VIP-exclusive sparring service

The night on ZIBI Sweat Island was sweltering.

But for the four who had just finished a high-stakes gamble, the mood was relaxed.

"So, we're a professional power-leveling studio now?"

Luo Ye leaned against a tree with a foxtail grass stem between his lips and asked lazily.

He had just fleeced Hisoka and left the man delighted about it.

He radiated laziness.

"It's a VIP-exclusive sparring service."

Killua corrected him.

He was enjoying the satisfaction of being commander-in-chief and had plenty of confidence in their makeshift team.

"Our client, Mr. Kurapika, paid a three-point deposit. Our job is to help him max out his score."

"My target is No. 198, Imori," Kurapika said.

"Imori?"

Killua remembered the name.

"One of the Amori Brothers?"

"That's right."

Kurapika's expression darkened.

"The three brothers always stick together. They're good at coordinated attacks and difficult to deal with."

"Three brothers? What, are they a comedy act?"

Luo Ye scoffed.

"Don't underestimate them."

Killua was unusually serious.

"They work really well together. Individually, they're nothing special, but when all three attack together, their teamwork makes them as effective as five people. Of course, they're still a piece of cake for me."

"All right, enough chatting."

Killua clapped his hands, his gaze changing.

The Zoldyck Family's professional mode kicked in.

"Team combat calls for a team approach. Kurapika, tell us everything you've observed. Their movement patterns, habits, and individual characteristics."

"All right."

Kurapika shared everything he had observed over the past few days.

The Amori Brothers consisted of the eldest, Amori, the second brother, Imori, and the youngest, Umori.

They always moved together, hunting lone candidates of middling strength.

"Typical opportunists."

Killua snorted.

"People like that are greedy cowards. To hook them, we need bait they can't resist, something they think is completely safe."

Everyone looked at Luo Ye.

"Tch."

Luo Ye spat out the grass stem, looking annoyed.

"What's with those looks again? Is this how you treat an outstanding employee?"

"Can't help it. You've got the perfect face for bait," Killua said as though it were obvious.

"Exactly! You're perfect for it, Luo Ye!"

Gon chimed in.

Luo Ye said nothing.

He realized his role was developing in a strange direction.

Tank, punching bag, and now bait.

"Fine, fine. That's what I get for keeping my promises."

Luo Ye stood up and brushed the dirt off his backside.

"What's the plan? You can't expect me to charge over and yell, 'Come beat me up!'"

"Of course not. That's too crude."

Killua shook his head and began drawing a diagram on the ground.

"We're going to put on a show."

"A grand performance where two sides fight and a third swoops in to reap the rewards."

Killua's plan was simple.

Luo Ye and Gon would play two candidates who had badly injured each other fighting over a treasure.

Once they fought to the point of "exhaustion," the Amori Brothers would surely be tempted by the easy pickings delivered right to them.

When they thought they were the ones reaping the rewards, the real hunters would emerge from the shadows.

"Treasure?"

Gon asked curiously.

"What treasure do we have?"

"Well..."

Luo Ye smiled and pulled something from his pocket.

It was the Spider Vulture egg he had gotten from his new pet, Little Black, aboard the airship.

"We'll use this."

Luo Ye hefted the egg in his hand.

"We'll say it's a legendary Macaw egg. Eating it makes you stronger and keeps you young forever. Lies like that work best on people looking for shortcuts."

The plan was settled.

The VIP score-boosting service officially began.

Half an hour later.

At the other end of the jungle.

The Amori Brothers hid motionless in the bushes.

"Big brother, it's the fourth day, and we still haven't found a target." Umori, the youngest, was getting anxious.

"Yeah, big brother. We can't beat the strong ones, and the weak ones aren't worth many points," Imori, the second brother, added.

"What's the rush?"

Amori, the eldest, snapped in a low voice.

"The most important thing in hunting is patience. Some unlucky fool will come our way eventually."

Barely had he finished speaking.

An angry shout rang out nearby.

"Give me back the egg! I found it first!"

Then came another boy's voice.

"Why should I? It's not like your name's on it!"

The three pricked up their ears and looked toward the voices.

Two boys were grappling in a clearing.

One was the spiky-haired Gon.

The other was the black-haired boy from Trick Tower whom they remembered all too well.

They were fighting over a faintly glowing egg.

"Big brother, we've got something."

Umori's eyes gleamed.

"I see it."

Even Amori's breathing grew heavier.

He stared fixedly at the egg.

It was definitely no ordinary item.

More importantly, the two brats had already fought themselves to exhaustion and were panting heavily.

"Heh heh heh. Heaven's on our side."

Amori laughed greedily.

"Aren't these exactly the unlucky fools we've been waiting for?"

"Get ready. Youngest, take the left. Second brother, take the right. I'll rush them head-on and grab the egg first."

The three spread out and crept closer.

In the clearing.

Luo Ye and Gon's "fight" was in full swing.

"Gon, hit harder. Look angrier. That's it, like Leorio owes you money," Luo Ye whispered into Gon's ear as he dodged.

"Oh, okay."

Gon caught on and punched Luo Ye "hard" in the stomach.

"Ow!"

Luo Ye cried out theatrically and fell to the ground. The egg flew from his hand and rolled beneath a tree.

"Now!"

Amori roared and charged out of the bushes.

"Nobody move! That egg belongs to us!"

He rushed toward the egg first, while his two younger brothers lunged at Luo Ye and Gon on the ground from either side.

Just as Amori's hand was about to touch the egg.

A silver blur dropped from the tree and blocked his path.

It was Killua.

"Sorry, this way's closed."

Killua's nails lengthened, gleaming in the moonlight.

Amori went rigid.

A trap.

He instinctively turned to flee, hoping to regroup with his brothers.

But another figure blocked his retreat.

Kurapika held a blade in each hand.

"Your opponent is me."

Meanwhile.

The two younger brothers lunging at Luo Ye and Gon had run straight into a nightmare of their own.

The supposedly "exhausted" Gon sprang up and whipped out his fishing rod, instantly tangling the line around Umori's ankle before giving it a fierce yank.

Umori cried out as he was hauled upside down into the tree.

As for Imori, who had lunged at Luo Ye, a hand clamped around his throat and lifted him off the ground.

"Hey, long time no see."

Luo Ye wore a friendly smile.

Imori's legs went weak. Looking at Luo Ye's harmless face, he felt as though he had seen a ghost.

The fight ended the moment it began.

Caught between Killua and Kurapika, Amori watched his two younger brothers go down instantly, his face deathly pale.

His heart sank.

We picked the wrong people to mess with.

"We surrender."

Amori raised both hands without fuss.

"We'll hand over our number badges."

Kurapika stared at Imori. Dangling from Luo Ye's hand and close to tears, Imori shakily pulled badge [198] from his pocket and handed it over.

Kurapika took the number badge. Three points secured.

He glanced at Umori in the tree and Amori with his hands raised in surrender.

Those two were worth one point each.

"All right, Mr. Kurapika, our valued client."

Luo Ye tossed the limp Imori onto the ground and dusted off his hands.

"Your first order is complete. Next comes your complimentary dessert."

He walked toward Umori, who was hanging upside down, with a decidedly unfriendly smile.

"Will you hand them over yourselves, or do you need me to help 'retrieve' them?"