The Royal Army eventually arrived, escorting Biscuit and Satojubi away—along with Myuhan's corpse.
Back in Room 1012, no one left.
No one actually requested the army to investigate Kurapika.
After all, it was the princes themselves who ordered their guards to learn Nen.
The only ones wavering were the half-hearted—the ones their princes didn't care for.
Even Danjin, guard of the Fourth Prince, merely observed everything in silence before returning to his sector after training.
"Myuhan's dead?" said Prince Tserriednich, utterly unfazed.
It was as if the corpse wasn't his personal guard at all.
"Yes. The culprit was a Nen user," Danjin replied evenly.
"The assassin must be one of the 29 people present in Room 1012 at the time."
He continued his report, stoic as ever.
"So far, all murders occurred during training.
It's unclear whether the killer's from inside Room 1012 or one of the other prince's attendees.
Biscuit pointed fingers at Satojubi, but that doesn't mean she's right."
"And you still want to keep attending?" the prince asked.
"Yes. Non-Nen users are doomed if caught alone.
But with prep, the danger isn't absolute."
Danjin was confident.
"Kurapika announced a two-week curriculum.
Whether it's true or not, I think attending is worthwhile.
He doesn't seem to be lying.
The Hunter Association's mission is to escort the princes to the New World—
which means preventing any killings before then."
He explained further:
"They're honestly teaching Nen to balance the power among the princes.
As for Biscuit—she lost her prince.
Her move was calculated.
Getting herself detained for 72 hours to avoid army interference? Makes sense."
Prince Tserriednich nodded:
"I mostly agree. But do you have the resolve?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
There was not a flicker of hesitation.
After all, the top five princes all raised their guards from birth.
They were fanatically loyal.
"There are mind-controlling Nen abilities, right?" the prince mused.
"What if 'teaching' itself is part of the trigger?"
"Return with proof of your innocence—whether you've learned Nen or not."
Sweat ran down Danjin's temple.
"Understood."
"Biscuit didn't need to go that far," Kurapika muttered after the lesson.
Now alone with Joey, the Seventh Queen had finally quieted—though she still occasionally whined to Woble.
Woble, ever gentle, simply smiled.
But behind her, her guardian beast tilted its head.
Joey could almost see it snap and erase the Queen, if not for the rules binding its actions.
If she kept burdening Woble emotionally, Joey feared the beast might evolve into something crueler.
"She did it on purpose," Joey said flatly.
"To get into the VVIP zone."
"So she has a way to stay in contact with you," Kurapika deduced.
That made sense.
Biscuit's combat power wasn't necessary anymore.
Her real value now was intel-gathering.
Midday brought another message from Melody.
She included a theory on the Eleventh Prince's beast… and an update:
She'd found an ally: a fellow Hunter named Kini,
also hoping to protect the Tenth and Eleventh Princes.
Joey didn't care about Kini.
What mattered was the first half of the message.
Fugetsu's ability was now revealed.
Time to act.
But first, he needed Hisoka.
That night, when Hisoka and Kurapika swapped shifts, Joey approached.
"How's the clone ability going?"
"You planning something?" Hisoka smirked.
"Of course.
You want to play with the Spiders, don't you?"
"You've got my attention," Hisoka said, lounging lazily on the bed.
"Let's hear it, friend."
"The Eleventh Prince's beast grants spatial teleportation," Joey said.
"Fugetsu chooses the departure point,
and Kacho chooses the return."
He had pieced it all together from memory.
"So they can move freely across the ship?" Hisoka's eyes lit up.
"Can others use it? Or just them?"
Right now, due to unrest below deck, all paths to Level 3 were shut.
Even VVIPs couldn't travel downward.
Hisoka had paused his plan to infiltrate the lower levels.
But if he could master this route…
"We need to test that," Joey answered.
"But even if we can't ride it ourselves, I want something brought back."
"You want me to use my clone to reach them?" Hisoka asked.
"I've got the basics down, but full control still needs practice."
"Impressive," Joey said honestly.
He'd mastered his clone after a full week of training.
Hisoka had learned in days.
"Fixed-form abilities are easy to pick up," Hisoka added.
Joey nodded.
Unlike Golden Experience, which required trial and error to grow, clones were plug-and-play.
"I'll cloak your clone," Joey offered.
"And Melody will meet you. She's on the Tenth Prince's team. Be honest with her."
"So when do we start?" Hisoka's grin widened.
"Are we going downstairs? Or…?"
"Actually," Joey said,
"You'll replace Kacho after she leaves.
I'll shape your clone to look like her."
Hisoka stared blankly.
"Me? Pretending to be Kacho?
My clone is 190 centimeters tall."
"I'll modify it with Golden Experience," Joey assured.
"Just keep your clone stable while I do it."
With photos and data on Kacho, Joey could sculpt a perfect duplicate.
Hisoka just needed to nail her personality—and her sass.
Meanwhile, Joey would impersonate Fugetsu, using a living MING to create his own clone.
"Replacing a prince, huh?" Hisoka laughed.
"This'll be fun."
Joey, meanwhile, wondered how Hisoka felt about crossdressing.
"You're thinking something rude."
"Nope. Just your imagination."
After hashing out the details, Joey left.
The plan wouldn't start until Melody began her performance.
A sudden appearance now would cause chaos.
He messaged her with the plan.
Her reply was short: "Got it."
Back in the restroom, Killer Queen appeared at Joey's side.
Joey opened its stomach—revealing a spatial compartment.
Inside:
A cage with a living MING.
Bugs, phones, memory cards.
Compressed rations.
This stomach-space was canon, after all.
It once held Stray Cat.
Golden Experience gave life.
Killer Queen gave storage.
Even though it wasn't large, Joey was thrilled.
He restocked his pockets with more listening bugs.
Then he carved the MING-related kanji onto his left arm.
He didn't summon the bug—yet.
The weapon-holders onboard might recognize it.
And MING… looked too damn weird.
Morning, Day 6.
7:00 AM.
Prince Benjamin and Prince Camilla left the VVIP zone at the same time.
Neither said a word.
Behind Camilla, floating unseen…
A Nen owl, courtesy of Musser's successor.
Everything she did was being live-streamed straight to Benjamin's eyes.
8:00 AM.
Prince Tufdi Nich arrived—again—at the entrance to the royal chamber.
"The Ninth Prince's here again," the guards muttered.
"Guy's got dedication…"
"Morning, Your Highness. A letter again?"
"Mm."
But instead of handing it over…
He drew a pistol.
"Don't move."
The guards froze, raising their hands.
Tufdi Nich stepped through.
No one resisted.
No one noticed the beetle beneath his collar.
Even his beast ignored it.
Far away, in Room 1012, Joey placed an earbud in…
And began flicking coins into the vents—one after another.