as dilapidated as he'd imagined.
Though it was noticeably lacking in human presence.
The dogs at the village entrance kept barking incessantly, yet even now, only a few wary, hidden glances were directed their way.
Paying them no mind, Morrow pressed deeper into the village.
Shanni Village wasn't particularly large. After navigating several muddy paths, they soon reached its center.
There, Morrow's attention was immediately drawn to a concrete wall lining the roadside, over two meters tall, stretching from the intersection all the way to its end.
Behind it seemed to be an enclosed estate. Even without seeing inside, its stark contrast to the surrounding low mud houses was striking.
Morrow's eyes gleamed faintly as he examined the anomalous wall, quickly spotting several surveillance cameras mounted at its corners.
This observation helped solidify his assessment.
Glancing sideways at Hisoka, who was also studying the wall, Morrow didn't bother speaking before lightly vaulting onto the barrier.
Seeing Morrow's sudden move, Hisoka mimicked it effortlessly, landing casually on the wall beside him.
Simultaneously,
their synchronized perch atop the wall was instantly captured by the surveillance cameras.
This location happened to be the large estate connected to the tomb's entrance. As far as disguises went, it wasn't particularly good, but it at least served to keep people at a distance.
Seeing Morrow and Hisoka's blatant actions under the surveillance cameras, it was only natural to assume they came with ill intentions.
—--
In the tomb beneath the mansion.
The man in the black suit watched the screen, slowly furrowing his brow.
In the spacious courtyard.
Morrow and Hisoka strolled leisurely until an armed unit poured out from the mansion to greet them.
Seeing this well-equipped armed unit, Morrow was almost certain of the research facility's location, wondering if there might be any Nen users among them…
"Bro."
Then, Morrow slapped a pistol into Hisoka's hand.
"Let's get 'em!"
"…"
Gunfire erupted abruptly over the courtyard.