Chapter 283

"Things should be safe now," Ron reassured Ralph. 

"Senior Achilles is here."

Ralph fell into a long silence, then seemed to remember something. 

"How about Lilith and the others—are they all right?"

"Most ordinary civilians should be fine, but you can go check on them now."

Ralph immediately jumped up and dashed toward where Lilith and the others lived.

Before long, Achilles returned—carrying a corpse. 

It was a middle-aged man, slightly overweight, completely lifeless, the body battered and misshapen from severe trauma before death.

Achilles tossed the corpse in front of Gonte's remains. 

"Any more survivors?"

"We found one," Ron replied. "It's Ralph—the person Senior Dominica brought back from the Taris Nation. He should've been dead by now, but the monster fused inside him did some sort of healing to keep him alive."

"I see." Achilles nodded. "I've already contacted the Beast Dojo. New people will arrive soon and form a new Dark Hunter squad. Let's leave Gik City. There's nothing more to do here."

---

Back in the Fiora Kingdom's capital…

Ron soaked in a hot bath first, washing away the gore and fatigue. Then he headed back to his room and lay down on the bed.

Before leaving Gik City, he'd met again with Ralph and the others—Lilith, Haji, and Hasan were all safe, to Ralph's great relief. Once the new Dark Hunter squad arrived, Ralph stayed with them. The incident in Gik City was just an unfortunate anomaly. Even if hostilities between Fiora and the Mingbo Republic escalated later, the battles likely wouldn't happen there again, so that job still offered Ralph decent pay to support himself and the three children.

As for Rosgel's head, Achilles said nothing, and Ron didn't ask. That was a matter for Fiora and the Mingbo Republic. It had little to do with Ron personally. Only Wendy remained downcast: she'd just reached Gik City when she saw Ina's corpse, and then Gonte died shortly afterward—both people she knew well. The difference between seeing a stranger die and seeing a friend die is vast.

Meanwhile, Eli had been all but forgotten—just a minor figure in the whole incident surrounding Rosgel's head. Ron didn't bother mentioning he'd slain Eli, since it wouldn't serve any useful purpose.

"That's that for Gik City," Ron said to himself. "My time in Fiora is also about to end."

He looked at the crystal ball floating before him. 

Its progress was at eighty-five percent. 

In the royal capital, only a few sites remained that Ron hadn't visited. Collectively, they should provide at least fifteen percent more progress—enough to reach one hundred. It was only a matter of time.

"Wendy, want to go out for a bit?" 

She hesitated, then agreed. "Sure."

They left the Dragon Dojo. 

Casually, Ron steered the conversation toward the places he still needed to see. 

Day by day, the crystal ball's progress crept closer to one hundred.

In the meantime, Ron wasn't idle. He had instructed Chii to gather intel on Hongterang via the network Chii had built, including contacts in the intelligence community. By now, they'd gathered as much as was feasible—further digging wouldn't yield much.

Picking up his phone, Ron dialed Kaka's number. 

"Hello?"

"Kaka-senpai, it's Ron."

"Ron!" Kaka sounded a bit surprised—he clearly hadn't expected Ron to call. 

"What's up?"

"Kaka-senpai, are you still with Gel?"

"No, Master had something else to do and went off."

"Could I get Master Gel's number from you?"

"Sure, no problem."

Before long, Kaka recited Gel's contact info. 

Normally, a Twelve Zodiacs Hunter's number is private and never shared lightly—but Ron was an exception. 

Kaka knew well Ron's identity as a Zoldyck. The Zoldyck Family had a decent relationship with Hunter Association Chairman Netero, so the Association and Zoldycks were on friendly terms.

Ron hung up and dialed the number. 

"Master Gel, this is Ron."

"Ron, is something the matter?"

"Master Gel, do you happen to have Senior Mizaistom's number? I have intel about Hongterang—he's investigating them, right? I want to pass it along."

"All right, let me find it…"

After a short wait, Gel gave Ron Mizaistom's number.

"Who is this?" 

"Mizaistom-senpai, I'm Ron. I have some information regarding Hongterang."

The instant he heard the name "Hongterang," Mizaistom perked up.

"Where are you now?"

"I'm still in the Fiora Kingdom."

"I'll head over right away. You'll need to give me a few days, though."

Ron paused. 

"Mizaistom-senpai, how about we meet at Heavens Arena? I'm planning to leave Fiora."

"That works for me as well. Contact me when you get there."

"Got it."

He ended the call.

---

**Three days later…**

Wendy took Ron to the airship terminal. 

"Goodbye, Ron."

Seeing that the departure time was close, he stood to leave. 

"See you around."

Wendy remained outside, waving him off. 

Following right behind Ron was Miste.

They boarded the airship, and Ron took a window seat while Miste gazed out curiously. Ron glanced at his crystal ball: it had reached one hundred percent.

"There are no other Nen users on this airship," Ron thought. 

"So I can create my sixth Nen beast here in peace."

Night fell, darkness thickened, and Ron found a quiet lounge on the airship. Slipping inside, he locked the door behind him and closed his eyes.

"All right—start!"

He felt his aura pour into the crystal ball at an incredible rate, the same sensation he'd experienced before.

The crystal ball began to change color. 

Boom! 

A sound thundered in Ron's mind, and suddenly, he felt his consciousness sink into another space. Silhouettes floated before him:

A young man with long black hair and a cold expression. 

A burly teen with a powerful chest. 

A pretty little girl with pigtails. 

A cat walking upright. 

A pink-haired youth wreathed in flames.

The next moment, all those figures merged into the crystal ball.

Rumble!