Snap.
Claudius's fingers trembled as he held the lighter.
He lowered his head to light the cigar, took a deep breath, then opened the blinds. Through the gap, he watched children playing on the grass outside.
Ever since he'd sent the treasure map to the address Bratt had given him, his body seemed to have triggered some kind of switch. An urgent impulse to commit suicide became stronger and stronger until it became gradually uncontrollable.
The only reason he was still alive: He was lucky. He'd never met people like the Phantom Troupe before.
Claudius crushed his cigar and remembered what Bratt had said at the time.
This world is so unfair.
Claudius straightened his suit, sat down on his boss's chair—made of some kind of rare bird skin—opened the drawer on one side, and took out a dagger.
They were all human beings. But even the rights to life and death were so unequal.
The cold blade slit his own throat without hesitation. When the blood spurted out, he seemed to hear the sound of wind passing under his jaw.
Before his vision became blurred, his body moved involuntarily. He took the dagger—stained with blood and slippery—and stabbed a small rose-gold pentagram pattern that had appeared on his palm at some unknown time...
Claudius's cold body lay on the table.
Suddenly, his hair was pulled by a female hand. His head was turned over, revealing a hideous wound on his neck. In the process, one side of his face was almost torn off by the black blood that had coagulated and solidified.
Bambie chewed gum and nodded, giving Omokage a look.
Omokage put the phone to his ear, said "oh" twice, then went over to look at Claudius's two palms.
"There's a scratch. Look at the wound—it was the tip of the dagger that penetrated. The wound isn't deep."
After he finished talking to the phone, he quickly grunted twice and hung up the call.
"How's it going?" Bambie asked.
"You saw it yourself. Just as I guessed—this person also died in a similar way. Suicide. Haha."
As Omokage spoke, his body became shorter. His facial features changed. His hair became shorter. He transformed into a handsome boy with a baby face—none other than Shalnark, Number 6 of the Phantom Troupe.
He used the same voice as Shalnark and spoke in Shalnark's tone. "Similar movements. The same Shadow Beast actively seeking death. Two Dons who were ordinary people suddenly having Nen and skillfully using Ten... If all these factors can be connected in series, then I'd guess there was an unknown Manipulator hidden in that battle—or maybe outside."
Tossing the mobile phone, Omokage raised his thumb and launched a dart-like antenna, pointing at Claudius, who was in a similar death state to Bratt.
"Judging from the activities of the controlled person, this person's Manipulation ability has a higher degree of freedom than my Nen ability. Correspondingly, I guess his control over the person is weaker than mine. That's why he must let everyone he controls die. Either be killed or die themselves. And it can't be sudden death—it must be a death that's fatal but not immediately fatal..."
BANG. Bambie blew a gum bubble, thought for a moment. "Yes. One of the two Shadow Beasts we fought died this way."
"I guess the reason for this is to deal with something he left on the person being controlled." Omokage twirled the phone's antenna like a pen. "Seems it's different from me. The medium he used to realize his Manipulation ability isn't a real item or prop, but more like something built by Nen. So it can be so concealed when cleaned up. It's great. I have to pull out the antenna from the enemy every time to recover it..."
Bambie chewed her gum and stared at him.
Omokage asked strangely, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Who are you?" Bambie asked.
"What—of course I'm Omokage!"
"Could the side effect of your ability be that it causes split personality? Or is it called self-cognition disorder?" Bambie said to herself. "When you go crazy or die in the future, I'll recommend to the boss someone more pleasing to the eye to join the group."
"Stupid woman!" Omokage sneered. His body shape changed into Bambie's, but there was no chewing gum in his mouth. "You have no friends at all."
Bambie didn't refute. She asked, "What do we do next? We should be able to rest for a while."
Omokage didn't bother her. He asked, "How's the situation outside?"
"Can't you see for yourself?"
"Although I look like you now, we're two people after all. Can you understand?"
When Bambie's eyes became cold and her aura became dangerous, Omokage changed back to his true self. Bambie said, "Don't worry. No one will come near here for a while."
"Then hide him for a while." Omokage kicked Claudius's body and said with a grin, "In case the interesting wedding won't be held. I have an intuition that mysterious Manipulator—we'll meet again."
