In the suburbs of Holun City, Bartochia Republic.
The Phoenix Manor stood atop a gentle slope, its red tiles and white walls striking under the afternoon sun.
This sprawling manor nominally belonged to a retired wealthy merchant.
But in reality, the personnel entering and exiting over the past month clearly exceeded normal bounds—vehicles were frequent, guards were strict, and they were all sinister-looking characters.
At the edge of the woods, three hundred meters northwest of the manor.
Leo lowered his binoculars and handed them to Sophia beside him.
The two had been lurking in this wooded area for two days, and through taking turns observing, they had basically figured out the manor's operational patterns.
"Twenty-three guards, divided into three shifts, seven to eight people per shift. Weapons are mainly pistols, shotguns, and assault rifles; no heavy firepower detected."
Sophia reported in a low voice, her tone steady and clear.
"The target, Schickum, appears on the second-floor balcony every day at 3:00 PM and stays for about ten minutes—it should be his smoking time. He basically stays inside the main building at other times and rarely goes out."
She opened the notebook she carried with her, which contained a hand-drawn layout of the manor and the guards' patrol routes.
"Two at the front door, two at the back door, and one stationed at each of the east and west sides. The remaining guards patrol inside and outside the main building, rotating every half hour."
"The patrol routes are fixed, but there are slight timing deviations—the guards on the west side are in the habit of changing shifts two minutes early."
Leo took the notebook and looked at it.
Sophia's notes were detailed and organized, with key points marked in different colored pens.
She was mainly responsible for the reconnaissance work over these four days, with Leo only providing guidance at key junctures.
"What about the analysis?"
Leo asked.
Sophia thought for a moment and replied.
"Schickum is very cautious but relies too heavily on the sense of security provided by the number of guards. His choice of hideout exposes this—the manor's terrain is open with good visibility, which is good for defense, but once breached, there is a lack of complex terrain to cover a retreat. Moreover, although there are many guards, they are undertrained, their patrol patterns are obvious, and their vigilance is lax."
She paused and added.
"The most reasonable route for entry is from the east wall—there is a large tree there whose branches and leaves can obscure vision; after climbing over, it's only fifteen meters to the side door of the main building."
"The recommended time for entry is 3:05 PM, when the west side guards have just changed shifts and their attention is most dispersed, while the east side guards will be patrolling at their furthest point."
Leo nodded.
Sophia's analysis was basically on point; although there were still some details to refine, it was quite good for a first-time independent action plan.
"Let's go with this plan."
Leo said.
"You are responsible for the perimeter. Guard the manor exits, and if anyone tries to escape or reinforcements arrive, intercept them. But remember—prioritize your own safety, and if the situation goes wrong, retreat."
"Understood!"
3:00 PM.
The door to the balcony on the second floor of the manor was pushed open, and a bald man wearing a silk bathrobe walked out.
He was around fifty, with a slightly protruding belly and the puffiness on his face that comes from long-term debauchery.
This was Schickum—a legitimate businessman on the surface, who secretly controlled a human trafficking network.
He lit a cigar, leaned against the railing, and squinted at the scenery within the manor with a relaxed expression.
Just then—
"BOOM!!!!"
A huge crashing sound came from the east side of the main building!
The entire building shook!
The cigar in Schickum's hand fell to the ground.
He turned his head in astonishment, and before he could see what had happened, the balcony's glass door was smashed by a punch from the outside!
Leo stood at the edge of the balcony, not even a speck of dust on him.
"You—"
Before Schickum could finish the word, Leo had already appeared in front of him.
A precise hand strike landed on the side of his neck, the force controlled just right—knocking him unconscious, but not fatal.
The whole process took less than three seconds.
Leo picked up the unconscious Schickum and turned to walk inside.
Noisy footsteps and shouting could already be heard downstairs; the guards had realized something was wrong.
He didn't take the stairs but jumped directly from the second-floor window, landing on the front yard lawn.
Seven guards were rushing out of the main building, and seeing their boss being carried by Leo, they were all stunned.
The next second, they all raised their guns—
Leo moved.
He walked straight towards them, his body covered in Nen. In the state of "Ken," ordinary pistol bullets felt like being tickled.
He was like a tiger among a flock of sheep; with every attack, someone fell—clean, swift, and without hesitation.
Ten seconds.
All seven guards lay on the ground, some screaming while clutching broken bones, others having died on the spot.
Leo didn't deliberately try to kill them, but his force wasn't light either; those who couldn't take it and died deserved it.
He carried Schickum towards the main gate of the manor.
A few more waves of guards rushed out along the way, but the result was the same—they couldn't even make him stop.
The manor was in chaos.
Outside the manor, Sophia was quietly lying in wait at the predetermined interception point—a fork in the road leading to the main road.
She maintained "Zetsu," her presence completely suppressed, like a stone in the woods.
Three minutes later, two armed guards fled in a panic from the manor's side door, running and looking back, their faces full of fear.
They were clearly terrified by the commotion inside the manor and had decided to flee.
Just as the two ran past the fork in the road—
Sophia flashed out from behind a tree with a fierce flying kick!
The first person was kicked directly in the chest, flew backward, hit a tree, and passed out.
Before the second person could react, Sophia spun around and followed up with a precise hand strike to the back of his neck.
