"I'm very sorry," the waitress behind the counter said. "The chocolate ice cream won't be restocked until this afternoon at the earliest. We have other flavors available: strawberry, mango, sunshine cola, tropical rainbow. They're all excellent!"
"No, I like chocolate," Killua said, deflating slightly.
At that moment, another waitress emerged from the dining area, carrying the exact chocolate ice cream he'd been craving all morning.
Killua stared at her with dead eyes. His expression gradually shifted to surprise as she walked straight toward him, handed over the cup, and smiled. "This is from those two guests over there." She turned and pointed.
Killua took the ice cream and looked. Liam waved at him from across the restaurant, making a peace sign with his fingers.
"What a weird guy," Killua muttered.
As a young genius trained to be a ruthless killer since childhood, Killua was exceptionally good at judging a person's strength. That ability had served him well during his two-year career at Heavens Arena, from age six to eight. He'd been like a fish in water. Barely suffered a scratch.
But this person? Killua couldn't feel his depth. It was like staring into black fog. No presence. No aura signature. Nothing to grasp or gauge.
If he met someone like this in the Arena, Killua would avoid fighting them on stage. He was a killer, not a martial artist. When faced with an uncertain opponent, he'd use assassination methods. Choosing a head-on fight in the ring would be idiotic.
Killua looked at the chocolate ice cream in his hand.
Is it poisoned?
He smiled. He'd been eating poison since he was a toddler. His body was immune. If this guy thought he'd fall for something so obvious, he was badly mistaken.
Killua happily scooped up a big spoonful and shoved it in his mouth. Delicious chocolate and silky ice cream texture swept over his taste buds and rushed straight to his brain.
Then he noticed a card tucked under the cup.
He glanced up. The guy pointed downward and made a gesture to open it.
Killua flipped the card open. A short line of text made his pupils shrink.
"I opened the second door of trial. What about you?"
Shizuku was still studying the photo Liam had pointed out earlier, trying to recall when and where they'd accidentally captured a passerby from the Kurta Clan with blond hair.
Bang. An empty cup landed on their table.
Shizuku turned her head. The white-haired boy Liam had seemed interested in earlier was standing there.
The angry look... should be that of an ordinary person. Shizuku glanced at Killua's body with Gyo and stopped paying attention, returning to the photos.
Killua, meanwhile, was wondering if he'd been eating too much ice cream and chocolate lately. Had his senses dulled? Why was this woman, like the man, completely unreadable?
"I thought you were going to poison it," Killua said, hands in his pockets. He tilted his head slightly, looking directly into Liam's eyes. "Poison might've made it taste better, actually."
Liam smiled. "Isn't that why you came over?"
He pointed at the card still sitting in the empty cup.
"Of course. I'm only eight years old. Delicious food is more important." Killua glared. "Have you been to my house?"
"Kukuroo Mountain is a tourist attraction," Liam said. "Nothing surprising about visiting."
Hearing Liam mention Kukuroo Mountain, Shizuku raised her head again, attention caught.
Liam patted the seat next to him. Shizuku stood, left the opposite seat, and sat down beside Liam. She moved the pile of newly developed photos closer and looked at the white-haired boy curiously.
Based on the exchange between Liam and him, this white-haired boy was a member of the Zoldyck family from Kukuroo Mountain?
Killua glanced at the vacant seat and said to Liam, "It's been years since I left home." Actually it hadn't been travel, and it had been almost two years. "I don't remember casually revealing my identity to anyone. My family wouldn't disclose my information to outsiders either. How do you know me?"
His expression remained unchanged, but doubt crept in. Even if someone pushed open the Testing Gate and entered Kukuroo Mountain, they'd only be received by the butlers. He'd rarely left home before age six. Two years ago, his father had thrown him into Heavens Arena, where he'd been ever since. Logically, it should be impossible for a stranger to recognize him as a member of the Zoldyck family at first glance. But if this guy didn't recognize him, why send that kind of card and note?
Liam smiled. "Well, we know each other now. You can call me John Smith. I just reached the 70th floor of Heavens Arena. What about you?"
What does "we know each other now" mean? Killua said, "I'm Killua. Have you really opened two Testing Gates?"
