Plan Nine X and X the Opening

May 1, Meteor City's District One, the central manor.

Since yesterday, cars had been driving in from all directions, one after another, toward the very center of Meteor City.

Inside were people serving the elders from the four districts. Before the meeting began, they would conduct security checks and set up defenses in the assembly hall.

Although the elders' subordinates fought tooth and nail over territory, talent, and resources, the elders still maintained a so-called "peace" on the surface.

Thus, the four elders had agreed to limit the number of security personnel accompanying them to the meeting. Each elder could bring fewer than fifty guards in total.

On the main road, a car from District Five drove slowly toward the manor, only to be stopped at the entrance by a hastily assembled guard detail.

As soon as the driver rolled down his window, the guards raised their guns and aimed them inside.

"West district, Elder Chelsea's people. Here's our pass." Without changing expression, the driver waved a pass in front of the inspector.

The inspector merely glanced at it before waving him through. "The headcount's right. Go on in."

The car started up again and continued at a crawl, rocking as it went.

No one knew, however, that a boy was clinging to the underside of the car, sneaking in right under their noses.

The guards searching outside can use Nen Abilities. But trusting Nen Abilities too much can make you careless, Qi Zhou thought with a quiet laugh, suppressing his presence and maintaining Zetsu.

A short while later, the car pulled into the manor's parking area and stopped.

"Go meet up with Lord Tabo."

"Yes, sir."

Voices came from inside the car.

Qi Zhou tensed. The moment the people inside opened the doors and prepared to get out, he let go and dropped beneath the car. Then, keeping to the shadows of a neatly parked row of vehicles, he walked out of the parking area.

Before him stood a manor in the central district, luxurious enough to be called a "castle." Such a lavish building hardly seemed like something that would exist in Meteor City.

Qi Zhou crouched in a corner, slipped a hand into his pocket, and quietly pressed the call button. After three vibrations, he ended the call.

It was the signal he had agreed on with A-Wu: "Infiltration successful."

The guards patrolling outside the manor and those stationed at fixed posts rotated in shifts. Qi Zhou watched from the corner for about half an hour, then seized the gap as the two groups guarding the main entrance changed shifts. He darted through the entrance as fast as he could and successfully entered the castle.

Beyond a long corridor lay the hall on the castle's first floor. Aside from two rows of tables, nearly a hundred people were gathered there, divided into four groups, some standing and some sitting.

Everyone was watching the movements of anyone not on their own side.

Qi Zhou avoided the part of the corridor visible from the main hall and carefully followed it around the corner. Coming to a room there, he silently pushed open the half-closed door and slipped inside.

It was the castle's food preparation room. Shelves on one side were packed with freshly baked pastries of all kinds, red wines with names he couldn't read, and spare tableware. On the other side stood about a dozen empty serving carts.

At the far end of the preparation room, the clamor of busy conversation and footsteps never let up, occasionally punctuated by a chef berating an assistant.

That passage back there was for the service staff.

Qi Zhou stared toward the kitchen, which was separated from the room by plastic curtains, then looked in the other direction. This way should lead straight from the dining room to the hall.

As Qi Zhou thought this, he heard footsteps approaching from the kitchen. He darted behind a shelving unit piled high with napkins.

The chefs carried exquisite dishes out of the kitchen and set them on the table.

"The dishes are ready! Get someone over here to take them out front, quickly!" a chef shouted impatiently behind the shelving unit. Then he raised his sleeve to wipe at the sweat on his forehead that he couldn't seem to wipe away and hurried back into the kitchen.

After the head chef gave the order, someone sent out a notice. More than a dozen waiters and waitresses rushed over, loaded the dishes onto the carts, and pushed them one by one to the dining room.

Qi Zhou stayed silently behind the shelving unit until, a few minutes later, another waiter came running in, out of breath. As he ran, he muttered, "Oh no, oh no! Damn it, the pager had to break down now of all times!"

