What should you do if you find a stranger in your home?
- Fight
- Items (√)
- Talk
- Escape
As the resident, the man had just pulled out his phone, ready to call the police at any moment. The stranger on the sofa had already stood up, his smile as bright as his blonde hair, and greeted the resident familiarly, "Hello, sorry to bother you."
The stranger appeared to be around the same age as the resident. Based on the stranger's demeanor, the resident couldn't help but suspect that the man might be a friend he hadn't seen in years.
However, besides the resident himself and the young lady he lived with, no third person should have a key to this apartment. How did this blonde fellow get in?
"A pleasure to meet you." The stranger's gaze, as if casually, swept over the resident's hand clutching his phone in his pocket. With a broad smile, he extended his right hand, "My name is Kalluto."
Kalluto extended his right hand. If the resident shook hands with him, he would have to let go of his phone in his pocket and also extend his right hand.
Someone who intrudes into one's home for the first time is naturally someone to be wary of.
The resident recalled the young lady's unusual identity and had some psychological preparation for the current situation. He did not release his right hand, gripped his phone tightly, and took it out of his pocket, "I don't care what your purpose is for being here. Trespassing is illegal, and I can call the police right now."
"No need to be so tense," Kalluto retracted his right hand with a smile. "I'm not here to cause trouble. I just want to chat with you about Meruem."
Upon hearing the name "Meruem," the resident's expression immediately turned solemn. His reaction was exactly in line with Kalluto's investigation results: this resident knew Meruem.
There were almost no traces of Meruem living here, but not entirely. In the bathroom, there were Meruem's usual unscented toiletries. The master bedroom was decorated in a style favored by ordinary girls, while the second bedroom was where the resident's life was most evident.
A man and a woman alone in a room, did they really just live together, or had they never slept together?
Based on their looks, it was quite possible, as Meruem was someone who judged by appearance.
"Meruem is missing," Kalluto deepened his smile. "I'd like to know if you have any information."
"...Who are you?" The other party, however, seemed to relax slightly, as if he had expected a stranger to come looking for him.
"It seems she didn't completely hide you." Kalluto's smile suddenly vanished, as if he had completely shed his disguise. His lively tone turned exceptionally calm, "I wonder how many inappropriate things she actually said? I've been too lenient with her lately; it's time for a proper punishment. When we catch her..."
"I'm eager to see how much weight you hold with her," Kalluto said, turning his back to the resident and casually walking to the sofa. He picked up a notebook on the sofa, "That's why I won't touch you now. I want to show her this gesture, and then torment you in front of her, making her regret it."
The notebook that had been in the drawer was now in Kalluto's hand, indicating that Kalluto had already read it. The preceding words were likely not just empty threats. The resident's expression stiffened, and he lunged forward to snatch the notebook.
Unexpectedly, the gap between them far exceeded his expectations. The resident was instantly subdued, unable to move at all. Kalluto inserted the cellphone antenna with the little devil wings into the resident's nape, fulfilling the conditions for Nen ability activation. The resident was completely under Kalluto's control.
"Just kidding," Kalluto's eyes crinkled into a smile. He took the resident's phone, sat back on the sofa, and began browsing the contents of the resident's phone. "Oh, the phone number she left you is indeed different from the one she left me. No call history, no text message records. She's as cautious as ever."
Finding no valuable content, Kalluto returned the phone to the resident and commanded, "Use your phone to call her. Just say, 'The spiders have found me.'"
Under the influence of Nen, the resident dialed Meruem's number as instructed. The call went unanswered, and the waiting tone turned into a system prompt: "Sorry, the user you have dialed is out of service or temporarily unavailable. Please try again later."
"Never mind," Kalluto changed his instruction, "Hang up the phone and sit down. Let's chat."
The resident sat on the sofa opposite Kalluto, and then Kalluto began explaining how he found the place.
Due to Chrollo's proposed "third possibility," Kalluto abandoned his original investigative breakthrough point of "focusing on the child Meruem took," and shifted his investigative focus to Meruem herself. He not only investigated recent events but also traced back in reverse chronological order. Finally, in the period before Kalluto met Meruem, he found clues.
The resident's ex-girlfriend had posted statements online that seemed to have seen Meruem, with keywords such as "silver hair" and "beautiful" appearing in the same content, which were captured by Kalluto's program.
After further investigation, following the clues, although Meruem left no traces, the resident, as an ordinary person, was easily tracked by professionals.
"During the investigation, I discovered something interesting, which is why I wanted to sit down and chat with you," Kalluto adjusted himself to a more comfortable sitting posture, leaning back against the sofa, his head resting on the backrest as he gazed at the ceiling. "Have you ever seen the movie 'Joker'? The entire story originates from a tragic event, one bad day. Losing his wife, falling into chemical waste and disfiguring his face, that fated day turned an ordinary citizen into the most vicious criminal."
"The day before, I was walking on the road and was hit by a falling billboard, and I was hospitalized. The next morning, at dawn, our house caught fire, and the whole family was hospitalized. Misfortunes kept 'falling from the sky,' quite unlucky, isn't it? Very much like 'one bad day.'"
"Not long after, desperate, you 'luckily' met her, and she 'kindly' extended a helping hand to you, becoming your only support."
"Is this how you repaid her?" Kalluto held up the notebook from the sofa and opened it to a page. "This is the first time I've seen a recipe that looks like an experimental operation manual. The ingredients and time are precisely measured, along with corresponding phenomena. If you follow the steps strictly, the taste should be consistent. Hmm, I can somewhat understand why she chose you."