When he'd left home two years ago, he couldn't even open the first gate! If not for that, it wouldn't have taken two full months to reach the 150th floor of Heavens Arena.
Liam's smile deepened when he heard this. He held out his hand. "You don't believe me? Let's arm wrestle. You'll know after you try."
Killua thought for a moment. "Okay."
He was skilled and bold. He wasn't afraid of eating poison as a snack. His body had been tempered for years. He could touch electric switches that would kill normal people. Ordinary assassination methods had no effect on seedlings cultivated by his family, top-tier killers. Naturally, he wasn't afraid of whatever schemes this guy might have.
Killua jumped onto the opposite seat and extended his right hand.
Liam also extended his right hand and shook. "Shizuku, count down from three."
Killua looked at him. When they shook hands, he could feel the guy's wrist strength was genuinely impressive. In his heart, he already believed three-tenths of what the card said about opening the Testing Gates. He held his breath, concentrated, gathered his strength, and waited.
Shizuku raised her hand. "Three, two, one."
Killua exerted force with his right arm. The opponent's arm seemed welded to the table. It didn't move at all.
A vein popped on Killua's forehead. He wasn't about to give in easily. He used the assassin's secret technique. His entire right arm seemed to swell out of nowhere. Muscles in his seemingly thin arm bulged. The hand gripping Liam's became grotesque and terrifying, veins crawling across the skin. He could feel blood rushing rapidly through vessels, delivering enormous force to his arm, enough to shatter rocks and split monuments.
What made Killua happy was that the guy opposite him was no longer calm. He could clearly see him clenching his right hand, tightening his right arm, increasing his strength. That meant he'd forced the opponent to take him seriously.
But Killua was also frustrated because even at his maximum effort, he'd only managed to force the other party to get serious.
Killua gritted his teeth. His thick, vein-covered arm trembled slightly as Liam pressed it down little by little toward the table.
The back of Killua's right hand touched the table.
Killua pulled his hand away with a displeased look and shook it hard. The strength and ferocity vanished instantly, returning to normal.
Shizuku blinked, adjusted her glasses, and observed curiously.
Killua suddenly noticed a glob of jam on his right palm. His face turned green. "Why is there jam on your hand? Ugh, that's disgusting..."
Liam handed him a tissue and smiled. "Do you believe me now? Are you also competing in the Arena?"
Killua wiped his palm clean. "Yeah. Tomorrow at noon, on the 190th floor, will be my last match." Actually it wouldn't be. "Want to come watch? If I win that match, it'll be about time for me to go home." Actually, he didn't want to go home at all.
Shizuku asked doubtfully, "Aren't you going above the 200th floor?"
Killua said calmly, "I'm homesick." Not really. "That's it. Bye."
He jumped off the seat and left without looking back.
"Damn it, he's so strong. Stronger than anyone above the 100th floor!"
Killua's face darkened as soon as he pushed the door open and went outside.
"And it's not just him. Does the woman next to him have the same kind of strength?"
"It's so irritating! I almost couldn't control my urge to kill someone..."
After Killua left, Shizuku turned to look at Liam. When she glanced down, Liam was wiping jam off his palm with a tissue.
Although the jam was smeared, it could still vaguely be seen that it had originally been a pentagram symbol.
Even though Shizuku was so familiar with Liam, she hadn't noticed when or how he'd drawn the pentagram symbol with jam on his palm in advance.
"What do you think he just said were truths?" Liam asked. Seeing Shizuku looking at his hands, he smiled. "What's wrong?"
Shizuku asked curiously, "Why didn't it work?"
She didn't care at all that Liam had tried to put a Star Mark on a strange boy.
What surprised her was that Liam's ability had failed.
That white-haired killer boy clearly hadn't even mastered the basics of Nen. It should've been impossible for him to guard against Liam's Manipulation abilities.
Liam also looked thoughtful. "That's true. So, eliminating all the impossibilities, there's only one possibility left."
Shizuku said in surprise, "He's already been controlled by another Manipulator?"
Shizuku nodded slowly.
Beyond that explanation, Liam speculated on another, more likely possibility: Killua might have a Nen needle implanted in his forehead.
