Laying the cards on the table X and X an alliance

In return for a favor, A-Wu took Qi Zhou to his home in District Five.

Calling it a home was generous. It was only a small tent built from wooden planks and scavenged waterproof tarps-but it was still countless times better than the garbage nest Qi Zhou had stayed in before.

A-Wu stood in front of the tent and warily checked their surroundings before lifting a corner of the tarp and entering. He sat down on a "bed" made of wooden planks and dry straw.

"Find yourself somewhere to sit. I don't have anything here, though, so I can't offer you any refreshments."

"Even if you did, you wouldn't bring them out for me, would you?" Qi Zhou said, hooking a box over with his foot and sitting on it.

"As long as you know that, there's no need to say it."

A-Wu mocked him, then said seriously, "You want to know where that stuff came from, right? Do you know Spicy Fragrance Mountain?"

Before he had even finished, he shook his head. Without waiting for Qi Zhou to answer, he went on, "Forget I asked. How could you possibly know?"

Qi Zhou: "..."

"Spicy Fragrance Mountain is famous for its Spice Stone. An addictive substance can be extracted from Spice Stone. Eighty percent of what's currently circulating on the market came from Spicy Fragrance Mountain." A-Wu's face was full of disgust.

Qi Zhou asked, "So if I want to find the 'Stock Solution,' I have to go to Spicy Fragrance Mountain?"

"It's not that simple." A-Wu shook his head. "There are three things you need to consider."

"First, there are more than a dozen families, big and small, that made their fortunes off that stuff on Spicy Fragrance Mountain. How are you going to figure out which one you're looking for?"

"Second, once you've figured it out, how are you going to get in?"

"Third, once you've gotten in, how are you going to get your hands on the inhibitor? That stuff must be confidential, so it won't be easy to obtain."

Qi Zhou rested his chin in his hand and asked sincerely, "Do you have any suggestions?"

"I suggest starting with the White Eagle Society."

A-Wu held up two fingers. "First, Solst is dead. His men can't get the stuff from him anymore, but they definitely won't just sit around waiting to die. They'll look for another way to get it."

"As long as they can keep supplying what the other side needs, the deal will continue. Those people won't care who they're dealing with. All they care about is whether their goods can fetch a good price."

"Second, do you know where the elders of Meteor City get the arms and heavy metals they use to build up their forces?"

Qi Zhou guessed, "They trade with people on the outside?"

"That's right. Actually, a place like Meteor City easily produces people with tremendous fighting power-ah, maybe they're Nen users. Most importantly, the identities and information of people who leave here can't be traced. If they commit crimes while they're alive, there are no records to be found, and when they die, there's no need to pay compensation to their families."

"How could the gangs outside pass up such useful weapons?"

"So the rulers here trade with people on the outside..." Qi Zhou paused. "They exchange muscle for resources?"

"Mm. That's also the fastest way for people from Meteor City to get out." A-Wu said, "Without a gang protecting them, people without identification can hardly-"

Before A-Wu could finish, both men's expressions suddenly darkened.

"Someone's coming," Qi Zhou said in a low voice. "They approached suddenly, but slowed down once they got close to this place."

A-Wu's face darkened. "They're here for me."

"You're that sure?" Qi Zhou thought for a moment, then asked, "Looks like it's someone who's been keeping an eye on you. Does this person know Nen?"

A-Wu glanced at Qi Zhou, but didn't ask why he said that or how he knew someone had been watching him.

His face cold, he said, "Something like that. What a pain, those pieces of trash."

"It's okay. You only just started learning Nen, and you're not proficient enough with Ten yet. If you release it now, you can still pretend you don't know Nen." Qi Zhou thought for a moment and said, "We can take a gamble that the person won't notice. I'll hide in a moment, and if things really go badly, I'll-"

The next moment, before Qi Zhou could finish, he and A-Wu exchanged a look. He darted behind A-Wu, lifted the waterproof tarp behind him, and hid in the gap between the tent and the mountain wall it backed against.

Then a man's deep voice sounded inside the tent. "Young master."

"Ah," A-Wu answered coldly.

