Morrow was familiar with the workings of the antique and miscellaneous items industry and quickly found a reliable sales channel.
After some negotiations, he voluntarily gave up several million Jenny in profit and swiftly sold the treasures the team had acquired in just two or three hours.
After deducting costs, the final net profit was approximately 90 million Jenny.
For ordinary people, this amount might be impossible to save in a lifetime.
Yet, Morrow and the others had obtained it effortlessly in just a few hours, without taking any risks or expending much effort.
In a way, the power of Nen...
Truly allowed ordinary people to easily transcend social classes.
After completing the transaction, Morrow left the shop specializing in antique and miscellaneous items and, without delay, took Kurapika and Menchi to the next Bull Market.
Although the 90 million Jenny profit came easily, it was far from enough for them.
A few days later.
On the evening of September 4th.
Morrow exited an antique shop after selling the antique and miscellaneous items he had acquired that day, netting a profit of 240 million Jenny.
Over the past few days, the three of them had visited nearly all the medium and large Bull Markets in Yorknew.
Including today's earnings, their total profit had nearly reached 1 billion.
This rate of earning money was already incredibly fast.
But there was still a gap of 4 billion...
"There's one more Bull Market nearby, close to the Skyline Fountain Plaza. It closes at 9 p.m. Since there's still some time, you two go clear that one out. I'll try my luck on the street over there."
After calculating the profits, Morrow took out a city map of Yorknew.
The map was marked with many red circles.
Each red circle represented a Bull Market they had already cleared out, and very few places remained.
Morrow decided to let Kurapika and Menchi handle the nearby Bull Market while he went to try his luck on the street specializing in antique and miscellaneous items.
"Alright, we'll contact you by phone then."
Hearing Morrow's arrangement, Menchi agreed promptly, placing her hand by her cheek and mimicking a phone gesture.
Kurapika simply nodded at Morrow.
Soon after, Menchi and Kurapika headed toward the Skyline Fountain Plaza.
Morrow watched them leave before turning and walking toward a street in the opposite direction.
There was only one day left.
Although the antique and miscellaneous markets in Yorknew City held the possibility of making a fortune overnight, earning a profit of 4 billion in a single day was practically impossible.
Morrow had already prepared himself mentally to ask his friends for another loan.
But before tomorrow's auction began, he would earn as much as he could.
—--
On the way to Skyline Fountain Plaza.
Menchi glanced sideways at Kurapika's profile and suddenly said:
"A couple of days ago, I heard from a friend in the Association that a newcomer obtained their license and, in less than a year, earned a Single-Star Hunter title for exterminating the Phantom Troupe. I never expected that person to be you."
"..."
Hearing this, Kurapika silently looked at Menchi but did not respond.
Just then, the streetlights ahead flickered on one by one.
Menchi gazed at the glowing streetlights and continued, as if talking to herself:
"After obtaining my Hunter License, I had planned to earn the Single Star Title before coming of age. It seems that's impossible now, so I really envy you, Kurapika."
"The credit for eliminating the Phantom Troupe largely belongs to Morrow, with little relation to me."
Kurapika lowered his eyelids slightly and said calmly, "Moreover... I have no interest in star ratings. I only wish to retrieve my clansmen's eyes."
"Tch, it seems you truly don't care about this Single Star title."
Menchi tilted her head to glance at Kurapika again.
She knew that as a newly promoted Single Star Hunter, Kurapika had already received official notification from the Association.
But during these days together, she noticed Kurapika remained remarkably calm, as if nothing had happened.
For Kurapika, even finding a valuable item in the Bull Market seemed more worthy of celebration than this achievement.
Thinking this, Menchi pursed her lips.
She confirmed that Kurapika genuinely didn't care about the Single Star Title, but she felt it necessary to remind him that the so-called Single Star Title wasn't merely an empty honor.
It represented greater authority and convenience, and could bring more benefits through the reputation itself.
If he truly wanted to recover all the Scarlet Eyes, he should make better use of his Single Star status.
Just as Menchi was about to speak, her eyebrows suddenly raised as she detected a faint trace of bloodlust.
"Kurapika, someone's..."
"Hmm."
Even without Menchi's warning, Kurapika had sensed the bloodlust emanating from the shadows.
His chains conjuration remained materialized most of the time.
On one hand, this could mislead enemies depending on the situation.
On the other hand, his Dowsing Chain possessed hostility detection, allowing him to immediately sense an enemy's presence and movements.
Therefore, in theory, as long as Kurapika maintained his chains' materialization, he could preemptively avoid any form of ambush from enemies.
