Without a doubt, Light was the first to make a prediction. As the main participant in this matter, his prediction was crucial. Everyone needed to use his prediction as a clue to make necessary preparations.
Neon was already skilled at this. In no time, she finished writing the prediction poem and handed it to Light, then got up and left without hesitation. She knew the next step was for the others to interpret, and she couldn't participate.
The few people stared at the prediction poem on the table.
[Hidden thorns are also concealed within the false congratulatory letters. Half of the hands raising toasts in praise hold knives, and the whispers behind their backs mock the dark shadow in the cave that you cannot escape.]
[Run, hide, for the Beast's Son holding chains has come for revenge. Offering gold coins and breaking your spine will not earn their forgiveness.]
[The underground Earthworm has gnawed through the garden's roots, and the night owl has stolen the brightest star from beside your pillow. Three red-eyed birds have left their nest, vowing to reclaim that brightest star.]
[The star shines brightly once more, and the beast that committed evil is pecked by the birds. The giant bat in the cave has lost its offspring, and eyes in the darkness are still watching. Be careful, the danger will not stop here.]
With previous experience, interpreting this prediction poem was not difficult for them. Soon, they extracted the key points.
"This 'Beast's Son' should be referring to a descendant of the Tedolka Family, right?" Rosana said.
Pairo nodded slightly. "If there are no surprises, it should be the person who has a conflict with Uncle. As expected, it's the worst-case scenario. If it's him, in his eyes, Uncle Light's actions are equivalent to betrayal, so he definitely won't resort to gentle methods. Moreover, according to the interpretation here, Uncle must have taught the other party a lesson using some method, which is why it's revenge." Pairo made a direct judgment. The few nodded in agreement.
"The key is the third paragraph! My daughter, Neon, will be kidnapped." This was what Light cared about most. The first time he saw this section, he determined that "the brightest star beside your pillow" definitely referred to Neon. Perhaps others' prediction poems couldn't be inferred, but for Light, the reference to Neon was always very clear and very important to him. Therefore, as long as she appeared, she would be extremely easy to spot because the reference was very obvious. Just as they had guessed before, these guys indeed used the most despicable method—kidnapping his daughter.
"Since we learned there might be danger last month, we've already been making some preparations. We spend most of our time in the manor, and the surveillance system inside has also been upgraded. But even so, the other party still kidnapped Neon?" Pairo muttered to himself.
At this moment, Kurapika's expression became very grim, his face as cold as frost. This meant he hadn't successfully protected Neon—she had been "stolen." Without doubt, this was his dereliction of duty, even if this was the future as interpreted by the prediction poem. But it still indicated a problem.
"However, the end of the prediction indicates that we ultimately resolved this issue." Rosana said softly.
Kurapika just shook his head slightly. "But I failed." For Kurapika, the protected target being abducted, even if eventually found, was still a failure. He should have prevented this from happening from the very beginning.
Pairo didn't say anything more, just looked at the prediction poem. "Judging from the situation, the other party sent two Shadow Beasts members, and their abilities should be very special. The one called 'Earthworm' should be able to move underground, perhaps digging a tunnel straight into the manor. And the one called 'Owl' carried out the kidnapping, silently taking Neon away." These two pieces of information were the key points, directly revealing the enemy's numbers and methods of operation.
"With this prediction, the subsequent actions will definitely be fine." Rosana patted her son's shoulder.
Light also slightly relaxed his furrowed brow and let out a long sigh. In any case, even when they knew nothing about the future, they ultimately did not suffer severe consequences. And now that they knew the future in advance, they believed that with their abilities, solving the problem would be even easier.
Pairo also reminded him, "If you're really worried, how about you also get a prediction after we're fully prepared? That way, you'll know clearly whether Neon will encounter any other accidents."
Kurapika nodded.
Inside the Forest Park, at the entrance from the research base to the park, Kevin and the others were ready.
Begetto's expression was serious. This time, he intended to completely solve the trouble brought by that monster. Considering the departure of the main fighting force, the surrounding soldiers deployed a large amount of heavy firepower nearby to prevent too many bugs from attacking during this period. Logically, clearing these bugs should have been the soldiers' responsibility. It was just that, out of protection for the ecological environment, Begetto participated, reducing the damage caused by indiscriminate bombing.
Regarding Kevin's departure, the most reluctant were the soldiers present. Before Kevin arrived, they were always on edge when facing bugs—a slight mistake could cost them their lives.
These beetles, charging like trucks, were too much of a threat to them—after all, they were just ordinary people. After Kevin arrived, he could take care of a bug with one punch, and the danger level instantly dropped to the lowest. Such a contrast made it truly difficult for them to easily accept Kevin's departure. Unfortunately, this was unavoidable.
