"The Nostrade Family."
It was late at night when Xiang Nan made a quick call to Hisoka. He confirmed Hisoka had already left the base—he was headed to find Kurapika.
After verifying that Kurapika wasn't at the Nostrade Family's hideout, Xiang Nan finally shared Uvogin's location with the Phantom Troupe.
While Hisoka had promised not to interfere with Xiang Nan's plans, he had no problem feeding Kurapika intel on the Troupe. Stirring up Kurapika's hatred? That was exactly the kind of chaos Hisoka enjoyed. In his eyes, it was a way to "cultivate" Kurapika into something even more interesting.
As for what would happen next—whatever conflict unfolded between Kurapika and the Troupe—Hisoka didn't care.
Because he knew one thing for sure: Xiang Nan would step in.
Once that happened, Hisoka had no right to meddle. And if he did? Xiang Nan would be pissed.
And if that meant being banned from the "spectacular and wild" fun of future missions… that would be a massive loss for Hisoka.
Besides, even though Xiang Nan had a good relationship with Gon and the others, if Hisoka really messed things up, he had no doubt Xiang Nan would kill them without hesitation.
…
Meanwhile, after learning the truth, Shalnark immediately dove into research, digging up info on the Nostrade Family and looking for their base in Yorknew City.
But Xiang Nan spared him the trouble—he gave them the exact location.
Shalnark, Nobunaga, and Pakunoda set out right away to launch the rescue mission.
Xiang Nan stood up too, getting ready to leave.
"I'm heading out. Catch you later. You guys don't have much time left—probably less than a year. Start preparing."
Leading Owl out of the run-down building, Xiang Nan glanced at Chrollo with meaning in his eyes.
What he meant was clear: the Troupe had a deal to uphold. They were expected to join him in the next run of the Reincarnation Dimension.
With the "First Kill Armband," he could bring players like Manman and Beishi into two Matches. They'd already done one—Gintama—so when the next Extinction Game opened, they'd have one more chance to fight together. After that, it was over.
Unless they became his permanent teammates, the armband only granted two runs.
Right now, Xiang Nan was at Extinction Level 7. After he cleared Level 8, he'd be entering Level 9, and he planned to bring along a group of story characters for that ride.
From how those Level 8 players ambushed him earlier, he'd already gotten a hint: Level 9 wasn't just harder—it was on a whole new level.
He wasn't sure if the First Kill perks would still hold up.
If the system treated everyone equally, the mission would be brutally difficult. Even full-player teams might not be able to survive. Bringing along powerful NPCs? That could make all the difference.
Whether or not those story characters could become his permanent squad would depend on unlocking a specific quest later on.
"Let the Spiders try it out. See how they do. Just hope they don't let me down," Xiang Nan thought to himself.
Thankfully, Orban and Pigeon were about to step into their Ninth Extinction Game. He'd be able to judge the true difficulty based on how they fared.
He had already told them the secret: survival rates in the ninth round were extremely low. Still, with Altana boosting their vitality and aura capacity, both of them had leveled up significantly—and neither had plans to quit.
If they chose to stay at Level 8 forever, they'd lose their player status. Sure, they could scrape by in the world, but that wasn't what they wanted.
Because they understood: without that player status, they'd never get the chance to fight beside Xiang Nan again. And they also knew—Xiang Nan wouldn't stop. He was going to keep pushing forward until he became the Hunter world's ultimate player rep.
Chrollo didn't say a word—he simply watched as Xiang Nan and Owl disappeared into the distance.
…
"You're a high-ranking officer in the Republic of Padokea military?"
Outside, now walking through the streets with Xiang Nan, Owl looked over in disbelief.
Back in the building, Xiang Nan had already explained some of his background.
After all, Owl was now one of his subordinates. It was only a matter of time before he came into contact with the military—no point hiding anything.
What shocked Owl most was Xiang Nan's age. Sure, he was in his thirties—still young, but not exactly a rookie. Still, to be that high up in the military at his age? That was insane.
No wonder the Phantom Troupe was afraid of him.
The Ten Dons' criminal empire couldn't compare to an actual country.
Even if the mafia had its hands in every industry, it was still a mess of loose factions. They could never shake the foundation of the human world.
But a powerful nation? That was a different story.
It could start a world war. Its armies, weapons, and industrial might—those terrifying waves of steel and fire—were things the mafia could never compete with.
No wonder Xiang Nan didn't give a damn about the Ten Dons or their Shadow Beasts.
"Remember this—you're now part of Padokea's Nen-User Division: the Pandora's Box. And I'm your direct superior." Xiang Nan's tone was flat, matter-of-fact.
Owl stayed silent.
Xiang Nan could guess what he was thinking. "The underworld might not be worth much to me, but it still has its uses. I can't act openly as military right now, so the mafia's just another card to play. As for you—your strength is average, but you've got potential. You're worth developing."
"…That's not the only reason, right?"
Owl let out a long sigh.
He'd been a Shadow Beast long enough to know how to read people—and he was certain Xiang Nan didn't pull him out of the Troupe just to hand him a job.
"You're smart," Xiang Nan said, glancing back. "Yeah, the real reason I saved you… is because of the Shadow Beasts."
"As their leader, you know all about the Ten Dons' genetic experiments on the Beasts, right?"
"…"
Owl inhaled sharply.
He understood what Xiang Nan was getting at.
"Of course I know," he said. "But those experiments had a horrible success rate. I'm the only Beast who wasn't modified. If you're thinking of reviving that research just because Padokea has more resources… I'd strongly advise against it. It's a bottomless pit—burns money and manpower for nothing. Why do you think you replaced Porcupine and Leech so fast? Why do you think Phinks could infiltrate us so easily? Because guys like Porcupine and Leech can't be replaced anymore."
"The Shadow Beasts were the result of years of effort. The Ten Dons used the entire underworld's network and even struck dark deals with some V5 nations to make it happen."
"And in the end? All that effort got wiped out in an instant. Totally not worth it."
"Even if Padokea has more resources and power than the Ten Dons ever did, it's still not a path worth taking."
"I'm a doctor," Xiang Nan said suddenly, stopping in his tracks and smiling.
"I already got the basic experimental data from Porcupine before he died. I used to think the project was doomed too… but now? I'm confident. If I'm the one overseeing it, the success rate will skyrocket."
"I'll make a new generation of Nen-using warriors—like the Shadow Beasts—right inside Padokea. They'll become Pandora's core combat force. That's the future."
And with that, Xiang Nan walked off, ignoring the stunned and skeptical look on Owl's face.
Why was he so confident?
Because he held a miracle in his hands:
Altana—the life force of an entire planet.