Pakunoda's ability allowed her to read a target's memories simply by touching them.
The memories she extracted through this ability were the purest, most unaltered form, completely raw and unfiltered.
In other words, no one could "conceal" any information stored within their memories when faced with Pakunoda's power.
This invaluable Specialization ability played a crucial role within the group.
From the way the perpetrator had mutilated Shalnark's corpse, Chrollo keenly discerned the cautious nature of their enemy.
Combined with the manner of Feitan's death, he deduced that the killer had likely known about Feitan's abilities beforehand.
As for how the perpetrator had obtained that information…
With Pakunoda's ability at their disposal, there was no need for baseless suspicion.
The members present also understood the importance of eliminating potential threats, so they cooperated fully as Pakunoda read their memories.
The results, naturally, were clean.
"I'll issue the "assembly" order before the day ends," Chrollo said, sweeping his gaze over the gathered members.
This assembly, the first in over a year, served two purposes: to thoroughly eliminate any hidden dangers using Pakunoda's ability, and to swiftly track down the perpetrator responsible for Shalnark and Feitan's deaths.
No matter what, the vacation was over. From now on, every single moment moving forward, the Spider's sole objective was to hunt down the killer and make them suffer the most agonizing death imaginable.
Uvogin punched the air with a heavy fist, growling, "I don't care how, I just want to find that bastard fast and smash his skull in!"
"We will," Chrollo murmured, his eyes dark and fathomless, like stagnant water.
The members present trusted his words without reservation. It had always been this way. They relied on Chrollo's judgment and leadership, believing that under his guidance, anything they set out to do would ultimately be achieved.
"But… intelligence gathering was always Shalnark's responsibility…"
Pakunoda glanced at the mangled remains on the steel table, a flicker of sorrow passing through her eyes.
Phinks clenched his fists until his knuckles cracked, his voice thick with suppressed fury. "That's the worst part of all this. If only I'd gotten there faster, or if I had..."
"Enough, Phinks."
Nobunaga cut him off, his tone calm and controlled. "No amount of regret will change what's already happened. Focus on how we're going to find that bastard instead."
"Oh?"
Phinks bristled at Nobunaga's detached, lecturing tone and sneered. "Then why don't you enlighten us with your brilliant ideas?"
With two of their comrades dead, Nobunaga had no patience for Phinks' hostility. He stated his thoughts plainly:
"We start by investigating the "information channels" for leads. If conventional methods turn up nothing… we use Nen abilities to track them down. Something like Omokage's ability."
"..."
Phinks fell silent, then frowned.
He quickly grasped Nobunaga's meaning.
A Nen ability similar to Omokage's… That would be obtaining firsthand information directly from "departed souls."
Given the diversity of Nen abilities, mechanisms involving Post-Mortem Will are not impossible to achieve.
However, such an ability would undoubtedly be a Specialization ability.
Leaving aside whether such a Nen user even exists in the world...
Simply finding one would be no easy task.
Phinks was about to speak when Chrollo's voice cut in first: "Nobunaga's suggestion isn't a bad direction, but it's still too early to discuss this."
"Hmm, if we could uncover something just by investigating "information," that would naturally be ideal..."
Nobunaga ran his fingertip along the hilt of his sword, his gaze sharpening like a blade.
Seeing that look in Nobunaga's eyes, Phinks said nothing more.
No matter how much they might dislike each other, at least when it came to eliminating the perpetrator, their goals aligned.
—--
The downpour continued.
On the road, a car sped through the rain.
After Morrow reunited with Kurapika and the others, they headed in the opposite direction of Fengde Town.
There was no clear destination; they simply wanted to put as much distance between themselves and Fengde Town as possible.
They drove like this for hours, with no intention of stopping.
"Hisoka, where do you want to get off?"
Morrow, gripping the steering wheel, suddenly asked.
Hisoka idly flicked a playing card between his fingers and replied casually, "Anywhere's fine. Though... the farther, the better."
"Oh?"
Morrow glanced meaningfully at Hisoka through the rearview mirror. "How unexpected. You're actually showing some caution over this matter."
