Kukuru Mountain, Testing Gate.
"Screech!"
A bus stopped in front of the Testing Gate. Gotoh, who was dozing, woke up with a start from the bus's sharp braking sound. He rubbed his eyes, picked up the teacup in front of him, and took a sip.
"The tea's cold."
Gotoh stood up, poured the cold tea out the window, and went to the water dispenser, about to bend down to get water.
"Click..."
The guard room door was pushed open with a "click," and a tall figure in a suit appeared at the doorway, a faint smile on his face.
"Long time no see, Gotoh."
Gotoh looked at the young man standing at the guard room door, his memories flashing quickly, but he found that he didn't recognize him.
"Excuse me, I don't recall having an acquaintance like you."
Gotoh's face remained placid as he continued to bend down for water. Boiling water "swished" into his teacup. Gotoh grabbed a small pinch of tea leaves from a nearby tea bag and put them in.
"Right, in my current appearance, you naturally wouldn't recognize me."
Illumi chuckled softly, stepped over the threshold, pulled a chair from the table in the guard room, and sat down, looking at the tourists outside who were visiting the Testing Gate.
"If you're just here for sightseeing, then staying for a while is fine."
Gotoh looked at Illumi sitting on the chair, sighing helplessly in his heart. This person had an extraordinary temperament and a very strong aura. He was just a gatekeeper; as long as the other party didn't forcefully break in, he couldn't be bothered to interfere. To put it another way, if the other party had the ability to forcefully break in, he wouldn't be able to stop them anyway; at most, he could make a call to the butler's office to inform them.
"I'll go in after they finish their tour."
Illumi clasped his hands behind his head, lifted his legs, crossed them on the table, and closed his eyes to rest.
Gotoh sat on another chair. As he got closer, his heart jolted in surprise. He couldn't sense the other party's presence. It wasn't that he couldn't see him; rather, the other party was clearly standing right in front of him, yet in his perception, it was as if nothing existed in front of him.
"Zetsu?"
Gotoh frowned tightly. He had seen people who had cultivated Zetsu to this extent before. But even among the Zoldyck family, those people were the elite of elites. Whether it was their Nen ability or combat prowess, they were not on the same level as him. Was this young man also a master of that caliber?
"Uncle, we're leaving, aren't you?" A little girl in a light blue dress sat on her father's shoulders, standing in front of the security room window, smiling at Illumi in the guard room, and asked.
"Brother will stay here a little longer." Illumi said leisurely with his eyes closed.
"Oh."
The girl softly said "oh," then hugged her father's head and walked towards the bus.
"The bus is leaving, aren't you going?" Gotoh looked at the gradually receding bus, glancing at Illumi out of the corner of his eye, reminding him.
"Hmm, after ten months away from home, if I don't go back..." Illumi stood up, stretched casually, and walked towards the Testing Gate. "Mom will probably come out to find me herself."
Gotoh followed Illumi outside. He was very curious about what this person said and did.
"Hmm, this time, I should be able to push open the sixth door." Illumi stood before the Testing Gate, looking up at the seventh door at the top of the gate. One door was 2 tons, another was 4 tons, pushing open the sixth door required 128 tons of force.
"Clap."
Illumi extended his arms, pressing his palms against the cold, thick stone gate. Without any visible exertion, a faint aura surged from his body.
"Rumble rumble..."
Gotoh looked up at the Testing Gate. In his astonished eyes, the sixth door slowly opened with a rumbling sound.
"Boom!"
With a loud bang, the sixth Testing Gate was completely opened, and even the ground trembled slightly.
"You are actually..."
Fine beads of sweat continuously broke out on Gotoh's forehead. If this person forcefully broke into the Zoldyck family, even the butlers might not be able to stop him.
"Next time, the seventh door will be a one-handed matter too."
As Illumi spoke, a white light shimmered on his body, transforming him back into his eight-year-old appearance. He walked through the gate with his hands in his pockets.
"Young Master Illumi..."
Gotoh looked at Illumi's retreating back in surprise, his heart filled with dread. He was only eight years old, yet he could open the sixth door. Just how terrifying was Young Master Illumi's talent? It was unimaginable.
"Young Master Illumi, welcome home."
At the boundary of the outer area, a butler with a ponytail and short hair bowed respectfully to him.
