Kurapika, who had just finished his challenge on the 100th floor, received the news the moment he stepped off the arena.
However, he did not look to be in very good condition at the moment.
The intensity of Heaven's Arena had exceeded his expectations. After reaching the 100th floor, although he could still win, the gap between him and his opponents was no longer significant.
He was very curious—how did Big Brother Luo Ning reach the 200th floor?
'He must be truly powerful!'
But if Big Brother Luo Ning was so strong, yet still suffered an attack, who was the culprit?
Kurapika hurriedly entered the elevator. Even though he could go to the 200th floor, he had no idea where to find Luo Ning.
The corridor where Room 2333 was located had long been cordoned off. Many people were gathered on the periphery, but no one was allowed inside to check.
However, the news that the room's owner was unharmed had already spread.
Feeling somewhat dejected, Kurapika returned from the 200th floor to his private room on the 103rd floor. After sitting quietly for a long time, he suddenly seemed to understand something.
'Could it be that Big Brother Luo Ning has been constantly under attack by the Phantom Troupe?'
Kurapika thought of the headless corpse found outside their village. Judging by the clothing, it should have been Luo Ning's father.
None of the 128 people should have left the village, yet Luo Ning's father appeared outside and had his head severed. The location where the fragments of the skull were found was extremely far from the body.
'Is it possible that Big Brother Luo Ning was there at the time?'
'Then he escaped from the Phantom Troupe's clutches and came here to Heaven's Arena.'
As for why Big Brother Luo Ning was standing so conspicuously in the spotlight—was he intentionally attracting the Phantom Troupe's attention?
'What is his purpose in doing this?'
'Revenge!'
'That's it!'
Kurapika's thoughts became increasingly firm. The people tracking Big Brother Luo Ning must recognize his face. With him appearing so high-profile, as long as the Troupe wasn't blind, it was impossible not to notice him.
When that time came, they would surely choose to come and deal with him.
In this way, Big Brother Luo Ning could not only lure the Troupe members out to kill them but also force the Troupe to focus all their attention on him.
Not just that.
With Big Brother Luo Ning acting as a decoy in the open, as long as he—another survivor of the Kurta Clan—didn't actively reveal himself, he wouldn't be attacked.
'Big Brother Luo Ning is also protecting me!'
Furthermore, by staying hidden in the shadows, he would have a great deal of room to maneuver, whether it was investigating the Phantom Troupe in secret or waiting for an opportunity to assassinate them.
'No.'
'Big Brother Luo Ning chose Heaven's Arena as the location likely to give me a reminder—a reminder not to act rashly.'
Strength was the key.
He couldn't even climb past the 200th floor yet, while Big Brother Luo Ning, who was invincible even on the 200th floor, had previously been hunted by the Phantom Troupe.
If he ignored the gap in strength and rushed in, blinded by hatred, he would only be adding another pair of Scarlet Eyes to the Troupe's collection!
'Big Brother Luo Ning is truly going to such great lengths for me!'
Kurapika felt deeply moved, and tears welled in his eyes once more. He could not fail Big Brother Luo Ning's expectations; he had to get stronger as quickly as possible.
Strong enough to help Big Brother Luo Ning, and strong enough to kill the Phantom Troupe and avenge his clansmen!
'And all of this starts with fighting my way to the 200th floor to find an opportunity to reunite with him in private!'
Thinking of this, Kurapika immediately pulled himself together and began doing push-ups in his room.
...
Luo Ning hadn't actually thought as much as Kurapika imagined.
All his logic for action was built on his understanding of the Phantom Troupe's patterns and confidence in his own strength.
With the ninjutsu he mastered, if he wanted to escape, it would be difficult for the Troupe to stop him in a place like Heaven's Arena.
Now with Milia as outside help, he even had the confidence to go toe-to-toe with Uvogin in the arena.
Unfortunately, Milia hadn't been able to contact a second person willing to sell their Scarlet Eyes recently.
From the look of it, trying to recover the Scarlet Eyes through conventional channels was indeed not going to work.
The best way was still like Kurapika in the original story—finding a suitable mafia family, using their resources to locate the Scarlet Eyes, and then using mafia methods to get them.
That would not only be simpler than slow communication but would also save him a vast amount of money.
With his current strength, he naturally wouldn't value a small family like the Nostrades as much as Kurapika did.
However, that eldest daughter of the Nostrade family was someone he could bring under his wing.
Neon Nostrade was born with a Specialist Nen ability: [LOVELY GHOSTWRITER]. This ability used a hidden ghost to write prophetic poems, predicting events within the next month and providing warnings to avoid them.
As long as he controlled Neon and had her perform a prophecy once a month, he would have the chance to avoid most dangers.
Luo Ning would not let such a practical ability fall into the hands of the Troupe's leader, Chrollo Lucilfer.
Recently, Luo Ning had been searching for information about the Nostrade family online.
The Nostrade family was a completely unremarkable gang in a small town.
The boss, Light Nostrade, was extremely good at winning people over, managing some underground casinos and red-light district businesses.
According to the information Luo Ning purchased from professional Hunters, Light was a very ambitious man, but he lacked ruthlessness. Therefore, he wasn't highly regarded by the mafia upper ranks and could only be considered a decently successful small-time boss.
Additionally, Light did indeed have a daughter named Neon. She was currently 14 years old. After her mother passed away, she dropped out of school and lived in Light's villa. She rarely went out, and the place she frequented most was the Nature Museum, as she seemed extremely passionate about specimens.
Light's discipline over her was very strict, and the relationship between them was not good. They often quarreled because Light brought women home.
The result usually ended with Neon receiving a slap across the face.
Luo Ning wasn't surprised by this. Light's love for Neon was entirely dependent on her demonstrating the ability to predict the future.
In other words, in Light's eyes, Neon's status as a tool was greater than her status as a daughter.
But it was easy to tell from the data that Neon hadn't revealed her prophetic abilities yet, so it was normal for her to be disliked by Light.
Luo Ning closed the folder. The fact that the prophecy ability hadn't been exposed yet was perfect for him.
He planned to head to the small town where the Nostrade family was located, Molding City, after finishing his match with Uvogin.
After taking Neon away, it would be time to head to Yorknew.
He wanted to secure a position as one of the Ten Old Men before September arrived. Only then could he obtain the Scarlet Eyes more easily and quickly to enhance his strength.
With everything planned out, Luo Ning's Shadow Clone reappeared on the 200th floor.
Because today, Uvogin would complete his 190th-floor battle and officially become a contestant on the 200th floor.
What Luo Ning had to do was meet him face-to-face and register for the next battle at the same time!