Both fell to the ground; the whole process took less than two seconds.
Sophia stood in place, neither pursuing nor relaxing her vigilance.
She maintained a combat stance, her ears twitching, catching any sound in the surroundings.
A few minutes later, Leo walked out of the main gate of the manor, carrying the blood-covered Schickum.
Schickum was still unconscious; most of that blood was someone else's.
Sophia immediately went to meet him.
"Master, is this the wanted criminal Schickum?"
Leo nodded.
"Yeah, it's done."
He looked at the two guards lying on the ground.
"What should we do with these two? Should we take them along?"
Sophia asked.
Leo thought about it. Although these guards were only accomplices, they had participated in illegal activities, so it was more appropriate to hand them over to the authorities.
"Take them. We'll hand them over together."
Sophia nodded and easily picked up the two of them, one in each hand—after several months of training, her physical fitness far exceeded that of an ordinary person.
The two walked back to the city, got into a pre-arranged vehicle at the rendezvous point, and headed straight to the airport.
On the airship, Leo did a brief review of this operation.
"The reconnaissance work was good, the intelligence was accurate, and the analysis was reasonable. But your positioning during the interception could be more concealed—although the spot you chose had good visibility, it was also easy to be discovered. Next time, consider a higher or more off-center angle."
Sophia listened carefully and took out her notebook to write it down.
"Also, when subduing those two guards, the force of the first strike was well-controlled, but the second strike could have been lighter. We want live captives, not corpses."
"I'll remember that."
Leo looked at Sophia, who was focused on taking notes, and nodded slightly to himself.
This Disciple was truly moldable.
Over the next five months, the two traveled across various continents, hunting down one wanted criminal after another.
Their coordination became more tacit with each operation.
Sophia gradually grew from a purely supporting role into a reliable partner capable of independently handling complex intelligence, formulating preliminary plans, and even participating in low-risk combat.
Her control over Nen also became increasingly proficient.
She could now naturally maintain "Ten" even while asleep; the burst duration of "Ren" had extended from the initial few minutes to twenty minutes; and the concealment of "Zetsu" was difficult to detect even if Leo didn't deliberately perceive it.
Most importantly—she began to explore her own exclusive ability.
Although Leo didn't ask about the specific details, he could see that Sophia was gradually perfecting her own ability.
Leo didn't press for details. Everyone has their own path; excessive interference is counterproductive.
During the pursuit of a wanted criminal skilled in poison abilities, Leo allowed Sophia to participate in direct combat for the first time—of course, under his full supervision.
The result was satisfactory.
Although Sophia lacked experience, her combat instincts were good, and her judgment in critical moments was very calm.
More importantly, she began to try to use that ability she was developing, although it was still very raw.
From then on, Sophia was officially promoted from "perimeter support" to "combat member."
In five months, the two completed a total of nine pursuit operations.
During this time, they also returned to Heavens Arena to participate in a match, which they won easily.
In six of these, they successfully captured the target alive; in three, they were forced to kill them because the target and accomplices resisted fiercely—those were serious criminals with blood on their hands and no remorse, who deserved to die.
During this period, his Rank also increased by two levels, reaching [Rank: Level 44 (2%)].
The physical strengthening brought by each level up was no longer as obvious as it was initially, but the accumulation was still considerable.
Leo could feel that he was gradually approaching a certain critical point—the threshold for his body to transform to a higher level.
The accumulation of Merit Points was also very stable.
Nine operations, accumulating a total of 96 Merit Points, plus the Merit Points obtained from previous solo operations, totaling 156 points.
They were still halfway to the 300 points required to be promoted to a One-Star Hunter.
But Leo was not in a hurry. Being promoted to a One-Star Hunter was a long-term matter; being overly eager for quick success would only lead to mistakes.
June 28, 1997, in a hotel in a city on the Urubian Continent.
Sophia sat at the table organizing the intelligence files from the past few months, while Leo was browsing intelligence websites to screen for the next target.
Outside the window was the chirping of summer cicadas, and sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting striped shadows on the wooden floor.
"Master."
Sophia spoke up suddenly.
"I have a question."
"Speak."
"The wanted criminals we are hunting... some are very strong, while others are very weak. But the danger Rank ratings given by the Association sometimes feel inaccurate."
Leo put down the tablet in his hand.
"The danger Rank assessment is based on overall threat, not just pure strength. A Nen user skilled in using poison might not be able to beat an Enhancer in direct combat, but the harm they cause can be greater."
He explained.
"Moreover, the rating is based on known intelligence. Many criminals will hide their true abilities until a life-or-death moment."
Sophia nodded thoughtfully.
"I understand. Just like that 'Poison Spider' last time; the file only said she could use poison, but it didn't mention that her poison could spread through the ground—if you hadn't sensed the anomaly in advance, Master, we might have fallen for it."
"Experience needs to be accumulated."
Leo said.
"The more you see, the more naturally you'll be able to distinguish which intelligence is credible and which needs to be questioned."
Sophia nodded.
"I will work hard! I won't hold you back, Master!"
Leo smiled and didn't say anything more.
He looked out the window; the summer was long, and the road of growth was still very long.
But at least now, he wasn't walking it alone.
The new target was already on the screen.