The Phantom Troupe(?)

The Cleaner, who had emerged from the trash heap and returned to his original spot, said nothing more and simply continued burying himself in his work.

There was no anger either, as if subconscious obedience to the principle of the strong ruling the weak was the norm.

As long as one was strong enough, anything was permissible.

Su Wu carried the infant and trudged slowly back to District 12. He didn't dare use Cang—with his current physical condition, even using Cang would cause minor injury, and given the baby's frail state...

If he used Cang, by the time he reached the church in District 12, the child would likely be dead.

"I hate kids..." Su Wu frowned, a mix of disgust and fear in his eyes as he looked at the ugly, hairless little monkey-like creature in his arms.

Too weak, too fragile.

Even back in his three-dimensional life, when relatives shoved kids at him during holidays, he'd do everything to avoid holding them.

Just then, his eyes lit up as he spotted a group of children passing by. He dashed over, shoved the baby into one kid's hands, tossed out a sentence, and quickly withdrew.

"Take him away."

The child, suddenly saddled with a baby, looked no older than five or six, but held the infant with practiced care and caution.

"Sid! Another kid's been sent!" Several children rushed into the church, shouting as they ran, as if this wasn't the first time.

Having shed his burden, Su Wu leisurely followed the kids into the church. In the open space, a large group of children was training.

Another batch sat sweating on the side, resting and playing.

"Take him to the Nursery." The brown-haired, brown-eyed man, who looked more like a boxer than a priest, sat cross-legged on the ground. He opened his eyes calmly and nodded toward the side passage.

The church had a dedicated Nursery, housing over a hundred infants.

Older children lived in the empty houses outside the church.

As long as they were in District 12, the kids didn't have to worry about being harmed.

"Okay!" The children happily carried the baby to the Nursery.

To them, it meant one more sibling.

"Cleaning up trash just means sorting garbage? How boring." Su Wu stood in front of Sid, eyeing the muscle definition visible even through the man's clothes, and reached out to touch it curiously.

"Your body's really tough." He groped around, offering a compliment.

Was he an Enhancement-type too? His aura seemed pretty decent.

If he took a direct hit from Cang, he might just stagger back a few steps without a scratch?

This really was a dangerous Hunter World. Meteor City was full of hidden tigers and crouching dragons.

"...Are you done touching?" Sid gritted out, his brow furrowed into a deep frown.

This kid had no sense of boundaries.

Were they close enough for that kind of familiarity?

"Just a little touch. So stingy." Su Wu pulled his hand back and tossed out a light jab.

If you've got a bod like a bodhisattva, you should act like one—stand on the street and let people touch you freely.

Sid's breath hitched at the kid's audacity.

How many years had it been since he'd met such an annoying brat?

A cheerful voice suddenly rang out from the doorway.

"Yo, Sid, playing with your kids again?"

A blonde youth and a tall, burly man with a scarred face walked into the church together, followed by two figures lugging large bags.

"You're back. Here to drop off supplies again? How long this time? Leaving tomorrow?" Sid seemed familiar with them, chatting warmly.

Su Wu, ever the social butterfly, went straight to rummage through the supplies they'd brought.

Candy—grab a handful.

Milk—down a bottle.

Apple—take a bite.

Bananas—snag two.

Catching sight of the white-haired brat acting like a bandit out of the corner of his eye, Sid's molars itched.

Couldn't he wait until these outsiders left to eat? Don't make it look like the Church starves its people!

"Hill, stop eating." Sid fought to keep his face from twisting too badly.

"Who are they?" Su Wu ignored Sid's order, munching on an apple as he asked.

Blonde hair, blue eyes, wearing a martial arts uniform. And that two-and-a-half-meter-tall guy with hair like a hedgehog and a scarred face...

They felt familiar. There was a gap between 2D characters and real-life 3D people, but the lingering traits were enough for him to recognize them.

"Shalnark and Uvogin. They're members of District 12's biggest sponsorship group. They only show up in Meteor City about once a year, stay for two days at most, and leave. You just happened to run into them." Sid looked away, focusing on Shalnark and Uvogin as he introduced them.

"Ah, the funding group behind District 12..." The white-haired, blue-eyed youth nodded calmly.

The biggest funding group behind District 12 was actually the Phantom Troupe?!?

The Phantom Troupe, also known as the Spiders, bore spider tattoos on their bodies. With thirteen members, they would stop at nothing to get what they wanted—murder, arson, looting, and every atrocity imaginable. Every single one of them was an A-Class Fugitive.

A bunch of A-Class Fugitives secretly doing charity and raising kids behind the scenes?

He must have read too few manga to be making such a big deal out of this.

And Shalnark was a Manipulation-type, wasn't he? If that was the case, then...

The two people following behind Shalnark and Uvogin, carrying things in—the Nen ability on them probably belonged to Shalnark.

Looked like they weren't volunteering to carry those things.

"And this would be...?" Shalnark seemed to be asking Su Wu, but his gaze was fixed on Sid.

"Sil Devil, the new kid who joined the Church. The one who caused that commotion yesterday." Sid introduced him calmly, his tone showing no regard for the previous day's disturbance.

"Such a young ability user... Twelve years old?" Shalnark's smile was bright and sunny, his appearance highly deceptive.

Anyone unaware would easily be fooled by his looks.

But Su Wu knew his true nature.

"You look about the same age as me, aside from the height, Golden-haired Dollface." Su Wu replied lightly.

"Cough." Sid coughed, shooting Su Wu a look.

This was District 12's benefactor—show some respect.

"I'll take that as you complimenting my youthful looks." Shalnark replied without a hint of embarrassment, not the least bit offended.

"I heard it was the Vulture chasing you yesterday? Too bad I didn't get to see you fight back. We don't exactly have good relations with the Vulture crew either." Shalnark lied through his teeth.

They'd never had any contact with the Vulture people, and the other side wouldn't be stupid enough to provoke a Troupe member.

"I'm not a clown putting on a show. If you want a performance, go to the circus." The white-haired, blue-eyed youth's tone was dismissive, his attitude utterly impenetrable.

Hard to approach, and thoroughly unlikeable.

Shalnark made a preliminary assessment of his personality.

Yet the very person who wouldn't give him the time of day took the initiative to approach the silent Uvogin.

"Your muscles say your close-combat skills must be excellent..." The white-haired, blue-eyed youth naturally reached out and touched Uvogin's arm.

"Fight me!" he declared, as if suddenly struck by the urge.

"I don't play with kids." Uvogin refused in a low voice.

"What's the harm? Just have a match with Hil." Shalnark smiled like a good-natured guy, patting Uvogin's arm.

One was two and a half meters tall, the other one point eight—trying to sling an arm over each other's shoulders was a bit of a stretch.

Uvogin glanced at him. The Troupe's strategist was smiling, his true emotions unreadable, but he must have had his reasons.

Not whitewashing the Troupe, nor having them join the Troupe.

It's just that the Troupe's childhood backstory occasionally mentioned them doing charity, as well as funding weapons for Meteor City, which made me think it wasn't out of character for them to sponsor kids there.

All fanon, all fanon, every bit of it—any OOC is mine.