Kalluto sent Killua the photo of Illumi's Sanrio Keroppi and told him about Morrow.
A reply from Killua came almost immediately.
It was a pixelated laughing emoji, followed by a string of exclamation marks.
Reading the message, Kalluto immediately pictured Killua clutching his stomach in laughter and couldn't help but smile too.
Though he knew mocking Big Brother Illumi wasn't proper, he had never seen him look so ridiculous and disheveled before, it was impossible not to laugh.
Besides, if it made Killua happy, that was enough.
Kalluto set down his phone, but after the brief amusement, his thoughts inevitably circled back to Mother's demand for 50 billion. His expression darkened.
Noticing this, Morrow chuckled. "I'm the one who commissioned you, yet you look even more troubled than me."
"If the deposit isn't paid within the deadline..." Kalluto's voice carried a hint of worry. "The contract won't take effect."
If the deal fell through, it meant he'd have to return to Kukuroo Mountain.
He had thought the 30 billion in his account would be enough for the short term, but he hadn't expected Mother to go so far as to freeze his funds.
"Don't worry about it. I'll figure out the money," Morrow said casually before smoothly changing the subject. "Come on, let's go get some sugar pancakes from Chiselwood Town."
At the mention of sugar pancakes, Kalluto's eyes lit up.
Morrow suppressed a laugh at his reaction.
No matter how many times he used the sugar pancake trump card, it never failed to distract Kalluto.
No matter how mature Kalluto acted on the surface, he was still just a kid.
A stubborn kid who overthought things and piled pressure on himself.
While Morrow had always admired Kalluto's almost stubborn discipline, he hoped that before their mission to eliminate Feitan, Kalluto could embrace the world with a lighter heart.
Morrow took Kalluto to Chiselwood Town at the foot of the mountain.
Though he appeared carefree in front of Kalluto, Morrow couldn't help but start calculating how to cover the exorbitant 50 billion fee.
At first, he thought Kikyo was outright extorting him, using the situation to her advantage.
But upon reflection, this was a long-term commission.
During this time, Morrow could benefit endlessly from Kalluto's abilities.
So all things considered, 50 billion didn't seem entirely unreasonable.
As for whether he could actually pay it...
Given Kikyo's style, she had probably already learned about the valuable prizes he'd won at the Battle Olympia half a month ago.
If he sold all those prizes, scraping together 50 billion would be easy.
The problem was...
The most valuable among them, the Corundum Heart Gem and the Dome Treasure Box, had already been gifted to Biscuit.
Even without Kurapika's situation, Morrow would've eventually given Biscuit the Corundum Heart and Dome Treasure Box out of gratitude for her help.
The outcome wouldn't have changed.
Only the circumstances leading to it would've been different.
Now, with just the golden astrolabe and Selma's Golden Scepter left, he probably couldn't raise the full 50 billion.
But 25 billion for the deposit shouldn't be an issue.
The thought eased Morrow's mind somewhat.
The remaining 25 billion, however, was still no small sum. But he had originally planned to utilize Kalluto's ability to precisely locate those high-value criminal targets, allowing him to level up while earning money.
However, to minimize the risk of failed hunts, it was still necessary to invest some funds in gathering intelligence before taking action against these criminals.
Even while urgently needing large sums of money, Morrow still considered these preparations essential.
Morrow and Kalluto wandered around Chiselwood Town until evening before heading to the airport.
—--
Night fell.
An airship slowly ascended into the sky, heading toward Yorknew.
—--
Inside the cabin.
Morrow sat before a computer, searching online for information on some notorious criminals.
Yet even when simply looking up names, the retrievable information was extremely limited.
"The Hunter website is so much better," Morrow murmured with a sigh.
Only through comparison could one truly appreciate the difference.
Previously, through Kanzai and Menchi's assistance, he had experienced firsthand the functionality and convenience of the Hunter website.
Now that he couldn't access it, he understood its value even more.
I should make time to attend this year's Hunter Exam he thought.
Impressed by the practical benefits of a Hunter License, Morrow decided he must participate in this year's Hunter Exam and aim to obtain the license in one attempt.
