A mobile treasure trove, hiding an unknown number of opportunities and rewards, was right before their eyes.
Should they risk going inside to explore?
In truth, the mere possibility of objects containing Post-Mortem Nen was enough to tempt Morrow.
What's more, he had ample Tree Rings energy. He could fully leverage the fortified luck granted by the Entropy Bird to minimize the risks of exploration.
Morrow's eyes flickered slightly.
Compared to the many unknown creations, or even hope itself, he wanted Tree Rings energy more.
Because the amount of Tree Rings energy determined whether the team could retreat from the Dark Continent in one piece.
If they couldn't leave safely, then no matter how many good things they found, it would all be for naught.
The thought of going back in to explore sprouted in Morrow's mind.
But he wasn't being overly optimistic.
The Entropy Bird's ability, when used without consumption, would randomly bestow either good luck or bad luck.
But if good luck was triggered several times in a row, the intensity of the subsequent bad luck would skyrocket, becoming extremely dangerous.
Conversely, if one endured consecutive bouts of bad luck, it could accumulate into a single, explosive burst of fortified luck.
The problem was, in a perilous environment like the Dark Continent, an ordinary person would struggle to survive even a single round of bad luck.
If he wanted to turn this uncontrollable, random luck to his advantage, he had to expend Tree Rings energy to force the Entropy Bird to always choose the "good luck" card.
In other words, to minimize risk during the exploration, he would need to continuously consume the Tree Rings' energy reserves.
That brought up a question he had to weigh.
Even if he could reap a bountiful harvest from the exploration and find many valuable items.
If the conversion rate of Tree Rings energy couldn't keep up with the consumption rate of the luck-based power, it could affect their much longer and more perilous journey home.
Based on this consideration, Morrow did not let "greed" cloud his judgment.
It wasn't that his desire was too low.
The most fundamental reason was that he had already gained a great deal on this trip.
If the team's backpacks were currently empty, then there would be no need to consider it.
He would definitely go in and take a gamble.
This was the conflict between human nature and desire.
The right choice often rested on a razor's edge.
Morrow's gaze shifted from the metal opening sealed by lava, falling back upon the ring bracelets that Biscuit and the others had brought out.
This thing is probably similar to the Klein Bottle, a creation of Post-Mortem Nen. It's just that its energy is almost completely depleted, making it difficult to sense the aura of Post-Mortem Nen anymore.
The absorption prompt from Tree Rings had essentially revealed the origin of this item.
Morrow stated his judgment to his teammates based on this.
Hearing this, a flash of understanding crossed Biscuit's eyes, immediately followed by deeper confusion. "I've been wondering, how can creations of Post-Mortem Nen like this be 'mass-produced'?"
"Who knows."
Morrow looked down, observing the grooves on the bracelet's surface, and said in a low voice, "The only possibility I can think of is using the characteristics of Manipulation to achieve the 'mass production of Nen abilities'."
"Manipulation?"
Biscuit was slightly taken aback as several hypotheses flashed through her mind.
Given the Manipulation ability's characteristic of being able to alter cognition and even memory, if the ability applied to others was strong enough, it was indeed possible to reshape a person's personality, or even fabricate a false life experience.
And the abilities that Nen users could develop often originated from their personality or experiences.
So, in a sense, by skillfully using the characteristics of Manipulation abilities, one could create a potential Nen user individual who fit a preset profile.
This kind of operation was really no different from creating clones.
Let alone the subsequent mass production of abilities.
This was the extent of understanding Biscuit could reach based on her own knowledge.
What Morrow thought of, however, was deeper and darker.
He had come into contact with the princess of the Kukan'yu Kingdom, so he knew very well that in the eyes of those in power, human life was nothing more than a cold number.
The same was true for King Nasubi Hui Guo Rou of the Kakin Empire, who in the future would sacrifice two hundred thousand crew members without any psychological burden.
Even the Zoldyck Family, with whom he was quite familiar, their treatment of butlers was, in essence, to view them as consumables.
This was the undisguised reality of one corner of the world.
And with human lives being as cheap as dirt, they were precisely the most inexpensive and efficient medium for Manipulation abilities.
Therefore, a superpower like the V5 must have implemented similar methods.
In comparison, the Kakin Empire's curse corps, which bore the resolve for sacrifice, seemed almost humane.
At least, those people were volunteers.
Morrow's current strength was indisputably the world's strongest, but he wouldn't underestimate the foundations of a superpower.
When he brought these gains from the Dark Continent back, if he needed to cash them in for other forms of value, he would still have to pay some attention to the V5's reaction.
Perhaps only by raising his level to 200, or even higher, would he no longer have to worry about these things.
Around them, the firelight flickered. Everyone looked at the ring bracelets, inevitably lost in thought.