"Is it your intuition or Shalnark's intuition?"
"Even the boss has been searching for clues about True Martial King's treasure for so long. The other party definitely won't give up easily." Omokage looked out the window. "Perhaps that guy is already on his way to the wedding venue..."
In the speeding black limousine, Liam couldn't help coughing twice.
Shizuku looked over.
"It's fine." Liam clapped his hands—actually touched the ring with his fingers—and sent a message: [There was a signal from Claudius's Star Mark before. Didn't I switch control mode and possess him to take a look? Unexpectedly, it happened just in time for him to commit suicide. I— The feeling of having my throat cut. Even thinking about it now, I feel itchy in my neck and throat...]
Shizuku looked at him and blinked curious eyes. [Is it painful to cut one's throat?]
[Are you really curious, or are you just pretending to be curious so you can cut yourself later to feel the same way as me?] Liam clenched his fist and lightly touched her forehead. [No matter who it is, I advise you to stop.]
Shizuku didn't hide. She tilted her head and asked, [What kind of advice does Liam have?]
[I told you to stop.] Liam stretched out two fingers and pushed Shizuku's forehead, causing her to fall down on the seat.
Seeing John Smith and the little girl flirting with each other in the rearview mirror, Marko couldn't help but feel speechless. However, the sour smell of youthful love relieved a lot of the pressure caused by the recent gang changes.
Sitting next to him in the driver's back seat, Melody was listening to the heartbeats of Liam and Shizuku. When the limousine arrived at its destination and stopped in front of the garden, she got out of the car with Marko and looked at John Smith and Shizuku's backs—she felt strange. Judging from the synchronous changes in these two people's heartbeats, it was as if they had telepathy when sitting in the back seat.
Could this be the so-called tacit understanding between lovers?
Can you communicate just by looking at yourself?
While Melody was wondering, the car following behind stopped. The door opened. Kurapika and two other bodyguards walked out.
The female bodyguard led the other, carrying the gift box, and followed Marko closely—entering the garden and heading to the wedding venue.
Melody and Liam followed closely behind.
The other three bodyguards dispersed and followed at the very back.
Kurapika looked at Liam.
The female bodyguard at the front handed the gift box to the welcoming lady at the reception desk together with other guests. As a young celebrity and rich man, Marko had been recognized by others long ago. He went over to chat and laugh, starting to socialize.
Liam nodded, indicating OK. Inside the gift box given by the female bodyguard was naturally the pair of Scarlet Eyes he and Kurapika had exchanged.
There was Liam's Star Mark on this pair of Scarlet Eyes.
At this wedding site—even within a radius of several kilometers or more than ten kilometers—Liam was sure he could track the whereabouts of these eyes at any time.
He glanced at the gift boxes piled there, and between the gardens at the men, women, and children who had gathered at the outdoor wedding party.
Should be okay if you don't give a gift, right?
Liam thought for a moment. He couldn't do a loss-making business!
Kurapika was still showing invitations to people. Liam had already taken Shizuku's hand and walked happily and openly into the crowd on the garden grass.
But after walking a few steps, he was recognized.
"You are..." A bald young man wearing a suit and tie emerged from the crowd, holding a glass of champagne and hesitantly walking toward Liam and the other two.
When Shizuku looked at the other party, Liam was sure she was ready to take action at any time.
"I am..." Liam said to the bald man.
The bald young man thought for a long time and suddenly said, "Yes! The Floor Master! You're the newest Floor Master at Heavens Arena. Your name is John Smith, right?"
"Oh! Yeah…. I'm a Floor Master!" Liam smiled. He'd almost forgotten about it. "Yes, John Smith is me."
"Sorry, I'm so excited. I love fighting. I went to watch your competition live. I'm your fan!" The voice of the bald young man caused many people around to stop. Many of them were also interested in John Smith and Floor Masters. Some people had heard these words. Some people even recognized Shizuku. "Then you're the rumored girlfriend of John Smith. Is she called Push Hand or something..."
He didn't expect to meet people here who recognized his identity at Heavens Arena. Was it because there were too many gang members gathered here?
