Auren, followed by Konrad and Vanessa, slowly splits away from Neffi and Eren, heading deeper into the Lawless Zone.
"Eren was correct," Auren says quietly as he looks around. "Use Zetsu. We are very suspicious here—we don't fit in."
"This disgusting part of the city smells! And the buildings are all dirty!" Vanessa complains with a scowl.
"Zetsu..." Auren repeats, activating it, his presence vanishing instantly.
Konrad and Vanessa quickly follow his example. Thanks to Vanessa's training, her Zetsu—while far from perfect—is at least decent enough to weaken her presence considerably, making her difficult to notice for anyone who isn't a Nen user.
As they walk further into the Lawless Zone, they pass more and more shady-looking people. Drug dealers openly sell their wares, even pushing free samples onto curious onlookers. Prostitutes solicit clients without shame, while gang members parade around carrying weapons, waving them as if daring others to provoke them.
Auren even spots a few people brawling in the middle of the street, fists and knives painting the ground in dark red. To his surprise, nobody reacts to the violence or even bothers to watch. Passersby simply avoid the fight and continue on with their business, despite men struggling for their lives only a few meters away. A few drunk people even bet on who's going to win and how many people will die.
Despite their disgust with this part of the city, the three keep their eyes on the crowd, carefully examining faces in the hopes of identifying their targets.
Before long, the group stumbles upon a large bar with dozens of people standing outside, smoking and drinking.
Auren glances at his companions, then gestures toward the bar.
As they walk inside, they're greeted by loud music and shouting voices. The stench of alcohol, cigarettes, and other unpleasant smells fills the air, instantly disgusting Auren.
He sees women openly stripping and dancing on the dancefloor. The bar is chaotic, crowded far past capacity, but despite the mess, he notices a stairway leading to the second floor. Compared to the first, it looks quiet—almost abandoned.
VIP area? That looks promising. Let's take a look.
The group, still using Zetsu to ward off any unwanted attention, slips past the huge bodyguard guarding the stairs to the upper floor.
Once upstairs, the atmosphere of the bar is completely different. The chaos below is still present, but here it feels like a faint echo, a background noise. Auren leans against the railing at the top and looks down, watching the crowd below—hundreds of people drinking, shouting, and laughing in drunken chaos.
These people... they intentionally ignore the lower floor, embracing the chaos, just so they can look down on them. For them, it's just a show. A performance for the higher-ups. This might be the right place to dig up information.
Konrad approaches from behind and says, "Bars are usually a good source of information. How about we give them a special offer? Information... or consequences?"
"Hehe," Vanessa laughs, grinning. "For once, I'm agreeing with you, bro!"
It's not the worst idea. Okay, then.
The three approach the nearly empty bar counter and sit down, dropping their Zetsu.
The young, slightly sleazy-looking bartender—who appears half asleep—suddenly jolts back, slamming into the bottles behind him and almost knocking them off the shelves.
"Whoa! How did you get up here!" he yells, his eyes wide.
"That's rather rude," Auren comments flatly. "Maybe you should pay attention instead of sleeping on the job. I want a drink. Give me a soda."
"I'll take a cosmopolitan!" Vanessa says, licking her lips.
"Give me something local," Konrad adds after a moment's hesitation. "Might as well try the specialties."
"You sure you want the local stuff? It's... different," the bartender warns.
"Yes," Konrad replies without hesitation.
"Your funeral," the bartender mutters, beginning to prepare the drinks.
A few minutes later, he sets the glasses down in front of them. "I'll need cash now since I don't know you," he says firmly. "9,000 Jenny."
Konrad takes a sip from his drink, and his face twists before he pushes it away. Meanwhile, Vanessa enjoys her drink, holding it against the light, admiring the deep red coloration.
That drink... might be something Rakshala likes. I gotta ask her sometime.
"I have two different payments in mind," Auren says, taking a sip of his soda before pulling out a thick bundle of cash. "One million." He sets it down. "The other payment would include this."
Without warning, Auren grabs the bartender's hand, slamming it against the counter. In the same motion, he stabs his Ben's Knife into the wood between the man's fingers, using lightning-fast speed. Then he releases Ren, projecting his Aura directly onto him.
The bartender trembles violently, his face draining of color. His knees nearly give out, but Auren catches his arm, forcing him to remain upright.
"Which payment do you prefer?" Auren asks with a calm smile.
"P–p–please... just let me leave! I don't want any problems," the bartender stammers, nearly breaking down.
"So you don't want the cash?" Auren asks, cutting off his Ren.
With the pressure suddenly gone, the bartender's eyes dart greedily to the money, still looking somewhat dazed. "I... what? Really? What do you need?"
