Joey felt something wasn't right.
Specifically, it was the odd mechanic of the room—how it required a second entry to trigger. That screamed deliberate trap.
And if it was deliberately set up, then there was a high chance Hisoka had coordinated with the Ayii Family. But was that even possible?
If not, why would the Ayii Family design such a complicated access system?
A setup like that was cumbersome and easy to expose. It made no sense—unless they wanted people to enter Room 3101. After all, for the Ayii Family, every kill meant leveling up. They should welcome intruders.
Joey stroked his chin. Should he continue getting involved in all this?
Hisoka may have allied with the Ayii Family—but the Phantom Troupe had also partnered with the Gashya Family. From how the Gashya had supported the Troupe's actions on Tier 3, any actual clash would likely erupt into a gang war.
And the Ayii weren't their only enemies now. If a breach was found, the Shu-Wu-Wu Family or even the Royal Army might intervene.
The Ayii Family had already encroached on royal interests below deck.
But that was precisely why something didn't add up.
Joey knew Morena well—she had to understand the consequences of having her base discovered. Yet she still chose to work with Hisoka. What were they aiming for?
Any large-scale conflict would spell disaster for the Ayii.
Joey wasn't clear on the deeper undercurrents below deck, but he wasn't eager to investigate either.
Before his clone was destroyed, he had sent a ladybug bug, disguised as a wiretap, through the teleportation. But all his phone received from it was static—just white noise.
Still, Joey could faintly sense the bug's position through his Nen. That had to be the Ayii Family's base.
But based on the Gashya Family's constant deployment of agents to that location, Joey expected some activity, like voices or movement, to be audible from the bug.
Yet it transmitted nothing but static.
Also, the fact that the bug hadn't been destroyed meant Hisoka wasn't near its landing point. If he were, knowing Joey, he would've snuffed it out instantly.
Of course, that assumed Hisoka really was working with the Ayii Family.
But given the bug was still operational yet transmitting no intel, Joey considered another possibility:
Signal jamming.
If the Ayii had a signal-blocking field around their base, that would explain everything.
And if that were true, then even the Gashya agents being teleported in would struggle to locate the Ayii base.
Suddenly, Joey froze mid-thought.
Upon reviewing the events, he realized—Hisoka could have lured the Troupe into the trap without involving him at all.
So why bring Joey into it?
Could Hisoka have wanted Joey to expose the location of the Ayii hideout?
Hisoka knew about Gold Experience. If he gambled on Joey using it to locate the bug—and thus the Ayii base—then it all made sense.
But then… why?
Why would Hisoka want to burn the Ayii Family?
Joey's mind flooded with question marks. He couldn't piece it together.
What he did know was that splitting up the Troupe was proving harder than expected. They were sticking together.
Realizing this, Joey summoned another clone, and transferred several Gold Experience insects onto it.
Time to send a new scout below.
As for his main body, he'd stay above deck. So long as the Troupe couldn't identify his real self, sending clones remained the safest intelligence tactic.
Besides, a gang war down below didn't matter much to him.
Even if it dragged in hundreds of casualties, it wouldn't affect the Black Whale's voyage. Joey's only fear was if the gangs united against the Royal Army.
But so long as it was just infighting, things were fine.
Still, Joey wasn't about to follow Hisoka's assumed plan and help the Gashya locate the Ayii base.
Even though Morena had played him by feeding info to Hisoka earlier, Joey didn't care enough to retaliate.
He preferred a standoff below deck over open war.
And now that the Troupe was babysitting the Gashya as they stormed the Ayii, without confirming the true location of their base—it was the perfect kind of standoff.
The longer that status held, the better for him.
If it kept the Troupe occupied, even better.
As long as the Black Whale reached the Continent of Imagination, both Hisoka and the Troupe would be irrelevant.
Joey's clone, now fully supplied, descended once more to Tier 3, creeping toward Room 3101.
This time, its face was disguised. Unless someone knew Joey very well, there was no way to link it back to him.
Even then, it would require luck and intuition.
As the clone made its way toward 3101, Joey's phone buzzed—a message from Kurapika.
"I've tracked the Troupe's movements. Hisoka approached me about a possible alliance. Seems to involve the Ayii Family."
Joey's brows furrowed.
Hisoka contacted Kurapika? Now?!
