First of all, this is the Republic of Padokea.
Second, Xiang Nan is still wanted by the local mafia with a price on his head.
Then, taking into account the normal growth trajectory and business of the Zoldyck family's offspring...the name of the individual right beside him almost speaks for itself.
From having read the original story, Xiang Nan was all too familiar with that expressionless puppet‑like state of the cosplaying homebody who'd just been controlled.
"Illumi Zoldyck?"
Xiang Nan said in a low voice.
Thankfully, the system's protection was still in effect, so even if Illumi had tracked him down, Xiang Nan should be safe for the moment.
Hiring a Zoldyck family member is never cheap. Xiang Nan guessed it'd require a truly significant sum—likely only the upper echelons of the underworld could afford it. And whether they'd take the job or not also depends on their current schedule.
But if you consider that Illumi's fee might be somewhat lower than that of Silva or Zeno, it made sense.
"Maybe there's also their involvement,"
Xiang Nan thought of that group at Heaven's Arena, Stars. Although they might no longer dare to make a direct move on him and Manman, Xiang Nan had killed their teammates... So even if they didn't look for direct trouble, it wouldn't stop them from sicking some indirect nuisance on him. As players, they know well what Xiang Nan would dread. Possibly, they colluded with some of the mafia, leaking Xiang Nan's whereabouts at Heaven's Arena, letting the latter hire Illumi to apply pressure.
The mind‑controlled otaku had evidently become a mouthpiece for communication between Xiang Nan and Illumi—a third party who could bypass the system's restrictions.
Honestly, it was rather clever. Xiang Nan hadn't foreseen that.
Illumi could indeed pull it off.
On one hand, it showed how sharp Illumi was. On the other, it indicated he'd previously had contact with newly‑arrived players, enough to figure out how players' protective rules operate—and then found an exploitable loophole.
No wonder high‑level players avoided Heaven's Arena...and Stars dreaded those storyline characters.
"You do, after all, know me,"
"And you're well aware of my Nen ability, yes?" the otaku repeated Illumi's lines in a halting voice.
"I was hired by the mafia to kill you…
"But for now, it seems inconvenient to do so…
"Could you maybe die on your own?"
"..."
Xiang Nan.
Two lifetimes, and he'd never come across anyone so shameless. Even though the messenger's tone and expression somewhat differed from the original, Xiang Nan could guess how Illumi must have looked when he said it—like it was perfectly normal to ask someone to go kill themselves.
He's got a screw loose,
Xiang Nan thought, expressionless.
"I'm afraid not," he replied to the controlled otaku. Finishing that line, he simply rose to leave.
"All of you, the ones like you…
"Seemingly at first, you have some mysterious power…
"Protecting you…
"But wait a while, that power eventually disappears.
"You must realize that, by then…
"You'll still die, yes?" the otaku said, stumbling over the words as Xiang Nan headed off.
Xiang Nan halted and turned, smiling:
"I've still got quite a lot of time left under my protection.
"Given how busy the Zoldyck family usually is, and how trivial a job 'killing me' must be on their list, I doubt they'd spend too much time on it. Besides, those small mafia families can't possibly afford an extended contract. If your arrangement was time‑based, you must be getting anxious, right?
"So you won't be able to complete your assignment. That likely hurts your reputation—'a 100% success rate'? Could I be the first failure?"
He let out a mocking jab, then turned as if to leave for real.
"No oh…
"I am quite aware of people like you.
"I only wanted some spare cash..."
"But as it turns out, not so simple, huh?"
"Anyway, for me—
"Killing you is typically a matter of 'kill first, then accept the commission.'
"So in this sense, it's not a 'failure.'"
"Really not gonna think it over? "If you'd just die now, it'd help us both out, you know."
The man's voice behind him—growing fainter with distance—fell on Xiang Nan's ears.
Xiang Nan made no reaction, strolling out of the spectator stands' tunnel.
…
"So it failed," somewhere else, Illumi Zoldyck—long hair cascading, blank‑faced and hollow‑eyed—sat in his seat, one leg crossed over the other, hand cupping his chin.
"I see. That lines up with my suspicion. "He evidently has a decent handle on 'that ability' of yours... I was hoping to earn a bit of easy money. Well, guess not."
He rose to go. Flicking his wrist, the hypnotized fan collapsed on the spot, with the needle in his skull dropping to the ground.
"Yo!"
Suddenly came a greeting from behind. Illumi turned, spotting a familiar guy.
Blood‑red hair styled flamboyantly high, slender but toned figure leaning lazily against the railing, face painted with star and teardrop motifs. He wore clothes decorated with playing‑card suits.
That man gazed over with a faint, teasing smile. His gaze seemed lazy, yet beneath it shone a dangerous spark.
"Oh... Hisoka."
Illumi said flatly, speaking as if bumping into Hisoka was no different from seeing a random roadside plant.
"I saw that, you know..."
Hisoka, arm resting on the guardrail, drawled in an oddly flirty tone.
In his other hand, he idly flipped a small deck of flowery playing cards.
"Need me to help?"
Hisoka glanced at Illumi, lips curving impishly.
"I can kill him for you. No charge."
He paused.
Illumi's dull eyes bored into him for a few seconds.
"When did we become friends?"
he at last responded woodenly.
"..."
Hisoka said nothing.
Then Illumi turned away, walking off without fanfare.
"Hmm..."
For an instant, the cards vanished from Hisoka's hand. He made no move to stop Illumi or press further. He merely leaned again on the rail with that same faint grin—though there seemed a hint of disappointment in his eyes, like a child whose toy had been taken away.
~~~
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