Chapter 68
With the use of the Dark Step technique, the giant cockroach couldn't hear Zeno's footsteps. Zeno's speed had increased, allowing him to appear instantly behind the giant cockroach.
"Pffft!"
A strike pierced the giant cockroach's body.
By the time the giant cockroach reacted, Zeno had already moved again.
Another strike.
Continuously.
"Pffft!"
"Pffft!"
"Pffft!"
This was quite a peculiar sight.
Previously, when Zeno faced the giant cockroach, it seemed like they were evenly matched; Zeno had caused considerable trouble for the giant cockroach, but the giant cockroach could also pose a threat to Zeno.
Given its massive size, the injuries Zeno inflicted earlier were not particularly serious, thanks to the giant cockroach's strong recovery ability.
However, now it seemed that Zeno was unilaterally dominating the giant cockroach.
Zeno's attacks went unblocked, while none of the giant cockroach's counterattacks landed on him.
Observing this, Ron suddenly gained a deeper understanding of the Zoldyck family's principles.
The stages of gathering intelligence and executing a kill were completely different.
In the intelligence-gathering phase, the objective was simply to gather information without inflicting fatal damage on the opponent.
Once intelligence was acquired, using that information made it significantly easier to eliminate the target.
There was no suspense in the battle between Zeno and the giant cockroach.
Three minutes later.
"Pffft!"
Zeno's palm pierced directly into the giant cockroach's brain stirred it around, and then withdrew.
The giant cockroach twitched a few times before its life force began to fade.
The small cockroaches that had survived the Dragon Dive attack now lacked vitality and fell silent with the death of the giant cockroach.
Zeno stood before the giant cockroach.
"Grandpa Zeno," Ron called as he approached.
In the next moment, the giant cockroach's corpse began to disintegrate, turning to dust bit by bit.
However, amidst the dust, Ron spotted something.
A bone-like object covered in what appeared to be densely packed cockroach eggs. Just a glance was enough to evoke a sense of nausea.
Zeno's finger moved slightly, and a ball of aura attached itself to the bone, lifting it into the air.
As Ron got a clearer view, his disgust only deepened.
"Grandpa Zeno, is this what you meant by a suitable Nen tool?"
Ron sensed the aura within the bone.
"Exactly," Zeno confirmed. "Using materials like this to craft a Nen tool can yield a powerful item, far superior to those made from ordinary metals."
"Do you want it?"
"It only costs 10 billion Jenny." (No freeloaders here!)
Ron: "..."
"I can't afford that."
"You can buy it on credit."
Ron hesitated but ultimately accepted.
He knew that at this price, Zeno was likely not exaggerating and that it might even be on the low side.
After all, this was a Calamity.
In the original storyline, Ron had never encountered anything described as a Calamity.
Since arriving in this world, this was the first time he had heard the term "Calamity."
This indicated that disasters must be quite rare.
While 10 billion Jenny sounded substantial, for a Nen user, it wasn't overly burdensome.
A Greed Island log-in device could sell for over 20 billion Jenny.
This Calamity was classified as B-level or even A-level.
Was it difficult for a B-level Nen user to earn 10 billion Jenny?
Not at all.
Moreover, Zeno had mentioned the possibility of credit.
This suggested that the material was indeed valuable and suitable for him.
That's why Ron decided to take it.
He stored the bone in the body space of the Killer Queen.
Afterwards, he turned to Park.
"Park, please continue to lead the way."
---
The four of them headed toward the New Garbage District.
They were supposed to have gone there earlier but had been delayed by the giant cockroach's appearance.
As they walked, Ron couldn't help but take out the bone to examine it.
It was indeed quite disgusting.
Moreover, it now burdened Ron with a debt of 10 billion Jenny.
Ron wouldn't blame Zeno for this.
He wouldn't accuse Zeno of charging him money instead of simply giving it to him.
That was the rule within the Zoldyck family.
Even when Silva sought help from Milluki or Illumi, payment was always required.
The Zoldyck family had a strong sense of family values but maintained a clear boundary regarding finances.
Zeno allowing credit was already a slight breach of this principle.
Not to mention the current operation in Meteor City.
Zeno had originally come to assist Milluki in finding a personal butler, taking Ron along for covert protection while Zeno was out.
However, after Ron made his request, Zeno agreed without hesitation.
He accompanied Ron to observe Meteor City.
Such a level of dedication was not something someone unrelated could typically expect.
Ron understood this.
--------------------
Shortly after they left, a figure arrived at the spot where the giant cockroach had vanished, frowning as he surveyed the empty surroundings.
"What's going on?"
"Why is there nothing here?"
"According to the plan, the Calamity should have appeared right here."
The person glanced toward the nearby garbage mountain.
"That garbage mountain has collapsed, so it's clear that the disaster did appear."
"Could it have emerged early and escaped?"
However, as the person looked around and noticed numerous moving humans, he realized that was unlikely.
The instinct of a Calamity was to feed on humans, especially targeting Nen users.
Suddenly, the person noticed powder on the ground.
He bent down, picked up a bit of the powder, rubbed it between his fingers, then brought it to his nose to sniff and even tasted it.
The next moment, his expression darkened.
"The Calamity indeed appeared, but it was killed early."
"Who did this?"
"Who dares to take what belongs to our KUTE Gang?"
Leaving the Old Garbage District and entering the New Garbage District, the scene was entirely different.
Ron observed the progress of the crystal ball.
In the Old Garbage District, the crystal ball's progress increased by 10 points.
After the Calamity appeared, Zeno fought it and killed it, adding another 5 points.
Ron estimated that the New Garbage District and its chaotic areas could yield an additional 10 points of progress for the crystal ball.
"Calculating like this, that's 35 points of progress."
"I wonder how much progress the Elder City can provide."
Ron had a vague feeling that absorbing the characteristics of Meteor City to reach 100% progress might be even more troublesome than absorbing the characteristics of the Sky Arena.
In the Sky Arena, Ron knew he needed to wait for the Fighting Tournament.
But in Meteor City, he was uncertain about what he needed.
"Grandpa Zeno can't stay in Meteor City for too long."
"It would be much more convenient if I had enough strength myself."
The most noticeable differences between the Old Garbage District and the New Garbage District were twofold.
One was the garbage mountain.
High above, airships from different regions and countries would periodically arrive in Meteor City.
They would hover in the sky, opening their hatches to release garbage.
As this garbage continuously piled up, it formed the garbage mountain.
Airships rarely lingered in the Old Garbage District.
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