Confident judgment, swift execution.
How irritating...
It was like accidentally revealing just a corner of one's underwear, only for the other person to guess the exact style.
And the worst part? The one who figured it out was just a brat.
But the real question was: what exactly had happened to this kid?
A strong sense of dissonance rose in Zarzan's heart, followed by the quiet emergence of killing intent.
Missions and duties were important, but he couldn't stand this kind of bizarre and unknown sudden development.
It was both infuriating and unsettling.
Should he just kill him?
As Zarzan fell silent, he glanced at Morrow's bleeding knee and frowned slightly.
This "blood bag" was a high-priority target—better to observe for now.
After all, he'd already made the first cut. The condition for his ability activation was barely met; it was just a matter of waiting a little longer.
So he could afford to be patient for a few more minutes.
Once the effect of his Data Throwing Knife took hold, he could control Morrow directly.
In that brief moment, Zarzan's killing intent flared, then subsided, before he finally settled on his course of action.
"They say 'third time's the charm.' I think that applies here."
Zarzan suppressed his emotions, idly twirling the throwing knife in his hand as his voice grew colder.
"So don't even think about running. That way, you might still have a chance to live."
"Hm, they also say 'wise men learn from others.' I think that applies here too."
Morrow kept his eyes fixed on Zarzan's aura fluctuations, replying calmly:
"So I'm not thinking about running. That way, you might still have a chance to catch me."
"..."
Zarzan's lips twitched.
If not for the Limitation imposed by his so-called duty, and the need to wait for his ability's conditions to be met...
The knife in his left hand would have already been flying toward Morrow. He wouldn't be wasting time here with pointless banter.
Ever since leaping out of the truck, Morrow had been observing Zarzan's aura.
Certain thoughts and emotions could sometimes be revealed through aura fluctuations.
Skilled individuals, of course, wouldn't let their aura expose information so easily.
But Zarzan clearly wasn't at that level yet.
The shift in his killing intent had been crystal clear to Morrow.
This meant Zarzan's principle of "not harming the cargo" might be flexible depending on the situation.
So Morrow believed Zarzan's warning was sincere and completely abandoned any thought of exploiting Zarzan's hesitation to escape.
After all, the risks between restrained pursuit and unrestrained pursuit were on entirely different levels.
There was only one option left—to confront the problem head-on.
Morrow consciously distributed his aura output evenly across his body.
Though he had opened his aura nodes in haste, his adaptation speed wasn't slow. The synchronization between his body and aura was steadily improving.
At this rate, he shouldn't have to worry about unexpected delays in the feedback between his aura and body.
That was crucial... because his margin for error was slim.
Morrow kept his gaze locked on Zarzan as he thought to himself.
Both sides on the scene had their own reasons to wait, and so the rugged mountain road where the transport truck stood suddenly grew quiet.
Morrow was waiting for his body and aura to fully synchronize, minimizing the chance of mistakes.
Zarzan, having seized the initiative, preferred to resolve things without further bloodshed. So in this slightly bizarre atmosphere, neither side attempted to break the silence, maintaining a strange mutual understanding instead.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes...
As time passed, Morrow and Zarzan's mental states began to shift.
Zarzan, believing himself to have the upper hand and holding the initiative, didn't waste much thought when he saw Morrow remaining still.
All he needed to do was wait for his ability to activate, after which he could resolve the situation immediately.
Morrow, however, had more to consider.
Judging by their apparent strengths, the opponent was undoubtedly more powerful.
Yet after the flying knife attack, Morrow realized the other party didn't seem to feel any urgency regarding time.
That was the crux of the matter.
I'm waiting for combat readiness—what is he waiting for?
Morrow's gaze swept over the opponent's left hand gripping the throwing knife.
Left-handed individuals have a higher probability of being Conjurer types, but this was merely a reference point.
Another characteristic of Conjurers is their subconscious tendency to gather more aura in their dominant hand.
But the accuracy of this judgment depends on whether the Materialization-type user hasn't yet activated their ability.
