Hunter: I became stronger even after I died.

Chapter 207 Both Sides' Response
Paknoda's ability is to read the memories of a target by touching them.

The memories accessed through this ability are the purest, unprocessed memories.

In other words, no one can "hide" any information that exists in memories in the face of Paknoda's abilities.

This precious trait ability plays a very important role in the team.

From the perpetrator's act of destroying the swordsman's body, Kuroro keenly perceived the perpetrator's cautious personality.

Considering Feitan's manner of death, it can be inferred that the perpetrator likely had prior knowledge of Feitan's abilities.

As for how the perpetrator learned of Feitan's abilities...

With Paknoda's abilities, there's no need to be suspicious.

The members present also understood the importance of eliminating potential risks, and they all cooperated fully with Paknoda's memory reading.

The result obtained is naturally normal.

"I will issue the 'assembly' order before today."

Kuroro looked around at the group members present.

The reunion after a year has two purposes: firstly, to rely on Pakunoda's abilities to completely eliminate the hidden dangers; and secondly, to find the perpetrator of the Feitan Striker incident as quickly as possible.

In any case, the vacation is over.

Now, and in every moment to come—

The group's sole objective is to find the perpetrator and make him die in the most painful way possible.

Uvogin punched the air hard and said in a deep voice, "Whatever, I just want to find that bastard as soon as possible and smash his head in!"

"We will find it."

Kuroro's eyes were deep, as unfathomable as still water.

The members present unconditionally trusted Kuroro's words.

It has always been like this—

They rely on Kuroro's decision-making and action plans, and believe that under Kuroro's leadership, anything they want to do can eventually be accomplished.

"But intelligence work has always been handled by the swordsman..."

Paknoda glanced at the blood and flesh piled up on the steel bed, a fleeting sadness in her eyes.

Upon hearing this, Finks' knuckles cracked as suppressed anger surged in his voice: "This is the worst possible outcome. If only I could have gotten here faster, or if back then..."

"That's enough, Finks."

Nobunaga interrupted his self-pitying words, speaking calmly and with restraint, "No matter how much you regret it, you can't change what has already happened. Instead, think about how to find that bastard."

"Oh?"

Phinks was annoyed by Nobunaga's detached, didactic tone and retorted with a cold laugh, "Then tell me, what brilliant ideas do you have?"

Faced with the loss of two comrades, Nobunaga had no desire to confront Phinks and stated his thoughts directly:

"Start by looking for clues through 'intelligence channels.' If we can't find any clues through conventional intelligence channels... then we'll use Nen abilities, like the ability of a shadow."

"..."

Phinks fell silent upon hearing this, then frowned.

He quickly understood what Nobunaga meant.

A kind of Nen ability similar to a shadow puppet...

That is to obtain first-hand information directly from the "dead souls".

Given the diversity of Nen abilities, such a mechanism involving post-mortem Nen is not impossible to achieve.

However, this kind of ability must be a special ability.

Let's not even talk about whether such a person exists in the world...

Finding it is easier said than done.

Phinks was about to speak when he heard Kuroro say first: "Nobunaga's suggestion is a direction worth considering, but it's too early to talk about it now."

"Yes, if we can find out by starting with 'intelligence,' that would be ideal..."

Nobunaga ran his fingertips over the hilt of the sword, his eyes becoming as sharp as a blade.

Phinks saw the look in Nobunaga's eyes and said nothing more.

Regardless of how much they disliked each other, they shared the same goal: to eliminate the perpetrator.

----------

The heavy rain continues.

Cars sped along the road in the rain.

After Moro and Kurapika met up, they headed in the opposite direction from Fondant Town.

There was no specific destination; the goal was simply to get as far away from Fengde Town as possible.

They drove like that for several hours without any intention of stopping.

"Hisoka, where would you like to get off?"

Moro gripped the steering wheel and suddenly asked.

Hisoka casually flicked the playing cards between his fingers, and replied nonchalantly, "Anywhere is fine, but... the farther the better."

"Oh?"

Moro glanced meaningfully at Hisoka through the rearview mirror. "It's surprising that you're actually having reservations about this."

Hisoka squinted, neither confirming nor denying.

