"BOOOOM!!!" A deafening explosion instantly thundered across District 13. Fei Lan detonated all his Nen, all his life energy, unleashing a terrifying storm of energy in the center of the courtyard. White light swallowed the entire yard. The hard concrete ground melted in an instant, and the courtyard walls, over ten meters tall, were shredded like paper by the shock wave. The abandoned factory buildings collapsed one after another in the terrifying blast, sending rubble and steel rebar flying in every direction like rain. A second before the explosion, Lin Ye was hurled away by the shock wave. In midair, he instantly activated Iron Body and full-body Armament Haki, clutching Lina tightly against his chest and shielding her from all the flying debris and shock waves with his back. "Thud!" They crashed heavily into a mountain of garbage outside the factory. Lin Ye spat out a mouthful of blood. The Armament Haki on his back had nearly been shattered by the shock wave, and his bones hurt as though they had broken. But he paid no attention to his injuries. He frantically raised his head and looked toward the center of the explosion. It had become a wasteland of rubble. The entire courtyard and abandoned factory had been leveled. White smoke and dust blotted out the sky, making it impossible to see anything within. "Master... Master!!" Lin Ye roared, about to charge toward the center of the blast. "Big brother! Don't go!" Lina clung desperately to him, sobbing her heart out. "The explosion hasn't stopped! You'll die if you go! Master... Master..." Lina couldn't finish. Tears fell endlessly like beads from a broken string. She had seen Master Fei Lan detonate his Nen with her own eyes, sacrificing his life to take Karen down with him. Lin Ye froze in place. He stared at the smoke and dust that obscured the sky and listened to the rubble collapsing within. All the blood in his body seemed to freeze. The master who had taught him Nen Abilities, taught him how to be a decent person, given him a home, and been like a father to him was gone. The first warmth he had felt since crossing into this world, the first home he had ever had here, shattered in that moment. Endless grief and rage engulfed him like a tide. His body trembled uncontrollably, his teeth ground together, and his nails dug deep into his palms. Blood ran down his fingers, but he felt no pain at all. Just then, a violent fit of coughing suddenly came from within the dust. A blood-soaked figure crawled out of the collapsed rubble. It was Karen. He wasn't dead. Though Fei Lan's self-detonation had grievously injured him, blown off both his legs, and left half his body a mangled mass of flesh and blood, the defense he had formed with Nen beforehand had saved his life. He lay in the rubble, coughing violently, blood spilling endlessly from his mouth, his eyes filled with terror and venom. He hadn't expected Fei Lan to actually dare detonate his Nen and take him down with him. Had he not taken the precaution of wrapping his vital core in Nen, he would already have been blown to pieces. "Fei Lan... you madman... madman..." Karen cursed through gritted teeth, his voice hoarse, struggling to crawl out of the rubble. Lin Ye saw it all clearly. The instant he saw that Karen was still alive, his eyes turned red. All his grief, all his rage, all his pain converged into overwhelming killing intent. Master had given his life to kill this beast, yet he was still alive! "Karen!!" Lin Ye let out a beastlike roar, pushed Lina out of his arms, and shot forward. He drove Flash Shave to its limit, streaking like black lightning until he was right before Karen. Karen's expression changed drastically at the sight of Lin Ye rushing toward him, and terror filled his eyes. With both legs severed and his body grievously wounded, he was no match for Lin Ye now. "Don't... don't kill me... I'll give you money... I'll give you so much money... everything the Blood Hand Gang has, I'll give it all to you..." Karen desperately scrambled backward, babbling pleas for mercy. Lin Ye stared at him without a trace of expression. Only his eyes stirred with cold killing intent that could devour everything. "Money?" "How will you repay my master's life?" "How will you repay my two uncles' lives?" "You ruined my master's entire life. How will you settle that debt?!" Each word of Lin Ye's voice drove into Karen's heart like a poisoned icicle. He raised his right hand. Black Armament Haki once again covered his entire arm, and Ryuo gathered furiously at his fingertips. In that moment, all the aura in his body condensed at his fingertips, carrying all his rage, all his grief, and all his unwavering resolve. "Emperor Pistol!" He drove his fingertips savagely toward Karen's heart. Karen let out a scream of despair and mustered his last shred of strength to defend himself with Nen. But he was grievously wounded, with barely any Nen left. Before Lin Ye's Emperor Pistol, his defense was as flimsy as paper and broke at a touch. "Squelch!" Lin Ye's fingertips pierced Karen's chest and plunged into his heart. Ryuo surged through his fingertips into Karen's body, shattering his heart and internal organs. Karen's body jerked violently. His eyes bulged, blood poured from his mouth, and he stared fixedly at Lin Ye. At last, his head slumped to one side, and he stopped breathing altogether. The beast who had betrayed his brothers and committed atrocities for over a decade had finally died at Lin Ye's hands. Lin Ye slowly withdrew his hand, blood dripping from his fingertips. He looked at Karen's corpse and felt no satisfaction, only endless emptiness and grief. Killing Karen couldn't bring his master back. He turned and walked toward the center of the explosion, one step at a time. The smoke and dust were gradually clearing. An enormous crater had been blasted into the ground, and rubble and twisted rebar lay everywhere. Lin Ye searched frantically through the ruins. At last, beneath a huge slab of concrete, he found Fei Lan's Revolver and half a charred scrap of his trench coat. There was nothing else. Master Fei Lan had left behind not even a body in that self-detonation. Lin Ye knelt on the ground, clutching the cold Revolver. At last, he could hold back no longer and broke into sobs. Since crossing into this world, he hadn't cried the first time he killed someone. He hadn't cried when the Wild Lion Gang surrounded him and he nearly died. He hadn't cried when Karen's schemes trapped him in a hopeless situation. But now, he knelt in the ruins like a child, sobbing his heart out. Lina walked over, knelt beside him, and held him as she cried with him. Amid these blasted ruins, in this cold and cruel Meteor City, the two children had lost their only family, their only home. They cried for a long, long time. Only after his tears had run dry and his voice had grown hoarse did Lin Ye slowly stop. He raised his head and looked at the gray sky. The grief in his eyes gradually gave way to determination and resolve. Carefully, he put away Fei Lan's Revolver and the scrap of trench coat, keeping them close to his body. Then, beside the crater, he used rubble to erect a gravestone for Fei Lan. With a knife, he carved a line into it: Here lies my master, Fei Lan. He knelt before the gravestone with Lina and bowed his head to the ground three times. "Master, rest assured." "I'll take Lina with me, and we'll live well." "I'll leave Meteor City, take the Hunter Exam, and see the outside world you told me about." "I'll remember what you said. The strength of the powerful is meant to protect. I'll grow stronger, strong enough to protect everyone I care about. I'll never let today's tragedy happen again." "I've avenged you. I'll find everyone who betrayed you back then, one by one, and see justice done for you and my two uncles." Lin Ye's voice was utterly resolute. His bloodstained oath echoed through the empty ruins. He stood and looked toward the outskirts of Meteor City. He had spent almost two years here. Now it was time to leave. He would take Lina out of this place abandoned by the world, begin a new life, fulfill his master's final wish, and walk his own path of Gale Force Hegemony.
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