Grumbling curses, he carried dishes over to a cart and began loading them. Then he froze, his eyes widened, and he crumpled to the floor.

"Sorry about this!" Qi Zhou dragged the man he had knocked unconscious behind an empty shelving unit at the far end of the room. As he pulled off the man's clothes and put them on, he muttered, "I'm borrowing your identity for a bit. Don't worry, I'll give it back tomorrow."

A moment later, Qi Zhou stood there, tugging awkwardly at the bow tie. Then he bent down and trimmed the overly long trouser legs with a Nen-infused finger. "Forget it, this will do. It's not like anyone has nothing better to do than stare at a waiter."

Qi Zhou went into the outer room. Before long, the group of waiters returned to the preparation room with the empty carts.

At the sight of Qi Zhou, a man who looked like the head waiter frowned and snapped, "I was wondering why we were one person short. Where did you go? Why are you only getting here now?"

Qi Zhou lowered his head and said "sincerely," "I'm terribly sorry. It's my first time here, and I got lost just now, so I was delayed. I'm really sorry!"

The head waiter stared at Qi Zhou, suspicious of the boy.

But all the service staff here came from the four elders' entourages, so it was normal for an unfamiliar face to turn up. Sending a child to be a waiter was strange, but since he was a child, he couldn't be dangerous.

The head waiter thought no more about it. "Move faster! If you don't know how to do something, watch the others. Don't be so clumsy!" he scolded, then hurriedly turned around and told the others to get back to serving the food.

Qi Zhou quickly nodded and silently followed the others, pushing a serving cart toward the main hall.

When no one was looking, the corners of Qi Zhou's mouth curled up slightly. Just as planned.

As waiters came and went, the previously empty tables in the center of the hall filled with dishes and pastries.

Qi Zhou followed the others and copied what they did, setting dishes on the tables.

Suddenly, he felt the phone in his pocket vibrate once, stop, then vibrate twice more.

The first vibration meant A-Wu had spotted him.

The second set of two vibrations meant A-Wu would meet up with him within two hours.

He needed to find a secluded place to wait for A-Wu as soon as possible.

Qi Zhou gave an almost imperceptible nod, letting A-Wu, who was watching him from hiding, know that he had received the message.

... Noon ...

After spending the morning working behind the others and learning the positions of the guards on the first floor, Qi Zhou volunteered to deliver food to the rooms where the elders were staying. He pushed a serving cart into the elevator and took it silently to the castle's third floor.

The entire third floor was likewise divided into four areas-east, south, west, and north-according to the territories governed by the four elders.

Guards stood outside the rooms in every area. Security was so tight, and the doors so firmly shut, that not even a bird could get inside.

They really are afraid of dying...

As Qi Zhou grumbled inwardly, he pushed the serving cart into the west area, where the west district elder, Kadis Eros, was staying.

The moment Qi Zhou approached, he felt someone's gaze sweep over him from head to toe.

A man with a large beard and a dark teal suit stopped him. "That's enough. Get lost."

Not knowing whether any Nen users could detect someone else's perception, Qi Zhou didn't dare use Nen to observe them. He merely swept a quick glance over the faces of the bodyguards stationed at the door.

The bearded man's expression turned cold. He stepped in front of Qi Zhou and shouted:

"What the hell are you looking at? Get lost, now!"

Qi Zhou quickly stepped back, pretending to be frightened, and hurriedly turned to leave.

Though he had only looked for a brief moment, Qi Zhou had silently committed the positions and circumstances of the five people outside the door to memory.

There were five visible guards. The three in the most conspicuous positions were ordinary people, but the bearded man and another man tucked away around the corner were Nen users.

Looks like a direct assault won't work. Though I'd have known that without looking.

Qi Zhou pondered this, then turned to take another look at the layout of the rooms on the third floor, committing the map to memory.

I'll wait for A-Wu to meet up with me first.

With that thought, he headed for the stairs.