Hisoka narrowed his eyes slightly, neither confirming nor denying.
He wasn't a fool.
He knew what Feitan and Shalnark's deaths meant for the entire Troupe.
Before the storm arrived...
Smart spiders knew to temporarily distance themselves from the center of the web.
Even if he was a fake spider~~
The playing card twirled between his fingers, tracing a pink arc.
Right now, Hisoka's main concern was recovering from his injuries as quickly as possible.
Seeing Hisoka's tacit agreement, Morrow couldn't help but feel a flicker of surprise.
But Hisoka's reaction also reminded him of something.
"Hisoka."
"Hmm?"
Hisoka lifted his gaze to meet Morrow's in the driver's seat.
Meanwhile, Kalluto in the passenger seat and Kurapika in the back remained silent, listening to their exchange.
Morrow kept his eyes on the road and said coolly, "Let me give you some adv..."
Buzz.
Before he could finish, the sound of Hisoka's phone notification interrupted him.
Morrow seemed to sense something and glanced up at Hisoka through the rearview mirror as he pulled out his phone.
"Is it an order from the Troupe?"
He asked.
Hisoka checked his phone, and beside him, Kurapika instinctively shot him a sharp look.
Hisoka, long accustomed to Kurapika's reactive glare, paid it no mind. Instead, he narrowed his eyes slightly at Morrow in the driver's seat.
The message on his screen was indeed an order from Chrollo. It had arrived faster than expected.
But at this moment, Hisoka wasn't worried about his recovery. Instead...
"Nope~~"
He drew out the word, denying Morrow's guess. But Morrow sensed something from Hisoka's reaction and couldn't be bothered to play his lying games. Without wasting time on double-checking, he asked directly: "What's the instruction? Gathering everyone together?"
"..."
The playing cards flipping between Hisoka's fingers slowly fell onto the footrest, seemingly reflecting his current boredom.
"The boss wants us all assembled within seven days at a place called Gat in Kakin," he revealed the instruction.
Hearing this, Morrow's eyes narrowed slightly. "That's moving fast."
Glancing at Hisoka's injuries, he frowned. "With just a week, can you handle those wounds?"
"That depends on whether the Zoldyck family's special medicine works."
Hisoka also thought the timeline was tight, but outwardly maintained his usual casual flippancy, as if unconcerned.
In truth, if the medicine could mostly heal his injuries...
He could then use his "Texture Surprise" ability to conceal the visible wounds.
Even if not, he could just make up some excuse if other Troupe members asked about it.
Naturally.
Such troublesome matters were best avoided when possible.
From the passenger seat, Kalluto glanced back at Hisoka but said nothing before turning away again.
After a moment's thought, Morrow advised:
"Leaving aside the healing, here's a suggestion, before meeting the other Troupe members, find a trustworthy Manipulator to alter all memories related to you "betraying" Shalnark."
"Reason being?"
Hisoka suddenly dropped his casual demeanor, staring intently at Morrow.
Instead of answering, Morrow countered, "How much do you know about the other Troupe members?"
"In what sense?"
"Their personalities, abilities, working styles, even the Troupe's divisions and roles."
"Hmm."
Hisoka actually paused to consider this, a rare occurrence.
The car grew noticeably quieter.
Not just Morrow, but Kalluto and Kurapika also waited for Hisoka's response.
After three or four seconds.
Hisoka shrugged. "I only know their names."
"..."
A brief silence filled the vehicle.
Unbothered, Hisoka then remarked pointedly: "But you seem... quite familiar with the Troupe."
"I don't deny that."
Morrow nodded. "So will you simply take my advice, or do you still want the reason?"
"Heh."
Hisoka smiled. "I'll take the suggestion, but I'd like to hear the reason too."
"Fine. The reason is you "betrayed" Shalnark. While the Troupe might not notice, even a 1% chance means you should prepare, in case they investigate by using truth-detecting abilities on all members, including you."
Morrow provided the explanation.
To him, the reason's content didn't matter.
What mattered was ensuring Hisoka accepted the "memory alteration" suggestion.
