May 1st, Meteor City, District One, Central Manor.
Starting yesterday, one sedan after another drove in from all directions toward the most central area of Meteor City.
Inside the cars sat people under the command of the Elders from the four districts. Before the meeting began, everyone would conduct security checks and defensive deployments inside the council building.
Although the subordinates of the Elders fought each other to the death over territory, talent, and resources, on the surface they still maintained a so-called "peace".
Therefore, the four Elders reached a consensus on limiting the number of accompanying security personnel for the meeting. Each Elder was restricted to bringing fewer than fifty guards in total.
On the main road, a sedan departing from District Five slowly drove toward the manor and was stopped at the entrance by a temporarily assembled guard unit.
As soon as the driver rolled down the window, the guards raised their guns and aimed them into the car.
"West District, under Elder Chelsea Taber. This is the pass." The driver remained calm as he waved a pass in front of the inspector's eyes.
The inspector merely glanced at the pass and then waved his hand.
"The headcount is correct. Go in."
The sedan started up again, swaying as it moved forward at an extremely slow speed.
However, no one knew that a young boy was hanging beneath the car, slipping through right under their noses.
"The guards searching outside will use Nen abilities—but overreliance on Nen also leads to a lack of caution." Kisho, who had suppressed his presence and was maintaining a state of "Zetsu", laughed silently to himself.
A short while later, the sedan that had entered the manor stopped in the parking area.
"Go find Lord Taber and rendezvous."
"Yes."
Voices came from inside the car.
Kisho tensed his body. The moment the people inside opened the doors to get out, he released his grip and dropped to the ground beneath the car. Then, using the shadows cast by a row of neatly parked vehicles, he slipped out of the parking area.
What came into view was a manor built in the central district, luxurious to the point of being called a "castle"—a level of extravagance that simply didn't seem like something that should exist inside Meteor City.
Kisho shrank into a corner, reached into his pocket, and quietly pressed the dial button. After the phone vibrated three times, he hung up the call.
This was the signal he had agreed on with Amos: "Successfully infiltrated."
The guards patrolling outside the manor and those stationed at fixed posts rotated shifts in cycles. Kisho observed from the corner for about half an hour. Taking advantage of the gap when the two groups guarding the main entrance switched shifts, he sprinted through the front gate at top speed and successfully entered the castle.
Beyond the long corridor lay the grand hall on the first floor of the castle. Aside from two rows of tables, nearly a hundred people were present inside, divided into four groups, standing or sitting.
Everyone was watching every move made by those not on their own side with vigilance.
Avoiding the direction from which the corridor could be seen from the main hall, Kisho advanced cautiously along the corners. He came to a small side room at a bend in the corridor, silently pushed open the half-closed door, and slipped inside.
This was the castle's prep kitchen. Shelves to one side were filled with freshly baked pastries, red wines with names he couldn't understand, and spare tableware. On the other side were about a dozen empty food carts.
At the far end of the prep kitchen, the bustling noise of conversation and footsteps never stopped, occasionally mixed with a chef scolding an assistant.
"That passage just now is for service staff."
Kisho stared at the back kitchen separated by plastic curtains, then looked in another direction.
"This way should lead directly from the dining area to the main hall."
He thought to himself. Then he heard footsteps approaching from the kitchen. His figure flickered as he hid behind a storage rack piled with napkins.
The chefs carried exquisite dishes out from the kitchen and placed them on the tables.
"The dishes are ready! Get people over here to send them to the front, hurry!" Behind the rack, a chef shouted impatiently. After speaking, he raised his arm and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, failing to clean it completely, then hurried back into the kitchen.
After the head chef gave the order, notifications were sent out. Over a dozen servers rushed over, placed the dishes onto food carts, and then pushed them one by one toward the dining area.
Kisho remained silent behind the storage rack. A few minutes later, another server came running in, panting, muttering under his breath as he ran,
"Damn it, damn it! Damn it all, the pager had to break at a time like this!"
