Hunter x Hunter: Card Master, the Strongest in the World.

Chapter 142 On Hisoka's Value! The Puppet's Shadow!

In the northeastern part of the United States of Saherta, there is a small town with a Western style.

The town exudes a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere, and the people seem very simple and honest. The town is mostly filled with brick and tile houses, and the overall architectural style is somewhat like an old-fashioned cartoon from Earth.

This is also a microcosm of many small towns on the outskirts of the six continents. They are completely different from the first-tier cities like the Sky Arena. The former are quiet, peaceful, and slow-paced, while the latter are standard modern, fast-paced metropolises.

In the center of the town, there is a small fountain.

Beside the fountain, a blonde, blue-eyed little girl named Rachel was fiddling with a puppet in her hands, her face beaming with a happy smile. The puppet in her hands was so lifelike, it looked just like the real thing.

For her, this was a hard-won enjoyment.

Occasionally, passing townspeople would stop to watch, smiling and applauding the little girl's performance. Seeing this, the girl's smile grew even brighter.

If only time could stand still at this moment—how wonderful that would be!

This was a thought that had flashed through the little girl Rachel's mind countless times.

Unfortunately, happy times are always short-lived. As darkness fell and fewer people appeared on the road, it was time for her to go home.

Leizi suppressed her smile and quietly walked towards home, as if each step carried a heavy burden, making her walk exceptionally slowly.

In the alleys of the small town.

Lynn, Hisoka, and Kurapika, who had gathered together, looked toward Raizi not far away.

Under Ning's gaze, a distinct yet eerie layer of spiritual energy enveloped the girl.

"Hehe—it's definitely Mianying!"

Hisoka narrowed his long, narrow eyes and let out his sickly laugh as he stared intently into the eyes of the girl, Reiji!

He recognized those eyes; they were definitely Mianying's. This showed that the girl must be related to Mianying.

"Not bad, you're quite efficient," Lynn said calmly, arms crossed.

"There's no other way. After all, it's a matter of life and death. If I can't live, it's really a troublesome thing." Hisoka shrugged, looking distressed. He was really desperately searching for the whereabouts of the Mask in order to survive.

Fortunately, he finally found it.

Immediately, Hisoka blinked again, looking at Lynn with expectant eyes, wanting the antidote, but Lynn ignored him.

"Don't rush, I'll give you the antidote after I've dealt with Mianying."

"Understood," Hisoka said weakly, then turned his attention to Kurapika next to Lynn.

He never expected Lynn to take Kurapika as his apprentice.

During the Hunter Exam, aside from Lynn and his apprentice, the fruit he was most interested in was Gon, but Kurapika was also quite good.

Now that Kurapika has been taken in as Lynn's apprentice, his strength will surely be considerable in the future—but the thought of Lynn instantly brought Hisoka back to reality, and he shook his head almost imperceptibly.

Forget it, staying alive is more important. Stay away from Lynn and the people around him.

While Hisoka was sizing up Kurapika, Kurapika was also paying attention to Hisoka.

He was also surprised that the person who revealed the whereabouts of the Phantom Troupe members to his master was Hisoka, who was also taking the Hunter Exam.

"What? Interested in Kurapika?" Lynn smiled knowingly, a thought forming in his mind: perhaps he could further exploit Hisoka's value?

"I wouldn't dare," Hisoka shrugged.

Lynn then turned to Kurapika and said, "I haven't had a chance to tell you yet, but Hisoka is also a member of the Spider."

As soon as he finished speaking, Kurapika's eyes turned red as he glared angrily at Hisoka, which surprised the latter, reminding him of the incident from a few years ago.

Are the survivors of the Kuruta tribe?

"However, he joined later and didn't participate in the genocide." Lynn's words drifted into Kurapika's ears again, and his eyes returned to normal.

If you didn't participate in the extermination of your clan, then you're relatively okay.

Considering that Hisoka was doing things for his master, he didn't have any intention of harming Hisoka.

Lynn continued, "As you can see, my apprentice has a blood feud with the Phantom Troupe, so you'd better be careful."

"Your skills are not bad. When he's strong enough, I'll have him challenge you to a match to test his abilities."

Hisoka loves to bully weaker opponents, and he's also good at it. Coupled with his identity as a member of the Phantom Troupe, he's quite suitable as a short-term goal for Kurapika. With this goal in mind, Kurapika's motivation will reach a new level.

