Chapter 111: Limestone, Seizure, and New Abilities

Hao Ren disembarked from the warship 40 minutes after Hisoka had entered the island, securing a middle-of-the-pack ranking.

To be honest, jungle warfare was highly unfavorable for Hao Ren. Although he had never missed a single episode of Bear Grylls’ "Man vs. Wild" (Gourmet Edition), his knowledge of wilderness survival was limited to the utterly unreliable mantra: "Twist off the head and you can eat it; tastes like chicken, crunchy, full of protein, six times the beef."

Gazing at the lush, unfamiliar greenery and breathing in the air thick with the scent of soil and raw foliage, Hao Ren, who had lived his whole life in a city of steel, felt a brief moment of awe. However, this was no time for daydreaming.

Hao Ren tapped his temple, his eyes darting around as if searching for something. Once he spotted his target, he stretched his limbs and plunged headlong into the jungle, sprinting forward blindly. He didn’t care about concealing his presence or giving away his location; with his current strength, even if he couldn't beat Hisoka or Illumi, he could surely outrun them.

His primary objective now was to find a suitable hiding spot. Consumables for seven days? Hao Ren’s storage space was filled with nothing but ingredients. Besides, he didn't have the stomach to swallow live grubs, and he had no desire to experience the taste of sausages stuffed with nasal mucus.

Aiming for the highest point on the island’s "left breast," Hao Ren charged ahead for about an hour. By this time, the remaining 20 candidates had all entered the island. Thanks to the energy-saving and acceleration effects of his Sonic sneakers, Hao Ren ran with ease. Combined with the use of "Zetsu," he managed to avoid any interference from the strange creatures roaming the area.

Upon reaching his destination, a limestone formation resembling a smaller version of Australia’s Uluru appeared before him. It stood roughly 50 meters tall, equivalent to a 20-story building. The rock face was as smooth as if carved by a blade, with barely any protrusions to serve as footholds. The curvature was abnormally round, making the structure nearly cylindrical. Viewed from above, it looked just like a nipple... (Could this really have something to do with Ms. Takeuchi?)

For an ordinary person, even harboring the thought of climbing it without gear would be a death wish; gravity would remind them of Newton’s wrath in seconds. But Hao Ren was no ordinary person, especially not with shoes that could be called "Newton’s Lament" on his feet.

He retreated a few hundred meters, focused all his energy, and unleashed a high-level application of "Ten" and "Ren"—"Ken"!

Then... Bang!

With a sound like an explosion, Hao Ren vanished. A figure invisible to the naked eye tore through the air, spiraling rapidly up the exterior of the limestone. Rocks and vegetation were decimated, leaving a beautiful spiral track along the cliffside. Hao Ren came to a sudden halt, having arrived at the summit. He stood tall, chest out, walked to the edge, looked down, and doubled over...

*Splatter.*

"Damn it! Isn't 'Ken' supposed to be tough? How could it not withstand the speed of sound? Ugh!" A pile of colorful, mosaic-like vomit poured out of Hao Ren’s mouth.

Yes, "Ken" was indeed tough. In terms of pure defensive power, Hao Ren’s physical durability increased threefold when using it, enough to withstand standard light handgun rounds. But... the speed of sound, brother? Did he really think his body could rival a fighter jet? If he had run any faster, the air pressure alone would have crushed him. If his body had been any weaker, the sonic boom would have caused massive internal organ damage.

*No tickee, no laundry*—if you don't court death, you won't die! It was a miracle that Hao Ren was still conscious enough to speak. If not for his "Injury-Free" mechanism, he likely would have lost an arm or a leg. He really was a man whose initial intelligence stat was a mere 9, acting on impulse without a second thought. He had only one thought now: delete the Sonic trilogy from his PFP.

Drip, drip. Crimson blood trickled from his nostrils. It seemed his organs had suffered some degree of trauma.

"Damn, what a waste!" Seeing his own nosebleed, Hao Ren acted as if he had dropped a bar of soap, frantically using his hands to carefully catch the dripping blood. If it weren't for the fact that spilled water is hard to gather, he probably would have scraped up the blood that had already soaked into the dirt. "Well, at least I don't have to slit my wrists to self-harm. This injury-prevention mechanism makes even self-harm such a chore."

After muttering to himself, he pulled out the glass cup left over from his "Medicine: Bear Bamboo" drink and poured the small pool of blood from his palms into it.

What exactly was driving Hao Ren to such madness?

...

"Tch, who would listen to him?" the figure in the black bodysuit twisted their hips, looking around.

"Exactly, exactly," the blue-bodysuited figure agreed, waving a fist.

"Well then, I'm just going to toss these pieces of junk into this pond," the black suit said, throwing the bracelet-like cloth strips.

"Then I'll go toss mine into the trees," the blue suit climbed a tree with difficulty and hung the strips on a branch.

"Oh, someone's coming. What do we do?" The black suit tensed up; there was killing intent.

"Run!" The blue suit abandoned his companion without hesitation and fled.

After they left, the strips in the pond drifted away with the current, and those hanging in the trees were plucked away one by one by curious birds to use for their nests.

...

In the tall grass, a red-nosed man scanned his surroundings vigilantly, his curved blade glinting in the sunlight. Not far behind him, a youth with a hunting bow slowly drew an arrow from his quiver, nocked it, and took aim.

A breeze blew. The youth, Pokkle, infused his killing intent into the wind and fired.

Without suspense, in the eyes of Pokkle—who famously said, "My arrows are coated with paralyzing poison"—the red-nosed man, whose arm had been grazed by the arrow, was already as good as caught. He delivered a cocky, stylish line, snatched the #105 badge from the red-nosed man, and walked away.

No one bothered with the defeated red-nosed man. Fortunately, the nearby pond allowed him to barely survive the paralysis.

"Amazing. Is this what a Hunter is..." Killua, perched in a tree 200 meters away, witnessed it all.

"Yesterday's friend is today's enemy." In a tree behind Killua, the black Hunter who had been tailing him, Gittarackur... no, Geretta, witnessed it all.

"Hmm, Pokkle. This kid is weak in close combat and hasn't mastered Nen yet. I'll take him," Hao Ren, sitting on the limestone cliff 10 kilometers away, also witnessed it all.

Hao Ren sat cross-legged, eyes closed, as faint, barely visible halos of light emanated from his body. It was a high-level application of "Ten" and "Ren": "En." The radius had already reached 500 meters, far exceeding Zeno Zoldyck’s 300 meters—it was terrifying. Even so, Hao Ren shouldn't have been able to perceive events 10 kilometers away!

"Found you!" Hao Ren suddenly opened his eyes, dropped those words, and vanished without a trace, leaving only a thin cloth ring on the limestone.

About 30 seconds later, Hao Ren reappeared on the cliff, holding two badges in his left hand: #53 and #105. They were Pokkle’s badge and the one taken from the red-nosed man.

"My Nen ability, 'Möbius Loop Jump,' first combat success." With only ten percent of his aura remaining, Hao Ren grinned.