Even if an enemy's attack arrived simultaneously with his detection of bloodlust...
The Dowsing Chain would autonomously defend him, blocking the attack in time.
This was the most powerful aspect of the Dowsing Chain ability.
However, under the mechanism of Vow and Limitation, the Dowsing Chain, like Starlight Convergence, while possessing strong defensive and counterattack characteristics, also contained a potentially fatal flaw.
Though during initial encounters under normal circumstances, this fatal flaw wasn't easily detectable by opponents.
This indirectly demonstrated the importance of intelligence in Nen ability battles.
Alerted by his Dowsing Chain, Kurapika confirmed the enemy's presence and began discreetly observing their surroundings.
He and Menchi were already near the Skyline Fountain Plaza.
Besides the relatively bustling Bull Market near the plaza, there was also a paid Skyline Botanical Garden nearby.
Kurapika's gaze slowly swept over the pedestrians on the walkway. After brief consideration, he began moving toward the Skyline Botanical Garden.
Seeing this, Menchi immediately understood.
Compared to the foot traffic at the fountain plaza and Bull Market, the commercially operated Skyline Botanical Garden would be nearing closing time at this hour, meaning fewer people would be around.
To avoid involving bystanders, leading the hidden enemy to the botanical garden was a better choice.
Kurapika and Menchi turned towards the Skyline Botanical Garden, yet their pace remained natural.
—--
Among the distant flow of people.
Three figures weaved through the crowd, their gazes meeting through the gaps between people.
While maintaining their forward movement, they gradually converged.
"We've been discovered."
Among the three, a young man wearing black athletic wear and black-rimmed glasses cast a cold gaze toward the distant Kurapika and Menchi.
"Take action directly?"
Another bald man covered in scars asked in a low, fierce voice, his eyes menacing.
The remaining person remained silent, merely looking at the young man with black-rimmed glasses.
"Those two want to lure us to the Skyline Botanical Garden... Perfect, that place is more suitable for action."
The young man with black-rimmed glasses said coldly.
All three of them originated from Meteor City.
But they had another identity...
Underworld members under the Ten Dons.
Years ago, the mafia forces led by the Ten Dons would deliver supplies such as firearms to Meteor City under the guise of dumping garbage.
In exchange, Meteor City would provide useful talents to the mafia forces.
These three mafia members targeting Kurapika were precisely the elite talents Meteor City had once supplied to the mafia.
However, the decision to target Kurapika was not ordered by the mafia forces but was their own unauthorized choice.
As for the motive...
Simply to avenge the Phantom Troupe.
In fact, many people in Meteor City greatly admired the Phantom Troupe.
Not just them; even within the mafia, some members regarded the Phantom Troupe as idols.
Thus, after learning of the Phantom Troupe's downfall, these three mafia members from Meteor City felt not only shock but also an unresolved anger and hatred.
Many Meteor City residents who admired the Phantom Troupe developed thoughts of revenge.
This kind of behavior was something of an old tradition in Meteor City.
After these three mafia members identified the perpetrator, they coincidentally discovered Kurapika's arrival in Yorknew.
Therefore, these three mafia members, originally tasked with maintaining order at the underground auction, followed their hearts and left their posts without authorization, solely to pursue and kill Kurapika.
"Let's go."
A cold bloodlust flashed in the eyes of the young man with black-rimmed glasses.
—--
Skyline Botanical Garden.
After nightfall, the botanical garden staff began clearing the area.
Soon, as closing time approached, the entire garden was left with only the staff about to leave after their shift.
Kurapika and Menchi arrived outside the botanical garden, slipping in from the security guard's blind spot into the dimly lit garden.
A few glowing lamps were distributed across the garden's lawn and hung from ropes above the walking paths.
Kurapika entered the depths of the garden alone, eventually stopping on the grass before a large tree.
The tree's branches were entwined with numerous vines, hanging down like willow branches toward the ground below.
Kurapika stood amidst the drooping vines, calmly looking in the direction from which they had come.
Under the faint glow of the lights, three figures gradually emerged.
They were the three mafia members who had followed them all the way.
"Where's the other woman?"
The bald man frowned upon seeing only Kurapika present.
The young man with black-framed glasses said nothing, merely scanning the surroundings swiftly. His eyes were met with lush, dense vegetation of various kinds.
This environment was perfect for hiding.
However...
Perfectly concealing one's aura wasn't so easy.
Yet after a full sweep, the bespectacled youth found nothing.
"Open fire."
Despite this, he decisively drew a large-caliber pistol with a silencer from his waist.
The other two immediately drew their silenced pistols as well.
