Book 7: Chapter 49: The Fleeting Opportunity

Release Date: 2026-05-12 10:22:36

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Seeing that Zeno and Silva were still faithfully carrying out their duties, Qin Lun felt a bit relieved inside.

How careless! The young man’s face was unusually flushed; despite being in danger, what he first felt wasn’t fear but excitement.

Since entering the Shattered Starry Sky until now, this was the only time he had truly stepped into someone else’s trap, rather than due to a small misstep in planning.

“Since late last night, I had Melody bring Silva to the outskirts of the Abandoned District, but Melody didn’t notice them.”

“So, they must have buried themselves alive underground, quite deeply too, to weaken their heartbeats so much that even Melody couldn’t detect them!”

“Even if they left air holes, this was almost suicidal!” Qin Lu murmured faintly, recalling how he had once been locked alone in a “living coffin” confinement cell where he couldn’t stand or sit; that kind of suffocating darkness could turn a normal person mad within hours.

The Phantom Troupe’s current act of burying themselves alive was even more terrifying; they could barely move a finger, and had to constantly maintain Nen on their body surface—otherwise, just the hundreds of pounds of dirt above could crush them to death.

“These people aren’t just ruthless to others—they’re cruel to themselves too!” Qin Lun sighed. He didn’t dare claim he could endure what the Phantom Troupe was doing, since it wasn’t minutes or hours, but a full half-day and night.

Moreover, judging by their state, it seemed the Troupe members hadn’t gotten intel from the Hunter Side and would stay buried without food or water for another day.

Veins bulged around Qin Lun’s eye sockets; his eerie eyes gleamed sharply, like “tree eyes” tangled in fine vines.

His skill wasn’t enough to fully control the Clock Eye and Gannett’s Left Eye yet; prolonged use would harm his eyes. Lucky for him, being a law-governed vessel meant no permanent damage to his sight.

The entire decayed structures of the Abandoned District transformed in Qin Lun’s vision into complex wireframes, like blueprint sketches drawn with a hard pencil tip.

In the three-dimensional image formed by the lines, some buildings glowed faintly with a strange light, while in the distance, several dazzling small figures rushed about rapidly.

The dimly lit buildings in the Clock Eye were likely Kortopi’s manifestations; those bright figures were clearly Kurapika, the Troupe members, and the two Zoldycks.

These powerful Life Energy users, in their heightened combat forms, shone as intensely as beacon lights.

“Pakunoda and Shizuku have turned back; they weren’t retreating before but luring us—now they’ve sealed our path forward.”

“The Troupe members near the Church: one looks like the lovely lady Machi by size, the other two are probably Kortopi and Bonolenov, as exposed by Hisoka.”

“Then the Troupe blocking our retreat at the rear must be Kuroro, Finkes, and Franklin?”

“Truly a flawless encirclement!” Qin Lun forced a wry smile.

Sometimes your enemy understands you best; that phrase held true.

After seeing Kuroro’s arrangement for his companions, Qin Lun immediately grasped his intent.

Within the Phantom Troupe, besides Kuroro, Feitan and Nobunaga ranked high in combat ability, and Qin Lun knew them well.

The Leader chose to have Illumi impersonate him and send those two with Hisoka to the Amusement Park; this was clearly deliberate.

Feitan and Nobunaga were both elite close-range fighters; Feitan’s Agility and Nobunaga’s swordsmanship let them dodge Kurapika’s chains best, while keeping Qin Lun’s guard low.

This setup also covered Hisoka’s betrayal; if that moody guy played both sides, Feitan and Nobunag could stall the Hunter Side at the Amusement Park for ages with Illumi and Kalluto’s aid, until Kuroro’s team reinforced them.

Illumi mainly handled disguise and corpse control; Killua’s elder brother was strong enough to pretend to be the Leader easily—otherwise, he might not have fooled Qin Lun.

As for Kalluto Zoldyck, a cute boy disguised as a girl, though barely showing moves in surveillance feeds, Qin Lun now guessed his role.

He was Manipulation Type or Specialization; his task must have been counter-scouting—pinning down Qin Lun’s attack vector early.

This ensured that if help was needed, Kuroro’s crew could reach the Amusement Park promptly.

Thus, while the Amusement Park seemed weak, it wasn’t an easy force for the Hunter Side to crush.

Of course, in the Abandoned District, with eight Troupe members encircling the Hunter Side, it was a brutal task too—especially with the Hunter Side gaining powerhouses Zeno and Silva.

But through careful planning, Kuroro maximized their force’s impact.

Qin Lun had to admit the trap bordered on perfect, showing no obvious flaws.

The two intel-focused members, Shizuku and Pakunoda, though weaker fighters, were ideal for luring enemies and barring paths.