Killua's eldest brother, the firstborn son of the Zoldyck family, a Nen user of the Manipulation type, Illumi Zoldyck, had a Manipulation-based Hatsu involving needles.
The Manipulator must take control first. Only if Illumi's Manipulation Nen needle was already implanted in Killua's forehead could it be possible for Liam's Manipulation ability to fail to take effect.
"But assassins should be very perceptive," Shizuku said doubtfully. "You clearly wanted to control him. Didn't he sense the danger?"
Liam reached out and pinched her soft cheeks. "That just means I had no ill intent. Doesn't it?"
"Then why did you want to mark him..." Shizuku's words came out slightly garbled with her cheek pinched.
Liam let go. "How should I say this..."
Shizuku rubbed her cheek. Liam organized his thoughts. "I once had someone marked by me, and I instantly gained his language ability. I guessed at the time that this was because his native language had been internalized as instinct, so when I manipulated him, I also naturally mastered that instinct. So I thought, if I do the same thing to someone who's mastered assassination techniques to perfection, maybe I could also instantly learn many assassin skills."
"I don't really want to control him as a puppet," Liam said. "If I could successfully learn the assassination techniques, I'd remove the mark immediately." He paused. "Besides, he doesn't understand Nen himself. That shouldn't trigger his assassin instincts, right? It's not like he has his own radar..."
After all, this was Killua Zoldyck, not Killua from Detective Conan.
There were also gaps between radars.
Killua hadn't entered the realm of Nen yet. Even though he'd been well-trained as an assassin, his abilities had limits.
"Oh..." Shizuku suddenly understood. "Then I'll go catch him and bring him back. He didn't seem very strong. He should be easy to subdue. Then we can find a way to remove the existing Manipulation on him."
"Sit down, sit down!" Liam grabbed her. "I said I meant no harm."
Shizuku sat back down obediently and heard him mutter, "Besides, we can't beat the person behind Killua..."
That's the real point, isn't it?
Shizuku looked at him.
"What are you staring at?" Liam pinched her cheek again. It felt really good. He smiled. "Okay, the young assassin thing is just a side quest. Let's focus on our own business."
"Okay." Shizuku pulled out the photo of the Kurta Clan member with blond hair that had been accidentally captured. "Why does Liam want to find this person?"
"Everyone in the Kurta Clan was killed by the Phantom Troupe," Liam said. "This one is probably the only survivor. Isn't that tragic? Tell me, isn't that tragic?"
Liam smiled. "I'm guessing the Spider we left on Greed Island is dead. We've already formed a grudge with the Phantom Troupe. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. This Kurta Clan member must also hate the Phantom Troupe deeply. If so, then he's our natural ally."
Liam added, "Besides, our great Ten organization still only has two members. That's a bit awkward."
"This third member will be him!"
Snap. He pointed his finger at Kurapika's profile at the edge of the photo.
Walking out of the restaurant, Shizuku asked, "But how do we find him?"
"Well, I have my own plan," Liam said with a smile. "Let's go buy some supplies first."
On the way, Shizuku suddenly thought of something and said curiously, "If we want to recruit new organization members, that 'young master Zoldyck ' you mentioned seems like a good candidate."
Liam said flatly, "You said it yourself. He's a young master. How could he be easily persuaded to join us?"
Shizuku nodded. "Oh. Liam has his sights on the Kurta Clan member because he has no choice, so he's more likely to agree."
Liam rubbed both sides of her cheeks with his palms and laughed. "Shizuku, when you tell the truth like that, it makes people want to kiss you."
Shizuku blinked innocently.
Liam tried to control himself. Control. Control. Control again. Sorry, he couldn't control it. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Besides, even if I wanted to trick a Zoldyck into joining the organization, why recruit a brat? Instead of going for Killua, I might as well be bolder and go directly for his premium version. There's a ready-made complete product available. Why would we need the juvenile edition?"
"Who's the complete product?"
"His father."
"Oh. That one's more difficult, right?"
"Can't a guy dream?"
"So don't be in a hurry. Let's develop first! Recruit the Kurta Clan member first, then make plans."
Liam muttered all the way. Shizuku walked with him, nodding in response from time to time.
The two of them walked down the street, their hands unconsciously clasping each other's, and soon found a supermarket. They went in.