First Meeting with the Spider X Double Face

"Luca, what do you think?"

"What can I say? Anyone who comes here to give away money is either an idiot or a pervert with ulterior motives."

"What should we do then?"

"What can we do? Report it... It's only a few dollars a month, why risk your life? Don't take the risk, just report it!"

After a moment of surprise, the two men in black guarding the entrance and exit exchanged a glance, and the one who seemed a little quick-witted pulled out his phone and made a call to his superiors.

At the door, Roy patted Kastro on the shoulder, signaling him not to be nervous. Through [En], he captured the thoughts of others and unexpectedly heard a familiar name - Chrollo.

Immediately, an image flashed in my mind: a cold, aloof face with a cross branded on its forehead.

"Chrollo, what do you think?"

Meteor City West District, No. 3 Street, at the street corner.

In contrast to other areas filled with piles of garbage, this street corner had been unusually cleared out, and a beautiful detached villa had been built. Numerous green plants and flowers were planted around the villa, creating a yard, attempting to completely isolate it from the surrounding garbage heaps... Viewed from above, it was strikingly conspicuous, simultaneously highlighting the status of the villa's owner.

It was the residence of one of the ten elders of Meteor City's Council of Elders... "False High-Minded"... Belus Raymond's mansion.

The middle-aged Belus, with his hair slicked back and wearing reading glasses, was sitting in his study, checking the production progress of his various factories, including the scrap yard and paper mill, for the month. He was also painstakingly planning to open an injection molding plant using plastic waste when he suddenly received a phone call... He didn't even try to hide it from Chrollo, Shalnark, Pakunoda, and the others who were cleaning his mansion every half day in search of a meal, and asked with a smile.

The sweeping Shalnark and the Pakunoda both stopped sweeping and wiping their rags to look...

Chrollo, who was cleaning the coffee table, straightened up, pondered for a moment, and said, "Our boss always taught us that there's no such thing as a free lunch."

The Sun-Earring Boy's bright eyes reflected Belus's encouraging gaze as he stated his opinion. "I don't believe someone would offer alms without a ulterior motive."

"Watching ' The Cleaning Squad ' was definitely worth it." Belus pushed up his reading glasses, looking at Chrollo with admiration, as if he were seeing a younger version of himself in him.

Faced with an extremely cruel living environment, he remained rational, adept at thinking about problems, and sought ways to solve them, rather than resigning himself to fate and being slaughtered like a pig or a dog. He chuckled and said, "I remember an episode in <The Cleaning Squad> about a rapist who impersonated a ' Missionary ' to deceive girls into becoming Believer, raping them under the guise of 'God's Grace '..."

Belus closed the ledger, his gaze sweeping over Chrollo, Shalnark, and Pakunoda. Noticing Pakunoda's furrowed brow, he calmly said, "There are only 'junk' and 'people' here... Since the other party chose 'giving alms,' they must not be short of money, so it can only be... people!"

"Ah... I know, they're with those human traffickers!" The Shalnark's obsessive-compulsive disorder kicked in; he couldn't stand the dust in the cracks of the floor. He squatted down and used his fingernails to scrape it out. Beside him, Pakunoda wrinkled her high nose, crossed her arms over her chest, and her ample breasts were about to burst out. Although she was only a teenager, she already had the air of a "white-collar mature woman."

Suddenly realizing, she said, "Sister Renzi from the church reminded us yesterday to minimize going out unless absolutely necessary, and if we must go out, it's best to go in groups, saying... a few more groups of human traffickers have come in."

The girl glanced at Chrollo, then at Belus, and tentatively asked, "Is the other side also planning this?"

Belus did not answer, but instead looked at Chrollo with a scrutinizing gaze.

At that time Chrollo's black hair hadn't yet been styled back like Belus's; it still had a bob haircut. He said expressionlessly, "Whether it's true or not, you'll know once you try."

The Sun-Earring Boy looked up and met Belus's gaze. "Isn't the boss currently planning on 4th Street and discussing the land purchase with Elder Ilya?"

"The other party is jealous of the boss's legitimate business and is asking for exorbitant prices. Luckily, there's an abandoned church on 4th Street. He wants to preach and give alms, so we'll give it to him for free, as long as he can handle Bolton."

"Double Face" -- Bolton!

"Trying to take advantage of someone else's weakness... Good lad!" Belus looked at Chrollo approvingly, took out a cigarette, lit it, and said into the speakerphone-enabled phone, "I heard everything. Do it that way."

