Death Notice Book 7: Chapter 31: Stimulation

“Boom!” A brilliant flame burst forth on the computer screen, then the entire picture shook violently.

The ground where the basement was located trembled fiercely, and dust danced like a roaring dragon, filling the entire underground floor. The large bluestone walls wrapped in a layer of iron twisted and deformed. Fortunately, the prison cell was exceptionally sturdy and did not completely collapse in this explosion. Even the surveillance camera that Qin Lun had flicked into the corner of the outer wall was not damaged.

Of course, this was also because Qin Lun had not used too much explosive. Back at the Auction Building, he had already discovered that a small amount of explosive could not cause much harm to the Troupe members. This trap was not intended to kill these Troupe members with explosives.

The smoke in the basement slowly cleared. The medical bed where Uvogin had been lying was long gone. The man, once as strong as a lion, was blown into pieces by the explosives inside him. Bits of flesh and dirty blood formed extremely bloody abstract paintings on the twisted walls, making anyone who saw them feel sick.

“Whoosh!” Six blurry figures shook off the dust from their bodies and stood up from the pile of rubble.

“Uvogin!” Nobunaga’s eyes looked vacant as he removed a piece of flesh stuck to his arm. Seeing his former companion in this state was somewhat hard for this swordsman from Meteor Street to accept.

“Bastard!” Finkes snarled, clenching his fists and shouting. His eyes suddenly shifted, and his figure disappeared from the spot, throwing a punch towards Dalzollene, who had just gotten up at the back.

“Finkes, keep him alive!” Machi called out calmly.

“Crack!” Dalzollene was greatly alarmed. He barely had time to cross his arms in front of his chest before Finkes’s punch sent him flying.

“Captain Dalzollene, what happened?” The Nostrade Family guards, resting in another room, had now rushed over. They had heard the explosion, but they did not yet know that the Troupe had attacked.

“Everyone, run! They are members of the Troupe!” Dalzollene endured the pain and warned everyone.

Melody and the others were shocked. Without hesitation, they dragged Dalzollene and turned to flee. However, this basement was originally designed to hold prisoners, with only one entrance and exit. Trying to retreat now only made things cumbersome.

…

“Oh, so this is Melody’s ability?” Qin Lun’s eyes lit up as he stared at the computer screen. “It seems I underestimated this Music Hunter…”

A moment later, Qin Lun closed the laptop, took a deep breath, and a strange light flickered in his eyes.

The fight in the basement ended quickly. Dalzollene, already seriously injured, was captured alive by Finkes. Squala, Rinshan, and Basho were killed. Only Melody escaped, relying on the unique ability of her right hand.

…

“Who killed Uvogin!” Nobunaga lifted Dalzollene, who had lost the ability to resist, with one hand. A trace of cruelty flashed in his eyes.

“Cough, cough, kill me!” Dalzollene spat blood foam and muttered weakly.

“Nobunaga, let him go. He’s bleeding heavily; you’ll kill him like this!” Machi said flatly. “Let me treat his injuries. We’ll take him back to Pakunoda and Feitan; they will get the information out of him.”

“Nobunaga, put him down!” Shalnark grabbed Nobunaga’s arm and nodded at him. “The most important thing now is to find the one who killed Uvogin.”

“Hmph!” Nobunaga threw Dalzollene aside hatefully, like a sack, to Finkes.

Seeing that his companions had calmed down, Shalnark took out his phone.

“Leader!”

“… Did someone die?” Hearing Shalnark’s tone, the other end of the phone fell silent for a moment before a sigh was heard.

“Yes, it’s Uvogin!” Shalnark, who usually had a sunny face, now had no smile. His eyes were wide open, showing an expression as stiff as a puppet.

“What about the enemy?” Kuroro asked calmly.

“Three dead, one escaped, and one alive!” Shalnark said calmly. “Leader, it seems the person who killed Uvogin already knew we were coming!”

“Shalnark, do you think there’s a traitor among us?” Kuroro paused before continuing to ask.

“No, I don’t think so. If a traitor had informed the Mafia, they shouldn’t have only used such minor tricks.” Shalnark said expressionlessly. “Leader, we’ve encountered a very dangerous enemy this time. He wants to provoke us!”

“Hmm, based on what you’ve described, the Nostrade Family responsible for guarding there didn’t seem to know you were coming. Our opponent is simply using them!” Kuroro said indifferently.

“Leader, what should we do next?” Shalnark asked calmly. “Should we return first and let Feitan interrogate the captive?”

“No need. We are coming over now. You few, investigate the hotel where the Nostrade Family is staying and find that female fortune-teller named Neon! She might be the key. The opponent probably got the information from her.”

Kuroro said slowly, “Even before the Auction started, someone has been scheming against us, even going so far as to use the Shadow Beasts and the Nostrade Family as bait. If he wanted to anger us, then… he has succeeded!”

