Without a doubt, for a Hunter possessing powerful long-range attack capabilities, nothing was easier than dealing with a swarm of slow-crawling worms in a cramped cave environment.
Allen even felt a slight sensation of playing a "Tower Defense" game.
The relatively limited subterranean space restricted the directions of attack; the worms could only surge forward from eight or nine narrow tunnels, straight into the path of lethal arrows. Often, a single shot would skewer a dozen or twenty of them at once.
Despite the sheer volume of worms, to the point where the tracking map was a solid mass of red dots, they were clearly juvenile; none of the adult individuals with hardened cuticles had appeared yet.
This tide of suicidal charges lasted for about seven or eight minutes. It was only when the tunnels were completely choked with blood, shredded meat, and viscera that the worms on the periphery finally halted.
Evidently, the intelligent lifeform controlling them realized that this method was incapable of breaking through Allen's Defense of the Indestructible, nor could it tire a man with near-infinite stamina.
"They... they stopped? Did the worms give up?"
The biologist stared at the hellish carnage surrounding them, feeling bile and stomach acid rising in his throat.
He wasn't the only one; even the battle-hardened mercenaries were hunched over in corners, vomiting uncontrollably. One couldn't blame them for having "weak spirits"—in this sealed, unventilated environment, the pungent stench of decaying insect corpses, blood, and guts was concentrated into an unbearable assault on the senses.
Combined with the overwhelming visual horror, the fact that they hadn't fainted outright was a testament to their willpower.
"No! They're still around. I think we're out of time for research, Professor. Remember those thicker, massive brownish-black worms beneath the island? It likely won't be long before those things crawl out of that gut-like organ."
Despite effortlessly repelling the tsunami-like assault, Allen's face showed no hint of joy. He knew this attack was merely a probe, and it had confirmed his suspicion: the unknown life controlling this island was sentient.
"My God! Are we going to die here?"
"Where are the nukes? Why haven't we used them?"
"Yes! Use the nukes! If I have to die, I want to die with some dignity!"
"Let's take these damn bugs down with us!"
For a moment, several members of the team became hysterical, some even bordering on a mental breakdown. Fortunately, most of these were frail scholars, who were quickly restrained by the mercenaries and Hunters. A few heavy-handed strikes forced them back into a state of stunned calm. Things were bad enough; internal discord would turn the mission into an absolute catastrophe.
"Can you tell us the plan? What's next?" the mercenary captain asked, taking a deep breath.
Allen shook his head slightly. "Sorry, I don't have a special plan. To be precise, any plan is meaningless now. You can probably feel it, the worms outside have completely blocked our retreat. A few of us might have a chance to break out, but retreating with a group of non-combatant scholars is now impossible. Unless we use nuclear weapons, there's no way to blast through the tons of dirt and rock above us to reach the surface."
"So we just sit here and wait for death?" The captain frowned.
"No. Of course not. See that pulsating, intestinal organ? Aren't you curious where it leads?" A chilling light flickered in Allen's eyes.
"You don't mean..."
The captain seemed to realize the implication. He turned to stare at the giant, rhythmically opening maw, and a shiver ran down his spine.
"Yes. Exactly. I'm going down. To the deepest part of this island. But before that, on behalf of humanity, I'm going to send that unknown creature a 'little gift'." Allen's lips curled into an extremely dangerous smile.
"Damn! You really are a madman! But is this safe? Won't the blast reach us?" the captain whispered.
"I'll use the one with the smallest yield. If this intestinal organ truly extends to the deepest part of the island or straight to the sea as the investigation suggested, the impact on us should be manageable."
With that, Allen opened his Fun Fun Cloth and retrieved the smallest nuclear warhead. He set the detonation timer for twenty minutes and handed it to a Manipulator-type Nen user.
"Send this as deep as you can. Can you do it?"
"No problem! Leave it to me!"
The Sea Hunter from the Association didn't hesitate, immediately infusing his aura into the device. In less than a second, the warhead sprouted a pair of bizarrely shaped arms and legs. It leaped into the abyss-like maw.
He was a specialist chosen specifically for this mission, capable of imbuing inanimate objects with limbs and the ability to move, run, and jump, allowing him to deliver high-yield explosives to a designated target. Because the "rules" were simple, his control range was extensive, reaching several kilometers away.
Since most of a subterranean nuclear blast's energy is absorbed by the surrounding earth and rock, and this warhead had a low yield, the core blast radius was only about two to three hundred meters. With Nen reinforcement, being over a kilometer away would ensure their safety.
Tick... tick... tick... tick...
Accompanied by the rhythmic sound of a mechanical watch, the team huddle together. Allen used the power of his Philosopher's Stone to construct a spherical, fully enclosed bunker—reinforced rock on the inside, encased in a layer of solid ice on the outside.
In the cramped space, everyone could hear each other's heavy breathing as they waited for the thunder.
Twenty minutes can feel like an eternity or a heartbeat. The moment the final second ticked away, a deafening roar echoed through the island.
The intense explosion from the nuclear fusion triggered a massive earthquake, causing the entire island to shudder violently. Allen didn't hesitate; he released his aura to its maximum, wrapping the sealed sphere in a thick protective layer to reinforce it against the incoming shockwave.
Hisoka quickly filled the interior with a massive amount of Bungee Gum to cushion the impact.
Seconds later, everyone felt a titanic force slam into them. The spherical bunker was swept up by a torrent of earth and debris, spinning and tumbling forward at high speed.
During this incredible release of energy, dirt and stone were blasted up through the tunnel of the giant skeleton, erupting into the sky like a volcanic explosion.
From the airship, the observer stood up abruptly. "What happened? What was that?"
"It's... it's a nuke! Our team must have detonated a nuke!" a staff member answered with a trembling voice.
"And the team? Are they alive?" the observer urged.
"Unknown! They were too deep underground, and the EMP from the blast has fried several of our instruments. We can't confirm their status. But there is good news... the island's movement is slowing down. No! It has stopped completely!"
As he spoke, the staff member wore a complex expression of both joy and grief. In his mind, there was only one reason for such a result: mutual destruction.
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