South Piece Hotel.
Rūpei, dressed in a black sweater, was leading six amateur Hunters in an investigation along the hotel corridor.
"Bosedora's phone is unreachable, so he must already be…"
Rūpei looked grim, staring down at his phone, which was repeatedly playing the "The number you dialed is switched off" message.
"Mr. Rūpei!"
A man in a grey martial arts uniform called out to him.
"Any findings?"
Rūpei put away his phone, walked up to the man, and asked, looking down.
"Bloodstains."
The man in the grey martial arts uniform pointed to the corridor. Rūpei adjusted his glasses and squatted down.
Indeed, there was a faint, almost invisible bloodstain. If one didn't look carefully, it would be impossible to find.
"Good, as long as there are clues, I can follow the trail."
Rūpei's face lit up with confidence. Transparent Nen surged from his body. He clapped his hands together in front of his chest, and a large amount of Nen converged between his hands, gradually forming a black camera.
Lost Item Camera!
As long as he photographed a part of a person or an object with this camera, clues would appear in the photograph.
"Click!"
Rūpei raised the camera and aimed it at the bloodstain on the ground. The flash went off, capturing the bloodstain.
After taking the picture, the Nen on the camera began to surge.
Rūpei stood up and, along with the six amateur Hunters around him, quietly waited for the result.
"Hiss hiss…"
Suddenly, the Nen on the camera calmed down, and a photograph slowly emerged from the camera.
The photograph showed an empty hotel room, exquisitely and luxuriously decorated, with numerous facilities. It appeared to be a presidential suite.
The room was clean and tidy, the French windows tightly shut, and the curtains wide open. The twilight sun poured in from outside.
Nothing could be discerned from the photograph, except for a chair placed casually in a corner of the room, not under a computer desk.
"A presidential suite, but it's impossible to tell which one it is."
An amateur Hunter looked at the room in the photo, feeling a headache. With just one photo, they couldn't find any clues.
"At least the target has been narrowed down to the presidential suites."
"If we check them one by one, with a hotel this big, it would take us several people until next month."
The amateur Hunters discussed amongst themselves, while Rūpei held the photo, deep in thought.
"Alright, I'll call the hotel to negotiate and have them take us to check their presidential suites."
Rūpei took out his phone, found the South Piece Hotel's customer service number online, and dialed it.
As an active professional Hunter in the industry, Rūpei still had some reputation.
He believed that the manager of the South Piece Hotel would not refuse his request.
Five minutes later…
A competent woman in a suit walked unhurriedly towards Rūpei and his group.
"Greetings, everyone, I am Cathy, the manager of South Piece Hotel."
Hotel manager Cathy stopped in front of the seven individuals, her gaze sweeping over each of the seven men, finally settling on Rūpei. She asked with a smile.
"You must be Mr. Rūpei from the call."
"Yes, apologies for the trouble."
Rūpei nodded indifferently, saying he was sorry for the trouble, but his tone carried no hint of apology.
"It is the hotel's honor to serve someone like you."
Manager Cathy didn't care at all. She saw people like this every day and was long accustomed to it.
"Everyone, please follow me."
Immediately, Manager Cathy led the amateur Hunters towards the presidential suite area.
Time passed minute by minute. Rūpei and his group, guided by hotel manager Cathy, searched one presidential suite after another.
Meanwhile, at the Hunter Association Headquarters.
"What! The Cleanliness Squad isn't planning to provide support!?"
In the office, Latin, holding a desk phone to his ear, spoke with anger.
"Uh… yes."
The person on the phone stammered slightly, facing the angry Latin.
"They said… without the Chairman's order, don't expect them to do anything."
"To get them to do anything, at the very least, a mission needs to be issued by the Examination Department."
The person on the phone said.
"I understand."
Latin slammed the phone down, his expression displeased.
He propped his elbows on his desk, his palms pressed together, supporting his chin, and stared intently at the plaque in the office, his mind, however, racing with thoughts.
"These bastards from the Cleanliness Squad, relying on their strength, listen to no one but the Chairman."
"For the Examination Department to issue a mission to the Cleanliness Squad, it must go through the Chairman, but now, the Chairman…"
Latin narrowed his eyes, his mind filled with countless thoughts.
Recently, for unknown reasons, Chairman Netero had been frequently contacting various V5 governments, and had held multiple meetings with V5 leaders.
The reason behind this was unknown.
This series of actions made individuals like Latin, who desired a voice within the Hunter Association, extremely concerned. They tried through various channels to understand the reasons.
But no matter what methods they used, it was like throwing a pebble into the ocean, failing to even stir a ripple.
"It seems I must go myself."
Latin closed his eyes in thought for a moment, then picked up the desk phone again and dialed a number.
Yorknew City, South Piece Auction House.
"Number 18, successful bid for [Greed Island] at 15 billion Jenny!"
"Thank you for your bid!"
"Clap, clap, clap, clap…"
At this moment, inside the auction house, thunderous applause erupted. Many wealthy individuals dressed in expensive suits stood up and clapped. Surrounding tycoons even crowded around Illumi, eager to talk to him.
"15 billion, huh~ That young man is really something."
"Indeed, 15 billion Jenny spent, just to buy some inexplicable game."
"And by his demeanor, spending 15 billion Jenny was like scattering a handful of dirt, not feeling any pain at all."
"But how come we've never heard of such a young rich man?"
"His name isn't on the world's rich list either."
"Perhaps he's a second-generation rich kid, or from some big family. It's normal not to have heard of him."
On the outskirts of the crowd, many wealthy individuals gazed at the incredibly impressive Illumi, discussing and speculating about his true identity.
Kukuroo Mountain, Zoldyck Family.
Milluki, nearly six years old, was playing a mushroom-stomping game in his room.
However, Milluki was extraordinarily gifted.
He operated the game with only one hand, while his other hand constantly grabbed handfuls of snacks from a bag on the table and stuffed them into his mouth, eating with a mouth full of crumbs.
Suddenly, Milluki's right hand, which was operating the game character, paused. He looked at the television nearby, where a news report firmly captured his attention.
"[Greed Island]?"
Milluki put down his game controller and picked up the remote control, turning up the TV volume.
"Just this afternoon, at 3:35 PM, a mysterious young wealthy individual bid 15 billion Jenny to successfully acquire [Greed Island]."
"It is reported that when this game was first released, only 100 sets were available worldwide, with an original sky-high price of 5.8 billion Jenny."
"But today, this already incredibly expensive and mysterious game once again soared to the exorbitant price of 15 billion Jenny."
"Despite this, people are still flocking to it."
"What kind of charm does this game, touted as a hunting game exclusively for Hunters, possess that makes these people willing to spend so much money to acquire it?"
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