The iron bars of the cage were rusted, making them brittle in terms of hardness.
With his aura-enhanced strength, Moro forcefully bent the vertical iron bars, creating an opening big enough for him to climb out of the cage.
Ignoring the terrified gazes of those around him, Moro bent down and stepped out of the cage. Hearing sounds coming from outside the truck compartment, he shifted to the side and reached out to grab another iron bar.
He intended to snap it off but lacked the strength to do so.
With time running out, Moro noticed that the ends of the iron bar were not welded down. He gripped it tightly and yanked hard, pulling the bent iron bar completely free from the cage frame.
At that moment, the truck's rear doors swung open, flooding the compartment with sunlight and revealing a tall figure holding—
a gun!
Moro's eyes instantly changed.
With his current level, having only just unlocked Nen, even a small-caliber handgun posed a direct threat to his life.
Furthermore, the control of Nen requires not just raw power but the muscle memory that comes from sustained practice, enabling the body to instinctively handle the flow of aura.
Although Moro had managed to open his aura nodes, he still needed time to adapt before his body could seamlessly respond to threats.
In that split second, Moro didn't waste time thinking. He immediately hurled the iron bar in his hand like a spear.
Thanks to his training as an Emission type user, the bar flew straight and true.
The spinning iron bar cut through the air with a loud whoosh and struck the man standing in the doorway.
A sharp cry rang out as the man was knocked back, his body slamming onto the ground behind the truck.
At that exact moment, there was a soft sound—a second attack. A small dagger, wrapped in aura, flew out of nowhere, heading straight for Moro's leg.
A second attacker…
And this one could use Nen!
With no time to dodge completely, Moro shifted his body just slightly.
Shhkk!
The dagger grazed Moro's knee, sending a splash of blood into the air.
Moro's face tightened, but he suppressed the pain and quickly retreated to the back of the truck compartment, distancing himself from the doorway.
He knew there were two people guarding the cargo—he had been prepared for that.
But he hadn't expected the truck to stop so suddenly, nor that one of them was a Nen user.
Worse yet—
Judging by the timing of the dagger strike, the enemy must have known in advance about the situation in the compartment and deliberately had his partner open the door first.
And since the person opening the door hadn't shown any signs of being on high alert, it was clear the Nen user hadn't told him everything.
In other words, he had let his partner become bait—while staying ready to kill at a moment's notice.
This enemy...
was ruthless.
Moro leaned against the inner wall of the compartment, his expression grim.
He glanced at the dim corner of the ceiling where a faint red dot blinked—it was a surveillance camera.
His gaze returned to the door, and his brow furrowed.
He hadn't accounted for these factors in advance—this was a clear oversight.
Especially the possibility that one of the guards could be a Nen user…
But Moro wasn't one to wallow in regret. His principle had always been to learn from mistakes and use them to grow stronger.
This mindset had helped him in his previous life, allowing him to master the difficult world of antique dealing, a business riddled with deception and scams.
Moro had, after all, been cheated many times—but those setbacks had shaped him into who he was now.
He looked toward the door.
The enemy hadn't revealed himself yet.
But there was one thing Moro couldn't understand:
The attacker could have easily aimed to kill or gravely wound him just now but had deliberately gone for his leg instead.
Why?
A ruthless individual who would let his own partner become a meat shield but held back during a critical moment?
"Does he… prioritize the 'merchandise' over his partner's life?" Moro wondered.
By "merchandise," it was obvious the enemy meant the kidnapped prisoners.
Moro quickly realized that the guard had some duty to ensure the captives remained alive and intact—even if it meant risking his partner's life.
This revelation made Moro recall the violent attack that had killed most of the prisoners during the original timeline.
Was there some deeper significance behind that event?
Unfortunately, when he had lived through that incident before, Moro had been unconscious for much of it and hadn't learned the specifics afterward.
He had survived, but at the cost of being clueless about what had actually happened.
But one thing was clear: the enemy's priority was to ensure the prisoners remained unharmed.
Moro decided to use this to his advantage.
He quickly checked the wound on his knee. It wasn't too deep, but if he didn't stop the bleeding, it could become a problem.
There wasn't much time.
"Hmm?"
Moro's pupils narrowed as he stared at the still-quiet doorway. He quickly glanced at the dagger embedded in the truck's inner wall.
Why wasn't the enemy pressing the attack?
The enemy had the upper hand—he could have easily kept pushing and secured a victory.
But he hadn't. Why?
Was he overly cautious? Or waiting for something?
Moro kept his eyes locked on the dagger but didn't dare to pull it out to use as a weapon just yet.
Instinct told him that continuing this stalemate would only make things worse. He needed to take action.
He had to gamble.
Suddenly, Moro dashed toward the open door.
Outside, Zazan heard the commotion and reflexively raised his left hand, summoning another dagger enveloped in Nen energy.
His reaction was based entirely on combat instinct—quick, precise, and lethal.
But just as he was about to throw the dagger, a fleeting thought made him hesitate.
If he threw it blind into the truck, he might accidentally kill a prisoner.
That split-second doubt was all Moro needed.
With a powerful leap, Moro burst out of the compartment, landing over ten meters away and finally seeing the figure standing beside the truck—Zazan.
It had worked.
Seeing Zazan hesitate to strike, Moro steadied himself and subtly glanced at the dagger still stuck in the wall.
Then, he braced himself.
Zazan gripped his dagger tightly, staring at Moro with a mixture of shock and curiosity.
This kid… he's strange.
"You're braver than most," Zazan remarked coldly as he spun the dagger between his fingers.
Moro said nothing, using the brief moment to circulate his aura and steady his breathing.
Zazan frowned as the silence dragged on and said, "If I had thrown this a second ago, you'd be dead or half-crippled."
"You could've done that from the start, couldn't you?" Moro replied calmly.
Zazan's face shifted slightly at the pointed remark.