"Mm."
Illumi responded softly. The butler stepped aside, allowing him to pass.
Ten minutes later, Illumi appeared before the Zoldyck family mansion. Two butlers at the entrance slightly bowed to him and pushed open the large doors.
"You finally decided to come back."
"I thought you had forgotten you had a home."
Illumi Zoldyck sat on the sofa in the living room, fiddling with tiny silver needles in his hand, their tips glinting with cold light.
"Something came up; I was delayed."
Illumi stepped in front of the sofa, hands in his pockets, and smiled faintly. He gathered Nen in his eyes, observing the silver needles in Illumi Zoldyck's hand. There were no traces of Nen on them. It seemed Illumi Zoldyck hadn't started cultivating Nen yet.
Illumi put away his Gyo. Compared to him, Illumi Zoldyck was growing exactly according to the path planned by the Zoldyck family. As for himself, he was an anomaly in the Zoldyck family, an anomaly completely unfettered and unmanaged by the family.
"Go inside and say hello to Mom and Dad."
"Mom, she's been missing you for months."
Illumi Zoldyck put away the silver needles in his hand, stood up, and walked with Illumi to the backyard. As he stood up, Illumi noticed that his footsteps made no sound at all. He had completely integrated the 'Silent Step' technique into his daily life, practicing it every moment.
"He's already a qualified assassin."
Illumi closed his eyes and chuckled softly. At some point, he had unexpectedly developed the mindset of a senior. This might be due to his strength and actual age. Adding his past and present lives together, his true age had reached thirty-two.
"What are you laughing at?" Illumi Zoldyck noticed the corner of his mouth turning up and asked with a blank expression.
"Nothing, just feeling a little emotional." Illumi opened his eyes and glanced at him. The two walked along the corridor to the backyard where Silva and Kikyo were.
"Brother, Illu... Illumi-nii..."
In the backyard of the mansion, a chubby little boy was happily running on the grass. His steps were steady, not at all like a one-year-and-four-month-old child.
"He can run and talk clearly at just over a year old."
"What extraordinary talent."
Illumi thought to himself, watching the chubby boy slowly run towards the two of them.
"Smack..."
Little Milluki hugged Illumi Zoldyck's leg. He looked up with a silly smile, snot and drool smeared on Illumi Zoldyck's pants.
"Heh..."
He looked at Illumi Zoldyck's slightly gloomy face and chuckled softly.
"Brother..." Milluki's gaze shifted to Illumi. He let go of Illumi Zoldyck's leg and moved to hug him.
"Thud."
As a result, just as Milluki was about to hug his leg, Illumi shifted his foot to the left, turning his body sideways. Milluki directly tumbled onto the grass.
"Wuwu..."
The chubby Milluki looked up at Illumi, who was standing to the side. His lips pressed together, and tears welled in his eyes, looking as if he was about to cry.
"Dad, Mom."
Illumi bypassed Milluki, who was lying on the ground, and approached Silva and Kikyo, who were drinking tea.
"Illumi, although I won't interfere with what you do outside." Silva sat cross-legged on the grass, a tea table set up before him with a full tea set. As he spoke, Kikyo was washing tea for Silva.
"However, you must come back at least once for the New Year."
"Although we are an assassin family, this does not mean that family affection is cold."
"On the contrary, the bonds between family members in the Zoldyck family should be even more united than in ordinary families," Silva said softly, glancing at Kikyo, who was pouring tea, then looked back at Illumi. "Especially your mother, during the time you were away, she missed you the most."
"The clothes she made for you, she always kept them by her side."
Illumi's expression remained unchanged, but his heart stirred. He looked at Kikyo Zoldyck.
"Illumi, come here." Kikyo Zoldyck put down her tea set, looked at Illumi, and spoke softly.
"Oh." Illumi softly said "oh," then stepped towards Kikyo and stood before her.
Kikyo took out a black bag from behind her, unzipped it, and took out folded clothes from within.
"These are the clothes Mom made for you."
Kikyo stood up and spread out the clothes in her hand. It was a black suit, just like Illumi Zoldyck's and his grandfather Zeno's. However, Illumi's was black, with golden threads embroidered along the collar's edge, and the hem had been modified and designed, resembling a fusion of ancient Chinese chivalrous style with modern aesthetics.