"That sounds like a good idea, but I should clarify that I've never considered myself a spider."

Hisoka's eyes flashed with a bewitching light as he tore off the spider tattoo from his body and revealed it.

From beginning to end, his tattoos were disguised as "thin illusions," indicating that he did not consider himself a member of the Phantom Troupe.

He joined the Phantom Troupe simply to get close to Chrollo.

If that's the case—Lynn and his disciples will eventually seek revenge on the Phantom Troupe, wouldn't that give him a chance to take advantage of the situation and fight Chrollo?

Hisoka was lost in his own inner world again, a strange smile appearing on his face.

After chatting for a while, the three followed Lei Zi to the hiding place of the Shadow.

Mianying is very cautious; he's a typical cunning old fox.

He once used his Nen ability to fake his death and escape from the Phantom Troupe.

Despite his considerable strength, he remained holed up in a remote town, creating dolls to enhance his power.

Even in this small town, Mianying's house is still a winding road, and it takes quite a while to reach it, which shows how careful and cautious Mianying is.

When Leizi finally arrived at a small wooden house and knocked on the door with trepidation, an extremely soft and feminine voice rang out.

"My lovely little sister, are you having fun?"

"You're finally home!"

This voice was not only uncomfortably effeminate, but also contained a morbid undertone.

"I'm...I'm really happy." Leizi said, her body trembling slightly, looking a little scared and nervous, before opening the door and going inside.

What Leizi really wanted to say was that she would have been happier as she was before—she was no longer a living, breathing person, but a puppet.

A puppet created by the Nen ability of the Shadow!

Mianying and Leizi are siblings. Unfortunately, a perfectly healthy little girl was turned into a puppet by Mianying under her crazy brother's idea of ​​"immortality," and she lives in this world in a bizarre form.

The real Rachel is long dead; the one standing beside the Shadow now is merely a puppet that has inherited Rachel's memories.

When Leizi goes out, she puts on her own glasses with the mask on. When Leizi returns, the mask will put her own glasses back on.

Outside the cabin, Lynn and Hisoka remained in the shadows, observing.

Kurapika was watching from a distance, protected by Gengar in the shadows. After all, he was just an ordinary person and not yet qualified to participate in this battle.

"You're excited? I'll give you the Shadow later." Lynn said casually, seeing Hisoka's increasingly excited expression.

Anyway, all he wants are the cards; it doesn't matter whether he makes the move or not.

Who knows how many puppets the Shadow has made over the years? Perhaps he has some unexpected tricks up his sleeve. Sending Hisoka to investigate Raiden is a good option.

"Oh~ really? Then I won't be polite." Hisoka seemed surprised by this good thing, revealing a sickly smile with his mouth forming a strange curve.

He was flipping several playing cards up and down in his hand, looking like he was already enjoying the game.

He had originally intended to use the Masked Shadow as a backup fruit, which is why he knew its general whereabouts. He thought Lynn had "stolen" it from him, but he didn't expect to get it back now.

Hisoka just stood there silently laughing, showing no intention of stopping Koukage from taking back his eyes. This kind of person would die in battle sooner or later.

The next moment, Lynn's lips curled slightly as he stepped aside.

boom!

Before Hisoka could make a move, a fierce figure burst through the door, hurling a barrage of wood chips at Hisoka's head.

Hisoka's pupils contracted, and his upper body quickly leaned backward, bending into a bridge-like shape to successfully dodge the fierce attack.

Hisoka then used the momentum to do a few backflips, gracefully landing on his feet, and squinting at his attacker.

The attacker was a muscular, strong man with a rugged face and both hands imbued with considerable Nen energy.

"Uvogin's puppet!"

She is one of the members of the Phantom Troupe—

Wokkin!

On the surface, this puppet is similar to Uvogin in every way, except for two differences.

First, the puppet's empty eye sockets, with no eyes inside, are somewhat frightening.

In the movie's timeline, after the Yorknew City incident, Menkage obtained the Phantom Troupe members' eyes by digging up their graves. Therefore, Menkage currently only has puppets of the Phantom Troupe members and has not yet obtained their eyes.

The second point is also related to the eyes. The puppet's strength is still quite different from that of the real Uvogin. Without the eyes, the puppet's strength would be greatly reduced.

"Oh, it's Hisoka~"

"Long time no see!"

