The corner of the conference room exploded. Among the thunder of destruction, there was a faint pop—a gunshot.
Smoke and dust billowed. A muscular figure slowly shrank, reverting to a petite pink-haired Machi.
Machi frowned slightly and looked at the corpse in the ruins.
The corpse's chest had collapsed from her punch. Sternum and internal organs shattered in multiple places...
She'd expected a "super destructive punch" with full power to produce this result.
After all, even within the Troupe, there were only a few people who dared to take Uvogin's fist head-on.
But at the last moment, this Shadow Beast had apparently worried about being beaten half to death and enduring pain and torture. Or he didn't want to be captured and interrogated. So he'd just shot himself.
The pistol aimed at one cheek, fired diagonally upward through the mouth and out the opposite side of the skull. Instant death.
"Got so scared he killed himself. I thought he had some skill." Machi said. "Shame. His technique was actually pretty good."
She looked around. No one remained in the conference room except the decapitated corpses.
Raising her foot, she kicked away cracked rubble and walked out.
Corpses littered the corridor. The one at the end corner, missing half his body from an explosion, was none other than Oscar, who'd come with the boss alongside Purple Ape
Walking down the bloody, messy path, Machi hadn't heard any explosions in a while. She couldn't help taking out her phone to make a call. "Hey, new guy! Those few who ran out, what's your—"
"Hello, the phone you dialed has been turned off..."
CRACK! Machi's phone case splintered in her grip.
Goddammit. How did they slip away?
Liam controlled Prison Elephant and hurriedly fled with the other two—Bratt and Claudius, both marked with stars.
The former was Purple Ape's boss. The latter was the Wedding Master's boss. He also had True Martial King's treasure map and the True Martial Ksitigarbha Buddha statue.
Therefore, Liam had only activated control on Bratt. He hadn't yet triggered the Star Mark on Claudius's palm.
"That woman is a Phantom Troupe member?!" Claudius was practically being carried by "Liam-Prison Elephant" with one hand, "flying" with his toes barely scraping the ground as they bolted. His face was terrified. "Since these people are so powerful, they should've been eradicated long ago! No matter the cost!"
"Save it. She destroyed us all by herself." "Liam-Bratt" said sarcastically. This body also had an ordinary person's physique, so he was also being carried by "Liam-Prison Elephant" as they ran. Claudius was in his left hand. He was in his right.
"Then hire Professional Hunters! Isn't that what the Hunter Association does?" Claudius gritted his teeth.
"If they were so easy to kill, the Phantom Troupe would've been destroyed long ago, two bosses."
"Liam-Prison Elephant" spoke aloud while thinking privately at the same time.
Never mind that neither Machi nor Uvogin in the manga had transformation Nen abilities. Let's just say Machi was Transmutation-type and Uvogin was Enhancement-type. It didn't seem like either would waste their energy developing a Nen ability more focused on Conjuration... In other words, the "Machi" in the conference room had been someone else in disguise from the beginning.
One of the Phantom Troupe members.
The ones he didn't know were: Number 4, who was later killed and replaced by Hisoka. Number 8, who was supposed to be replaced by Shizuku after being killed by Killua's father, Silva.
Oh, and after killing Kortopi, Chrollo and the others should also find a new member to fill in—Number 12.
In other words, the person wearing Machi's skin who could become Uvogin was one of Spider's Number 4, Number 8, or Number 12.
"They look so similar!"
"When you become Machi, you can use Machi's Nen threads. When you become Uvogin and hit someone with that casserole-sized fist, it seems a lot stronger..."
Liam murmured internally. At that moment, "Machi" had transformed into "Uvogin" and hit him in the chest with a super destructive punch without hesitation.
After that punch, there were only two outcomes.
Either he took the punch to the head, destroyed the Star Mark in his mouth, and Purple Ape's body died completely.
Or, as long as the punch didn't destroy the Star Mark in the mouth, Purple Ape's body wouldn't die completely. It would still squirm and slowly recover... But a broken body, no matter how much he could control it, couldn't restore mobility immediately. During that period, he'd be completely passive about whether the Star Mark on Purple Ape would be exposed to the person disguised as Machi and Uvogin.