That didn't add up. From what Joey knew, Hisoka hated sharing power—yet this looked like he was offering up the prize.
Something felt wrong.
"Are you talking about the Troupe on Tier 3? What are your thoughts? Hisoka contacted me too—but it was a trap."
Joey replied immediately. He didn't want Kurapika dragged into any of this.
"I'll check it out myself. Don't worry!"
Kurapika's reply was fast—but it made Joey frown again.
Kurapika was the kind of person who, once he made a decision, wouldn't back down.
Trying to talk him out of it was useless.
"Alright. Got it."
Joey didn't offer help or protest.
He trusted Kurapika's caution. His only concern was the unexpected—and worrying about the unexpected was pointless.
Since Kurapika was also heading to Tier 3, Joey simply had the clone keep an extra eye out.
Then another message arrived—from Mizai Storm.
"The Royal Army has invited us to join the fight against the Ayii Family. Tier 3 may become a battlefield. Someone saw you near Room 3101—any intel to share?"
It was part reminder, part inquiry.
Clearly, Joey's earlier presence had sparked connections in Mizai's mind.
Joey hadn't expected the Hunter Association to be formally invited to join the coming gang war.
If that happened, every force on board would be united in crushing the Ayii.
Joey hesitated, then replied:
"I didn't find anything. Hisoka tricked me into going there."
Now that the Ayii were already losing ground, there was no point in piling on.
Mizai didn't respond again.
Joey stared at his phone, lost in thought, scrolling through both Mizai and Kurapika's messages. His expression darkened.
Both messages referenced the Ayii Family—subtly asking about their base.
Especially Mizai's.
"Would Mizai really message me like that?" Joey muttered.
From what he knew, even if a war broke out on Tier 3, Mizai wouldn't directly ask him for info like this. There'd be no need.
Especially not with that line about someone seeing him near Room 3101. That didn't make sense.
Could it be that neither message came from the real senders?
Were they attempts to extract the Ayii's location from him?
Joey's eyes narrowed. The static still hissing from his phone added weight to the suspicion.
If these messages weren't from Mizai or Kurapika, then there was only one person who could've sent them:
Hisoka.
Static. Fake messages.
Did he have a tech specialist helping him?
If so, Hisoka's real partner might not be the Ayii Family—but someone else entirely.
This whole operation seemed aimed at exposing the Ayii Family's true hideout.
But who?
Joey's mind raced through all the factions aboard—but none fit.
Even if the Ayii were exposed, what benefit did that give Hisoka?
He couldn't make sense of it.
What he could say was that his phone was no longer reliable.
He needed to break through the signal jamming and hacking.
That jamming likely originated after the teleport, inside the Ayii's main base.
Joey massaged his temples. Things were getting complicated.
His thoughts shifted back to his clone, focusing its senses.
The clone had reached the vicinity of Room 3101, but getting any closer wasn't easy.
The area was crawling with Gashya and Shu-Wu-Wu members, plus fully armed Royal Army soldiers.
They had completely cordoned off the area and were funneling people inside.
Watching from a distance, Joey saw that the Troupe hadn't left. They sat there calmly amid the busy soldiers and gang members, discussing something.
Neither the military nor the mafia made any move against them. In fact, they treated them like honored guests.
Joey even spotted admiration in some gang members' eyes.
Avoiding detection, the clone ducked into a room off the hallway.
The room was filled with people. At first, they were startled—then they reached for hidden knives under their beds.
But within a minute, everyone but Joey's clone was unconscious, piled together.
Joey didn't bother with them. He had the Gold Experience insects sneak out of the clone's body.
Among them was a surveillance unit.
He hadn't deployed it earlier because he wasn't sure whether the signal it captured could even reach his phone.
So before using that, he deployed bug mics to test the area.
One by one, they activated—picking up sound and feeding it back.
Joey nodded at the clear audio.
More importantly, it confirmed that 3101 wasn't under jamming. The signal was stable.
That meant the jamming—or hacker-based interference—had a limited range.
Probably centered around the Ayii's true base.
With that in mind, Joey had a listening bug fly toward the position of the one that had been teleported earlier.
About ten minutes later, the bug got close to the target.
And the phone audio began to deteriorate—gradually turning into white noise.
The signal was being jammed here. This had to be it.
Room 3321.
This was likely the Ayii Family's true hideout.
(End of Chapter)