"Hey, Dr. White, what's wrong?" In the big, burly man's impression, he had never seen his companion show this kind of expression.
"It's impossible… he shouldn't still be alive…" The man called Dr. White paid no attention to his words. Instead, he leaned against a cabinet, shaking his head, murmuring.
"Who is it? Do you know that intruder?" The big, burly man was even more puzzled.
At this moment, Dr. White slowly turned his head, suddenly pointing in Noah's direction, and shouted, "It's him! He's the 'Zero' cell's original host!"
At the same time, the man in a suit had rushed to Noah's front. Their fists collided in mid-air, creating a burst of air currents that swept outwards.
"What did you say?" The big, burly man, his hair tousled by the airflow, stared with disbelief.
On the other side, the man in the suit also heard Dr. White's words, and his eyes flashed with surprise.
Leveraging the force from their fists colliding, the man in the suit jumped backward, increasing the distance between him and Noah.
"Dr. White, I didn't hear wrong, did I? This kid is the escaped host? Wasn't he supposed to be dead?" The man in the suit stared at Noah with vigilance, loudly asking.
"It's him, it must be him. I won't be mistaken. 'Zero' cell's Original Host, Noah!" Dr. White shouted confidently.
Hearing his own name, Noah turned his head and looked at the man pointing at him.
He stretched his palm, instantly turning it into claws, and said, "It seems I've come to the right place. A cell's original Host, huh? Not the most pleasant term, I must say."
Now Noah was certain; he had a close connection with that 'Zero' cell and this underground laboratory.
According to their words and his previous deductions, his body contained that 'Zero' cell and it was the original host of the cell, which is of even higher quality than those used for Rami.
"Could his being the original host have something to do with Rami's death?" The big, burly man said, suddenly recalling something, looking at Noah.
"That's right, exactly. Now that I think about it, it's like this. Now, using these 'Zero' cells, all of which are inferior remnants left over from the past, if remnants come into contact with the original host's cell, they will boil and self-destruct. So even though Rami's fusion stability reached over 80%, collapses would still occur." After asking, the big, burly man didn't wait for Noah's response. Instead, he lowered his head and analyzed it to himself. In the end, his eyes gradually lit up.
"Capture him, Smith! This time, we can't let him escape! I want to study him thoroughly!" The big, burly man raised his head again, shouting with fanaticism.
Smith, the man in the suit, had already taken off his suit jacket, revealing a white shirt underneath. He casually tossed the jacket aside and flexed his arms and neck, saying, "You don't need to tell me; I already know. I didn't expect to stumble upon such good luck. The Elder Council won't treat me badly this time."
Unlike the big, burly man and Smith, Dr. White had no sense of joy when he saw Noah. Instead, he felt only panic and fear.
Dr. White was different from the big, burly man and Smith. He was one of the first batch of experimental subjects to merge with the 'Zero' cells, and he was also the original head researcher. He had witnessed the hellish events several months ago.
We're finished.
From the moment he recognized Noah, this thought surfaced in Dr. White's mind.
"No matter why you've come here, kid, I should thank you. Thanks to you, I'm about to break free from this dull life, and I'll make sure to repay you." Facing Noah, Smith's face revealed a sinister smile.
Noah had already shifted his gaze away from Dr. White. He had figured out that Dr. White knew about him. All he needed to do was ask him.
When he heard Smith's words, Noah raised an interested eyebrow and said, "I think I heard something similar outside just now."
"That guy's fate doesn't look good."
Seeing that Noah dared to provoke him, Smith's smile became even more sinister.
He said with a sinister tone, "I'm different from those trash like Shaz. Those rubbish don't even know what power they awakened, they're just a bunch of waste."
"In my eyes, you're no different from them." It wasn't that Noah was arrogant; Smith was right.
There was indeed a gap between him and those experimental subjects, but for Noah, the gap between them wasn't much different from nonexistent.
With three months of training with Tsubone, Noah could accurately assess the difference in strength between himself and his opponent.
Facing Smith, if it were the old him, he would certainly not be a match, but now, Smith was nothing special in Noah's eyes.
"I'd like to see what gives you the confidence to look down on people." Seeing this, Smith roared in anger, and with the condensation of his aura, a blood-red whip manifested in his hand.
The whip had numerous thorns densely packed on it, making it look extremely menacing.
Seeing this long whip, Noah also became cautious.
"Conjuration, huh?"
Although he knew that Smith's strength was far lower than his own, Noah would never let his guard down.
After all, battles between Nen users were always unpredictable, and sometimes, a tiny mistake caused by carelessness could affect the entire outcome.
Without fully understanding the opponent's abilities and cards, one must maintain absolute vigilance.
"You little brat, this is my ability. Do you see this blood whip?" Smith glared at Noah with a dark expression, forcefully swung the whip in his hand, and the whip left a red streak in the air before striking the ground, leaving a deep whip mark.
"You better not let this whip touch you. Do you see the thorns on it? They can suck blood, and when they come into contact with your blood, they'll become even sharper. At the same time, the pain from each attack will stack up. You'll only have two outcomes: bleeding to death or dying a painfully slow death."
"Hahaha, how's that? This is my ability, the pleasure of a torturer." At the end, Smith wore a sinister expression and laughed maniacally.
"Hey, Smith, I told you to capture him, not to kill him. This kid can't die." At this moment, a voice came from the big burly man standing nearby.
Smith waved his whip again, turned his head, and coldly glanced at the big burly man, saying, "I know, I won't kill him. I'll just torture him well. Don't worry, Dr. Crowly."
After saying that, Smith shifted his gaze back to Noah, stuck out his tongue, and licked his lips, saying, "So, kid, are you ready to endure the torture?"