Chapter 287

Ron remained on guard whenever he was out and about—even at Dragon Dojo.

He trusted Wendy, but not everyone else in the dojo completely.

After dinner, Ron returned to his room.

Next door, only Shizuku was there by herself.

Nina had taken Miste to another room.

Nina welcomed Miste's arrival. One reason was that, when she saw Miste stand half a step behind Ron earlier, Nina couldn't help but think of how she herself used to stand there once upon a time.

Another reason was that in the team, both Shizuku and Sally were older than Nina, so Nina was eager for someone younger to join. Miste fit the bill nicely.

"Miste," Nina asked, "did you enjoy the bath?"

While they soaked together in the tub, Miste suddenly posed a question. 

"Nina, are you also a tool bought by Big Brother?"

"Huh?"

Nina was caught off guard by Miste's sudden question.

"No, why would you think that, Miste?"

"Because Big Brother bought me to be his tool."

Nina hesitated for a moment. 

"Miste, can you tell me what happened back then?"

"No. If you're not another tool that Big Brother bought, I can't tell you."

"All right."

After her bath, Nina went next door. Ron gave her a brief explanation.

"I rescued Miste from a human-trafficking ring called Hongtelang. They brainwashed her, so her sense of things is… off in certain ways. Please keep an eye on that."

Nina glanced at Ron, noticing a distant look in his eyes. "Big Bro, is something on your mind?" she asked softly.

Ron withdrew his gaze, shaking his head. "I'm just thinking."

At not quite twelve years old, he had plenty of other worries right now. Nina and Miste were also too young to shoulder heavy responsibilities. Whenever he needed more mature support, he'd sooner turn to teammates like Shizuku, Sally, or Wendy, who had more experience. As for Nina and Miste, they still had plenty of time to grow.

Nina nodded. 

"Got it, Big Bro. I'll head back then."

"Okay."

He paused, then summoned Killer Queen from his conjured space. Ron took out his laptop.

"Chii."

At his call, Chii appeared and uploaded all relevant intel onto Ron's computer. First up was information on Hongtelang, neatly organized into a separate folder.

Then Ron looked through other intelligence files.

The situation with the wandering renegades in Meteor City had completely ended. The outside world admitted to illegally arresting them under false charges. Relations between Meteor City and the outside had become even more strained.

"By now, the Phantom Troupe must have negotiated with the elders, securing a certain leadership role in Meteor City."

"The Mad Beast group is a thing of the past."

"And the Phantom Troupe has become an even stronger Nen-user faction in Meteor City."

Ron sighed inwardly.

"So many things can change with time."

He opened the third folder—it was about the Underworld Mafia.

Order had stabilized within the Underworld Mafia. Yorknew's auction still happened once a year, and Aurean, despite what happened at Lab No.2, showed no signs of collapsing. They'd even managed to stay afloat and seemed poised to grow stronger.

"If that's the case, they're probably relying on experiment subjects from the previous Lab No.2."

Ron's mind flashed back to images of those creatures: part human, part other organism. Some had human organs grafted into beasts, others beast organs grafted into people. 

Most of them didn't survive. Only a tiny fraction made it out alive, and any that did were bound to be extraordinarily tough.

"If any of them learn Nen, they'll grow at an alarming rate…"

"Just like how Chimera Ants did once they picked up Nen."

"I wonder how that one guy is doing now."

When Ron left Aurean, he saved one experiment subject as a favor and suggested he head to Meteor City if he didn't have anywhere else to go.

"Lox is advancing fast. 'Nen spirits' can be even stronger than 'Nen tools' in certain ways."

"If only Ganlu Temple could be moved."

But that was just Ron daydreaming. If the Ganlu Temple could be relocated, armies of Nen users would have swarmed it long ago—no way it would've waited for Silva to pick up that mission. The fact that it couldn't move meant only a few factions remained interested in it.

Three days later, Mizaistom arrived.

"Mizaistom, over here."

Ron waved him over.

Mizaistom looked over and blinked, slightly taken aback by Ron's age. Before coming, he'd asked Gel about Ron's circumstances and learned that Ron was young—but he hadn't expected him to be quite this young.

Especially linking such a young face to all the feats Gel had mentioned.

"Ron."

Ron sized Mizaistom up in return. The man appeared middle-aged, sporting a scruffy beard and black markings around his eyes. He wore black-and-white checkerboard-patterned clothes with a matching hat, complete with two small horns protruding from it.

He obviously embraced his role as the Ox among the Zodiacs. From a distance, he practically looked like a walking cow.

Ron recalled what he knew of Mizaistom: a Double Star Crime Hunter, part-time attorney, and widely regarded as the moral compass of the Zodiacs—someone who had earned Netero's respect. A Nen user who detested violence.

His Nen ability was something called "Courtroom Incarceration," where he could trap his target in a fixed space. He had three cards to use: a red card to eject the target, a yellow card to restrain them, and a blue card to summon them to trial.

With that in mind, Ron thought:

"From all I've heard, Mizaistom probably isn't a straightforward combat type—similar to Gel, but maybe a bit better."

"Gel's skills were two-thirds poison, one-third fighting."

"As for Mizaistom's 'Courtroom Incarceration,' it likely leans toward interrogation or inquiry. Once someone's caught in his rules, it'd be tough to escape."

"But in a head-on battle, that probably isn't his strong suit."