Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 298 (Patreon)

Chapter 298: The Seiren Squad and the Ghost Lady

The message was sent instantaneously.

Luo sent the message from Devil Island, and Netero received it just fifteen seconds later.

From the intelligence provided by Luo, Netero realized the severity of the situation.

Every year, the number of hunters confirmed dead or missing ranged between three to five, a daunting figure compared to the number of people passing the Hunter Examination annually.

The mission they had just taken on from the government had likely doomed nine professional hunters of the Association.

Such a loss in a single mission was rare in the records.

However, being a hunter was inherently high-risk, and avoiding danger was a fundamental skill they were expected to have.

Netero felt a moment of regret for the fallen hunters, but he did not react too strongly—until he saw the mark of the "Death Flower."

That flower, also known as the "Ghost Lady," was the original title of the founder of the Seiren Squad, of which Netero had once been a member before he resigned to become the Chairman.

Before its disbandment, the Seiren Squad was a formidable force within the Hunter Association, taking on only 'Grade A' missions and other secretive tasks assigned by nations.

Veteran hunters were well aware of the Seiren Squad's reputation, and some had even aspired to join it.

Since the death of the "Ghost Lady," the squad's approach gradually shifted, becoming increasingly ruthless.

It was unclear when they started prioritizing missions above all else, completing them regardless of the costs.

Such a relentless approach led Netero to question the necessity of the squad's continued existence.

Twelve years ago, a particular incident involving the squad's extreme measures impacted significant interests, leading to their disbandment—not solely by order from above but with Netero's implicit consent as well.

The disbandment of the Seiren Squad did not end well for its members.

Netero had tried to change that outcome, but ultimately, he couldn't defy the state, and could only watch as the squad was destroyed under the guise of a 'perfect resolution' by the state's intervention.

With the squad gone, Netero wasn't sure whether it was a good or bad thing, nor was he aware of what eventually became of them as the state kept him out of the loop.

Now, twelve years later, that flower had reappeared.

Even though Netero didn't know how the state had dealt with the squad members back then, he was certain none had survived, as the incident had truly enraged the upper echelons.

So, who was upholding the flower now?

Also, the combination of human heads and demonic beast bodies reminded him of the Ghost Lady's Nen ability—the "Surprise Box!"

It was a Conjurer ability, and the "Surprise Box" was an item she had conjured, possessing bizarre abilities.

The "Surprise Box" could combine living and non-living entities, merging their properties, such as a dart frog and a knife to potentially create a poison knife.

However, as fascinating as the "Surprise Box's" capabilities were, it had its limitations, including success and failure rates, much like enhancing equipment in a game—nothing was ever guaranteed.

One of those limitations was that the "Surprise Box" could not contain humans and demonic beasts.

Netero remembered the Ghost Lady once sharing a regret with him, which was also something she had always wanted to achieve.

That was to throw humans and demonic beasts into the "Surprise Box" to assemble them together, allowing humans to possess the bodies of demonic beasts and use Nen abilities.

Such a wild idea was something the Ghost Lady had been eager to achieve, yet her "Surprise Box," with its numerous restrictions, could never possess that kind of power.

The terrifying aspect of demonic beasts was their near-human intelligence coupled with formidable physical strength—a species that could dominate humans from the moment of their creation.

However, as powerful as they were, they could only exist with human consent; if demonic beasts could use Nen abilities, the mere thought was terrifying.

From Luo's description, the appearance of a hundred demonic beast species on Devil Island immediately made Netero think of the Ghost Lady's regret and the capability named "Surprise Box."

While it was just a thought, it wouldn't become a speculation of Netero's. After all, the Ghost Lady was long dead, and even if she were alive, her "Surprise Box" couldn't achieve that level.

Moreover, the Ghost Lady's original idea was to combine humans and demonic beasts, giving humans the strength of demonic beast bodies while retaining mostly human features. However, the beasts appearing on Devil Island only had human heads.

Netero dismissed this thought from his mind, as it was absolutely unrelated to the "Surprise Box," but Luo's report inevitably made him think of the Ghost Lady.

"It seems I also need to act outside the rules now," Netero thought of Linne Horsdoeuvre and others who had set sail four days ago.

The matter involved the long-disbanded Seiren Squad, and with the application to land on the island deliberately intercepted, he believed the situation had become very serious, necessitating his own visit to Devil Island rather than waiting for approval.

It seemed unlikely that the approval would come through.

Netero, wanting to resolve the matter on Devil Island himself, was unaware that the hundred demonic beast species were indeed products assembled by the "Surprise Box," and their outcome had far exceeded his expectations.

While demonic beasts have a different bodily structure from humans and generally cannot use Nen abilities due to innate limitations, the "Surprise Box" had freed them from these constraints. This was possible because post-mortem Nen could achieve unimaginable enhancement.

The Ghost Lady was indeed dead, but her "Surprise Box" remained, a fact unknown to Netero.

With the enhancement of Nen through death, the "Surprise Box" faced fewer limitations and fulfilled the Ghost Lady's lifelong regret with its unimaginable assembly capabilities.

Many secrets of the "Surprise Box" remain unknown, a special Conjurer item that rivals the national treasure of the Kakin Empire.

Both were items conjured by Nen users, also remaining as special items after the death of their creators.

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