He's not a fool.

They knew what Feitan and Shalnark's deaths meant for the entire Phantom Troupe.

Before the storm arrives...

Even clever spiders know to temporarily move away from the center of their webs.

Although he was a fake spider~~
The playing cards flew between his fingers, tracing a pink arc.

Hisoka's current focus is more on recovering from his injuries as quickly as possible.

Moro was somewhat surprised when he saw that Hisoka seemed to have tacitly agreed.

However, Hisoka's reaction reminded him of something.

"Hisoka."

"uh-huh?"

Hisoka looked up at Moro in the driver's seat again.

Meanwhile, Kurt in the passenger seat and Kurapika in the back seat listened to their conversation in silence.

Moro gazed ahead and said calmly, "Here's a suggestion for you..."

"Om."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Hisoka's phone notification.

Moro seemed to sense something and looked up through the rearview mirror to see Hisoka taking out his phone.

"Is this an order from the Phantom Troupe?"

he asked.

Hisoka took out his phone and glanced at it, while Kurapika next to him subconsciously looked over with a sharp gaze.

Hisoka was somewhat used to Kurapika's stress response and paid no attention to it, instead squinting at Moro in the driver's seat.

The command displayed on the phone screen was indeed from Kuroro.

It arrived even faster than expected.

But at this moment, Hisoka wasn't worried about recovering from his injuries; instead...

No, that's not it~~

He drew out his words, denying Moreau's guess.

But Moro realized something from Hisoka's reaction. Too lazy to play the lying game with Hisoka, and with no intention of confirming it a second time, he asked directly, "What is the instruction? Is it to gather you all together?"

"..."

Hisoka's playing cards, which he had been tossing between his fingers, suddenly landed slowly on the foot mat, seemingly reflecting his boredom.

"The commander ordered us to meet in a place called Gat in Kajin no later than seven days."

He stated the contents of the instructions.

Upon hearing this, Moro's eyes narrowed slightly as he said, "You're quick on your feet."

As he spoke, he glanced at Hisoka's injuries and frowned, saying, "Just one week... can you handle the injuries on your body?"

"That depends on whether the Zoldyck family's special medicine works."

Hisoka also felt the time was too tight, but he outwardly remained casual and nonchalant, as if he wasn't worried at all. In fact, as long as the injuries could be mostly healed under the effect of the special medicine…

He can then use the ability "Lightweight Illusion" to conceal the obvious signs of injury.

Even if that doesn't work, just make up some excuse to brush it off when the rest of the group asks about it.

of course.

It's best to avoid troublesome things like this if possible.

In the passenger seat, Kurt glanced back at Hisoka, said nothing, and silently turned his head back.

Moro thought for a moment and reminded him:
"Putting aside the matter of recovering from your injuries, here's a suggestion: before you reunite with the other members of the guild, you'd better find a trustworthy manipulation-type ability user and have them help you tamper with all the memories associated with the 'betrayer' knight."

"What's the reason?"

Hisoka suddenly dropped his casual and frivolous expression and stared intently at Moro.

Moro didn't answer, but instead asked, "How much do you know about the rest of the Brigade?"

Which aspect are you referring to?

"Personality, abilities, work style, and even the division of labor and responsibilities within the group."

"Well."

Hisoka, upon hearing this, began to think for the first time.

The carriage immediately became much quieter.

Not only Moro, but also Kalmod and Kurapika are waiting for Hisoka's answer.

About three or four seconds later.

Hisoka shrugged and said, "I only know what their names are."

"..."

There was a brief silence in the carriage.

Hisoka didn't seem to care, then said meaningfully, "But you seem to know a lot about the Phantom Troupe."

"I do not deny."

Moro nodded. "So, do you want to simply accept my suggestion, or do you want me to ask for your reasons again?"

"Ah."

Hisoka smiled and said, "I'll accept the suggestion, and I'd like to hear the reasons."

"Alright, the reason is that you 'betrayed' the Chronicles. Although the Phantom Troupe may not realize this, even if there is only a slight possibility, you should be prepared in advance and be wary that the Phantom Troupe might use lie detectors on all members, including you, in order to thoroughly investigate the matter."

