Meteor City had a population of nearly ten million people and occupied approximately 6,000 square kilometers of land, making it equivalent in scale to a small republic.
From a purely military perspective, Meteor City did possess a well-equipped force that barely qualified as having national-level military strength.
However, it lacked effective anti-air capabilities.
This meant that as long as Morrow and Chimera maintained firm control of the airspace, they could gradually destroy Meteor City.
Of course, Morrow had no intention of going that far.
Today's bombing was sufficient to intimidate Meteor City, forcing its inhabitants to behave like rats in the sewers.
If they still failed to learn their lesson, next time he would simply reduce Meteor City's central streets to complete rubble.
As long as the people of Meteor City have any sense left, they should keep their heads down starting today.
Morrow sat cross-legged on Chimera's back, maintaining only a faint layer of Ten over his body.
The bombing of Meteor City had nearly depleted his potential aura.
Still, we can't rule out the possibility that they might continue their foolishness and persist with that nonsensical "ideology" of theirs.
At this point, Morrow suddenly looked up at Kurapika's profile and said, "If there are any more attacks against you, we'll just have to put in more effort and make a few more trips."
Kurapika's expression shifted slightly as he recalled the earlier scene, his feelings complex and difficult to articulate.
"Mm."
He met Morrow's gaze and slowly nodded.
If the chains of hatred could come to an end here, that might be the best outcome.
Right now, his only concern was recovering all his clansmen's eyes so they could rest in peace. He truly had no energy to deal with Meteor City's troublesome affairs.
Still, without Morrow's intervention, he would have been helpless against Meteor City's relentless, life-or-death retaliation.
Morrow patted Chimera's back twice, signaling it to slow down.
Chimera immediately understood and gradually reduced its flying speed.
As their speed decreased, the howling wind gradually weakened.
Morrow gazed at the endless sea of clouds in the distance and stopped discussing Meteor City, instead saying, "We've recovered seventeen pairs of eyes now. The remaining ones are the three pairs with unknown whereabouts, and those in the hands of that Kakin bastard."
Kurapika imitated Morrow's posture and sat cross-legged, lowering his eyelids as he spoke calmly, "I've already posted missions on the Hunter website requesting information and offering substantial rewards for purchases. I hope we'll make progress."
"We will."
Morrow's voice was soft but carried certainty. "Organ collectors all have some tendency to show off their collections. We'll get information eventually."
Kurapika lacked Morrow's extensive experience in the antique industry and hadn't had Morrow's exposure to numerous collectors, but he always trusted Morrow's judgment completely.
Morrow glanced sideways at Kurapika.
In his view, the real obstacle to recovering the Scarlet Eyes had always been Kakin's Fourth Prince, Tserriednich.
As for the eyes in other people's possession, retrieving them was merely a matter of time.
If they were to rate the difficulty using Hunter levels, matters that could be resolved with money, like obtaining access to the Greed Island game, would be classified as the easiest G-level tasks.
In contrast, retrieving the Scarlet Eyes from Tserriednich would likely be a difficulty level of B or higher.
The most challenging aspect remained the unpredictable reactions from Beyond's faction.
As a transmigrator, Morrow viewed Beyond from an omniscient perspective, perhaps even understanding the man's terrifying nature more clearly than Netero did.
This man, in order to challenge the Dark Continent again in perfect form, had patiently spent decades meticulously laying out his plans.
Years ago, Beyond had already employed covert methods to secretly insert his illegitimate child into the Kakin royal bloodline.
This long-term foresight was precisely to usurp Kakin's immense national power, enabling him to conquer the forbidden Dark Continent with the strength of an entire nation.
Morrow believed that a powerhouse like Beyond, who had schemed with such patience until now, would never allow anyone to obstruct his plans before their execution.
Therefore, if they were to move against Tserriednich, they might not only face the wrath of Kakin but also incur Beyond's retaliation.
I wonder how Morena's progress is going...
Morrow's eyes revealed deep contemplation.
To obtain the Scarlet Eyes from Tserriednich while avoiding potential risks, the only effective method he could think of was to utilize Morena's ability.
Last time in Yorknew, he had helped Morena eliminate two key executives of the Heil-Ly Family.