He cursed as he set dishes onto a food cart. Then his movements froze, his eyes widened, and he collapsed limply to the ground.
"Sorry about that!" Kisho dragged the unconscious man to the innermost, completely empty space behind a storage rack. As he stripped off the man's clothes and put them on himself, he muttered,
"Borrowing your identity for a bit. Don't worry, I'll return it tomorrow."
A moment later, Kisho stood there, awkwardly tugging at his bow tie. He bent down and used fingers infused with Nen to trim the overly long pant legs.
"Whatever, this'll do. It's not like anyone has nothing better to do than stare at a server."
Kisho stepped into the outer area. Not long after, the group of servers returned to the prep kitchen pushing empty carts.
Seeing Kisho, someone who looked like a supervisor frowned and snapped angrily,
"I was wondering why we were one person short—where did you go? Why are you only showing up now!"
Kisho lowered his head and said "sincerely", "I'm very sorry. This is my first time here, I got lost earlier and was delayed. I'm really sorry!"
The supervisor stared at Kisho, feeling suspicious of this kid.
However, all the service staff here came from the attendants of the four Elders. A new face suddenly appearing was normal enough—sending a child to work as a server was strange, but since he was just a kid, he couldn't be a dangerous figure.
The supervisor didn't think further. He cursed,
"Move faster! If you don't know how to do something, watch how others do it. Don't be so clumsy!" Then he hurriedly turned around and called for the others to keep sending out food.
Kisho quickly nodded and silently followed the others, pushing a food cart toward the main hall.
When no one was watching, the corners of Kisho's mouth lifted slightly—the plan was going smoothly.
As servers came and went, the tables in the center of the hall, which had originally been empty, were now filled with dishes and pastries.
Kisho followed the others and imitated their movements, placing dishes onto the tables.
Suddenly, he felt the phone in his pocket vibrate once, then stop, then vibrate twice more.
The first vibration meant Amos had already seen him.
The second vibration meant Amos would find him to rendezvous within two hours.
He needed to quickly find a concealed place to wait for him.
Kisho gave a barely perceptible nod, letting Amos, who was watching him from the shadows, know that he had received the message.
...Noon...
After working busily behind everyone else all morning and figuring out the distribution of guards on the first floor, Kisho took the initiative to accept the task of delivering meals to the rooms where the Elders were staying. He pushed a food cart, silently took the elevator, and arrived on the third floor of the castle.
The entire third floor was divided into four areas—east, south, west, and north—according to the territories governed by the four Elders.
Each area had people guarding outside the rooms. Security was airtight beyond measure. The doors were tightly shut; not even a bird could fly in.
"They really are afraid of dying..."
Kisho complained inwardly as he pushed the cart toward the west area—the territory where the West District Elder Cadis Eros was located.
As soon as Kisho approached, he felt eyes raking over him from head to toe.
A bearded man in a dark teal suit stopped him. "That's enough. Get lost."
Because he didn't know whether there were Nen users capable of detecting others through perception, Kisho didn't dare use Nen to observe. He only let his gaze sweep rapidly across the faces of the guards stationed at the door.
The bearded man's expression turned cold as he stepped in front of Kisho and shouted angrily,
"Fuck, what are you looking at! Get lost already!"
Kisho immediately took a step back, pretending to be frightened, and hurriedly turned around to leave.
Though it lasted only an instant, Kisho still silently memorized the positions and conditions of the five people outside the door.
There were five visible guards. The three in the most obvious positions were ordinary people, but the bearded man and another one hiding in the corner—those two were Nen users.
"Looks like a frontal assault won't work—but I didn't need to look to know that."
Kisho pondered inwardly. He glanced once more at the layout of the rooms on the third floor, imprinting the map into his mind.
"I'll wait until Amos meets up with me first."
Thinking that, he headed toward the staircase.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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