The Skull Chariot crossed the stream and returned to Killer Queen's hand.
Joey removed his rifle—now completely out of ammunition—and threw it into the water.
Then, gritting his teeth, he washed his shoulder wound in the cold stream.
Pain shot through his arm, but he forced himself to endure it.
He also noticed that the spot on his right arm where the pillbug Chimera Ant had struck him had already swollen into a dark bruise.
His face pale, Joey wiped the sweat and dirt from his face with his shirt.
For a moment, he looked almost like a hardened gunman from a film—calm, detached, almost cinematic.
Then, almost unconsciously, he summoned Killer Queen again.
She appeared and struck a JoJo-style pose beside him.
Joey hadn't intended that.
Originally, he had planned for Killer Queen to assist him in bandaging his wounds with strips of cloth—sealing the bleeding, removing traces, and then vanishing into the forest.
Besides the two obvious injuries, several smaller cuts and abrasions marked his body from the earlier chaos—minor wounds compared to the pain in his shoulder.
With the rifle discarded, Joey was left with only his pistol for ranged combat.
But with Killer Queen at his side, he wasn't overly concerned.
Instead of heading toward the base, he changed direction.
Under the cover of night, Joey moved toward the northeastern village.
Carefully.
Silently.
Erasing traces as he went.
---
By the time dawn broke, rice paddies came into view.
In the distance stood the village.
It was silent.
Too silent.
Abandoned houses lined the streets.
Bloodstains were scattered across the ground.
Broken objects, debris, and mangled pieces of flesh lay everywhere.
The stench of blood was overwhelming.
Joey narrowed his eyes and crossed the paddies cautiously, using the ridges for cover, with Killer Queen following closely behind.
He entered the village.
He chose a house with a clear vantage point, climbed through the window, and carefully inspected the interior.
Only after confirming there were no threats did he finally relax slightly and sit down by the window.
Now—
He waited.
He was waiting for Kite and the others.
Of course, Joey didn't intend to wait forever.
If Kite's group didn't appear by around three or four in the afternoon, he would proceed to the base as originally planned.
By that point, the base would likely already be under the control of a centaur-type Chimera Ant.
And once occupied, there wouldn't be many Chimera Ants left inside.
Unless he was extremely unlucky, entering quietly should allow him to retrieve what he needed.
Maps.
Supplies.
Weapons.
Food and water—everything necessary for survival.
He couldn't afford to rely entirely on Kite or anyone else.
In a world filled with unknown variables, preparing for the worst-case scenario was the only rational choice.
---
Just after 8 AM, Joey—half-asleep in his hiding place—suddenly heard gunshots.
He jolted awake.
Rubbing his eyes, he carefully looked out the window toward the edge of the village.
In the distance, on a field ridge—
A Chimera Ant was laughing wildly.
It held a pistol.
Its body was covered in green, insect-like armor, and long red hair flowed behind it.
Not far ahead of it, a middle-aged man was running for his life.
Joey immediately noticed something.
The man had already been shot.
He wasn't escaping.
He was being toyed with.
A slow execution disguised as a chase.
Joey clenched his fists.
But he didn't move.
Even if he intervened, he would likely fail to save the man—and expose himself in the process.
He had to decide.
Lure the Chimera Ant after the man died?
Or stay hidden and wait for it to leave?
Before he could act, a dark shadow suddenly burst out from the forest on the opposite side of the field.
Too fast to clearly see.
It crossed behind the fleeing man in an instant.
And appeared directly in front of the Chimera Ant.
Swoosh.
Blood sprayed into the air as the man's body collapsed.
The shadow stopped.
It casually flicked something from its claws—
A piece of bone still attached to flesh—and tossed it toward the Chimera Ant.
"Where is Killer?"
The voice came from a leopard-faced Chimera Ant wearing a fur vest and shorts. It moved with restless energy, almost bouncing as it spoke.
The receiving Chimera Ant caught the bone and immediately changed its tone upon seeing who had arrived.
"Lord Killer is at the base capturing fleeing humans. I was just—"
Before it could finish, the leopard Chimera Ant had already vanished.
It had lost interest.
The remaining Chimera Ant looked down at the corpse, clearly unimpressed.
It casually tossed the bone into its mouth, chewed, and walked away toward the forest outside the village.
---
Inside the house, Joey held his breath.
He had recognized the leopard Chimera Ant instantly.
Gideon.
One of the Chimera Ant commanders.
A hybrid of leopard and human—possessing extreme speed and elite hunting instincts, though with a somewhat simple, almost reckless personality.
Far beyond Joey's current ability to confront directly.
He estimated that if Gideon noticed him…
He wouldn't even have time to speak before losing a limb.
Without Nen and with only average physical ability, Joey hadn't even clearly seen Gideon's movement earlier.
His only advantage was Killer Queen's unpredictability.
Without a perfect setup or ambush, he stood no chance in a direct confrontation.
He couldn't simply reach out and "touch the back of its neck" to win.
Fortunately, Gideon didn't notice him.
The Chimera Ant left the village casually.
But its presence made Joey even more cautious.
He retreated further into the shadows of the window.
Gone was the composed, hardened figure from the riverbank.
Now he was tense.
Quiet.
Uneasy.
His brows furrowed, eyes heavy with suppressed fear.
In this blood-soaked world—where death could appear at any moment—his nerves were finally beginning to crack.
Time passed.
Slowly.
---
He did not see Ponzu.
He did not see any bees.
Was she dead?
Or had she escaped with Pokkle?
He didn't know.
Around 11 PM, distant howls echoed from the direction of the base.
They were long.
Mournful.
Like something being torn apart alive.
Joey's body trembled involuntarily.
Only after several minutes did he manage to calm himself.
At around 2 PM, gunfire echoed again—this time from the forest.
From the direction the Chimera Ant had left.
Had it returned?
Found new prey?
"Could it be Ponzu…?"
Joey hesitated.
His hand rose instinctively—but stopped.
He was afraid even that movement might attract attention.
He forgot that the village already reeked so heavily of blood that his own scent was meaningless in comparison.
He pulled out his phone.
One bar of signal.
He stared at it for a moment… then put it away.
Then he took out his wallet.
The faint Nen-like energy within it, which had briefly detached from him earlier, had now fully re-integrated.
Warmth spread through his body.
His breathing steadied.
His mind calmed.
And then—
Joey looked up.
His eyes widened.
Several familiar figures were emerging from the forest.
___________________________
You can read +100 advanced chapters in my patreon:
Patreon.com/Kakarot17