The underground passage was cold and damp.
Overhead, rows of faulty motion-sensor lights flickered endlessly, their dim yellow glow stretching everyone's shadows long.
Killua led the group.
Every muscle in his body was taut as iron, his hands clenched into fists as cold sweat dripped from his chin.
He knew this route all too well...
It led to the ultimate forbidden zone where his little sister Alluka was imprisoned, the most heavily guarded place in the family estate.
Luo Ye followed behind Killua, his hands habitually tucked into his Hawaiian shirt pockets. He chewed a cheap piece of strawberry gum, smacking it so loudly that the sound grated in the oppressive surroundings.
"Your family's taste in decor is seriously tacky."
As he walked, Luo Ye looked around with undisguised disgust.
"And you call yourselves the world's number-one assassin family... You don't even have central air conditioning. These walls are covered in green mold. The formaldehyde levels must be way over the limit."
Luo Ye pulled his battered little notebook from his pocket and scribbled rapidly with a ballpoint pen.
"Compensation for psychological pollution from hostile surroundings, medical subsidies for respiratory damage... All of this is going on your family's service bill! Short me one cent, and I'll fill in this lousy passage!"
Shizuku walked beside Luo Ye. Blinky's belly held a specially made medical pod, with the deeply comatose Gon lying inside.
The faint beeping of various instruments echoed through the passage, reminding them that time was running out.
Hearing her boss complain, Shizuku firmly pushed up her black-framed glasses.
"Boss."
"Should I have Blinky suck up all the mold here?"
Luo Ye waved a hand.
"Why bother? We'll just charge their family head a pollution cleanup fee later. If money can solve a problem, don't waste a new employee's