Hunter Association Headquarters.
Tirrall, dressed in a medium green suit, stood inside the elevator, his expression solemn.
"Ding~!"
The elevator reached the first floor and opened with a "clack."
"Mr. Tirrall."
Outside the door, two amateur hunters greeted him. They had been waiting there for some time.
"Are all the people ready?"
Tirrall stepped out of the elevator, turned right, and walked towards the lobby entrance. The two amateur hunters followed closely.
"Ready."
Tirrall nodded, and the three walked out of the lobby together.
Outside the Hunter Association Headquarters building was a spacious plaza. In the center of the plaza was a fountain, and above the fountain was a statue of an ancient elder in a long robe.
"First Chairman..."
Tirrall walked to the car door, looked up at the statue of the elder, his heart filled with emotion.
He reached for the car door, about to open it...
"Vroom vroom~"
A light blue sports car sped from a distance, performed a full-speed drift around the statue in the center of the plaza, and with a screech of tires, "squealed" to a stop outside the headquarters building.
"I remember this car is..."
Tirrall gazed at the light blue sports car, trying hard to recall.
"Click."
Before he could finish recalling, the car door opened.
The first thing that came into view was a long, straight, snow-white beautiful leg.
Next, a light blue-haired beauty in a sky-blue gown stepped out of the car. She stood outside the car door, hands on her hips, and looked up at the emblem outside the headquarters building's glass curtain wall.
Then, without even glancing at Tirrall and his two companions, she strode towards the main lobby entrance.
"Someone from the Clean Slate team..."
The two amateur hunters were also staring at the figure, whispering.
"Returning to headquarters at this time? Shouldn't she be at the Saint Andia Hall?"
Tirrall's gaze towards Kuku was filled with confusion. As a mid-level manager of the association, Tirrall paid particular attention to the whereabouts of the Clean Slate team members.
Logically, she should currently be in Divinia, showcasing her musical talent to the world there.
"Let's go."
Tirrall opened the car door and instructed his two subordinates.
He indeed cared greatly about the Clean Slate team's whereabouts, but now, the matters concerning Podurola and Rupe were more important.
"Vroom~"
Accompanied by the roar of the car engine, the black sedan drove out of the plaza and gradually disappeared into the distance.
"Any news from Podurola and Rupe?"
In the car, Tirrall adjusted his collar and tie, asking incidentally.
"Not yet."
The amateur hunter in the passenger seat replied. This answer made Tirrall frown. According to their usual operating habits, they should report to each other daily, but now...
Thinking of this, Tirrall pulled out his recently purchased new phone from his pocket, scrolled through his contacts, found Podurola's and Rupe's numbers, and dialed them one by one.
"Beep... beep..."
But neither Podurola nor Rupe answered.
"Could they both have met with foul play!?"
Tirrall's motion of adjusting his tie paused, his pupils dilated.
No response, no report, even their phones were switched off.
In less than a day, senior hunters of his same rank had silently vanished!
He immediately realized in his heart that he had hit a brick wall.
"Wait, not to Yorknew City. Go to White Hunter Security Company."
"Uh, I understand."
The amateur hunter driving was startled for a moment. Although he didn't know why, he complied.
"Mr. Tirrall, aren't we going to support Mr. Rupe anymore?"
But the other amateur hunter still asked curiously; he was also a seasoned amateur hunter.
"I have my own arrangements."
Tirrall replied, feigning composure.
The two amateur hunters exchanged glances and stopped asking questions.
Thirty minutes passed...
"Screech..."
A black sedan stopped below an office building. Tirrall pushed open the car door, stepped onto the ground, slightly adjusted his hairstyle, and walked towards the office building lobby.
On the stairs outside the lobby, there was an engraved stone with the words [White Hunter Security Company].
This was a privately owned security company, founded by Podurola. Tirrall and Rupe were also shareholders of the company.
White Hunter Security Company was not large, with no more than five thousand employees, most of whom were retired military personnel from various countries, including a small number of retired special forces soldiers, amateur hunters, and professional hunters.
The company primarily engaged in intelligence training, support, security, and emergency operations.
"Good afternoon!"
"Mr. Tirrall."
Three front desk receptionists bowed and greeted him with professional smiles. Tirrall ignored them and, with the two amateur hunters, successively entered the general manager's private elevator.
"Clack~"
The elevator reached the top floor office. Tirrall went straight to Podurola's office, and with a "bang," he violently pushed open the general manager's office door.
"Mr. Tirrall..."
The two amateur hunters were confused by Tirrall's rough action.
"Close the door!"
Tirrall sat in Podurola's office chair. Looking at the two amateur hunters standing in the doorway, dumbfounded, he commanded in a deep voice.