By doing so, he weakened the current patriarch's influence, thereby reducing the resistance Morena faced in seizing the patriarch's position.
However, after parting ways in Yorknew, he had set off to help Ging remove the Post-Mortem Will, followed by a year of training. It had been nearly two years since he last checked on Morena's progress.
I wonder if a pair of Scarlet Eyes will be auctioned at this year's Yorknew Auction.
Morrow recalled that a pair of Scarlet Eyes was supposed to appear at the Yorknew Auction this year.
But recently, Kurapika had recovered so many Scarlet Eyes based on intelligence leads. It was hard to guarantee that the pair originally slated for the auction wasn't among them.
No one could say for sure whether this possibility was true or not.
Before September, I should go see Morena first.
Morrow calculated his itinerary in his mind.
—--
Time flew by, and it was already early August.
There was still a month until the September Yorknew Auction, but major auction houses had already begun building momentum.
The Southernpiece Auction House took the lead in announcing this year's heavyweight auction items.
Among them were seven sets of Greed Island games and a pair of Scarlet Eyes.
By the time Morrow received this news, he was already in an underground clinic within Kakin's borders.
This clinic only served gang members and had now become the venue for his meeting with Morena.
To Morrow's surprise, Morena did not come empty-handed.
She was holding a container that clearly contained a pair of Scarlet Eyes.
Sitting on the sofa, Morrow raised an eyebrow slightly, his gaze shifting from the Scarlet Eyes in Morena's hands to her face, which was marked by a horizontal scar.
Meeting Morrow's slightly scrutinizing gaze, Morena walked slowly to the opposite side of the sofa and gently placed the container holding the Scarlet Eyes on the coffee table.
"Strictly speaking, today marks our first formal meeting. I believe this gift should be very much to your liking."
After setting down the container, Morena wore an appropriate smile on her face, then gracefully took her seat, placing her slender, intertwined hands on her knees. Every movement exuded elegance.
Morrow's gaze briefly lingered on the pair of Scarlet Eyes before he spoke calmly, "I will purchase them at last year's auction house closing price."
"Very well."
Morena could easily sense Morrow's unwillingness to owe any favors, yet she paid it no mind and made no further attempts to persuade him, instead accepting the proposal straightforwardly.
She extended her slender, delicate hand, lightly tracing the edge of the container with her index and middle fingers as she recounted, "I 'acquired' this pair of Scarlet Eyes from a politician who had just stepped down. He set quite a few conditions..."
The smile at the corner of Morena's lips deepened, but a hidden undercurrent stirred in her eyes. "I did my best to meet all his demands. Perhaps it's true that good deeds are rewarded; seeing my sincerity, the politician also transferred a second pair of Scarlet Eyes from his private collection to me."
'...'
Morrow listened in silence, his thoughtful gaze sweeping over the Scarlet Eyes on the table.
Two pairs...
He had an inkling of why Morena had only brought one pair.
It seemed that this acquisition of Scarlet Eyes was also a task assigned to her by Tserriednich.
Seeing that Morrow showed no reaction, Morena continued softly, "As for this second pair, that prince is unaware of it. However..."
She deliberately paused, curling her index and middle fingers before lightly tapping the top of the container.
"Bringing it before you also involved considerable risk on my part."
The deliberate pause was meant to gauge Morrow's reaction.
Yet even after she mentioned the considerable risk, he remained unperturbed.
Still, this reaction was within her expectations.
Morrow met Morena's gaze, his voice as calm as still water. "So the other pair has already been delivered to Tserriednich, hasn't it? In that case, why take this unnecessary risk?"
After all, the plan was to seize all the Scarlet Eyes from Tserriednich eventually, so whether this pair was here or with him made little difference.
"Hah."
Called out by Morrow, Morena let out a light, unconcerned laugh, elegantly withdrawing her right hand as she hinted meaningfully, "Has anyone ever told you that you're utterly lacking in charm?"
"Let's leave the small talk at that."
Morrow ignored her remark and cut straight to the point. "I came to see you to confirm whether you've secured the position of the Heil-Ly Family's leader."
"I'm afraid I must disappoint you."
Hearing this, Morena shook her head slightly with a touch of regret and sighed. "Over the past year or so, I've orchestrated several assassination attempts. Unfortunately, the leader is always protected by a skilled expert, so each attempt has ended in failure."
