Kurukiyo's unexpected support was absolutely a welcome surprise for Joey.
The Judiciary Bureau's arrival in Zone 12 was another fortunate development.
They were all civilians—meaning, once again, non-Nen users outnumbered Nen users in Zone 12. That way, if any assassin planned another attack, they'd stand out immediately by targeting civilians.
Everything seemed to be turning in Joey's favor.
At 8 PM, Kurukiyo stepped out of her bedroom. Her appearance calmed the Judiciary agents who'd been itching to act.
By 9 PM, she returned and lay on the bed to activate her ability.
The giant eyeball creature appeared again, phasing through the wall and flying toward the VVIP area.
Kurukiyo narrated everything she saw as the eye-monster flew, with Joey and Kurapika listening closely.
The entire process was smooth. The creature passed into the VVIP sector without raising a single alarm.
Yet none of the three in the room let their guard down. Not once during the observation had they encountered a Nen user.
At 9:40, twenty minutes into the creature's flight, Joey saw sweat bead across Kurukiyo's brow. Her breathing grew short. Her face flushed slightly.
She was clearly nearing her limit.
Worse, her descriptions were becoming vague—imprecise, uncertain.
"That's enough, Princess Kurukiyo." Joey placed a hand on her shoulder.
Kurukiyo opened her eyes slowly. "I'm sorry. I should've lasted longer."
"No. You did great," Joey smiled. "With your talent, once your body's fully recovered, you'll last even longer. But now, it's my turn."
Kurukiyo's action wasn't a solo effort. While her eye-beast entered the VVIP area, Gold Experience's flies and roaches also slipped inside.
Unlike last time, these insects weren't destroyed.
But even so, they still didn't find what Joey was looking for.
Even the room Hisoka had mentioned—empty.
Something had changed.
Joey pulled out his phone and messaged Hisoka:
"I checked the place you mentioned. Found nothing. It's completely empty."
This time, Hisoka replied within minutes:
"The location's correct. So is the intel."
Even in those cold, dry characters, Joey could sense Hisoka's confidence.
And Joey didn't truly believe Hisoka had been wrong.
If Hisoka's information was reliable, then only one possibility remained:
After Hisoka's surveillance, the Royal Guard noticed something and cleaned house.
Was it an ability? Or had they simply moved everything out?
Joey felt he had to see it for himself to be sure.
Kurapika seemed to read Joey's intent. He didn't try to stop him.
"Be careful."
"I will."
Joey left the bedroom without delay.
Under the cover of Weather Report, he slipped out of Zone 12.
The hallways were quiet. He moved swiftly, arriving at the VVIP entrance in minutes.
Guards stood post at the entry point, with machines scanning each person in and out.
But Joey couldn't tell if any Nen users were stationed there.
Cloaked in refracted light, he hid in a corner, watching the guards closely.
Could regular Nen users see Kurukiyo's eye-beast? Her test hadn't clarified that.
But if regular users could see it, then its unimpeded flight meant none of the entrance guards had Nen.
If only certain people could see it—say, those approved by a guardian beast—then Joey couldn't be sure.
Still, he hoped the eye was visible to ordinary Nen users. That would make it less potent, yes—but far more useful.
Nen focused in his eyes, Joey studied the guards.
Eventually, his En expanded outward, slowly covering the entrance area.
None of the guards reacted. No alert behavior.
That eased his tension. Then, lifted by Weather Report's breeze, he drifted toward the entrance.
Once past the checkpoint, he exhaled softly.
He followed the path his insects had taken into the VVIP interior.
He was cautious every step of the way.
Though many guards patrolled the VVIP area, none posed a threat to Joey.
But the deeper he moved toward the center, the more his brow furrowed.
Just yesterday, the Third Prince had been assassinated here.
Hisoka had infiltrated this very area.
And yet today's security? Barely heightened. Something was wrong.
Unusual calm was never a good sign. Joey knew that well.
He summoned a clone beside him, then stopped fifty meters from Hisoka's marked location.
The clone, cloaked in ability, slipped forward.
Joey pushed his En along with it.
Was it a trap? The thought crossed his mind.
The clone arrived at the spot.
A plain, unassuming door—like a warehouse storage room.
According to Hisoka's intel, this led to the coffin chamber Joey sought.
But when Joey had sent bugs here earlier, they'd found only a vast empty room. No humans. No coffins.
