Human trafficking, organ trading—these were not uncommon in the Hunter x Hunter world. There were even dedicated channels and websites facilitating information exchanges for buyers and sellers, catering to countless perverse desires.
If all went as expected, Moro and the others would be treated like livestock, picked over by buyers. The unlucky ones would have their organs harvested or be turned into grotesque statues or decorations. Those slightly luckier might become a buyer's personal plaything, enduring physical torment but at least surviving.
Moro sat cross-legged, recalling what was to come. The truck would arrive at the mental hospital in a few hours. The exact time was hard to pin down, but he knew it would take at least two hours.
Upon reaching its destination, the truck would face an attack from an unknown group during "unloading." Back then, most of the caged "livestock" like him had perished in the assault. Moro had survived partly due to luck, avoiding the first wave of explosions during unloading, and partly because Melena had appeared in time. Posing as a buyer, she took an interest in him and convinced the sprawling organization to cancel his organ harvesting order.
Without Melena, Moro might have been the shortest-lived transmigrator.
Now, facing this crisis again, Moro stood at a crossroads, forced to make a choice. Should he follow the original timeline and let Melena buy him, or find a way to escape during the truck's journey?
His eyes flickered as he thought of Chrollo and the Troupe, of Doggo leaving his shop, of Melena's abyss-like eyes. But he quickly reined in his thoughts and made his decision.
He now understood this world and spoke its common language. For this early stage, there was no need to rely on Melena's intervention. He couldn't let events unfold as they had before. This time, he wanted no ties with her.
"I need to awaken my Nen within two hours and, if possible, get my body accustomed to using Deceptive Meteor techniques…" Moro murmured, eyeing the rusty iron bars.
Since he'd decided to escape during the truck's journey, awakening Nen was essential. Normally, without a Nen user's guidance, even knowing about Nen wouldn't enable someone to awaken it independently. Even if they managed, mastering techniques afterward was another hurdle.
Ten, Ren, Zetsu, Hatsu—the four foundational Nen techniques required extensive time and effort to refine. In reality, awakening Nen and mastering these skills in a short time was near impossible. Nen was a profound, complex power. From awareness to contact, learning, application, optimization, mastery, and transcendence, each stage demanded immense dedication.
Protagonists like Gon, Killua, or Kakin's Fourth Prince? Such monstrous talents were rare in reality.
But now—
Moro would be one of them.
Closing his eyes, he instinctively entered a meditative state, letting his consciousness settle to sense his latent aura. His six months of prior experience proved invaluable. Within seconds, he effortlessly tapped into his latent aura and began guiding it to open his aura nodes.
The process was smooth. Under Moro's precise control, his aura flowed like a stream, surging toward every node in his body. It felt as natural as eating or drinking. One by one, his aura nodes opened, the energy rippling across his body like turbulent waves.
"Good," Moro said, opening his eyes and looking at his hands, glowing with white aura. The unleashed Nen surged like a wild horse, racing and escaping uncontrollably. In his current state, without restraint, he'd collapse from exhaustion in ten minutes.
But that was a minor issue. With a thought, Moro fluidly applied Ten, wrapping the escaping aura around his body to curb its rapid depletion.
Easier than expected…
Awakening Nen and using the foundational techniques so effortlessly steadied his emotions further. Successfully awakening Nen meant he now held a weapon of agency.
Next, he needed to create a disturbance at the right moment to force the driver to stop. Moro reached out, gripping a rusty bar.
In the truck's cab, a disheveled middle-aged man drove with intense focus, navigating the rugged mountain road. On the passenger seat, a young man with a buzz cut lounged lazily, as if sinking into the chair. But his eyes betrayed his vigilance, constantly darting between the rearview mirror and several monitor screens, ever watchful—a duty he clearly took seriously.
"Huh?" The young man's gaze caught something on a screen mounted above the cab, letting out a surprised gasp.
Hearing this, the middle-aged driver asked, "What's up?"
The young man didn't answer immediately, his eyes locked on the screen showing Moro's figure. Through the live feed, he saw Moro awaken his Nen in seconds and instantly master Ten. His eyes widened, his lazy demeanor vanishing, replaced by disbelief.
Awakening Nen in seconds defied his understanding, let alone mastering Ten so quickly. Had he not seen it himself, he wouldn't have believed it.
Could Moro be hiding his skill? Impossible. This batch of "livestock" was high-value, destined for elite buyers, and the young man had personally vetted each one, knowing their details intimately.
The driver glanced at the young man's reaction, frowning. "Zazan, what's going on?"
"Stop the truck!" Zazan said, struggling to suppress his shock. His tone left no room for argument.
Trusting Zazan's abilities, the driver, though confused, immediately hit the brakes. Zazan grabbed a handgun from the glove compartment, tossed it to the driver, and jumped out, ignoring the driver's changing expression. He strode toward the truck's rear.
The driver gripped the gun, flipped off the safety, and followed, heading to the other side of the cargo hold.
Inside the cargo hold, Moro felt the truck stop abruptly. Seizing the moment, he bent the rusty iron bar with a wrenching creak.
Creak, screech—
The sound drew the attention of the other captives, whose minds seemed to freeze as they stared in shock.