Smoke curled from the study. Belus pushed back his chair and looked out the window. The street not far from the villa was 4th Street, also known as "Flesh Street," specializing in the "organ trade"... daring to compete with Ilya and Bolton... Belus's gaze was deep; be careful, "Going in whole and coming out piece by piece!"

"Yes." The call ended.

After finishing his cigarette, Belus turned to Chrollo and the others and said, "Let's have an extra meal today."

Chrollo, Shalnark, Pakunoda bowed respectfully, tidied the room, and left happily, leaving Belus alone to look out the window at the "unpleasant" scenery and sigh silently...

"Still too weak..."

Neither he nor the "one" behind him currently possesses Nen user capable of challenging Bolton... Over the years, Belus has openly and secretly "hired" some Nen user, even hiring Hunter at great expense to maintain order, but... compared to Bolton, those he hired are utterly inadequate, becoming mere "food" for the enemy, completely outmatched, even...

Over the years, Belus discovered that Bolton seemed to get a power-up every time he killed someone... It was so bizarre and ruthless that it inspired despair!

This once dampened his burning desire to change Meteor City through "normal means," and ultimately... he had no choice but to compromise. He tried to cooperate with the other party by "renting" the property and offered them substantial profits in order to ensure that his "plan," which he had spent decades developing to change Meteor City, could be implemented.

However, Belus knew in his heart that cooperating with Bolton, Ilya, and others was tantamount to seeking help from a tiger, but... what could he do when he was short of resources?

Why? Because he was born in Meteor City, with a weak foundation, unstable backing, and no truly powerful figure to rely on or command respect.

The strong have confidence... Might makes right... The law of the jungle, that's all there is to it...

"Whoosh~" The cigarette butt streaked across the sky, and with a flick of his Belus, it fell straight into the ashtray.

With a creak, the door closed.

The Shalnark's eyes darted around, and he whispered to Chrollo, "Should we go follow them and take a look?"

Whether they're human traffickers or genuine Missionary... this is the first time in my life that Shalnark has ever heard of someone coming to Meteor City to preach under the guise of "charity." Amidst my overflowing thoughts, I simply find it all fascinating.

"Do you want to be kidnapped, killed, and torn to pieces?" Pakunoda followed beside Chrollo, glancing at him coldly.

The Shalnark's lips curled into a smirk as he pulled a telescope from his pocket, proudly displaying it. "I have this!"

"A telescope? Where did you get it?"

"Of course I found it!"

Shalnark Ke Bao Bei wiped her glasses and said cherishedly, "Don't tell Uvogin, he'll make a scene if he finds out. It's just a pity... one lens is a little cracked, it's a bit uncomfortable to look at."

The Shalnark tilted his head to look at Chrollo: "But it's fine to see clearly, so... do you want to go?"

Pakunoda at Chrollo's sleeve.

The Sun-Earring Boy remained silent, sandwiched between the two. After a long while, he looked out over the courtyard towards 4th Street, took a deep breath, and said, "Sarasa has been searching for the videotape. If we don't expand the search area, it'll be difficult to find it."

"Cleaning Squad" is a serialized anime series, consisting of 10, 20, 30, and dozens of videotapes.

Chrollo reached out, grabbing Shalnark's hand with one hand and Pakunoda's with the other, and smiled as if performing in a church prayer hall, saying, "I want to finish performing <The Cleaning Squad>. I want to see everyone's smiles. If possible... like Boss Belus said, I'll take everyone to see the outside world."

"Whether it's a performance or enjoying the scenery, in short... I want to announce to the world that Meteor City also has outstanding performance teams!"

Both the Shalnark and Pakunoda were taken aback, feeling the warmth in their hands. The former chuckled and said, "We should go to Ganslan sometime! I've heard it's the world-famous 'entertainment capital,' and I've wanted to see it for ages."

There will be an opportunity.

"There definitely will be!"

Chrollo said decisively, "Then watch it here. Absolutely do not go to 4th Street." Pakunoda pointed to the west.

There was a tall pile of garbage there, which was also the group's secret base and treasure hunting ground. With the "geographical advantage" there, plus the binoculars that Shalnark had just bought, it shouldn't be difficult to see the entrance and the next block.

"Good."

The group left the villa and headed straight west.

At the entrance/exit, they received Belus's orders.

The two men in black immediately moved aside to make way for Roy and opened the iron gate.

"Go west, then turn the corner, and when you see the number 4, that's 4th Street."

