"Yes, it really has nothing to do with your Kurta clan," Hooker said. "But then, who does it have to do with? Who exactly turned Meteor City into that kind of place? It wasn't any single person—it was all the people from outside. The Underworld Mafia, the V5, all kinds of small countries… As long as some of the trash you all produced was sent to Meteor City, then how can you say it has nothing to do with you?
Your Kurta clan is innocent, but so is Meteor City. When I first arrived in Meteor City, I saw many tragic situations. On the surface, the actions of the Phantom Troupe didn't seem to help Meteor City much, but I could feel that the situation there was gradually improving. I could sense that the Phantom Troupe weren't merely criminals. They were Heroes!
That's why I joined the Phantom Troupe."
Kurapika let out a cold snort. "Not merely criminals? Heroes?! How nice that sounds. My Kurta clan lived in seclusion for generations—what dealings did we have with the outside world? Why did they take revenge on us? Why dig out the eyes of my clan and treat them as merchandise?"
Hooker shook his head. "That I don't know. I only heard a little about what happened back then. I don't really understand it.
All I know is that slaughtering the Underworld Mafia is completely justified. In the past, Meteor City had hundreds of thousands of people, all trafficked by the Underworld Mafia. And me… what the Underworld Mafia did to me was even worse. They locked me away in a dark room that never saw the light of day, treated like a rat, injected with drugs, subjected to surgical experiments—a living hell.
The Underworld Mafia built an enormous biological laboratory in Aurean. Countless people inside were treated that way. Until one day, when the base suddenly exploded, I finally had a chance to escape.
But very, very few made it out. Most died at the hands of the Underworld Mafia. They used us as test subjects and still wanted to take our lives. Shouldn't I take revenge on them? If I hadn't encountered Ron on my escape, I would have died under their pursuit." New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novel⁂fire.net
Kurapika froze for a moment. "Ron? Which Ron?"
Hooker looked at him. "Is there someone named Ron among the people you know?"
"A friend of mine," Kurapika replied.
Whether Ron considered Kurapika a friend, Kurapika didn't know—but Kurapika thought of Ron as a friend.
"The Ron I know shouldn't have any dealings with you. Although he recently appeared in Yorknew, he isn't with the Underworld Mafia; he has another background."
"The Ron I know also isn't with the Underworld Mafia."
Hooker asked cautiously, "Is the Ron you know strong?"
"Very strong, far beyond me," Kurapika said.
Hooker scrutinised him. "The Ron I know is also far beyond me."
At this point, Hooker felt that the two Rons were probably the same person. In this world, Ron wasn't a common name. Among Nen users, there were very few named Ron, and even fewer who could become exceptionally strong. At least within Hooker's knowledge, he had never heard of another.
"Ron comes from an assassin family."
Kurapika's brow twitched slightly. "The Ron I know also comes from an assassin family."
The two exchanged a glance. With coincidences piling up to this extent, there was almost no doubt—the Ron they both knew was the same person.
For a moment, Kurapika's expression became somewhat awkward. First, Hooker hadn't participated in the Phantom Troupe's massacre of the Kurta clan.
Second, once it became clear that the Ron Hooker knew was the same Ron he knew, Kurapika began to believe what Hooker had said. In that case, Hooker's actions against the Underworld Mafia were reasonable.
"No need. From what you've described, you clearly have a deep blood feud with the Phantom Troupe."
Kurapika hesitated. "But I still can't let you go. I must take revenge on the Phantom Troupe, and you're one of them, so I can't let you leave. But I won't take your life… unless you can leave the Phantom Troupe."
Hooker shook his head. "I could never leave the Phantom Troupe."
"Why? You clearly aren't the same as them."
"When I had nowhere else to go, it was Meteor City that took me in."
The two fell into a stalemate.
After a long silence, Kurapika looked up. "Then tell me something—pick some things the Phantom Troupe has done that you feel you can talk about."
"....Alright." Hooker nodded and slowly began to speak.
.......................
Elsewhere, Illumi's needlemen had already entered the ark. Ron had attached cameras to them.
Since the Ten Dons inside the ark could communicate with the outside world, Ron deduced that the ark didn't block electromagnetic signals—and this turned out to be true.
On a laptop, numerous video feeds appeared, and voices followed one after another.
"Please choose your identity."
The voice was completely mechanical, without a hint of emotion, and it came directly from the air itself. As Illumi controlled the needlemen to move, Ron could clearly observe the surroundings on the screen. It was almost certain that this voice wasn't spoken by any person but was emitted by a Nen entity.
Ron's brow lifted slightly. This felt very much like a game—upon entering, one had to choose an identity. Different identities led to different routes, but what exactly they meant could only be known after choosing.
Illumi said, "I have ten needlemen, and there are five identities here. I'll assign two to each. Ron, what do you think?"
"I think that's fine."
Illumi began controlling the needlemen, and soon they had made their selections: two chose ordinary human, two chose seed, two chose data, two chose guard, two chose administrator.
In the next moment, a special power descended upon these needlemen.