Chapter 34: The Spider Takes Action

Page (1/3)

September 2, 4:22 a.m., an apartment somewhere on the western side of Yorknew City.

A bloated, middle-aged man lay sprawled in the somewhat filthy, disorderly living room. His neck was twisted at an unnatural angle, and his body had already gone cold.

The refrigerator door stood wide open, canned beer scattered across the floor, many of the cans already empty.

The bedroom was brightly lit. Shalnark, a blond young man in a suit, sat before the computer, his fingers clattering across the keyboard. Beside him stood Uvogin, guzzling beer while watching Shalnark operate the machine with an expression of complete incomprehension.

During his earlier battle with the Shadow Beasts, Uvogin had been infected through the wound on his shoulder by leeches. Within twenty-four hours, the leeches would crawl into his kidneys, lay countless eggs, and die. Once the eggs hatched, they would be expelled with his urine, and most people would die from the unbearable pain at that stage. However, hatching required a stable concentration of ammonia. If there was not enough ammonia in the urine, the eggs would fail to hatch and be expelled painlessly instead.

That was why Uvogin had to drink vast quantities of beer and keep urinating until the black urine was completely gone and white urine appeared. Once that happened, he would be safe.

Of course, they could have bought beer from a twenty-four-hour convenience store. But most members of the Phantom Troupe were warped, abnormal people who believed that only “theft” and “plunder” suited their identities.

The owner of this apartment was simply an unfortunate man they had chosen at random. Even though he had immediately fallen to his knees, begging for his life and telling them they could take anything they wanted from the apartment, Shalnark and Uvogin had still killed him without hesitation.

“I found it. The house where you were held belongs to Polio Products, a shell company under the Nosla family. Apart from that house, they own two other properties, while the Nosla family members are staying at three different hotels. Here, everything’s listed.”

Shalnark pointed at the information displayed on the screen, then copied it into a notebook and handed it to Uvogin.

Uvogin excitedly ruffled Shalnark’s golden hair into a complete mess. “Thanks! I owe you one!”

“Don’t mess up my hair! I don’t want a favor—convert it directly into cash!”

Shalnark shoved Uvogin away and irritably combed his blond hair back into place. “All right, I’ll deal with the body. Go take care of your business.”

Uvogin nodded. He grabbed a large sack of canned beer and was just about to leap out the window when a telephone suddenly rang.

Shalnark pulled out his distinctive customized phone and glanced at the screen. “Huh? The boss? He probably has something to say. Uvogin, listen before you leave.”

Beep—

“Boss, what is it?”

“Is Uvogin beside you?” Chrollo’s magnetic voice came through the phone.

“Yeah. He got ambushed by a Nen user working for a gang—the one with the chains—and wants to go get revenge.” Ignoring Uvogin’s frantic waving, Shalnark honestly reported everything. He trusted that the boss’s wisdom would lead him to the right decision.

“Don’t let him act alone. From this moment onward, work in pairs of at least two until I give further instructions.”

“Understood. Boss… what happened?”

Shalnark was puzzled. The boss knew perfectly well how powerful Uvogin was in single combat, yet he was still insisting that Shalnark accompany him. Something must have happened.

“The gang has hired the Zoldycks. If you act alone, you may be targeted.”

Page (1/3)

“ The Zoldycks… Understood, boss. I’ll act together with Uvogin.”

“Good.”

Beep—

“You heard that too, didn’t you, Uvogin?”

Shalnark waved the phone in his hand as he spoke to Uvogin, who was standing by the window. “The Zoldycks killed Rolo, the former Number Eight, three years ago. Even the boss couldn’t stop them, and afterward Shizuku took his place as the new Number Eight. I don’t need to explain how formidable that assassin family is, do I?”

“Rolo… He was a really obnoxious guy. Shizuku’s much better.”

Uvogin’s attention was focused on something else entirely. With a click, he opened another can of beer and gulped it down before wiping his mouth.

“Got it. We’ll go together, but I still need to kill that chain user first. Is that all right?”

Shalnark grinned and made an OK sign. “Of course. I can help you look for him. We’ll find him faster that way.”

Meanwhile, in an abandoned complex on the southern outskirts of Yorknew City, candles of various sizes burned throughout a deserted hall. Their dim light flickered in the darkness, filling the place with an air of mystery and ritual.