Therefore, Liam had controlled Purple Ape to avoid "Uvogin's" super destructive punch as much as possible. At the cost of being hit in the torso, he'd at least kept a clear mind. He'd left Purple Ape with one final command: "Raise the gun to destroy the Star Mark in the mouth and kill yourself with one shot." Then he'd released the possession directly.
Log out!
Transfer to "Prison Elephant." Grab two Ten Dons, one in each hand. Run.
"That guy's transformation can't be that convenient. It can't be without restrictions."
"If you could become whoever you wanted, wouldn't that be invincible?"
"Either the target can only transform after meeting corresponding conditions... or this guy can only transform into Phantom Troupe members!"
Given the person currently transforming, especially Machi's cold personality, Liam didn't think Machi would agree to let this person achieve any conditions on her. You had to know that not everyone in the Phantom Troupe knew each other's Nen abilities. Why would they let each other mark their bodies with messy Nen conditions?
"Tentatively, it's the latter. This guy can only transform into official Phantom Troupe members."
"Then I have to consider the situation where this person transforms into Phinks, or even Chrollo..."
"Liam-Prison Elephant" carried one Don in each hand and rushed out of the building.
He'd seen many men in black suits who'd died violently along the way. Thinking about it, in the conference room before, there'd been Ten Dons frantically pressing buttons under the table, but no men had entered the conference room to support them... It seemed this person disguised as Machi, like the other Phantom Troupe members, didn't act alone.
Another Spider had taken care of everyone outside after they'd entered the conference room.
Suddenly there was another explosion at the intersection ahead.
"Liam-Prison Elephant" looked up. It was the Shadow Beast who'd led another Don to break through the wall and escape from the conference room. The Shadow Beast had half his head shattered by an explosion and fell to his knees before a woman chewing gum. At the chewing gum woman's feet, the Don's body, taken by the Shadow Beast, had become two parts: upper and lower.
BANG. The Shadow Beast couldn't hold on anymore and fell completely. The woman chewed gum, blew bubbles, and looked at the three
"Liam-Prison Elephant" sighed.
Okay, this was also an unknown Spider. There were at most three people he didn't recognize total—Number 4, Number 8, and Number 12. You run into two of them right away?
The chewing gum woman pointed toward "Liam-Prison Elephant." POP—the bubble she'd blown burst.
The bursting sound was so clear, as if ringing in "Liam-Prison Elephant's" ears. He quickly braced himself and protected Bratt and Claudius at the same time.
The explosion hit behind "Liam-Prison Elephant" simultaneously, blowing all three away.
Thank god. Prison Elephant's aura wasn't as strong as Purple Ape's. But thanks to Liam's own good Ken proficiency, although shocked by the explosion, at least he wasn't killed.
There was a Star Mark on the palm. This small injury would heal quickly. Likewise, Bratt and Claudius were basically fine.
But Claudius's face was tense. He was actually confused. He was used to gang fights, but really not used to this kind of chaos among gods. What was this? First, a woman raised her hand and heads flew in the conference room. Then a woman on the roadside blew chewing gum, pointed at them, and the air suddenly exploded...
"Listen, two bosses." "Liam-Prison Elephant" grinned. Blood showed between his teeth. He spoke to both of them. Of course, mainly to Claudius, who wasn't possessed by him. "Now I'm going to share some of my 'superpower' with you. I'll stay and buy you some time. Run away."
"You? This?" Claudius was stunned.
"There's no time to explain." "Liam-Prison Elephant" raised his palm. "You may not be able to control it well while running, but it doesn't matter. You'll adapt slowly. Take it!"
How did it feel to watch yourself with another face acting like a drama queen?
"Liam-Bratt" watched numbly as "Liam-Prison Elephant" raised his hands toward himself and Claudius beside him. With one palm full of aura, he directly forced open all the aura nodes in their bodies.
In an instant, the aura of "Liam-Bratt" and Claudius erupted. All pores opened, as if a steady stream of energy gushed from their bodies through invisible holes.
