Sanbica asked Shizuku to store the fresh blood and flesh she had extracted into her "Blinky" for preservation. Sanbica planned to analyze and research it later when she had the proper equipment.
Shizuku agreed and complied.
Anything stored inside her "Blinky" showed no signs of decay so far. The mechanism remained a mystery, but it was undoubtedly a portable storage solution.
The group began tallying up their harvest from this expedition, with Bisky taking notes.
"Seventy-five stalks—thirty-three less than last time's one hundred and eight," Bisky said, tapping the tip of her pen against her open notebook, her lips pursed.
"I suspect the Bloodthirsty Apostle has a 'growth cycle.' This one had just been born from the blood sea whirlpool, so we could only collect this many 'Herb for All-illnesses.'"
"When it matures or is near maturity, it should produce over a hundred stalks of 'Herb for All-illnesses.' That's probably its maximum yield."
The group listened quietly, though they couldn't shake the odd feeling that they were standing in an orchard, greenhouse, or field.
Was the core of the Botanical Weapon—the Bloodthirsty Apostle—no more than a crop to be harvested when ripe?
They carefully placed the 'Herb for All-illnesses' into transparent containers, which were then swallowed whole by Shizuku's "Blinky."
Bisky closed her notebook with a snap and turned her gaze to Germain.
"Alright, now it's time for you to tell us what's been going on these past two months. Of course, I'm most curious about what's happened to you."
"Sure," Germain replied without hesitation, starting his story from the beginning.
First, he explained the follow-up on the 'Alchemy Plants.' He had handed them over to Dwun and List for further research and development, and the cards they saw earlier were the results.
"Shizuku, hand out the 'Alchemy Plant Series Cards' to Bisky and Menchi," Germain instructed.
"Got it," Shizuku said. Like a real-life Doraemon, she pulled out various tools from "Blinky" before finally finding a briefcase and retrieving the corresponding cards.
Shizuku distributed the latest 'Alchemy Plant Series Cards' to Bisky and Menchi, allowing them to use them for greater convenience in future battles.
As for Buhara and Sanbica, they had already replenished this series of cards back at Limeiro Castle, so they simply sat and watched.
Then, Germain began to talk about the "Chimera Ant Extermination War."
This was a highly significant war, and even those like Shizuku, Buhara, and Sanbica, who were already aware of the details, listened attentively.
Germain started to tell the story.
He spoke about how the Chimera Ants spread from the NGL Autonomous Region to surrounding countries and regions, how Chairman Netero personally led the team to shift the battlefield, targeting the Ant King and the three Royal Guards.
He went on to describe the events leading up to the final battle and the victory celebration at the Hunter Association headquarters.
Some details were only noticed by Buhara and Sanbica, who were hearing the complete story for the second time.
Bisky and Menchi, on the other hand, were overwhelmed by the vast amount of information and had to think hard to keep up with Germain's pace.
"How could the Ant King and the three Royal Guards be so strong?"
"Why did Chairman Netero personally lead the team in this Chimera Ant Extermination?"
"Where were the rest of the 'Zodiac' members, aside from Ging?"
"Why did the Hunter Association's Review Board only send so few members under Netero's leadership?"
"Why didn't they listen to the suggestions of the actual combatants like Morel and Knov, and pick the hunters they recommended to deal with the spread of Chimera Ants?"
"Why did Netero only seek help from Germain and the Zoldyck family?"
"How could Germain defeat Meruem, who even Chairman Netero couldn't defeat?"
In just two months, so much had happened that Bisky and Menchi felt as if they had been stuck in an ancient labyrinth for years.
Had the situation in the Six Continents really changed this quickly?
When they heard that Chairman Netero was almost about to use the "Poor Man's Rose," but Germain stopped him just in time, everyone tensed up.
Even Buhara and Sanbica, who had already known the general direction of events, were nervous, let alone Bisky and Menchi.
They all broke out in a cold sweat.
Bisky couldn't imagine that, in just two months, she might never see that old man again.
Even though she often found Netero's reckless nature irritating, he was still her teacher.
While she was grateful to Germain, she also sensed that there was some kind of dark plot behind the Chimera Ant Extermination War. Someone must have been orchestrating it.
After carefully inquiring with Germain, Bisky arrived at a hypothesis.
The Beyond faction…
Those people were behind the scenes, scheming.
With the voluntary resignations of Pariston and many specialized hunters, Bisky could confirm that they were all part of the Beyond faction.
Especially Pariston, who had played a key role. The Review Board's interference was surely at Pariston's instigation.
Before this, during the time in the Kakin Empire, Saiyu had already clearly sided with Beyond. It wasn't surprising to Bisky that he resigned voluntarily either.
Later, Germain also briefed Bisky.
That was the night on the airship when Netero explained the future direction to him.
Netero was going to make a deal with Beyond.
He would lift the Nen restraints on Beyond, and Beyond's forces would remain silent about Germain's abilities.
Afterwards, they would jointly push V5 and the Kakin Empire toward a new exploration of the Dark Continent, removing the current restrictions on the Hunter Association.
The journey to the Dark Continent would start at the turn of this millennium.
Father and son had finally decided to cooperate for the same goal.
In the end, on the Dark Continent, it would be every man for himself. However, if necessary, they could cooperate with each other.
Everyone quietly listened, exchanging glances. There was always this feeling of, "Should we be part of this conversation?"
Germain finally said to the group:
"We actually have the absolute advantage. Beyond's forces don't even know that we've already obtained two 'hopes.'"
"And these two 'hopes'—the 'Herb for All-illnesses' and 'Alchemy Plants'—will greatly help us obtain the next 'hope.'"
"Netero and Beyond are now starting to push the new journey to the Dark Continent, and the fastest they could reach the Dark Continent is by the end of 2000 or 2001."
"They still need to develop the route and maintain logistics before they can establish a foothold on the Dark Continent."
"We already have the ancient labyrinth, which we can use as our main base to expand from and venture deeper into the heart of the Dark Continent."
"So, what we need to do is quite simple—just maintain our pace and keep moving forward. This will be the biggest help to Netero."
Everyone basically agreed with Germain's viewpoint.
Now, they could only continue on the path to the Dark Continent, adding more leverage for whatever actions Netero might take in the future.
Later, they rested at the tower.
Menchi and Buhara decided to cook together, making a delicious feast to celebrate their reunion after months apart.
The ingredients came from Shizuku's "Blinky" brought by Menchi, and others, like Ging, Bisky, and Menchi herself, had hunted them in the ancient labyrinth outside.
Buhara looked at the marinated meat chunks, tasted a small bite, and his Nen ability "Gluttony" told him this was high-quality meat fit for consumption.
"Menchi, what kind of meat is this? It tastes really good…" Buhara licked the grease off his thumb.
"It's a type of beef," Menchi said with a smile as she leaned against the tower wall, pointing below, "In fact, it looks like a cow, but it's much larger in size, with many legs. It's still different from the 'cow' we're used to."
"No wonder the taste and texture are different," Buhara gave his comment.
Then, Buhara followed the direction of Menchi's finger and looked towards the back of the tower. Only then did he notice that a stone house had been built there.
Germain also saw it, walked over, and asked, "What is that?"
Menchi smiled and explained, "That is a place we built specifically for pickling and storing fresh ingredients."
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