Biscan Forest Park. Since Kevin agreed to stay and assist Begetto, Begetto finally had time to continue tracking the dragon-like monster.
"I thought you deliberately lured these bugs here." Kevin said with a smile, holding the incense burner in his hand. The incense burner floated, and a faint smell drifted out from inside—reportedly made from the finely ground favorite food of the bugs.
Previously, Begetto wanted Kevin to stay at the base and help the soldiers block the bugs surging toward the base. This would free his hands to do what needed to be done. This was not difficult for Kevin and was exactly suited to him. Begetto himself planned to take two companions deep into the forest and track the monster for a long time. This time he would be extra careful and go all out to find the monster's lair. He had been careless before, missing a good opportunity, which had wasted a lot of time.
Hearing Kevin's words, Begetto said, "You can't say that, but it's close enough. After all, these bugs have been modified, and their aggressiveness is much stronger than ordinary bugs. Their massive size doesn't give them a gentle nature—as you can see from the spikes on their shells. If we let them run around unchecked, they might very likely reach the edge of the city and rush into towns or urban areas, which would be terrible. Instead of letting them cause trouble everywhere uncontrollably, it's better to lure them here."
Given the cunning of that dragon monster, when it hunted bugs for food, it would only choose those deep in the forest. It knew it was being tracked and would definitely try to avoid crowded places. This was Begetto's plan, and precisely because of this, he had previously been unable to leave the base rashly. Since missing the tracking opportunity last time, he had never had another chance to go deep into the dense forest to search for clues about that monster. The large number of bugs bumping everywhere forced him to stay at the base.
Kevin's arrival happened to solve this problem, giving him enough time to take action. After all, that monster was the real target.
"Alright, then you go quickly and come back quickly. I'll handle things at the base for now." Kevin said directly.
Begetto nodded, took White Tree and another person, and left.
Shortly after they left, a soldier came to report that another bug was heading their way. Facing the attacking bug, Kevin immediately delivered a 'penalty ticket', easily making these bugs stop obediently. After obtaining the materials he wanted, Kevin returned to the camp, lay on a chair, held a book in his hand, and rested quietly. To be honest, this was easier than he had expected. Mainly because bugs were really easy prey for Kevin to deal with. It was like a professional match.
Several days passed, and the time came to early May. Begetto and his companions, who had been deep in the dense forest for many days, returned to the camp covered in dust. As soon as he returned, Begetto saw the square densely packed with bug shells. There weren't this many when he left.
"You're quite efficient, aren't you?" Seeing Kevin walking over, Begetto said with a smile.
"A one-punch job." Kevin waved his fist and replied with a smile. "What about you guys? How was it? Did you find any trace of that monster?"
Begetto nodded and pulled Kevin into the meeting room. "We found definite traces and can basically confirm that the monster is in the area we've locked down. To avoid alerting the enemy, we didn't go deeper into that area to track it." Saying that, Begetto took out a map from the side and drew a circle around an area.
Kevin looked at it. This area wasn't small, but Begetto was so cautious—this indicated the monster was very sensitive and not to be underestimated.
"So when are you planning to take action?"
"In the next few days. We need to make some preparations. It's best to clear out the nearby bugs first." Though the number of nearby bugs wasn't large, if there were more than three or four, it could bring considerable danger. Begetto was accustomed to dealing with various potential problems before taking action.
Kevin nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "If you don't mind, wait for someone. He's coming to deliver a package."
"A package? Is it the two potions I ordered before?" Begetto asked, thinking of something.
Kevin nodded. The delivery person was naturally Rock. According to the previous contract, he should be delivering the potions Begetto wanted soon. Moreover, with Rock's Nen ability, it was perfect for reconnaissance and tracking right now. In addition, Kevin had also entrusted Rock to bring the materials he needed. Currently, he had a golden egg and an unknown growth organ in his hands. Both of these materials were top-tier materials for him.
He needed a top-tier fusion agent to fuse these two materials and create a new potion.
Suddenly, Kevin seemed to sense something and looked toward the sky outside the window. The sky was pitch black, but that faint sense of being watched was still captured by Kevin.
"Looks like he's arrived."
Indeed, a cargo drone flew to the window. Kevin opened it. The drone placed the small box it was carrying onto the table, then flew away. Kevin ignored it and waved toward the darkness, signaling the other party to come over.
After a while, a figure sneaked into the research base. Begetto looked at the stranger. Rock also looked at Begetto. Finally, both simultaneously turned their gaze to Kevin.
