Conserving one's energy was the common sense approach under the current circumstances.
Yet, Kurapika had stayed up all night, which, given the situation, was a major taboo.
However, Law could somewhat understand what Kurapika was feeling now.
Thinking back, if he hadn't been in Meteor City and encountered that man who used surgical knives, the transformation in his thinking might have been delayed for a long time.
But from a purely objective standpoint, emotions like anger, satisfaction, emptiness, or pleasure… none of them were worth wasting on a dead clansman-killer.
Kurapika slowly raised his head and looked at Law, hesitating to speak.
Perhaps he had some things he wanted to say, but when the moment to speak arrived, those thoughts suddenly became blurred and unclear.
Law got out of bed, put on his clothes, and walked towards the bathroom, saying, "I won't say it a second time."
Hearing this, Kurapika could only rise from the sofa, obediently lie down on the bed, and silently close his eyes.
A while later, after Law finished washing up and came out of the bathroom, he saw that Kurapika had fallen asleep. He first poured himself a cup of hot water, then walked to the computer desk and turned on the hotel's standard-issue computer.
He waited patiently for the computer to boot up, then logged into the Pro Hunter-exclusive intelligence website to search for information related to last night's events in Yorknew City.
After browsing intently for nearly two hours, during which he paid a large sum for intelligence, he not only obtained some useful information but also learned the relevant details about the previous night.
"The Troupe won't let this rest easily."
Law propped his cheek on his hand, calmly watching the continuously increasing bounty on the computer screen.
The underground auction would be held again. The new location was the Cemetery Building, and the time was still 9 p.m.
Even with Shalnark, who was responsible for handling intelligence, dead, the Troupe should still be able to learn this news.
That's because the Ten Dons had no intention of hiding it, and their confident, unafraid attitude seemed to be telling the Troupe to come right ahead.
After all, they had even hired two experts from the Zoldyck Family, and according to intelligence, many other skilled assassins had been commissioned as well.
The assassins came accepting the Ten Dons' commission. Although the commission's content was to eliminate the Phantom Troupe, there was also an element of guard duty involved… ensuring the auction proceeded normally.
In other words, they couldn't easily leave the Cemetery Building to search for Troupe members but had to hold their position there.
If Troupe members attacked, they would deal with them. If the Troupe didn't come, after the auction ended, they would still need to fulfill the commission.
Law organized the known intelligence and fell into deep thought.
Recalling the distant memories in his mind and combining them with the current intelligence, he tried his best to predict the next moves of both the Mafia and the Troupe.
Without Shalnark, the Troupe's intelligence-gathering capabilities should be hampered.
However, given the Troupe's fearless style, even if the intelligence wasn't clear, and even if the Mafia set up heavy security within a one-kilometer radius of the Cemetery Building, they would still come.
Taking the auction items should be their top priority.
By then, the six remaining Shadow Beasts, the Mafia's armed forces, and the assassins hired by the Ten Dons, including Silva and Zeno, would directly confront the Troupe members.
Among these forces, aside from Silva and Zeno who were truly capable, the others probably couldn't stop the Troupe.
Moreover, Chrollo would likely still offer a heavy commission to Illumi to kill the Ten Dons, cutting off the problem at its root. In that case, Silva and Zeno, their employers dead, would have to abandon the commission.
Following this line of thought, if one could simply prevent Illumi from killing the Ten Dons, then Silva and Zeno would have no reason to abandon the commission and would naturally fight the Troupe to the death.
This was an obvious benefit. Furthermore, he held Illumi's heart, so making Illumi refuse Chrollo's commission shouldn't be difficult.
But then, wouldn't the Ten Dons escape unscathed?
Law wouldn't mind the Ten Dons and the Phantom Troupe tearing each other apart. So, whether to make Illumi stand down was not an easy decision.
"Let them fight it out to the death," Law murmured to himself.
He picked up the cup, drank the water inside, then turned off the computer and stood up, heading towards the door.
Just as he stepped out of the room, he smelled a strong burnt odor. From the direction of the kitchen, quite a bit of black smoke was emerging.
Seeing this, Law was taken aback and instinctively looked up at the smart smoke detector on the ceiling. It had been manually destroyed, smashed to pieces.
"..."
Wordlessly, Law shifted his gaze and walked towards the kitchen. He saw Ellie wearing an apron, wreaking havoc on the stovetop, while Stargie and the human puppet, Goldie, stood by assisting.
Stargie was responsible for discarding the failed products, and Goldie was responsible for re-preparing the ingredients.
Hearing the footsteps, Ellie and the others turned to look at Law.
"Ah, you're awake?"
Ellie's face was smeared with what looked like carbon dust. She seemed slightly flustered when she saw Law.
Stargie and Goldie remained expressionless, as the former wasn't very adept at expressing emotions, and the latter was a human puppet.
"What are you doing?" Law glanced at the trash can filled with blackened items, then at the several pots in the sink that were burnt black, before finally looking at Ellie.
"I wanted to make breakfast for you," Ellie said cautiously.
"..."
Hearing this, Law couldn't help but look again at the unrecognizable things in the trash can.
"Anyway, just wait outside," Ellie said, feeling her face burn. She put down the spatula and pushed Law out of the kitchen.
"Actually, we could just have the hotel deliver food, or let me do it," Law suggested sincerely.
"That's not the same."
Ellie vetoed the idea and ran back into the kitchen to continue her work.
Around past nine, Salin came out of her room and immediately noticed the lingering burnt smell, finding it strange.
Then, she saw Law sitting at the dining table and walked over, immediately noticing the unidentifiable objects on the table… black and white patches, from which one could barely make out a general shape.
"Is this a fried egg?" Salin asked, horrified.
"Good eye. Ellie prepared a portion for you too," Law gave Salin a thumbs-up.
"..." Salin was speechless.
Under Ellie's supervision, Law managed to swallow down a terrible breakfast.
Afterwards, Ellie wanted to go out shopping and wanted Law to accompany her.
Law initially wanted to refuse, but couldn't withstand Ellie's persistent pestering. In the end, he had to put on the long-unused ugly face mask and accompany Ellie out.
Stargie joined them on the outing.
According to Ellie, Stargie often stayed by her side, acting as a bodyguard. However, Stargie also had her own hobbies, like buying clothes.
Hearing this, Law looked at Stargie walking beside him. She acutely avoided his gaze, unwilling to meet his eyes, as if she was shy.
The three of them came onto the street, and passersby cast strange looks their way.
After all, the scene of two super high-quality beauties flanking an ugly man wasn't very common.
Just after walking one block, Law sensed that someone was following them. Their hiding skills were utterly clumsy, and they didn't even know how to conceal their presence.
"We're being followed," Law said calmly.
Upon hearing this, Ellie and Stargie showed little reaction.