As time reached midnight, the rain intensified.
Inside the antique shop.
Morro carefully put away the jade figurine.
This jade figurine was his biggest bargain recently; with a little bit of maneuvering, it could fetch a good price.
This was generally how the shop made its revenue.
However, most of the shop's profits were handed over to Morena, while Morro was more interested in the Nen lingering on antiques or handmade artworks.
Placing the box containing the jade figurine into a cabinet, Morro closed the cabinet door, then glanced at the tightly shut main door, and finally at the clock on the wall; it was already past midnight.
"Saixin should be back soon."
Thinking that his diligent employee would be returning, Morro started boiling a pot of water.
Saixin was his only employee, hardworking and never rebellious, making him particularly easy to exploit.
Morro had assigned Saixin to meet a client that morning, and if all went well, he should bring back a few handmade artworks later.
Currently, the first "annual ring" was full, and although there had been no further movement, Morro still intended to try and continue absorbing Nen to see if he could illuminate the second annual ring.
After all, even if antiques or artworks lost the Nen entwined around them, it wouldn't affect their selling value.
Morro brewed tea with the hot water, poured it into Saixin's thermos, then sat on the sofa.
When Saixin returned, he would first check if the collected items had any Nen...
Then, they would flee that very night.
He just wondered how Saixin would choose.
Would he firmly declare his loyalty, or take the money and part ways?
Given that guy's personality, it was probably the former.
Morro's lips curved slightly as he looked at the main door, which was being battered by the rain.
Time passed silently.
Half an hour later, other sounds suddenly joined the din of the wind and rain.
Hearing the noise, Morro knew Saixin was back, so he rose smoothly, a faint smile on his face.
Creak—
The main door was pushed open.
A tall man with rugged features casually stepped into the shop.
It was Saixin.
His black suit was drenched with rain, and he was carrying two boxes in his hands.
"Boss, a big haul!"
Saixin closed the door with his backhand, an excited smile on his somewhat rough face.
Morro subtly glanced at Saixin's right foot as he stepped into the shop, his smile faltering slightly.
But he quickly recovered, pointing to the counter beneath the display cabinet, where he had already placed Saixin's thermos filled with tea.
"You've worked hard. I made you tea."
"Heh, Boss is always so considerate. No wonder the two sisters next door are completely smitten with you."
Saixin put down the boxes containing the goods and walked over, still smiling broadly.
Morro's eyebrow twitched slightly; he didn't mind Saixin's teasing and casually asked, "Why are you back so late?"
"The rain was too heavy; the road back was blocked for quite a while."
Saixin picked up the thermos, opened it, and took a gulp of tea.
"Hmm, this rain... it really is heavy."
Morro calmly watched Saixin's side profile, reaching for a pistol from his lower back.
Although both he and Saixin possessed Nen abilities, they always carried pistols with them.
Many times, a pistol could be quite useful.
Like right now—
Morro suddenly raised his gun and aimed it beside Saixin.
Bang bang bang!
Three shots in quick succession.
The first shot was intentionally fired into the air, while the subsequent two were aimed at Saixin's lower back.
Saixin's pupils constricted; he leaped away abruptly, narrowly dodging the bullets aimed directly at his lower back.
"Boss?"
After dodging the bullets, he looked at Morro with a hint of confusion.
What greeted him, however, was a close-range elbow strike from Morro.
The confusion on Saixin's face quickly faded, and at the last moment, he raised his arm to block.
Thud.
The collision of elbow and arm produced a heavy, muffled sound.
The opposing forces, enhanced by Nen, vibrated, creating a visible current of air.
Saixin, having lost the initiative, was ultimately forced back.
Even though he blocked the elbow strike at the last moment, he was still pushed back.
He retreated all the way to the French window; his body didn't touch the glass, but his outwardly radiating Nen in its attack state did.
Crash.
Under the assault of the Nen, the entire French window shattered, and the wind and rain outside immediately surged in.
Saixin, with his back to the storm, looked at Morro, who had suddenly attacked, expressionless, and asked,
"How did you find out?"
"At first, I just had a question mark in my mind."
Morro aimed his gun at Saixin, frowning, "But now I'm certain."
"Heh."
Saixin gave a slightly naive smile, understanding why Morro had intentionally fired a blank shot during the attack.
Morro's frown deepened, and he said coldly,
"Stop your clumsy imitation."
"How frustrating, I thought I disguised myself well."
Saixin slowly dropped his smile and asked with some curiosity,
"So, what exactly went wrong that allowed you to notice something was amiss in such a short time?"
"When you entered just now, you stepped with your right foot."
Morro's eyes were icy cold.
His answer was not a joke.
Because Saixin was a staunch believer in fortune-telling, always nervously getting his fortune told the day before.
And today, past midnight, Saixin's fortune-telling result was—
Whether leaving or entering, one must always step with the left foot first, otherwise, they would frequently encounter bad luck for the next week.
As for why Morro knew this so clearly.
The reason was that Saixin would tirelessly share everything about fortune-telling with him every day, attempting to draw him into the world of divination.
Saixin, unaware of the hidden truth, only thought Morro was humoring him, and said expressionlessly,
"Oh, is that so..."
"Bang bang bang—!"
Morro suddenly emptied his magazine.
Amidst the violent gunfire, bullet after bullet flew towards Saixin.
A hint of annoyance rose in Saixin's heart; with a sway of his body, he dodged the incoming bullets and simultaneously created distance.
Based on the intelligence he had gathered, he knew that the antique shop owner was an Enhancer, so after the second attack, his decision was to first create distance.
On one hand, it was to prevent Morro from getting close enough to attack; on the other hand, it was to wait for his companions to appear.
More importantly—
His transformation ability required a bit of time and space to disengage.
Furthermore, if he didn't disengage his transformation ability, he wouldn't be able to utilize 100% of his manifested Nen output.
Saixin retreated to the street, initially expecting Morro to pursue him, but instead saw Morro remain inside the shop after emptying his bullets, as if the intense attacking desire he showed earlier was merely a facade.
"Quite conservative and cautious in personality..."
Saixin thought, then immediately smiled; this way, he could directly disengage his transformation.
As his thoughts churned, Saixin stood in the heavy rain, raising his left hand, rhythmically rotating his index finger, while humming a little tune.
Inside the antique shop.
Morro dropped his pistol, then saw the fake Saixin's actions.
He was initially confused, then quickly realized that the other party was likely trying to disengage a mimicry or transformation ability.
Under his gaze, he saw Nen surging and swirling around the fake Saixin.
In just one or two seconds, the fake Saixin's appearance and body underwent a drastic change.
In his place stood a bald man, bare-chested, wearing only boxers, a size smaller than Saixin, and covered in holes of varying sizes.
Seeing the man who had disengaged his ability, Morro's pupils constricted.
"Phantom Troupe's... Bonolenov?"
(End of this chapter)
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