Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 65 (Patreon)

Chapter 65: The Strange Little Boy

The two-day journey and the two days of intensive testing concluded with the spacecraft's landing.

This was not a standard test, so when it ended, Martin, the eyebrow-less muscular man, did not greet them with a smile saying, "Congratulations on passing the test."

What was known was that no one was left behind on the spaceship, but what remained unknown was how many people Kuli and the others had killed.

During the test, Luo did not notice the pattern that looked like an ordinary eye, nor did he think that this simple pattern would be the bald muscular man's method of surveillance.

The spaceship landed at the Airport outside Yorknew. A limousine was already prepared, and it would take about ninety minutes to reach the hotel in the city of Yorknew.

Without further explanation or asking for their satisfaction, Luo and the others were simply told to get in the cars and follow, heading towards the city of Yorknew in a convoy of six vehicles.

Barney's choice to abandon his private jet for a public spacecraft was a confident move that attracted many assassins.

This decision not only tested Luo and his group's abilities but also allowed for a preliminary purge of the assassins about to come, proving to be quite effective.

However, the assassins dealt with on the spaceship were merely small fry; the real dangers lay in the trip to Yorknew.

As the number of enemies increased, it became inevitable to encounter more special existences.

There were those willing to go bankrupt to hire famous assassins.

This was something Kenda and Martin had to worry about.

Typically, the most dangerous time was when returning from the auction, as highly skilled assassins would usually make their move then, partly to complete their missions and partly to opportunistically steal auction items.

While the spaceship was fraught with danger, the journey to Yorknew city was calm.

In less than two hours, everyone safely arrived at the pre-booked hotel.

Barney visited Yorknew every year, but he always booked a different hotel. The only constant was his booking of the hotel's top floor a month in advance.

Upon their arrival, the hotel's top floor had already been vacant for a month.

After entering the hotel lobby, the staff warmly greeted them, but the group did not head straight to the top floor.

Martin, with three subordinates, went to the top floor first, seemingly for a routine check, while Barney and the rest waited in the lobby's sofa area.

At Kenda's request, Luo and others stayed around the sofa area.

The usual inspection time was one hour, which was Martin's requirement. Barney was accustomed to this, and Kenda, being in the know, always cooperated well.

The uneventful hour was hard to pass. Barney was reading a newspaper, and Kuli and the others stood around like wooden figures.

"Luo, don't you have a last name?"

Elly, the little girl, took advantage of Barney's focus on the newspaper to run up to Luo and bother him.

Kenda turned a blind eye to Elly's behavior and did not stop her or remind Barney.

Luo pretended not to hear, his gaze fixed on the hotel's main entrance.

Seeing Luo ignoring her, Elly pouted angrily and, after glancing at Barney, whispered fiercely to Luo, "If you don't tell me, I'll have my dad fire you!"

Luo continued to remain silent, unsure of how to respond because his real name was Luo Lie, but it was hard to pronounce, so he simply went by Luo.

Luo was both his surname and his current name.

Seeing Luo ignore her threat, Elly huffed and stomped on his foot.

Such a brat…

Luo felt a slight pain, raised his eyebrows, and looked down at Elly with a hint of helplessness in his eyes.

Elly glared at him, whispering, "Answer my question."

"My surname is Luo, and it's also my name," Luo reluctantly replied.

"You're not lying to me?" Elly eyed Luo skeptically, hearing such a name for the first time.

Luo assured her, "I'm not lying to you."

Luo was his name in this world, while Luo Lie was his name before crossing over.

"Hmph, you better not lie to me, or you'll regret it."

Elly took out a small pink sticky note and a pen from her bag, wrote 'Luo' on it, and forcefully stuck it on Luo's thigh.

This inexplicable action confused Luo.

"As long as I write someone's name on this dreamy sticky note and stick it on them, they will become guardians who obey me!" Elly boasted with a serious smile.

A few black lines silently fell on Luo's forehead as he looked at Kenda, who, noticing Luo's gaze, chose to ignore it.

Seeing Kenda's reaction, Luo felt speechless and tried to peel off the crookedly written pink sticky note.

Originally thinking it was just a child's play, Luo didn't expect Elly's insistent curiosity about names to be part of such a game. It's not just child's play; even if there were abilities using names combined with conditions to control others, the name Luo wouldn't fully work as it wasn't his full name. However, considering her young age and this line of thought, she might develop the ability to control others if she ever came into contact with Nen in the future.

"Don't tear it!" Elly's light blue eyes suddenly widened as she saw Luo's action.

Luo had no interest in playing make-believe games with a brat, even though he was only about twelve or thirteen years old himself. Ignoring Elly, he decisively tore off the sticky note.

Then, Elly's eyes immediately filled with water, as if giant tears would fall the next second.

"..."

Alright, you win.

Luo's expression stiffened, and with a light sigh, he stuck the sticky note back on.

Elly's mood flipped as quickly as flipping a page in a script, going from nearly crying to all smiles in less than a second.

"Luo, I command you to meow like a kitten!" Elly pointed at Luo, grinning like a fox that had just stolen a chicken.

Luo rolled his eyes, realizing that tearing the note off was indeed the better choice.

"Elly, come back."

At that moment, Barney's steady voice called out.

Elly pouted and returned to the sofa area.

"Sit down." Barney slightly frowned, pointing to the sofa next to him.

"Okay." Elly obediently sat down, no longer causing trouble.

Chestnut-haired and horse-faced men saw how Luo managed to charm the employer's daughter and could only smirk to themselves.

Kuli and Wogret remained unobtrusively, faithfully fulfilling their duties.

Freed from Elly's harassment, Luo felt more at ease. His gaze wandered through the hotel lobby until he suddenly spotted a black-haired boy walking out of the hotel's main entrance alone, immediately drawing his attention.

More precisely, it was the boy's pitch-black eyes that caught his eye, and considering it was very late and the boy appeared to be around ten, it was unusual for him to be out alone.

Although the boy walked at a normal pace, he moved faster than an adult. By the time Luo noticed him, the boy had quickly left through the hotel's main door.

"Yo, isn't this the drug lord Barney?"

A voice suddenly rang out near Luo, pulling his attention back.

The speaker was a thin middle-aged man in a black suit, followed by two muscular bodyguards, also in black suits, clearly dressed in mafia style.

The trio crossed the caution line and approached Barney, not too far away.

That area was Kenda's responsibility, and their approach must have been approved by Barney.

Barney slowly put down his newspaper and calmly looked at the three men, saying, "You're here to join the fun again this year, Sharphead?"

Every September, mafia members from around the world would gather in Yorknew, and meeting in the hotel was common.

"Sharphead" was not a name but a nickname.

The thin middle-aged man had a long face, making his head appear sharp, hence Barney's mocking nickname. Saying he came to join the fun implied Sharphead lacked the capability to win auction items.

Sharphead, understanding the insult, scoffed and turned away with his subordinates.

Barney watched Sharphead leave with a cold gaze, knowing that Sharphead's smile must be chilling even without confronting him directly.

"How much longer for the inspection?"

Barney turned his gaze back to Kenda, wanting to avoid encountering peers in the hotel lobby.

"Thirty-five minutes," Kenda replied quietly.

Barney nodded and picked up the newspaper again.

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