Kalluto brought over a cup of hot tea, placing it gently on the table. Glancing at the screen filled with useless information, he suggested, "For intelligence, I could ask Second Brother for help."
"No need for that," Morrow replied with a wave and a smile.
What a joke.
Given Milluki's personality and methods, not taking the opportunity to extort money would be considered polite.
Of course, he wouldn't say this in front of Kalluto, simply explaining, "I have my own intelligence channels. I was just trying to see if I could save some money by searching myself."
Hearing this, Kalluto said nothing more, quietly returning to his seat while keeping his eyes on the computer screen.
Once the criminal information was compiled...
They could start earning money!
Kalluto clenched his small fist unconsciously as he thought to himself.
Hunting down criminals...
Not only would it allow them to earn money quickly, but they could also gain combat experience and grow stronger.
Kalluto felt this path was perfect for their current situation and was fully prepared to give it his all.
No matter what, he wouldn't let himself become too much of a burden on Morrow.
This was his firm resolve.
"Definitely not working. Too much useless information, just a waste of time," Morrow muttered as he shut down the computer, finally abandoning his self-reliant approach.
Specialization was key.
This was practically the foundational logic of the Hunter world and the very reason for the existence of the "Hunter" profession.
Morrow picked up his phone and dialed Argo's number.
The call connected within seconds.
"Well, well, what a rare guest," came Argo's teasing voice through the phone.
Morrow got straight to the point. "Compile a list of the top 100 most wanted criminals for me, including their names, photos, and other basic details."
"Got it. Give me an hour," Argo replied, immediately switching to a professional tone when it came to work.
Morrow added, "No rush. Make sure the information is as complete as possible, especially the photos."
"No problem." Argo readily agreed, then tentatively asked, "Why the sudden need for this kind of information? Could it be you're short on cash?"
"Yeah."
Morrow didn't deny it.
Hearing this, Argo drew a sharp breath and exclaimed in astonishment, "But last time you... uh, do you need to borrow some first?"
She recalled that just three months ago, Morrow had handled a staggering 30 billion in funds.
She truly hadn't expected Morrow to burn through that enormous sum in just three months.
Though shocked, she tactfully refrained from pressing further and instead offered to lend him money to help him out.
"Wait."
But the moment the words left her mouth, Argo immediately realized something.
"Didn't you just win the Battle Olympia championship? What about the prizes? Any one of them could sell for over 10 billion, right?"
"Haven't sold them yet."
Morrow replied casually.
Argo sighed. "I knew it. How could a big shot like you actually be short on cash?"
"Anyway, get me that criminal list as soon as possible."
No matter how tight money was, Morrow would never borrow from Argo.
He knew her funds had always been dedicated to supporting orphanages.
"Got it."
Argo agreed and promptly hung up to get to work.
Just as Morrow put away his phone, he noticed Kalluto beside him, ears perked up, listening intently.
Noticing Morrow's gaze, Kalluto slightly turned his head and calmly remarked, "An hour, huh? That's pretty slow."
"It's not slow."
Morrow said helplessly. "Look at me, I've been sitting here searching for so long and got nothing. Some things are best left to the professionals."
"Hmm."
Kalluto thought for a moment and found Morrow's reasoning sound. A glimmer of anticipation flashed in his eyes as he eagerly added, "Once the list is ready, we can start making money. Hopefully, we can earn 50 billion quickly."
"We don't need that much."
Morrow gently shook his head. "First, let's see how much the golden astrolabe and Selma's Golden Scepter can fetch. We just need to cover the deposit for now."
"Mm-hmm."
Kalluto visibly relaxed.
If not for his mother's excessive demands, he never would have imagined worrying about money like this.
As long as they could resolve the deposit issue within the deadline, there was nothing more to worry about.
The rest of the money could be earned gradually.
But the most important thing, as Morrow had mentioned earlier, was finding the person they absolutely had to kill.
An hour later.
Argo sent over the criminal list right on time.
Within the top ten highest bounties, the Phantom Troupe was prominently listed.
