Chapter 109: Vanishing, Reappearing, and Dumbfounded

Hao Ren, who had ruthlessly won 3,700 points from Zombie Step and Xiao Ming with a simple game of Old Maid, suffered from insomnia that night. Although watching the two of them drag away the corpses of the Wisdom God and Adam with tear-streaked, miserable faces was quite a delight, Hao Ren still could not sleep.

The reason for his insomnia...

"Ha~~ Hoo-hoo-hoo! Hehe! Sonia-chan~~ squeak-creak..." Anna was a master of annoying methods: grinding teeth, snoring, sleep-talking, and rhythmic wheezing. She had fallen asleep with her legs draped over the bed and her upper body on the floor. Hao Ren, who had finally been about to drift off, opened his bloodshot eyes and wished he could banish her to another dimension.

Ever since he had acquired Nen abilities, Hao Ren found he could go for long periods without rest. Yet, he felt that if he didn't sleep at night, it seemed meaningless, as if something were missing.

Finally, shooting a glare at the sleeping Anna, Hao Ren dressed properly and left the room to pace the deck by the sea.

What should he do?

Throwing stones into the water, Hao Ren felt at a loss. Since he had arrived on the Battleship Island, he could only follow the plot. However, he was completely ignorant of professional fields like mechanics, ballistics, or warship navigation. He estimated that once the plot got underway, he would be nothing more than a background character doing chores.

Play games to kill time?

Ugh, although the PFV was stored in his inventory, he had forgotten to bring the game cards. It was destined to collect dust.

Hao Ren covered his face in frustration.

Then...

A faint white light emanated from Hao Ren’s hands.

"Nen ability..."

Thinking of something, Hao Ren stared at the ship's hull, activated [In], and snuck under the deck like a thief.

...

Forty-eight hours later, after successfully starting the warship and exiting the typhoon, the exhausted crowd watched as the Hunter Association airship, carrying the Warden, slowly descended onto the deck. Hao Ren, who had contributed absolutely nothing to the escape from the island, appeared silently among the crowd.

The suddenly appearing Hao Ren did not want to attract attention, but his current attire was exceptionally eye-catching.

His original sweatpants were missing the lower half, and what remained was tattered into strips; at a glance, one might mistake them for a Hawaiian grass skirt. His upper body was completely bare, as his tracksuit and the white undershirt he’d worn beneath had vanished, revealing a physique that was not strong but sturdy. His skin was covered in blue and purple bruises, and his whole body looked as dilapidated as a girl who had been ravaged by a brute...

Yoshii Meikyu, the most imaginative of the group, looked back and forth between the lecherous-looking Hisoka and the miserable-looking Hao Ren.

"Xiao Ming, what's wrong with you?" Noticing his teammate's odd behavior, Zombie Step followed Xiao Ming's gaze.

"Damn, it's only been two days, and Black Flame, who won 2,000 points from me, looks quite haggard." Zombie Step was startled, then a smile crept into the corners of his eyes, carrying the satisfaction of revenge. It seemed the loss of money had left Zombie Step holding a grudge against Hao Ren.

"For the past two or three days, everyone has been struggling to get the ship off the island and away from the typhoon. Aside from a few NPCs who died foolishly on small boats, the only ones missing were that Black Flame Dragon, Hisoka, and that weirdo with the nails in his face. Look at that magician Hisoka’s lecherous smile, and the way Black Flame looks like a girl who’s been stalked... it’s probably that, isn't it..." The suddenly vulgar Xiao Ming made a "K" gesture with his left hand and poked his right index finger through it—a gesture that definitely required censoring.

"Xiao Ming, you..." Zombie Step’s face stiffened, then he patted Xiao Ming on the shoulder. "Good job!"

Xiao Ming turned around and gave a thumbs up, and the two exchanged a mutual nod of approval.

"I heard that, you two cross-dressers," Hao Ren suddenly interjected, making them both tremble.

If you are going to mock someone to their face, you must be prepared to have your own secrets exposed.

The expressions behind the two rangers' masks must have been spectacular as they watched Hao Ren approach them, step by step. Hao Ren now wore an expression that a protagonist on the side of justice should never have, looking down at the two spandex-clad rangers.

"If you don't want me to upload Yoshii’s maid photos and Aikawa’s bridal photos to the internet, then get down and sing the school anthem." As he said this, Hao Ren pulled out the long-forgotten Sharp-Tory (the phone that had been eaten by a mechanical bird).

The Sharp cooperated by projecting two photos onto the deck at their feet.

One showed Yoshii Meikyu wearing a shoulder-length wig, half-naked, covering his chest with a towel, holding a bra high in his right hand with a bitter smile.

The other showed Aikawa Ayumu in a full white wedding dress, slumped in a chair, revealing legs that didn't look like a man's, looking utterly exhausted.

With a thud, the two knelt, their helmets frequently making intimate contact with the deck.

"Well, as long as you do as I say, I might spare you." Having said this, Hao Ren dragged the two dejected perverts into a corner and handed them something.

"Remember, scatter these every 200 meters or so. Try to spread them out, and don't let anyone notice easily. Do you hear me? If you can't do it, you know what will happen..." Hao Ren patted their shoulders and turned to leave.

The two, whose expressions were hidden by their helmets, looked at each other, though their faces beneath were likely soaked in tears.

"The aura of this examinee, why does it feel so indescribably familiar and... weak?" The mohawked Warden Lippo stared at Hao Ren's back, deep in thought.

"A ripened fruit, it really doesn't stir my interest," Hisoka, who had thrown a wall full of playing cards, felt a bit lonely.

...

"Alright, there are only two stages left in the Hunter Exam: the fourth phase and the final phase. I am honored to be the examiner for the fourth phase. But..." Lippo snapped his fingers in front of the examinees.

A staff member pushed a small cart toward them.

"This box contains a number of cards equal to the number of remaining examinees. Please draw one card each in the order you escaped from Trick Tower."

As expected, Hisoka was the first to escape, and the second was Illumi, who was on his team.

Hao Ren was in the middle of the pack. Having known the plot beforehand, he had long since hidden his number plate in the lining of his underwear, though it wasn't very comfortable. This number plate couldn't be placed in the inventory; the Main Brain was truly ruthless.

He looked at the number.

...

Number 99.

Hao Ren was dumbfounded.

This was the number of the silver-haired, cat-eyed little assassin, Killua. In a sense, drawing this number was even more dangerous than drawing Hisoka’s number 44.

Hao Ren subconsciously glanced at the weirdo with the face full of nails. The man's teeth were clicking together, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

What now?