"Machi, we still let our guard down."
Thinking of that burly, silver-haired man, Chrollo couldn't help coveting the Zoldyck Family's abilities.
They really aren't a family to underestimate!
Machi looked toward the room Chrollo had just gone to check. After a moment of silence, she asked quietly:
"Did something happen to No. 8?"
Chrollo sat back down on the only sofa untouched by the fight and watched Machi stitch the battered A Luo back together.
Suddenly, an utterly malicious smile curled his lips.
"Who would've thought? No. 8 died, but this girl's a clever one. She actually survived a Zoldyck."
Lola: "..."
Lying on the floor with the gaping hole in her stomach freshly stitched shut by Machi, A Luo was so enraged by Chrollo that she wanted to bite a chunk out of him.
This bastard! If he hadn't thrown me at Silva like a projectile...
She wouldn't have suffered this undeserved disaster.
Unfortunately, in this world, whoever had the biggest fist called the shots.
Surrounded by these powerhouses, A Luo didn't even have basic human rights yet, let alone a say in anything.
At this stage, she was merely one of Chrollo's pitiful collectibles-and one he might dispose of any day, at that.
Then Chrollo dropped the joking manner and stopped teasing A Luo.
"Machi, No. 8 is dead now. That Zoldyck went upstairs to kill him before leaving. Do you think he'll come back?"
Machi sat cross-legged beside the stairs, stitching the massive tear in her right thigh with Nen String.
At Chrollo's question, Machi raised a finger and severed the Nen String, then stood up. Flexing her limbs, she said coldly:
"No!"
A moment later, she added:
"My intuition!"
Chrollo looked at Machi with a faint, ambiguous smile and chuckled.
"What a coincidence. I don't think so either."
Lola lay on the floor, watching Machi stitch herself up from start to finish.
That was Machi's Nen Ability.
Nen-Type Stitching.
She used Nen String to stitch severed limbs back into place, restoring them completely. Unlike an ordinary surgeon's sutures, Machi's Nen String could perfectly reconnect every nerve and blood vessel at the wound, even allowing the patient to move freely as soon as the operation was finished.
She was practically the Spiders' ultimate healer!
What impressed A Luo even more was that Machi hadn't so much as furrowed her brow throughout the entire operation on herself.
It was as though she were sewing up a rag doll rather than her own thigh. Every stitch was swift and steady. Not only did her hands never shake, but her expression remained utterly calm!
Once the Spiders finished their discussion,
Machi noticed A Luo staring at her and raised a hand, drawing a long strand of Nen String out of thin air.
She asked A Luo directly:
"Is there anywhere else you need me to stitch up?"
A Luo hurriedly waved her hands.
"No, no... I'm fine! The little scrapes and things that are left will heal on their own."
Intrigued, Chrollo stepped forward and began carefully examining how A Luo's other wounds were healing.
A Luo awkwardly raised her arms, trying to block his view!
Unfortunately, a single cool glance from the boss stopped her.
A Luo could only resign herself to letting Chrollo stare at her body.
Most outrageously of all, that bastard Chrollo actually tried pulling her healing wounds open, then letting them heal again.
All to observe her healing speed in real time!
Naturally, this not only intensified A Luo's suffering, but prolonged it as well.
So Lola had to grit her teeth and endure the pain in silence, while doing everything she could to restrain herself from lunging at that bastard Chrollo and biting him to death!
"Has your body always healed this quickly?"
A Luo looked positively constipated.
Fine! Chrollo noticed it after all. Her body's ability to take a beating and its healing speed after an injury were both considerably better than an ordinary person's.
Often, an injury that might leave an ordinary person bedridden for several months would heal completely in less than a month for her.
"Maybe it's because I've trained the way my dad told me to since I was little, and fought in Heavens Arena! I'm in better physical shape than most people."
Chrollo gave the little girl on the floor a meaningful look.
Her physical condition is practically on par with those of us who've already undergone Nen Initiation. She's far more than just a little better than ordinary people!
This treasure he'd acquired certainly held an extraordinary number of secrets.
By the time A Luo's wounds finally stopped bleeding, the darkness of night had completely faded.
At four in the morning, the Spiders who had gone out to commit their crimes finally returned from their hunt, covered in blood, in the faint light of dawn.
The returning Spiders offered plenty of concern over the assassination that had taken place at their base.
Especially to Lola!
Every member of the Phantom Troupe was curious about how she had managed to survive this time.
With even No. 8 killed, an ordinary little girl like A Luo had somehow escaped death at a Zoldyck's hands.
It practically qualified as a legend.
Shalnark, in particular, stared at A Luo with a broad smile.
"Come on, tell us, little cook! How exactly did you get away from a Zoldyck?"
A Luo smiled sheepishly.
"I wouldn't really call it getting away! He punched a huge hole in my stomach! If I hadn't been lucky enough to survive, and had Machi's Nen-Type Stitching, I'd have been dead for who knows how long by now."
After watching this entire circus, Chrollo silently headed upstairs.
A few minutes later, Chrollo came back down.
He handed everyone a thick, hefty tome.
A Luo leaned over for a look. The title read, "The Mysteries of the Ten Rarest Gemstones."
Chrollo showed no intention of explaining anything.
After handing over the book, he turned around and went straight upstairs to catch up on sleep, his deep-set eyes heavy with exhaustion.
The others opened the book and read for a while, only to discover that the third page contained an account of the Life Stone.
According to the book, the Life Stone contained boundless vitality.
It could even create new life.
Life created by the Life Stone was born with a far better physical constitution than most, and its body contained the same boundless vitality as the Life Stone itself.
Upon awakening a Nen Ability, such a being would immediately possess more aura than others could accumulate through decades of arduous training!
A Luo finished reading the book in stunned disbelief, unsure what to say.
What did Chrollo mean by this?
Did he suspect that Mom and Dad had created me with the Life Stone, rather than having me themselves?
But how could that possibly be true?
Even if this was the world of Hunter, with miraculous Nen Abilities, bizarre magical beasts, secret treasures, and all that...
Surely nothing that ridiculous could happen!
How could I possibly have come from a rock?
Before you continue