Begetto gazed at the corpse on the chair. The corpse's brain had been completely eaten. He looked at Kevin and Locke, both staring at him. From Begetto's expression, Locke guessed that this letter from the Hunter Association must be related to the corpse on the chair. He didn't speak, merely handing the envelope to Kevin.
Kevin took the letter and glanced at it. The letter was written in a woman's hand. The beginning stated the purpose, and the writer then introduced herself as Ji Gu, the Rooster of the Twelve Zodiacs. To some extent, Begetto could also be considered a member of the response team formed by the Hunter Association.
The letter mentioned that a key enemy cadre named Rak had likely escaped to the area Begetto was responsible for, asking him to pay close attention, and detailing the enemy's Nen ability and severely injured state. At the same time, the letter also warned Begetto not to pressure the enemy too hard, as there might be unremovable worms left in the enemy's brain.
When they besieged the enemy's base, they were barely able to obtain crucial information. All members who knew important information had their brains eaten by the worms controlled by Rak when he escaped. Even the Nen users in the team responsible for gathering intelligence couldn't extract relevant memory information from the minds of these deceased individuals.
This messenger pigeon flew extremely fast, crossing mountains and rivers, perhaps taking less than a day. But who could have imagined—an accident still occurred.
"In other words, when we were hunting the dragon before, this Rak happened to arrive here through some means and ran into us." Locke muttered to himself after tilting his head to read the letter's contents.
Begetto's expression was solemn, and he nodded silently. One could only say this enemy had terrible luck. As soon as he showed up, he ran into them, was followed all the way, and his base was found in less than half a day. He didn't even have time to treat his injuries or recover his strength. The life-saving method he used in the end was also completely dismantled under Kevin's powerful suppression.
It could be said that before obtaining intelligence, Kevin and the other two had made thorough preparations and conducted a comprehensive, detailed examination of Rak. They carefully checked for items that could be used for suicide, such as poison, and indeed found no abnormalities. But who would have expected that Rak's brain actually hid worm eggs—and they couldn't be detected.
Furthermore, based on the letter's contents, the means of controlling the worms was likely in Rak's own hands. Combined with the Nen ability he displayed, this speculation was indeed very consistent. It's just that he didn't expect this guy to be so ruthless to himself, not hesitating to use this method to end his own life just to prevent Hunters from obtaining intelligence. Kevin once again deeply realized how firm the will of a powerful Nen user could be, even if that firmness was used for evil.
"What do we do now?" Locke asked. He hadn't joined the Hunter Association and wasn't very familiar with its internal situation. Under these circumstances, would they be held accountable?
Begetto shrugged indifferently, looking unconcerned. "This is just an accident. No one can blame us for anything. Maybe they'll even reward us for our quick action." To be honest, they truly couldn't be blamed for this. "If anyone's to blame, it's the Twelve Zodiacs for their poor leadership—not only letting the enemy escape but also being so slow in notifying us." Begetto directly pushed the responsibility away, placing the blame on the Zodiacs.
"Alright, let's go check out this base. Maybe we can find some useful information. Honestly, after dealing with them for over half a year, I haven't gathered even a bit of useful intelligence." Begetto grumbled while no longer paying attention to the corpse, intending to leave it for the association members to see if they could find any clues from it. He took out a piece of paper and began writing a reply.
Kevin, meanwhile, walked straight out of the room. He wasn't interested in these matters; he only cared about the organisms left in the base and the various research records. After all, this was a research base for artificial organisms and genetic engineering. Perhaps it stored various cells, biological records, and even precious samples. Though it might not seem important, the things he wanted might be here. For Kevin, this was simply a treasure trove.
He went directly to the upper part of the base, pulled in the head researcher among the three, and plunged into the 'treasure trove' to search. Though the researchers eventually released the Charge Armor, these Charge Armor only rampaged in the corridors—the important rooms were not damaged. At this time, the dragon's corpse was being dissected. Kevin followed the researchers, looking around the base. Begetto and the others were also scattered in various corners.
"This is an insect repellent—a medicine that is difficult to detect without careful inspection using special equipment. It can effectively repel these Charge Armor that have achieved gigantic size through [Amplification Organs]."
The researcher introduced it. Begetto took the insect repellent immediately after discovering it. The frontline research base needed this very thing.
Next, they saw a screen. The floor plan on the screen showed green dots in various locations. "This marks every Charge Armor outside. Once they die, a mark appears and they are automatically destroyed." From the screen, one could see that there were several places where Charge Armor were gathered. Of course, while called a gathering, it was actually on a family basis, with each group not exceeding five individuals. Some places only had two or three. The marks for two of the Charge Armor had disappeared. Judging by the location, they should be outside the research base. With these marks, the Charge Armor in this area should be quickly dealt with.