Strangely, no soldiers patrolled this hallway.
The clone stood still for three full minutes. No one appeared.
No sounds came from within.
Too quiet. Unnaturally so.
The clone stepped up, pressed its hand to the door, and pushed.
No creak. No ambush. The room beyond: wide open, utterly empty.
The clone and Joey's En swept through the space.
It was nothing like the dimensional space Joey had pierced into in the lower decks.
Even though this room sat directly above that warehouse zone, there was no sign of warping or hidden dimensions here.
When his En covered the entire room, he found nothing.
Just a normal, unused, abandoned space.
But was it really?
Hisoka's intel, Joey's own suspicions, and its perfect alignment with the lower level all suggested: this room had to hide something.
Still, the clone found nothing.
So where was the problem?
Joey didn't plan to enter. In fact, he withdrew his En and had the clone close the door and sit calmly at the room's center.
He waited.
The clone found nothing. But Joey, stationed in the hallway, was learning something.
All the guards in the VVIP area were ordinary.
Not even elite.
That clashed with what he'd sensed from this place before.
He wandered the halls.
He found the room where the Third Prince had been assassinated. A yellow seal sealed the door. Two armed guards stood post.
But from their sleepy expressions, it was clear: the King's Army didn't care.
Next, Joey reached the First Prince's quarters.
The guards there? Sharp, alert, visibly different.
From afar, Joey saw one of them was a Nen user—the first he'd seen in this sector.
He didn't approach. Just slipped away silently.
Later, he stumbled upon a hallway strewn with blood and debris—battle aftermath.
Soldiers worked there, sweeping, clearing rubble, restoring damage.
Joey didn't linger.
He returned, eventually, to that door near Hisoka's location.
Had they really moved everything?
The question nagged him.
Suddenly, he took out his phone, found a stored video: footage from a hidden camera in the King's area.
In it, after Nasubi Hui Guo Rou's guardian beast vanished, the Fourth Prince's guardian beast appeared and destroyed the camera.
Joey stared at the video.
A thought took shape.
If his suspicion was right—then things were about to get messy.
And proving it wouldn't be easy.
He muttered aloud: "The Thirteenth Prince's guardian beast..."
His mind raced, piecing together old intel.
Way back when he first boarded the Black Whale, Joey had killed the Thirteenth Prince's guardian beast—a sinuous dragon-like creature.
At the time, it hadn't revealed its full power.
Because Joey eliminated it early, the Thirteenth Prince had later been assassinated and died in Zone 13.
But what if—what if Nasubi could control the guardian beasts of dead princes?
If so, then the Thirteenth Prince's guardian beast might now serve him.
Back then, it hadn't fully unveiled its powers—but Joey had seen the manga depiction.
Its ability: space manipulation.
A type of power that could pull Zone 13 into a separate dimension.
Sure, maybe that ability evolved in response to the prince's fear.
But who's to say the beast wouldn't manifest such power after death, under Nasubi's command?
If the entrance to the coffin chamber was now hidden by this space-warping guardian beast, then Joey had little chance of finding it.
His memory was hazy. He couldn't recall the exact mechanics. His notes on the Thirteenth Prince's beast were also vague.
But one thing was certain: spatial abilities made for formidable defense.
"Space-type ability, huh..." Joey ruffled his hair.
If he was right, then from inside the sealed room—would anyone see his clone?
Was it empty to them too?
More questions surfaced—
But he shoved them aside. They weren't the priority.
The real issue was how to confirm and break this kind of power.
It seemed the Thirteenth Prince's death had granted Nasubi a perfect veil.
Who would've guessed Nasubi could use dead princes' guardian beasts?!
And it meant: from here on, none of the princes could be allowed to die easily—
Especially those with tricky guardian beasts.
The First and Second Princes were the most dangerous in that regard.
Even though the First Prince's beast hadn't yet shown itself, Joey couldn't believe it would be weak.
Unfortunately, both First and Second Princes were hostile to him.
Lost in thought, Joey began quietly retreating from the VVIP zone.
He had no intention of retrieving the clone.
Its death wouldn't affect him—and it made the perfect scout.
He needed time to crack the mystery.
He already had some ideas. Guardian beasts had flaws, even powerful ones.
But it would take time. And in the meantime—he had other missions.
As he backed out, a surveillance spider crawled from his pocket, scaling the wall and vanishing into the ceiling.
(End of Chapter)