"Does this assassin think so little of us?"
Greed continued, "If the person really targeted Gluttony and Sloth because of a contract, then it's likely they will come after us as well."
"After all, our strength isn't that different from Gluttony and Sloth's."
"Our bounty is also 1 billion Jenny each."
Greed turned to Knock.
"Knock, investigate the situation with Kyler's daughter."
"Yes, Lord Greed."
Afterwards, Greed turned to Lust.
"If the assassin is indeed targeting us seven, then summon the others as well."
"Whether it's the assassin or the one who issued the contract, they must die!"
---
Ron opened his laptop and played the audio that Chii had just sent over.
It was the conversation between Greed, Lust, and Knock.
Earlier, Ron had already ordered Chii to infiltrate Knock's phone.
Once it became clear that Gluttony and Sloth were connected to the Ding William family, Ron had Chii monitor numerous members of the family, not just Knock.
It turned out that Ron's decision was indeed valid.
"The situation is even better than I expected."
"The Underworld Mafia still doesn't know the true circumstances surrounding Kyler and Nina."
"Therefore, even if the Underworld Mafia shows up and sees Nina in her current normal state, they won't suspect anything's wrong. Otherwise, they would have to come up with an explanation for her Synth Beast form and how she returned to normal."
"And that would be difficult to explain."
"True Nen users are already rare on the human continent."
"But even among them, Nen exorcists specialists are even rarer."
"Within the entire Nen user community, Nen removal specialists could be considered extremely rare."
Ron's display of strength at Heaven's Arena wasn't impressive.
If they found out Nina had once become a 'Synth Beast' and had now returned to normal, they would know she must have undergone Nen exorcists. So where did Ron find a Nen exorcist specialist?
How could an ordinary low-level Nen user find one?
"Ding-ding-ding!"
The phone rang.
Ron picked up the phone and answered it.
"Hello?"
"Is this Ron?"
"It is. Who's this?"
"Is Lina nearby? I want to speak with her about Kyler."
"She's not here."
"Can you have Lina take the call?"
"Sure."
Ron walked out, holding the phone.
"Lina, someone's looking for you."
Nina jogged over.
"Hello, I'm Nina."
"I have some bad news to tell you. Nina, your father, Kyler, passed away yesterday. I'd like to speak with you in person about this. When would be a good time?"
"My father's dead? Impossible! You must be lying to me."
"I'm afraid it's true, but I wish it wasn't."
Knock added, "Not just your father—there were others as well. They all died at the hands of that killer."
Nina pretended to be deeply sorrowful.
"Is what you're saying really true? Why should I believe you?"
"I can assure you that everything I said is true. I want to avenge your father, but right now there are no leads on the killer. I need you to tell me everything you know."
Knock questioned her in return.
"Don't you want to avenge your father? Will you just watch your father die without knowing why?"
Nina fell silent for a moment.
"Then who are you? What's your relationship with my father?"
"I'm your father's good friend."
Knock paused for a second.
"If you don't believe me, you can choose the meeting place. You can also bring Ron along. You'll be able to feel more safe with him around."
"Alright, let's meet at the restaurant on the 200th floor of the Heaven's Arena."
No matter what floor of Heaven's Arena you were on, there were restaurants and stores.
The main reason people visited Heaven's Arena was to watch the fights, but in between matches, there were other things to do.
You could, of course, just stand around and do nothing. But who would do that?
You could also catch on the new movies, and grab some popcorn and drinks.
Thus, the Arena offered various entertainment options.
The restaurants were one of those things.
For visitors, there was another perk to these restaurants.
The chefs who worked there had prepared meals for the fighters of Heaven's Arena.
The fighters above the 200th floor were extremely strong and were treated like celebrities. So any chef who had prepared meals for them could boast about it.
Not long after, Knock arrived.
He took the elevator straight up to the 200th floor, and when he arrived at the restaurant, he saw two figures sitting in a corner.
One was Ron, and the other was Nina.
He pushed the door open and walked over.
Nina looked at Knock, sizing him up.
"Are you the one who called me earlier? My father's friend?" Nina asked.
"That's right, it's me."
Knock sat down opposite Ron and Nina.
As Ron and Nina sized him up, Knock did the same, comparing the information he had gathered with what he observed in front of him.
Knock's intel indicated that Nina was Kyler's daughter. Beyond that, there wasn't anything useful. She had always been by Kyler's side until the last time Kyler left Heaven's Arena.
Nina hadn't left but had stayed by Ron's side.
"She's also a Nen user," Knock noted. His eyes flickered as he entered a focused state and sensed Nina's aura.
"This aura looks promising," he thought. "It seems Kyler really took good care of his daughter. Otherwise, Nina wouldn't have reached this level at her age. It's not just talent that gets you this far."
Then, Knock turned his attention to Ron.
He knew less about Ron. His information was limited to what he had gathered since Ron came to Heaven's Arena: that he had left for a while and had just returned. At just over ten years old, he had reached the 200th floor and won several matches.
But, in Knock's eyes, he wasn't exceptionally strong.
Knock believed Ron probably came from a family of Nen users. His ability to open his Nen pores at a young age and receive structured Nen training likely accounted for his above-average skills at this age.
To Knock, Ron seemed like one of those rookie Nen users, someone who would be classified as an E-rank or even below.
From Knock's perspective, Ron's strength was probably at E-rank, maybe even a top-tier E-rank. At his age, that was impressive, but not extraordinary.
It wasn't hard for someone with a Nen lineage to reach this level, just like Knock's own son, who had opened his Nen gates at a young age and reached E-rank.
The real challenge was advancing beyond E-rank.
For most Nen users, reaching E-rank was easy. But breaking into D-rank was difficult, and many people stayed stuck between E and D for their entire lives.
What Knock didn't know was that Ron had already surpassed the barrier between E-rank and D-rank. He was firmly at C-rank, and his ability was much more impressive than Knock realized.
Nina's eyes were red, her face a mix of worry and sorrow.
Knock looked at both of them and spoke.
"The news of Kyler's death has been confirmed."
"But don't worry too much. We will get revenge for them."
"I need you to tell me everything you know."
"Only then can we find the killer as quickly as possible."
Nina sniffled quietly, her eyes still red.
Ron looked at Knock, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Sir, I want to ask—where is Kyler's body? Can we go see it?"
"There is no body anymore."
Knock shook his head.