At the suburban airport, the afternoon sun cast long shadows from the buildings.
Sophia sat on a bench by the flower bed outside the terminal, her eyes fixed on the flow of people entering and leaving, her fingers idly toying with the weeds beside her.
She had been waiting here for two hours.
The airport announcements sounded every half hour, mingling with the roar of engines and the noise of the crowd.
Just as she began to wonder if the Genei Ryodan would appear or if they had already left, two familiar figures walked over from the direction of the main road.
Leo and Shizuku.
Sophia stood up and walked over to meet them, her face filled with confusion.
"Master, Shizuku, why are you both here? Didn't we say we'd split up?"
Leo smiled, his tone relaxed.
"It's resolved."
"Resolved?"
Sophia paused for a moment, then immediately realized what he meant.
"Shanark and Kortopi?"
"Yes," Leo nodded. "They're both dead."
Sophia looked at Shizuku, who adjusted her glasses and nodded calmly in confirmation.
The three of them walked to a relatively quiet corner by the airport.
Leo briefly recounted what happened—how Shizuku accidentally discovered the targets, how she was attacked, how he arrived in time, and the final cleanup.
"That's too much of a coincidence," Sophia said after listening, patting her chest with lingering fear.
"It's a good thing you made it in time, Master, otherwise Shizuku would have almost been caught."
"There was indeed an element of luck," Leo said candidly.
"But Shizuku performed very well. She was able to hold on for so long against two Phantom Troupe members."
Shizuku tilted her head, seemingly trying to recall the battle just now, but quickly gave up—her short-term memory was acting up again.
"Since it's resolved," Leo looked at the two of them.
"You two should head back first. If you don't want to go back, you can also go do whatever you want. My Cultivate isn't finished yet, I need to continue."
He paused and added, "Have Nico continue to keep an eye on the Phantom Troupe's movements, and notify me immediately if there's any news."
Sophia nodded. "Mm, got it. By the way, Master, Nico found information on a few wanted criminals two days ago in the southern part of the Ejin Continent. I was planning to take Shizuku with me to deal with them."
Leo patted her shoulder. "That's fine. But remember, safety first. If there's danger, retreat immediately; don't push yourself."
"Understood," Shizuku also nodded. "I will look after Sophia."
She said this so seriously that Sophia couldn't help but laugh.
"It's not certain who will be looking after whom."
The three chatted for a few more moments, then walked toward different boarding gates.
Leo's airship was headed to Kent City, while Sophia and Shizuku's were returning toward the Heavens Arena.
Before boarding, Leo looked back at the two girls' retreating figures.
Sophia was excitedly saying something to Shizuku, gesturing with her hands; Shizuku was listening quietly, nodding occasionally.
The corners of Leo's mouth curled up slightly, and he turned to walk into the passageway.
Inside the airship cabin, Leo sat by the window, watching the city outline below gradually shrink, calculating in his mind.
Uvogin, Franklin, Shanark, Kortopi—in a short period, the Phantom Troupe had already lost four key members.
Adding the member who died in the battle at the Xililike Auction House, nearly half of the Spider's twelve legs had been broken.
But this would not be the end; it was just the beginning.
Given the Phantom Troupe's modus operandi, although they were scattered, they would have regular contact.
Uvogin and Franklin losing contact, and now with Shanark and Kortopi also missing, four people losing contact simultaneously—this could absolutely not be covered up.
"At most, one month," Leo whispered to himself.
Within a month, the Phantom Troupe would definitely detect the anomaly.
Once they realized someone was hunting the Spiders, they would go from being Hunters to prey—becoming more vigilant, more hidden, and potentially even setting traps.
By then, it would be difficult to find opportunities to catch them alone.
"Need to hurry."
He needed stronger power and more intelligence.
Nico needed to intensify the search; if he could lock onto two more targets and eliminate them before the Phantom Troupe reacted...
Leo closed his eyes, began to adjust his breathing, and entered a shallow state of Cultivate.
[Rank: 51 (68%)] Only 32% left until Rank 52.
Shimeile Wetland should be enough.
At the same time, on another airship, Sophia and Shizuku were sitting side by side.
Sophia was holding her phone, messaging Nico to explain the situation; Shizuku was staring blankly at the clouds outside the window.
