Chapter 57: Mord's Request
"What a complete lunatic." Mord turned and left the villa, not forgetting to curse before departing. "Absolute nonsense."
Now the entire villa hall contained only Stanley as the sole survivor—beaten half to death and tied to a chair.
His body was covered in explosives.
This was the ending Mord had prepared for him. Since he loved being a bomb maniac so much, let explosives accompany him on his final journey.
BOOM!
The moment Mord stepped out of the villa compound.
A tremendous explosion erupted behind him, flames shooting skyward as the entire villa collapsed.
Mord didn't look back, continuing forward.
Sirens wailed in the distance ahead as he slowly walked from darkness toward the light.
For many people tonight.
This was destined to be a sleepless night.
...
The next day, in the hospital.
Seeing that Chiyo had regained consciousness, Mord dialed Lippo's number.
"You dare call me, kid? Do you realize the trouble you've caused?" Before Mord could speak, Lippo's voice came through the phone.
Mord held the phone away from his ear, waiting for the other's emotions to settle slightly before speaking.
"I need your help with something."
"Getting scared now? I thought you feared nothing in heaven or earth." Recalling the scene from the Hunter Exam, Lippo still felt angry—most of the budget that should have gone toward updating electronic equipment had been spent repairing the tower.
Now that he finally saw Mord in trouble, of course he had to take this opportunity to give him a good lecturing.
"?????" Hearing Lippo's words, Mord was utterly confused, completely unaware what the other was talking about.
What does the matter I need help with have to do with fear?
Though strictly speaking, he was indeed afraid of taking care of children. The path he was about to walk wasn't suitable for having such "dead weight" accompanying him.
But how did Lippo know about this?
Mord asked curiously: "How did you know I wanted to ask you to look after a child?"
"?????" This time it was Lippo's turn to fall silent.
"You're not seeking my protection?" Lippo hurriedly asked.
"Why would I need your protection?" Mord retorted. What was all this about? So the other had misunderstood.
"Why?" Hearing Mord's casual tone, Lippo unconsciously raised his voice. "Don't you know what you did last night?"
"Although the World Government won't punish you since you only killed gang members, the underworld factions have no such concerns. Mobley's sister is currently the favorite concubine of the Terrio family head. Just moments ago, the Terrio family issued a bounty for your head throughout the entire underworld."
"Now do you understand why!!!"
"Mmm." Mord nodded flatly, then spoke up. "Didn't you say before that you owed me a favor? Now's the time to repay it."
"I have a little girl to take care of here, named Chiyo. She's currently in Room 401 on the third floor of Aftab City Central Hospital."
Mord glanced at the sleeping Chiyo and continued, "With both her parents gone, it won't be easy for her to survive in this world on her own. I'm entrusting her to you."
"Ensure she lives well, and that will settle the favor you owe me."
Upon hearing Mord's words, Lippo on the other end of the line fell silent.
In truth, the moment he had answered Mord's call, he had already prepared to step in and resolve Mord's troubles.
As the prison warden, he had dealt with many high-ranking members of the underworld over the years. If he intervened, they might just give him face.
Then, with a round of drinks, the matter could be settled.
But he never expected that Mord's request would be to take care of a little girl.
Moreover, he knew Mord and this girl were not related by blood.
To disregard his own safety for a stranger he had only met a few days ago...
He truly was an unfathomable man.
"...I'll send someone over right away," Lippo said gravely.
He respected Mord's choice.
"...Big brother, big brother, don't go."
In the hospital room, Chiyo seemed to be having a nightmare, murmuring incessantly in her sleep, tears trickling from the corners of her eyes.
Mord reached out and wiped away the glistening tears from the little girl's eyes, then turned and left.
Not long after, the people Lippo had arranged arrived at Aftab City Central Hospital and took the little girl away.
Mord, watching from the shadows, finally left with peace of mind.
...
Shortly after Chiyo was taken away, Mord received another call from Lippo.
He mentioned a task from the Hunter Association and asked if Mord was interested.
Generally, such tasks were handled by Association-arranged Hunters.
The Hunter Association contracted work from the government or corporations, most of which was delegated to Hunters affiliated with the Association. For Hunters who accepted these assignments, regardless of success or failure, the Association guaranteed them a fixed reward based on the risk and difficulty of the task.
As a result, some Hunters only took on such work and were mockingly referred to as "Association-arranged Hunters." Depending on the job, a swarm of Hunters would apply, and the Association's review board would assess their skills and personalities to select the most suitable candidate for the assignment.
These were the so-called Association-arranged Hunters.
That was why Mord found it somewhat strange.
"This was personally assigned by Chairman Netero. The target location is the country of Jappon," Lippo paused before continuing. "It's a relatively isolated nation, and the underground syndicates haven't extended their reach there yet."
"Hanzo, who took the Hunter Exam in the same session as you, hails from that country. Incidentally, this task is related to him as well. So, will you accept it?"
Though Mord didn't know why the old man Netero was going out of his way to look out for him—after all, Association-arranged Hunters were under the leadership of Vice Chairman Pariston and not part of Netero's usual jurisdiction—he had no reason to refuse such an obvious gesture of goodwill.
"Send the detailed mission contents directly to my Hunter mailbox." Mord nodded and spoke.
...
Trick Tower Prison.
"Thank you, Chairman Netero." Lippo straightened his posture, holding the phone respectfully.
Even though it was just a phone call, Lippo's current demeanor was as if Netero were standing right in front of him. When respect for someone comes from the heart, it makes no difference whether they are present or not.
"Hohoho, it seems Little Lippo cares quite a bit about that kid." Netero's carefree laughter came from the other end of the line.
Mord had guessed wrong.
It wasn't that Netero had taken special care of him—rather, Lippo had specifically sought out Netero for his sake.
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