Phantom Troupe

As midnight arrived, the rain grew heavier.

Inside the antique shop.

Moro carefully put away the jade figurine.

This jade figurine was his biggest bargain find in recent times. With a little maneuvering, he could sell it for a good price.

That was more or less how the shop generated revenue.

However, most of the shop's profits had to be handed over to Molena. What Moro cared more about was the Nen aura lingering on antiques or handcrafted artworks.

After placing the box containing the jade figurine into a cabinet, Moro shut the door. He then glanced at the tightly closed entrance before looking at the clock on the wall. It was already past midnight.

"Saixin should be back by now."

Thinking that his workhorse employee would soon return, Moro set a kettle of water to boil.

Saixin was the only employee in his shop. He worked tirelessly without ever showing any rebellious thoughts, making him especially convenient to exploit.

That morning, Moro had sent Saixin to meet with a client. If nothing unexpected happened, he should be bringing back a few handcrafted artworks soon.

The first Annual Ring was now full. Although nothing had happened yet, Moro still intended to keep trying to absorb Nen aura and see whether he could light up the second Annual Ring.

After all, even if antiques or artworks lost the Nen aura wrapped around them, their value for sale would not be affected.

Moro brewed some tea with the boiling water, poured it into Saixin's thermos, then sat down on the sofa.

Once Saixin returned, he would first check whether the items he had acquired contained any Nen aura...

Then he would flee overnight.

He just wondered what Saixin would choose.

Would he firmly declare his loyalty, or take some money and part ways?

Given that guy's personality, probably the former.

The corners of Moro's mouth lifted slightly as he looked toward the door rattling under the rain.

Time passed silently.

Half an hour later, a few other sounds suddenly emerged amid the wind and rain.

Hearing them, Moro knew Saixin had returned. He rose to his feet, a faint smile on his face.

Creak—

The door was pushed open.

A tall, broad-featured man strolled casually into the shop.

It was Saixin.

His black suit had been soaked through by rain, and he carried two cases in his hands.

"Boss, a huge haul!"

Saixin shut the door behind him, excitement appearing on his somewhat rough face.

Moro discreetly glanced at Saixin's right foot as it stepped into the shop, and the smile on his face froze slightly.

But he quickly returned to normal and pointed to the counter beneath the display cabinet, where the thermos he had filled with tea in advance sat.

"Good work. I made you some tea."

"Heh, Boss, you're always so thoughtful. No wonder the two sisters next door are so crazy about you."

Saixin set down the cases containing the goods and walked over with a broad smile.

Moro raised an eyebrow. He did not care about Saixin's teasing and casually asked, "Why are you back so late?"

"The rain was too heavy. The road was jammed for quite a while on the way back."

Saixin picked up the thermos, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip of tea.

"Yeah, this rain... is pretty heavy."

Moro calmly watched Saixin's profile and drew a pistol from the small of his back.

Although both he and Saixin had Nen abilities, they still carried pistols on them every day.

A pistol could be useful in many situations.

Like right now—

Moro suddenly raised his gun and aimed beside Saixin.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three shots in rapid succession.

The first shot deliberately missed, while the next two targeted Saixin's lower back.

Saixin's pupils contracted. He leaped away sharply, narrowly avoiding the bullets aimed at his lower back.

"Boss?"

After dodging the bullets, he looked at Moro with bewildered confusion.

What greeted him was Moro closing in with a driving elbow strike.

The bewilderment and confusion on Saixin's face swiftly faded. At the last moment, he raised an arm to block.

Thud.

Elbow and arm collided with a heavy, muffled impact.

Enhanced by Nen aura, the clashing force sent out a visible ring of air.

Saixin had lost the initiative after all. Although he blocked the elbow strike at the last second, he was still forced backward.

He retreated all the way to the floor-to-ceiling window. His body did not touch the glass, but the emitted Nen aura surrounding him in his combat state did.

Crash.

Under the assault of Nen aura, the entire window shattered, and the wind and rain outside immediately surged in.

With his back to the storm, Saixin looked expressionlessly at Moro, who had suddenly attacked him, and asked, "How did you find out?"

"At first, I only had a question mark in my mind."

Moro aimed his pistol at Saixin and frowned. "But now I'm sure."

"Heh."

Saixin showed a somewhat simple-minded smile, understanding why Moro had deliberately fired one shot wide when he attacked.

Moro's frown deepened as he said coldly, "Drop that clumsy imitation of yours."

"That's truly frustrating. I thought my disguise was flawless."

Saixin slowly put away his smile and asked curiously, "So where exactly did I go wrong for you to notice something was off so quickly?"

"Your right foot when you entered just now."

Moro's gaze was icy.

His answer was not a joke.

Because Saixin was a devoted believer in fortune-telling. Every time, he would nervously have his fortune told a day in advance.

And today's fortune, after midnight had passed, was—

Whether leaving or entering, his left foot had to go first. Otherwise, he would suffer repeated misfortune over the next week.

As for why Moro knew this so clearly—

It was because Saixin tirelessly shared everything about fortune-telling with him every day, trying to pull him into the world of divination.

Unaware of the reason, Saixin only thought Moro was brushing him off. Expressionless, he said, "Oh, is that so..."

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Moro suddenly emptied the magazine. Amid the deafening gunfire, bullet after bullet shot toward Saixin.

A trace of anger rose in Saixin's heart. As his body swayed, he dodged the incoming bullets while widening the distance between them.

According to the intelligence he had received, he knew the owner of this antique shop was an Enhancer. So after Moro attacked a second time, his decision was to create distance first.

On one hand, that would deny Moro another chance to attack at close range. On the other, he could wait for his companion to reveal himself.

More importantly—

His transformation ability required a little time and space to deactivate.

Besides, if he did not deactivate his transformation ability, he could not draw upon his full manifested aura capacity.

Saixin retreated into the street. He had thought Moro would chase after him, but instead, after emptying his gun, Moro remained inside the shop, as if that intense desire to attack earlier had only been a facade.

He's conservative and cautious by nature...

Saixin thought this, then smiled. This made things easier—he could deactivate the transformation directly.

As that thought crossed his mind, Saixin stood beneath the pouring rain, raised his left hand, and rhythmically rotated his index finger while humming a tune.

Inside the antique shop.

Moro tossed aside his pistol and watched the fake Saixin's actions. Confused at first, he soon realized that the other party was likely about to deactivate some sort of imitation transformation ability.

Under his gaze, Nen aura surged and swirled around the fake Saixin.

In just a second or two, the fake Saixin's appearance and body underwent a dramatic transformation.

In his place stood a bald man, bare-chested and wearing only boxer briefs.

The man was a full size smaller than Saixin, and holes of varying sizes covered his body.

As Moro looked at the man who had deactivated his ability, his pupils shook.

A member of the Phantom Troupe...

Uvogin?