Kukuroo Mountain X Silva X Agent

Kukuroo Mountain.

The mountaintop, at an altitude of 3,720 meters, is covered with a thin layer of snow all year round, and the mountain wind blows through the rock walls, making a low, mournful sound.

The Zoldyck Family mansion was built on the leeward side of this ridge, with gray stone walls embedded in the mountainside, as if they were part of the rock growing out of it.

Illumi walked through the doorway, her steps as light as when she had been down the mountain.

His shadow stretched into a thin, dark line on the stone floor, without disturbing anything.

The corridors inside the mansion were spacious and quiet.

Dark tapestries hung on the walls, and alarm devices embedded in the wall could occasionally be seen in the shadows of the corners.

The devices blend seamlessly with the surrounding stone walls, making them almost invisible without close inspection.

He stopped in front of a heavy wooden door.

The door panel is made of dark hardwood with minimal decoration, except for a small metal nameplate embedded at waist height.

Illumi raised her hand and knocked three times on the door.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The rhythm is even, and the force is consistent.

A deep response came from inside the door.

"Go."

Illumi pushed open the door and stepped over the threshold.

The room was large, but simply furnished.

A large desk was placed in the center of the room, with several documents spread out on the table and a brass paperweight pressed down on the corner.

A huge map hangs on the wall behind the table, marking the distribution of power and borders of the country's various regions.

Silva Zoldyck Family sat behind his desk, leaning back in his chair, his long white hair cascading down his shoulders, his eyes looking up from the documents.

He was wearing a dark casual shirt, with broad shoulders and long, slender fingers. His posture on the armrest was relaxed, but beneath that relaxation lay a tension that could tighten at any moment.

"I'm back."

His voice was calm.

Illumi stopped three steps away from the table.

"Hmm."

Silva leaned forward slightly and pushed the document aside.

"Is the task complete?"

"It's done."

Illumi's voice remained calm and even.

"The objective has been delivered."

He paused for a moment, then continued, recounting everything.

These included Jiang Ye's conditions, the opening of the Thirteen Wards, the agreement on priority intelligence sharing, and Nen's oath.

He spoke slowly but without any pauses, as if reading a prepared report.

Silva listened quietly to the end.

He didn't respond immediately, but leaned back in his chair, his eyes lingering on Illumi's face for a few seconds.

He said he wanted to develop a basic assassination training system to the Zoldyck Family.

"Yes."

A hint of interest appeared on Silva's face.

"A twelve-year-old vagrant, who swallowed up three medium-sized forces in Meteor City and integrated them into one, even dared to make an equal exchange with you."

"Interesting."

Illumi did not respond.

He knew Silva hadn't finished speaking.

"You made a vow."

When Silva said this, there was no blame in his tone; it was simply a question.

"Yes."

Illumi said so...

"He brought it up first."

Silva was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"I won't refuse."

This answer can be considered an approval.

Illumi didn't rush to leave, but continued speaking.

"I saw him use Nen Ability in District 13."

Upon hearing this, Silva raised his gaze again.

"Nen Beast."

"At least two, maybe more."

"One of them can move in the shadows at a speed that ordinary Nen user can't react to."

Illumi's description can be described as accurate.

The basic information was obtained with just a brief glance.

Silva tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest.

"Share your thoughts."

Without hesitation, Illumi immediately spoke up.

"He has potential."

"In less than a month, he went from a refugee to the leader of the only major force in District 13."

Those around him felt no fear of him, only obedience and trust.

He knows when to back down and when to try a different approach to the problem.

Illumi paused for a moment, then spoke her mind.

"Meteor City needs a stable person."

"At least 40% of our escape targets choose to enter Meteor City every year, and each time we have to start the search from scratch and build connections all over again."

"If someone could maintain a stable passage for us over there, the success rate of subsequent missions would be much higher."

Silva listened without interrupting.

So...

"Do you think he's suitable to be that agent?"

Illumi nodded.

"At least it's worth observing."

The room was silent for a few seconds.

Silva's gaze shifted from Illumi to the lower right corner of the map on the table.

The location of Meteor City is marked there, circled in light ink.

Silva muttered to himself.

