Movements

A Nen user's combat power depends on various factors.

If the total amount of aura output and latent aura is the hardware, then a complete Nen ability tactical system is the software.

Neither can be lacking.

Normally, hardware like latent aura requires time to settle, with almost no methods for rapid advancement.

But after Moro's death and rebirth, this aspect became the least of his worries regarding improvement.

Otherwise, he would have definitely given up and enjoyed the last year of his life peacefully.

Now that he sees an opportunity, he will naturally do his utmost.

Practice after practice...

There were successes and failures.

When hit by the enhanced Flying Star, with defenses in place, it wouldn't cause redness or bleeding, but the pain was unavoidable.

But if this was the path he had to take to reach his goal, Moro wouldn't hesitate even slightly, only resolutely taking the next step.

Moro only stopped practicing when he was completely exhausted, then lay flat on the ground.

While resting, Moro thought about his next plan.

He made a profit by finding small deals to earn initial capital, then used that capital to intercept the famous sword Shinra, turning a small investment into 800 million Jewel.

During this time, he used that money to clear out some major items from his memory.

Some major items were easy to sell, so it didn't matter if he earned less; he basically sold them as quickly as possible.

For major items that were difficult to sell, he had to pay an exorbitant fee to temporarily store them in a bank vault.

After all this effort, not counting the few treasures in the bank vault, he now had 3.6 billion in funds.

And Moro only took less than a month to accomplish this.

In fact, if he could have slowed down, Moro could have focused on the Yorknew City auction two months later.

First, he would have bought up various treasures through small deals, and then sold them all at the September auction!

The profit at that time would have been in the tens of billions.

However, Moro gave up on this idea.

Money, of course, is very useful.

But for Moro now, having enough is sufficient.

The most fundamental goal is to improve his strength.

Earning money by finding antique collectibles was more for charging the Growth Ring.

Moro raised his right hand and looked at the Growth Ring on the back of his hand.

Recently, he had absorbed the Nen from twelve Nen objects, yet the charging progress had only barely reached around 8%.

The energy provided by a full twelve Nen objects was not even as much as Shinra provided.

This result made Moro realize a problem: the charging difficulty for the second ring of the Growth Ring had clearly increased.

As for Shinra being able to provide about 4% of the energy in one go, it was only because Shinra's Nen intensity was higher than normal.

"No forcing it..."

Moro muttered, then lowered his hand and closed his eyes.

Half an hour later.

Moro had recovered quite a bit. He got up, tidied himself up simply, and put on his hat, sunglasses, and mask...

After dressing thoroughly, Moro left the private shooting range and returned to the center of Yorknew City under the cover of night.

When he had dealt with Shinra before, the deceased intermediary's boss had given him a business card related to information channels.

Moro had already resolved his identity issues, and the money he earned subsequently was all legally taxed.

With clean funds and a legally recognized identity, using them for transactions that involved large capital flows, such as intelligence, would become much simpler and save a lot of trouble.

Moro contacted an information broker named "Argo" using the number on the business card.

When the call connected, before Moro could speak, a mechanical synthesized voice came through: "164 Old Town Street."

As soon as the voice finished, the call was interrupted.

Moro didn't mind, put away his phone, and headed to the address provided by the synthesized voice.

Old Town Street in Yorknew City was located on the outskirts.

If Old Town Street were compared to the city center, it would be like comparing the extremely contrasting upper class and the lower class.

The people living in Old Town Street were basically the bottom rung, struggling and busy at the edges of life.

And in such places, drunks, gamblers, and even drug addicts were commonly seen.

Therefore, the environment was characterized by its dirtiness, chaos, and cramped spaces.

Looking up, one could see the sky in the well shaft, cut open by a tangle of electrical wires.

When he looked down, the ground where he stepped was covered in sewage and trash.

As Moro entered the old city streets, between looking up and down, he vaguely recalled the Kowloon Walled City he had seen in movies before crossing over.

There were many similarities between the two.

Drip.

Stepping on the sewage-filled ground, Moro stopped his wandering thoughts. He moved through the narrow alleyways and, after quite some effort, found number 164.

Moro stood before the rusty iron gate. He didn't even need to knock; with a click, the iron gate automatically opened inward.

Seeing the gate open by itself, Moro glanced at a button-sized anomaly next to a small electric light diagonally above him. Not surprised, he walked in.

Inside the gate was a straight corridor, about five meters long.

At the end, on the right, there was a door covered by a curtain.

Moro lifted the curtain and saw the room's layout under the dim red tile lighting.

There was no common furniture, only a row of computers and a desk and chair set.

A person wearing a hooded sweatshirt sat in the backrest chair. Since their back was to the door, Moro couldn't tell their gender at first.

"Are you Argo?"

Seeing the brim of the hood peeking over the chair's back, Moro asked.

Creak.

The chair suddenly turned.

Moro then saw the person's gender and appearance.

A woman, with a very ordinary face and heavy dark circles under her eyes.

The hair scattered from under the hood, even under the dim red light, couldn't hide its greasiness.

"Ah, that's me."

Argo sat cross-legged in the chair, leaning slightly forward, sizing up Moro. At the same time, her right hand reached into her hood and gripped it hard.

"You brought enough money, right?"

After confirming her identity, her first question wasn't about the information but whether the money was sufficient.

Moro nodded.

Seeing this, Argo got straight to the point: "What information do you want to buy?"

"I want the long-term whereabouts of this person."

Moro took a folded, hand-drawn portrait of Feitan from his pocket and unfolded it in a few swift movements, facing it towards Argo.

"Oh..."

Upon seeing the portrait clearly, Argo unhesitatingly shook her head. "Sorry, I don't take this kind of business."

"It's okay, we can talk slowly."

Moro's expression was calm.

If Argo hadn't recognized Feitan's portrait, he would have turned and left immediately, not wasting his time.

Conversely, if she recognized it immediately, he was willing to pay more.

Argo frowned, withdrew her right hand from her hood, and picked at the dandruff between her fingers with her fingernails, saying coldly, "I told you, I don't take this kind of business."

"Add money."

Moro's tone was calm.

Argo shook her head again.

Moro raised his hand and held out two fingers: "Twenty billion upfront, and I can add more later."

"No problem!"

Argo's expression changed instantly, and she said seriously, "It's not that I love money, but your straightforwardness has moved me."

"I can see that."

Moro smiled.

Argo changed the subject: "I can take this job, but I have to warn you... people who have tried to buy information about the Phantom Troupe's whereabouts in the past have all died miserably, without exception."

"Thank you for the warning, but that's irrelevant to the transaction."

"Tch, then transfer the money."

"Okay."

A moment later, Moro paid twenty billion.

After confirming the transfer, Argo nodded with satisfaction and immediately put the value of this intelligence fee to use.

"Last Monday, at 8:06:24 PM, someone posted a bounty within a 'limited range' targeting a specific member of the Phantom Troupe. If you're interested in this information, I can follow up immediately."

"Huh?"

Moro's eyes widened slightly.