Kevin glanced at it and no longer paid attention. His gaze was attracted by the organs preserved in special preservation jars, one after another. These organs were very tiny. Compared to the palm-sized [Growth Organs] Kevin had previously taken from inside the Charge Armor, these organs were much smaller, about the size of a thumb. If handled carefully, they should be able to be transplanted into normal Charge Armor.
"Is this what you called the [Amplification Organ]?" Kevin asked.
The researcher nodded. "That's right. This is an unknown organ, clearly taken from some kind of insect. It has high compatibility with various insects, but has not yet been successfully transplanted into non-insect organisms. Perhaps it has been successful, but I'm not aware of it. That being said, in reality, only two types of insects truly show good results after transplantation. One is the [Charge Armor] you've seen, which is mainly used as food for the [Disaster Dragon]."
Hearing this, Kevin looked at the researcher. "Disaster Dragon?" It was the first time he had heard this name, and he roughly knew what it referred to.
The researcher nodded again. "It's the X-9 experimental subject you eliminated. It's a creation based on the [Elastic-Tongued Lizard], fused with various genes. This Disaster Dragon at our base actually went out of control half a year ago. We had no choice but to use Charge Armor to limit its range of activity. Fortunately, its territorial awareness is very strong, and it's reluctant to leave the area too far from the base, so it has been rampaging in this vicinity—which has also given us a headache."
This Disaster Dragon had been rampaging nearby, and they couldn't control it, so it would be discovered sooner or later. There was nothing they could do but prepare early. So they deliberately dispersed and placed Charge Armor on the outskirts of the city, hoping to lure the Disaster Dragon over and thus cover up the base's tracks—to throw the problem further away. Furthermore, they strictly restricted personnel from going out, and their control over the Disaster Dragon was almost to the point of neglect. Aside from basic observation, they hardly carried out any effective interference. Otherwise, Begetto would have come knocking long ago.
"Out of control for half a year? Didn't your superiors come to handle it during this time?" Kevin frowned.
The researcher gave an awkward laugh. It was clear he had done something behind the scenes. Indeed, such things are not lacking anywhere, nor are such people. But he still made excuses for himself. "There's nothing we could do. It's not just our base that was exposed; there are research bases everywhere, and they've all been exposed long ago. We were relatively late in being discovered. Otherwise, that Rak wouldn't have been so injured and run to us."
"You know that guy named Rak?" The researcher nodded. "He's different from us. He can absolutely control those artificial organisms and even induce their genetic mutations, preventing many genetic organisms from collapsing." As he spoke, his tone became enthusiastic, and his emotions were somewhat agitated. Seeing Kevin's gaze, he coughed twice and calmed himself down. "That dragon species was sent by him over a year ago."
"You just said there was another kind of bug?" Kevin was more concerned about this question.
The researcher nodded and led him all the way to the cargo hold below. Since there were only five of them in total, they hadn't checked here before. "This is the material storage of our research base."
As soon as they got downstairs, Kevin saw an insect similar to an ant, but with a shorter and rounder body. As far as insects go, they looked somewhat cute when magnified. They used their antennae to carry things much larger than their bodies, busily moving through the cargo hold. However, these insects were about the size of a person—much smaller than the Charge Armor.
"Carrier Bugs."
"Is this a giant variety of the moving ant?" Kevin asked.
The researcher didn't expect Kevin to know and couldn't help nodding. "That's right. These are moving ants that have been transformed after transplanting the Growth Organ. Though they are called ants, they are actually a type of beetle. I suspect this transplanted organ was actually taken from a type of beetle and cloned." Anyway, he had been caught, so he answered whatever Kevin asked, and even proactively guided Kevin to understand things Kevin didn't ask about. He looked like he was trying to atone for his crimes by rendering meritorious service.
"Unlike the Charge Armor, moving ants have strong social habits. With a little training, like now, they are almost harmless, as long as they are guaranteed enough food." As he spoke, he even stuck out his foot and nudged the Carrier Bug walking past him a couple of times.
With this kind of insect around, it was no wonder they dared to build an underground base in such a remote and rarely visited place. After all, moving ants were known for being good at digging holes.
Kevin walked over, casually picked up a Carrier Bug, and examined it carefully. "Is it okay to kill it?"
"It's best to kill it outside, otherwise it will alarm these bugs. Though they won't attack you, they will become chaotic and disorderly—troublesome to deal with."
Hearing this, Kevin nodded and took the bug outside. He punched into the bug's body and took out the Growth Organ. He held it in his hand and felt it. Not ideal. Compared to the organ on the Charge Armor, the Carrier Bug's Growth Organ was clearly weaker. Not only was there a difference in size, but the color was also much duller.
"Do you have Charge Armor larvae? And those large Charge Armor that haven't fully grown yet?"