Originally, he hadn't considered this, Hisoka's guarded reaction had reminded him.
As a transmigrator, he was subconsciously wary of Pakunoda's memory-reading Specialization ability.
And Chrollo was moving far too quickly. Just in case, he thought of giving Hisoka this suggestion.
Additionally...
Knowing that Hisoka and Illumi were acquainted, it was only natural for him to consider "memory alteration" or "cognitive manipulation."
After offering the advice, he believed Hisoka would readily accept it precisely because of Illumi's involvement.
After all, implementing this wouldn't be difficult, it might even be effortless.
Hisoka studied the eyes reflected in the rearview mirror with great seriousness.
The reason was genuine...
He could tell Morrow wasn't bluffing or brushing him off, so he began contemplating the necessity of "memory alteration."
His approach to weighing the matter was particularly straightforward and brutal.
He simply envisioned the consequences of being "exposed" during the Spider gathering.
Then he concluded that having an extra layer of preparation wouldn't hurt.
Besides, he happened to know a Manipulation-type friend who could help him alter memories.
Hisoka was already thinking about when to contact Illumi for an on-site service.
Meanwhile, Kurapika, sitting beside him, lowered his gaze slightly, lost in thought.
A lie-detection ability...
When developing his "chains conjuration" ability, he had also considered similar concepts like lie detection and tracking.
However, due to focusing on mastering the "auto-targeting counterattack" chain ability, his time and energy couldn't keep up with the other ideas in his mind.
Initially, in his plans, the foundation of any ability was built upon the premise of facing multiple Phantom Troupe members alone.
But now...
Kurapika silently observed Morrow's profile.
Just the Troupe member they encountered at the cemetery had already been beyond his ability to handle.
Yet Morrow had swiftly and effortlessly killed that incredibly fast Troupe member without a scratch.
Then today, he effortlessly and unscathed eliminated another Troupe member.
Truly formidable...
If Morrow were to accompany him on this inevitably arduous path, perhaps he wouldn't need to obsess over refining his abilities further. Instead, he should focus on consolidating his foundation and Nen techniques.
Kurapika wasn't fixated on personally sending the Troupe to hell.
In his view, as long as the Troupe was utterly annihilated, the process didn't matter.
Late at night.
The rain continued to pour relentlessly.
As they passed through a town, Morrow finally dropped Hisoka off.
As for the suggestion about memory and cognitive alteration, as long as Hisoka accepted it, there was no need to worry further.
Given Hisoka's capabilities, he certainly didn't need step-by-step instructions on how to proceed.
With Illumi's assistance, Hisoka would undoubtedly excel in preparing to avoid exposure.
The only concern might be Illumi taking advantage of the situation, for instance, refusing to restore Hisoka's memories afterward...
After seeing Hisoka off, Morrow continued driving toward the nearest airport.
If they could reach it by morning, he, Kalluto, and Kurapika would board the earliest airship and leave Kakin directly.
Then, all that remained was to wait and observe the Spiders' reactions.
Early the next day.
Morrow, Kalluto, and Kurapika boarded an airship departing Kakin.
At the same time.
Having found a temporary place to stay, Hisoka made a call to Illumi.
The moment Illumi answered, before Hisoka could even greet him, he eagerly asked, "Did you kill him?"
"..." Even through the phone, Hisoka could sense Illumi's eagerness, momentarily at a loss for how to respond.
"No."
In the end, he answered truthfully.
Hearing Hisoka's reply, Illumi felt a pang of disappointment.
Hisoka then added, "Illumi, there's something I need your ability for. If you're free lately, I'll be waiting for you in Kakin. Also... bring some of your family's external-use special medicine."
"???"
A flicker of doubt crossed Illumi's mind. Asking for his ability was one thing, but why would Hisoka, given his usual way of doing things, specifically request external-use special medicine?
Could it be that Morrow had beaten him up so badly he was covered in injuries?
Then, an even more important matter occurred to him.
"Hisoka."
"Hmm?"
"You still owe me a large sum of money."
--------
Bonus chapter @200power stones.