Putting aside the issue of mass production, these creations, originating from Post-Mortem Nen and reappearing in their hands after spanning a long stretch of time, gave people a certain ineffable feeling.
As for the appraisal Morrow had given, they didn't doubt it in the slightest.
Even if they truly couldn't sense the aura of Post-Mortem Nen...
This thing is a Post-Mortem Nen creation, just like the Klein Bottle. I wonder what it's actually used for.
Kalluto casually hooked the pull-tab, swinging the ring bracelet back and forth like a yo-yo, and couldn't help but think of his brother Killua, who loved playing with yo-yos.
Morrow looked at Kalluto and asked with a smile, "Very curious?"
"Mhm."
Seeing Morrow smile, Kalluto couldn't help but reveal a smile of his own.
Morrow then asked, "How many do you have?"
"Four," Kalluto replied.
Hearing this, Morrow returned the one in his hand to Menchi, then extended his right hand toward Kalluto and said with a smile, "Give me one. I'll see if I can figure out any useful information."
"Take them all."
Without a second thought, Kalluto stuffed all the ring bracelets into Morrow's hand.
But then he remembered that his brother Killua might like them too, so he took one back and said softly, "I'll just keep one to give to brother Killua."
Menchi looked at the ring bracelet Morrow had returned to her, then at the ones Kalluto had stuffed into Morrow's hand, and raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Let's just use mine. Kalluto, you should keep all of yours for your brother Killua."
With a composed expression, she took Kalluto's ring bracelets from Morrow's hand. Before Kalluto could react, she helped him put them away in his backpack, then stuffed all three of her own ring bracelets into Morrow's hand.
Kalluto glanced at Menchi but said nothing. He simply took out the ring bracelets Menchi had presumptuously put in his backpack, and along with the one he had originally intended to keep for Killua, slapped them all forcefully into Morrow's hand.
"Only three. I don't think that's enough."
After doing this, Kalluto turned his head to the side, glanced at Menchi, and snorted coldly.
Menchi, however, ignored Kalluto's reaction and just stared at Morrow.
"..." Morrow fell silent, then spoke with a hint of helplessness, "I only need one, and Kalluto has more than you–"
"If you subtract the one he's keeping for Killua, isn't it still three?" Menchi interrupted him.
Kalluto was about to say something more when a black snake Nen beast with a bow tied on it suddenly darted over.
The snake's head flicked deftly, sending the pile of ring bracelets in Morrow's hand flying.
Under precise control of force, three flew toward Menchi, while four landed in front of Kalluto.
This black snake Nen beast was, naturally, conjured by Gel's left hand.
"Childish," Gel commented faintly, completely ignoring the murderous glares Menchi and Kalluto immediately shot her way as she walked straight up to Morrow.
"Morrow, do you have a way to figure out this thing's use?" she said, handing a ring bracelet to Morrow.
Morrow looked at her, not answering directly, but instead asking with a smile, "What, even you care about this?"
"The Klein Bottle left a deep impression on me, so I have some expectations for this thing as well."
Gel's tone was calm, but her gaze was firmly locked on the ring bracelet, clearly showing her interest.
Morrow took the bracelet she offered and said, "I can't guarantee I can figure it out, but since there are quite a few of these, it's worth a try."
"What do you plan to do?"
Gel's gaze shifted slightly, looking at Morrow's face with a hint of curiosity.
Morrow answered Gel's question with action, directly activating Tree Rings' ability and instantly converting the ring bracelet into pure energy.
Watching the bracelet she had just handed over disappear before her eyes, Gel didn't show much surprise on her face.
She had long been fully aware of Morrow's unfathomably deep Exorcism methods.
Seeing Morrow directly dispel this Post-Mortem Nen creation now, she roughly understood his plan.
He was most likely trying to extract some related information from the residual Post-Mortem Nen.
Morrow indeed had this intention.
He just knew in his heart that not all absorbed Post-Mortem Nen came with memory or information fragments.
He had yet to figure out a clear pattern for this.
What he could confirm was that this phenomenon of information being present or absent didn't seem to be directly related to the strength of the Post-Mortem Nen itself.
Just like the unknown object that was converted earlier, and the prisms he absorbed in the metal city, none of them had brought any memory scenes or clues.
Because of this, Morrow couldn't be sure if he would be able to obtain any useful information after converting this bracelet, whose energy was about to be depleted.
The result came quickly.
Information fragments suddenly flashed through Morrow's mind, precisely about the use of this ring bracelet.
This thing...
After receiving the relevant information, Morrow couldn't help but be slightly stunned.
This ring bracelet, connected to a pull-tab, was actually a piece of special equipment that could resist deep-sea pressure and provide an oxygen circulation function.
