Chapter 22: All Sorts of... (Third Update)
Having an ear torn off alive, Sick Dog writhed in pain on the ground for a long time before the agony subsided. Though rage burned within him, he dared not show it on his face—he had already witnessed Su Xiao's brutality.
"Yorknew Hotel. Don't make me repeat myself a third time."
Sick Dog clenched his teeth and stood up shakily, blood spraying from the sword wounds on his body.
"Let me... change clothes."
At this moment, Sick Dog was covered in mud. His status in the underworld wasn't low, and going out like this would be a loss of face.
"Fine."
Sick Dog breathed a sigh of relief, walked out of the alley, and entered a clothing store at the corner.
Ten minutes later, Sick Dog emerged from the clothing store, now dressed in clean clothes. White bandages were wrapped around his body and head. He was already as thin as a rake, looking like a drug addict, and the massive blood loss made him seem like he might kick the bucket at any moment.
"Yorknew Hotel isn't far from here."
Sick Dog had already assessed the situation. Setting aside the metal wire coiled around his neck, ready to sever his head at any moment, he was completely outmatched by Su Xiao in terms of strength—this had been proven just now. His prized neurotoxin had been utterly ineffective.
Sick Dog walked ahead, Su Xiao behind him, with an inconspicuous metal wire connecting them.
Driving through the streets, a magnificent hotel soon came into view. It had over forty floors. According to what that old man from the Ten Dons had said, he would be waiting for Su Xiao on the thirtieth floor.
A row of men in black stood at the hotel entrance, all sharply dressed in suits with bulges at their waists—each one carrying a gun.
There was a saying that offending the Ten Dons meant offending all the underworld organizations across six continents. Though it sounded impressive, judging by the strength of the Shadow Beasts, the Ten Dons' power wasn't as terrifying as imagined—only formidable in the world of ordinary people.
If the Phantom Troupe were to fight the Ten Dons' forces without interference from other factions, the Troupe could completely dominate them.
Since this band of thieves had set its sights on the auction house's goods, conflict with the Ten Dons was inevitable.
If he really joined the Ten Dons, he would become hostile to the Phantom Troupe. But so what? There were indeed members of the Troupe who could kill Su Xiao, but none could crush him.
Among the Troupe, Su Xiao was most wary of four people: Chrollo Lucilfer (the leader), Feitan, Nobunaga, and Phinks.
The leader was highly intelligent with troublesome abilities; Feitan's ultimate move was too ferocious—that miniature sun left no room for resistance.
Nobunaga excelled in one-on-one combat; generally, those who wielded blades were strong in duels.
As for Phinks, his "Return" ability was astonishing—the more he rotated his arm, the greater the punching force. Too many rotations might cost him his arm, but if he spun it several dozen times, he could potentially take Su Xiao down with him.
Aside from these four, the other Troupe members were either countered by Su Xiao or had relatively balanced abilities, posing little danger.
Shaking off these thoughts, Su Xiao pushed Sick Dog's back, signaling him to lead the way.
Stumbling forward from the push, Sick Dog dared not complain. Holding his severed ear, he trudged into the hotel.
The first floor was a lobby filled with men in suits—clearly a show of force by the Ten Dons, or perhaps just the underworld's style.
Su Xiao ignored these thuggish gang members. If he went all out, this place would become a living hell within two minutes. To ordinary people, Su Xiao was already a monster—no, even to most second-rank contractors, he was monstrous. Long ago, his strength had become severely disproportionate to his Reincarnation Paradise mark level, creating a virtuous cycle.
Taking the elevator from the first floor, it slowly ascended.
Ding!
The elevator opened on the twelfth floor. The sheathed Dragon-Slaying Flash appeared in Su Xiao's hand.
The dark purple scabbard [Divine Radiance] was extraordinarily ornate, while Dragon-Slaying Flash's unadorned scabbard created a strange, beautiful contrast. Anyone seeing Dragon-Slaying Flash for the first time would want it—its appearance and quality were flawless.
The elevator doors opened to reveal three men outside. Su Xiao recognized two of them: Earthworm and Porcupine of the Shadow Beasts.
"Excuse us."
Just as Porcupine of the Shadow Beasts was about to step into the elevator, Su Xiao pointed the tip of his scabbard at him.
"Get out."
Porcupine was about to speak when he noticed Sick Dog signaling him with his eyes.
"Excuse us."
Porcupine smiled and stepped back out of the elevator, keeping his small eyes fixed on Su Xiao the entire time.
The elevator doors slowly closed. Porcupine took out his phone and dialed. The call was answered immediately.
"He's going up. Very strong. From the cash investigation results, he's not from a hostile faction. Which faction he's loyal to is unclear for now."
Porcupine listened quietly, responded a few times, and hung up.
"What did the Ten Dons say?"
Earthworm of the Shadow Beasts, who looked like a soft-bodied creature, spoke up.
"Not much."
"Are we just letting Leech's death slide?"
Earthworm's murky eyes showed dissatisfaction.
"I'd very much like to let it slide. Leech was decapitated, Sick Dog is half-dead. If we want revenge, who do you think should go?"
Hearing Porcupine's words, Earthworm felt a chill.
Did he even need to ask? They, the Shadow Beasts, were the Ten Dons' strongest subordinates. Of course, they would have to go—and they would end up dead.
"Then... I'd also like to let it slide."
"Mm. Nine of the Ten Dons have agreed to let this matter rest. Minimize losses as much as possible. We're the underworld, but we don't clash head-on with enemies too strong—that's for fools."
Porcupine was right. The Ten Dons' forces were indeed the underworld, but facing someone of Su Xiao's caliber, they would first choose to negotiate and win him over. Only as a last resort would they bleed money to hire powerful Nen assassins to kill Su Xiao.
The world's famous assassin organizations weren't cheap. For the Ten Dons to hire someone capable of killing Su Xiao would cost an astronomical sum.
To the Ten Dons, as long as they didn't engage in full-scale war, there was room for negotiation. As for Leech—dead men had no value. Blood for blood wasn't the underworld's style; that was just a romanticized version from movies and TV.
The elevator gradually rose to the thirtieth floor.
Ding. The elevator opened.
Seeing the scene before him, Su Xiao raised an eyebrow. Bubu Wang's eyes widened. Sick Dog grinned.
The layout of the thirtieth floor was simple. A large screen was mounted on the inner wall, and the room contained only a single large bed, making the vast space feel somewhat empty.
But the thirtieth floor wasn't empty now. The room was filled with scantily clad women—at least a hundred of them, ranging from their teens to twenties. Mature ladies, lolis, bunny ears, nurse uniforms...
"Greetings, sir. Welcome to Yorknew Hotel."
A large group of women bowed in unison and stepped forward, some even pulling their clothes down to their shoulders.
Su Xiao looked at the large screen in the room. It displayed a man with short yellow hair, a square face, and a scar on his lip, looking about forty years old.
"Friend, a small gift as a token of respect. Enjoy yourself. These women have been carefully selected. But before you indulge, how about releasing Sick Dog? After all, no one likes an audience during such activities."
Needless to say, the man on the screen was one of the Ten Dons. The Ten Dons wouldn't show themselves easily, especially when facing someone as dangerous as Su Xiao. None of them had come to Yorknew Hotel because they didn't dare to. If they lacked even that much caution, the Ten Dons' forces would have been wiped out long ago.
PS: (A bit late on the update, but I'm stuck with a cold. My brain's slow, and I need to maintain quality, so I deliberately wrote more slowly. Bear with me. Please don't tear up your monthly tickets—this mosquito has returned to three updates.)