Book 7: Chapter 22: Tragedy

“Don’t look at me like that. This is for your own good!” Qin Lun sighed as he saw the fire in Baise’s eyes. He spun slightly in his swivel chair before turning back to adjust a small “TV.”

The room they were in had pink wallpaper. Silk quilts, a large water bed, and dim, orange-red lighting created a romantic atmosphere.

Yet Baise, locked to the bedpost with novelty handcuffs, clearly felt no romance. The beauty who’d shared a brief relationship with Qin Lun was now trussed up tightly like dumpling filling. A silk sash stuffed in her mouth meant only furious eyes could express her anger and frustration.

“Mmmph!” Baise squirmed like a worm, muffled cries escaping her. Though Qin Lun couldn’t make out the exact words tangled in the gag, he guessed it wasn’t anything polite.

The water bed offered no foothold. Besides, she was an Emitter, a Manipulation Type Nen user, not an Enhancement Type. The young man’s knotwork was also clearly masterful. Even gathering her Nen energy couldn’t break her free.

This was a love hotel adjacent to the Auction Building. Qin Lun had specifically booked a room on the same floor as the auction venue, less than fifty meters away in a straight line.

While scouting the area, Qin Lun had immediately singled out this place. The staff here were discreet; they wouldn’t leak guest information. Even him supporting an unconscious Baise through the lobby hadn’t raised eyebrows, likely being mistaken for a woman who’d drunk too much.

The novelty handcuffs and ropes inside saved him the trouble of buying any.

“Alright, quiet down. You’ll thank me later!” Qin Lun turned, crossed his legs, and waved casually over his shoulder. He slipped on a headset and placed the small “TV” on the table so Baise on the bed could also see the surveillance feed.

The “TV” was no bigger than a car radio, its screen broadcasting a live feed of the Auction venue. It was actually a wireless video receiver. The camera was installed inside the head of the flesh golem disguised as Baise. From this angle, they could also see Shachmono and Ivanov beside it.

Flesh golems had limited mimicry abilities and needed remote control through consciousness and Perception. Luckily, Qin Lun had his powerful Clock Eye and “Gannett’s Left Eye,” an image detection device with superb penetrating capabilities. This prevented any immediate slip-ups in front of others.

Despite this, before the Auction started, Qin Lun still had to direct the golem to visit the ladies’ restroom several times, avoiding suspicion from Shachmono and Ivanov.

Neon’s Divination Poem mentioned possible attacks on the Auction. Unwilling to face the Phantom Troupe head-on, Qin Lun had resorted to this backup plan. It saved Baise, the beauty with whom he’d had that brief involvement, while also providing a shortcut to observe the Phantom Troupe members’ Nen Abilities.

Whether Baise might lose her lucrative bodyguard job over this if the Auction went untouched wasn’t on Qin Lun’s radar.

Right now, the timer on the monitor’s small screen indicated the scheduled start time. The Auction was about to begin formally.

Two auctioneers in evening wear stepped onto the stage. The noisy discussions within the venue slowly quieted.

One auctioneer was short and thin, with eyes that drooped at the corners and a sly smile playing on his lips. The other was enormous, easily three times wider than his companion. An impassive expression sat on a face framed by long earlobes touching his shoulders, and there was a slight hunch to his posture.

Seeing these two auctioneers step out, Qin Lun instantly snapped to attention. His eyes fixed unblinkingly on the screen, a strange smile spreading across his face.

Auctioneers, at the very least, should appear dignified, stable, and imposing, even if not handsome. These two were hardly grotesque, but ‘dignified’ and ‘imposing’ were words that couldn’t describe them at all.

Qin Lun uncrossed his legs. He leaned forward in his chair, fingers tapping lightly on the desk as his mind raced.

Yin and Liza had already relayed the information to the “Ten Dons.” Though those ten men were just representatives of the real Ten Dons, they could still make significant decisions. The truly important auction items should have been moved already.

Whether the Shadow Beasts were already mixed in among the bodyguards, however, Qin Lun didn’t know. At least, he hadn’t spotted Yin or Liza in the main hall.

The appearance of these two certainly-not-auctioneers suggested the Phantom Troupe wasn’t purely a band of thieves.

Kidnapping? Extortion? Thieves trying to do bandits’ work? A hint of anticipation flickered in Qin Lun’s eyes!

“Ahem, ladies and gentlemen, welcome!” The short, young auctioneer pressed his hands down on the podium, leaning forward. His drooping eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a weird, unsettling smirk. “Well… let’s skip the tiresome formalities!”

With that, he leaned back comfortably, closed his eyes, and covered his ears with his hands. Behind him, the massive giant expressionlessly raised his hands, pointing ten extended fingers directly towards the crowd of bidders. His fingertips suddenly snapped off and dangled, revealing ten dark, hollow openings.

“Die!” Ten streams of fiery light shot from the giant’s fingers. Innumerable tiny, bullet-like projectiles sprayed into the crowd like machine gun fire, engulfing the entire venue.

