What Are You Waiting For?

Confident judgment paired with swift execution.

How infuriating…

It was like accidentally revealing the corner of one's underwear and having someone instantly deduce the entire design.

The worst part? The one doing it was just a kid.

But the real issue was—

What exactly happened to this kid?

Zazan felt a powerful sense of unease creeping into his heart, and with it, a flicker of killing intent.

While missions and responsibilities were important, he couldn't tolerate such strange and unpredictable situations.

It was frustrating. It was unsettling.

Should he just kill him?

Zazan remained silent as his gaze fell on Moro's bleeding knee. He frowned slightly.

This "blood bag" was high-priority cargo. For now, he'd wait and see.

After all, Moro was already wounded, which fulfilled the minimum condition for his ability to activate. It just meant that Zazan needed to "wait" a little longer.

Fine. A few more minutes of patience.

Once his "Data Dagger" ability took effect, he could subdue Moro without issue.

In those few brief moments, Zazan's killing intent surged and faded before he decided on his course of action.

"They say, 'Third time's the charm.' I think that applies here," Zazan said, suppressing his emotions as he casually toyed with the dagger in his hand. His voice grew colder. "So don't even think about running. That way, you might just survive."

"Hm. They also say, 'Heed advice, and you'll have your fill.' I think that applies here too," Moro replied calmly, keeping his eyes locked on Zazan's nen aura. "So I'm not thinking about running. That way, you might just have a chance to catch me."

"…"

Zazan's lip twitched slightly.

If not for his duties and the conditions his ability required, he would've already hurled the dagger in his left hand at Moro instead of wasting time exchanging words.

From the moment he'd leapt out of the compartment, Moro had been carefully observing Zazan's nen aura.

A person's thoughts and emotions sometimes surface in the fluctuations of their nen.

Of course, skilled individuals wouldn't let their nen reveal any information.

But Zazan clearly wasn't at that level.

The shifts in his killing intent just now had been plain as day to Moro.

This indicated that Zazan's principle of "not harming the cargo" could be flexible depending on the circumstances.

Convinced that Zazan was serious, Moro dismissed any lingering thoughts of exploiting him to create an opportunity to escape.

After all, the risks of being pursued with restraint and being pursued without it were vastly different.

He'd have to resolve this head-on.

Moro consciously allowed the visible manifestation of his nen aura to evenly spread across his entire body.

Although he'd only just opened his nen pores, he was adapting quickly. The synchronization between his body and nen was steadily improving.

At this pace, he wouldn't need to worry about unexpected delays in feedback between his body and nen.

This is crucial… my margin for error is extremely low.

Moro thought this as he kept a close eye on Zazan.

Both sides had reasons to "wait," creating a strange calm along the rugged mountain road where the transport truck stood.

Moro was waiting for his body and nen to sync, minimizing the chances of error.

Zazan, holding the upper hand, preferred to resolve things without unnecessary bloodshed.

This created an odd, tacit understanding between them, neither side attempting to break the stalemate.

One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes…

As time passed, both Moro's and Zazan's mindsets began to shift.

Zazan, confident in his superiority and control of the situation, saw no reason to overthink Moro's inaction.

All he had to do was wait for his ability to activate and then finish things.

But Moro was different. He had far more to consider.

In terms of raw power, his opponent was undeniably stronger.

Yet since the dagger attack earlier, Moro had noticed something: Zazan didn't seem pressed for time.

That's the problem.

I'm waiting to gain the strength to fight, but what is he waiting for?

Moro's gaze lingered on Zazan's left hand, which gripped the dagger.

Left-handed. High likelihood of being a Conjuration type. But that's just a reference point.

Another trait of Conjuration types was an unconscious tendency to concentrate nen on their dominant hand.

The accuracy of this judgment depended on whether the Conjurer had used their ability yet.

When Moro had leapt out of the compartment earlier and immediately gone on alert, Zazan already had a dagger in hand.

And based on the bulging outlines in Zazan's jacket, it was highly likely that he had several more concealed daggers.

Additionally, the dagger left in the compartment hadn't disappeared.

While it was possible for Conjured objects to exist in multiples, the available information suggested that Zazan's daggers were unlikely to be Conjured.

This ruled out the possibility of the daggers having special abilities. Moro didn't need to worry about latent risks like an ability triggered by creating a wound.

While the analysis leaned toward an optimistic conclusion…

Moro, as someone steeped in the deceitful antique business, knew one thing very well.

In any conflict of interest, the intentions and goals your opponent revealed through their actions and words were often precisely what you didn't want to see happen.

Even if Moro couldn't extract more valuable information from the current situation, he realized that waiting further was likely to bring diminishing returns compared to the risks.

With this level of synchronization… I should be able to skip the foundational steps and use "Fraudulent Star," right?

I should… probably.

Moro wasn't entirely confident, but in a disadvantageous position like this, there was no time for careful testing.

As his thoughts raced, Moro made his decision.

He first locked onto the handgun that had fallen to the ground nearby. Then, concentrating his nen at his right palm, he began to condense it.

A soft green light, like a budding seed, shimmered in his hand.

On the other side of the truck, Zazan's eyes widened in surprise.

Nen…?!

He only just opened his pores…!

In that instant, alarm bells rang in Zazan's mind. His shock was immediately replaced by murderous intent.

At that precise moment, Moro successfully activated his "Fraudulent Star" ability.

A marble-sized green nen bullet shot from his palm, speeding toward Zazan's chest.

Zazan didn't know the specifics of Moro's ability, but seeing the relatively slow speed of the projectile, he sidestepped to evade it.

At the same time, Moro picked up the handgun from the ground and fired multiple shots in quick succession.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Eleven bullets flew toward Zazan.

With cold, calculated movements, Zazan dodged the incoming bullets, sidestepping and leaping.

"P922. Twelve rounds," Zazan said coldly as he slightly raised his dagger and began walking toward Moro. "You fired eleven. Were you planning to leave one to turn the tide?"

His voice grew colder as his killing intent sharpened.

"But what I'm more curious about is…"

Zazan's eyes burned with murderous light.

"Who exactly are you, that you're so familiar with firearms and capable of using nen?"

Bang!

Moro's response was the final bullet from his gun.

Simultaneously, Zazan hurled his dagger.

The bullet, glowing with scorching energy, and the nen-infused dagger passed each other midair, each headed for its target.

Zazan remained expressionless. One bullet wouldn't faze him—he was confident he could endure it. The dagger he'd thrown, however, would kill Moro.

This situation is far beyond expectations, but I'll deal with the fallout later.

As the dagger flew toward Moro, Zazan braced for the bullet's impact.

Thud—

Before Zazan could see the dagger pierce Moro, a sudden pain exploded in his back. The impact sent his mind reeling, his consciousness dimming as blood spurted from his mouth.

"W-What…"

The unexpected strike shook him to his core as his awareness faded.

Meanwhile, Zazan's nen-infused dagger grazed Moro's skin but stopped short, dissolving into a wisp of smoke.

"Phew."

As the dust settled, Moro lowered his arm, still clutching the gun.

Even now, he couldn't confirm Zazan's exact nen type.

But he was grateful his opponent had been someone like Zazan.

If it had been a different kind of nen user, he might not have survived.

For 20 advanced chapters: https://www.patreon.com/c/Ely225