"Uh, yes!"
They snapped out of it, quickly turned, one pulling each side of the door. With a harsh "creak," the door closed.
Tirrall sat in the office chair, seemingly very hot. He tore off his tie, casually throwing it on the desk, then opened the laptop placed on the desk.
Tirrall slowly opened the laptop, entered the password, and moved the mouse on the desktop. With a solemn expression, he clicked on the mailbox.
"I hope you left something behind..."
"Podurola."
Tirrall pressed the mouse twice. With two "clicks," he entered the mailbox.
As soon as he entered the mailbox, a new email immediately popped up. It was an email with no sender or subject, and a blank summary.
This was an email transmitted to this mailbox entirely by Nen ability, not through any network.
"Podurola, you actually..."
Tirrall stared fixedly at this email. He moved the mouse, and with a heavy heart, clicked it open.
"Choose one."
"Is it to let me use Nen to make you experience all the pain before a miserable death, or..."
The moment the email was opened, a low, magnetic male voice sounded.
It was a video.
First to appear in the video was a young man with black bangs and short hair, wearing a suit, with a hint of dark circles under his eyes.
The video was short, less than three minutes.
The events in the video were disjointed, with many segments skipped directly.
Suddenly, a blood-stained black spike abruptly appeared in the video. Podurola's painful struggles echoed in the video.
As time passed, one minute and one second later.
Black screen, end.
After the video finished playing, the email in the mailbox disappeared without a trace, as if it had never existed.
"Podurola..."
Tirrall's face was covered in cold sweat. He knew Podurola was dead.
Moreover, because Illumi had been the one asking the questions, Podurola hadn't obtained the information he wanted, resulting in very little information in the video.
But Tirrall knew that given Podurola's situation at the time, being able to do this much was already very good.
The young man who appeared in the video was an existence he couldn't possibly contend with.
The currently known information was only that the young man and the four bodyguards were members of a secret organization.
"It can now be confirmed that both Podurola and Rupe are dead."
"And both died at the hands of this young man."
"I am absolutely no match for such a person; I cannot take action again."
Tirrall immediately decided that he could not make any more moves against the person in the video, nor could he avenge Rupe and Podurola.
However, two professional hunters from the Hunter Association had died at the hands of someone of unknown origin.
This was an opportunity.
He could report it to the Hunter Association's Audit Department, and then the Audit Department could report it to the Chairman, letting the Clean Slate team take action.
However, the sequence of events needed a little embellishment.
"Return to Hunter Association Headquarters!"
Thinking of this, Tirrall immediately got up, took the two amateur hunters, and left the White Hunter Security Company, driving to the Hunter Association Headquarters.
But when his black sedan returned to Hunter Headquarters, he found that in Hunter Plaza, in addition to the light blue sports car from before, there was also a black convertible.
"Someone else is back..."
Tirrall gazed at the black sports car, his heart growing more and more puzzled.
However, the Clean Slate team belonged to the high echelons of the Hunter Association; his rank was not yet high enough to access the secrets of the Hunter Association's upper echelons.
After a brief stop, Tirrall strode towards the office building and took the elevator to the Audit Department.
Pegros United Nations, Clunsea Rainforest.
[Abyss] Base D7F, All-Terrain Simulated Combat Training Room.
Veils of white mist lingered between towering trees and various vegetation, as she walked through the forest.
Sunlight, like golden fine sand, filtered through the layers of intertwined branches and leaves, dappling the damp forest floor, shining upon the paper cups at the very bottom, like a blessing from the heavens.
"Chirp chirp..."
"Squawk squawk..."
The incessant chirping of insects and birds broke the tranquility of this forest.
"Whoosh whoosh"
Heavy footsteps echoed from the rainforest not far away. Accompanied by muffled footfalls, Machi's expression grew increasingly tense. A drop of sweat slid down her cheek, pooling on her chin.
"Drip-drop..."
The drop of sweat fell onto a withered leaf on the ground, making an extremely faint sound.
"Damn it!"
The moment the sweat drop hit the withered leaf, Machi's eyes narrowed. She suddenly sprang up and lunged forward.
"Boom!"
The instant Machi lunged, the towering tree behind her, with a diameter of over three meters, suddenly let out an earth-shattering roar. The trunk shook incessantly, and "crack, crack" sounds emanated from it.
"Rumble!"
The middle of the tree trunk suddenly exploded, and a burly black figure shot out from within, reaching out to grab Machi, who was lunging forward.
"Dream on!"
Machi's heart jumped. She clenched her pearly teeth.
A large amount of aura surged from her body, condensing into white threads. With a "whoosh," hundreds of white threads shot out from Machi's hands, firmly wrapping around a giant tree branch six meters away.
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