"Shizuku," Sophia asked after sending the message, turning her head. "During the fight earlier, were you scared?"
Shizuku thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I don't remember."
Sophia chuckled. True, with Shizuku's memory, she might have forgotten the details as soon as the battle ended.
"However," Shizuku suddenly said. "That person's ability is very dangerous. If you get stabbed, you'll turn into a Puppet."
She remembered this.
Sophia's expression turned serious. "Master said that Manipulation-type abilities often have a one-hit-kill effect. In the future, if you encounter this type of enemy, you must keep your distance."
"Mm," Shizuku nodded, then asked, "When we go to the Ejin Continent, who are we going to kill?"
"A B-Rank wanted criminal, codenamed'Scorpion'," Sophia brought up the information Nico had sent.
"He specializes in using poison and has committed multiple murders in several southern cities. Nico has locked onto his activity range."
"Poison, huh..." Shizuku adjusted her glasses. "The vacuum cleaner can't suck up living things, but it can suck up poison."
Sophia's eyes lit up. "That's right! Your ability perfectly counters him!"
The two girls began discussing tactics.
Sophia did most of the talking, while Shizuku occasionally added a sentence, but every one of them hit the mark.
Two days later.
Kent City, edge of the Shimeile Wetland.
Leo stood at the place he had left a month ago.
The wetland was still filled with fog, and the scent of decay rushed towards him.
He didn't hesitate, stepped inside, and the days that followed were repetitive yet fulfilling.
He would enter the wetland at sunrise to hunt various strange creatures; at sunset, he would return to the edge to process the prey, eat, and rest briefly.
Combat became routine, and his Life Energy grew steadily.
[Rank: 52 (20%)]
The creatures in the wetland seemed to have remembered this scourge.
Some intelligent species began to avoid the areas where he frequently operated, but the wetland was large enough that there were always new prey.
Meanwhile, at the Heavens Arena.
Nico's life was as regular as a clock.
Waking up at six in the morning, training for two hours; from eight to twelve, operating the computer to search for intelligence; participating in Heavens Arena matches in the afternoon; continuing to train or analyze data in the evening.
His progress was visible to the naked eye.
He had lost another ten kilograms, his originally round face now had clear contours, and his body had developed and grown taller again.
His record at the Heavens Arena was steadily rising, and he had already reached the 80th floor—although he was still far from the goal of the 150th floor, this speed had already surprised even Sophia.
More importantly, his intelligence work.
Nico had built a massive information network, using the dark web, the Hunter Association's public database, and even some illegal channels to collect all clues related to the "Genei Ryodan".
Things were also progressing smoothly for Sophia and Shizuku.
The "Scorpion" in the southern Ejin Continent was caught by them during their third ambush.
That guy was indeed cunning, having set up various deadly poison traps in his hideout, but Shizuku's vacuum cleaner countered him almost perfectly—poison, poisonous fog, and even poisoned hidden weapons were all sucked up completely.
Having lost his greatest reliance, the Scorpion couldn't last five minutes under Sophia's fierce assault.
After their first victory, the two solved two more C-Rank wanted criminals in succession, their cooperation becoming increasingly tacit.
Everything seemed to be developing in a good direction.
Until—one month later.
Bartochia Republic, a certain city.
Ten o'clock at night, a cluster of abandoned, unfinished buildings on the edge of the city.
This place was originally planned as a commercial district, but the developer's capital chain broke, the project was abandoned halfway, and it became a temporary shelter for homeless people and criminals.
Inside one of the buildings, there were no walls, only concrete pillars and exposed steel bars.
The night wind passed through the holes, making a wooing sound.
Pakunoda leaned against a pillar, holding a cell phone in her hand.
The light from the screen reflected on her face, adding a touch of killing intent to her already cold face.
She pressed the dial button.
"Beep... Beep... Beep..." Busy signal.
Thirty seconds later, it hung up automatically.
Pakunoda frowned slightly and dialed again.
The same busy signal.
This was already her fourth attempt tonight to contact Uvogin and Franklin.
According to the Phantom Troupe's regulations, members must report their whereabouts at least once every two months; in special circumstances, they do not need to maintain contact.
Although Uvogin was reckless, he wouldn't be sloppy about such things; Franklin was an even more cautious person.
Having lost contact for over two months, it had been too long.
She turned around and looked toward the other end of the floor.