The specific method of use was to put the bracelet on the body, any part would do.
Then, using a technique similar to Shu, one would infuse aura into the pull-tab, and finally, with a firm pull, the fine barbs inside the bracelet would adhere tightly to the user's body like living fungi.
Following that, a viscous liquid would seep from the bracelet's surface, flowing out along the grooves and rapidly spreading to cover the user's entire body, forming a thin membrane.
The reason for Morrow's surprise was that he hadn't expected to find a special kind of diving equipment in this metal city.
Gel noticed the change in Morrow's expression, her eyes flickered, and she immediately asked, "Did you get the 'information'?"
"Mhm. To put it simply, it's a piece of diving equipment."
Morrow met her slightly eager gaze and explained, "As long as you wear it, you don't have to worry about deep-sea pressure and oxygen, and you can move freely at the bottom of the sea."
"Diving equipment, huh..."
Hearing this, a trace of disappointment crossed Gel's face. She shook her head and said, "That doesn't seem very useful for us."
"Its use is indeed not very broad, but don't overlook its oxygen-generating function."
Compared to the diving function, Morrow valued the oxygen feature more.
He suddenly thought of the marshland where the giant black hand was located.
In the depths of the lake in the central area, an object of hope called "Water Droplet" was growing.
And humans, unlike the Lakeside Tribe who had a natural aptitude for underwater adaptation, would find it difficult to collect the Water Droplets from the lakebed without auxiliary means.
Looking at it this way, this special diving equipment could still be very useful in specific situations.
As for exploring the depths of the ocean, Morrow hadn't lived long enough yet; he had no desire to challenge the terrifying and unknown ecosystem in the depths of the Dark Waters.
Putting other things aside for now, just the concept map related to the Dark Continent alone marked numerous daunting giant deep-sea creatures.
"It's actually diving equipment..."
Ponzu was very surprised. She couldn't help but stomp her foot lightly on the metal ground, her tone filled with confusion. "Why would diving equipment be left in a place like this? It feels a bit strange."
"Perhaps there are other, even stranger, good things inside."
Morrow smiled, his gaze sweeping over his companions beside him, and he took the opportunity to ask, "I'm considering whether to go in and explore one more time. What do you all think?"
As his voice fell, everyone reacted differently.
After a brief silence, Biscuit was the first to speak out against it. "I think we should forget it. Let's not even talk about the potential risks, we don't have a spatial ability to store items. Even if we really find something good inside, it would be very difficult to bring it out."
"I agree with Biscuit's view."
Gel glanced at Ponzu, who looked like she wanted to say something but was holding back, and added, "Most of Ponzu's bee swarm, which she uses for reconnaissance, was lost inside just now. Besides, with my and Biscuit's current injuries, we would likely drag the team down during the exploration."
"That's true."
Morrow thought about it seriously and finally dismissed the idea.
He could go in and explore alone, but if the others were left to stand guard outside without the protection of fortified luck, there was no guarantee that some accident wouldn't happen.
The Tree Rings energy would be saved for the journey back, and... before setting off, perhaps he could use it to "warn" the Gatekeeper.
Morrow thought to himself.
The group rested on the spot for about an hour.
The storm outside finally showed signs of subsiding.
The most obvious change was that the wind had weakened considerably and no longer blew Chimera around, making it sway.
Noticing this, Morrow immediately called for everyone to get moving.
He didn't intend to use the Tree Rings energy to have the Entropy Bird grant them another wave of fortified luck.
And without the blessing of this fortified luck, continuing to linger in a place like this undoubtedly hid many unknown risks.
Leaving as soon as possible was the wisest choice at the moment.
A moment later.
Chimera spread its wings, carrying everyone into the wind and rain.
However, just a dozen or so seconds after they flew away from the metal city.
The thunderous roar that had always accompanied the city's movement, like a heavy hammer striking the earth, vanished without any warning.
This made everyone on Chimera's back turn their heads in unison.
In their vision, filled with wind and rain, the huge mobile city had disappeared?!
Everyone's heart jolted, and a chill immediately climbed up their spines.
They hadn't noticed, on the ground, where water was gurgling from the downpour, a black earth curtain was sweeping past at an astonishing speed.
If they had noticed this scene, they would certainly have connected the mobile city's sudden disappearance with this strange black earth curtain.
But right now, only one thought surged endlessly in everyone's mind.
If they hadn't left that metal city half a minute ago, would they, too, have vanished into thin air without a trace, just like it?
The mere thought of this possibility caused the chill rising from their spines to quickly spread throughout their entire bodies.
Morrow even glanced at the Entropy Bird on his shoulder.
Was it luck again?
No.
The more important reason was that he had given up the thought of exploring the inside of the metal city again.