Vengeance is a hallmark of the underworld's modus operandi.
This principle is embodied to the fullest in Nolan.
The Menu he founded had endured countless attacks before establishing its footing.
Now, those who once targeted him lie in pieces, not even their relatives and friends were spared.
Such is Nolan's way.
Thus, even if it meant paying exorbitant fees to hire assassins from the Zoldyck Family or invoking his father's name to mobilize the Shadow Beasts, he was determined to exact retribution on the two Nen users who had obliterated the Virus Research Lab's defense squad in mere moments.
After issuing several directives, Nolan's mood finally improved somewhat.
However, before he could lay eyes on the corpses of his targets, he still had to clean up the mess left behind by the lab's breach.
Nolan's trusted subordinate took his orders and left to contact the Zoldyck assassins, as well as relay Nolan's words to Worm and Mosquito of the Shadow Beasts.
Having served Nolan for so many years, this was the first time the subordinate had seen him go to such lengths…
—--
That same day.
The Zoldyck Family, stationed on Kukuroo Mountain, received two new contracts.
—--
Meanwhile.
In Yorknew City, where the auction frenzy was heating up, rumors spread like wildfire that a pair of Scarlet Eyes had been added to Southernpiece Auction House's high-profile listings.
This immediately caught the attention of human organ collectors.
Since the extermination of the Kurta Clan, the rarity of Scarlet Eyes had skyrocketed to unprecedented heights.
So much so that any collector with the means to acquire them had been yearning for them endlessly.
Now, Southernpiece's sudden announcement of auctioning a pair of Scarlet Eyes was nothing short of a dream come true for them.
Within just an hour or two, many renowned collectors couldn't resist visiting the auction house to verify the news.
Once they confirmed the authenticity of the Scarlet Eyes, they left with expressions of exhilaration.
It's been over two years since the Kurta Clan massacre, yet the demand for Scarlet Eyes hasn't waned, it's only grown stronger.
Aksel, his face lined with wrinkles, called Morrow, "The response is excellent. My suggestion is that we don't need to push further, though I won't stop you from investing more in promotion."
"That's enough."
On the other end of the line, Morrow gazed at the blue sky and white clouds outside his window.
The promotion of the Scarlet Eyes had gone even smoother than he'd anticipated.
As Aksel had pointed out, the heat from the Kurta Clan massacre hadn't truly cooled yet.
And the Scarlet Eyes remained one of the most coveted treasures among human organ collectors.
After ending the call with Aksel, Morrow settled into his daily training routine.
The airship would take another day and a half to arrive at Yorknew's Lingon Airport.
Until then, Morrow wouldn't waste a single moment.
September 7th, morning.
The airship landed at Lingon Airport.
Morrow disembarked and hailed a cab to Downtown Sewer Street.
Two hours later.
Walking along the gray-and-black streets, Morrow relied on his memory to find a sparsely populated pedestrian street.
The storefronts lining the street were nearly deserted.
True to its name, Sewer Street's sanitation was far from ideal, with homeless people often seen sleeping on the ground.
Most tourists visiting Yorknew were well aware of the street's reputation and avoided setting foot there altogether. The desolate state of the streets made it difficult for shops to stay in business.
Only a few establishments, such as antique stores and appraisal shops, managed to survive by relying on Yorknew's reputation.
Morrow arrived at the lower street but didn't immediately seek out the antique clock. Instead, he wandered through the various antique shops lining the street.
After browsing for over an hour, Morrow managed to pick up two bargains.
One was a jade statue carved from Bo Yu, and the other was a rust-covered pirate cutlass.
The former was a Nen-imbued object, and the aura wrapped around it was naturally absorbed by Morrow into his Tree Rings, causing the energy gauge to rise directly to 20 %. It was an unexpected windfall.
After stuffing both finds into his backpack, Morrow reached the end of the street and pushed open the door of an antique shop.
Ding-ding…
The bell attached to the door chimed crisply.
From behind a counter cluttered with various odds and ends, a young woman with messy, bird's-nest-like hair abruptly raised her head.
"Prices are on the tags. No haggling."
Seeing Morrow enter, the young shopkeeper pre-emptively set the terms.
Morrow nodded at her and stepped inside.
The shop was crammed with all sorts of genuine and fake antiques, haphazardly placed on shelves or the floor, a chaotic, crowded mess.
Casually, Morrow picked out two relatively expensive items as decoys before finally selecting the heavy clock that concealed an unheated emerald.
The clock was made of stone and brass, quite large in size, with no particularly distinctive features in its design.
If anything stood out, it was the replacement of the pendulum with a diamond-shaped gray stone block.
Morrow placed the three items on the counter and prepared to pay.
But the young shopkeeper behind the counter stared intently at him and suddenly asked, "This clock… is there something special about it?"
"No."
Following the labeled prices, Morrow neatly placed the exact amount of money in front of her, his expression calm.
The shopkeeper collected the cash, then pointed at the two handcrafted items Morrow had chosen, each worth millions of Jenny, and said, "You have no real interest in these two."
"…"
Morrow looked at her, slightly surprised.
He hadn't been particularly insistent on hiding his true intentions, but the fact that she could see through him spoke volumes about her sharp observational skills.
The last time he'd come to buy the clock, the shop had been manned by an elderly man with white hair.
He wondered what relationship this woman had with the old man.
The young shopkeeper asserted confidently, "You came here specifically for the clock. Don't bother playing dumb, I've already taken your money, so the deal's done. Just satisfy my curiosity, please."
"Fine."
As someone who'd been in similar situations before, Morrow could somewhat relate to her curiosity. He agreed readily, then yanked off the cumbersome diamond-shaped pendulum.
Right in front of her, Morrow applied a bit of force and crushed the thick gray stone block, revealing an unheated emerald the size of an egg inside.
At the sight of the emerald, the shopkeeper's pupils trembled violently. She jerked her head up, her gaze at Morrow filled with disbelief.
Struggling to suppress the shock rising in her heart, she blurted out, "Can I take a photo?"
Morrow studied her face and saw only astonishment and wonder. It was unexpected.
"Sure."
"Ha, thanks!!"
The young shopkeeper hurriedly pulled out her phone and snapped several pictures.
Once she was done, Morrow took only the unheated emerald and left. The young shopkeeper didn't remind Morrow either. Holding her phone, she posted a blog entry with accompanying photos.
"Encountered a master today! Who would've thought such an ordinary-looking clock could hide a world-shaking gemstone!"
The blog rode the wave of traffic from the ongoing Yorknew Auction extravaganza.
Within just one day, two people came across two separate pieces of news related to the Yorknew Auction.
One piece pointed to the young shopkeeper's blog, while the other concerned the Scarlet Eyes scheduled for auction on the 10th.
And those two people were the Stone Hunter Biscuit, and Kurapika, the last survivor of the Kurta Clan.