Hunter x Hunter: War of the Anime Worlds

He's here!

In the van's driver seat, the player stared at the rear-view mirror, scared half to death.

When he had first gunned the engine, that man in the black coat had been nearly two hundred meters behind him.

Yet in less than two minutes—despite his foot having smashed the accelerator to the floor—he still couldn't shake the pursuer.

The man was literally outrunning a moving vehicle!

Truth be told, the driver's naked eyes couldn't even track the figure, but he knew the enemy was closing in and had spotted him.

"Damn it!"

He cursed. The van was flying, yes, but they were in the middle of a city, not an open plain; traffic and the system-defined combat zone both limited his speed and room to maneuver.

"Screw you, you son of a—"

He slammed the steering wheel in frustration, wishing the van would suddenly morph into a supercar.

Only now did he fully grasp just how terrifying these so-called Hunters were.

The martial-arts students they'd sent out had been utterly useless; at the enemy's speed, normal people couldn't even see him.

The three leaders had believed their own lies—convinced that those dojo disciples could stall the intruder and buy them time—so they'd agreed to split up and distract the foe.

Only he had been assigned to drive the getaway car, making him the clearest target.

Bang!

Something heavy landed on the roof.

Face draining of color, he jerked the wheel hard, trying to drift around a corner and fling the pursuer off. It failed: a scalpel punched clean through the metal roof and stabbed down.

Unable to dodge, the blade buried itself in his shoulder, ruining his control.

The drifting van flipped, skidded, and slammed into the façade of a shop.

Boom—

Windows shattered, the body crumpled, flames and black smoke erupted.

Xiang Nan had leapt clear a moment earlier and now watched the wreck.

Crunch.

The damaged door kicked open. The scrawny, sharp-featured driver crawled out, drenched in blood. Beyond the scalpel wound, the crash had battered him badly.

"Bro—wait, wait!"

Seeing Xiang Nan only a step away, he yelled in panic.

"I'm abandoning the mission! Whatever punishment the system hands out, I'll take it—I surrender!"

Another scalpel appeared in Xiang Nan's hand as he strolled closer.

"The remaining players… it's not just you, is it?"

He was after intel, ignoring the man's pleas.

"Two more besides me—they got out earlier and slipped into the crowd." The player instinctively backed away, eyes begging for mercy.

"Describe their looks and clothes."

Names were useless—every squad randomized and disguised those—but appearance was harder to change on short notice.

The man rattled off a full description.

"And your battle plan?"

Xiang Nan herded him until his back hit the shop wall—nowhere left to retreat.

"Since we didn't know how strong you were, the three of us stayed hidden and pushed the other players to test you first. If things looked bad, we'd stall for time and… and wait for story characters to act."

"Story characters?"

A spark flashed in Xiang Nan's eyes.

"Right. South Town's about to host KOF, so plenty of canonical fighters are already here. A disaster this big will draw their attention. Once they show up, intruders like you will be targeted. The mission only says 'expel or kill you'—it doesn't say we have to do it ourselves."

So that's their real scheme. The driver was just another pawn.

While Xiang Nan mulled this over, the man suddenly struck.

Though his arms were injured, his legs were fine.

Whoosh!

His right leg shot up, axe-like, toward Xiang Nan's head.

Xiang Nan hopped back, giving a low whistle of admiration—clearly the surrender had been an act.

Leg after leg lashed out, the kicks hacking and thrusting like alternating battle-axes and spears.

A genuine fighting art—but:

"Skill-wise, I'd rank it somewhere above the fiftieth floor of Heaven's Arena," Xiang Nan thought, easily evading as he studied the technique.

High-tier world, slow-growth players… every universe cuts both ways, he mused. Drop into a high-power setting and you may never tap your potential; a lower-power world like Kengan Ashura lets you rise fast but leaves you vulnerable to invasion. In the end, the only path upward is through the Reincarnation Dimension.

Seconds later, the already-wounded man faltered, kicks losing force.

His barrage ended; Xiang Nan stopped, raised both hands, and flicked the scalpel back and forth so fast it blurred.

The player's face went sheet-white.

"Nice kicking style… martial arts? Looks a bit like taekwondo."

Xiang Nan smiled. "Your turn's over—now it's mine."

And in the next instant, he lunged to kill.

~~~

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