Every hunter has something they pursue.
Dreams, status, fame, money, power…
Wright is a Blacklist Hunter with a strong sense of pragmatism. In order to reach higher status and fame, he never considered taking a break halfway.
Moving forward without hesitation…
That's what he's always been doing.
Capturing the notorious Phantom Troupe is an incredibly important milestone for him before reaching the end of his journey.
For this, he's left a long-term commission in the 'Information Network' to investigate the whereabouts of the Phantom Troupe.
Now, there's finally some information!
"I got it. Send the information to my mailbox. Once I confirm it, I will transfer the corresponding reward."
After saying that, Wright directly hung up the phone.
Moses swallowed a piece of meat, looking up at Wright.
Hearing the words 'information' and 'reward', he realized what was going on.
Wright waved his phone, and said with a grin, "Heh, work's come in."
"Is it urgent?" Moses put down his chopsticks, and asked the most concerned question.
Wright replied, "Every second counts."
Information is often time-sensitive, especially when it's related to someone's whereabouts. It requires immediate action.
In other words, he has to leave quickly now.
Moses nodded in understanding, then pointed at the table full of foods, "But I can't finish all this meat alone."
"Haha, don't worry, I'll finish it before I go."
Wright laughed heartily, grabbing a large pork leg from the bowl.
Moses didn't say anything more, and picked up his chopsticks again.
Both of them buried themselves in their meal
Soon, Moses noticed that Wright's eating speed was noticeably more than twice as fast. It seemed that during the meal before, he deliberately slowed down, and the reason needs no explanation.
Watching Wright devour his food, Moses could clearly feel the importance he placed on this 'work'.
'I've gained a lot during this time. It's enough.'
Moses thought silently in his heart.
Even though there is still one more day left for their sparring agreement, in this situation, he couldn't demand Wright to fulfill the 'contract'.
A moment later, Wright finished his portion.
"Sorry about this."
Getting up after eating, Wright said apologetically to Moses, "This came up suddenly. I'll owe you that last day of sparring."
"It's okay. We can make up for it once you're done."
Moses also stood up.
During this time, he had understood from Wright what the stubbornness of an Enhancer meant. Thus, he tactfully kept the thought of 'let's just forget the last day of sparring' to himself.
After all, bringing it up would only waste time.
"I'm leaving. I'll contact you later."
Wright left as soon as he said that, without dragging it out.
"Sure, have a safe journey," Moses nodded slightly in response.
Wright waved his hand without looking back, leaving with big strides.
Their farewell was short and efficient.
Upon leaving the temple, Wright descended along the mountain path, taking out his phone from his pocket to check the flight information.
"It's 20:35 now, and the nearest flight is… 20:50."
Wright looked down at the phone screen, muttering to himself, "This is going to be a bit tight."
Then, he put away his phone and did a few stretching movements in place.
"I was thinking of settling things with Moses tonight, but plans always can't keep up with changes…"
As his words trailed off, with a push of his feet, Wright shot like an arrow into the distance, disappearing into the night in the blink of an eye.
In the temple, everything was as quiet as ever.
Moses finished the remaining food, and then cleaned up the table quickly.
After doing all this, he walked to the battered courtyard and began opening his nodes to release his Aura at its maximum capacity.
To increase the total amount of Aura and extend the duration of training, there's basically no shortcut.
Release the Aura until it's entirely consumed, recover, and then release again.
That's the cycle to gradually enhance the total amount of Aura.
Two minutes later.
Exhausted, Moses laid on the ground, closing his eyes and panting.
After a considerable amount of time, Moses barely regained some strength to sit down.
"It feels different all of a sudden…"
Moses slowly opened his eyes and casually picked up a small piece of broken green brick from the side, holding it in front of him.
The night deepened.
At the top of the mountain, the old temple stood in solitude.
The next day.
Dawn broke.
Moses woke up early, had a quick meal, and began his daily training regimen.
Without Wright to spar with, all he could do now was to solidify the foundation of the Four Fundamental Techniques.
Release, recover, release, recover…
The training was monotonous and tedious, and the morning passed like this.
At noon, the sun was high.
After lunch, Moses was about to start another round of training when he was interrupted by noises outside the temple.
A group of workers carrying various tools and materials arrived at the temple, knocking on the gate loudly.
Hearing the knocking on the gate, Moses, who had an idea of what was happening, crossed the courtyard and opened the creaky wooden gate.
Seeing a group of 'fully armed' workers outside, Moses was initially surprised, but soon realized that they must've been called by Wright.
"Hello, Mr. Wright commissioned us to come. He mentioned there's a courtyard here that needs repairing."
The lead worker respectfully greeted Moses.
