Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 88 (Patreon)

Chapter 88: Ephemeral

The existence of drugs is like Pandora's Box, opened by humanity out of need or curiosity, ultimately paying the price for it.

Is the fault with those who created Pandora's Box or with those who chose to open it?

Luo watched from the sidelines as Kenda completely destroyed the source of the drugs.

He came to La Xiang City for three reasons: to collect 128 items, due to Elly's situation, and to incidentally destroy the drug channels left by Barney.

Like walking on the street and picking up a piece of waste paper to throw it into the bin.

Despite Kenda thinking of Luo as a kind person, he was still concerned that Luo might hold a grudge against Elly because of Barney. To eliminate any potential grudge, Kenda took pains.

He didn't hesitate to destroy relevant materials and a large stock of drugs, clearly prioritizing Elly's safety and future.

However, because Luo's combat power was significantly weakened, Kenda didn't destroy all the drug stock, leaving some to deal with the smaller bosses in La Xiang City.

The manufacturing method of G2 exposed Luo to the deeper darkness of the Hunter world, something not just heard or seen in a picture, but witnessed up close.

The more he experienced, the clearer it became that he was veering off from Earth's orbit and aligning with the Hunter world's orbit.

After destroying most of the drugs, Luo and Kenda left the underground factory and returned to the house.

Kenda first had some men clean up the corpses in the underground factory, then discussed further plans with Luo.

Excluding the personnel stationed at entertainment venues in the city, the mansion's combat force numbered around a hundred. After explaining the critical points to the remaining colleagues, Kenda issued the highest level of alert.

From the house to the outer perimeter, three layers of security were established, with about thirty people guarding each layer, and fierce dogs along the fence's edge.

Keeping dogs for security is a common practice among mafia members.

"The latest would be one month, the earliest could be just half a month," Luo explained to Kenda the time needed for "unsealing".

Absorbing the aura from a dozen collectibles doubled the amount of aura in Luo's body, and his desire to test his control over Nen was eager, yet he needed some time to digest before he could fully unleash his power.

Kenda was silent for a long time. If it was just half a month, delaying might not be difficult, but Barney's funeral certainly couldn't be held as scheduled.

The choice was whether to bet on Luo, to resolve the potential crisis once and for all, or to take Elly and flee to avoid further pursuit.

After much thought, Kenda made his decision to trust Luo, who was also in the vortex's center.

Luo nodded silently.

Afterward, while Kenda oversaw external matters, Luo entered a state of focused cultivation, a process of digestion, aiming to speed up this process.

Time passed day by day, Luo sleeping only three to four hours daily, spending the rest practicing to release his aura, thus accelerating the unsealing process.

Elly often wanted to visit Luo but was directly locked in her room by Kenda.

Barney's body was delivered to the mansion four days later, which Kenda didn't tell Elly about, instead placing Barney's body in a refrigerated cabinet in the basement.

Rumors started in La Xiang City, and somehow the news of Barney's death spread quickly, but the smaller bosses didn't act rashly, continuing to procure goods from Kenda as usual.

While the surface appeared calm, several area bosses began to gather secretly, plotting.

Success would mean a step to heaven, failure a descent into an abyss, so they acted cautiously, not moving without assurance.

Everything happening outside was irrelevant to Luo, who focused on digesting the aura within him, gradually increasing the flow speed from threefold to fivefold. At this rate, he could lift the restrictions in about half a month.

Night.

In the bedroom of a civilian house, a tattooed muscular man lay on the ground shirtless, his facial features twisted, with snot and saliva flowing, but still breathing.

Near the window, a person stood at the desk.

This person was slender, wearing a tea-colored coat and white gloves, with a mask on the face and a pandemic hat covering the ears and hair.

It was impossible to tell from the loose clothing whether the person was male or female, covered tightly except for a pair of bright black eyes.

"G1, a drug created using a virus..."

The person pinched a small vial between the thumb and index finger, containing clear liquid.

...

Meteor Street.

Under the night, silence prevailed, with only a few places brightly lit and bustling.

Only Wogret returned from Yorknew, bringing back about twenty collectibles.

Seeing so many collectibles, the Elder was unusually excited. As for the death news of Kuli and Luo, he didn't care at all, only asking Wogret to confirm whether Barney was dead before dropping the subject.

Wogret, having received a decent reward from the Elder, returned to his residence with a restless heart and fell asleep.

A day later, Chrollo visited the West District to inform Machi and the others training there about Luo's death, a piece of news they found hard to accept.

Luo was the strongest among the four, with Uvogin suffering a hundred defeats at Luo's hands, and Nobunaga's skills were about even, always suppressed by Luo during training.

How could such a strong Luo die so easily?

"Let's take down the Elder," Uvogin said, veins bulging on his neck.

"Seconded," Nobunaga's eyes were dark.

Machi remained silent, her small fists clenched so tightly that they turned white from the force.

Chrollo remained calm, stating, "As much as you'd like to die trying, I will stop you."

Uvogin turned to Chrollo, glaring furiously but without a word.

"It's true that Uvogin tends to be impulsive, but right now, I can't calm down either," Nobunaga also turned his gaze towards Chrollo.

Facing their looks, Chrollo remained composed but turned to Machi, asking, "And you, Machi?"

Machi stayed silent, then after a moment, looked up and said coldly, "I don't believe Luo is dead."

Her statement left Uvogin and Nobunaga stunned.

After a pause, Nobunaga asked, "Is it intuition, Machi?"

"No," Machi pursed her lips.

Nobunaga sighed softly.

Chrollo looked at everyone and continued, "After killing the Elder, do you think you can all escape unscathed?"

Upon hearing Chrollo's words, everyone fell silent.

"Do you even know how Luo died? And who killed him?" Chrollo pressed on.

Silence persisted.

After a moment, Chrollo glanced at Pakunoda beside him and added, "You have three months to get stronger. After that, I'll tell you who killed Luo. Of course, if you decide to trouble the Elder then, not only will I not stop you, but I'll also assist."

The room fell silent upon his words.

"Uvogin, Nobunaga, continue your training."

Machi suddenly jumped down from a wooden box and walked towards the open training ground.

Uvogin and Nobunaga exchanged glances, then followed Machi.

True power is the foundation for acting without restraint.

Chrollo and Pakunoda watched as Machi and the others went to the distant training ground to continue their sparring.

"Is three months enough time?" Chrollo suddenly asked.

After a moment's hesitation, Pakunoda replied, "It should be."

"Should be…" Chrollo looked up at the sky, his gaze flickering.

Two days later, Hisoka left Meteor Street.

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