Two billion Jenny was no small sum.
It was enough to give an ordinary person financial freedom. Even with all the hounds Squala kept, it would have been more than enough for him.
For such a fortune, risking his life to kill Pakunoda made perfect sense.
As for whether he would be hunted down, Squala had probably been counting on his hounds. He had simply been too confident.
"Captain Dalzollene has already fired Squala. If you have any other demands, you can tell us. He'll do his best to accommodate you. Squala was the one in the wrong, after all," Kurapika said seriously.
Qiao Lun shook his head. He had been struggling with the decision, but now Squala had solved a major problem for him.
Still, Squala had coveted something that did not belong to him, which was indeed wrong on principle, so Qiao Lun would not speak up for him.
"Let's leave it at that."
Kurapika let out a small sigh of relief.
Everyone had seen how powerful Qiao Lun was. Both their boss, Light Nostrade, and their captain, Dalzollene, now put Qiao Lun's needs first in everything.
Light Nostrade acted this way partly because Qiao Lun had indeed saved Neon yesterday, indirectly saving the Nostrade Family as well. He also had his own interests in mind. To him, keeping Qiao Lun in the Nostrade Family would not only guarantee Neon's safety, but also greatly increase the family's strength.
After all, word that all ten Shadow Beasts had died at the Phantom Troupe's hands yesterday had spread through the mafia first thing that morning.
Yet members of that very same powerful Phantom Troupe had fallen to Qiao Lun one after another.
That was enough to prove that Qiao Lun was more powerful than the Shadow Beasts!
"Then what about the boss's invitation?" Kurapika asked. That was also his main reason for coming to see Qiao Lun today.
Light Nostrade was already preparing to pull out of Yorknew City, but he felt uncertain.
After spending the night getting a clear account of yesterday's events, Light Nostrade was still shaken. He seriously wondered whether Chrollo would have killed Neon after she told his fortune if Qiao Lun had not arrived in time.
"I'm not interested," Qiao Lun replied as though it were only natural. "Besides, he can't afford to hire me. But if he wants Neon to stay alive, he'd better leave her here. At the very least, he can't take her away anytime soon."
"All right, I'll tell the boss," Kurapika said, having expected this.
When Qiao Lun mentioned that the billionaire Battera had slots available for entering Greed Island, Kurapika had more or less guessed his next move.
Their interactions over the past few days had also made it clear that Qiao Lun was greedy for money.
And Battera had offered an astronomical reward of fifty billion for clearing Greed Island. There was no way Qiao Lun would pass up such a fortune.
As for taking Neon away, Qiao Lun was probably worried that Chrollo would return.
Looked at that way, Qiao Lun really was a good person.
Qiao Lun had no idea that Kurapika saw him that way.
"What are your plans next? Are you just going to stay tucked away in the Nostrade Family?" Qiao Lun was curious too. The current situation was different from the manga.
In the manga, Neon had already lost her fortune-telling ability by this point. If Light Nostrade wanted to keep climbing or preserve his family, the only person he could rely on was Kurapika, whose strength and intelligence were both exceptional.
But now Neon still had her ability, and Dalzollene was still captain. Even if Light Nostrade knew Kurapika was quite capable, he would still trust veterans like Dalzollene more. It would not be easy for Kurapika to take control of the Nostrade Family.
After all, judging by the way Kurapika currently operated, he probably could not yet bring himself to seize things by force.
When Kurapika did not answer, Qiao Lun continued, "The Ten Dons have fallen, leaving Yorknew City completely exposed as a juicy prize. Rather than going back to some small place to keep working as a bodyguard for the Nostrade Family, I think you'd be better off absorbing the mafia here in Yorknew City and becoming the boss yourself, or the power behind the scenes."
With the Ten Dons out of the picture, the only top mafia leader left in Yorknew City was the bald Zenji.
He was the man in the manga who had looked down on Light Nostrade and even spoken disrespectfully to Kurapika.
With Kurapika's strength, he had every chance of replacing him.
What Kurapika lacked now was probably the initiative to take that first step, and Qiao Lun knew perfectly well that he would eventually take it.
Because recovering the Scarlet Eyes from buyers around the world required sufficient influence and strength.
"Do you have something in mind?" Kurapika had picked up on the deeper meaning behind Qiao Lun's words.
"Yes." Qiao Lun nodded. "Yorknew City is a good place to gather intelligence, and an excellent place to collect resources.
"So if you decide to strike out on your own, I can invest in you. That means giving you some financial support and help in combat."
Kurapika fell into thought. After a long while, he looked at Qiao Lun solemnly and asked, "Are you serious?"
"Yes."
Kurapika's gaze gradually grew firm. "In that case, let's draw up a contract. I'll need some initial funding to get started. Later, I can give you a percentage of the profits every year.
"Also, once everything has stabilized, I can prioritize providing the intelligence and resources you need, but you'll need to support me in combat too."
"No problem. I trust you," Qiao Lun said.
"But there's still one thing I don't understand." Kurapika looked seriously into Qiao Lun's eyes. "Why are you willing to help me, and even trust me so much?"
Ever since they first began interacting, Kurapika had noticed something: Qiao Lun seemed to have a fairly favorable impression of him and considerable trust in him.
He did not know where that goodwill and trust came from, and it left him feeling rather uneasy.
Qiao Lun smiled, a confident, unrestrained smile. "Because I've always been a good judge of character." (Because I already learned what kind of person you were from the manga!)
Naturally, Qiao Lun would not tell Kurapika what he was thinking.
"Is that so?" Kurapika was not entirely sure.
"Let me make this clear up front. You'd better not disappoint me, or I'll make sure you learn that my money isn't so easy to take," Qiao Lun warned.
Kurapika nodded. "Rest assured!"
News of the Ten Dons' deaths had not yet spread, so the Phantom Troupe's bodies could still be exchanged for hefty bounties from the mafia.
Including Pakunoda's and Shalnark's bodies, Qiao Lun had squeezed a total of ten billion Jenny out of the mafia.
Once he had the money, he transferred five billion Jenny directly to Kurapika as initial funding.
Qiao Lun would not interfere with how Kurapika went about things. He would only show up when Kurapika needed him to join
the fighting.
Still, Qiao Lun figured Kurapika would probably only contact him if he managed to uncover the whereabouts of Phantom Troupe members.
Otherwise, he could simply wait to enjoy the returns on his five-billion-Jenny investment for the time being.
So after handing the money to Kurapika and signing the contract, he officially began his tour of Yorknew City's sights and food.
His companion was neither Gon nor Killua, but Feitan.
"Do you really not need to be the young lady's bodyguard?" Qiao Lun could not help asking in puzzlement as he looked at the mature man before him, dressed sexily in a strappy top and smiling charmingly.
Feitan hugged his arm tightly to his chest. "Let's get going. The auction's about to start."