Should he go in?
The answer was yes. Joey realized Hisoka was using an open scheme—a plan so overt that Joey had to act on it. Hisoka was forcing him to uncover the Ayii Family's hideout.
If he attacked from the outside, the Ayii base's location would be completely exposed.
But if he didn't enter, and didn't resolve the signal jamming and hacking issues, then Joey's phone would be useless.
Though the jamming seemed spatially limited, all outgoing information was being blocked.
To fix that, Joey had no choice but to enter the Ayii base.
If he wanted to keep the Ayii hidden, he could enter through Room 3101—but the Gashya Family and the Phantom Troupe were blocking that route. Which left only the outside-in breach as his viable option.
Everything had formed a closed loop.
Having thought it all through, Joey concluded: the jamming was likely a Nen ability from the Ayii Family.
The hacker might not be one of theirs, but finding them meant infiltrating the Ayii base either way.
Having pinpointed the location, Joey had his clone carefully move toward Room 3321.
Hisoka had a purpose behind all this.
What was it? Joey could only assume it had to do with taking down the Phantom Troupe.
From earlier encounters, it was clear: no matter what tricks he and Hisoka pulled, the Troupe had no intention of splitting up.
The ongoing signal jamming made Joey uneasy—what if Hisoka impersonated him and messaged Kurapika?
If Kurapika was tricked, things could spiral out of control.
So, while the clone headed toward the Ayii's base, Joey released several Gold Experience constructs around Room 3101, to warn Kurapika the moment he showed up.
But so far, the constructs hadn't picked him up.
Unfortunately, Gold Experience constructs had limited feedback and were constrained by Manipulator-type abilities.
Most of what they relayed was vague. Only the bug mics delivered usable intel.
Still, Joey couldn't afford to deploy all his bugs to Tier 3—he had to keep monitoring the princes and Royal Army up top.
As the clone approached Room 3321, Joey noticed the area wasn't simple.
Upon stepping within a certain range, he felt eyes on him.
Yet no matter how carefully he looked, there was no one visible.
It had to be a specialized Nen-based surveillance ability.
Without doing anything suspicious, Joey disguised his clone as a casual passerby, slowly strolling past Room 3321.
He didn't release any Gold Experience constructs—playing it safe.
But even so, he spotted two men approaching with ominous auras.
Their Nen wasn't strong, but it radiated malice.
Joey didn't know how he was exposed. Maybe anyone passing through was targeted.
After all, the Ayii were known to kill random civilians.
Regardless, once he felt that malicious intent, they were enemies.
And Joey's philosophy was simple: strike first or suffer later.
The moment the three-meter distance was closed, Joey struck first.
No fancy technique—just pure explosive power.
In a blink, his Nen flared into full combat mode, shifting from "civilian" to Ken.
He wielded his aura with flawless precision.
With less than three meters to close, he didn't even need two steps.
On his first stride, his Ken-infused fist slammed directly into one man's chest.
The target was clearly a weakling. His "Ten" was basic at best.
Especially evident in his reaction—wide-eyed, shocked, and absolutely no defense or counter.
Ten versus Ken? It was a joke.
The man flew back like he'd been hit by a truck.
The second one, though, reacted fast—dodging sideways the instant the first was struck.
Joey lunged with his other hand, managing only to grab the man's collar.
But the man was slippery. As he twisted away, his clothing slid off like liquid.
Joey felt the strange texture—like gripping a water droplet. All he yanked free was a piece of shimmering, liquid-like cloth.
The man crashed into the side wall.
And the wall… rippled like water.
He began to sink into it—literally vanishing into the corridor's side.
But before his body could vanish entirely, Joey launched a kick at the wall.
His Nen-infused foot struck, causing massive ripples—but didn't sink in.
Because it was the aura that connected, not the foot.
Inside the wall, the man let out a tortured scream.
His mocking smirk turned to raw agony.
Meanwhile, the first attacker—who had been punched senseless—stood back up.
Blood dripped from his mouth, his eyes rolled back in unconsciousness, yet his body moved on its own.
This caught Joey's attention.
It had to be a Manipulation-type ability.
Joey quickly analyzed it: likely a condition-based auto-mode, similar to Shalnark's autopilot after inserting the antenna.
Still, Joey wasn't impressed.
The man's aura hadn't increased despite the change. He was just in "Ren", and barely at that.