At this moment, Locke followed beside the others and silently walked into the forest. After walking for a while, he finally couldn't help asking, "Are you really sure? I've seen those giant beetles. With such a large size, can you really handle them?"
Locke was not an expert in wilderness survival. In fact, he rarely engaged in activities in the wild. From his Nen ability, it could be seen that he was a technology enthusiast, usually working in cargo transportation and smuggling. He also had his own private airship. In this situation, he naturally wasn't very used to being in the wild and wasn't very familiar with the wilderness environment.
When he saw the giant bug, as big as a small building, charging with the momentum of a truck, he had to admit he was scared. He wasn't an Enhancer. He also didn't think he could gain any advantage in front of this bug. Its thick shell let him know he couldn't do anything to the other party at all. Thus, he began to doubt whether it was wise to accept this task. Was the so-called "certain degree of danger" really just a little bit? Or was it that in the eyes of these two, it was just a little danger, but for someone like him, the danger multiplied?
Kevin walked beside him, waving his hand with a smile. "Don't worry, didn't you see? I took care of them with one punch. They're just big and look intimidating, but they're not as dangerous as you imagine."
Locke looked at Kevin, his face full of doubt. Begetto, walking ahead, turned his head, seemed about to speak but stopped, and finally closed his mouth silently. Is there a possibility? It's only like a paper tiger to a brute-force monster like you. For us, this thing is a 'tiger.' Even for him, it wasn't easy to deal with the bugs as quickly and effortlessly as Kevin. This wasn't a matter of strength, but rather that everyone specialized in different areas. Though he hadn't seen Locke fight, if there were no surprises, in direct combat, Locke might be the weakest among them.
At this moment, the friendly White Tree walked up to Locke, pointed to the headset on his ear, and said with a smile, "You're in charge of reconnaissance. You just need to stay in a safe place and provide us with information. It's not as dangerous as you think."
White Tree was also considered half a reconnaissance personnel before, so he had quite a bit of experience in this. As for why he was half, it was because White Tree also took on front-line combat for the other half of the time. Though it was a bit strange, that was the fact—White Tree was an Enhancer. What he enhanced was his ability to acquire information, which was also why he could determine the specific situation of a trace's owner through traces.
Hearing everyone say so, Locke could only nod. After all, he had already agreed—he couldn't just give up halfway. This wasn't his style of doing things. If he was truly afraid, he shouldn't have agreed from the start, and since he had agreed, he had to see it through properly.
They traveled in the forest for most of the day. Since they had already cleared obstacles on the way to the target location, they didn't spend much time on the journey. As dusk approached, they reached the edge of the area.
Along the way, White Tree even discovered new tracks. This further confirmed that the target was in this area and had not left yet. However, these tracks revealed new information.
"It's gotten bigger again." White Tree said with a solemn expression; even though he was usually carefree, he couldn't help but become serious at this moment. The larger the size, the more dangerous the opponent.
"How big do you estimate it is now?" Begetto asked from the side.
"The tracks are fewer. If it weren't for its increasing size causing inconvenience in movement, with this guy's cunning, it would leave almost no tracks for us to follow." This also indirectly indicated that as long as new tracks appeared, it meant the opponent's size had increased again, leaving clues due to difficulty in control. "This monster is now nearly twenty meters long."
"How much?!" Locke couldn't help exclaiming in surprise upon hearing this information. He knew the monster they were facing this time was like a giant dragon from a fairy tale. The length mentioned here didn't include limbs like claws or wings. If all were included, this was simply a small flying hill! This was the target they were supposed to hunt? Could he really participate in this mission? He truly regretted it now.
Kevin saw Locke's worry, smiled, and patted his shoulder. "Look at it from another perspective—the opponent is so big, you can easily spot it from a high altitude. So in reality, you're unlikely to encounter danger, right?"
Hearing this, Locke's emotions calmed slightly, and he couldn't help nodding. It did sound that way. His duty was just to scout and provide information remotely to track the target; once he found the target, his duty was complete. The higher his unmanned reconnaissance drone flew, the less information it could detect. But the opponent was huge, making it easy to spot.
Through high-altitude reconnaissance, with an opponent of this size, he might detect it even from over ten kilometers away. Such a distance was enough to avoid the opponent's path, and besides, his main task was just to provide reconnaissance intelligence.
"Alright, to be honest, I'm already a little regretful now." Though he said that, Locke still materialized two airships. They ascended high into the sky, bringing a large surrounding area into reconnaissance range.
"No target found, and no related movements detected."
Hearing this, Begetto just nodded. "This means the opponent might have gone out hunting. We have to wait here. Given its size, it could be hunting outside for a few days, so we need to be patient."