"This... what kind of power is this..." Claudius was surprised and delighted. The world seemed to suddenly change and become clear. His eyes were opened. He saw the majestic white light of the Shadow Beast ahead.
"Liam-Bratt" instantly contained this violent, overflowing aura and entered Ten in one second.
The same thing happened to Claudius next to him. Liam instantly possessed his consciousness and helped him "wrap" his aura to prevent him from draining himself to death. He shouted in a low voice, "Okay, run!"
Claudius wanted to say something else, but with a look from "Liam-Bratt," he used secondary control. As if controlling game characters, both of them ran!
"Liam-Bratt" turned and ran. Next to him was Claudius, forcibly controlled and running side by side. The latter ran wildly at a speed far exceeding any previous running speed. He seemed tireless but was also very panicked. Why wasn't his body obeying orders? "What the hell is going on..."
The sound of "Ahhhhhhhh" faded behind him as "Liam-Prison Elephant" took the initiative to greet the chewing gum woman—identity unknown, Phantom Troupe number unknown.
"It's really surprising you managed to awaken them under such circumstances." The chewing gum woman said. "That's definitely not coincidence. How did you do it?"
"Secret family recipe. Never passed to outsiders!"
"Liam-Prison Elephant" activated the Star Mark on his palm and threw a punch.
Chewing Gum Woman's movements were very flexible. After dodging "Liam-Prison Elephant's" attack, she struck the side with her palm, knocking "Liam-Prison Elephant" backward in several somersaults.
Isn't this Prison Elephant's aura capacity way too insufficient?!
Virtual comparison!
Liam complained internally.
At this moment, a figure was thrown from a distant building... wait, not jumped. Thrown.
The Shadow Beast who'd failed to grab the flying knife was covered in blood and fell heavily to the ground nearby. There were traces of injuries on his body, plus signs of being strangled and cut by whips and threads.
It seemed after first leaving through the hole in the wall, he'd been blown up by the chewing gum woman, and now caught by "Machi" again.
"I'm fine not looking for you, but you still dare ambush me?" "Machi" walked over leisurely, hands in pockets. "Bambie, where is he?"
Bambie, the chewing gum woman, said, "Ran away."
"Why did you let them run away!" "Machi" said angrily. "That's a walking treasure map!"
"What treasure map?" Bambie asked.
"A treasure map is a treasure map. What the hell are you asking?" "Machi" snorted. "You actually let a few losers escape. I'm lowering my evaluation of you."
Bambie said, "It doesn't matter what you think of me. The boss has already approved my joining the Troupe. This person opened Nen for the other two. I didn't expect that, so I let them run away in that direction."
"Machi" frowned and looked at "Liam-Prison Elephant" seriously.
"Liam-Prison Elephant" kept his expression blank. You two keep chatting. Before I go offline, it'd be nice to hear some intel for free...
"It's not unusual for Nen users to open Nen for others. What's surprising is both of them survived." "Machi" said.
Bambie said, "There was no pause. Both quickly adapted to the increasing aura and ran away fast, as if they'd known how to use Ten for a long time."
"Haha..." "Machi" smiled evilly, wrapping her hands with aura. "Seems Mr. Shadow Beast has special skills in awakening people. Can you teach me?"
"Liam-Prison Elephant" sighed and gave two middle fingers to the girls opposite.
There was a pained groan from the side. The bloody Shadow Beast got up trembling, clenched his fists, and looked at "Machi."
"Let's fight side by side, friend!" "Liam-Prison Elephant" was instantly filled with enthusiasm. He clenched his fists and shouted loudly. "Can't stand without breaking! Can't destroy without... wait, no... anyway, that's it! Fight these two bitches!"
"I need to find an opportunity to remove the star from my palm. At the same time, this body also has to die." He thought to himself.
"OOOOH!" The Shadow Beast rushed forward bathed in blood.
"OOOOH! OOOOH!!!!"
On the roadside where there weren't many cars or people, two old Dons were running wildly.
Claudius's running was out of his control. He could only vent his excitement by screaming. "Liam-Bratt," running side by side, looked speechless and blocked his ears with two fingers.
If I wasn't thinking about your treasure map, I'd slap you in the mouth!
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