"Your mother came from there."

Illumi did not respond.

Silva withdrew his gaze and looked back at Illumi.

"Observe for a period of time first."

"There are too many variables in Meteor City."

"He might be at the top of District 13 this month, but next month he could be wiped out by some elder with a flick of his wrist."

"Let's talk about it once he's settled into that position."

There was neither refusal nor agreement.

Illumi knew that Silva had tacitly approved the deal, but he wasn't in a hurry to tie the Zoldyck Family and Rust Remains Alliance too tightly.

He wanted to see if Jiang Ye could survive the next few waves of trouble.

Illumi nodded and said nothing more.

He reached inside his collar and pulled out a palm-sized, black, square device from his body.

The surface is smooth, without any buttons or interfaces, except for a tiny indicator light embedded in one corner, which is currently emitting a dim green glow.

"The training system recordings are included."

He placed the device on the table.

"The thought is locked."

"Automatically destroyed after one listen."

Silva glanced at the black device but didn't touch it.

"Just give it to him directly."

Illumi retrieved the device and turned to walk towards the door.

The door slammed shut behind them with a low, muffled thud.

The corridor fell silent again.

Illumi's steps were as light as when he arrived, the black device resting on his palm, the indicator light flickering between his fingers.

At the same time, in District 13.

Under the pale gray light of the sky, the clanging of sticks in the open space finally stopped.

Bago was bent over, his hands resting on his knees, his chest heaving violently.

The wooden stick in his hand had broken in two; he had broken it by gripping it so tightly.

In the final exchange, he used too much force, and the wooden stick got stuck on Jiang Ye's stick. He pressed down on it, and as a result, the stick couldn't withstand the brute force and split in the middle.

Jiang Ye stood three steps away, holding a wooden stick horizontally in front of him, his breathing much more steady than Bago's.

Sweat beaded on his forehead, but the heaving of his chest had subsided.

That's all for today.

He casually stuck the stick into the gravel and stretched his wrists.

Bago straightened up, tossed the two broken sticks aside, and spoke only after catching his breath.

"Alliance Leader, you've become even stronger."

Jiang Ye didn't reply, but simply kicked aside the scattered pieces of wooden sticks on the gravel ground.

"We'll continue tomorrow afternoon."

After he finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the camp, his footsteps making a soft crunching sound on the gravel.

Bago stood there, watching the figure disappear into the gray twilight as it passed through the gaps between the scrap metal piles.

He looked down at his right hand.

A shallow, but burning pain appeared on the web of my hand, where the wooden stick had rubbed against my thumb.

He pressed the edge of the bloodstain with his thumb and couldn't help but grimace.

"Monster."

Bago knew perfectly well what that final exchange had meant.

It wasn't that he was holding back, nor was it that he was physically exhausted; it was that Jiang Ye's speed and reaction had caught up to the point where he needed to exert all his strength to barely keep up.

Just a few days ago, he could easily dominate Jiang Ye.

Now it's completely the opposite.

This speed would be absurd by any standard in Meteor City.

Bago has seen many geniuses, people who crawled out of piles of corpses, and monsters of Feitan's caliber.

But all those geniuses would call Jiang Ye a genius after meeting him.

He bent down, picked up the two broken sticks from the ground, and weighed them in his hand.

"You need to keep practicing, otherwise you'll be eliminated sooner or later."

After saying that, he turned and walked in another direction.

When Jiang Ye returned to his container accommodation, it was already quite dark.

He pushed open the door, walked through the short corridor, and entered his room.

The iron bunk bed, the old wooden table, the yellowed chandelier, and the metal wall in the corner that could barely reflect a person's image—everything was exactly the same as when he left.

But his gaze did not fall on those few pieces of old furniture.

He landed on the table.

There was a new black square device, about the size of a palm, with a smooth surface, no buttons, and an indicator light embedded in one corner.

Jiang Ye walked over, sat down on the edge of the bed, picked up the device, and examined it.

The metal casing still retained a slight warmth, as if it had been worn close to someone's body for a while and had only recently been put down.

He held the device in his palm, felt its slight warmth, and then a smile appeared on his lips.

"It's finally here."