Aura is the emotional vessel of a Nen user. But true masters rarely convey their emotions through their aura. Unless they intend to release bloodlust or amplify their presence.
The Shadow Beasts were clearly not masters. Once their spirit and mindset wavered, it uncontrollably seeped into their aura. Thus, when Morrow's gaze swept over them, he could easily detect obvious apprehension from their auras.
What surprised Morrow was, based on his understanding of the mafia and Shadow Beasts, no matter how high the threat level of the troublemaker, as hosts, they should at least make a stance. Especially in front of so many guests.
This was no longer about face. Even if it was just for show, it would be better than being too frightened to make any move as they were now. There must be some reason behind this.
Aren't you going to do anything? Morrow looked at the Shadow Beasts at the main entrance, all with tense faces.
If a person's risk level could be displayed in red light, then in the eyes of the Shadow Beasts, the red light on Morrow would definitely be so intense it was almost purple. This wasn't just because of Morrow's strength, but also the great risk indicated by the prophecy poem.
So, under Gray Snake's insistence, the other Shadow Beasts could only obediently stand in place as punishment, not even daring to respond to Morrow, afraid that something might go wrong.
Thus, the venue that had been bustling just seconds ago once again fell into a suffocating silence.
Morrow was slightly curious about the Shadow Beasts' unusual behavior but had no interest in probing further. His eyes sharp, he quickly scanned the surroundings.
The Nen users watching calmly from the high buildings, the bodyguards on high alert in the hall, the guests with varied expressions by the windows. In the process, his gaze subtly swept past Killua and Gon inside the hall.
During this time, Morrow had kept his usual phone turned off, only using a backup phone to contact Morena. Thus, he hadn't received any calls or messages from Killua and Gon.
However, he knew Killua and Gon would attend the auction, so seeing them now wasn't a surprise. On the contrary, Killua and Gon were full of shock and confusion after seeing Morrow publicly kill Aibolan and Lopez.
Morrow paid no attention to their reactions, withdrew his gaze, and finally glanced at the scattered corpses of mafia members on the ground nearby. Morena, injured by the Nen bullet, was among them.
Overall, the plan was roughly complete. There was no need to linger any longer.
Morrow pushed off with his foot, his body enveloped in a stream of light as he leaped into the air toward a distant streetlamp. As his foot touched the lampshade, his aura suddenly concentrated, coating the metal structure with Shu.
Without a sound, Morrow propelled himself like lightning into the night sky, leaving the lamppost intact.
Many eyes followed Morrow as he vanished, merging with the darkness.
Then, a Shooting Star suddenly appeared, flying like a meteor toward a farther place.
'...'
Even though Morrow had left, the scene remained eerily silent.
—--
Inside the hall. Killua looked around at the expressions of the guests and bodyguards, most showing lingering fear. As for the Shadow Beasts at the entrance, their auras also carried traces of trepidation.
How strong is Teacher, really... Killua could actually understand the reactions of the people around him. He felt that Lopez was an opponent he stood absolutely no chance of defeating at his current level.
But from watching the fight just now, he even felt like Morrow hadn't used his full strength, yet still seemingly effortlessly defeated a Nen user of Lopez's caliber.
"Mmph mmph..." Gon struggled to pry Killua's hand off his mouth.
Killua glanced at him and finally released his grip. Gon looked at Killua with confusion and asked, "Just now..."
But before he could finish speaking, Killua immediately covered his mouth again. Killua drooped his eyelids, trying to convey with his eyes that they shouldn't discuss things here.
In his view, regardless of Morrow's motives or reasons for doing this... Since he hadn't responded to their messages earlier and pretended not to know them just now... Then they shouldn't do anything unnecessary, and definitely shouldn't talk about anything related to Morrow in this kind of setting.
This was why Killua wouldn't let Gon continue speaking. Gon understood the meaning in Killua's eyes and could only suppress his curiosity.
—--
Meanwhile. In the VIP lounge on the top floor of the building. Tsezguerra, dressed in a crisp military uniform, stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the Shooting Star that had already faded into a tiny speck of light in the night sky.
Even now, his pupils remained contracted from shock. Seeing Morrow again after two years had once again completely overturned his understanding.
"Hah." Tsezguerra let out a long breath, trying to calm the turmoil in his heart, then turned and walked toward Battera who was sitting on the living room sofa.
Beside the sofa. His companion Kess was holding the conjured detection radar, closely monitoring any movement in the surroundings.
