Church Conference

As Sid had said, the three days of training Su Wu missed were later compensated for twofold.

He had no issue with the intensity of the training. The only problem was that the Black Flash he'd been longing for still hadn't manifested.

"Am I really this unlucky?" Su Wu sat directly on the ground, staring at his own fists.

His manipulation of Cursed Energy was fine, and the speed and power of his punches were fine—so why couldn't he land a Black Flash?!

"You've made huge progress, so why do you still look unhappy?" Sid stood nearby, his tall frame casting a shadow over Su Wu. His tone was puzzled, his face full of confusion.

The other's improvement was remarkable. From being covered in wounds and bruises, his face swollen beyond recognition, to now... though he still had some injuries on his body, his face was almost unscathed.

The white-haired, blue-eyed boy with black facial markings sat on the ground littered with rubble, yet it felt as if he were seated on a throne of bones in a resplendent hall.

Just sitting there made many children and the priest unable to help but glance at him.

"It's still not enough..." The white-haired boy suddenly tilted his head back, half-closing his eyes, his words dripping with dissatisfaction.

"Just this—it's completely insufficient."

"I want stronger power, like..."

"The kind of power that can break through your or Uvogin's defenses with one punch and pierce straight through your bodies." He stretched out his hand, spreading his fingers, his tone somewhat obsessed, his gaze unfocused.

As if dazzled by that immense strength, his expression was one of pure greed, craving power.

In truth, he was just thinking that the image of punching through a strong opponent's body would be incredibly satisfying.

"You really are insatiable, you greedy bastard." Sid wasn't angered by the other's goal, nor did he scoff dismissively. He just scratched his head, as if at a loss for words, before finally speaking with a wry smile.

"If I can't get stronger, then it's all meaningless." The white-haired boy pulled out a handkerchief to cover his nose. After a moment, it was stained red with blood. His voice sounded muffled but was unusually serious.

He still remembered that when he first appeared in Meteor City, the system had warned that the world's danger level was high-risk.

Especially—the Hunter World was vast and fascinating. Beyond the continent where humans currently lived, there was a forbidden zone he wanted to see.

Since he was already here, he might as well see the world. First, a small goal: travel around it.

"Though I don't fully agree with your thinking, since that's how you feel, go for it. The path to strength is endless—keep at it." Sid frowned at first, looking a bit troubled, but after thinking it over, he gave Su Wu a thumbs-up in encouragement.

He would help the other plan his training, but he wouldn't interfere with his thoughts.

With that, he headed toward the church.

As a priest permanently stationed in District 12, he rarely left the area, and the church was where he spent most of his time.

The children who had been waiting nearby saw Sid leave and realized today's training was over. They quickly joined hands, like a string of gourds on a vine, and ran up to Su Wu.

"Thank you, My Lord." They beamed, speaking loudly.

Su Wu looked at them, somewhat baffled. Thank him for what? Had he done something good? Impossible. He could swear that since appearing in Meteor City, he hadn't done a single good deed—he'd only been busy fighting, killing, and training.

"Tara and the others are back already. Thanks to the Church's adults, we can live like this." The children held hands, their numbers a few more than the last time he'd seen them.

Their bright, sunny smiles clashed with Meteor City's gloomy sky.

"...Ah..." Su Wu thought for a moment and remembered that the mission had originally been called "Investigate the Missing Children."

But he'd gotten caught up in the killing and completely forgotten about the kids—he hadn't even remembered to release them.

Pampas must have let them out afterward.

"Get this straight—I'm not some kind-hearted person who'd save you." He raised a finger and wagged it in front of the children, a smirk curling his lips, his tone harsh.

"I couldn't care less whether you live or die." He said it lightly.

Just as he hadn't bothered to remember these children's names or faces.

Because he didn't care, so he didn't bother.

Unless their strength was worth remembering.

"We know we don't have any value yet, but this is our thank-you gift!" The children weren't hurt by his arrogant, cold attitude at all. Instead, they kept smiling brightly and handed over three flower crowns. Before Su Wu could refuse, they joined hands and ran off.

The flowers in the three crowns were all simple white blooms, small and rather cute.

They were the most common flowers in District 12.

"...These kids are really strange." Su Wu looked at the three flower crowns, feeling nothing inside.

He wasn't moved by the crowns, nor dazed by the children's bright smiles.

Of course, that wasn't their problem—it was his.

He just found it interesting that they could still smile in response to his attitude and naturally admit that they currently had no value.

Even in well-protected District 12 of Meteor City, the children accepted the concept of value.

In their eyes, only those with value could survive. That was why they hadn't even dared to ask Pampas and the others for help finding their missing playmates at first—they believed they'd be rejected for being worthless.

District 12 took them in, protected them, and taught them, but it didn't hide this truth from them.

That attitude struck him as both cruel and gentle.

Su Wu mused idly, picked up the three flower crowns, and in the blink of an eye, dashed into the church.

"Sid, those flower garlands the kids gave you." As he spoke, he tossed all three garlands to Sid.

"Why three? And why would they give me these?" Sid stared at the garlands thrown in front of him, a little puzzled.

"The other two are probably for you to wear as bracelets." Su Wu lightly dropped the remark, then turned and vanished on the spot.

Sid didn't even have a chance to ask further, so he could only stare at the garlands in frustration for a long while before carefully setting them aside.

Meanwhile, Su Wu was on his way to District 1.

He planned to ask Pampas whether he'd found that person with the Teleportation Ability yet, and if so, whether he could have a go with it.

If not, he'd urge Pampas to speed things up.

Pampas usually hung around the church in District 1. In the past, Su Wu had always found him there without trouble, but today he came up empty.

"Not here?" The main hall was empty and desolate, nothing but tables and chairs.

He swept his gaze around once more, finally locking onto a direction.

The walls couldn't block the Six Eyes' sight. He saw dozens of figures gathered in one of the church's rooms.

And every single one of them was a Nen ability user, their life force far stronger than an ordinary person's.

In the Six Eyes' perspective, they stood out even more.

The way the Six Eyes distinguished people: the stronger someone was, the more vigorous their life energy appeared.

To the Six Eyes, Pampas was also a very vibrant individual.

Su Wu suppressed his own power, silently approaching that room to see what they were up to.

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