Dia planned to take a long-distance bus to Kabalafu City and board an airship from there.
From the airship, he would then travel to Loi City, the capital of the Republic of Mingbo. The National Medical University was located in the suburbs of Loi City.
The long-distance bus was bustling with noise, with various middle-aged men and women pointing at the scenery outside the window.
Dia quietly ate his steamed buns while summoning [The World] and continuously activating its ability.
'As expected, the duration has indeed increased.'
After testing it several times, Dia confirmed that the duration of [The World]'s time stop had been extended by about 0.2 seconds.
'Is it because of those two battles? The cooldown hasn't changed at all...'
Dia thought silently. Perhaps those two fights had increased his compatibility with [The World].
However, it was still a far cry from Dio's standard 5-second time stop and his peak of 9 seconds.
He still had a long way to go.
"Durururururu—"
An urgent phone ringtone interrupted Dia's thoughts.
With a puzzled expression, Dia took out a beetle-shaped phone. He had bought it new before leaving; although it was on the expensive side, it was very cost-effective.
Who would be calling him at this time?
He casually pressed the answer key and held the phone to his ear. Before he could speak, a clear, calm female voice came through:
"Hello? Dia? I heard you were in an accident. I was on a job a few days ago and didn't receive your message. You're alright now, aren't you?"
Hearing this voice, Dia's eyes lit up. It was Chopper... no, wait, it was Cheadle Yorkshire!
"Ah, Professor Cheadle? I'm fine now."
Dia's voice was cheerful as he first reported his safety, then changed the subject:
"However, I've recently made some new discoveries in my research on the human body and would like your guidance. Are you free in the next few days?"
That's right, he planned to use the Ripple as a pretext to exchange for Cheadle's Nen teachings.
Given Cheadle's personality, which was described in the manga as having an "overly strong moral compass," Dia felt this approach should be feasible.
Besides, he had no other options. Where else could he find someone who knew Nen, was willing to teach him, and was trustworthy? The Hunter Exam was still a long way off.
He didn't have that much time to wait for luck.
At this moment, far away at the Loi City airport, Cheadle, who had just landed, frowned slightly, but she did not refuse:
"Alright. I'll be at the university for the next few days. Just find me when you arrive."
After that, Cheadle dispensed with further pleasantries, simply reminded him to be on time, and hung up the phone.
To Cheadle Yorkshire, the student Dia Diego had left a deep impression on her.
During his undergraduate years, he had participated in scientific research ahead of schedule, and many of his achievements were, from her perspective, quite groundbreaking.
She even believed that if judged by the standards of a Trouble Hunter, this student had the potential to achieve a Star ranking in the future.
That was why she, who had never taken on a student, had made an exception for him, and had even later personally invited him to pursue his master's and doctoral degrees under her supervision.
But he seemed to have no ambition for further advancement, and had guiltily declined her invitation upon graduation.
She had greatly lamented the loss of such a research talent.
She found his mention of a new discovery on the phone just now a bit strange.
According to her information, Dia had been in a shipwreck but had miraculously survived, and was subsequently recuperating at the home of a kind family.
When she first learned of Dia's accident, she had immediately wanted to issue a mission for hunters to search for him. She was relieved to see in the reports that he had been rescued the next day.
That brought up a question: under those circumstances, where did he find the time and equipment to make this so-called new discovery?
'Could it be something that can't be said over the phone?'
Cheadle's first reaction was that Dia had something important to tell her, but it had to be in person due to the risk of it being leaked over the phone.
But what important matter could a student who had just graduated from school have?
Cheadle shook her head, dismissing the thought. The dog ears she was wearing swayed along with the movement.
Whatever it was, she would find out when he arrived. What was giving her a headache now was what Beans had told her yesterday about the Vice-Chairman election scheduled for December!
The thought of this made Cheadle think of that person she could never see eye to eye with—Pariston.
