A golden hawk, created by Gold Experience, circled high above the palace—but spotted nothing unusual.
The smoke-covered area was where Morel and Kite were fighting Neferpitou. The massive crater marked Youpi's battlefield with Knov and the others.
Beyond that, Joey noticed two dead Chimera Ants along the path leading underground.
This only solidified his belief: Ikalgo, Shoot, and Palm must have gone into the underground palace.
The path downward? An elevator.
One that could descend freely, but required a password to return above.
Right now, the elevator was stationed on the upper floor—ready to be used. Going down was no problem. Getting back up? That needed a code.
Fortunately, General Marcos—an ally of Knov and the extermination team—had revealed the password to Morel before fleeing the country, handing them this final lifeline.
Standing in front of the elevator, Joey didn't rush in. Instead, he created a gray wolf and sent it inside.
The elevator had surveillance. Any activity inside was transmitted directly to Bizeff's office, buried in the underground control room.
It was Bizeff who watched the cameras, but punishment came from the Ants living within the palace.
Once the elevator reached the basement, the wolf would leap out and attack any living presence nearby. If it was attacked in return, Joey would receive feedback through the nen bound to the creature.
If it wasn't attacked?
That meant it was safe.
The wolf would proceed as Joey's forward scout, reporting any danger before Joey himself descended.
According to his intel, only two Chimera Ants remained unaccounted for—excluding the two corpses he'd just found.
One: the cunning, paranoid upper-rank soldier—Welfin, the wolf-type Chimera Ant.
Joey vaguely recalled his ability from the manga: something about missiles that weren't lethal but carried a strange secondary effect.
The details escaped him—he hadn't paid much attention to Welfin's mind games with Ikalgo back then.
The other: the lobster-type Chimera Ant—Brovada.
This one, Joey remembered clearly—not from the manga, but from a newscast, where Brovada blasted soldiers apart with nen projectiles from his claws.
That's why he'd sent the wolf first. If Brovada was waiting outside the elevator, Joey would be dead before he could react. Those nen blasts hit harder than bullets—and in his weakened state, Joey couldn't afford to take one.
There was also the matter of sleeping gas. The elevator's interior could be remotely flooded with it—if Bizeff or an Ant spotted him on the monitor.
Joey was prepared for that too. He could just create a living being immune to the gas or break through the walls and descend directly.
But he didn't want to waste time.
They'd been inside the palace for about thirty minutes now. His watch had broken during the Youpi battle, but its last position showed around 12:30.
Every second that passed was critical.
Chairman Netero's Miniature Rose bomb could be triggered at any time.
If that went off while they were still in the basement—and Pitou got free—it'd all be over.
Worse yet, if Youpi rejoined Pitou...
There'd be no turning things around.
The elevator hit the bottom. No attack—no sign of aggression.
Joey entered the code and called the elevator back up.
He and his hawk stepped inside.
He monitored the wolf's signals while mentally reviewing Ikalgo and Palm's situation.
Ding.
The elevator doors opened. A bright, empty corridor stretched ahead.
Joey stepped out, already familiar with the underground layout thanks to a stolen palace blueprint.
The underground palace was vast and divided into many sections. The best option?
Head to Bizeff's control room—where nearly every hall had camera coverage.
Before he could decide how to locate it, a dragonfly buzzed by.
Ikalgo.
Joey broke into a sprint. The dragonfly turned and zipped down the hallway, guiding him.
A minute passed. The dragonfly stopped.
There—Joey saw a girl's mutilated corpse.
He grimaced.
But upon closer inspection, he realized—it wasn't Palm.
Just a random girl.
Multiple parts of her body had been blown apart, and nearby walls showed deep craters.
The dragonfly circled the craters, then returned to Joey.
A message—from Ikalgo.
An enemy nearby had powerful ranged attacks.
Trouble.
Shoot must be down. Otherwise, this kind of Ant wouldn't have stood a chance.
Joey nodded to the dragonfly. Killer Queen appeared at his side.
The insect turned and resumed flight. Joey followed, thinking about how to deal with Brovada—and Welfin.
Was Welfin even here? Maybe Ikalgo never found him.
The dead girl still bothered Joey.
According to his intel, these girls were smuggled in by Bizeff as "entertainment."
The Royal Guards had ordered that no humans be allowed in the palace except for food—or Bizeff himself.
If any Chimera Ants discovered the girls, they would've been slaughtered immediately.
Which meant this one must've disobeyed Bizeff's orders and wandered out.
But Joey shelved the thought.
His goal now was simple: kill Brovada. Reunite with Ikalgo's team. Touch the severed Youpi parts stored inside Hotel Rafflesia.
He wasn't Ikalgo. He'd killed plenty of upper-rank Ants these past two months.
The dragonfly stopped ahead—just around a corner.
Joey knew what it meant: the lobster was right around there.
He materialized a coin. Tossed it—and it morphed mid-air into a cockroach.
Killer Queen tapped it just before it hit the floor.
The cockroach scurried silently, hugging the wall and slipping around the corner.
Joey peeked around carefully.
There: Brovada, guarding a blown-out warehouse door.
Why hadn't he gone in?
Because hovering in front of the entrance—two disembodied hands.
Shoot's ability.
But their movement was purely defensive.
Shoot must be hurt badly.
Otherwise, this shrimp wouldn't have lasted a second.
Brovada didn't press the assault. He paced near the entrance, claws snapping, ready for anything.
A warehouse.
Joey recognized it from the palace blueprint—Bizeff's pleasure den.
The cockroach crept closer.
On Joey's shoulder, the hawk spread its wings and took off.
Brovada's claws instantly rose—firing massive nen blasts into the air, shattering the bird in mid-flight.
His antennae twitched—clearly surprised. He hadn't expected an aerial assault.
But in that same moment, the cockroach slipped within three meters of him.
If it got closer—if it touched skin—it'd explode.
That would end things.
But then, behind Joey—
A voice.
Cold and commanding.
"You behind the corner. Turn around. You have three seconds to tell me who you are, and why you're here."