Luo woke up on a broad, sturdy back. The whistling wind rushed past his ears, and cold rain lashed against his body.
"You're awake," a steady voice said from the person carrying him.
Luo felt a throbbing pain in his head as a massive flood of memories began to surface in his mind.
It seemed he had transmigrated.
In his mind, he could still hear the final long beep of the hospital monitor from his previous life, but those memories were now being overtaken by cruel images of countless clansmen tied up in a square, their eyes being gouged out right in front of one another.
The situation was looking very grim!
Before Luo could even sort through his chaotic thoughts, a sharp pain shot through his eyes, followed by the sensation of a warm liquid flowing down his face.
'That's blood, isn't it?'
But before he could even raise a hand to wipe it away, the world in his vision shifted violently.
The back he had been clinging to disappeared. In a dizzying whirl, pain radiated from his arm and spread through his entire body.
Boom!
When Luo Ning finally came to a stop, he felt like every part of him was screaming in pain. He looked toward the source of the noise and saw a massive log embedded in the ground along the path they had just been traveling.
"Run, Luo Ning! Run!"
A garbled shout broke through the ringing in his ears and the confusion in his mind, the voice thick with urgency.
Luo Ning shook his head and looked at the person speaking.
The man had a pair of fiery red eyes, though they were currently filled with anxiety and terror.
He wore the distinctive clothing of a minority ethnic group, and his somewhat small frame was covered in a faint, shimmering glow. Seeing Luo Ning struggle to climb up from the ground, the man turned around, his entire body tensed as he warily faced the direction the log had come from.
As the man turned, Luo Ning saw a look of absolute resolve in his eyes.
At the same time, Luo Ning's memories made the man's identity clear—that was his father.
No.
To be more precise, it was the father of this body's previous owner.
"Why've you stopped running?" A voice laced with a sneer came from the distance, and a figure much taller than Luo Ning's father stepped out from behind the dense forest.
Luo Ning, who had already scrambled to his feet, could feel a burning pain all over his body.
However, that pain vanished the moment he saw the newcomer's face and connected it to his memories and current identity. In its place, sheer terror took hold!
Because the man had a face Luo Ning had seen countless times in manga.
He had long, hedgehog-like hair, and a rugged face with a playful smirk. His wolf-like gaze spared Luo Ning only a brief glance before locking onto his father.
The man wore wild bear-skin clothing and boots, giving him a ferocious, primal appearance.
As he approached them step by step, his aura grew increasingly intense, like a predator eyeing its prey, ready to strike at any moment.
Uvogin!
That was the man's name.
He was a combatant of the notorious criminal organization, the Phantom Troupe, from the world of Hunter x Hunter!
The moment Luo Ning recognized him, he stood up and made the only correct choice: he turned and ran!
"Heh."
A cold, mocking laugh echoed from behind, but Luo Ning didn't even have the courage to look back.
'If I stay, I'll die!'
That was the only thought in Luo Ning's mind after processing the situation and seeing Uvogin's appearance.
Hearing the movement behind him, the tension in his father's resolute face relaxed slightly. He shifted his stance to block Uvogin's line of sight to his son, his own aura exploding with even greater intensity.
It was the aura of someone who had cast aside the thought of survival, ready to risk everything.
Uvogin glanced in the direction Luo Ning had fled before refocusing all his attention on the man who was determined to stay and die.
However, upon seeing the large bloodstain on the man's abdomen, a flash of disappointment crossed Uvogin's eyes.
'Such strong fighting spirit, yet trapped in a broken body. What a waste!'
Even as he thought this, Uvogin's disappointment shifted into an even more intense bloodlust and battle-frenzy in the next second!
Boom!
The sound of clashing fists erupted in the forest.
Luo Ning turned back for one last look. Through the rainy night, he could clearly see two figures colliding in the woods.
He didn't know how long his father could hold out, but he knew his father was no match for Uvogin—especially since his memories reminded him that his father had already been heavily injured while trying to save him.
Perhaps the only thing to be thankful for was that only Uvogin had tracked them down. Otherwise...
Turning his head back, Luo Ning accelerated his pace.
But after only a few steps, he couldn't help but stop again and look back.
He was already over a hundred meters away from the battlefield, yet even at such a distance, he could see the fight with perfect clarity. He could even clearly see the flow of energy covering their bodies.
'This isn't right!'
His vision was far too good; the movements of those two were clearly far faster than normal.
Luo Ning knew this was no time to stop, so he turned and continued running.
At the same time, his mind raced. An extraordinary change had definitely occurred within him, and this change was centered on his eyes.
The Scarlet Eyes.
Luo Ning thought of his identity: a member of the Kurta Clan.
The people of the Kurta Clan possessed the Scarlet Eyes, hailed as one of the seven most beautiful sights in the world. They were eyes that turned a deep, brilliant red when the user was emotionally agitated.
Furthermore, based on Kurapika's situation in the manga, it wasn't hard to deduce that these special eyes allowed the user to achieve unique effects through opening them once they mastered Nen.
For example, in his Scarlet Eye state, Kurapika could shift his Conjuration-type ability into the Specialist-type Nen ability, Emperor Time.
Emperor Time allowed Kurapika to utilize all six categories of Nen at one hundred percent efficiency.
So, what was his own ability when the Scarlet Eyes were active?
Luo Ning thought of his abnormal vision, but if that was all it was, it wouldn't help him escape his current predicament.
Additionally, had he already mastered Nen, the ability to manipulate life energy?
Thinking this, Luo Ning lifted his hands.
There was no energy flowing over his hands, but he could see a steady stream of energy circulating within his body.
'Am I currently in a state of Zetsu, where the aura is completely contained within the body?'
But sensing his current running speed, Luo Ning wasn't so sure. He was running much faster than any normal human.
When he tried to release the energy inside him, he realized it wasn't easy; at the very least, he couldn't do it right now.
However, considering he could see the presence of Nen on his father and Uvogin, Luo Ning felt he must have already mastered Nen.
It was just that this Nen seemed to be in a state he hadn't yet grasped.
Perhaps this would be the key to whether or not he could escape Uvogin's pursuit.
But then, Luo Ning suddenly froze. He could see the flow of energy within his own body! That was not normal.
'Maybe I should check the current state of my own eyes!'