There wasn't a single guard in the corridor outside the room or even at the entrance.
They seemed certain that nobody would dare sneak into the church to eavesdrop on their conversation. That worked in Su Wu's favor.
He silently pressed his ear against the door. To focus on what the people inside were discussing, he even used Nen to enhance his hearing.
With his Six Eyes, he could see the aura on other people, so naturally, he could see his own, too.
Besides, Sid had attacked him with Nen during training for so long. If he still hadn't learned it by now, his talent would be questionable.
Opening his aura nodes was like opening the Ren and Du meridians of martial arts legend. Once they were open, he could control the "aura" within his body—that is, his life energy. The act of controlling aura was called Nen.
The four major principles of Nen were—
Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu.
As far as he could tell, using Nen was much like using Cursed Energy. The only difference was that one came from negative emotions, while the other was life energy. They followed different paths to the same destination, so he'd picked it up very quickly. But he still had to explore what his specific ability was.
Before their aura nodes were opened, ordinary people leaked a little aura. Afterward, it flowed out much faster, so they had to learn to control their Nen. Otherwise, if they lost too much aura, they'd become dazed and listless, wanting to spend all day lying around.
For now, the most useful Nen technique to him was Ten. He could surround his entire body with Nen for defense, making up for his weakness in that area.
After all, without Limitless, all he had were offensive abilities.
Of course, both Cursed Energy and Nen could also strengthen the body. With their reinforcement, he could take a hit without much trouble, and he could strengthen any part of his body—which came in handy while eavesdropping, too.
Nen abilities, on the other hand, depended entirely on the user's ideas and experimentation. They had limitless possibilities, and any type of ability could emerge.
The meeting room inside the District 1 church was extravagantly decorated. Velvet carpeting covered the floor, and the gold furnishings were studded with colorful gemstones.
Even the tablecloth had patterns embroidered in fine golden thread.
Several figures in black robes or suits sat on either side of the twelve-meter-long table. A number of burly guards or bodyguards stood behind each of them.
Nearly fifty people had gathered in the meeting room. The silence was oppressive.
"I heard the children who went missing in District 13 have all been found?" a man in a suit asked mockingly. Gemstone rings adorned all ten of his fingers, sparkling as he moved them.
"Didn't Pampas go to District 12 a while back? He's so capable. It's no surprise he managed to find the children," said a man wrapped in bandages and dressed in a black priest's robe, his voice gloomy.
"Those children are Meteor City's future, after all. I had to at least try to save our future," said the blond, green-eyed man seated at the far end of the table on the left. He chuckled lightly, seemingly oblivious to the insinuations in the others' words.
"Hmph! Do you really think you're Meteor City's savior?!" A man slammed his hand down on the table, his voice furious. Fortunately, the table was sturdy enough to withstand the blow without budging.
"How could I? I'm just a minor figure in the Elder Council." Pampas raised both hands, as though surrendering.
"All right, all right. Pampas was just doing his job..." another woman said, wearing a mask as she seemed to come to his defense. But in the next moment, she added, "I heard you've acquired a capable subordinate, Pampas. Why not introduce him to everyone?" Her dark eyes, visible beneath the mask, watched Pampas with an amused smile.
"He's so capable that I'm afraid you'll all be eager to recruit him and take him away. I can't compete with any of you, so I have no confidence I could keep him," Pampas replied calmly, smiling as well.
"Enough nonsense! That man killed so many people and destroyed plenty of buildings. Hand him over!" another man snapped coldly.
"He was caught up in danger and had no choice but to use force to survive. He was a victim..." Pampas shook his head helplessly. The other Elder Council members looked at him with disdain and contempt, but he continued, "Come to think of it, I may have discovered something interesting. The Spiders might be interested."
He interlaced his fingers and smiled warmly.
The Spiders were famous throughout Meteor City.
The elders were clearly wary of the Spiders.
If word of the missing children reached them, the matter wouldn't be so easy to settle. A few more elders would certainly be replaced.
Even now, some of the elders still remembered the upheaval from over a decade ago.
The group exchanged glances, silently weighing their options.
"It's not such a big deal, really. The children have all been found, and it's over. Why involve those Spiders in the Elder Council's business? Don't you agree, Pampas?" One of the elders who hadn't spoken cleared his throat. His voice was old, but steady and powerful.
"Of course. I agree, which is why I'm sitting here chatting with all of you," Pampas replied naturally, not pressing the matter and instead giving ground.
That meant both sides would let the matter drop. The Elder Council would stop demanding that Pampas hand over the man who had gone on a killing spree, and Pampas wouldn't tell the Spiders about it.
The meeting ended, and everyone began to leave.
But Pampas remained seated, his emerald-green eyes fixed on the bandage-wrapped figure across from him, who had already stood up.
"By the way, Faruk, I hope District 13, which you're responsible for, won't keep having one problem after another. So many children going missing in such a short time suggests you've been lax in managing things," he said unhurriedly.
The people who had risen paused. Their eyes turned to Pampas again, their expressions unreadable.
"...A lot of kids die every year anyway. Those worthless things can die anywhere, for all I care." Faruk stared at Pampas with the two brown eyes sunk deep in his sockets, speaking slowly and deliberately.
There were sun and moon marks on his left and right hands.
"I see." Pampas seemed to find his words reasonable and gave a slight nod.
"Hmph." Faruk turned and left. The other elders glanced at one another, smiled faintly, and headed for the door as well.
Su Wu quickly slipped away from the entrance when he heard footsteps.
The door creaked open from the inside, and people began filing out in twos and threes.
Only after they were all gone did Su Wu return to the church.
He entered the meeting room, where only Pampas remained. His face was full of disinterest, and his voice was dull with boredom. "So you've been dealing with this bunch of rotten oranges all this time?"
"'Rotten oranges'... That's a pretty apt way to put it." Pampas looked surprised to see him. It seemed the other man had grown even stronger in the few days since they'd last met. After a brief pause, Pampas considered the phrase and nodded in agreement.
There were always a few rotten oranges in a bunch of good ones. But clearly, there weren't any good ones among the people he'd been dealing with. They were all rotten.
"Besides me, there's nobody else who can talk to the Elder Council." Pampas sounded helpless, and a little exasperated.
He should never have worked so hard to climb the ranks. There was a mountain of work to deal with every day. Who could have known? There was no enjoyment in it at all.
"Figures. It's the same everywhere. So boring." The white-haired, blue-eyed boy scoffed, his voice full of condescending arrogance and disdain.
"Was that really all it took to settle this?" He looked at Pampas suspiciously.
"Not at all. They probably see me as a nuisance now. They might even start making moves against me." Pampas sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
At least he wasn't completely unprepared to protect himself.
But before that...
"It'll be a year soon. Your ID is ready, so you can leave whenever you want." Pampas took a card from his clothes and handed it to Su Wu as he spoke.
This chapter should make it clear enough: the child trafficking is connected to Meteor City's higher-ups. The people trafficking the children aren't some small organization.
What small organization builds an underground base in Upper District 3?
Any inconsistencies are just my own made-up details. Fine, fine, I'm an armchair expert. I'll criticize myself first. If it's not to your taste, don't read it.
Before you continue