"I didn't expect you to offer yourself up here willingly. Now the Phantom Troupe will have another puppet!"

The figure slowly emerged from the wooden house, revealing his true face. He was dressed in a black robe, had silver hair, was tall and thin, and exuded a gloomy and manic aura.

Mianying glanced at Lynn, who was looking her over, but ignored her.

With Lynn deliberately concealing his aura, the Shadow only regarded him as a minor character and focused all its attention on Hisoka, who had a strange smile.

Hisoka realized something too, but just kept grinning mischievously, hoping that Menkage could focus all his attention on him.

Lynn decided to be a spectator, focusing more on guessing the cards, and he wanted to treat the battle between the two like a movie.

Let's call it "Chewing Candy Farmers vs. Puppet Psychopaths".

"Hisoka!"

"Let me show you the results of my hard work!"

The figure screamed maniacally, pulling out a handful of dolls as if they were free. The dolls, originally small in size, swelled to their normal size in a very short time, like compressed towels meeting water.

In an instant, bursts of energy surged into the sky.

"Hehehe, they're all members of the Phantom Troupe, huh? — Impressive." Hisoka muttered to himself as he looked at the row of puppets in front of him, his gaze becoming serious.

This scene is truly spectacular.

It was as if the Phantom Troupe had arrived here; Uvogin, Feitan, Chrollo, Machi—and a whole host of Phantom Troupe puppets stood there, exuding their aura without any restraint.

Just when Hisoka thought the Shadow was about to attack him, the Shadow suddenly possessed Franklin's puppet and fired a Nen bullet at Lynn next to him!

This is one of the effects of the Shadow's Nen ability, "God's Puppet"—

A puppet catcher!

Not only can the Shadow possess a doll, allowing it to unleash the doll's Nen abilities.

Moreover, it can possess up to three dolls at the same time!

Should we strike at him first?

Was he planning to eliminate the seemingly weaker version of himself first, so that his opponent could focus all their efforts on Hisoka? Or was he testing the waters?

The powerful psychic projectiles were continuously fired at Lynn, as if he were facing a Gatling gun that was firing. In a short time, a large number of psychic projectiles flew towards Lynn.

Seeing this, Lynn didn't need to expend much effort to dodge them all.

As the shadow attacked Lynn, the other puppets he had just summoned were not idle either, rushing towards Hisoka in preparation for a righteous "gang fight".

The arena was a dazzling display of all kinds of attacks, such as Uvogin's devastating punch that created a huge crater with each strike, Feitan flying around the arena so fast that his movements were difficult to detect with the naked eye, and Machi's Nen threads dancing between her hands, forming a net that stretched from top to bottom.

Although the quality was slightly inferior, the quantity made up for it.

Hisoka could only keep throwing out playing cards and then attacking from bizarre angles with his chewing gum-like Nen. Overall, he seemed to be struggling.

Lynn estimated that Mianying's strength was at least A-level.

The shadow stared intently at the unharmed Lynn, his expression somewhat surprised, but then he threw his head back and burst into wild laughter.

"Hahaha, anyone who can act with Hisoka is definitely not weak."

"Hisoka, I really have to thank you. Not only did you send yourself here, but you also brought along a pretty strong guy."

""

After a brief pause, the figure laughed wildly, his face appearing even more ferocious and sinister, as if he had already decided that Hisoka and Lynn were both his for the taking.

"You seem to be thanking me a little too soon, or rather, I should be thanking you~"

Lynn said with a deep look in his eyes, "If you really think about it, Mianying is a really good person. You would have lost some things without him."

The shadowy figure didn't quite understand, and ignored what Lynn was pointing at, continuing to attack Lynn.

His left hand continuously unleashed psychic projectiles, while his right hand was constantly rotating and charging up power.

This is Phinks' Nen ability from the Phantom Troupe: [Rejuvenation].

You can concentrate your energy in your arms, and the more times you rotate your arms, the more powerful your punch will be.

Seeing that Franklin's dual machine guns were not working, Mianying decided to try using Phinks's Reversal.

Lin Enyi was skilled and daring, so she quietly watched the shadowy figure spin his arms, wanting to see how many times he could spin.

It's estimated that Mianying thinks his strength is on par with Hisoka's, and he's still very confident.

Little did he know that the difference in strength between Hisoka and him was far greater than a little.

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