In the blink of an eye, a dazzling white portal appeared before his eyes. Ging's pupils contracted, it was exactly as he suspected.
"If you stay there any longer, I will just give them to president. I'm sure the old man will gladly accept it," Larry's voice echoed from the portal, snapping Ging back to reality. Without hesitation, Ging stepped through.
Ging immediately knew who the man Larry was referring to. "No need to worry. The old man already has an old lady, which is more than enough. Leave them to me."
After the space passage disappeared, Ging vanished as well, and the tall forest returned to its usual calm.
Meanwhile, inside the ant nest, Ging examined the chimera ants with keen interest. "Oh? A chimera ant, huh? I've got to see this for myself," he said, resting his chin on his hand as he looked at Yunju, who was sweating nervously.
It was clear Ging was fascinated, not just by chimera ants, but by anything new and unusual. Unlike typical hunters who usually specialize in a single area, Ging's interests spanned many fields, and he had made significant accomplishments in several.
Among his notable achievements were discovering the ruins of the Lurka civilization, developing breeding methods for two-headed wolves, uncovering the Kongo gold mine, and dismantling the Kurdish bandit group. These successes covered diverse fields like archaeology, biology, mining, and bounty hunting.
Ging held the rank of a two-star ruins hunter only because the Hunter Association selected just one field for ranking. He didn't really care about such titles and rarely applied for them; otherwise, he could easily be a three-star hunter.
In fact, he was a multi-field three-star hunter, much like Larry. Turning his gaze back to the chimera ants, Ging mused, "Maintaining human consciousness while having the body of a chimera ant... that's something really hard to achieve on the six continents. There aren't many places suitable for that."
As Yunju and the other ants held their breath, Ging finally spoke again with a calm tone, "Putting them on Greed Island is definitely the best choice." His words made it clear that he agreed to relocate the chimera ants there.
Ging was very observant, and just by looking at them, he could tell these chimera ants were easy to get along with. Larry must have already filtered out the problematic ones, those who weren't compatible likely didn't survive.
Sending them to Greed Island would give these poor creatures a safe place to live while also making Ging's research easier. It was truly the best solution.
"Now," Ging continued, "this one here shows real potential to become a mind-killer."
Larry pointed directly at Hina, instantly drawing Ging's attention back to her. It was clear that the main reason Ging had come here this time was to deal with the exorcist, with the other chimera ants considered mere extras.
"Oh? Is this the one?" Ging asked, having paid close attention to Hina during his earlier inspection.
Compared to the other chimera ants, Hina looked the most human, so much so that it was almost impossible to tell she wasn't human. Could her ability to erase thoughts be connected to this?
"Uh… is there a problem?" Hina quickly rubbed her small hands together, a nervous habit she'd kept from when she was human.
This kind of finger-rubbing is common among many people when they feel anxious, a way to calm themselves down.
Along with her nervous expression, the peculiar little creature on her head, something that looked like a hat, also seemed uneasy, mirroring her mood. This was the only thing that set Hina apart from ordinary humans.
Whenever her emotions shifted, the hat-shaped creature on her head changed too. It seemed likely that Hina, like Reina, had once been a young girl. Her behavior confirmed this, she was still just a little girl, inexperienced and unfamiliar with the world around her.
"It's okay, relax…" Ging's soothing words seemed almost magical, and Hina visibly relaxed, her face and the creature on her head both calming down.
"Alright, then I'll take them all with me," Ging said without hesitation, trusting Larry's words.
Larry had assured him that this chimera ant would improve her abilities in the future, and Ging believed him completely.
When it came to being exorcist, Larry was the undisputed expert. However, it appeared that the ants hadn't developed their own abilites yet, they would need to be taught by Razor later on.
"Wait a moment," Meleoron, who had been quietly standing nearby, suddenly spoke up. "Are you planning to attack the Ant King next?" His eyes were filled with unspoken resentment as he asked Larry.
"Yes, but you're not strong enough to come with me yet," Larry replied, anticipating Meleoron's unspoken request and refusing it outright.
Meleoron, who hadn't yet developed nen, wasn't much help to Larry. Even if Meleoron did have that ability, it still wouldn't be enough to take down the Ant King. Meleoron is a rare special type, and his nen abilites is called Perfect Plan .
By simply holding his breath, he can make himself disappear completely, an incredibly powerful ability that even the Ant King's royal guards can't detect. This power likely stems from Meleoron's natural talent for invisibility as a Chameleon.
Later on, a variation of this nen emerged, known as God's Accomplice, which lets him drag others along as he disappears, greatly improving his mobility. But even with that, it's still useless to Larry, for now, at least.
Larry thinks that when they eventually head to the Dark Continent, Meleoron's ability might come in handy, especially for reconnaissance missions. Larry's words made Merion fall silent again.
After all, Meleoron hadn't been able to move when facing the Ant King before, so how much help could he really be?
"Ging will take you to Greed Island. Once you're there, you should focus on practicing," Larry said. "If you manage to develop useful nen before we attack the Ant King, then I'll consider bringing you along."
That gave Meleoron a renewed glimmer of hope. Yes! He needed to master Ne and contribute his strength to defeating the Ant King!
"Thank you so much! Can you tell me your name?" Meleoron quickly asked, grateful for the chance at revenge.
"My name is Larry," he replied.
Since Meleoron usually lived in the NGL Autonomous Country with his adoptive father, he hadn't heard of Larry's growing fame over the past two years. But he'd remember the name "Larry" and planned to learn more about him once he arrived on Greed Island. People like Larry surely weren't unknown.
"You can open a passage directly to Greed Island like you did when you picked me up, right?" Meleoron asked.
"Sending you there directly?" Larry smiled. "Yeah, that's possible. But no need to rush, I've got someone to introduce you to first."
Larry's lips curled into a faint smile, as if there was more behind his words than he let on. 'I wondered how Gon would react when he saw Kite later. '
Ging scratched his head, clearly puzzled. There was something off about Larry's smile, too calm, too measured.
"Kite was killed by Neferpitou," Larry said bluntly. "One of the Ant King's royal guards."
Ging's expression froze. His breath caught for a moment before he steadied himself. "That... I didn't know," he admitted, voice low.
"But don't worry," he continued, regaining confidence. "Kite is my disciple, he has an ability that gives him something like absolute resistance to death. I believe he's still alive."
Larry's eyes narrowed. "Then you really don't know?"