Earlier, when he leaped out of the carriage and immediately turned to stay alert, the opponent already had a throwing knife in hand.
Moreover, judging by the bulging outlines in the opponent's jacket, it was likely concealing several more knives.
Also, after exiting the carriage, Morrow had specifically checked the interior—that flying knife was still there...
While the possibility of multiple conjured objects couldn't be ruled out, based on current information, it was unlikely the opponent's knives were conjured objects.
This also eliminated the possibility of the conjured object having special abilities, temporarily removing the need to consider potential risks, such as triggering certain effects through inflicted wounds.
From the analysis, though the situation leaned toward the more optimistic side...
Being immersed in the deceitful antique trade not only provided Morrow the opportunity to develop his Deceptive Shooting Star ability but also taught him one crucial lesson:
In conflicts of interest, any ideas or goals the opponent reveals through their words and actions are inevitably outcomes you don't want to see.
So even if Morrow couldn't extract more useful intel from the available information, he realized that continuing to wait would likely yield fewer benefits than risks.
Given their current compatibility, he should be able to skip the foundational steps and successfully execute "Deceptive Shooting Star," right?
He... should be able to, right?
Morrow wasn't entirely confident either, but in such dire straits, there was no opportunity for verification.
As his thoughts raced toward a decision, Morrow first locked onto the pistol that had fallen closer to him on the ground. Then, channeling his current level of aura, he concentrated it into his right palm.
A faint emerald glow emerged gently, like a sprouting seed.
—--
On the side of the transport vehicle, Zarzan's eyes flashed with shock.
Nen...?!
But he just opened his aura nodes...!
In an instant, Zarzan's alarm bells rang loudly, his shock replaced by killing intent.
At that very moment, Morrow successfully activated his Deceptive Shooting Star ability.
A marble-sized emerald Nen bullet shot from his palm, streaking straight toward Zarzan's chest.
Zarzan wasn't certain about Morrow's specific ability. Seeing that the Shooting Star wasn't particularly fast, he sidestepped to evade it.
At the same time, Morrow picked up the pistol that had fallen to the ground, immediately took aim at Zarzan, and pulled the trigger repeatedly.
Bang! Bang! Bang...
Eleven bullets flew toward Zarzan in succession.
With icy eyes, Zarzan leaped sideways again, dodging the incoming bullets.
"P922, twelve rounds."
After evading the bullets, Zarzan slightly raised his throwing knife and slowly advanced toward Morrow while coldly stating:
"You fired eleven shots just now—were you saving the last one hoping for a turnaround? But what I'm more curious about is..."
At this point, the killing intent in Zarzan's eyes intensified.
"You're quite familiar with firearms, and Nen... So, who the hell are you!?"
Bang!
Morrow responded with the final bullet from his pistol.
But at the same instant the gunshot rang out, Zarzan hurled his throwing knife.
The bullet carrying scorching energy and the knife shrouded in aura passed each other midair, each heading toward its target.
Expressionless, Zarzan was confident he could withstand a single bullet with his body, and equally certain his thrown knife would kill Morrow.
The situation had escalated far beyond expectations, and he no longer cared about explaining things to his superiors. With cold eyes, he watched the knife streak toward Morrow's vitals while channeling his aura to block the bullet.
Thud—
But before he could see the knife pierce Morrow's body, sudden pain erupted in his back. The following impact instantly blurred his consciousness, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Wha... what...?"
The unexpected attack left Zarzan reeling as his awareness faded.
Meanwhile, the tip of the aura-wreathed knife had already pierced Morrow's skin.
Yet it couldn't advance another inch, dissolving into smoke-like wisps that dissipated into the air.
"Hah."
With the dust settled, Morrow lowered his gun arm.
Even now, he couldn't determine the nature of Zarzan's Nen ability.
But he was profoundly grateful that his opponent had been someone like Zarzan.
Had he faced a Nen user with a different temperament, he might well have died a second time