One of Pakunoda's Nen abilities allowed her to extract memories simply by touching a person's body.
When the Phantom Troupe snatched Ivan from the Xi-Yu Family, Pakunoda had already made contact with him.
Later, Chrollo personally interrogated Ivan—but that had been more because the Troupe leader hoped to steal Ivan's ability.
Unfortunately, although Ivan knew Nen, he hadn't yet developed his own Hatsu.
From Ivan's memories, Pakunoda had also learned something else.
Once the Xi-Yu Family realized Ivan didn't know where the file was, they had actually planned to strike a deal with him.
The negotiation concerned Ivan's investigation into the drug trade.
If the Troupe hadn't intervened and taken Ivan away, the Xi-Yu Family might have chosen to protect him.
Especially since Pakunoda had discovered from Ivan's memories that he and Hinrigh, the young leader of the Xi-Yu Family, already knew each other.
But even if the Xi-Yu Family wanted to protect Ivan, they would still need Lyman's cooperation.
And Lyman would never cooperate.
Pakunoda recalled what had happened that night.
Lyman had been in an unstable mental state.
She didn't know what he had gone through before arriving, but something about him had clearly changed.
He never gave the Troupe a chance to approach.
Nor did he give them time to extract information.
He spoke a few words, then suddenly used an Emission-type ability to kill his own unconscious son.
After that—
He detonated himself.
Later, the Troupe carefully examined Ivan's corpse.
They even inspected the scattered fragments of Lyman's body.
And yet—
Lyman had still managed to deceive them in the end.
"Can we contact the Xi-Yu Family?" Chrollo asked, glancing at Uvogin and Nobunaga.
"We can."
Uvogin suddenly tightened his grip.
The small Compsognathus in his hand exploded instantly.
However, everyone nearby had already stepped away before that happened.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
But not a single drop touched Uvogin.
The moment he crushed the dinosaur, his Nen erupted violently from his body.
The powerful aura blasted the blood away, splattering it across the ground like a grotesque painting.
"Oh, it was a cat," Uvogin laughed loudly.
But his laughter stopped abruptly.
Because Nobunaga's sword had already slashed down toward him.
"Idiot!"
"The Xi-Yu Family matter will be handled by Nobunaga and Uvogin."
Chrollo turned his gaze toward Bonolenov.
"We'll continue the pursuit."
Bonolenov was holding a rope.
At the end of the rope was a tracking hound.
In his other hand was a bloodstained shirt.
It was the very clothing Ivan had discarded into the trash after changing.
The hound sniffed the shirt again.
Then it began running downstairs.
But only Bonolenov followed.
And as he ran, strange sounds began to echo from his body.
By the time the hound emerged from the building, the man holding the leash had changed.
Now it was a young man in a police uniform.
An official badge hung from his chest.
The officers guarding the sealed area didn't stop him.
Some even greeted him.
It seemed many of them recognized him.
Meanwhile, Nobunaga and Uvogin had already stopped fighting each other.
They leapt from the opposite side of the building and vanished into the night.
Soon, only Chrollo, standing at the rooftop's edge with his hands in his pockets, and Pakunoda, standing quietly behind him with a phone in hand, remained.
Pakunoda never took her eyes off Chrollo.
She seemed completely uninterested in what was happening below.
Ivan stepped into the Judicial Bureau.
The night-shift security guard inside the booth smiled and nodded at him.
At night, the Judicial Bureau had lost the hectic atmosphere it carried during the day.
Still, even though it was nearly midnight, many offices were still lit.
On the third floor, near his own office, Ivan saw Caesar, who hadn't left yet.
"You're back."
Caesar looked at Ivan's sportswear and frowned slightly.
"What happened?"
"It's complicated," Ivan said. "I'll have to head out again soon. I'll explain after everything's settled."
He had no intention of dragging Caesar into this situation.
Although Ivan and Caesar had first met at the Judicial Bureau, they had quickly become close friends.
Over multiple missions, they had covered each other and fought side by side.
They were practically brothers-in-arms.
Caesar understood immediately just by looking at Ivan's expression.
After a moment of hesitation, he nodded.
"Alright. I'll wait."
He returned to his desk.
A large stack of documents still needed to be processed.
At this rate, it would be at least another hour before he could leave.
Satisfied, Ivan pushed open the door to his office.
After turning on the light, he opened his desk drawer and pulled out a notebook.
There was also a backup phone prepared inside the drawer.
After thinking for a moment, he decided not to leave.
Instead, he dialed the number directly from his office.
Wilge hadn't gone to sleep yet.
When he received Ivan's call, he told him to wait.
A few minutes later, the phone rang again.
"Tomorrow morning. Eight o'clock. West Gate of the Royal Palace."
"I'll pick you up there."
Wilge gave the time and place, then hung up.
Ivan exhaled quietly.
At least now things were moving in the right direction.
All he needed to do was survive the next few hours.
Then he could enter the palace and meet Sevanci.
With her backing him, the Judicial Bureau wouldn't suddenly betray him in the short term.
He might even be able to use the Bureau's resources to gain an advantage against the Phantom Troupe.
Ivan opened his notebook again.
There was another phone number written there.
One he hadn't called in a long time.
He didn't know if the owner still used the same number.
But right now—
Contacting that person was probably his best option.
Just as he was about to dial—
The small dinosaurs scattered outside the Judicial Bureau suddenly sent a warning.
They were being attacked.
Because of the limited precision of his ability, Ivan couldn't determine exactly what they had encountered.
But judging from the speed and number of dinosaurs dying, he could roughly guess who it was.
After the first warning, the nearby dinosaurs had rushed toward the disturbance.
And they were being wiped out at an astonishing rate.
The dinosaur incidents at the suburban warehouse and Yalan Street had already given Ivan a clear understanding of how strong the dinosaurs were.
He also had a sense of how quickly the mafias and police could deal with them.
Neither side was capable of eliminating them this fast.
There was only one explanation.
The Phantom Troupe had discovered that he was still alive.
And they had found a way to track him.
It probably wouldn't take long before they reached the Judicial Bureau.
Ivan sprang to his feet.
He grabbed the backup phone and a car key, dialing the number as he rushed downstairs.
Caesar noticed Ivan leaving.
He simply adjusted his glasses.
Then continued working, as if nothing had happened.
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