Kevin smiled, gave a brief introduction of the two, and then said, "This is Rock. His Nen ability should be of great help to our next operation. But he's not my subordinate, so you'll have to convince him to participate yourself."
Hearing this, Rock turned to look at Begetto. Through the introduction just now, he roughly understood the current situation. He naturally didn't mind earning some extra money, but it depended on the reward. And if it was too dangerous, he wouldn't be very willing to stay.
Begetto looked at Rock, thought for a moment, and then spoke, "This matter has a certain degree of danger, but the main danger will be borne by us. If you truly have reconnaissance ability, you only need to be responsible for reconnaissance from a safe place. So the reward is 1 billion. If you are needed to participate in combat, an additional 500 million will be added. If you make a contribution in combat, then I'll add another 500 million, and I'll pay for the potions needed for recovery after injury." Begetto was very generous, directly offering a handsome price. After all, the other party could be considered Kevin's friend, and he didn't want to haggle over meaningless things.
Hearing this price, Rock had almost nothing to hesitate about and asked, "How long will it take?"
"No more than a week at most." This was the time Begetto estimated it would take, and based on his experience, it would basically not exceed this time.
Rock thought for a moment, then nodded. "Deal."
Kevin had already opened the box and handed the [Repair Potion] Rock brought to Begetto. "Your goods." Then, he took out a sealed small jar from the box, which contained several pink petals.
"I want to rest tomorrow to prepare for the subsequent operation, is that okay?" Kevin asked.
Begetto nodded. "No problem. I also need some time to prepare." Then he looked at Rock. "I'll explain the upcoming mission to you in detail. As a basis for cooperative trust, I'll first tell you about the general situation of my Nen ability—that will facilitate our cooperation."
Though Nen users usually kept their abilities somewhat private, if they were to cooperate in action, necessary introductions were indispensable. Otherwise, unnecessary trouble and problems might arise during cooperation. Of course, generally such introductions were rough; specific details and various restrictions would still be hidden. If one tried to frame the other based on such simple understanding, those hidden details might cost you your life.
Rock nodded, indicating no objection. His Nen ability also needed to be disclosed to a certain extent for teammates to cooperate.
Kevin also stayed because he didn't know what Begetto's Nen ability was.
"I am a Materialization System user, and this is my Nen ability." Saying that, Begetto took out the revolver always with him from his waist and placed it on the table. This was a heavy-style revolver, its thick, long barrel indicating considerable power.
Though Begetto said so, Kevin could see that this handgun was not a product materialized by Nen ability, but a real gun. Of course, there might be other hidden mechanisms—that would depend on the specific characteristics of Begetto's Nen ability.
Begetto didn't explain much, just started to demonstrate. He held the pistol, flicked his wrist, and the magazine popped out. The magazine was empty. Begetto reached out, Nen surged, and he rotated it over the magazine. With a rattling sound, bullets appeared in the previously empty magazine.
So that's how it is. What he materialized wasn't the pistol, but the bullets.
"This is my Nen ability. I can materialize different types of bullets, and the effect of each bullet when fired can be set according to my will. There are those that can produce healing effects, those with extremely strong penetration, those with explosive effects, and so on." This was his Nen ability—[Special Ammunition Box].
After a brief introduction, he didn't say more, feeling it was enough for everyone to get a general idea.
Kevin returned to his room and locked the door from the inside. He held the medicine jar and sat at the table.
[Gold Egg], [Growth Organ], [Golden Script Petals]—the three materials were already gathered.
The Gold Egg was undoubtedly a B-grade material, but its energy craving level had probably just reached the B-grade standard. The other two were top-tier C-grade materials. Combining these three should be fine for making a beginner B-grade potion. With Kevin's Nen amount of over twenty thousand, it was enough to fuse them and refine a new potion—unless the compatibility between these materials was extremely high, reaching so-called perfect fusion, allowing the potion's quality to directly exceed the material's enhancement. Only in that situation might Kevin's Nen amount be insufficient. However, based on Kevin's experience, these materials couldn't achieve that effect.
After confirming these conditions were feasible, the next step was adjusting dosage and mixing method. This was the most time-consuming step.
Kevin directly materialized his potion-making station. First, the most basic operation was placing the three materials on their respective weighing pans. The station provided feedback: [Increase in Latent Nen Recovery Speed.] This meant the three materials were compatible, and the effects brought by their properties were exactly what Kevin wanted.
A smile appeared on Kevin's face.
Next was adjusting the ratio of the three to achieve perfect balance. Unexpectedly, this most time-consuming step didn't consume too much of Kevin's energy. Because there was only one Gold Egg as the main material, Kevin didn't dare rashly crack it open and take out the egg liquid for experimentation. After all, there was only this one currently. So he used the entire egg as the main ingredient, placing it on top.
