"A strong inner self and unwavering will, you say? I can hardly believe you possess such resolve at your age. Tell me, when do you plan to challenge the Chairman?" Cheadle asked, staring into Allen's eyes. She sensed the exact same emotion and intense craving in this young man as she did in Netero. The two of them were like magnets, both attracting and repelling each other.
"I still need a little preparation time. If I'm fast, perhaps half a month; if I'm slow, it might be toward the end of this year," Allen gave a rough deadline after a moment of thought.
With the three main Hunter talent trees already fully invested, especially the Survival talent Lightning Reflexes which increases Agility by 15%, his current Agility attribute has reached an exaggerated level of over four hundred and thirty points. He only needs to acquire a few pieces of the T1 Set armor from the first eight bosses in the Molten Core to stack his Agility up to around five hundred points.
Coupled with the ability Aura Burst, he should be able to stand a chance against the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva. Of course, "stand a chance" refers to a dignified, head-on confrontation, not using those special, rule-based Nen abilities that defy logic.
"That fast?" Cheadle was clearly surprised. "You know the old man's ability, don't you? He's not like the opponents you've faced before!"
Allen nodded without hesitation: "Of course. The 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva! A speed attack enhanced to the point where it's virtually impossible to track with the naked eye. Precisely because I know it, I want to challenge it and test my own limits. Don't worry, this is just a sparring match; there shouldn't be any crippling injuries or deaths."
"Let's hope so..." Cheadle sighed softly. She immediately opened the briefcase and placed five doses of medicine in simple syringes, along with a thick stack of reports, onto the table. "Here. These are the results of my research on the Essence of Life over the past period, along with five experimental finished doses I've produced. According to our original agreement, they are all yours."
"Oh? Results so fast." Allen ignored the finished doses in the syringes and picked up the report first, quickly scanning it. However, he soon realized it involved a large amount of specialized knowledge and terminology, making it look like gibberish to a layman like himself. He tossed it aside and asked directly: "Just give me the answer. What is its main component? Or rather, what exactly is its use?"
Cheadle had clearly anticipated this and immediately replied from a professional standpoint: "The composition is very complex, but the main component is a life energy very similar to Aura. According to the data observed from several experiments, this energy has a far greater effect on plant cells than on animal cells. But even so, it can still significantly slow down the process of human aging, and even cause a certain degree of regression. Simply put, this substance can accelerate self-healing and extend a person's lifespan by at least ten years. Of course, due to material constraints, my research is still very limited."
"So, it can be used to make external wound medicine and longevity drugs, right? What would happen if I fed a person the pure Essence of Life directly?" Allen's face showed curiosity.
"I advise you strongly against that. Because there are only two outcomes." Cheadle seriously held up two fingers. "The first is for ordinary non-Nen users: they would be directly overwhelmed by the powerful life energy, their entire body losing control and ultimately turning into a giant, incredibly grotesque, deformed plant. The second is for Nen users: initially, they might experience a massive increase in Aura Capacity and physical quality. But before long, the cells throughout their bodies would become severely overloaded, immediately followed by aging and death at an incredible speed.
"The human physique simply cannot withstand such vast and pure life energy. It's like a two-liter flask that cannot hold a two-ton block of ice. First, the capacity is mismatched. Second, the interface is mismatched. If you force the ice block in, the flask will definitely be shattered alive.
"The five finished doses I produced were actually made by heavily diluting the essence and supplementing it with other medicines to ensure that there would be no loss of control after injection. But even so, a person can only be injected once in their lifetime; the second dose would cause the body to rapidly age and die after briefly returning to its peak state."
Allen nodded thoughtfully: "A very vivid analogy. I think I understand."
"In any case, you should be careful recently. I suspect Pariston has secretly leaked your information, and some figures in the V5 might be monitoring your every move in secret," Chid kindly warned.
"Yes, I know. Thank you." Allen clearly didn't take the "Dog" Zodiac's warning to heart. Since Netero was still alive and well, Pariston couldn't cause too much trouble; at most, he would engage in disgusting petty maneuvers in the dark.
And if Allen recalled correctly, that guy should currently be plotting with Beyond Netero and the Kakin Empire to set the stage to kill the Chairman and then advance to the Dark Continent. If he dared to create unnecessary trouble now, Allen wouldn't mind retaliating in kind.
With that, the two quickly ended their brief meeting. Cheadle, carrying the other two portions of Essence of Life, embarked on her journey back to the Hunter Association.
Meanwhile, Allen traversed the dim alleyways alone. Just as he passed a garbage can, he suddenly noticed a strange woman's figure that had appeared out of nowhere in front of him.
The woman was wearing a gray trench coat and had a subtle smile on her face. She bowed slightly: "Good evening, Your Excellency the famous Grim Reaper. If you don't mind, could you grant me two minutes to introduce myself?"
"You were waiting here specifically for me?" Allen narrowed his eyes, testing her with a probing tone.
"That's right. My name is Sheila, codename Pigeon, and I was specifically responsible for liaison with the Phantom Troupe's leader, Chrollo. Of course, since those guys are all dead now, I'm temporarily unemployed," the woman calling herself Sheila adopted a look of heartbroken despair.
"So, what is your purpose? Revenge for the Troupe? Or do the people behind you want to relay some message to me?" Allen continued to question her while silently activating Tracking Humanoids to check for other ambushes nearby.
"No, neither. I hope you will take over Chrollo as the leader and form an entirely new Phantom Troupe," Sheila stated her objective without reservation.
"You want me to restructure the Phantom Troupe?" Allen pointed to his own nose, unable to suppress a sarcastic smile. "Are you joking? I'm a Bounty Hunter, and what I hate most is the Phantom Troupe's capricious way of doing things. Yet now, you actually want me to reorganize a heinous criminal organization?"
But Sheila didn't see it that way, explaining on her own: "You only hate the Phantom Troupe led by Chrollo. If you become the leader and reorganize the Troupe, you can select members and set the rules of conduct according to your own preferences."
"Sorry, I won't do something so utterly depraved as massacring the Kurta Clan. Get lost before I lose my temper. Go far, far away!" As he said this, the smile completely vanished from Allen's face, replaced by a cold, merciless glare.