…

“Kurapika, Melody, it’s really good to see you safe and sound!” Qin Lun pushed the door open and entered the hall, looking at the two with a smile.

“You bastard!” Kurapika’s eyes were red as he rushed over like the wind, grabbing Qin Lun by the collar. “You knew the Troupe would find Captain Dalzollene and the others, didn’t you?”

After his eyes turned red, it seemed the Life Energy around him had grown much larger. It looks like his Specialization ability can’t be used for long. Facing Kurapika’s accusation, Qin Lun’s thoughts drifted to another aspect.

“Of course not. I’m not a fortune-teller like Miss Neon!” Qin Lun raised an eyebrow and sighed with a heavy expression. “It’s fortunate that you and Melody are alright.”

“Kurapika, calm down!” Melody pulled the boy’s arm, turning to look at Qin Lun warily. “If you didn’t know, then why did you place explosives in the basement!”

“It was just a precaution!” Qin Lun spread his hands and said calmly. “The Troupe members are too powerful. If they really found Uvogin, that small amount of explosive wouldn’t hurt them much. Instead, it could create a chance for you to escape.”

Kurapika and Melody were both stunned. Thinking about it carefully, it made sense. If at that time, when Melody and the others heard the explosion, they had fled directly instead of rushing to the basement, probably most of them would still be alive.

Ultimately, it was their lack of vigilance and underestimation of the Troupe.

“If you hadn’t blown up Uvogin, the Troupe might not have killed them!” Kurapika slowly released Qin Lun’s collar, clenched his fist, and slammed it hard against the wall. “No matter what, you should have warned them.”

“You still hold such naive thoughts!” Qin Lun’s face finally darkened. He forcibly turned the boy’s shoulders and pointed at his chest, shouting, “The one who got them killed isn’t me, it’s you! Your weakness got them killed!”

“Nonsense!” Kurapika shouted sharply.

“I’m not talking nonsense!” A sarcastic smile appeared on Qin Lun’s face. “Dalzollene and the others were already planning to give up the fight back at Gorde Valley. They knew their limits well. It was you who were overconfident in your abilities, which kept them in danger.”

Kurapika trembled all over and stood frozen in place.

“Qin Lun, this was our collective decision. You can’t just blame Kurapika!” Melody stood by the boy’s side and comforted him softly.

“I haven’t finished. Everyone’s desire to avenge Ivanov and the others is understandable. Saying it was a collective decision isn’t wrong.” Qin Lun shook his head faintly.

“But Kurapika knows very well in his heart that Dalzollene and the others don’t have the ability to fight the Troupe. Even after capturing Uvogin, he shouldn’t have continued to involve everyone. He was too careless, and as a result, his companions paid with their lives.”

“But…”

“Melody, don’t say anymore. He’s right; it’s my fault.” Just as Melody was about to retort, Kurapika reached out and stopped her. A flash of grief passed through the boy’s eyes. “I should have left everyone as soon as I saw the Troupe. Then you wouldn’t have been in danger.”

Melody fell silent. As an experienced Hunter, she couldn’t refute this point. In fact, after capturing Uvogin, Dalzollene urgently contacted the Mafia because he wanted to get rid of this hot potato. He just didn’t expect the Troupe to arrive so quickly.

“Never mind, let me show you something!” Seeing the two in front of him fall silent, Qin Lun sighed, took a memory card from his pocket, inserted it into the computer, and played the recording of the explosion at the Auction Building.

Qin Lun had sent this recording of the explosion to Yin and Liza, who then handed it over to the Mafia.

However, Kurapika and the others hadn’t seen it yet. Although after capturing Uvogin, the lion-like man bluntly told them that the Troupe had killed all the guards and guests in the auction hall, they didn’t know the specific details.

Seeing Franklin turn the auction hall into a slaughterhouse with his hand machine guns, seeing that sea of blood with bodies floating everywhere, seeing Shachmono and Ivanov lying in pools of blood, seeing Shizuku make so many people disappear like she was cleaning up trash with her vacuum cleaner.

Kurapika and Melody couldn’t help but tremble all over. They finally understood deeply the cruelty and brutality of the Phantom Troupe. Although they had witnessed it once in the valley, that still fell within the scope of combat. The guests in the auction hall, however, were unarmed. This was completely a senseless massacre.

“Kurapika, I told you before, beasts like these cannot be restrained unless they are physically eliminated.” Qin Lun patted the boy’s shoulder. “If you don’t want other innocents to be harmed, you have no choice but to get your own hands covered in blood.”

“Bastards, these bastards!” Kurapika suddenly stood up and slammed his fist hard against the wall. He didn’t use Nen to protect his hand, and blood slowly trickled from his knuckles.

Looking at the bloody fist print on the wall, the corner of Qin Lun’s mouth slowly curled up into a smile.