After some adjustments, Kevin found that for the relatively abundant [Unknown Growth Organ] he had, taking a complete half was enough for the potion. Using the main material whole and half of the fresh auxiliary material was enough for success. Perhaps the compatibility of these two materials was good, as the ideal effect was easily achieved.
[Gold Scale: Gold Egg (Whole - 60 grams)]
[Silver Scale: Growth Organ (Fresh - 50 grams)]
[Bronze Scale: Golden Script Petals (Dried - 10 grams)]
[Result: Increase in Explicit Nen, Latent Nen, and Latent Nen Recovery Speed.]
The effect was very direct—exactly what Kevin wanted. There was nothing to hesitate about; he immediately started making it.
Actually, Kevin hadn't planned on making it initially, as he didn't expect to formulate a finished product so quickly. Moreover, even if made, it wouldn't be very useful in the short term because there was only one Gold Egg. If a stable way to obtain Gold Eggs couldn't be found, the significance of this potion wouldn't be great. However, thinking about the action in two days, not knowing exactly how strong the monster was—having an extra backup method was always good.
Kevin closed his eyes and injected Nen into the potion-making station.
As production began, time unknowingly exceeded an hour. It wasn't until an hour later that the station slowly stopped operating. Kevin exhaled tiredly, slumped into the chair, and reached up to wipe sweat from his face. At this point, only one-fifth of his Nen remained in his body—meaning making this bottle of potion consumed a full twenty thousand of his Nen amount.
After resting for a while, he stood up, took out the potion, and examined it carefully. The entire bottle emitted a faint golden light, and the liquid inside was also golden, flowing slowly with the light. It looked like it was worth a lot. It seemed that after reaching B-grade, potions might emit some light.
"Now, I have to find a way to find the Golden Chicken—if it's not extinct yet." But the current matter was also crucial. After all, another auxiliary material was taken from the bug's body, and it could be confirmed that this growth organ was the reason the bug could grow to such a huge size—and it wasn't an organ the bug naturally possessed. In other words, this modified organ must have come from the biological organization behind it. Kevin's contribution to this matter would at least allow him to receive corresponding rewards when the time came. For example, finding the source of the organ, or simply raising some bugs—that should be fine, right?
He had money now—he could afford to raise them. Moreover, bugs were omnivores and didn't have high demands for food. As long as the number was controlled and they weren't allowed to proliferate, there wouldn't be a problem.
"Golden Chicken... the clues are all gone now. Where should I look?" Kevin sighed. The Gold Egg was the key. He probably also figured out the material properties of the Gold Egg. If there were no surprises, it should be the surging of life energy. Materials with this property were very important—whether used as main ingredient or auxiliary, they were easy to pair. Was this the value of [Precious Beasts]?
"If I really wanted to find the Golden Chicken, would asking Neon to perform a divination at this time give me some hints?" Kevin wasn't sure before, but after this prophecy, he felt he might get some help. The divination wouldn't give a specific location, but it would give a very vague direction—better than being completely lost. He would handle the current matters first, then find Neon later to verify it.
Nostra Family Estate. Inside the estate hall, Light and a few others were gathered here.
Today was May 1st—a new month had arrived. But everyone present knew that this new month hid dangers, and passing through it safely would not be easy. Moreover, with Kevin, the backbone, absent, the family's affairs were left to a few people. This was the time to prove their capabilities, and they didn't want to lose face at this moment.
The help Kevin provided was too great; they couldn't always live under his protection. They must also provide their own assistance to this "family," so they must remain highly vigilant.
The few exchanged glances.
Neon sat down directly in front of the coffee table. "So, who wants to be divined first?"
It was originally agreed that Neon would perform a divination for everyone to determine the dangers they might encounter. But in the end, Kurapika rejected this decision. Because divining for everyone, though it could more comprehensively sort out the context of the entire matter, wasn't safe enough. They had to treat this matter cautiously.
So after discussion, they decided to go one by one. The few of them would be deeply involved in this matter, so each person's future prophecy would be an important guide. If everyone was divined on the first day, it would be difficult to judge the changes in the prophecies after altering certain actions. So they would go one by one, with time intervals in between.
First, using the future information of one person, they would determine potential dangers, prepare, and set traps. Then another person would be divined to see if the altered future was developing in the direction they desired. In this way, the role of Neon's prophecy this month could be maximized.
The poem that predicts the future was indeed powerful. So no matter how it was used, the desired result could be obtained.