"No, I'm not here to shatter your illusion of her and make you question her," Kalluto tore off the cover page of the notebook, which contained the resident's additional written messages outside of the recipe. "You don't have that qualification. I'm not jealous, you know. You're not my 'love rival' at all."
Kalluto walked into the kitchen. Under the control of the antenna, the resident also followed, watching helplessly as Kalluto turned on the gas stove. Flames spread across the paper, and the smell of burning was similar to that of his burned home. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
"Alas, who told me I like such bad women?" This time, Kalluto placed a corner of the entire notebook into the flame. "If it weren't for that billboard, you would have 'reunited' with your family long ago. Now, it's time to say 'goodbye' to them."
"Bye-bye, nameless guy."
Elsewhere, a clandestine research facility.
A knock sounded at the door. Illumi swiped his card and opened the hospital room door.
After interrogating Franc and performing a secondary verification by transplanting a Scarlet Eye onto another person, he had to admit that Franc's Scarlet Eye transplant surgery was indeed very successful. Non-Kurta clan members could also enter the Scarlet Eye state only when emotionally agitated, just like the Kurta clan members, and could control the state at will.
Franc could maintain the Scarlet Eye because his mind was in a constant state of excitement.
After all, there was no precedent for Scarlet Eye transplants in this world. Seeing Franc's Scarlet Eye, Meruem thought that the Scarlet Eye was like the Sharingan on the set of "Fire Naruto." As long as it was transplanted in the "open eye" state, it could maintain the "open eye" state. Kakashi Hatake from "Fire Naruto" often had insufficient chakra because he couldn't close his Sharingan.
Being able to control the switch at will was objectively a good thing. However, after brain surgery, Meruem was unable to mobilize her emotions.
Meruem had considered solutions and the possibility of failure, but she had never anticipated the reduction in "night vision."
Well, even the wisest person makes mistakes. And Meruem, with her ordinary intelligence, was no exception.
At least the loss wasn't too severe.
The brain surgery severed her negative emotions. Meruem did not fall into obvious low spirits and proceeded with the experiment as planned. She disabled the monitoring equipment in the room, locked herself in the room, and no one knew what she was doing except herself. She instructed that no one should disturb her, only knocking on the door herself.
She experimented alone for over an hour. When the hospital room door opened, both Illumi and Franc saw that her eyes had successfully turned into Scarlet Eyes, seemingly dyed with a vibrant crimson hue. Her cheeks were slightly flushed.
[Scarlet Eye Activated]
[Scarlet Eye State Buff: All Attributes Increased]
[Skill 1 Unlocked: Absolute Time]
[Skill Description: A skill that can only be used in the Scarlet Eye state. Any type of Nen ability can be utilized to 100%. For every second the ability is in use, one hour of lifespan is deducted.]
She had gambled correctly; physical emotions could also trigger the Scarlet Eye. Even if the effect was brief, she had special eye drops to extend the duration of the Scarlet Eye.
When challenging the Kurta clan dungeon, Meruem obtained a bottle of eye drops each from the Kurta clan elder and Pairo. One of them was for "outdoor testing." According to the original setting, after applying that bottle of eye drops, if she developed Scarlet Eyes within 24 hours, her eyes would not revert to their original color even if she calmed down, only returning to normal after the 24 hours of the eye drops expired.
Knowing too much detail would be unreasonable. Meruem concealed most of the information, merely expressing suspicion that the Kurta clan had drugs related to the Scarlet Eye. To ascertain the effects, she conducted an experiment on the third person who had received the Scarlet Eye transplant.
The research and replication of the eye drops were included in the initial transaction between Meruem and Illumi. Meruem needed eye drops that could maintain the Scarlet Eye for a long time, and she also wanted to know if the other bottle of eye drops Pairo usually used had any special eye protection effects. New eyes needed to be cared for carefully.
Finding a cooperative research institution was not difficult. The key was to do it discreetly and without attracting attention. Such troublesome matters were outsourced to the eldest son of the Zoldyck family, which was more convenient. After all, the eldest son of the Zoldyck family had a good reputation for executing tasks within the Zoldyck family. He had become independent and had taken on many private jobs, with a booming career.
...Hmph.
Whoever has the ability lives comfortably, regardless of their character. This world is like that, and so is the "real world."
"I've found the knack," Meruem said to Illumi and Franc standing by the door.
"Congratulations," only Illumi responded.
As Meruem spoke, she raised her hand and used [Steal Heart] on Franc. Franc's heart was now in her hand.
Illumi grabbed Franc's shoulder and threw him into the room. Meruem crushed his heart and flicked her wrist, sending blood flying in a crimson arc at the feet of the fallen Franc.
"You go handle the traces and take care of anyone along the way," Meruem instructed Illumi. "I'll take care of the rest."
"No problem," Illumi closed the hospital room door.
As their footsteps gradually faded, Franc's fingers twitched, and then he began to gasp for air, slowly getting up from the ground.
He had performed more than just an eye transplant on himself; he had also made some modifications, such as adding an extra heart for himself.
I knew it would turn out like this... Tsk, don't underestimate doctors!
The hospital room door could only be opened from the outside. Franc took out a surgical knife, reinforced it with "Nen," and inserted it into the door seam. With a downward slash, he cut the lock and quickly pulled the door open.
Facing Meruem and Illumi standing at the doorway, Franc froze on the spot.
They pretended to leave, but they had actually used "Zetsu" to conceal their presence!
"Don't underestimate professional assassins, Mr. Franc."
Franc was truly dead this time. His transplanted Scarlet Eyes were gouged out, and the entire research facility perished, consumed by flames in an explosion.