Tsezguerra approached Battera and said solemnly, "It was Morrow."
Hearing this name, Battera's eyebrows twitched slightly. It had been nearly ten years since he pinned his hopes on Greed Island, yet he still had a long way to go before successfully clearing the game.
To speed up the clearing process, he had always kept an eye on skilled Hunters. And Morrow was probably the one who left the deepest impression on him, though he had never been able to convince Morrow to join the clearing team.
"What did he do?" Battera rarely pressed for details.
Tsezguerra briefly explained what had just happened. To be honest, if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed that Morrow's current strength could so easily defeat an expert like Lopez.
After hearing Tsezguerra's account, Battera just shook his head and sighed. But soon, his eyes became filled with unwavering determination.
This year's auction would allow him to acquire seven copies of Greed Island at once, and with the recruitment event in a few days, the success rate of clearing the game would definitely increase further. No matter what, he had to obtain the clearing reward!
—--
September 2nd. The Yorknew Auction proceeded as usual, as if the previous night's disturbance had never happened. The Ten Dons maintained unusual silence, neither issuing statements nor any assassination orders.
This abnormal handling of the situation left the guests who had witnessed the event quite astonished. As regular attendees of the Yorknew Auction, they were well aware of the mafia's usual methods. As per tradition, anyone who dared to cause trouble at the auction would become a corpse the next day, filmed in a brutal video and directly uploaded online.
The families, friends, and even those slightly connected to the troublemakers would gradually disappear over the following days. But this time, the Ten Dons showed no reaction.
By September 3rd, there was still no news. No bloody retaliation, no public execution, not even a single warning. It was as if the attack had never happened.
Instead, Vick from the Heil-Ly Family, still bearing unhealed injuries, personally stepped forward to apologize to the Ten Dons. He claimed the attack was carried out by family enemies and expressed regret that it had affected the auction and caused losses for the Ten Dons.
Initially, the guests paid attention to the aftermath, speculating if there were hidden truths. But as the second and third days of the auction proceeded normally, the focus shifted back to the priceless treasures and rare collections. Their attention was quickly diverted.
After leaving Yorknew, Morrow didn't go far, stopping in a city a few hundred kilometers away. He didn't deliberately hide his tracks, waiting for the Ten Dons' response, but days passed with nothing happening. Instead, Vick from the Heil-Ly Family came out to smooth things over.
The Ten Dons... surprisingly patient. Morrow was quite surprised by this.
As for whether the Ten Dons had hired assassins or taken similar actions... As long as it wasn't the Zoldyck Family, Morrow had little to worry about.
And with Kalluto around, even if the Zoldycks received a commission from the Ten Dons, they likely wouldn't accept it. At worst, there was the margin for error provided by Tree Rings.
Now it's just waiting for Morena's message. Morrow unplugged his Hunter License from a device next to the computer, exiting the intelligence page on the Hunter website.
Putting away his Hunter License, Morrow left the internet cafe. Without taking a taxi, he walked toward the outskirts of the city, planning to meet up with Chimera.
After leaving the city center, Morrow's eyes flickered slightly. On the pedestrian street, a little girl carrying a flower basket was looking around and suddenly noticed Morrow.
Huh? The girl tilted her head, carefully examining Morrow's attire, then her eyes lit up with a delighted expression.
Without hesitation, she started running toward Morrow. Watching the girl's actions, though he sensed no bloodlust or hostility from her, Morrow immediately activated Gyo.
His eyes suddenly glowed with flame-like aura as he scrutinized the girl's entire body. No abnormalities, just an ordinary child.
Despite this, Morrow maintained Gyo and stood still, waiting for the girl to approach.
"Brother!" The girl stopped in front of Morrow, looking up with a bright smile. "Someone gave me 10,000 Jenny to give this to you!"
As she spoke, she pulled a small black envelope from her flower basket. The envelope was securely sealed with red sealing wax, stamped with a peculiar eye pattern, a large expanse of white with a tiny dot-like pupil in the center.
This was... The pattern of the Eye of Truth. Morrow raised an eyebrow slightly, refraining from taking the envelope while suppressing the urge to immediately scan his surroundings.
This envelope was identical to the one he had once retrieved from Nolan's safe. So, it should contain a card from the Eye of Truth.
Since they entrusted a flower-selling girl to deliver the envelope, it meant there were definitely members of the Eye of Truth organization nearby. It was just uncertain whether they were still in the vicinity.
