What is the most important thing for an assassin? Of course, it's survival. Only by staying alive can you kill.
Task fees? Getting involved for fun? Curiosity?
None of these matter.
A true assassin never takes on a mission that puts their life in danger for something trivial.
A figure suddenly dashed into Elder's Town.
It was Peter.
"I must see the Elder!"
Peter presented the token that Park had given him, before collapsing to the ground.
In no time, a crowd of onlookers gathered.
Soon, a group of patrolling guards appeared and took Peter to the Elder's mansion.
"Wake him up."
An Elder stepped forward. Upon seeing Peter unconscious, a sense of unease washed over him.
"Yes, Elder."
One Nen user stepped forward and began healing Peter.
After a short while, Peter regained consciousness.
"Lord Elder, please save Park!"
These were Peter's first words after waking up.
"What happened to Park?"
The Elder's gaze fixed on Peter, his brow furrowed.
---
Peter took quite a while to explain everything.
One reason was that Peter was young, and in the Garbage Old District, he rarely had the chance to speak.
He hadn't known Park for long either.
He didn't know many words and stumbled through his explanation.
Annoyed by the delay, the Elder called on a Nen user.
Using the Nen user's ability, Peter's speech was temporarily enhanced.
Only then was Peter able to clarify what had happened.
"I met Park in the Garbage Old District. He brought me along with two other people."
"Park called them 'Sir'."
"Those two were very strong."
"Just as we were about to leave the Garbage Old District, we encountered a monster."
"A mountain collapsed, and a giant cockroach appeared."
"The old man and the giant cockroach fought, and the old man killed the cockroach."
"There were many smaller cockroaches as well."
"Park killed one of the small cockroaches."
"Then we went to the Garbage New District."
"There, we met someone very strong."
"Those two 'Sirs' fought with him, but neither side won."
"Park told me to run."
"After running for a while, Park pointed me in a direction to run, while he went in the other direction."
"I ran here."
"Park told me to deliver a message to the Elder."
The Elder instinctively asked, "What message?"
"KUTE!"
Upon hearing this, the Elder's pupils immediately contracted.
The Kute Gang of Thieves. The Elder had heard of them.
There weren't many S-rank criminals on the Hunter Association's wanted list, but KUTE was one of the most formidable. They had killed many powerful individuals and attacked many strong organizations.
The Elder's eyes flickered.
"Clearly, the two 'Sirs' Peter mentioned are members of the Zoldyck family."
"These two are no slouches..."
"Especially Zeno Zoldyck."
"But just one member of the KUTE Gang is on par with the two Zoldycks. This means the strength of the Kute Gang of Thieves is even greater than the rumours suggest."
"Why did these guys come to Meteor City?"
"What do they want?"
"Are they targeting the Zoldycks? Or are they targeting Meteor City?"
"Wait, Park, shouldn't recognize the name 'Kute Gang of Thieves. That must have been mentioned by the Zoldycks."
"And the giant cockroach that appeared earlier..."
Suddenly, the Elder had an unsettling thought. His expression darkened.
The Elder quickly returned to his office.
One file after another was taken out.
"Just as I thought!"
Meteor City was divided into four areas: the Garbage Old District, the Garbage New District, the Chaos Zone, and Elder's Town. But for the Elders, Meteor City was divided into twelve regions.
Each of the twelve Elders controlled one region.
In Meteor City, the Elders were essentially the kings of their territories.
And a king must maintain control over what happens below them.
The Elders would send their subordinates to investigate, patrol, and report regularly.
At this moment, the Elder pulled out some documents and found that one of the regions hadn't reported in a long time, and the neighbouring region was visibly experiencing a decrease in population.
"How big was the giant cockroach?"
The Elder stood before Peter again.
"It was very large, like a small mountain."
Upon hearing this, the Elder confirmed his suspicions.
A normal cockroach could never grow that big.
Even a magical beast couldn't reach that size.
The environment of Meteor City was harsh, with few magical beasts around.
It was an environment so extreme that even magical beasts had a hard time surviving.
So the answer could only be one thing.
"A disaster."
"Disasters can be born in extremely harsh environments, and there's also the possibility that they can be artificially induced. The KUTO gang chose Meteor City and used some method to deliberately bring about the disaster's birth."
"However, even in Meteor City, creating such a disaster would have to result in the deaths of at least a million people to pull it off."
"These... are the lives of Meteor City!"
"This gang is so despicable!"
"Those people... they belong to me!"
For the Elders of Meteor City, everything in Meteor City, including the land and the people, belonged to them.
The Elder stepped outside.
"Send my orders. Dispatch a team to attack the KUTE gang wherever they appear. Kill on sight, and also, bring Park back."
One person hesitated.
"But Elder, these gang of thieves are so powerful, and even Zeno Zoldyck chose to retreat. Are we really a match for them?"
The Elder glanced at the person.
"So what?"
"No matter how strong they are, they are still flesh and blood. Under the power of firearms, bombs, and artillery, can they withstand it? And let's not forget, our Nen users are no slouches either."
"Zeno Zoldyck retreated because of his own style of doing things."
"As assassins, they never fight without confidence, nor do they fight battles that serve no purpose."
"But we are different."
"This is my territory."
"The Kute Gang of Thieves is running wild in my domain!"
"Absolutely unforgivable!"
With the Elder's command given, a team of several hundred people appeared, leaving the Elder's Town and heading toward the potential location of the Gang of Thieves. Dozens of trucks followed behind.
The trucks were loaded with people, guns, and Nen users.
This could be considered an elite military force.
The Elder stood on the walls, gazing outside.
In truth, sending out the Beast Troop to deal with the KUTE was the best option.
The Beast Troop was made up of the twelve Elders' most elite subordinates.
Their individual powers were extraordinary.
When it came to handling situations like this, they were experts.
Only top-tier Nen users could deal with other top-tier Nen users.
Ordinary people had no concept of how to deal with powerful Nen users.
Of course, exceptions like the "Rose" bomb were out of the equation.
That was something that could even take down an Ant King.
No matter how strong the KUTE gang was, they would not be stronger than the Ant King.
The Elder's decision to go this route, to take such a risk, was because the Elder wanted to obtain the very same thing the gang of thieves sought.
The reason was simple.
The people who had already died in Meteor City were gone, and dead men couldn't be brought back to life.
But the goods—their valuables—still existed.
If the Beast Troop took action, how would the spoils be divided?
There was only so much to go around, and with twelve Elders, each one would only get one-twelfth of the total.