Uvogin and Machi arrived at the Bechta Hotel but found no one from the Nostrade Family.
But the receptionist told them that the others had left just three minutes before they arrived.
"In other words, they anticipated our movements and took evasive action in advance," Machi said thoughtfully.
As for pursuit, now that the others had escaped, finding them would not be easy.
Uvogin simply snapped the neck of the receptionist who had answered them, then casually tossed the pretty young woman's body aside.
"Can you still track them?" Uvogin was reluctant to give up.
"There was some movement, and then it stopped. I think they probably discovered the Nen thread. Even if we keep following it, we'll most likely find nothing." Machi shrugged. "Even if we'd been tracking them the whole time, it probably wouldn't have helped. Next time we want to deal with him, we'd better pin him down on the ground."
Uvogin smashed his fist into the reception desk, shattering its surface. "Fine. But come to think of it, with mobility like that, the boss might take an interest in him."
"Yes, but we'll have to establish his exact identity first. Shalnark has already sent me the information. Apparently, the Nostrade Family has bodyguards whose identities haven't been made public. He might be one of them," Machi said.
"Since we can't find the bird rider, let's hurry up and join Nobunaga and the others." Uvogin was feeling irritable now and urgently needed an outlet. The mafia members who might pursue the Phantom Troupe, as anticipated in their plan, would make a good one.
He needed a massacre!
Machi nodded and left the hotel with Uvogin.
Only then did the hotel employees who had hidden themselves dare to emerge into the lobby.
Meanwhile, Dalzollene, captain of the Nostrade Family's bodyguards, had already brought Neon to another hotel.
The mafia members who had gathered at the Semetary Building, however, had shot down the hot-air balloon and were now facing off against the Phantom Troupe in the Gordeau Desert.
Qiao Lun came down from the building but was in no hurry to leave.
Because he knew one thing very clearly: Kurapika would never give up his revenge against the Phantom Troupe.
Sure enough, within three minutes, a message from Kurapika popped up on Feitan's phone.
Reading the message, Qiao Lun breathed a sigh of relief as well.
He did not know what sort of parallel world he was in now, but he could understand this world's spoken and written language, unlike the invented script in the Hunter manga.
"Tell me the plan. Just the two of us. And tell me your objective."
Qiao Lun understood Kurapika's choice. Clearly, Kurapika did not intend to drag Feitan and Melody into this, and even planned to act against the Phantom Troupe alone, without involving the Nostrade Family.
That was the same choice Kurapika had made in the manga.
"I'll lure them to the wasteland outside the city first. Once you're alone, the Divine Dogs will bring you over. As for my objective, I'm not in the habit of letting people hunt me down. Besides, everyone who's hunted me has paid the price." The corners of Qiao Lun's lips curled upward, and his back straightened.
An air of arrogance rose from him. At that moment, he looked more like an obsessive young nobleman.
If his classmates from Jujutsu High or Mahito had been there, they would certainly have chosen to keep their distance from Qiao Lun at that moment, or simply called him "the Zenin Clan's lunatic."
"Fine." Kurapika's reply was brief.
Qiao Lun put away the phone, left the White Divine Dogs behind, and headed in the opposite direction from the desert.
Since his targets were Uvogin and Machi, he absolutely could not let them have any chance to rejoin the main group, much less give their companions an opportunity to reach them quickly. Luring them in the opposite direction from the Phantom Troupe's main group was therefore the best choice.
As for whether they would follow, Qiao Lun was not worried in the slightest.
Because the moment he decided to act, the howl of the Black Divine Dogs had already reached Uvogin and Machi, who were preparing to rejoin the main group.
Looking toward the howl, both of them saw the giant black wolf on the sidewalk.
There was a red triangular Cursed Technique mark on the giant wolf's forehead, and bluish-white Cursed Energy rose from the Black Divine Dogs' body.
The bristling back, the eyes gleaming with ferocity, and the exposed, sharp fangs all conveyed one thing: provocation!
Uvogin's fist clenched.
"A trap." Machi, however, coldly uttered two words. "Bait."
"Let's go. I'd like to see where he gets the nerve." Anger filled Uvogin's eyes.
"Fine, but we report this first. Also, I don't intend to fight. If necessary, I'll leave first." Utterly calm, Machi took out her phone. No matter how the Black Divine Dogs in the distance struck an attacking pose, she showed no intention of paying attention.
The Black Divine Dogs ignored Machi, abruptly turned around, and wove through the crowd, running into the distance.
Just then, however, a pebble shot from Uvogin's hand, hurtling toward the Black Divine Dogs at a terrifying speed.
Yet without even turning around, the Black Divine Dogs dodged just before the pebble reached them.
The pebble skimmed past the Black Divine Dogs' fur. The Black Divine Dogs turned their head, their face showing a humanlike expression of mockery as low sounds came from their mouth.
But the stone the Black Divine Dogs had dodged struck a passing vehicle head-on. The tremendous kinetic energy it carried flipped the vehicle onto its side.
"Let's go." Machi finally put away her phone and darted straight toward the Black Divine Dogs.
She moved extremely fast, shooting Nen threads from her hand toward the Black Divine Dogs as she charged.
But as Machi rushed out, the Black Divine Dogs ahead suddenly burst into even greater speed. The shooting Nen threads failed to touch even a hair.
Only then did Uvogin react. A savage grin flashed across his face, and the ground suddenly cracked with an explosive sound. With that sound, Uvogin had already shot forward even faster than Machi.
After he left, the ground where he had stood was covered in cracks.
At the same time, this sudden turn of events threw the entire street into chaos.
But as Uvogin gave chase, he soon discovered that even at his speed, he could not quickly catch up to the giant wolf.
After the chase had continued for a while, Qiao Lun appeared atop a building along the route.
When the pursuing group passed below, Qiao Lun moved.
Reinforcing himself with Cursed Energy, he moved continuously between the buildings. Whenever necessary, snow-white rabbits from Rabbit Escape appeared in midair to serve as stepping stones for him.
At the same time, Qiao Lun sensed that the White Divine Dogs had begun to move as well.
They were coming in his direction. In other words, Kurapika had probably persuaded Dalzollene to give him an opportunity to act alone.
All that remained was to lure them out of the city and into the wasteland.