To be precise, the top ten were all criminal organizations like the Phantom Troupe.
Morrow had assumed the Phantom Troupe would at least rank in the top three, but after seeing Argo's compiled list, he realized their total bounty only placed them fourth.
"This one."
Morrow moved the cursor and hovered over Feitan's photo.
Since he had previously tasked Argo with investigating the Phantom Troupe's movements, and due to their heist at the Yul Museum of National Treasures last year, Argo had managed to obtain photos of nearly all the Troupe's members.
In contrast, the top three criminal organizations had many members with missing photos in their profiles.
Even the organizations ranked below the Phantom Troupe had incomplete photo records for some of their members.
"What about this one?" Kalluto looked at the photo of Feitan, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
Morrow's gaze turned slightly cold as he said, "He's the one I must kill."
"Hmm?"
Hearing this, Kalluto's expression instantly became serious, committing Feitan's appearance firmly to memory.
So this is the person...
The Phantom Troupe!
As he saw the information on the screen, something suddenly occurred to Kalluto, and his eyes changed, becoming somewhat grave.
Noticing Kalluto's reaction, Morrow remarked, "Seems you know about the Phantom Troupe."
"Father mentioned them last year."
Kalluto frowned slightly, his tone carrying a trace of gravity. "It was the first time Father seriously warned us not to provoke the Phantom Troupe."
"..."
Hearing this, Morrow also recalled that incident.
"Then..."
"It's fine."
Kalluto noticed Morrow's fleeting hesitation and quickly suppressed his solemn expression, replacing it with determination. "Father only gave a warning back then, not an order."
He knew how important finding Feitan was to Morrow.
So important that Morrow had already brought it up with him last year.
Now that he could finally help Morrow with this, how could Kalluto possibly back down?
Of course.
If Silva had issued it as an "order" back then, they would have had to follow the family rule and avoid provoking the Phantom Troupe.
"Good."
Morrow's earlier hesitation had only been because he didn't want to put Kalluto in a difficult position.
Fortunately, as Kalluto said, Silva's words had been a warning rather than a command.
Otherwise, given the Zoldyck Family's strict adherence to rules, even someone as rebellious as Illumi would have had to comply with Silva's order without question, let alone the usually obedient Kalluto.
Kalluto then asked, "So when do we go to kill Feitan?"
"Not yet. And it's not 'we'; I'll go alone. You just need to help me find Feitan."
Morrow couldn't help but smile faintly at Kalluto, easily sensing his eagerness.
Perhaps it was a mix of wanting to help Morrow accomplish this quickly, the need to earn the deposit soon, and even a desire to grow stronger through battle.
Before boarding the airship, he had heard Kalluto mention the "family training."
This time, being able to bring Kalluto out was also closely tied to this so-called training.
It made him think of Kalluto joining the Phantom Troupe in the original story.
But training was one thing; suicide was another.
When it came to assassinating Feitan, Morrow would never let Kalluto participate in the fight.
The risk was far too high.
With Kalluto's current strength, Feitan could kill him in an instant.
Hearing Morrow's words, Kalluto didn't ask why, though his disappointment was hard to conceal.
"Kalluto, just helping me find Feitan is already a huge favor. For now, let's focus on our first target."
Morrow briefly moved past the topic, then scanned the rankings ahead, mostly criminal organizations.
Groups were out of the question.
Skipping past the syndicates, he soon fixed his gaze on the top fifty of the bounty list.
The criminals in this range had bounties around 2 billion.
With such high bounties, their strength was likely nothing to scoff at.
From here, they would pick one and have Kanzai or Menchi use the Hunter website's functions to gather as much intel as possible on the target's abilities. It doesn't have to be overly detailed, but at least there needs to be a foundation.
Although Morrow defined this as an upgrade, it didn't mean he thought it would be simple or easy.
Taking it seriously and treating it with gravity would only be beneficial, never harmful.
He didn't want to capsize in a ditch.
Morrow quickly set his sights on a target.
The serial killer, Bazel Hernandez.
Ranked 52nd, with a bounty of 1.98 billion.