Three days passed in the blink of an eye. During those three days, the atmosphere in the little courtyard grew tense. Lin Ye and Fei Lan spent the entire time preparing for the operation. They discovered where Karen and Wild Lion would meet: an abandoned hotel in the center of District 13. It was the Wild Lion Gang's headquarters, heavily guarded and riddled with surveillance cameras and ambush positions. The two drew up a detailed plan. Using his Observation Haki, Lin Ye would infiltrate the hotel ahead of time to scout the guards' deployment, the ambush positions, and the men Karen brought with him. Fei Lan would enter through the front to draw Karen's attention, and the two would coordinate from inside and out to eliminate him. Lina learned about it too. She neither cried nor tried to stop them. Instead, she quietly polished both men's weapons until they were spotless, prepared plenty of medicine and dry rations, and worked twice as hard at her training every day to gain greater mastery over her Nen Ability. At night, she would tug at Lin Ye and ask earnestly, "Big brother, can I come with you? I can help too. My hair can scout ahead for you and block attacks." Each time, Lin Ye would smile and ruffle her hair, saying gently, "Be good, Lina. Stay home and wait for us. We'll be back soon. Keeping our home safe is the best help you can give us." He did not want Lina risking her life. Karen was a top-tier Nen user, and the Blood Hand Gang and Wild Lion Gang had many formidable fighters. They would be lucky to survive that battle. He could not expose Lina to such danger. Whenever Lina heard his answer, she would lower her head and murmur her agreement, but her eyes remained full of worry. She knew Lin Ye was trying to protect her. But she wanted to protect her big brother and her master too. She did not want to be helpless again, as she had been back then, forced to watch her little brother die without being able to do anything. On the evening before the operation, Lina prepared a feast that covered the entire table, all of it dishes Lin Ye and Fei Lan loved. The kerosene lamp in the courtyard still gave off its warm, yellow glow, but the atmosphere was heavy. The three sat at the table and ate in silence. Fei Lan was the first to break it. He placed a piece of meat in each of their bowls and said with a smile, "Why is everyone so quiet? Lina worked hard to make all this. Doesn't it taste good?" "It does." Lina immediately raised her head and nodded hard, but tears nearly spilled from her eyes. "Master, big brother, you have to come back safely." Seeing her reddened eyes, Fei Lan felt a pang in his heart. He smiled and said, "Silly girl, don't worry. Your master was once a top bounty hunter. That brat Karen used to be my deputy. Nobody knows what he's capable of better than I do. We're just going to settle an old score. We'll be back soon." Lin Ye also looked at Lina and said earnestly, "Don't worry, Lina. Master and I will come back safely. Once we leave, seal the courtyard gate shut. Whatever you hear, don't open it and don't come outside. If we aren't back within three days, take the supplies we've prepared for you, leave Meteor City, and go to Yorknew City. Find the Hunter Association. They'll protect you." "No!" Lina immediately shook her head, and her tears finally fell. "I'm staying here to wait for you. If you don't come back, I'm not going anywhere." Her stubborn expression made Lin Ye's heart ache. He reached out to wipe the tears from her cheeks and said softly, "All right. We'll come back. We promise you we'll come back." After dinner, Lina cleared away the dishes and returned to her room. Only Lin Ye and Fei Lan remained in the courtyard, sitting at the stone table and gazing at the night sky. The sky over Meteor City was always gray and murky, with neither stars nor moon in sight. Only the glow of burning garbage in the distance stained half the sky red. "Master, do you regret it?" Lin Ye looked at Fei Lan and asked quietly, "Have you ever regretted meeting Karen and forming that team back then?" Fei Lan fell silent for a moment, picked up the bottle on the table, and took a drink before answering slowly, "No. We were truly happy during those years when we risked our lives together. We caught vicious wanted criminals, saved ordinary people persecuted by gangs, ran out of food and water together in the desert, and watched the sunrise together from mountaintops. Those days were real." "I just misjudged him." A trace of melancholy crept into Fei Lan's voice. "I thought we were brothers who would trust each other with our lives. But faced with money and power, more than a decade of brotherhood wasn't worth a thing." Lin Ye fell silent. He remembered a saying he had seen online before coming to this world: brothers who could shoulder guns together might not be able to share money. Human nature was always the first thing to fail when put to the test. "Master, I'll take the lead tomorrow," Lin Ye said earnestly, looking at Fei Lan. "Karen is after you. Don't fight him head-on. Let me handle him. My Ryuo can penetrate his defenses, and my Observation Haki can predict his every move. I'm confident I can beat him." Fei Lan looked at Lin Ye, smiled, and patted his shoulder. "Silly boy, I'm the master, and you're the student. What kind of master lets his student lead the charge while he hides in the back?" Fei Lan said. "Karen is my enemy. I have to settle that old score with my own hands. Your job is to clear out the small fry around us and secure our escape route. Don't let anyone interfere with our duel." "But, Master..." "No buts." Fei Lan cut him off, his gaze utterly serious. "Lin Ye, remember this. Whatever happens tomorrow, you must take Lina with you and keep living. You're a gifted boy. Your future shouldn't be trapped in this hellhole called Meteor City. You should leave, take the Hunter Exam, see the world outside, and become a truly top-tier Hunter." "Master..." Looking at the solemn resolve in Fei Lan's eyes, Lin Ye suddenly felt a bad premonition rise within him. "Don't overthink it." Fei Lan smiled and took another drink. "I'm only telling you that no matter what happens, you must hold on to your principles and protect the people you want to protect. The strength of the powerful is never meant for revenge. It's meant for protection. Remember that forever." Lin Ye nodded firmly and etched those words deep into his heart. He finally understood that Fei Lan had never been teaching him only Nen Abilities or fighting techniques. He had also been teaching him how to live, and what lay at the heart of true strength. The two sat in the courtyard and talked for a long time. Fei Lan told Lin Ye stories from his days as a bounty hunter, adventures he had shared with his brothers in the team, strange tales from the Hunter world, and stories of the vast world outside. Lin Ye listened quietly, his eyes full of longing. Nearly two years had passed since he had come to this world, and he had spent all that time trapped in the hellhole of Meteor City, never once seeing the world beyond it. He wanted to leave Meteor City too, take the Hunter Exam, see the world Gon and Killua lived in, and discover just how vast this world was. They finally ended their conversation as dawn approached. Fei Lan rose, patted Lin Ye on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "All right. Get some rest, then get ready to move." "All right." Lin Ye nodded. As he watched Fei Lan walk back into his room, the unease in his heart only grew stronger. He kept feeling that something terrible was about to happen. What he did not know was that his and Fei Lan's plan had already been exposed. Karen had not come to District 13 to meet Wild Lion at all. He had long since tracked Fei Lan down. This time, he had laid an inescapable trap and was waiting for Fei Lan and Lin Ye to walk straight into it. He would settle that old score with his own hands and eliminate Fei Lan, the thorn in his side, once and for all.
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