Soon, night fell. Locke's reconnaissance range significantly decreased. At night, everyone mainly focused on maintaining vigilance, waiting silently. This continued until noon the next day.
Locke, who had been closing his eyes, suddenly opened them wide. "Found it! Behind a small mountain nine kilometers away, there's a big commotion!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the others immediately entered a state of readiness, focusing on listening to the reconnaissance report.
"It's coming—huh? It's a bug, the kind of beetle, even bigger than the ones we saw at the base. Its speed is very fast, crashing through the forest."
"Only seeing a bug?" Begetto asked.
"Yes, currently only seeing this large beetle."
"Then it must be fleeing. This is that monster's lair, so it's likely the monster is chasing it from behind, deliberately driving it into its territory." Though bugs were brainless insects, they weren't without instinct. Plunging into the territory of their natural enemy was clearly out of compulsion.
Sant, standing nearby, sighed with a solemn expression. "This guy is getting more and more cunning. Has it started to learn to be lazy?" Previously, based on tracks, they speculated this monster would hunt outside and bring prey back to the lair to enjoy. But the bug wasn't small in size or weight. Now it seemed the monster had learned to be lazy, using a driving method to make prey enter its territory by itself for hunting, thereby reducing time and energy consumption.
"The danger has increased. We absolutely cannot let it escape this time, otherwise, there will be endless trouble." Begetto's expression was more serious than ever; he had made up his mind completely.
"Here it comes—it's that dragon! It's flying in the sky!" Locke shouted urgently. Finally, he couldn't help exclaiming, "It's so big, so cool—"
"Let's go. This is a good opportunity. When it's enjoying its prey, its vigilance will be at its lowest." Begetto made a decisive decision and led the others toward the direction Locke indicated.
Kevin instructed Locke, "With your ability, you shouldn't be ambushed. If you really encounter an emergency you can't handle, remember to send a message or fire a signal flare, and I'll come as quickly as possible."
Locke smiled and nodded. "Don't worry. I may not be good at frontal combat, but trying to catch me and put me in danger is not an easy task." He was quite confident about this point. Though his frontal combat ability wasn't as good as Kevin's, it would still be extremely difficult for an opponent like Kevin to harm him or find him.
In a certain direction in this area, inside a cave on a mountain peak. From the outside, this was just a very short cave, or even just a hollow in the rock. One could see the rock wall at a glance.
However, right on this rock wall, a head suddenly emerged. This head looked around, and then the entire body slowly walked out, leaning against a nearby stone.
"Damn busybody, he really hit hard." He covered his abdomen, which was constantly bleeding, with layers and layers of bandages tightly wrapped around it. Seeing his grimacing expression, one could tell he was in extremely poor condition. Besides the wound on his abdomen, there were uneven scars all over his body. Even his left hand was gone from the wrist down.
"Thankfully, Boss left an escape route, otherwise I would have been finished there. Where is this? Let me think—Forest Park, right? I didn't expect it to be here. I remember a Disaster Dragon was also released here; I hope it hasn't been hunted by Hunters yet, otherwise I can only leave by bug."
He dragged his exhausted body, enduring the pain, and stood up, closing his eyes. Soon, he seemed to sense something, and a smile appeared on his face. "Good, it's still here, and looking at its growth momentum, it's not bad at all. What a pleasant surprise. But the distance is a bit far. Where are the bugs—why are there so few? These damn nosy Hunters."
While muttering curses, he sent out some kind of signal into the distance. Not long after, a bug crawled toward his location. Soon, he climbed onto the bug and controlled it to move toward the predetermined target.
And in the direction he was heading, the giant monster had already captured its prey.
From a distance, Kevin and the others cautiously lurked, observing the movements far away.
"I finally understand why you said the first time you saw it, you felt it was artificially modified." Kevin couldn't help quietly complaining.
The dragon's entire body was covered in silver-gray scales, its body lines smooth, and the scales covered it like elegant soft armor—as if it had truly flown out of a fantasy story. Its strong physique, exaggerated wings, and majestic dragon head all highlighted this monster's immense power; mainly its massive size brought a strong sense of oppression, like a small mountain flying.
But the most incongruous thing compared to its appearance was that on the side of the dragon's abdomen, a number was clearly drawn. It looked like it was drawn when it was young; as the dragon grew, the number appeared somewhat distorted, but it was still clearly discernible.
X-9.
This meant there were at least nine such dragon-shaped monsters. Of course, this was pure guesswork based on the visible number; it was also possible the meaning was not what they thought.
"It's about to start eating," Begetto reminded.
Everyone concealed themselves again and slowly approached.
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