The researcher nodded. "Yes, we have complete breeding techniques for both, and even mature cultivation plans for the Growth Organ." This was considered their main job, so the supporting equipment was complete. As he spoke, he directly took Kevin to visit.
They came to a dedicated area. The huge breeding boxes were densely packed with Charge Armor larvae. These larvae were very young—only about the size of two or three fists, far from reaching the size of a normal Charge Armor.
"These are cultivation tanks, all containing Charge Armor cultivated to a certain stage and not yet transplanted with the Growth Organ." As he spoke, the researcher led Kevin to another cultivation tank. "These are the ones that have already been transplanted with the Growth Organ. There will be a certain mortality rate, but now we can control the mortality rate below 40%." Breeding boxes for Carrier Bugs were also placed around.
After listening to the researcher's detailed introduction, Kevin nodded in satisfaction. This was enough. With materials full of growth activity and having mastered the cultivation methods, these were the only useful creatures in this base. After all, this was just a base used to observe important dragon-type experimental subjects, also serving the function of feeding them.
"Kevin, I think you'll be very interested in this." At some point, Begetto came over, holding a document in his hand and shaking it.
The researcher next to him looked at the document, pushed up his glasses, and nodded in sudden realization. "So you're interested in this, but the relevant items have all been transported away by people from the headquarters. So don't ask me—I really don't know. I'm just the person in charge of this small research base, and I only know a limited amount." This research director was very "frank," making predictions directly without even being asked, stating that he didn't know the situation.
Kevin ignored him and punched him in the stomach.
"What are you—" Having received a punch out of nowhere, the researcher took several steps back and was about to question it but froze. Because this punch, besides making him step back a few paces, didn't cause any pain. "Hmm?" He scratched his head in confusion and rubbed his stomach again.
"I believe you now." Kevin said.
Begetto looked at Kevin with a strange expression. "You—never mind." He really wanted to ask what Kevin's Nen ability was. This was clearly a method of lie detection—giving feedback through hitting. Though he didn't understand the principle behind it, was this also an ability of the Enhancement System? Buddy, are you really an Enhancement System user? Begetto was already getting confused.
If he had to force a classification, maybe it was the Enhancement System. After all, he didn't know the specific circumstances when Kevin was making potions. During the previous battle, Kevin's method was clearly Enhancement System, and his style was too violent. But the way he used Nen to form a hexagonal shield was a bit like Transmutation. Begetto felt he shouldn't be mistaken about this. However, this also made sense—after all, Enhancement and Transmutation were adjacent. With a certain talent and ability, having a composite Nen ability was quite normal. This might also indirectly prove the rationality of Kevin's potion-making ability.
But the problem was, what was with this lie detection by punching? Was this reasonable? Could a person cultivate so many types of Nen abilities? After all, Nen ability was personal privacy, and Begetto didn't want to ask too much, so he just kept his doubts to himself.
"So what is this document?" Kevin asked curiously.
Begetto then came back to his senses and handed the document to Kevin. Kevin opened it and saw that it recorded some biological sample information that had passed through this base.
Among them, there was surprisingly a record of the Golden Chicken. In addition, there were some records about magical beasts and precious beasts.
"Hiss~" Wow, this was a big discovery. Kevin's eyes lit up, and he suddenly turned his head to stare at the research director behind him. The other party was startled by Kevin's gaze and silently took two steps back.
"You, what do you want to do? I really don't know."
"Are the creatures recorded in this document real?"
The other party naturally knew what was written in the document and quickly nodded. Then he leaned his head closer and discovered the creatures Kevin was interested in. "It's definitely real. I've seen the Golden Chicken with my own eyes, and I even held a golden egg, but we didn't research anything fruitful. After all, there's still the Lost Meller Wetland around here, and we've also provided many magical beast samples."
As he spoke, he pointed to the file in Kevin's hand. He continued to talk about what he roughly knew, and even speculated. "Some creatures just passed through our base. The ones from a long time ago were four or five years back, but most are from recent years. After all, we are engaged in genetic and biological research, so we definitely have to collect various biological samples, study their genes and various organs. This is our main job." After speaking, he emphasized again, "I believe you should also understand that our organization has strong confidentiality, so don't really expect me to know the locations of other bases. I don't have that authority, you know?"
Begetto crossed his arms and couldn't help saying, "I wonder if those teams led by the Twelve Zodiacs have found any important bases. If they have, everything will be easier." After all, they were also participants in this operation, and it was only right for them to obtain some spoils of war. At least they should have the opportunity to access relevant resources. It was better than not getting anything at all. To be honest, Begetto himself also really wanted to research these creatures. Not getting the Golden Chicken sample was also a big regret for him.
Kevin nodded, also feeling that this was the only way—see if he could get some useful intelligence or information from the Twelve Zodiacs who were about to arrive. If that didn't work, he could only go find the amazing Neon Master and try his luck.