Chapter 36: The Ten Elders' Suspicions
Thirty Soul Crystals (Medium) was no small amount. Although Bick verbally agreed, gathering these Soul Crystals would still take some time; producing them immediately was simply impossible.
"Wait a moment, at most ten minutes."
Bick set down the phone in his hand and sighed.
"Everyone, the auction has been interrupted, but the items are safe. The question now is whether the auction should continue."
Several of the Ten Elders assumed contemplative expressions.
"Forget about the auction. According to reports from below, the Spider's target was those auction items."
"I share the same view. Postpone the auction."
"No, the Yorknew Auction is held once a year and has never been interrupted. The reason so many people support us is the reputation we've built up over the years. If we give up now, I fear the Yorknew Auction's prestige will suffer."
"That makes sense. It's been running for decades. The Ten Elders have been replaced batch after batch, but the auction has never stopped."
"To hell with the auction! Our lives are at stake!"
The Ten Elders began arguing. Most supported continuing the auction. Of course the auction had to continue—if the Ten Elders dared to interrupt it, Su Xiao would be the first to object.
"The auction cannot be interrupted."
Bick spoke, his attitude exceptionally firm.
"But..."
"No buts. Setting aside reputation for now, the Spider's target is those auction items. If the auction is terminated, and the Spider can't find leads on the items, who will they come looking for? So the auction must continue. This will divert the Spider's attention, keeping their focus on the auction rather than on us."
The Ten Elders fell silent. Most agreed with Bick's words.
"Bring some food. I'm starving."
Su Xiao spoke. Although he hadn't been injured in his fight with Feitan, his stamina had been significantly depleted.
Before long, the conference table was covered with food. It seemed the Ten Elders were hungry too.
The room was filled with the mixed aroma of food and fine wine. A Ten Elder beside Su Xiao raised his glass to him.
"Mr. White Night has worked hard. Don't worry about what happened at the auction house. Since the enemy came knocking, of course we have to teach them a painful lesson. We may be rough men, but we understand that much. Don't you all agree?"
The other Ten Elders also raised their glasses. Su Xiao's mouth was full of food, and he spoke indistinctly: "What about those Shadow Beasts? Even if their combat ability isn't great, if several of them joined forces, they could hold off one or two Troupe members."
The Ten Elders' faction was too thin on combat power. Aside from Su Xiao, only the Shadow Beasts and a dozen or so Contractors remained.
Su Xiao had never placed any hope in those dozen or so Contractors. When Feitan appeared earlier, those guys were useless except for watching the show, and afterward they ran faster than rabbits.
No wonder most Contractors had low clearance ratings. With such a cowardly, death-fearing attitude while navigating the Reincarnation Paradise, it would be strange if they got high ratings.
Su Xiao couldn't help but think that if the Ten Elders' faction had a Contractor like Crazy Nurse or Revolver Guy, things would be much easier. Even someone like Gulu, who loved killing, would do. Red Clown wasn't bad either.
Although these people were hostile to Su Xiao, they all shared one trait: they weren't afraid of death, treating battle as a part of daily life.
Unfortunately, high-rank Contractors like Gulu wouldn't appear in the Hunter world. The reason Su Xiao could encounter high-rank Contractors was because the One Piece and Naruto worlds were open worlds.
In open worlds, you could encounter Contractors of any rank, but not in ordinary derivative worlds.
For example, in the Hunter world, only second-rank Contractors would appear. High-rank Contractors wanting to enter would need to consume special items, and those items were extremely rare. Even if they used such items to enter the Hunter world, their strength would be limited.
Because of this, many large adventure groups liked open worlds. In open worlds, they could help new members grow stronger quickly, and also gather the entire adventure group together.
Hearing Su Xiao's question, a Ten Elder spoke up. Ignoring Su Xiao was definitely not a wise move.
"Shadow Beasts? They've all gone out to find traces of the Spider."
"News just came in. A group of Spider members is being hunted down by our men. Strangely, the Spider members aren't that strong. Under the siege of our subordinates and the cooperation of the Shadow Beasts, two of them died."
Su Xiao was stunned. The rabble of the Ten Elders' faction had actually managed to kill two Troupe members? That was somewhat unbelievable. Could there be a hidden expert among the Contractors?
"The appearance of those two? Do you have photos?"
"Yes, this happened five minutes ago."
A Ten Elder casually tossed over a few photos, his heart beginning to doubt Su Xiao's earlier words.
"From what I understand, the Phantom Troupe is just a band of thieves. In the V5's evaluation, they're nothing but rabble."
"Then how do you explain the destruction at the auction house?"
"Who knows? I don't understand Nen abilities either."
After learning that gang members had killed two Troupe members, the Ten Elders' expressions visibly relaxed, and their gazes toward Su Xiao began to change.
Su Xiao ignored their looks. He just dropped the photos in his hand. These guys had been calling him brother earlier, and now they were weathervanes. It seemed demanding the deposit upfront was a wise move.
"More news has come in. Good news. The Spider members have been surrounded by our people. They're now trapped in a valley."
"What?"
A Ten Elder slammed the table in excitement, standing up. Their great worry had been surrounded. The atmosphere in the meeting room lightened considerably.
At this point, the Ten Elders began to suspect whether the terrifying strength of the Troupe they had learned about was real or fake. A white-haired Ten Elder narrowed his eyes and looked at Su Xiao.
The destruction of the auction house was a fact, but there were no eyewitnesses present. Whether it was the heads or the intelligence, it was all provided by Su Xiao, along with his demand for a deposit.
A smile appeared on that Ten Elder's lips. He thought of a possibility—perhaps the Spider's terror was fabricated by someone, and even the destruction of the auction house had some other ulterior motive. This was to create an overwhelmingly powerful imaginary enemy, making them obedient.
The more he thought about it, the more that Ten Elder felt this might be the case.
The Ten Elders were all slick, slippery characters. They liked to scheme against others, so they were even more afraid of being schemed against.
"Ahem, I'll step out for a moment."
A Ten Elder stood up. Su Xiao glanced sideways at him and then ignored him.
If the Ten Elders had carefully observed Su Xiao's expression, they would have noticed he was smiling. The photos provided by the Ten Elders weren't of Troupe members' bodies at all. They were most likely Contractors following the Troupe's movements.
The Ten Elders' faction had Contractors joining them, and of course, the Troupe's faction had them too, and probably in considerable numbers. Although joining the Troupe carried risks, one could become a temporary member. The Troupe leader wouldn't refuse such free labor.
"Since we've already surrounded the Spider, we should test them."
"Makes sense. Sick Dog and the others are nearby too."
The Ten Elders fell silent. Bick looked around the room, glanced at Su Xiao, hesitated for a few seconds, and then made a decision.
"White Night, the Eternal Crystal has been delivered."
At Bick's signal, his secretary carried a tray into the meeting room.
Su Xiao tapped the table lightly. He wouldn't protect all of the Ten Elders. If he had to choose one to protect, it would definitely be Bick. This guy was smart. He was the one who agreed to five Soul Crystals per day, the one who paid the commission in advance, and he had even sent over a natural Nen user.