“Aahh—” Piercing shrieks and curses erupted in the auction hall. Guests near the front twisted unconsciously under the storm of gunfire before they could even turn to flee, collapsing in pools of blood.

People at the back scrambled to their feet, screaming as they rushed towards the exit doors. Rows of chairs toppled over, clattering to the floor.

The projectiles fired by the giant were terrifyingly powerful. Each round could tear through several people in succession, cutting them down like grass. The sheer speed of the slaughter meant even the guards lining the walls barely had time to draw their weapons before being gunned down one by one.

The sharp retort of bullets, screams, curses, sobs, the sickening thud-crack of bullets hitting human bodies – all mingled together. The auction hall thrummed with a grotesque symphony of death.

…

In the love hotel next to the Auction Building, Qin Lun’s eyes widened more and more, bloodshot veins creeping into them. Baise, chained to the headboard, had long stopped struggling. She stared in frozen terror at the small “TV” on the table, her body trembling uncontrollably.

“Hahahaha!” Qin Lun raised a hand to cover his face, shoulders shaking with insane laughter. Below his palm, his lips twisted into a vicious grin. His white teeth shone with a cold, sharp glint in the light.

The crazed laughter echoed jarringly in the quiet room, amplified by the dim, orange-red lighting. It created an intensely eerie mood. Baise’s gaze grew even more terrified. But this time, her attention wasn’t on the monitor screen; it was fixed squarely on Qin Lun, radiating pure dread.

“They certainly don’t waste time!” Joey hissed, desperately reining in the wild excitement inside him, his words barely escaping clenched teeth. “Qin Lun, you picked the right side this time… we just might… heh heh…”

…

“It shattered my Nen shielding, pierced right through my Nen defenses, and then shot straight into my core… such power!” Shachmono stared in disbelief at the gaping hole in his chest. He turned stiffly towards Ivanov and the “Baise” behind him, trying to shout, “Run! Warn the boss—”

Bang! Before the sentence finished, a machine-gun bullet tore through Shachmono’s temple. He was dead before he hit the floor.

Seeing his dead companion whose eyes were still open, Ivanov felt a wave of heat surge from his core, flooding his entire body. He planted his foot and whirled around, sprinting desperately for the nearest exit…

The “Baise,” however, chose the opposite path. She dropped and rolled swiftly, pulling two corpses over herself for cover. She then raised her head barely enough for one eye, trained intently forward.

She was a flesh golem, unafraid of death. Staying inside was to continue observing events unfold. Only one of the two Troupe members had revealed their Nen Ability so far. The other hadn’t intervened yet. Its purpose wasn’t fully served.

In barely half a minute, the gunfire ceased. The once raucous auction hall plunged into a chilling silence.

Pools of blood on the floor slowly merged into a vast, crimson lake. Countless bodies, twisted in horrific final poses, lay scattered across this bloody landscape. It was a horrifying scene only Hell itself might host.

“So boring!” The giant – Franklin – lowered his hands. The severed ends of his fingers seamlessly reformed.

“Franklin! You went too far! You made me totally useless!” The short, young auctioneer glared at his companion, annoyed. The sea of blood and corpses stretched out before him. “I was just a decoration!”

“Huh? All finished?” The thick auction house door creaked open. A bewildered-looking girl with thick, black-framed glasses stepped in.

The girl held a strange vacuum cleaner in her right hand. Effortlessly slung over her left shoulder were several dead bodies she grasped by their collars – clearly some of the escapees she’d caught fleeing Franklin’s initial firestorm. Among them was Ivanov.

The loyal bodyguard of the Nostrade Family sported a massive hole in his skull. The wound’s shape perfectly matched the flat nozzle of the vacuum cleaner – likely smashed in by the girl.

The vacuum cleaner in her hand pulsed with life. Its wide nozzle sported rows of razor-sharp teeth and a long, pink, fleshy hose. The bulbous main body even sported a pair of rolling, highly mobile eyes. An unmistakably living creature.

“Shizuku, thanks,” Franklin acknowledged, looking down at the girl.

“Mm. Time to clean, Konpe!” Shizuku addressed the strange vacuum creature.

She pressed the vacuum’s flat nozzle firmly onto the ground. With a low, rumbling growl, the ever-expanding lake of blood surged rapidly into the machine. The many bodies slipped and slid over the bloody floor towards the girl before being swallowed whole, one after another, by the long, flat nozzle.

In almost no time at all, the horrific scene of carnage was scrubbed clean. Blood, bodies, chairs, even the victims’ scattered clothes – all vanished as if they never were.

“Shizuku’s Nen Ability! It’s always a pleasure to see it in action!” The young auctioneer, slant-eyed and smirking (Feitan), rubbed his chin with relaxed appreciation.

“Huh? Look, Feitan!” Franklin suddenly pointed towards the center of the clearing venue with surprise.