Kate's sudden decision left Joey completely bewildered.
He couldn't understand her reasoning. Did she truly believe she could handle the Chimera Ants in the cave on her own? Or was she preparing to abandon him after getting what she wanted?
Either way, once Kate and the others began clearing out the ants, Joey had no choice but to act. He instructed Killer Queen to release the Chariot.
As for exposing the Heart-Piercing Attack, Joey didn't care in the slightest.
From the moment the Skull Chariot became visible to Nen users, its greatest weakness—its slow speed—had already rendered it a flawed weapon. Even Joey himself could dodge the Heart-Piercing Attack, so how could it possibly threaten Kate and the others?
Still, the Chariot was extremely useful in the current situation. The confined space of the cave was the perfect environment for the Heart-Piercing Attack to shine.
Moreover, their opponents were merely ordinary Chimera Ants that hadn't awakened Nen.
Thus, Joey retreated as he fired, carefully avoiding the blast radius of his own attacks.
Boom!
The explosion was impossible to conceal. A deafening roar echoed through the entire cave.
At that very moment, however, a Chimera Ant with an armored shell resembling a giant cockroach dropped from the ceiling, diving straight toward Joey.
While Joey had been focused on the four ants ahead, another had been lurking above, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
But before it could reach him, Killer Queen's fist met it head-on.
This autonomous close-range Stand wouldn't allow anything to breach Joey's defenses so easily.
Killer Queen struck rapidly, far too fast for the cockroach-like ant to even perceive.
It was a completely one-sided fight.
Even before the beating began, Joey had noticed the creature's disturbingly human-like face twist into an excited grin—like a predator convinced it had already won.
That illusion didn't last long.
With a final blow from Killer Queen, the Chimera Ant was left mangled and barely alive.
Remembering Kate's earlier warning, Joey didn't hesitate. He reloaded and fired.
At the same time, Killer Queen pressed down its right thumb.
A silent explosion followed, obliterating the creature completely—leaving nothing behind.
This time, however, Joey noticed something different.
As he focused on completely annihilating the target, he felt a small portion of his Nen being consumed.
It wasn't much—but it was real.
That realization sparked an idea.
He withdrew Killer Queen and consciously attempted to channel his Nen into it.
When it reappeared, the change was immediate.
Joey clearly felt a drop in his own aura, while Killer Queen now carried a steady, flowing layer of Nen—just as he had anticipated.
"Could it be…" Joey muttered inwardly, observing closely, "that Killer Queen has actually become a Nen beast in this world?"
He dismissed it again, and the dispersed aura returned fully to his body. There was no noticeable loss.
He didn't pursue the thought further.
The Skull Chariot had already returned after its five consecutive detonations.
Joey sealed it back into the back of his left hand just as Gon and Killua reappeared in the hall.
The two were surprised to find Joey still standing in place.
The heavy stench of blood spilling from the cave made it obvious—the Chimera Ants had been completely wiped out.
Since Joey had acted before the Chariot appeared, both boys couldn't help but glance curiously at Killer Queen, which he hadn't yet concealed.
"Is a Nen beast really that strong?" Gon asked, his eyes shining with excitement.
"Not really," Joey replied modestly. "It's just that my ability happens to counter these Chimera Ants."
"If they're all like this, clearing them out won't be hard," Killua said with a yawn, sounding almost disappointed. "They're not even as interesting as that rabbit-eared one we fought earlier."
"They're probably just low-level soldier ants," Joey said. "No Nen, just raw biological traits. But once they awaken Nen… things will get much more dangerous."
At the same time, he faintly heard movement coming from the cave Gon had cleared.
Killua didn't react, so Joey chose not to comment.
Compared to these ordinary ants, Joey knew far too well how terrifying the upper ranks of the Chimera Ant hierarchy were.
These foot soldiers were practically a different species from the Royal Guards—the gap between them was immeasurable.
And above even them… the Ant King.
The thought alone made Joey uneasy.
Leaving NGL as soon as possible might be the wisest choice.
"Joey's right," Kite said, having already sheathed her weapon. She glanced toward the cave Gon had cleared, a subtle tension in her expression.
"These Chimera Ants are naturally aggressive. Combined with their current leader, their brutality has only intensified."
She continued calmly,
"From what we've seen, it's only a matter of time before the stronger individuals awaken Nen. If we don't deal with them here in NGL, the situation could spiral out of control and spread to neighboring countries."
"The Mitene Federation doesn't have strong communication systems. Whether it's NGL, the East Gorteau Republic, or the Republic of Rocario—only major cities are even moderately developed."
With that, the group pressed deeper into the base.
The rest of the path was quiet. No more Chimera Ants appeared.
Presumably, the ones that needed to be dealt with had already gathered at the earlier fork.
"Looks like our presence has been exposed," Kite said, her tone turning more serious.
"More ants?" Killua asked. "How are they tracking us?"
"That's the problem," Kite replied. "Many creatures in nature have long-range detection abilities. We can't possibly eliminate them all."
"Ignoring it would only make things worse."
"Then we test their detection accuracy," Gon said. "If it's just range-based, we move on. If it's precise… we'll have to eliminate the source."
That was the group's shared approach.
At that moment, a dragonfly-like Chimera Ant flashed through Joey's mind.
If he remembered correctly, this was likely its doing.
It seemed capable of transmitting signals back to a division commander—and it didn't appear to be a Nen ability.
The creature had once served under a lion-type Chimera Ant, though it would later be killed and replaced by an octopus posing as it.
But how could he explain all that now?
And if they didn't eliminate it, their movements would remain completely exposed.
Joey frowned deeply.
Before he could speak, Kite had already opened a concealed door seamlessly embedded in the wall ahead.
Behind it lay the information she had been searching for.
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