Moro gave his reasons.

For him, the content of the reasons was completely unimportant.

The important thing for him was to make sure Hisoka would accept the suggestion of "memory alteration".

He hadn't thought of this before; it was Hisoka's concerned reaction that reminded him.

As a transmigrator, he subconsciously cared about and resisted Pakunoda's special ability to read memories.

In addition, Kuroro's summoning action was too fast.

Just in case, he thought of giving Hisoka this suggestion.

The other thing is...

He knew that Hisoka and Illumi were acquainted, so it was even more natural for him to think of the matter of "tampering with memories" or "tampering with cognition".

Furthermore, after giving the suggestion, he thought Hisoka would easily accept it because of Illumi's presence.

After all, this is not difficult to implement; in fact, it can be said to be easy.

Hisoka carefully examined the pair of eyes reflected in the rearview mirror.

The reason is true...

He realized that Moreau wasn't just making things up, and thus began to consider the necessity of "tampering with memories."

His approach to considerations was particularly simple and crude.

He had only anticipated the consequences of being "exposed" at the Spider Gathering.

Then I realized that it's not a bad thing to have an extra backup plan.

Moreover, he happens to know a friend who is an operator and can help him tamper with his memories.

Hisoka was already thinking about when to contact Illumi to come and provide services.

Kurapika, standing next to him, lowered his head slightly, his eyes also showing a thoughtful expression.

The ability to detect lies.

When he was developing the "Chain of Contracts" ability, he also envisioned similar abilities such as lie detection and tracking.

However, in order to master the chain ability of "automatic enemy acquisition and interception", his time and energy were somewhat out of sync with the other thoughts in his mind.

In fact, in his initial conception, regardless of the type of ability, the original intention was based on the ability to fight against multiple members of the Phantom Troupe alone.

But now...

Kurapika silently watched Moro's profile.

He was already overwhelmed by the group member he encountered in the cemetery alone.

However, Moro was able to kill the extremely fast member of the Phantom Troupe swiftly and without taking any damage.

Then today, he easily and without injury killed another member of the guild.

It's really powerful...

If Moro were to accompany me on this inevitably arduous path, perhaps I wouldn't need to continue focusing on developing my abilities, but rather on solidifying my foundation and Nen skills.

Kurapika is not fixated on personally sending the Phantom Troupe to hell.

In his view, as long as the troupe could be completely wiped out, it didn't matter what the process was.

late at night.

The rain continued to pour down.

When passing through a town, Moro finally threw Hisoka off the car.

As for the suggestion to alter memories and cognition, once Hisoka accepts it, there's no need to worry about it anymore.

After all, with Hisoka's abilities, he didn't need to teach him how to do this step by step.

With Illumi's assistance, Hisoka will certainly be able to prepare excellently for avoiding exposure.

The only thing to worry about is that Illumi might take the opportunity to cause trouble, such as not restoring Hisoka's memories afterward...

After seeing Hisoka off, Moro continued driving to the nearest airport.

If he could get to the airport in the morning, he would take Kurt and Kurapika on the earliest airship and leave Kakin.

The next thing to do is wait and see how the spiders react.

Early the next morning.

Moro, Kurt, and Kurapika boarded the airship that left Kakin.

at the same time.

Having found temporary shelter, Hisoka made a phone call to Illumi.

After Illumi answered the call, without waiting for Hisoka to greet him first, he eagerly asked, "Did you kill him?"

"..."

Even over the phone, Hisoka could feel Illumi's urgency and was momentarily at a loss for how to respond.

"No."

In the end, he answered truthfully.

Hearing Hisoka's answer, Illumi felt disappointed.

Hisoka then said, "Illumi, there's something I need your help with. If you're free lately, I'll wait for you at Kagin. Also... could you bring me some of your family's topical medicine?"

"???"

A hint of doubt flashed through Illumi's mind. It was one thing to want to use his abilities, but given Hisoka's style, why would he specifically ask for a topical medicine?

Could it be that he was badly injured by Moro?
Then he thought of something even more important.

"Hisoka."

"Ok?"

"You still owe me a lot of money."

"..."

(End of this chapter)