Chapter 42
After the battle between Kyler and Julianna ended, Ron noticed that the speed at which the crystal ball absorbed energy had further slowed down.
The overall progress had reached 90%, leaving only the final 10%.
Ron felt that this last 10% would likely depend on the fighting tournament.
After all, this was the essence of the Sky Arena.
"A fighting tournament, huh?"
Zeno nodded and said, "Remember our Zoldyck family principles."
"Yes."
Ron watched Zeno leave until his figure completely disappeared before retracting his gaze.
He went downstairs and headed to a nearby electronics store to purchase a portable laptop.
Once back upstairs, he connected to the internet.
He used an anonymous network card.
First, he sent an email to Milluki.
---
**At the Zoldyck Manor.**
At this time, Milluki had just finished his latest task.
He opened the refrigerator, grabbed a bottle of soda, gulped it down, and collapsed onto the sofa, letting out a deep breath.
"Ah, that feels good!"
Afterwards, he made his way to his computer.
"Ding ding ding!"
The email notification sounded.
"Who's trying to reach me?"
Milluki raised an eyebrow slightly.
"It's an unknown account."
He opened the email, which only contained a phone number.
After hesitating for a moment, Milluki checked the number but couldn't find any information.
It was a number that had just been registered recently.
There wasn't much information available.
"Ring ring ring!"
Ron answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Who are you? Why did you email me?"
Milluki intentionally altered his voice.
However, Ron could tell who it was.
Although Ron had never met Milluki, he had heard his voice before.
"Milluki, it's me, Ron Zoldyck. Your email address was given to me by Grandpa Zeno. I'm looking to collaborate with you."
"Ron?"
Milluki frowned slightly.
He was aware of Ron's existence.
A member of another branch of the Zoldyck family who had grown up alongside Maha Zoldyck.
Ron had always stayed at the back mountain.
He was slightly younger than Milluki.
He was indeed his cousin.
"How can you prove it?"
"You can call Grandpa Zeno to verify."
Milluki squinted slightly.
Once Ron said that, Milluki began to believe him.
However,
"Are you no longer at the Zoldyck Manor?"
No one had informed Milluki about Ron leaving the Zoldyck Manor.
In fact, Milluki didn't even know that Kurt had met Ron.
Interactions among Zoldyck family members were different from those in typical families.
Moreover, Milluki was somewhat unique within that structure.
"I'm at the Sky Arena."
"What do you want me to help you with?"
Ron said, "I'm preparing to take on assassination missions, but I don't have anyone for intelligence. Grandpa Zeno said you're good at that."
"That's true, but I do charge for my services."
"There are two options: the first is to take a cut from the commission, and the second is for me to pay you a fixed fee."
Milluki thought for a moment.
"I choose the second option."
"Alright, once I select a mission, I'll send you the details."
"Sounds good."
Ron hung up the phone.
Having intelligence is essential for an assassin.
Without information, operations would be severely hindered.
This was an advantage Ron had.
First, since both Milluki and Ron were members of the Zoldyck family and were introduced by Zeno, Ron didn't have to worry about Milluki deceiving him. Finding another intelligence officer could pose that risk.
Secondly, Milluki's abilities were quite good among intelligence personnel.
Ron began browsing through assassination missions.
In fact, without the matter regarding Lena, Ron had also planned to start recently.
Staying at the Sky Arena had become of little use to him.
The tournaments occurred every three months.
The progress of the crystal ball could only be enhanced once the fighting tournament commenced.
There was still some time left.
It wouldn't officially begin for another month and a half.
Currently, it was merely in a warming-up phase.
However, since the warm-up had begun, many people had arrived in the city.
A large number of people flooded into this city.
Some were Nen users wanting to witness the battles of other Nen users.
Others were from major factions.
For example:
The leaders of the world's mafia, elite troops under the Dons, known as the Shadow Beasts.
There were a total of ten members of the Shadow Beasts.
Some of the members had been absorbed from the Sky Arena.
There were even some who had risen from being rookie assassins.
Ron couldn't waste the idle time in between.
Simply doing basic training wouldn't yield significant improvements.
Taking on assassination missions and engaging in actual combat would provide much greater enhancement.
Suddenly, Ron's mouse stopped moving.
"Is this a request for me?"
"Who?"
"No wonder I was targeted for assassination several times while I was out earlier."
Ron recalled the intruder who had entered his hotel room.
And the person in the alley who had tried to kill him with scissors.
"Commission fee: 5 million Jenny."
"But that's not enough for my current strength."
Ron continued scrolling down.
---
"Death row inmates?"
Ron paused at one assassination request.
There were a total of five targets.
All of them were death row inmates who had escaped from prison.
The requester was directly from the prison authorities.
Both killing and capturing them were acceptable.
The bounty for each was 100 million Jenny.
"The prison authorities must have tried to hunt them down and failed multiple times. They must have run out of options to post a bounty for these death row inmates on this kind of website."
"Given the price, it's highly likely that these individuals have reached the level of Nen users."
"Or at the very least, they're capable of passing the Hunter Exam."
Ron remembered that the collateral value of a Hunter License was exactly 100 million Jenny.
"However, they probably haven't reached the level of the Phantom Troupe or the Shadow Beasts."
"If I can take them out one by one, I shouldn't have much of a problem."
"Mainly, I'll have an advantage in intelligence."
"But they know nothing about me."
"I'll choose this mission for now and have Milluki gather intelligence."
"Then try to approach them."
"Through close contact, I'll make a judgment."
"If it's possible to strike, I'll look for an opportunity to do so."
"If I can't strike, I'll cancel the mission."
Whether it's the Zoldyck family's operational rules or Ron's own personality, he wouldn't take on too much risk in his endeavours.
Once he made up his mind, Ron called Milluki.
"...0612..."
Ron first started the website and then provided the commission number.