HxH: Noah’s Heart

"What on earth is going on? What should we do now?"

Having left the chaotic streets behind, Wood carried Noah on his back, Jerl carried Ashu, and Yan carried Shizuku. The group of six rapidly ran through the streets of Meteor City.

The recent events had left them somewhat bewildered.

First, they witnessed Ashu being severely injured by a giant, then Noah seemed to gain a significant advantage in his battle against the giant, only for the giant to inexplicably turn into a puddle of blood in the next moment, and Noah fell unconscious for unknown reasons.

"Cough… let's… let's go back to the old house," Ashu, who was on Jerl's back, slowly said.

"Ashu, are you alright?" Seeing Ashu wake up, the others immediately inquired with concern.

Ashu took a shallow breath, assessed his current physical condition, and sighed with relief.

His injuries weren't too severe; he would recover in half a day. Fortunately, he had reacted quickly and used "Ken" to block Rami's strike; otherwise, he might not have been able to open his eyes now.

"I'm fine. Let's head back to the old house." He moved his eyes around and saw Noah, who was unconscious on Wood's back, wearing a pained expression.

Although he wasn't clear about what had happened after he passed out, looking at Noah's condition, Ashu could tell that things weren't looking good.

In a situation where both Noah and he had lost their mobility, resting in a safe place was the best choice.

"All right, let's go to the old house."

The so-called old house was where Ashu and his group had originally lived.

At that time, Ashu only had Wood, Jerl, his brother, and another companion who now took care of his brother.

The old house was a dilapidated stone building located on the outskirts of Meteor City.

The environment here was much worse than inside; the streets occasionally carried strange smells, a mixture of blood, decay, mold, and the scent of gunpowder.

Yan kicked open the almost decaying wooden door, and inside the room, a few people in tattered clothes with disheveled hair immediately got up, ready to defend their dwelling.

However, they suddenly faced the dark barrel of a gun under Yan's gaze.

"Get out." Yann held the gun and ordered coldly.

These few people immediately showed fear and, under Yan's gaze, fled from the place like rats.

Stepping into the room, smelling the foul odor of mold and excrement, and seeing the messy piles of trash on the floor, Yan couldn't help but furrow his brow.

"I'm worried that this place might affect your recovery. Wood, let's clean up a bit." Yan expressed his concern.

"Okay. Shizuku, watch over Noah." Wood agreed and gently placed Noah against the wall of the stone house, entrusting Shizuku with his care. Then, he and Yan went inside the house.

"It really stinks in here. Those guys probably didn't know how to clean up." Wood complained.

Following Wood's complaints, a few minutes later, the stone house had been cleared to a relatively clean space. Then, they carried Noah and Ashu into the house.

"What happened?" Weakly leaning against the wall, Ashu asked. He wanted to know what had transpired while he was unconscious.

The three exchanged glances and slowly explained the recent events to Ashu, including how Noah had rescued them from a hail of bullets and how Shizuku had caught Noah's attention.

Upon hearing that the young girl who had been with them all along was the one Noah had taken interest in, Ashu couldn't help but give Shizuku a few more glances.

Shizuku was currently sitting quietly beside Noah.

When she noticed Ashu's gaze, she only gave him a blank look before shifting her gaze back to Noah.

"Is that so? Bloody puddle," Ashu muttered when he learned about Rami's end.

Is it Noah's ability? Could Noah's current condition be the price for using this ability? Subconsciously, Ashu speculated in his mind.

"Ashu, big brother, who is that monster? Why did he come after us?" Jerl asked in confusion. So far, he didn't understand why Rami had targeted them.

Hearing his question, Ashu's expression also darkened slightly as he replied, "His name is Rami, and he's Leol's brother."

"Leol?" Jerl and the others exclaimed in shock.

"It's that bastard again. I can't believe he has an equally despicable brother," Wood cursed through gritted teeth.

"I remember now, I think I heard someone mention it before. Leol has a big brother, and that big brother seemed to be one of those elders' subordinates," Yan suddenly recalled, speaking up.

"What?" The others looked at him in surprise.

"Those old men's subordinates? Then this situation might be a bit troublesome," Ashu frowned and shifted his gaze to Noah.

When will you wake up, Noah?

At this moment, Noah was in a state of memory recovery.

As something within his heart awakened, coupled with the four words "experimental core" left by Rami before his death, scattered fragments of memories appeared in Noah's mind.

…

On an ordinary day, masked individuals dressed in black entered a small village with only a few dozen residents, burning it down. Except for children under ten years old, everyone else was killed.

…

In a white corridor, dozens of children were bound together by iron chains, walking in a line towards the inner side of the corridor. Hoarse and mournful cries echoed throughout the corridor.

…

Opening his eyes, he saw a transparent tank and the nauseating fluid that enveloped his entire body.

Outside the tank, he saw that as he opened his eyes, the experimenters in white coats gathered around, shouting with joy on their faces.

"It's a success! He's the only one who opened his eyes!"

…

Complete darkness. He was locked in a pitch-black cage. He knew he had been secretly transported out of the laboratory, traveling for days, and arriving at another laboratory.

"According to what we agreed upon earlier, this experimental subject is handed over to you. You can freely extract 'zero' cells from him and truly experience this marvelous and magnificent power."

"Remember, this thing is just one of the miraculous creations from that place."

…

"Cough, cough, cough."

"Noah? Are you okay?"

"Get him some water."

When Noah opened his eyes, he saw Shizuku calmly holding a cup of water in front of him.