HxH: Noah’s Heart

In a narrow corridor, the ceiling light bulbs flickered intermittently, and a faint medicinal smell pervaded the surroundings.

Noah cautiously felt his way forward inside the small building.

With "En's" help, there were no blind spots around Noah. As long as someone entered his "En" range, Noah could sense it and react immediately.

However, what puzzled Noah was that he had previously sensed five auras inside the building.

But as soon as he stepped inside, those five auras mysteriously disappeared. If Noah didn't have absolute confidence in his own judgment, he would have doubted himself at this point.

Did they use "Zetsu"?

Noah leaned against the wall, his mind quickly analyzing the current situation.

'There are currently two possibilities. The first possibility is that they have already discovered me. To prevent me from escaping, they hid their auras using "Zetsu," quietly surrounding me, and then launching a sudden attack to kill me.'

With that thought, Noah had already reached the end of the corridor, where there was a staircase leading to the second floor.

Staring at the staircase not far away, Noah continued to analyze in his mind.

The second possibility is that they haven't found me, and they used "Zetsu" for some special reason, or something is blocking them?

Noah's gaze focused on the staircase, and his fists gradually clenched.

Which reason could it be?

If it's the first possibility, there's a high chance that as soon as I go up to the second floor, or even approach the staircase, I'll be subjected to a fatal attack.

Even though Noah's current strength has improved significantly, he's not arrogant enough to believe he can simultaneously deal with five Nen users who are likely close to his level.

If he accidentally enters their encirclement, there would be only one outcome waiting for Noah.

Death!

However, if he gave up now, he wouldn't want to do that either.

He could see that the truth he wanted to know was likely right in front of him.

Noah's intuition told him that if he gave up now, he would never find out what he wanted to know.

What should he do?

Take a gamble?

Or give up?

The two possibilities he had analyzed continued to flash in Noah's mind. As he clenched his fists tighter, a drop of sweat rolled down his forehead.

Just then, Noah's mind shook. With lightning speed, he retracted his Nen and instantly entered a state of "Zetsu." At the same time, he pressed his body tightly against the wall.

The next second, less than ten centimeters away from Noah, a door suddenly pushed open from the other side. Noah happened to be in the shadow behind the door.

"Tsk, why is everyone willing to stay downstairs? It's suffocating down there. There's so much empty space upstairs, such a waste. If you guys want to stay downstairs, go ahead. I'm going to the rooftop for some fresh air." A disgruntled voice transmitted through the door, which was only a few centimeters thick.

Fortunately, that person seemed to be in a bad mood.

After coming out, he didn't even bother to close the door and walked away, back facing Noah's direction, heading towards the staircase. In a few steps, he disappeared upstairs.

With deliberate control, Noah slowed his heartbeat to nearly a stop and, coupled with the effects of "Zetsu," in this state, even if someone stood in front of him, they would have an illusion that he was a completely non-existent shadow.

After about ten seconds, Noah slowly and cautiously exhaled.

Unbelievably, there was a hidden door on the wall in front of him, and Noah had been unaware of it.

It was something he had never expected. Thankfully, luck was on his side, and he didn't walk further ahead; otherwise, the consequences would have been dire.

It also helped that the person who had just come out showed no vigilance at all and didn't even bother to close the door, going straight upstairs.

Noah could now conclude that the person who had come out just now was one of the five auras he had sensed earlier.

Now, it seems that the second possibility is correct. These people haven't actually discovered him. Moreover, judging from the guy's complaints just now, this building is probably just a decoy. From the first floor to the top floor, there's no one around. The real secret is likely inside the room right in front of him.

Staying downstairs, the others are probably in an underground secret base.

Deep in thought, Noah cautiously emerged from the shadow behind the door and quietly surveyed the room.

It was an entirely empty room, without even a light inside. However, with the faint light from the corridor and his night vision, Noah could clearly see an unsecured hidden door in the corner of the room. In the darkness beyond that hidden door, he could vaguely sense the previous aura.

"As expected."

Seeing this, Noah's mouth curled into a slight smile.

'Such good luck! This hidden door was exceptionally well concealed. If I hadn't suddenly felt someone approaching just now, I wouldn't have even thought that there might be something hidden here. Using an entire building as a cover-up, I'm even more curious about what's beneath.'

Without making any rash decisions, Noah chose not to enter the room directly. Instead, he once again employed his "En" ability and slowly moved toward the stairwell.

Since a whole building was used as a decoy, whatever lay below must be of utmost importance.

Without clear information about what was down there, invading recklessly would be extremely foolish.

Thankfully, Noah's luck had been exceptional.

Not only had he discovered the secret room, but he had also encountered someone who separated from the group.

Noah intended to deal with the individual who had just gone upstairs, gather information about what lay below, and then make his plans accordingly. He moved silently like a ghost.

Similar to Rami, Betero was one of the Elder Council's underlings.

Unlike Rami, who could freely move around outside, Betero had been assigned the task of guarding the underground laboratory.

Betero understood the immense importance of this underground laboratory.

The things inside could transform an ordinary person into the kind of powerful being he had become.

Although the process was excruciatingly painful, Betero believed it was entirely worth it.

Trading a short period of suffering for immense strength was a deal Betero was sure no one would refuse.

However, when he received the news of Rami's death today, especially after seeing the test tubes filled with blood, a sense of unease had settled heavily in Betero's chest.

It made him extremely uncomfortable, prompting him to leave the laboratory for some fresh air.

"That Rami guy had a stability rate of over 80%, right? Weren't they saying that once the stability rate surpassed 80%, the likelihood of a breakdown was minimal? What on earth could have happened?"

Betero leaned against the wall beside the rooftop, gazing into the distance and murmuring to himself.

"If there's a possibility of breakdown even with an 80% stability rate, it's truly a dire situation." Betero remembered clearly that his own stability rate was only 70.5%, which was 10% lower than Rami's.

Betero had an intuition that Rami's death wasn't just a simple failure or breakdown.

At that moment, Betero's complexion suddenly changed, and he swiftly turned around.

"Who's there!"