'The old man has such intense hostility!'
Silva moved the phone a little further away; his eardrums were almost pierced.
He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen the old man this angry... but it was warranted.
A cascade of white hair fell to his waist. The current head of the Zoldyck family stood atop the roof of an abandoned maintenance factory, looking down from his high vantage point—
The little girls, treated like pigs in a pen, huddled together timidly. Their hands and feet were bound with ropes, and the skin exposed beneath their clothes was bruised and swollen. They had clearly suffered considerable inhuman abuse.
Not far from them, just a fence away, a dozen or so men in black suits were smoking, drinking, and playing cards. Two or three of them were wrapped in bandages—they were probably the ones who had escaped from Gotoh.
His gaze shifted again. On a sofa in the deepest part of the factory, two men and one woman, all impeccably dressed, were speaking in low voices.
These were the three veteran Nen users Silva had reported on the phone.
Among them, the middle-aged man dressed like a butler, with gold-rimmed glasses on his nose and white gloves on his slender hands, had an astonishing aura.
Beneath his serious expression, his sharp eyes were like a hawk's, intimidating to all who met his gaze.
"Joyce Mattel of Ai-yi-yi's group." Silva squinted, a hint of appreciation in his eyes.
"He's broken the limit twice for both his body and his Nen. If he were in the Hunter Association, he'd be at least a Single-Star Hunter."
It was a pity. Just as Netero had said, he was not someone Sean could handle at his current level. Silva would have to take care of it himself.
With a simple crack of his neck, Silva vanished into the night.
"Hm?" After he left, a suspicious gaze swept over. Joyce Mattel frowned.
The man and woman flanking him instantly became alert. "Mr. Joyce, did you detect something?"
Joyce shook his head. A cluster of Nen welled up in his eyes and quickly subsided. He said coldly, "Continue tomorrow. His Highness's quota is 20. We are still ten short. If you screw up like last time, don't blame me for not warning you."
"Yes."
The heavy night dew was pierced by a thread of crimson.
Against the backdrop of the surrounding mountains of trash, Meteor City's sunrise was exceptionally beautiful.
In the past, Sarasa loved to drag Uvogin up the highest trash heap to greet the dawn at this time. But today, there was clearly no time for that.
"Knock, knock, knock."
"Young Master, breakfast is here."
Flipping her twin ponytails, the flat-chested, tough girl held a tray and knocked on Sean's door.
*Creak.* The door opened. Tsubone, sporting her Barbie-pink hair, blocked Sarasa's path and glanced down.
Freshly baked croissants with an avocado vegetable salad, accompanied by a glass of fresh milk. This kind of spread was definitely sumptuous, even extravagant, in Meteor City. Only the church, or perhaps the mansion of an elder in charge of a district, would have the resources for it.
"How thoughtful." Tsubone moved aside, revealing the scene inside the room.
There were two Seans. One was rubbing his sleepy eyes, lazily sitting up in bed. The other was drenched in sweat, his handsome face etched with exhaustion.
Sarasa stole a glance at No. 2. The pitiful-looking worker bee flashed her a smile, and, along with three attribute points and Sean's "Good work,"
He dissipated with a *poof,* turning into a stream of Nen that flowed back into Sean's body.
After his Nen ability improved, the Shadow Clone's training efficiency had increased from the original two points to three points. What used to be twenty points was now thirty.
Sean made a quick calculation, resisting the urge to grind his Nen ability even further just to see how high the efficiency would get.
But...
'Can't be hasty. At least, not today.' Filled with anticipation, Sean smiled and waved at Sarasa. "Morning."
"Good morning, Young Master." Sarasa kept her head down as she placed the breakfast on the long, narrow table nearby. She stood to the side, wringing her hands nervously.
The events of yesterday had clearly given the young girl a *bit* of a shock. That, combined with the Chrollo situation... Sean gave Sarasa a meaningful glance and chuckled. "Last night, that's not what you and your little friends were calling me. Since you already told them my name is Sean."
"You should just call me Sean from now on. Oh, right... there might not be a 'from now on'."
After all... Sean winked at Sarasa. "You've already refused Chrollo's proposal and are determined to stay here, aren't you?"
"Ah?" Sarasa was startled!
After Chrollo returned last night, he did indeed propose that she follow Sean and leave Meteor City. But Sarasa was certain of one thing—
Sean wasn't there at the time. So... "Young Master, how did you know?"
A big question mark popped up in her little head. Sean smiled mysteriously. "Silly. I heard it, of course."
He rolled off the bed. Ignoring the dumbstruck Sarasa, he picked up a croissant, broke off a piece and tossed it to Tsubone, and began to eat with relish.
Soon, Sean had wolfed down the entire breakfast. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and called out, "What are you spacing out for? Let's go."
He took the lead, strolling leisurely toward the performance hall with Tsubone.
The live-action version of *Guo Ying Ren Zhe* was about to be performed in the "performance hall"—which was really just the main hall of the church, a place where the children of Meteor City usually prayed and worshipped.
Sean and Tsubone found a random seat and sat down. Looking around, dozens of children were gazing about excitedly, occasionally glancing at the stage at the front. It instantly transported him back to his previous life, to a comedy show he had once attended. The only difference was that the host was now Chrollo, and the actors were the little Spiders.
"A-hem." The time came: eight o'clock in the morning. The clock in the bell tower chimed.
The curtain opened. A small, slender figure cleared his throat, pushed his bangs out of his eyes, and emerged from backstage. The moment he appeared, he triggered loud cheers from all the children.
A natural-born leader, indeed. Today's Chrollo was dressed up as Naruto, with three whiskers pasted on each cheek and a Konoha headband tied on his forehead. He faced the audience and spread his arms. "Welcome, everyone, to today's performance!"
"I, Chrollo, will be playing Uzumaki Naruto. I and my companions will present to you the second installment of *Guo Ying Ren Zhe*—the Chūnin Exams!"
"Hooray!"
"Long live Chrollo!"
"We finally get to see you!"
"Damn it, you have no idea how I've survived all this time without you guys!"
"Sob... Uvogin, Nobunaga, Machi, Pakunoda... Everyone, I missed you all to death!"
Excited screams, roars, and even, Sean noted, the sound of weeping sobs surged toward the stage like a tsunami.
Chrollo smiled, enjoying this moment like a superstar. His gaze swept the crowd and noticed Sean sitting in the back, second from the end, by the window. His eyes trembled imperceptibly before quickly darting away.
The corner of Sean's mouth twitched into a playful smile. "Alright, young Spiders. Let the show begin."