In the next blink,
Aura surged around all three as they simultaneously pulled their triggers.
In an instant, a torrent of heat-laden bullets rained toward Kurapika.
Facing the hail of gunfire head-on, Kurapika's expression remained utterly unshaken. His Dowsing Chain danced automatically before him, weaving an impenetrable defense.
Bullets tore through hanging vines only to be deflected by the chain.
Clang, clang, clang...!
Amidst the flailing vines, sparks burst forth with each impact.
Every spark marked a failed bullet.
The three gang members, led by the bespectacled youth, never expected ordinary firearms alone to defeat Kurapika.
The bald man and his heavy-eyed companion concentrated more aura into their gun-wielding hands, channeling it directly into their weapons.
Suddenly,
Diamond-shaped Nen bullets mixed with the ordinary rounds firing from their muzzles, shifting rhythms abruptly to multiply their firepower severalfold.
Yet even with this sudden surge, the chain-woven defense showed no sign of weakening, precisely blocking every Nen bullet.
He's blocking even this?!
The bald man and heavy-eyed man jolted in shock.
Years in the underworld had accustomed them to gunfights.
In past battles, their combined firepower had rivaled a fifty-man squad.
Never had they imagined a single chain could neutralize it all.
The bespectacled youth closed in from the side, inwardly alarmed at how easily his comrades' enhanced assault was repelled.
Just then...
A shadow slipped silently past the still-firing bald man and heavy-eyed man in the darkness.
It was Menchi.
Years traversing deep mountains and ancient forests had honed her skills for high-speed ambushes.
Her method was simple: masterful Zetsu to erase her presence, then strike at the perfect moment with maximum speed.
Simple, yet brutally efficient.
Before the two could react, arterial blood sprayed from their necks.
"Guh...!"
They collapsed with stunned expressions, the sharp gunfire ceasing abruptly.
Freed from suppression, Kurapika glanced sidelong at the approaching bespectacled youth. His Dowsing Chain arched like a serpent, hovering silently before him.
The bespectacled youth's face tightened. The arrow was already nocked; he had to release it.
He dashed through the curtain of hanging vines, only to be struck violently the next moment, his chest blooming crimson.
W-What...!
He froze abruptly, staring in shock at the second chain impaling his chest, hidden among the dangling vines all along.
This guy... could control two chains simultaneously.
From the very beginning... He had already devised a countermeasure and killing move.
The young man with black-rimmed glasses fell to the ground, dead.
Kurapika expressionlessly retracted his chains.
"A defensive counter-type ability that can precisely intercept attacks... Quite an impressive ability."
Suddenly, a voice came from the bushes nearby.
Both Kurapika and Menchi were startled upon hearing it.
The reason being...
The owner of the voice was very close to them, yet they hadn't detected his presence at all.
"Don't be nervous, I'm not with them."
The speaker stepped out slowly from the bushes.
The man was sloppily dressed, with an unkempt face and stubble. A stained headscarf was wrapped haphazardly around his head, with strands of hair peeking out from the gaps.
This person was none other than Ging Freecss.
Facing the wary gazes of Kurapika and Menchi, Ging hooked a finger against his cheek and stated his purpose: "Actually, my 'target' is Morrow."
As soon as his words fell,
Kurapika abruptly raised his hand and flung out the Dowsing Chain.
Whoosh...
Amidst the sharp whistling sound, the Dowsing Chain shot toward Ging like a snake.
Ging watched the approaching Dowsing Chain with interest, then calmly sidestepped, allowing it to fly past him.
At the same time,
As he strode toward Kurapika, he casually raised his index and middle fingers and pressed down on one of the chain links.
A soft sound was heard.
The taut Dowsing Chain, as if struck by a tremendous force, abruptly plummeted to the ground.
The force acting on the chain was transmitted to Kurapika.
Huh?
Kurapika's heart jolted, and his entire right arm followed the Dowsing Chain as it dropped toward the ground.
The Dowsing Chain... Had no defensive reaction against the enemy?!
Ging seemed to have seen through Kurapika's inner turmoil at a glance and said seriously, "This chain of yours activates its defense based on the enemy's hostility, right?"
At this point,
Ging glanced sideways at the Dowsing Chain, which had already crashed heavily onto the ground.
"In other words, as long as I suppress my hostility or any intention to attack you, I can nullify its intended ability mechanism."
"!!!"
Kurapika's expression shifted dramatically, as if facing a formidable enemy.
--------------
I'm going to publish four chapters today because I owe you some bonus chapters. I haven't forgotten.
Bonus chapter @100 power stones and next one @200. There could be up to six chapters released today if you're good