If they were, then... Thinking this, Morrow carefully examined the envelope in the girl's hand once more before accepting it.
Just as Morrow took the envelope, a faint trace of a gaze flickered and vanished in an instant. Morrow, already prepared, sharply pierced through the gaps in the crowd, following the trace and locking onto a narrow alley between two distant buildings.
Whoosh! In the next moment, Morrow's figure vanished into thin air. The little girl froze in astonishment.
—--
In the dimly lit alley. A woman dressed in heavy clothing, with only her eyes visible, hurriedly strode across the ground. But after covering a short distance, she suddenly halted.
Morrow stood blocking her path.
Hmm? Morrow looked into the woman's eyes, her pupils were pale, almost blending into the whites of her eyes.
Noticing her slight tilting of the head as if listening intently, he could almost confirm she was blind.
"Are you from the Eye of Truth?" Morrow observed the aura around the woman and asked calmly.
The woman didn't answer his question. Instead, a faint ripple appeared on her shoulder, materializing into a translucent outline resembling an owl. The owl-shaped outline perched quietly on her shoulder.
As if the owl's appearance had granted her sight, the woman suddenly turned her gaze toward the black envelope in Morrow's hand.
"You can interpret this as an invitation. You have the freedom to choose, whether to accept it and attempt to integrate with us or to follow your heart and refuse. The decision is yours."
The woman didn't answer Morrow's question because, by the time he posed it, there was no need to explain the existence of the Eye of Truth. She merely clarified the nature of the envelope and left the choice to Morrow.
Morrow indeed didn't need an answer to confirm that this woman was a member of the Eye of Truth organization.
"Why choose me?"
"Because you possess the qualification." The woman replied indifferently, "This is the conclusion drawn after 'observation.'"
"Observation?" Morrow frowned, recalling that Nolan also had something similar, and immediately asked, "I'm a bit curious... what criteria do you use to determine qualification?"
"No comment." The woman shifted her gaze from the black envelope to Morrow's face, her voice as calm as deep, still water. "If you wish to know the answer, open it and accept the gift of the Eye of Truth."
"..." Morrow fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then sighed softly. "It seems you haven't grasped the situation yet."
Before his words faded, Morrow's aura output visibly intensified. The powerful aura instantly engulfed the entire alley.
The woman had witnessed Morrow's battle with Lopez from a distance. But experiencing Morrow's overwhelming aura up close, she couldn't withstand the surge of fear and panic rising within her, instinctively retreating several steps.
—--
Half an hour later. In the dimly lit alley, the woman huddled in the corner trembling uncontrollably. The mysterious composure she had displayed earlier had completely vanished, replaced by helpless fear.
Morrow cast a cold glance at her before lowering his gaze to the Eye of Truth card in his hand, engraved with the number "102."
Apart from the different number, this card's appearance and material were identical to the one Nolan possessed.
"So you're also one of the 'members', and you don't even know whether this card carries a 'usage cost'." From the woman's fragmented confession earlier, Morrow had pieced together some information about the Eye of Truth.
Compared to the delusional madman described by the Tree Hollow elder, this organization seemed more like a group of charlatans suffering from delusions, obsessed with constructing some utopian fantasy. Rather than calling it an organization, it would be more accurate to describe it as a membership-based club.
Yet the card in his hand truly possessed the characteristic of "ability creation."
The princess Eve from Kukan'yu Kingdom had used this card to create a Nen space with established rules. The woman before him, numbered 42, had created an ability for a reconnaissance-type Nen Beast, thereby restoring her eyesight.
After using the card, the number 42 corresponding to the card's number had appeared on the woman's body. What Morrow found particularly noteworthy was that Eve back then didn't seem to have developed such a number, or perhaps she had unconsciously transferred the cost using her "Life as Dust" ability.
Moreover, the structure of the number on this woman's body closely resembled the basic structure of Divine Script.
Morrow had always believed that abilities of this pyramid-scheme nature must contain certain risks targeting the users. Just like Morena's Etude of Love, which granted her the authority to track others' locations and obtain detailed information about them when bestowing abilities upon them.
But this woman before him didn't care about the number on her body at all, even considering it a form of organizational identification. Thus, it was difficult to extract useful information from her.
Buzz. Suddenly, his phone vibrated in his pocket.
Morrow took out his phone to find a message from Gon: "Teacher, Battera's recruitment event attracted so many Nen users! But Killua and I passed the screening easily. We'll be entering Greed Island in a few days!"
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Bonus chapter @400powerstones