Chapter 44: The Spider Extermination Campaign (Part One)

September 3rd, 9:20 PM, forty minutes before the mafia auction at the Cemetery Building.

Every checkpoint entrance near the Cemetery Building was heavily guarded. Police and mafia collaborated, perfectly embodying the spirit of this sinful city.

"Hmm?"

The Zone C mafia members were chatting casually while holding their guns on guard duty when they suddenly noticed a group of strange figures emerging from the dark shadows of the distant park trees.

"Hey, what are you people? Unauthorized entry is prohibited here!"

"You have three seconds to vanish immediately!"

Several nearby mafia members immediately raised their pistols and submachine guns, aiming at the seven uninvited guests. The rest of the mafia remained completely unconcerned; these people were unarmed and completely defenseless. Could mere flesh and blood possibly withstand bullets?

However, one of the mafia members looked puzzled and spoke up, "Wait a minute, I remember that short guy was in the photograph..."

The next instant, the heads and bodies of all the gun-wielding mafia members parted ways.

"Bastards, you..." Several other mafia members stood up instantly, but just as they touched their weapons, their necks were twisted five or six times amidst a continuous series of bone-snapping sounds.

Feitan and Phinks appeared at the other end. Their combat power was as distant and unreachable to ordinary people as an abyss.

Only one mafia member who hadn't managed to grab his weapon was left at the scene. Kneeling on one knee, just as he was about to start cursing, a large hand ruthlessly grabbed his face and hoisted him up. Phinks pulled him away from the spot with a cold expression, "Speak when you're told to, otherwise I'll crush your skull."

Pakunoda stepped forward and placed her hand on the mafia member's shoulder, "Young man, do you know where the Nostrade Family is?"

"What Nostrade Family! I don't know!" The mafia member whose face was being gripped remained quite stubborn, shouting and struggling loudly. Then, his head was directly crushed by Phinks, much like a rotten orange smashed by a giant boulder.

Pakunoda brushed the blood stains off her sleeve, "The mafia bosses and their bodyguards are gathered on the fourth floor for the auction. Light Nostrade, the head of the Nostrade Family, stayed behind on the top floor—the ninth floor—with all his bodyguards to take care of his comatose daughter. Boss, the prophecy poem mentioned avoiding excessive slaughter; should we sneak in quietly?"

Chrollo had combed his hair back into a slicked-back style once more, his tone cold and desolate, "No need for covert operations. Go in openly. If bystanders don't block the way, spare them, but if anyone dares to obstruct us, kill them!"

"Understood!"

............

Smoke and fire permeated almost every floor. A large number of armed mafia members met bizarre deaths. Some had their necks snapped, others were hung by invisible threads like puppets with dislocated joints, and some had sharp playing cards deeply embedded in their vital points.

The number of corpses decreased as they ascended higher floors, clearly showing that the mafia had been terrified out of their wits by this group of crazy thieves. By the sixth floor, not a single person was in sight; the entire floor was completely empty, and the seventh and eighth floors were no different.

Until they reached the VIP rooms belonging to the Nostrade Family on the ninth and top floor.

Creak—

The door was pushed open, and Chrollo led his troupe members into the room.

There were no mafia members or bodyguards as imagined; the room was completely empty, save for Pakunoda's—correction, Shalnark's—corpse hanging upside down from the ceiling. A sticky note was pinned to the horrifying corpse with a dagger:

[We await your esteemed presence on the rooftop.]

Phinks's knuckles cracked loudly, turning white, and he laughed out of extreme anger, "Heh... I'll crush their bones one piece at a time!"

Feitan wore a gloomy, sinister smile, slowly twisting the customized umbrella in his hand.

"The commotion is huge. When the enemy realizes our raid, they won't be able to escape this building because we've cleared every single channel floor by floor, unless they jump from the roof."

Chrollo looked up at the ceiling, as if piercing through the concrete and steel to see the avengers waiting on the rooftop:

"Let's go. Let's go meet these three audacious fellows."

The night wind gradually picked up. The Troupe members stood on the wide, open rooftop of the Cemetery Building, looking at the two figures standing far in the distance.

One had half-long blonde hair, a neutral appearance, and chains wrapped around all five fingers of his right hand.

The other had a slender and well-proportioned figure, with casually flowing, matte, slightly curly black hair. His bespoke black suit was clearly of extraordinary value, and his peerlessly handsome face wore a faint smile.

The Chain User and the Soul-Slaying Blade!

The Troupe members were all itching for a fight, but without the Boss's command, none of them acted rashly.

"Before we start fighting, I have a question I'd like to ask."

Chrollo's black coat fluttered wildly in the night wind:

"Someone among you is a survivor of the Kurta Clan, right? I already understand your reasons for seeking revenge against the Troupe. What I want to know is, what did Uvogin and Shalnark say before they died?"

Thinking of the tragic states of Uvogin and Shalnark's corpses, the Troupe members' anger flared up.

Hesser dug into his ear, "Are you talking about that big idiot and the doll-faced guy? They knelt and begged for mercy, crying so miserably. I even recorded it on tape. Want to watch? Free of charge."

"......Kill him! Boss, give the order, let me kill him!" Nobunaga's eyes were bloodshot, his hand gripping the hilt of his waist sword trembling slightly.

Chrollo's expression remained calm, "Is it really wise to just give up the pre-battle conversation phase like this?"

"Strange, is there anything worth chatting about with a bunch of scumbags like you who commit all kinds of evil and make people sick?"

The cold night wind grew increasingly violent, and Hesser let out a laugh devoid of warmth:

"Are you planning to stand over there shivering with tear-filled eyes and shouting back and forth with me on the rooftop all night? If you're going to fight, hurry up. I still want to go to sleep."

"Very well, the last question."

Chrollo looked around, "Where is your third companion?"

Upon stepping onto the rooftop, Chrollo had already activated his [En], but he hadn't found anyone else lying in ambush nearby.

To his surprise, the black-haired young man on the opposite side smiled with a wicked charm:

"The third companion? Isn't he right beside you?"

What?

Chrollo was startled, and immediately sensed an astonishing killing intent coming from behind him!

Amidst everyone's astonished gazes, Hisoka wielded playing cards and mercilessly slashed open the neck of Nobunaga, who was standing closest to him.

Nobunaga's face went blank, his neck almost entirely severed with only a sliver connecting it, as blood gushed forth!

Hisoka was a traitor!?

The people present reacted differently. Machi, Pakunoda, and Phinks rushed forward to support Nobunaga as he clutched his neck and fell downward, while Feitan and Chrollo burst into explosive movement with their feet, simultaneously charging toward Hisoka, who was retreating from his original spot.

Feitan drew a sharp slender sword from his customized umbrella and thrust it at Hisoka's waist and abdomen from a tricky angle. Just as Chrollo was preparing to attack Hisoka from the other side, he suddenly spun around.

Hesser and Kurapika's attacks had also arrived.

Kurapika fiercely swung his middle finger's Dowsing Chain, lashing it toward Chrollo. The slender chain cut a violent whistling arc through the air, but Chrollo nimbly sidestepped it with agile movements.

Golden flames condensed into shape in Hesser's hand. A brilliant, radiant golden cross sword slashed down fiercely from above, resembling a sudden thunderbolt.

Meanwhile, Chrollo quietly slipped out a half-long, peculiarly shaped dagger, clanging against the blade of the cross sword with a burst of intense sparks.

The melee had begun!