Hisoka spun a playing card in his hand. Though his eyes were on Chrollo, his thoughts had long since drifted elsewhere.
He did not know who had killed Uvogin and Machi today, but he knew that if he could contact them, he might very well create the conditions for a one-on-one fight with Chrollo.
And if he remembered correctly, Kurapika should have been in Yorknew City right now, working as a bodyguard for the Nostrade Family, no less.
However, Kurapika had not appeared in the bodyguard information Shalnark had gathered.
The playing card vanished, and a phone quietly appeared in Hisoka's hand. He found Kurapika's number, composed a brief message, and sent it.
He was not a real member of the Phantom Troupe.
So he did not care how many of its members died. All he cared about was his own interests.
Qiao Lun met Dalzollene at a five-star hotel, a man who should already have been dead at this point in the manga's timeline.
Dalzollene had markings beneath his eyes resembling a shark's gill slits, and he regarded Qiao Lun with scrutiny and suspicion.
Feitan had already returned ahead of them to give his report. Although Dalzollene still judged the Phantom Troupe's members to be strong, they did not seem entirely unbeatable.
In Dalzollene's subsequent analysis, the people at the venue had been wiped out in an instant largely because the Phantom Troupe had caught them off guard.
As for the Phantom Troupe's slaughter of ordinary mafia members, that would not have been particularly difficult for him either.
After all, he was a man who could take ten bullets without suffering any harm.
And according to Kurapika's report, Qiao Lun and Kurapika had dealt with two Phantom Troupe members out in the wilderness.
He had a rough idea of Kurapika's strength. By that reckoning, the Phantom Troupe probably was not as strong as he had initially imagined.
Qiao Lun did not know what Dalzollene was thinking, but his senses alone told him that the man's strength was nowhere near his own level.
If Dalzollene lasted three moves against the Divine Dogs, it would probably only be because the Divine Dogs had not eaten their fill.
Dalzollene's sword, on the other hand, seemed to be a fine weapon. Qiao Lun could even see Nen aura on it when he examined it with Gyo.
"Welcome, and thank you for looking after Feitan." Though Dalzollene privately doubted Qiao Lun's strength, he was warm on the surface. "However, the boss will need a little more time to reach Yorknew City. Until then, may I speak with you on his behalf?"
Whatever Qiao Lun's actual strength might be, the bird he had summoned was a rare asset.
So, in Dalzollene's mind, Qiao Lun was absolutely worth recruiting, and he spoke very politely.
"You're welcome, but could you have the hotel bring up some food first? Thank you." The consecutive battles had left Qiao Lun hungry.
He was not one to stand on ceremony, nor was he someone who would treat himself poorly.
Dalzollene nodded to the maid at the conference room door, and she took the hint and left.
Only then did Dalzollene speak again. "Before the boss arrives, I'd like to ask whether you would consider joining the Nostrade Family temporarily. We can offer generous pay."
Having brought people out of the attack alive, Qiao Lun was now highly sought after by the mafia.
Before setting out, Light Nostrade had already discussed the matter with Dalzollene. Ideally, they would keep Qiao Lun in the Nostrade Family's ranks.
If that proved impossible, they still had to do their best to win him over.
"What do you want me to do in the Nostrade Family?" Qiao Lun sat straight, his expression serious.
He was not opposed to joining the Nostrade Family. Besides, with him around, he would not give Neon any chance to come into contact with Chrollo.
"On September third, the mafia will hold the auction again at the Semetary Building. I think the mafia knows, just as I do, that the Phantom Troupe won't give up after failing once.
"If you're willing to join the family temporarily, the family will recommend you for the team hunting the Phantom Troupe," Dalzollene said.
"What do I get out of it?" Qiao Lun's brow had already furrowed.
Dalzollene seemed a little clueless.
Surely he did not think recommending him for this so-called Phantom Troupe hunting team was a good thing?
"Every Phantom Troupe member you kill carries a bounty of several hundred million or even more. And if you perform exceptionally well, the mafia's Ten Dons might even make an exception and invite you, giving you a chance to become a member of the Shadow Beasts," Dalzollene said confidently.
Qiao Lun, however, noticed something he had overlooked.
"Didn't the Shadow Beasts run into the Phantom Troupe?" Qiao Lun voiced his question directly.
Under normal circumstances, it would have been questionable whether any of the Shadow Beasts who encountered the Phantom Troupe were still alive. How could Dalzollene speak of them so proudly?
Unless the Shadow Beasts had never attacked the Phantom Troupe today!
Could his presence have meant that the mafia never discovered the Phantom Troupe leaving by hot-air balloon?
Dalzollene smiled slightly. "Correct. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, the Shadow Beasts called off their operation against the Phantom Troupe. They intend to make the auction on the evening of the third the decisive battle."
This was completely different from what Qiao Lun remembered.
Normally, the mafia should have intercepted the Phantom Troupe in the Gordeau Desert, and the two sides would have fought. While Uvogin slaughtered the mafia members, the Shadow Beasts would have arrived and started showing off.
Then, after the Phantom Troupe dealt with the first four Shadow Beasts to arrive and prepared to pursue Kurapika, they would have come under a second wave of attacks.
In the end, only Owl of the Shadow Beasts had survived, but Chrollo had still stolen his ability.
But then Qiao Lun reconsidered. This was a good thing.
With the ten Shadow Beasts, plus the assassins the Ten Dons had hired at great expense, even if most of them could do no more than keep the enemy occupied, they could still buy Qiao Lun plenty of time.
There was just one other problem in all this.
According to the plot, Chrollo would hire the Zoldyck Family's eldest son, Illumi, to assassinate the Ten Dons.
Meanwhile, the Ten Dons would hire Silva, the head of the Zoldyck Family, to assassinate the Phantom Troupe.
In the story, Illumi had successfully killed the Ten Dons first, which was what stopped Silva and Zeno's attack on Chrollo.
What if nothing happened to the Ten Dons?
Then might Chrollo die under Silva and Zeno's combined assault? Or, at that stage, might it be possible to contact Hisoka and create an opportunity for him to fight Chrollo one-on-one, leaving the Zoldycks to deal with the other Phantom Troupe members?
When Qiao Lun read the manga,
he had wondered whether Chrollo could still defeat Hisoka if he had no time to prepare and it was purely a chance encounter.
For Qiao Lun, rapidly improving his strength through combat and eliminating threats to his safety were important, but enjoying the show was just as important.
Still, actually creating a situation where Hisoka could fight Chrollo one-on-one would be quite difficult.
The first step should be to wait until Hisoka contacted Kurapika, then get involved and make Hisoka's acquaintance.
As he thought this, Qiao Lun's ears twitched slightly. He turned and saw Kurapika take out his phone, seemingly replying to a message.
Could it be Hisoka?