Bai Zhu heard Hisoka's voice through his earpiece and frowned.
"Planting things? What are you, a farmer? Speak plainly."
A soft chuckle came from the other end, and Hisoka shared his feed. Milluki hammered at the keyboard and switched to the drone camera. A pale blue hologram unfolded before the three of them.
The image shook a little, but it was clear enough.
It showed a makeshift shelter converted from an underground parking garage. Hundreds of civilians lay sprawled across the floor, fast asleep. The cold beam of a flashlight swept over them, and not one person rolled over.
Five people in fully enclosed protective suits moved among the crowd.
They carried black cylinders a little over ten centimeters long. The leader held the back of a civilian's head and, without any other movement, drove the cylinder straight into the person's nape.
When he pulled it out, there wasn't even a drop of blood. Only a red mark the size of a grain of rice remained.
The civilian didn't react at all.
Hisoka's leisurely voice drifted through the earpiece. "How dull. Not even a whimper. They're like broken puppets."
Milluki zoomed in, and the pixels rearranged themselves. The marking at the base of the cylinder came into focus: a tiny hexagonal grid.
The flesh on Milluki's round face twitched. His face turned ashen.
"Fuck. Why is it that thing?"
Bai Zhu turned to him. "You recognize it?"
"An early Hive model." Milluki clenched his jaw, his thick fingers clacking against the keys. "Nanobots my family uses to monitor assets in specific areas."
Now Bai Zhu was at a loss for words. Beside him, Camilla turned and looked Milluki up and down.
Bai Zhu rubbed his chin and scoffed. "Aren't the Zoldycks assassins? You take contracts to kill people and run