A handsome man in a black coat sat atop a “hill” made from layer upon layer of discarded tables and chairs. His black hair had been combed back with meticulous precision, and a purple cross tattoo marked his forehead. He toyed idly with the black phone in his hand.

He was Chrollo Lucilfer, founder and leader of the Phantom Troupe—the Spider’s “head.”

Chrollo turned toward Hisoka, who sat nearby, and asked calmly, “Hisoka, is your source reliable?”

“I went out to meet a friend earlier. He has an informant among the Ten Dons, so the information is quite reliable.”

Playing cards danced between Hisoka’s fingers as he spoke in a strange tone. “…I am a member of the Troupe, after all. You should have a little more faith in me.”

Precisely because it was you, the others thought, that faith ought to be discounted.

Phinks, the hairless man wearing a golden pharaoh’s headdress, said impatiently, “Even if it’s true, so what? Rolo was captured three years ago because he acted alone, and his ability wasn’t particularly suited for combat. If the Zoldycks dare come again, we’ll simply join forces and kill them!”

“I’ll strip his skin off one piece at a time…” said the short Feitan darkly.

The tall man wrapped from head to toe in bandages, Nobunaga, tilted his head. “Speaking of which, what’s the story with that big-eyed fellow you brought back?”

“I know! His ability is extremely rare, so we captured him to see whether the boss might be interested.” Shizuku, a beautiful woman with a voluptuous figure, raised her hand as she spoke.

Franklin, whose appearance resembled that of Frankenstein’s monster, affectionately patted Shizuku’s hair.

Nobunaga looked at Chrollo with a grin. “Boss, is that fellow’s ability useful?”

Chrollo nodded. “It is an exceptionally valuable and useful ability.”

Page (2/3)

Machi looked toward Owl, a member of the Shadow Beasts who was tied to a chair and covered in blood. His head drooped weakly beneath a cloth sack stained with the same dark red marks. No trace of Nen emanated from his body anymore. Clearly, Chrollo had already stolen his ability.

Owl’s ability was a conjured Nen technique called Big Pack Cloth. Once he spread out the red cloth he conjured, he could wrap objects in it and shrink them rapidly. Even enormous things such as trucks, or living beings such as humans, could be captured. Once trapped, no matter how powerful they were, they could no longer use their abilities. It was an extremely potent Nen ability for capturing people alive or transporting supplies.

Now, that ability belonged to the boss. The only thing they had to be careful of was not killing Owl, or the ability would disappear from the boss’s list.

Chrollo looked at Phinks. “What do we know about the chain user?”

“He’s an enforcer for some gang. Uvogin said the guy had chains wrapped around his hands, so he’s probably a Conjurer or a Manipulator.”

Phinks scratched his head. “Uvogin was paralyzed and unable to move at the time, and then the leeches got inside him. That was the only reason the other guy managed to seize the opportunity. In a direct one-on-one fight, Uvogin could definitely crush every bone in his body, one by one.”

Chrollo pondered for a moment before asking, “Didn’t you ask about his exact appearance?”

Nobunaga shook his head. “No. He’s just some low-level gang enforcer. Let Uvogin vent his anger, boss. Otherwise, he’ll come back brooding and start shouting again.”

Pakunoda, the blond woman with a devilishly alluring figure, spoke up. “With Shalnark and Uvogin together, the Troupe’s brains and brawn will make a perfect combination. There should be nothing to worry about.”

As everyone continued arguing noisily, Chrollo fell into deep thought.

Suddenly, he took out his phone and sent Illumi a text message.

Have you found any news about the Nen-cleaving blade?

As expected, there was no reply.

It was common knowledge that assassins either left their phones behind or switched them to silent mode while carrying out a mission. There was nothing unusual about receiving no response. Even so, Chrollo could not help feeling uneasy—or rather, it was his intuition.

The chain user… the Nen-cleaving blade…

Two people who had no connection whatsoever. Why did he keep associating them with each other?

“Everyone, be quiet.”

At his words, the others immediately fell silent and looked toward Chrollo.

Chrollo rose to his feet, his expression growing slightly stern.

“We’re changing the plan.”

Page (3/3)