On the street, Illumi stood beyond the crowd.
He was watching a little boy in the center of the applauding citizens, who was manipulating a puppet for a performance.
That boy was clearly a professional puppeteer.
Small, exquisitely crafted clown-like puppets were brought to life under the boy's control, displaying various skills reminiscent of a variety show act.
"Mm… So that's how it is."
Illumi rubbed his chin, observed for a moment, and spoke tonelessly.
No obvious motion was seen from him, just the sound of several faint impacts.
Instantly, the people around him—still wearing expressions of delight—froze.
Then they all collapsed.
The originally cheerful atmosphere came to a screeching halt.
Some onlookers farther away, upon seeing this, screamed in fright and scurried off in a panic.
Illumi, meanwhile, stepped over the fallen bodies toward the boy, who looked on in horror.
He slowly made his way over and approached him directly.
"Where's your brother?"
Without any preamble or introduction, Illumi asked bluntly.
That young boy was actually a girl in disguise—Retz.
However, Illumi instantly recognized she wasn't fully 'alive' but rather a puppet that possessed a "soul" and some measure of self-awareness.
"Through those eyes, I assume you can see me, right?"
Illumi's deadened pupils stared at the girl's eyes, speaking flatly.
He wasn't talking to Retz but rather to Omokage, hiding somewhere behind Retz's vision.
"Someone wants to meet you. I'll give you one hour to show up… otherwise, I'll destroy this doll of yours."
Illumi raised a finger, seemingly talking to Retz but in fact very aware that, through her eyes, the hidden Omokage could observe all that was happening here.
After speaking, Illumi suddenly moved behind Retz and, with a light chop, knocked the girl unconscious.
"Quite a special ability she's got…"
Holding the limp Retz, Illumi lifted her by the chin for a look and commented.
Then, he vanished without a trace.
Half an hour later, in a certain city cemetery…
Illumi placed the unconscious Retz off to one side and stood there blankly, gazing at the sky.
He suddenly turned to look toward the greenery at the edge of the graveyard.
Following his line of sight, a figure emerged from the woods.
The newcomer was none other than the Phantom Troupe's former No.4: Omokage.
He had long silver-gray hair draped over his shoulders and wore an outfit resembling a priest's robe. His skin was pale, and he bore piercings on his lips and eyebrows.
As soon as Omokage appeared, he directly spoke Illumi's identity.
Illumi tilted his head slightly. "That makes this easier. Someone hired me to find you—they want a meeting."
Illumi indeed had some contact with the Phantom Troupe in the past, but mainly just with Hisoka and Chrollo.
As for the other members, he wasn't too familiar.
Omokage's expression was somewhat manic. Even facing a Zoldyck family assassin, he showed no hint of fear.
He had come not to rescue Retz but rather because, for him, Illumi Zoldyck was a prized "collectible."
If he could use his necromantic puppet technique to claim Illumi's eyes—i.e., a piece of Illumi's soul—that would be fantastic!
The Zoldyck family and the Troupe did have a minor history.
Years ago, Silva Zoldyck personally killed one Troupe member—originally the No.8 seat, later replaced by Kalluto.
Now Illumi's words sparked Omokage's interest.
He guessed, "Could it be the Troupe?"
Omokage closed his eyes, his tone mocking.
He still sported the No.4 spider tattoo on his palm.
He believed he had "lost on purpose" to Hisoka. The Troupe had been thoroughly played by him.
His reason for joining them was to collect the original members as puppets. So when he fought Hisoka, he'd already achieved his goal; no need to remain.
As for the Troupe's leader, Chrollo, Omokage still respected his strength and style. Perhaps Chrollo had realized some of his schemes.
But as a one time Troupe member, Omokage knew if the Troupe wanted to find him, they wouldn't outsource the job to outsiders. They'd do it themselves.
"It's not the Troupe… someone else."
Illumi, apparently aware of some details about Omokage, responded calmly.
"Then I'm not interested… On the contrary, would you mind giving me your eyes?"
At those words, he activated his Nen.
Several dark shadows darted from the woods, morphing into streaks of black that landed around Illumi, encircling him from multiple angles.
Exactly seven of them.
They took the forms of the Troupe's first seven members: Chrollo, Franklin, Pakunoda, Machi, Uvogin, Feitan, and Nobunaga.
The illusions looked nearly identical to the real people, right down to their aura.
But there were hollow sockets in place of eyes, with no eyeballs present.
Illumi raised some needle-like hair-thin rods between his fingers, unleashing his Nen.
"I see, no choice then… As expected, anything Troupe-related is troublesome."
"Still, the price offered wasn't bad."
As he spoke, Illumi's figure lunged forward, dashing directly at Omokage.
A few hours later, in a hotel—
Xiang Nan, reading a book, received a text message on his phone.
After glancing at it, he immediately rose and left with Manman.
They headed to the address mentioned in the text.
Illumi had found the target. Next step—Xiang Nan would talk to Omokage.
The two grabbed a taxi to the cemetery.
Arriving near sunset, Xiang Nan followed the paths into the depths of the graveyard, finding the location.
They saw a chaotic battleground. Many headstones were shattered around the site; bloodstains littered the ground. By all appearances, the battle had been intense.
After all, capturing and restraining a target is far harder than simply killing them—especially a former Troupe member like Omokage.
Which again confirmed Illumi's strength was superior. He alone took this job, no need to involve any other family members, meaning he was totally confident after evaluating the job's demands.
The Zoldyck clan, indeed worthy of its assassin's name.
Nearby, a puppet under Illumi's control spoke, greeting them.
"He's still unconscious. Want me to wake him up?"
"You didn't do anything lethal to him or cause unhealable injuries, right? Although I said 'grab him alive by any means,' that doesn't mean him just barely breathing. If he's missing limbs, that'd be a big hassle."
Xiang Nan approached, scanning the area.
"How could I? I acted fully in accordance with your directions."
"You haven't stuck any of your gross needles in his head, wanting to eavesdrop on our conversation?"
"Of course not… I follow professional ethics," Illumi said.
But at that moment, he glanced at Omokage's unconscious body, silently pulling out a hidden needle from the man's skull.
He almost forgot that, as a "Nameless Town" (player) person, Xiang Nan seemed well aware of Illumi's style.
No sneaky little moves would slip past him.
"Relax. This time, the talk's not behind your back. In fact, if negotiations fail, I'll need you to kill him anyway," Xiang Nan chuckled. "By the way… are you hurt?"
"Just a minor wound."
Illumi didn't deny it. The most update n0vels are published on novelFɪre.net
For the Zoldycks, as long as they weren't dead, it was all "minor."
"All right… but if I want you to kill him, that's an extra charge, yes?"
"I know," Xiang Nan answered calmly.
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