He was still lost in his fantasy of trampling over humanity. Little did he know that his reckless behavior would soon meet the cleansing wrath of Akayan.
"Alright, the connection over there has been cut." Morin clapped his hands and then turned to the five people before him. "So, how should I deal with you?" A slight curve appeared on Morin's lips. "You know, you've seen my face and learned my identity. If I don't silence you, it would make me seem unprofessional as a criminal."
He spoke leisurely, and his words sent chills down the spines of the five individuals. The leader, a man of noble elegance, quickly spoke up. Although Morin's smile seemed playful, as if joking, they dared not gamble with their lives on whether he was serious or not!
"We have value to you. Spare our lives, and we will certainly offer you our worth!" he said clearly, having already thought through their predicament during Morin's earlier conversation with the gatekeeper.
"We know you're a Conjurer, so you must have tools to control people. We're willing to open our minds for you to manipulate. While we aren't the strongest Nen users, we are high-ranking officials of the V5! We beg you to control us! Our survival instincts are strong! Once you control us, you'll have five pairs of wise eyes providing you with intel from within the V5 and the Navigation Bureau!"
In their desperation to create value and opportunities for survival, they shamelessly exaggerated their worth. Or perhaps, as high-ranking officials, they had long since discarded their dignity, not knowing where it lay.
"Trust us! With our identities, backgrounds, and current positions of power, we can certainly bring you unparalleled value! For instance, your identity as a Phantom Troupe member and any subsequent analyses and suspicions—we can suppress all of it, ensuring no waves are stirred. We will follow your orders entirely."
The noble man desperately marketed themselves to Morin. "And most importantly, the control over us is in your hands! We are completely at your disposal. Whatever you say, we will do! Just let us live!"
He spoke sincerely, humbly. After all, they had paid untold costs to climb to their current positions. How could they abandon everything they worked so hard to achieve? Only those who have tasted power's sweetness truly fear its loss. To preserve their lives and current status, they were willing to forgo dignity, bow their proud heads, and even sacrifice their freedom, all to continue living and enjoying life.
"What you say is quite interesting~~~" Morin maintained his smile. "You've successfully piqued my interest. Go on."
Morin hadn't initially planned to harm them. Seeing their cooperation, spilling everything like beans from a bamboo tube, amused him. Indeed, Morin had no intention of eliminating these V5 officials. Though he could, the consequences and ensuing chaos would be too troublesome.
Five V5 officials, tied to the Dark Continent, mysteriously dying in their office… If V5 learned of this, wouldn't they mobilize their entire nation to hunt down the perpetrator? If it was ever linked to Morin, he would face relentless pursuit across the six continents. Although Morin wasn't afraid, the thought of being endlessly chased like flies was headache-inducing.
Killing them, erasing them from existence, was not an option. The only viable path was to control them completely. For Morin, living V5 officials were far more valuable than dead ones. Their willingness to cooperate showed they had basic intelligence, knowing how to maximize their survival.
They had already voiced Morin's thoughts, saving him the trouble of speaking. They had handed him the initiative. Their strong survival instincts were evident, and Morin knew how to handle them. Controlling them might even be easier than he imagined.
"We are willing to serve you sincerely, Mr. Morin!" The noble man's face wore a stiff, forced smile, looking humble. "We only hope you'll give us the chance to serve you."
He spoke with such humility that even Morin felt at a loss for words. The other four clearly followed the noble man's lead, and he indeed voiced their genuine thoughts.
---
They couldn't help but nod repeatedly, their eyes filled with a hint of yearning. Now, they were no longer V5 officials but trembling individuals begging for their lives.
"I must say, you're all smart people, and you've summarized things quite well." Morin looked at them with admiration, almost wanting to give them a thumbs-up. Their cooperative attitude was hard not to applaud.
"Since you've expressed such strong willingness and requests, I won't hold back." With a flick of his wrist, Morin revealed five small heart-shaped symbols in his hand.
The tool: [Friendship Tag]. Effect: By placing this heart-shaped symbol on someone and pressing the controller button, the person with the tag will consider you their best friend and follow your commands. It's an outstanding control tool, directly influencing a person's cognition, thoughts, and emotions. It controls from a mental level, not a physical one.
Morin had previously brought this tool out during the Hunter Exam's final round against Gon, but he didn't use it. Using it on Gon would have been overkill. This tool was inspired by a situation where Doraemon, tempted by Suneo, ate over twenty dorayaki.
Suneo planned to use dorayaki to coerce Doraemon into working for him. Doraemon, naturally, refused. But Suneo approached Nobita's mom, forcing Doraemon to use the [Friendship Tag] to fulfill Suneo's wish of befriending someone who disliked him.
Unexpectedly, Suneo used the tool on himself, reminiscent of the wish-granting genie trope where one wish is used to ask for more wishes. Doraemon likely didn't expect Suneo to use the tool on himself. This was a classic case of using a tool against its creator.
Suneo threw the heart-shaped tag on the ground, and when Doraemon stepped on it, he pressed the button, coercing Doraemon to his side. He then made Doraemon bring out various tools, like the homework-writing robot. Nobita had pestered Doraemon for ages to get such a tool, but Doraemon had always refused, claiming he didn't have such tools. Yet, here he was, proven wrong by Suneo.
This demonstrated the powerful magic of the [Friendship Tag]. If not for its tendency to malfunction, giving Doraemon a chance to escape, he might have been Suneo's "best friend" forever. Now, with Morin holding the tool, such mishaps wouldn't occur. After acquiring it, Morin used the [Genius Helmet] and consumed the [Efficiency Pill] to repair it comprehensively, ensuring it wouldn't malfunction again.
Morin was fully prepared to use it on these five officials. "This is the tool I've prepared for you. You can choose for yourselves."
After Morin explained the [Friendship Tag]'s effects to them, they all responded in unison, "We are willing to accept it!"
"So decisive and straightforward? Not a hint of hesitation. It seems you've truly made up your minds." Morin chuckled, amused by their reaction. He realized he had underestimated their desperation to survive and their intense survival instincts.
"Do we need to stick this tag on ourselves?" the noble man asked, eyeing the heart-shaped tag in Morin's hand.
"Yes and no," Morin replied with a sly smile. "You do need to stick it on, but not on your bodies."
"Huh???" The others looked puzzled.
Suddenly, Morin grabbed the man with the square face and military uniform, who had already lost an arm, and swiftly struck him with a hand chop. In an instant, he made a precise incision on the man's chest. Before he could react, Morin opened his chest, revealing the fiery, beating heart inside.
With quick reflexes, Morin stuck the heart-shaped tag onto the scorching heart and swiftly withdrew his hand. He then closed the chest, pressing lightly at the incision, which seamlessly healed without a trace.
Though it sounded complex, the entire operation took less than a second. Killua could extract a heart with a single swift motion, changing hand joints, opening the chest, severing blood vessels, and pulling out the heart. According to him, his father, Silva, was even more skilled at heart extraction.
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