"Very dangerous." Waters added on.
Ron nodded.
"I understand, Mr. Waters. Thank you."
Back at the Greed Estate, Ron entered his room and began to think seriously.
"Aside from those four areas, I can go anywhere."
"Then, for the upcoming period, I will divide my time into two parts."
"One part will be spent exploring the areas I can visit and absorbing their characteristics."
"The other part will be for training."
Spending an entire day wandering around might raise suspicions.
As for Greed, Ron wasn't afraid of him.
But this was the core area of the Underworld Mafia.
"The Grand Conference Hall, the Engineering Factory, the No. 2 Experimental Base, the Shadow Beast Estate."
"These places, I'll need to find an opportunity to enter."
"Can't rush it."
---
Ron had a half-month of free time.
During this half month, Ron made considerable progress.
Aside from the four forbidden areas, Ron had visited almost every other place, and he had absorbed most of their characteristics. The total progress on the crystal ball had already reached 30%.
"Whoosh!"
A figure flashed and appeared in front of Ron.
"Ron, assemble."
"Understood."
Ron followed behind the young man.
Besides Ron, there were many others.
Some of them Ron had met before—like him, they were winners of the previous ruins trial.
There were also some new faces.
These individuals, like Ron, were executives of the Underworld Mafia.
"Sir, where are we going?"
The young man turned around and glared at the one who had asked.
"Don't ask unnecessary questions. Don't ask what you shouldn't. Just do what you're told."
Ron didn't ask anything, but in his heart, he had already guessed what the mission would be.
Ron was interested in exploring the restricted areas of Aurean.
To further progress in his Observer's Extreme Intent.
The first target Ron had set was the Engineering Factory.
This 840-square-kilometre facility was a weapons manufacturing plant. There were few Nen users here; most of the workers were ordinary people, and since it was a factory, there would inevitably be a lot of electronic equipment inside.
With electronic equipment, there would be room for Chii to operate.
Ron gave Chii the order.
She initiated an infiltration of the Engineering Factory.
With Chii's infiltration ability, the workers in the factory wouldn't notice anything.
However, if there were any discrepancies or issues in the factory itself, the workers would naturally assume the cause wasn't a cyber attack, but an actual physical intrusion.
Someone had infiltrated the Engineering Factory.
But no matter how hard they searched, they couldn't find anyone.
So they would have to call for help.
That's where Nen users came in.
Before long, a massive arms factory came into view.
The young man stopped.
"This is the arms factory, the weapons manufacturing facility."
"Since there's been an infiltration, it is paramount that we find this rat!"
"Once we enter, form into pairs."
"Here are the tracking and recording devices. You need to carry them with you."
"People with matching numbers will automatically be paired together!"
A woman walked up to Ron.
"Looks like we're working together, little brother."
"After you, senior."
Ron understood the reason why the young man handed out the tracking and recording devices. It was because he suspected that there might be problems with some of the people Greed had brought along, so he wanted to safeguard against that possibility.
If Ron had other objectives, this arrangement would make it difficult for him to act.
But Ron's goal was simply observation.
As long as he observed enough, for long enough, his goal would be achieved.
The group entered the Engineering Factory, and areas were assigned to different teams. Each team began searching within their designated zone.
Ron stared at the crystal ball in front of him.
Some light that only Ron could see entered the crystal ball, drawn in by its attraction.
Little by little, the crystal ball was filled.
Suddenly, a burst of noisy sounds erupted.
Both Ron and the woman instinctively looked in the direction of the sound and saw a figure moving at incredible speed towards them. Behind this figure, several pursuers appeared.
"Stop him!"
Ron raised an eyebrow slightly.
"I didn't expect that aside from me, there would be other infiltrators here."
With a thought, Killer Queen appeared.
The woman next to him produced a whip from her hand. She was a Conjurer and, before the enemy could close the distance, she lashed the whip forward with force.
The opponent's face darkened.
He didn't dodge but instead took the whip head-on.
"Smack!"
A blood mark appeared on his body.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the opponent grabbed the woman's whip and pulled hard.
The woman stumbled forward.
Using the momentum, the opponent closed in on her and, as he reached her, struck her with a palm before pushing her toward the pursuing attackers behind.
"Boom!"
A massive explosion rang out.
Ron's pupils shrank.
He saw the woman explode violently the moment she was pushed.
The immense shockwave surged out.
The woman's body turned into a bomb.
It exploded like a firecracker.
Killer Queen attempted a few futile attempts to stop him, but the opponent left without slowing down. Ron had already retreated early, pretending to be scared by the opponent's power and abilities.
"This ability is somewhat similar to Killer Queen's ability."
"However, judging by how this person uses their power, it seems to be aimed at living organisms."
"If that were not the case, he would have used it earlier."
"He's endured a lot on his way here, passing by a lot of inorganic materials"
"So perhaps it's limited to only organics or maybe even just humans."
"Living humans, to be more specific"
Ron focused on the opponent in a focused state.
He was a young man, with the upper part of his hair short and spiked like a hedgehog, while the lower part was like a whip, resembling a long ponytail. His facial features were sharp and almost cruel.
From his aura, Ron judged him to be a C-rank Nen user.
But the explosive power created by using the woman as material for a bomb was very strong.
Ron speculated that the opponent's ability must involve some kind of restriction or oath.
Ron blended in with the pursuing crowd.
Pretending to work without actually exerting himself.
A chaotic pursuit broke out in the Engineering Factory. The opponent seemed to know the factory much better than Ron and the others, using the terrain and his explosive abilities to keep everyone at bay for a while.
But frankly, it was because the pursuers were too weak.
Aside from Ron, all the pursuers were only at D-rank.
Ron had concealed his strength, appearing as if he were also at D-rank.
The opponent, however, was a bona fide C-rank Nen user.
"Boom!"
Another massive explosion sounded.
"Be careful, everyone."
"Don't get too close, this person's ability can only be activated once contact is made."
"Use ranged attacks."
"Get a few people to clear the area!"
"Those with Nen beasts, release them!"
While attacking with Nen bullets, Ron ordered Killer Queen to move forward and hold the opponent back, and a few other Nen beasts appeared alongside them.
Gradually, the opponent's situation began to worsen.
But suddenly, the opponent's expression turned cold.
A glint of determination appeared in his eyes, as though he had made a decision.
He didn't continue retreating but instead charged toward them.
"Be careful!"
The group was taken aback.
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