"Is that so?"
Morrow neither agreed nor disagreed, simply fixing his gaze on Morena's eyes.
Those deep eyes were like stagnant water, rarely revealing any emotion.
Even when emotions surfaced, they were likely nothing more than a performance for the occasion.
Morena's expression remained unchanged as she smiled faintly.
"At next month's Yorknew Auction, our clan leader will attend personally. It seems he wants to strike some deal with the Ten Dons, ostensibly attending the underground auction while actually using it as an opportunity to transfer funds. Though the exact nature of the transaction remains unclear, this presents a perfect assassination opportunity."
"Oh? Will you be going too?"
Morrow replied calmly, "Since Southernpiece has announced they'll be auctioning the Scarlet Eyes on September 1st, your prince must be aware of this, no?"
"Of course. However, the task of acquiring the Scarlet Eyes this time falls under our clan leader's responsibility. I'm merely accompanying him as part of the entourage. But..."
Morena looked directly into Morrow's eyes, speaking seriously, "I could choose not to go. It depends on your stance. If you're determined to secure the eyes at the auction, then I shouldn't attend. If you plan to let the Fourth Prince have them first, then my presence wouldn't matter."
If Morrow insisted on obtaining the auction's Scarlet Eyes first, she would need to find a way to avoid the event, leaving her clan leader to deal with the situation.
Conversely, if Morrow's focus shifted toward ultimately seizing all of Fourth Prince Tserriednich's Scarlet Eyes, thus abandoning the auction competition entirely, then she must accompany her clan leader to Yorknew.
After all, once the assassination operation began, if she could become one of the victims on site, it would save her considerable trouble afterward.
Hearing Morena's words, Morrow raised a hand to his chin, his eyes thoughtful.
Counting the Scarlet Eyes before them, those still remaining outside were the pair about to appear at the auction, plus those in Tserriednich's possession.
In other words, even if Tserriednich successfully purchased the auction pair, that outcome would still be acceptable.
However, to seize all Scarlet Eyes from Tserriednich would require Morena to become the Heil-Ly Family's clan leader first, enabling the next phase of their plan.
Therefore, even if they attended September's Yorknew Auction, the final ownership of those Scarlet Eyes wasn't crucial.
What truly mattered was whether Morena's proposed assassination plan would succeed.
"I'm not entirely sure if this is your intentional arrangement, but it doesn't matter..."
Morrow suddenly met Morena's gaze again, stating, "I'll handle killing your clan leader, but I need you to be present too."
"Alright."
Morena acted as if she hadn't fully grasped Morrow's meaning, not questioning his specific plans, simply agreeing as straightforwardly as always.
"With you taking action, I won't need to arrange the assassination operation. Given your abilities, success should be guaranteed."
Her face maintained its constant smile.
Morrow suddenly reached out and pulled the container holding the Scarlet Eyes toward himself, saying calmly, "Don't celebrate too soon. Since you'll be present too, you'll need to put on a convincing performance, like sustaining serious injuries. I'll assist you when the time comes."
Morena fell silent for a moment, an unreadable glint flashing in her profound eyes.
"If possible, let me handle that part myself."
"Don't stand on ceremony."
Morrow waved his hand dismissively.
Morena: "..."
—--
Time passed day by day, until late August arrived, with only a few days remaining until the Yorknew Auction.
In the mansion of the Nostrade mafia family, the appearance of several prophecy poems coincidentally pointed toward the same ominous portent.
Death and destruction.
The girl with the Lovely Ghostwriter ability knew nothing of these prophecies. Her heart was solely fixated on the pair of Scarlet Eyes at the auction.
Yet those who witnessed the contents of the prophecy could not remain calm.
The poem mentioned one thing: a God of Death whose gaze must not be met.
----------------
End-of-Chapter Bonus Scene:
Following the crushing defeat of Killua, the Goro Goro no Mi user, at the hands of Hisoka, the Gomu Gomu no Mi user, Gon faced his first battle after reaching the 200th floor.
He was pitted against Gido, an Enhancer who fought using spinning tops.
Under the astonished gazes of countless spectators, Contestant Gon wielded his fishing rod and literally whipped Contestant Gido into a human spinning top.