"Yes, come in."
Moses, who already understood what was going on, opened the door wide, indicating for the workers to enter.
The workers swiftly moved into the damaged courtyard with their tools and materials.
The lead worker confirmed the project details with Moses.
Once confirmed, they immediately started working.
With incredible efficiency, the entire construction team completed Moses's request in just an hour.
It's unknown where they sourced the weather-worn stones, but the renovated courtyard looked almost identical to its previous state.
Having seen the construction team off, Moses closed the gate of the temple. As he returned to the courtyard, he once again appreciated Wright's thoughtfulness.
"Speaking of which… It's about time for Hawk to return, right?"
Looking at the restored courtyard, Moses suddenly thought of his father, Hawk.
When Hawk left, he mentioned it would take ten days to half a month. And now it had been eleven days. So perhaps, he would return in a couple of days.
Moses thought about giving Hawk a call to check on him.
However, remembering Hawk's instructions not to call him even if it's important, Moses decided against it.
Time passed slowly.
As the sun set, night descended.
In a village located only a hundred kilometers away from the temple, Hawk sat leaning against a secluded bridge. His right hand pressed tightly against his abdomen, his head tilted back, while panting heavily.
Sweat trickled down his cheeks, dropping into the pool of blood below him, creating ripples.
Drip, drip—
In the sound of the creek, footsteps suddenly mingled.
Hearing the footsteps, Hawk's gaze suddenly sharpened, but the next second, they softened.
"Looks like you're severely injured, Hawk."
Beneath the bridge, the stream glistened under the moonlight.
A frog leaped into the water, causing a ripple that momentarily distorted the reflected glow.
As the water calmed, a green figure appeared in the reflection, standing on the bank and gazing calmly at Hawk, who sat against the bridge.
"Minor injuries."
Hawk turned his head to look at the figure.
Wearing a green dress, petite, with a beautiful face and glasses, the figure had a calm and composed expression.
What caught attention, however, was a pair of dog ears among the green long hair. But upon closer inspection, one could barely tell that the dog ears were just decorations.
This person is Cheadle Yorkshire, a member of the Zodiacs from the Hunter Association, and a Double-Star Hunter renowned for both her medical and legal expertise.
"Minor injuries?"
Approaching Hawk, Cheadle said calmly,
"Just hearing my footsteps made you emit such a strong killing intent– you're like a trapped animal roaring out meaningless threat."
"..."
Hawk remained silent for a moment, then jokingly said with a helpless tone, "Miss Legal Scholar, I want to ask, how many years would one be sentenced for being proud and stubborn in your court?"
"There's no such provision in the law, and I'm merely stating facts."
Cheadle came in front of Hawk, her eyes fixed on the bleeding wound on Hawk's abdomen. She frowned, "I had a feeling something happened when you haven't come to me. But… I didn't expect you to be injured so severely. With your abilities, even facing multiple Nen users, you should be able to handle it."
"That's right."
Hawk smiled bitterly. Just as he was about to ask Cheadle to help stop the bleeding, she preemptively spoke:
"But you're seriously injured now. Is it because the enemy has a 'Haunting Type' Nen ability? No, if that's the case, you would probably be dead already. Strange… Could it be…"
Cheadle suddenly thought of something, and her expression immediately becoming serious. She then asked in a heavy tone,
"Has the Post-Mortem Nen on the temple side grown so powerful to the point you had to leave 'Rat Jewel' behind?"
"Ah, right, right! If my left hand could exert force now, I would definitely give you a round of applause. But more importantly, could you please…"
Hawk looked at Cheadle, who was still lost in thought, and sighed with a powerless expression.
Cheadle's expression changed, completely ignoring the latter half of Hawk's words, she muttered to herself, "Damn, has it become so serious… I know of an Exorcist we can contact, and combined with the one in the Association, that makes two. However, neither are adept at removing Post-Mortem Nen."
"Um…"
Hawk, observing Cheadle's deeply engrossed murmuring, weakly said, "If possible, could you first help stop my bleeding?"
Cheadle remained unresponsive, continuing her whispered monologue, "Even though we've announced a bounty to the public, the issue of rewards is inevitably a problem."
"…"
Hawk's eyes were lifeless.
He looked down at the blood pooling under his body, feeling an anxious sensation as if his life bar was about to hit bottom.
"Hey, Cheadle, I'm about to die. Can you please look at me?"
"@#@…"
The incessant murmurs from a certain individual continued.
"…"
Hawk's eyelids twitched multiple times. In a moment of desperation and to catch her attention, he tentatively spoke, "Single dog Cheadle."
"Hmm?"
Cheadle suddenly raised her head, her sharp gaze focused on Hawk.