Joey didn't even shift position.
As the puppet-man charged, Joey spun—a whip kick smashing into the side of his head.
There was a sickening crack as his neck snapped.
The man's body was flung into the one still embedded in the wall.
Another scream erupted.
And this time, the wall stopped rippling.
The embedded man went silent—because the one who'd been kicked, somehow still alive, flipped over and punched him in the head.
The scream stopped abruptly.
That silence marked the knockout—his consciousness snuffed.
The wall's watery illusion faded, returning to normal.
Blood seeped out.
The man was now completely embedded in the wall, bleeding out.
But the neck-snapped attacker kept pounding the wall, over and over.
His aura weakened with each hit.
Finally, his Ren faded entirely.
His eyes briefly regained clarity—then went dark forever.
He'd awakened just long enough to realize his neck was broken and his body failing.
Joey watched without emotion.
These two were clearly Ayii Family members.
Dying here, in such a bizarre way, would definitely draw attention if no one cleaned it up.
The Royal Army would soon investigate—and might discover the truth.
The Ayii Family's exposure was becoming inevitable.
Straightening his clothes, Joey walked toward the door of Room 3321.
Since he was already spotted—and those eyes hadn't vanished—he had no reason to hide.
Might as well knock and investigate openly.
He wouldn't break in. Instead, he sent a message:
"I'm not unreasonable."
Whether they understood it was another matter.
Knock knock knock.
The door creaked open.
Only an old man stood inside.
"Who are you looking for?" the elder asked, voice trembling.
Joey frowned. Why an old man?
Elsewhere, Joey's main body listened to the bug's static from nearby. His expression grew more suspicious.
"There's only you in this room?" Joey didn't answer, but peered inside.
It was a small room—bunk beds, disturbed sheets—but no one else visible.
"Yes. Who are you?" the old man stepped back, eyes flicking toward the two corpses by the wall.
Fear overtook his face.
When Joey looked at him, the man raised his hands.
"Don't kill me. I don't know anything."
Joey said nothing. A coin appeared in his hand.
He flicked it fast—thunk—it embedded into the wall behind the bed.
Joey's eyes followed it.
Through the hole, he confirmed: just like Room 3101, there was a hidden chamber behind the wall.
This old man wasn't innocent.
He had to be Ayii Family.
The room was likely a trap. But since the coin hadn't vanished, if there was teleportation here, it was like 3101's—triggered by re-entry.
Joey turned back to the stunned old man.
"Get in," he ordered coldly.
He wasn't walking into that room himself. Not yet.
He'd make the old man step in—then back again.
If this room was a trap, then where was the real Ayii base? Was 3321 just a diversion?
Joey's eyes drifted past the elder to the back wall.
Maybe the chamber inside held real clues.
"I don't mind going back in, but… can I use the bathroom first?" the old man pleaded. "You scared me too much. I really need to pee. Us old guys can't hold it!"
"Hold it in. Or the next coin won't hit the wall—it'll hit you."
Another coin glinted between Joey's fingers, voice like ice.
He had no mercy left—only sharp calculation.
He'd put a few holes in this man if needed.
"That's not fair, you know… there's a saying—"
Before the man finished, Joey's coin flew—piercing his forehead.
"AAAH! That hurts—eh?"
The old man blinked. "You—why don't you play fair?! I'm old! Just killing me like that?! What happened to ethics?! The world's gone cold!"
"A clone," Joey muttered.
He'd already guessed.
The old man wasn't afraid—he'd been stalling, trying to lure Joey inside.
So Joey didn't wait—he threw the coin straight at his head.
Then stepped back, putting more distance between himself and the room.
The man's still-talking corpse made it obvious: it was a clone.
But was it a personal ability—or a construct created with Ringing Bell?
Joey couldn't say. But right then, the clone vanished in a puff of smoke.
Joey stepped further back, now near the man whose neck he'd broken.
He bent down, grabbed the corpse, and hurled it into the old man's room.
Thud!
The body hit the floor hard, blood spreading fast.
"Guess corpses don't trigger it. Maybe I need a living test subject," Joey said softly.
"...Ah, screw it. I'll go myself."
And with that, he charged forward and stepped inside.
But before he did, a ladybug quietly crawled out from under his coat—hiding in the hair of the neck-snapped corpse now lying at the door.
(End of Chapter)