"Young master, you've been getting quite close to someone lately." The man gave a sinister chuckle and continued, "Allow me to offer you a word of advice, young master. If you want to live, you'd best not touch things you have no right to touch."

"Ah." A-Wu's voice remained utterly calm, as though he had no temper at all. "I understand."

"Hmph."

Having delivered his warning, the man sneered and looked A-Wu up and down. After a long moment, he gave a scornful, disdainful snort, turned, and headed out of the tent.

Before he could leave the tent, he suddenly stopped.

The man stared at his chest in disbelief. A thin little knife was lodged there, having entered his body from behind and passed all the way through his heart, its tip protruding from his chest.

"You..." The man's eyes were full of shock and disbelief. He couldn't fathom how the knife, thin as paper, had passed through his Ten and into his body.

"Shh." A-Wu hooked an arm around the man's shoulders, pulled him backward, and clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Shut up, trash."

A-Wu held him fast, gripping his throat tightly. Right up until he died, the man couldn't get a single word out. His eyes remained wide open, unable to rest in peace.

With a thud, A-Wu let go, and the corpse fell to the ground.

"Hey, come in. He's taken care of."

A-Wu pulled the knife out of the corpse's heart and wiped his hand and the knife clean on its clothes as he spoke to Qi Zhou, who was hiding.

Qi Zhou lifted the waterproof tarp and entered the tent. He looked at the corpse on the ground for a long moment, then frowned with some hesitation and asked, "Is it okay to just leave him here?"

"Mm." A-Wu nodded slightly. "Once I learned Nen, it meant we wouldn't stop until one side was dead."

"Tsk. So what you're saying is..." Qi Zhou curled his lip. "You said you brought me here because you owed me a favor, but this was just a hideout you were planning to abandon anyway."

A-Wu looked at Qi Zhou, the corner of his mouth lifting. "Correct, but there's no prize."

Qi Zhou ignored him. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Now that I think about it, you were planning to get information about Nen Abilities from me right from the start."

"That day, you were fine at first, but as soon as you saw me, your expression changed."

"When I chased you, there's no way you didn't notice. But if you'd wanted to shake me off, all you had to do was run through the residential area. With all the random things blocking the view, there's no way I could have found you. You deliberately wanted me to chase you to the garbage mountain, to see whether I'd be affected by the toxic garbage without a protective suit."

"There were hardly any people in the direction I was exploring on the garbage mountain, but those two who tried to steal my biscuits, one calling out to me and the other ambushing me, most likely followed me at your signal too."

"And you were right below that garbage mountain. It was full of medical waste, which doesn't fit what you told me about good places to scavenge."

Qi Zhou stared at A-Wu and said with certainty, "You were watching me."

"Oh, you caught me. Hmm..." A-Wu looked at Qi Zhou. Suddenly, he smiled, showing a row of neat white teeth, and bit his lip with a small canine. "What now? Do you want to kill me?"

Qi Zhou said, "Is there something seriously wrong with you people from Meteor City? Why are you always talking about dying?"

"'You people'?" A-Wu raised an eyebrow.

"Never mind that." Qi Zhou couldn't explain it to him, so he simply changed the subject. He glanced at the corpse on the ground. "What are you going to do next?"

The smile faded from A-Wu's face. He looked steadily at Qi Zhou and asked, "Aren't you curious who I am?"

"Why should I care who you are? At least for now, we're both trying to stay alive, and we're grasshoppers forced onto the same string."

Qi Zhou looked utterly helpless. "You knew all along that learning Nen would bring the people watching you here, so you deliberately brought me here and killed him in front of me. Tsk, you just want to get me on board, don't you? Fine, I'm on board, all right?"

A-Wu gazed at Qi Zhou and slowly held out his hand. "Here's to a successful partnership."

Qi Zhou wordlessly reached out and shook it. With the corpse as their witness, the Wu-Zhou Alliance was formally established.

Qi Zhou knew he had been "used" all along by this guy called A-Wu, but he was still willing to continue working with him because, while A-Wu achieved his own goals, the person working with him could achieve his goals too.

Although A-Wu had deliberately guided him, in those circumstances... following the information A-Wu provided really was the best choice.

How scary, Qi Zhou marveled inwardly.

The kids in Meteor City are all monsters!