"It looks great, I like it very much."
Illumi put it on right then and there, feeling the soft fabric on his body, and smiled at Kikyo.
"Mm, it fits perfectly." Kikyo sat on the grass, looking at Illumi wearing the clothes she had personally designed and made, a satisfied smile on her face.
"Stay at home for a longer period this time."
"As far as I know, you haven't developed your own business channels during your time outside, have you?"
"Even Illumi Zoldyck has developed more than ten sets of clients."
Silva's words made Illumi chuckle softly with his eyes closed. He took the teacup his mother, Kikyo, handed him, took a light sip, and said, "My matters are more important; I don't have time to accept assassination commissions for now."
But in Illumi's mind, he was thinking that Helen Stewart could quickly research new antibiotics and bring them to market quickly. At that time, there would be no need to earn money from assassination missions; money would continuously pour into his bank account.
He preferred to be his own boss rather than a wage earner. After all, since he had such resources and channels, why bother picking up sesame seeds when he had a watermelon?
Thinking of this, Illumi suddenly wanted to call the company headquarters and ask about the progress of the new antibiotic research.
"I have something to do; I'll leave for a moment."
Illumi put down his teacup, rose from beside Kikyo, and walked deeper into the backyard, taking out his phone and dialing Jin Bradley's number.
"Boss."
Jin Bradley's deep, resonant voice rang out.
"What is Helen Stewart doing now?"
Illumi's tone was serious; Jin Bradley understood his meaning.
"Dr. Helen has been researching the new antibiotic 'Illumina-A'."
"Additionally, we used certain methods to invite all the original researchers from Dr. Helen's project group to be guests at the company headquarters."
"Dr. Helen's pressure has significantly decreased, and progress on the new antibiotic project has accelerated considerably."
"Furthermore, Illumina Biotech Company has put out bounties on the black market and dark web."
"Anyone who can find Dr. Helen Stewart and bring her back to Illumina Biotech Company headquarters will receive a reward of 50 billion Jenny."
"And providing verifiable information on Dr. Helen's whereabouts will earn 5 billion Jenny."
"As for the other researchers in the project group, each will receive a reward of 1 billion Jenny."
Illumi heard this information and couldn't help but chuckle.
"A reward of 50 billion Jenny, Illumina really is willing to spend money. I suppose quite a few people will take on this mission."
"Yes, according to Ixion's investigation."
"On the day of the release, more than 100 black market hunters already took on the mission."
"Among them, even several professional hunters."
Illumi looked up at the sky. The sky was gradually darkening; it was already evening.
"Don't be careless. Tell Greed and Pride to be more vigilant."
"Also, is there any progress on the research by the three Dr. Barrards?"
"Dr. Barrard, Dr. Baldwin, and Dr. Boyce have developed a method to stimulate human potential."
"Currently, it has entered the clinical trial phase."
"According to the three Dr. Barrards, if this method is successfully applied to humans, it can greatly unleash human potential."
"Through scientific planning, it can, more or less, enhance the effectiveness of human cultivation."
"As for how much it can increase, it depends on the individual's talent. The more talented a person is, the faster their cultivation speed will be."
"In other words, we can continuously increase the number of Nen users at a faster rate than normal cultivation methods."
Illumi walked into a pavilion and sat down. A hint of red aura surged from his hand, and he said, "Don't rush. First, have Greed strengthen the loyalty of those 120 soldiers."
"Also, tell Ahmed that while he's training those soldiers, he can't neglect his own cultivation."
"And, have you found any leads on the weapon expert I asked you to find?"
Pegasus, Umbrella Corporation Headquarters, Top Floor Office.
Jin Bradley's computer screen continuously flickered and changed. Suddenly, a disheveled middle-aged man appeared on the screen.
"We've found him, but his location is a little tricky."
"Kipsiyler Aguilar, Ph.D. in Weaponry from Preston Institute of Technology, Ozma Federation, and researcher at Sedasys Weaponry Research Institute."
"He is currently held in a profitable, illegal private prison, unrestricted and internationally recognized."
"With our current strength, apart from Boss and Envy who can disguise themselves and infiltrate, only Pride can forcibly break through."
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