Auren smiles faintly, then takes out a folded list. It contains the names and faces of all criminals with international and national bounties currently suspected of hiding in Glam Gas Land.
"Bounties?" the bartender asks, recognition flashing across his face. "You are... I know... blacklist Hunters! You don't look like the typical ones, but that feeling... I've heard the rumors about that ability. No wonder you scared the shit out of me! Okay, I accept. Let me take a good look...."
He carefully browses through the list before finally pointing to four names. "I've seen these ones here in the last weeks. Two of them are regulars. But keep this quiet, alright? There's also a fifth one... he's sitting in one of the corner seats, behind the curtains."
"Not bad," Auren says, his mood improving. "Looks like you'll earn that money after all."
He retrieves the stack of cash, pulls out a few bills, and hands the bartender exactly 100,000 Jenny. "The rest after I verify some of the information... starting with the one target who is supposedly hiding here."
Konrad, meanwhile, studies the list. "This guy is a serial bank robber. A pretty amateurish one at that—he uses brute force to rob small banks in cities without large police forces. He killed a total of thirty people and has mostly been operating in the United States of Saherta. Bounty of ten million Jenny. A small fry, but still a large menace to society."
"Might as well take him in then," Auren says. "Or rather take him out."
"Let me do the honors!" Vanessa cuts in. "I need to get used to this, and starting with a slimeball like that is a good start."
"You need to get used to... what?!" Auren asks, looking at her incredulously. "On missions, you've already got the highest kill count out of all of us. Even on the first mission, you snapped your target's neck by accident and killed him instantly."
"Don't even argue with her," Konrad mutters. "She's operating beyond logic."
"Hehe," Vanessa laughs. "I dislike the comment, but Konrad is right. Just accept my suggestion!"
What a needy woman. These kinds of women bring nothing but trouble. Perhaps I should reconsider my hiring practices when it comes to nepotism. Come to think of it... Jolt's twin daughters, Eren's siblings, and Konrad's sister. I'm noticing a pattern here. Well, at least there is family loyalty I can hopefully count on.
"Let me enjoy the show then," Auren says, grabbing his soda and turning to watch their target.
Konrad, meanwhile, looks back at the bartender. "Give me your best whiskey on the rocks. No local crap, please. You really need to learn to be a better bartender. How could you offer something this disgusting to a guest?"
The bartender looks confused and tries to defend himself. "But you explicitly asked for it. I even warne—"
"Shut up and prepare my drink!" Konrad interrupts him loudly.
Meanwhile, Vanessa strides toward the corner and yanks the curtains aside.
Auren notices four gruff-looking men sitting there.
Vanessa scans them one by one before pointing at the man seated on the right.
"Found you!" she says with a smile before lashing out and violently punching the other three. They collapse instantly, knocked out without the slightest chance to react.
The target shoves his hand into his pocket, reaching for a pistol, but Vanessa kicks it out of his grasp and draws her own weapon. Without hesitation, she pulls the trigger twice, shooting a bullet into both of the man's eye sockets.
What?! This woman... is she sick?
"Konrad... what the fuck is wrong with your sister?!" Auren asks, genuinely freaked out.
"She's a damn adrenaline junkie!" Konrad snaps. "She just pretended to be nice. I warned you. There's a good reason my father and I kept her out of the business and just showered her with cash. Cars, motorcycles, extreme sports, bungee jumping, gambling—you name it, she's done it. If she finds something new and exciting, she's going all in from the start. You usually wouldn't want her involved in your operations... I love her, but I admit she's more than a little crazy. She only experienced her first kill a week ago and got hooked immediately. Now she justifies everything by telling herself these are vile scum beyond redemption. But she's going to escalate further if given the chance, I know she will. She'll keep pushing further until she finally gets bored and starts chasing the next thrill."
Before Auren can reply, he sees Vanessa take out a knife, her hand trembling slightly. She activates Shu, coating the blade in Aura, and in one swift motion, uses it to behead the already dead target.
She rips down the curtain and wraps the head in it, fashioning a crude, makeshift bag.
Everyone in the bar stares at her for a moment, but not a single person acts. They all silently go back to their drinks, pretending as if nothing happened.
Vanessa walks back slowly, her body still shaking with excitement. "This... was exciting. I really did it!"
She needs help... but what do I even say? Technically, she did exactly what we came here to do. Still, she enjoyed it far too much.
"Good job," Auren says evenly. "But... please try to act a little more discreet. There's no need to push yourself like this."
"It's fine! I'm only doing this because he's a vile criminal. It's a good deed! He deserved it! Let's go look at some other places!" Vanessa snaps back defensively.
Convincing herself?
"Sure..." Auren says quietly.
Konrad decides not to intervene, sipping his whiskey in silence, while the bartender trembles again behind the counter.
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