Losing three members hadn't crippled the Phantom Troupe.
In less than half a year, Chrollo had recruited three capable new members from Meteor City.
The operation planned for Yorknew City would be the first collective action involving both old and new members.
Chrollo slowly closed the book, placed it calmly by his side, clasped his hands, and let them rest naturally in his lap, his gaze fixed calmly on the entrance ahead.
Not far from him stood Kortopi and Pakunoda.
Typically, Kortopi and Pakunoda stayed close to Chrollo, acting almost like personal guards.
Further away, on a second-floor platform illuminated by a single candle, Hisoka sat on the edge, idly shuffling a deck of cards.
While waiting, the members occupied themselves in various ways.
Shalnark played on his phone. Shizuku stared blankly into space.
Bonolenov stood in a corner, unwinding the bandages from his arm only to wrap them back up again, repeating the process.
Besides them, there were two unfamiliar faces.
One was a man with a burly build, dark skin, and a large afro.
He had thick lips and prominent brow ridges, his features bearing some resemblance to a gorilla.
He wore a tight white shirt that strained over rock-like muscles, seemingly on the verge of tearing.
This was one of the new members Chrollo had recruited from Meteor City. The other member was extremely thin, almost gaunt, with a long, horse-like face and unpleasant, narrow, downturned eyes. A series of grey dots were painted across his face.
The two seemed acquainted, standing relatively close together.
Time passed. Suddenly, footsteps echoed from outside the building, growing steadily closer.
Everyone inside turned towards the entrance to see Franklin, Feitan, and Phinks arriving together.
"One more left," Shalnark said, checking his phone. Only half an hour remained until midnight.
Upon their arrival, Franklin and the others immediately looked towards the new faces… the gorilla-like man and the gaunt man.
Noticing their scrutiny, the two new members ignored them completely.
Ten minutes later, the final new Troupe member arrived: a woman with a pineapple-shaped hairstyle.
She wore exaggerated makeup around her eyes, her lips painted with bright red lipstick, and a strong perfume lingered around her.
Despite the summer heat, she was bundled up in heavy clothing.
With all members present, Chrollo didn't immediately announce the plan. Instead, he first introduced the new members.
Although operating individually was a hallmark of the Phantom Troupe, they often worked in teams during missions.
Therefore, even without knowing the specifics of other members' abilities, knowing their Nen Types was essential for basic coordination.
As Chrollo made the introductions, the veteran members learned the names and Nen Types of the newcomers.
The gorilla-like man was named Akatake, an Enhancer.
The gaunt man was named Cipher, an Emitter.
The pineapple-haired woman was named Mohana, a Transmuter.
After the introductions, Chrollo put his hands in his pockets and directly stated the purpose of their assembly.
"We will seize all the treasures from the Underground Auction. Anyone who gets in our way... dies."
Hearing the mission details, the newly joined Cipher let out a low whistle. "The Underground Auction is run by the mafia, right? If I remember correctly, the masterminds are the Ten Dons."
Chrollo looked at Cipher calmly. "So what?"
Meteor City had maintained a cooperative relationship with the mafia. This operation wasn't just about undermining or humiliating the mafia… it was more like tearing out their very bones.
Given the mafia's nature, this would likely lead to an endless feud.
But that was precisely what made it thrilling.
Meeting Chrollo's calm gaze, a glint of excitement shone in Cipher's narrow, downturned eyes. He chuckled darkly. "Just wondering if we can kill everyone at the auction."
"Didn't I say it already... anyone in the way, dies," Chrollo stated calmly.
Even though their target was the mafia, which had close ties to Meteor City, if it suited his fancy, Chrollo wouldn't waste a second considering the consequences.
Just as he had said to Cipher: "So what?"
He wouldn't care, nor would he bother.
All members watched Chrollo's impassive face.
Most had guessed the operation involved looting an auction, but they hadn't expected Chrollo's target to be the Underground Auction.
There were several other famous auction houses in the city.
In other words, there were plenty of alternative targets.
Logically, considering the relationship between Meteor City and the mafia, they could have chosen another auction, like the Southernpiece Auction.
But Chrollo had specifically chosen the Underground Auction.
It was like a card game where the Joker was visibly placed on the table, yet Chrollo unhesitatingly picked it.
He might have done so simply because he found the Joker's color more vibrant, more to his liking.
That was Chrollo.
As for the other members, most of whom also hailed from Meteor City, they raised no objections to the plan.
Acting on sheer desire… wasn't that the Phantom Troupe's signature?
...
Bejita Hotel.
The presidential suite had three bedrooms, each with a sufficiently large bed.
Therefore, Ellie canceled her originally booked hotel room and simply moved into Law's suite, taking one of the rooms.
Of the remaining two rooms, one was occupied solely by Salin, and the last was shared by Law and Kurapika.
The clock on the living room wall showed midnight. Law and Kurapika sat on the sofa.
"The Spiders are targeting the Underground Auction?" Kurapika asked.
Law reclined sideways on the sofa, looking out at the night sky through the window. "Yes, one hundred percent."
Hearing this, Kurapika lowered his head slightly, looking at the chains on his right hand. The edges of his black irises faintly glowed red.
He wore special black contact lenses to conceal his natural hazel eyes, primarily to hide his Scarlet Eyes.
Law turned his head to face Kurapika directly. "We can only confirm they'll hit the Underground Auction. We don't know how many will come. They might mobilize the entire group."
"I should remind you, with your current abilities, one-on-one should be fine. But one-against-two will start to become difficult, and one-against-three offers no chance of victory."
Kurapika looked up at Law and nodded slowly.
Law had told him before that when multiple Nen Users coordinated effectively, their combined combat power wasn't a simple sum; it multiplied.
Looking at the red tinge around Kurapika's pupils, Law asked calmly, "So, what's your plan?"
"Bide our time," Kurapika replied.
He then elaborated on his thoughts.
Among the three parties, the Phantom Troupe, the Mafia, and themselves, if ranked by their level of intelligence, the Troupe was at the bottom, and they themselves were at the top.
The Mafia knew the auction would be attacked but didn't know the attackers were the Phantom Troupe. Therefore, the reason the Mafia hadn't changed the Underground Auction's schedule was to lure out the attackers and identify them.
To that end, the Ten Dons had no qualms about using a group of pawns as bait.
Thus, with the Mafia prepared, the Troupe had absolutely no chance of successfully stealing the auction items.
Given the Troupe's nature, if they couldn't get the items, they wouldn't let it go. And once the Mafia identified the attackers, they would undoubtedly seek to eliminate them.
In other words, a clash between the two was inevitable.
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
Regardless of the outcome, on the night of September 1st, they must tear off at least one of the Spider's legs.
They needed to give the Troupe a compelling reason to stay in Yorknew City, creating an opportunity to slowly dismantle them piece by piece.
Law didn't dispute Kurapika's logic.
Within the Troupe, there was Hisoka, who watched him like a hawk, and Feitan, who likely held a deep grudge against him.
If these two knew he was in Yorknew City, they might just come looking for him themselves.
…
The next day, 8:30 p.m.
Mafia members gathered at the Cemetery Building.
Every person entering wore a black suit. Even the women were dressed entirely in black.
Light had sent three bodyguards to bid on items Neon wanted, including the Scarlet Eyes.
These bodyguards entered, unaware that most of the prominent mafia bosses hadn't come themselves, instead sending their notable lieutenants.
They also failed to notice that three dangerous individuals were waiting in line at the entrance security checkpoint.