The other three ambushed near the Church: Machi with her thread skills was clearly meant to stop Kurapika.

Though Kortopi and Bonolenov had few details seen, since Kortopi first spotted the “Shalnark Doll,” Qin Lun guessed he was the potent Manipulator; Bonolenov was obviously a powerhouse close-combatant.

Working together, these five could hold against the Hunter Side even with Zeno and Silva, until Kuroro’s trio arrived.

Kuroro’s group at the rear cutting off retreat was the final touch.

Though small in numbers, Kuroro and Finkes packed big firepower, sure to strip Zeno and Silva’s cover from Qin Lun.

Normally, if Qin Lun ditched Kurapika as bait, he might slip past the last Troupe member and escape.

But only if that last blocker wasn’t Franklin!

Franklin, with his twin machine guns, might be the only one in the Phantom Troupe with sustained area-suppression Nen skills.

With him guarding the rear, Qin Lun couldn’t flee even by abandoning Kurapika.

Delay, and those five behind would close the trap tight.

Sadly, any human plot has gaps—no one truly knows all sides.

A plan’s success is ninety percent effort, ten percent enemy weakness, or luck.

In Qin Lun’s view, Kuroro’s trap missed a bit of luck; nearly perfect wasn’t actually perfect.

At least in this crisis, Qin Lun saw the one escape route.

It lay in Qin Lun’s trump card, that “Shalnark Doll”—neither Hisoka nor the Troupe knew of it.

After several encounters with the Troupe, Qin L found their Meteor Street crew resembled him, yet differed.

The similarity: both Troupe and Qin L had no good-evil concept, acted on whim, ignored life, and pitied no weak or innocent.

The difference: the Phantom Troupe shared deep bonds and feelings; they might sacrifice themselves for comrades.

But Qin Lun held no idea of partnership; even the Hunchbacked Servant Katharine held subtle spots in his heart.

Not zero emotion, but he’d never give his life for Frank or Katharine.

If Qin L set this trap, he’d put Kalluto Zoldyck from the Amusement Park here too.

He’d risk that team to prep an extra mobile force for an airtight scheme in the Abandoned District.

“Who knew a doll made on impulse is now the biggest game changer?” The needle on the Clock Eye’s dial jumped slightly; Qin Lun threw a strange glance at the fight in the Church.

“Well then, I’ll fire things up—though the distance still seems far!” Qin Lun flashed a grin, body swaying like a leaf caught in a breeze; we raced serpentine through the Abandoned District’s ruins—his Swift Wind Step skill.

“The distance is close enough!” Qin Lun halted step; veins around his fierce eyes bulged anew; the eyeballs couldn’t take the abuse—tears of blood trickled from the corners.

Scattered Time-Space Threads around the youth condensed into a Perception beam; it ignored hundreds of meters and barriers, shot like lightning into the Church, and lightly brushed “Shalnark.”

“Shalnark,” locked in combat with Kortop’s trio, jolted violently; dull eyes lit up with intense gleams; his aura swelled wildly.

It had just obeyed Rand’s final order to hold off Firecracker’s pursuers; now suppressed by Machi, Kortop, and Bonolenov, capture was near.

But with ownership seized by Qin Lun, the Shalnark Doll finally unleashed its full battle might.

“Watch out!” Bonolenov shielding opposite contracted his pupils instantly; toe-tapping, he flew backward.

Machi flung up both hands; one thread packed with strong Nen stabbed the Church’s roof beam; another curled around Shizuku—she yanked both upward in a leap.

Frankly, it was tragic.

These three Troupe members had mighty, special skills all; against the current “Shalnark,” they all met major suppression.

Shizuku’s “Blinky” vacuum could suck any lifeless, soulless item as she willed, but the “Shalnark Doll” with its Artifact Spirit and dream crystal wasn’t one.

That was why none dared use brute force; they felt “Shalnark” was alive but controlled.

If they smashed his body, there’d be deep regret.

Machi was no different: her threads were sharp as blades—wrong moves sliced things apart.

But against the clueless “Shalnark,” Machi couldn’t bind him; shredding him would make even Qin Lun repair impossible.

As for Bonolenov, he drew the short straw; guy was a Judo tribe descendant, born with “thin rods” stuck all over his bandaged body—windholes of all sizes appeared as he grew.

Fighting, those holes sounded “battle dance tunes” with body motions; he hailed from the most beautiful warrior clan.

But “Shalnark” now was a doll puppet—his mind ignored “battle dance sounds.”

Plus, Bonolenov feared high-power moves—so this fighter on par with Feitan and Finkes ended up as his mates’ pitiful shield.

And now, under Qin Lun’s Perceptual push, the “Shalnark Doll” finally exploded with the very Nen technique once Shalnark’s own!

«Volume 7 Chapter 48: Miscalculation

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