At seven in the morning, Qiao Lun sat up in bed.
He changed into a new uniform. Although it was not as comfortable as his Jujutsu High uniform, the style was decent.
He had asked a hotel attendant to buy this outfit for him. It was inexpensive, and the fabric was nothing special. Once his bounty money came in, he planned to have a few suitable outfits custom-made.
As for the Divine Dogs he had dispatched, they were keeping watch on Neon, who had yet to leave Yorknew City.
Neon's airship departed that afternoon. Later, she would leave the hotel with her personal maid, along with Melody and Basho, who were responsible for security.
However, according to the information Qiao Lun had obtained from the manga, Neon would shake off her bodyguards at the mall and act alone.
Just as she had said before, she did not trust her father, Light Nostrade, at all.
But from the moment she left the group, Chrollo, who was hiding in the shadows, would set his sights on her. Afterward, he would even take her to the Semetary Building and have Neon demonstrate her fortune-telling ability in front of him.
This was where Qiao Lun's promise to Hisoka came in.
In the manga, Chrollo had acted alone throughout the entire process of stealing Neon's ability in Yorknew City.
As long as Hisoka lay in wait in the restaurant on the upper floors of the Semetary Building ahead of time, there was a very good chance he could catch Chrollo alone, fulfilling his wish to fight Chrollo one-on-one.
There was only one problem now: with three Phantom Troupe members killed in succession, would Chrollo still follow the manga's script?
Qiao Lun's judgment on that depended solely on whether Neon's ability was worth the risk to Chrollo.
Or rather, whether Chrollo was confident enough to believe that even if he encountered Qiao Lun while acting alone, he would still have a chance of surviving.
As he ate the breakfast provided by the hotel, Qiao Lun thought Chrollo would not give up, or even change his course of action.
That was Chrollo's arrogance.
Another point, and the most important one, was that Chrollo would never imagine someone already knew his movements through a manga.
It could be said that Qiao Lun was completely hidden in the shadows now.
Qiao Lun was waiting-waiting for word from Melody that the young lady had disappeared, and waiting for Chrollo to appear in the Semetary Building's restaurant.
Having enjoyed his breakfast with elegance, Qiao Lun was completely different from the man who had swiftly taken out three Phantom Troupe members yesterday.
Now, he looked more like a pampered young nobleman.
When Kurapika came looking for him, three others followed at his side: the white-haired Killua, the spiky-haired Gon, and Leorio, carrying a briefcase.
In a rare occurrence, the four members of the main cast had gathered here.
"Qiao Lun, these are my friends. They'd also like to help with tonight's operation," Kurapika introduced them.
"Thank you for yesterday," Gon said politely.
Although he and Killua would most likely have escaped last night even without Qiao Lun, they had to admit that Qiao Lun's surprise attack had helped considerably.
"You're welcome." Qiao Lun made an inviting gesture. "Would you like something to eat?"
"Sure." Killua's eyes lit up. He was also curious about Qiao Lun.
When he had spoken with Kurapika that morning, he had already gained a rough understanding of why Kurapika had so quickly acquired the power to stand against the Phantom Troupe.
That method simply did not suit them.
"How would you like to help?" By the time the attendant brought the food over, they had gotten to know one another a little, and Qiao Lun took the opportunity to ask the question that concerned him.
In his view, Killua and the other two were not yet qualified to participate in the fighting.
Going by the timeline, they had only just mastered the basic applications of Nen, and their Nen Abilities were nowhere near mature.
Moreover, even their foundation in Nen was shaky.
On top of that, Killua and Gon had been exposed yesterday. If they joined now, not only would they be unable to help, they might even become a burden.
But he could not put that too bluntly. Besides, there might be circumstances he had not considered. At least Leorio had not been exposed yet, so it also depended on Kurapika's arrangements.
He and Kurapika were merely working together. Naturally, he could not make unilateral decisions about arrangements for Gon and the others.
"We don't know," Gon answered honestly. "But there must be something we can do."
Kurapika was considering the same question, but like Qiao Lun, he had not come up with an answer.
In fact, deep down, Kurapika did not want to drag his friends into his personal vendetta.
"Then let me ask, aside from wanting to help Kurapika, do you have any other goals in taking action against the Phantom Troupe?" Qiao Lun stirred his coffee as he asked seriously.
"Money. We need a lot of money, and catching any member of the Phantom Troupe will earn us two billion Jenny." This time, Killua answered, though his gaze held a hint of scrutiny as he looked at Qiao Lun.
"Then I'll be direct. With your strength, even if we really catch a Phantom Troupe member, you won't get a share of two billion Jenny." Qiao Lun revealed his true intent. "Because I'm after that bounty too, and in this team, only Kurapika and I are capable of catching Phantom Troupe members. At most, you can lend a hand."
"We know." Though dejected, Gon understood their current situation perfectly well.
They simply were not as strong.
Especially since they had learned from Kurapika that Qiao Lun had already taken out three Phantom Troupe members.
He was strong!
Gon and Killua exchanged a glance, then stood up at the same time and abruptly bowed to Qiao Lun. "Qiao Lun, we want to learn Nen from you. Please!"
This is trouble.
That was Qiao Lun's first thought, because his own Nen training was still at the beginner level. His only references were a few methods introduced in the manga he had read.
What he truly understood was training in Cursed Energy.
A Jujutsu Sorcerer's training mainly focused on control and strengthening: controlling emotions, controlling the manipulation of one's own Cursed Energy, controlling Cursed Energy output, strengthening one's physique, and building combat experience.
Although some aspects corresponded to Nen training, there were still differences.
Qiao Lun himself was still slowly figuring out how to teach others, and he did not consider himself cut out to be a teacher.
So, faced with their sincere request, Qiao Lun could only stand up with a serious expression and politely decline. "Sorry, my training methods may be somewhat different from yours. Besides, now isn't a good time to learn Nen."
Gon was a little disappointed, but he understood what Qiao Lun meant. "I see. All right."
"Thought so." Killua folded his hands behind his head. "Besides, our goal isn't to spend all our time here. If we can't make
money here, it'll be hard to buy Greed Island."
"I just thought it'd be difficult, so if it didn't work out, we could learn Nen from Qiao Lun first. Once we got stronger, we should have more opportunities," Gon said honestly.
"You want to play Greed Island?" Qiao Lun's eyes lit up. Greed Island contained quite a few exceptional items. With careful planning, it might well improve his sense of security, increase his happiness, and boost his strength.