Hunter x Hunter: The Strongest Zoldyck

Panic-stricken screams came from above Roy and Fica.

It was a female voice, and judging from the screaming tone, it was probably a young woman.

"Fika! Let's go!"

Upon hearing this voice, Roy felt like he had grasped a lifeline. He turned to Fica, gave him an order, and then ran like the wind towards the second comfort zone of the Augli.

Just when I was about to fall asleep, a pillow was delivered to my door. It seems I've managed to maintain my big brother demeanor for now.

That was close...

Wiping away non-existent sweat from his forehead, Roy jogged to the stairwell between the first and second floors and dashed up in a flash.

According to the previous announcement, the crew and captain lived on the second floor.

So he went in without hesitation, and Fica followed closely behind.

He looked at Roy's hurried back with some confusion.

Why does my brother seem a little... secretly pleased?

Fica shook his head, banishing the thought from his mind.

Brother, how could this be... You must have seen it wrong.

rustling......

The two jogged along and soon arrived at the second-floor deck.

The second deck is slightly smaller than the first deck, but it is surrounded by green plants and flowers of all sizes, some taller than a person's head, others shorter and winding along the deck.

Among them, the vines covered with fine leaves climbed up the cabin walls, growing densely and completely covering the originally gray wooden planks.

Some vines had already climbed to the edge of the deck, their green tendrils billowing and swaying in the breeze.

At the edge of the deck, thin, curled leaves fell from the climbing vines and landed on several bloodless corpses.

There were probably seven or eight.

Some were wearing sailor hats, some were smoking pipes, some were carrying kitchen utensils, and some were half-naked.

Without looking closely, Roy had already recognized several of them.

The man with the pipe is the captain of the Ogley, the man holding the cooking utensils is the arrogant cook, and the others are all staff members of the Ogley.

Now, apart from the basic service staff, the sailors, the captain, and the cook are all dead...

"How could this happen?"

"How did they die?"

"What happened?"

"Who is the murderer?"

"......"

The crowd surrounding the body began to murmur and look at each other, hoping someone would come forward to provide an explanation.

But after waiting for about half an hour, no one came out.

Even the woman in red who first discovered the captain and crew's bodies had quietly hidden behind them.

However... it's not appropriate to leave these corpses lying around like this, and without an explanation... how will the remaining people sleep?

After all, this was clearly not a natural death.

There was no blood on the deck, not even a trace of blood; it was unusually clean.

Moreover, these corpses were extremely desiccated, with skin clinging tightly to the bones and clear outlines.

His mouth was wide open and empty, his tongue was shrunken, and his expression was horrifying, contorted as if he had suffocated to death from extreme thirst.

It's like... dying from having your blood drained.

Looking at Frank and the cook's bizarre corpses, Roy couldn't help but think of a certain legendary creature.

vampire?

A creature that was common in novels and TV dramas in his previous life.

Are there vampires in the Hunter world?

No way?!

Subconsciously, Roy pushed forward and unknowingly arrived in front of the corpse.

Hmm... there are no small holes on my neck.

His fingernails didn't grow longer, and apart from being bloodless, his face showed no signs of turning into a corpse.

He looked the body up, down, left, and right, but found nothing.

These corpses did not show any signs or wounds resembling those of someone who had been bitten by a vampire.

Even the shirtless crew member... had no wounds on his body.

Their blood seemed to have vanished suddenly.

Hmm... we can basically rule out the existence of vampires.

Roy composed himself and made a judgment.

"Hey...did you...discover anything?"

After a while, a slightly trembling voice came over.

Hearing the slightly trembling voice, Roy snapped out of his reverie.

"Sorry, I didn't see anything."

He glanced at the middle-aged man who had spoken in the crowd, and awkwardly took a few steps back.

"I...I didn't...I didn't see it. Why are you pushing your way up..."

The middle-aged man said with some anger.

With an apologetic smile, Roy silently retreated back into the crowd.

After the little incident involving Roy and the middle-aged man, the others seemed to have regained their composure.

Then, a few of the wealthier-looking people came out.

Several people huddled together, whispering and discussing something.

After the discussion ended, these people didn't give anyone else time to react. Within minutes, they had their bodyguards surround the corpse and everyone else.

"What are you doing! What are you doing!"

Seeing that the strong, burly men had surrounded them with weapons, the crowd immediately began to shout and tried to break through the encirclement.

But they were all ruthlessly rejected.

"Wright, what do you mean?"

Someone in the crowd recognized the group and questioned them loudly.

"We're not doing anything, we just hope everyone can stay here for a while. The Ogley is only so big, and the murderer who killed the captain and sailors could very well be among us."

"For our safety's sake, Mrs. Ola, the other adults and I all agree that we should stay here until things are cleared up."

A robust middle-aged man, dressed in a vest over a black suit and looking like a nobleman, stepped forward and explained to the crowd.

"Bullshit! We're not the murderers, let us go back!"

Someone in the crowd shouted excitedly.

"Yes, let us go back. We're not the murderers."

"Yeah... I was just in the room and didn't go anywhere, how could I have killed someone?"

"that is......"

The crowd was outraged and began to berate Wright.

The man, who seemed like a nobleman, did not argue; he simply took something out of his pocket.

Palm-sized, shimmering with bronze luster.

boom!

A deafening explosion echoed across the deck, and everyone instinctively looked in the direction of the sound.

Not far away, Wright was holding a revolver, with white smoke billowing from the nozzle.

It's not hard to deduce that he was the one who fired the shot.

"I said, stay where you are and don't move... Do you have a problem with that?"

Wright slowly lowered the muzzle of his gun, pointing it at the crowd, the threat clear.

Seeing this, the crowd dared not make any more noise and quieted down.

"Since there are no objections, I will continue."

Click.....

Wright tucked the pistol back into his waistband.

"My name is Wright Ernst, son of Congressman Ernst of the Republic of Batochia. I know it's a bit much to ask everyone to stay here..."

"but!....."

At this point, his voice rose.

"However! Now that such a heinous incident as the murder of the captain and crew has occurred here... for everyone's safety, I hope you can remain here until the matter is investigated before returning..."

"After all, nobody knows who the killer will kill next..."

"Is it you?"

"Is it you?"

"Still you?"

As he spoke, Wright pointed at the crowd.

Those he pointed at instinctively shrank back, looking tense, as if they were genuinely afraid of being the next to be killed.

Just as Wright and the others were at an impasse, Roy caught a glimpse of something strange out of the corner of his eye.

What is that...?

...........