"There's an abandoned church there. If you're so capable, you can take it and use it."

"It's that simple?"

"It's that simple!"

"Young Master," Kastro whispered to Roy Yi, "They were just whispering and making phone calls, waiting for news. It might be a trap!"

Upon entering society, the Sun-Earring Boy's mentor repeatedly warned him... "Society is dangerous; you must be careful in everything you do."

After that, whether at the Heavens Arena or at the Zoldyck, Kastro adhered to this principle and did just that.

Furthermore, this is Meteor City. He had heard Gotoh tell him about this place before, so he had been on high alert and reminded Roy.

It must be said that since the Heavens Arena accepted him into their ranks, the Sun-Earring Boy has changed his mindset and gradually begun to resemble Gotoh.

"I have you." Roy smiled as he smoothed out the wrinkles on Kastro's clothes, speaking gently.

Kastro felt a warmth in his heart, and patted his chest with his right fist. "Please rest assured, Young Master, unless I die, no one will dare to touch a hair on your Young Master!"

[Hint: "Believer" Kastro... "Loyalty" +1...]

Roy patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction. "Let's go."

"Yes."

The Sun-Earring Boy followed closely in Roy's footsteps, stepping into Meteor City, only to immediately witness what a "world garbage dump" truly looked like!

Piles of garbage, one after another, stretched endlessly to the horizon... A pungent stench accompanied the buzzing of swarms of mosquitoes... Compared to the Zoldyck Family's stronghold Kukuroo Mountain, this place was nothing short of... Hell!

"Young Master, a face mask."

Kastro immediately pulled out a face mask and handed it to Roy.

Before leaving, Gotoh had prepared quite a lot for him, enough to last him for a while.

Roy took it, and as his gaze swept around, he noticed many people who were pale and emaciated, adults who looked like minors, and minors who were simply skin and bones... As his gaze wandered, it fell on a high "mountain" to the west, where he found three people sticking their heads out from a huge garbage heap that rose dozens of meters high.

He put on his mask, withdrew his gaze, and, leading Kastro, walked unhurriedly towards the 4th Street mentioned by the man in black...

On the garbage heap, Chrollo thought to himself, "Such a keen sense of smell!"

Even from hundreds of meters away, they could see this side at a glance... The Sun-Earring Boy paused, then quietly put down his binoculars.

"What's wrong?" Pakunoda noticed Chrollo's unusual behavior and, always observant, asked quietly.

Chrollo handed the binoculars to Shalnark, and after a long silence, said, "I feel like he's discovered us."

"It's not just a guess, it's a definite yes." The Shalnark took the binoculars, glanced at them again, and noticed Kastro, who was standing next to Roy, giving him a sharp look. He clicked his tongue and said, "Those two guys remind me of Bolton!"

The Shalnark recalled how he had once sneaked to the edge of District 4, hundreds of meters away, to search for the Game, only to be spotted by the other party at a glance. Luckily, he was quick enough to escape with his life... He put down his binoculars and excitedly said to Chrollo and Pakunoda, "Pakunoda, Chrollo, this is going to be good!"

Chrollo remained silent, Pakunoda exchanged bewildered glances... The three took turns using binoculars to observe Roy and Hua Shidouwu.

The One Queen Sun-Earring Boy arrived at an abandoned, gray-white, pointed church. As soon as they stood still, they were surrounded by Zhou Chou's many men in black.

Then... the weathered, towering church front door creaked open!

A corner of the prayer hall was revealed, at the very back, in the center, a sinister-looking young man was cutting a medium-rare steak with a knife and fork.

"What's so strange about it?"

"Rental offerings, almsgiving."

"Can't understand."

"Renting, missionary work, and providing relief."

"Are you very rich?"

"Praising the sun... with a modest fortune."

Roy smiled, the charming young man crunching on his steak. Two branding marks, one for the sun and one for the moon, were branded on the back of his hands. His lips curled into a smirk, and his eyes narrowed into slits. "Helping out is good... helping out means you're rich, don't you know?"

Bolton leaned forward, looking at Roy with great interest. "Reverend, would you be willing to lend me a hand?"

"Click—" The bolt was pulled back, the blade and steel rod reflecting a flash of light.

Then his expression hardened and he said...

"Take them down, squeeze out the money, slice them up, and sell them."

To the point of production... brain"...

Damn, running around Meteor City to help those scumbags... that's probably stupid.

"Just throw it up!"