In just a few short years, he had been appointed as the new [Rat].
There were even rumors that the Chairman had already decided on him as the new Vice-Chairman!
'Chairman, what on earth are you thinking...'
Standing in the airport, Cheadle turned her head to look in the direction of the Hunter Association headquarters, her mind filled with endless thoughts.
Dia was oblivious to Cheadle's troubles. He was currently busy with something else.
He had his head lowered, maintaining his peculiar breathing while muttering something under his breath.
That's right, he was practicing speaking while maintaining his Ripple!
This technique wasn't actually difficult, but he had been learning the Ripple for too short a time, and most of that time had been spent in actual combat, which meant that these minor, detailed techniques had been neglected.
Now that he had transmigrated, he finally had the time to practice these small skills.
In his spare time, he was also contemplating his future path.
This world was undoubtedly full of the unknown and adventure. Some people feared adventure, while others yearned for it.
Dia belonged to the latter category.
He wanted to see those unknown landscapes, befriend those interesting people, climb the highest mountains, and defeat those indomitable enemies!
And the foundation for all of this was sufficient strength.
Dia lifted his head and gazed at the constantly moving scenery outside the car window, thinking of the powerful figures from the manga: Hisoka, Chrollo, Pariston, Ging, Netero...
If, for various reasons, these people were to become his enemies, could he fight and defeat them?
For a simple example, if the supersonic Guanyin Bodhisattva were to slap him, he probably wouldn't even have time to activate his time stop!
The Hunter society was, in reality, a brutal killing field. The strong, with the resolve to carry out their own will, fought and killed each other. Not even death could make them yield.
Faced with such resolve, the weak had no choice at all, and it was even harder to expect those powerful individuals to show any mercy to the weak, as they didn't even care about their own lives.
But thankfully, Dia, who possessed [The World], undoubtedly had the qualifications to become one of the strong!
Above Kabalafu City.
A small airship floated quietly.
Inside the airship, besides the pilot, there were only one man and two women seated.
"Boss, where are we heading next?"
The pilot asked casually. He was a young man with a baby face and blond hair, with turquoise eyes, looking very friendly.
Hearing this, the other man who was seated looked up. He had a cross tattoo in the center of his forehead, wore blue earrings, had his hair neatly styled in a slicked-back manner, and was holding a piece of paper that seemed to have something drawn on it.
What was striking were his eyes—deep and indifferent, as if hiding countless secrets.
He was the leader of the A-rank criminal organization, the [Phantom Troupe]—Chrollo Lucilfer!
The pilot was, naturally, one of the Troupe's brains, Shalnark.
Regarding Shalnark's question, Chrollo pondered for a moment before saying calmly:
"To complete the evolution of my ability, logically, we should head directly to Patia City to steal 'that thing'."
Chrollo paused for a moment, then continued:
"But he probably hasn't reached his limit in terms of needing to save people yet. The person who bought 'that thing' at auction likely won't bring it out so soon."
As soon as Chrollo's voice fell, a tall, curvaceous, mature woman with blonde hair and a prominent aquiline nose, who was sitting nearby, suddenly spoke:
"Is there no way to find the hiding place of 'that thing' in advance?"
Another petite young woman with pink hair tied in a large ponytail said coldly:
"Can't we just find that person and force him to hand it over!"
If you want something, just go and take it. That was always the way of the Phantom Troupe.
Chrollo shook his head and said:
"There is a nation-level power behind him. We cannot achieve our goal through force."
Then he turned to Shalnark, who was piloting the airship, and instructed:
"For now, find a way to leave the Republic of Mingbo. I'm afraid we're already being watched."
With that, he lowered his head and continued to look at the paper, saying no more.
On that paper, someone had used crude lines to draw something that looked like a piece of rock. One could vaguely make out a protrusion on it resembling a part of a beetle's limb. It looked like...
A fragment of an arrowhead?
Silence fell over the airship once again.