Liam and the others were surrounded by a group of people talking. There was even a bratty kid in a small suit who wanted to kowtow and become a disciple on the spot—wanted to learn how to defeat his father, the gang boss... Kurapika, not far behind the crowd, had dead fish eyes.
There weren't many people he knew at the wedding. He didn't even know or care about who was getting married. Naturally a bit boring.
Liam and Shizuku quickly left, picked some food from the dining cart that was pushed back and forth, and went to a corner to chat and relieve their boredom. Considering they had to deal with things later, they didn't get wine but picked up two glasses of unknown drinks.
Kurapika stood not far away from them. His indifferent yet serious expression perfectly blended into the many black-clad bodyguards on the edge of the scene... In the Hunter world, there were many young but highly capable people. So even though Kurapika looked young, no one took it seriously.
What's more, Kurapika had indeed served as a bodyguard.
Liam and Shizuku were chatting and laughing when suddenly a surprised voice came from the side. "John Smith?"
Liam turned around. "Looks familiar... I'm sorry, who are you?"
Essi was also wearing a decent dress. Hearing this, he couldn't laugh or cry. "It's me! Essi. Essi Rick."
Liam and Shizuku both looked confused.
"Shizuku, don't you remember me?" Essi was puzzled and gave a hint. "Professional Hunter?"
Liam tilted his head, his little head dripping with questions.
"The Kamavor Mountains?"
"Black Mist Lion? Temple?"
Essi gave out prompts one after another, but the two people opposite him were still... Liam couldn't hold himself any longer. He patted the other person and said with a smile, "Haha, I'm kidding you. Of course we remember our adventure together!"
When he turned his head, Shizuku was looking at him strangely.
"Of course I remember you!" Liam turned around and said to Essi. "Why are you here too?"
Essi gently tugged on his tie and said with a smile, "Why am I here? I'm an Oath Hunter, but my job... is to be a wedding officiant. This is my business card."
Liam took the business card. "Because you're an Oath Hunter, you became a wedding officiant. Feels so forced..."
"Wrong." Essi corrected with a smile. "First the officiant, then the Oath Hunter. I like to witness the moment when someone makes an oath the most. That's why I chose to be an Oath Hunter after I became a Hunter! I won't say more. Wait for me over there. The wedding is about to officially begin."
He appeared suddenly and quickly escaped. Liam waved his hand and watched him go to the deepest part of the garden.
Not long after, the band that had been playing various songs switched to a solemn wedding march. Under the gaze of everyone, a newlywed couple walked slowly...
Speaking of which, Claudius is dead... Oh, right. It seems the young bosses of these gangs in the Hunter world may not be the sons of the old bosses?
Liam felt the position of the pair of Scarlet Eyes was moving. He patted Shizuku's hand and nodded to Kurapika, who was not far away.
Melody was immersed in the melody of the wedding march, applauding the newlyweds walking toward the wedding emcee together with Marko. Suddenly she heard three heartbeats she was particularly concerned about quietly disappearing... Melody turned around, but the crowd was still there. John Smith and the other two people could no longer be seen.
"Oh! Went pretty well."
The bustle of the wedding scene faded away behind them. Liam and the other two quietly and quickly followed the movement of the pair of Scarlet Eyes. With the alertness and speed of the three of them, they could travel through this unknown manor without being noticed by anyone.
"Even in such terrain, a one-thousand-meter sprint should be controlled within twenty seconds."
Walking on the grass in front of a single-family villa, Liam looked into the distance. "If the condition is good, it can be shorter!"
Kurapika asked, "Why do you care so much about your one-kilometer running time?"
"You know nothing, Kurapika snow." Liam pointed at him, smiled, and walked to the villa with Shizuku. "Keep watch outside. We'll be back soon." He shook the palm with the ring on it to indicate that if needed, please use this to contact directly.
Kurapika turned into a dead fish with speechless eyes. He loosened his tie and remembered the two lines of divine characters on his arm hadn't been eliminated yet. With the "Cone" effect, it would indeed be easier to keep watch.
Liam followed his sense of the Star Mark on the Scarlet Eyes and found a room in the villa.
There were bodyguards at the door.