Gourmet Hunter (HxH Fanfic)

On the last day of the Yorknew Auction, there were many chaotic situations. The stage was not limited to Barney's location, as fights broke out in many places, even outside Yorknew City.

These chaotic situations, which are born of vendettas and greed, lit up Yorknew City's night sky like fireworks, displaying their brilliance in blood and death.

Not only did the Ten Dons not interfere, they didn't even try to suppress the chaos, as these disputes occurred after the auction concluded. Besides, every Mafia in power had climbed their way to the top over the bodies of their competitors.

To die was simply the fate of the weak.

In the gunfight on the street, all of Barney's men were killed, the assassins who came to attack also suffered heavy casualties, and many civilians were also caught in the crossfire.

Police cordoned off the area, and the people who had escaped the disaster by chance were left shaken and terrified.

Dragging his heavily injured body, Kenda managed to recover the collections and procure two vehicles, then he handed the collections and a small truck to Vogt, instructing him to return to Meteor City.

Before handing the collections to Vogt, Law did not forget to absorb the Nen on two of the collections, which increased the average Awakening Rates of the six Nen Categories to 7%.

With the vehicles secured, Law drove straight out of Yorknew City toward Lingon Airport on the outskirts.

Barney has many enemies, and the longer they stay in Yorknew City, the more danger they will face.

If more assassins attacked, Law alone wouldn't be able to hold them off, especially with Kenda's right hand incapacitated and Ellie running a high fever.

Under the pressing circumstances, Kenda didn't even have time to collect Barney and the others' bodies. He could only leave the task to the police and ask them to deliver the bodies directly when the time came.

Kenda's injuries couldn't be treated immediately either, so the priority was to reach the private spaceship at Lingon Airport as soon as possible. There were Kenda's people on board to pick them up, and there were also doctors and medical equipment on board.

Following Kenda's directions, Law quickly drove the car out of Yorknew City and to the suburbs. His skilled driving skills also caught Kenda's attention.

At first, Kenda had worried that Law, who is only around 12 or 13 years old, might never have driven a car. But he didn't expect that he was just worrying too much.

"Can you hold on?"

Law asked while keeping his eyes on the road.

"I can." Kenda said as he sat in the passenger seat. Although he felt excruciating pain, he gritted his teeth to endure it.

Ellie was lying in the backseat, wrapped in several thick blankets. Due to limited conditions and tight schedule, her wet clothes hadn't even been changed.

Law glanced briefly at Kenda, whose face was drenched in cold sweat, then looked away and concentrated on driving.

Although he was in a hurry, Law didn't dare drive too fast because of the night and heavy rain. The original drive from the city to Lingon Airport normally took about an hour, but at the current speed, it would probably take an hour and a half.

The heavy raindrops beat against the car, filling the silence with their relentless rhythm.

As Law drove, he pondered his next steps after dropping off Ellie and Kenda at the airport, 'Should I go back with Ellie and the others to see Barney's 128 collections? Or go to the Heavens Arena to earn money and train my Nen? Or perhaps explore the human-restricted zones to search for rare ingredients?'

There were so many places he wanted to see since he didn't need to return to Meteor City right away.

Compared to what Law was thinking, what Kenda was thinking was more complicated.

His injuries were severe, and his arms would be out of commission for some time. Meanwhile, news of Barney and Martin's deaths would inevitably spread. If he returned to Spice City, those who were usually low-key and stable might take the opportunity to cause trouble.

The underworld is indeed like this. Once a big tree falls, the small trees and even saplings will try to vie for its place.

People always strive for higher goals, and there are many people who have this idea.

When Kenda thought about the possible difficulties he might face, he felt powerless, but then he thought of Law.

If Law were to help him, along with the manpower left at the estate, perhaps the situation wouldn't be so dire.

What Law had shown during this period made it difficult for Kenda to regard Law as a twelve- or thirteen-years old boy. Moreover, in Kenda's opinion, Law's value was higher than the group of people in the estate.

'What terms should I offer to get Law's help? If it's money, that won't be an issue.'

Kenda was thinking about this question.

What he didn't realize was that Law already had an interest in Barney's collections, so if Kenda asked for him to return to Barney's estate, Law would readily agree without needing any conditions.

Inside the car, the two were lost in their respective thoughts. Neither spoke, making the hour-and-a-half-long drive feel even longer.

By the time they reached Lingon Airport, it was just past 1 AM. Thankfully, they encountered no attacks along the way and arrived without incident.

Before arriving, Kenda had already called his men guarding the airship and instructed them to prepare for their arrival.

At the airport lobby, a group of men in black suits were acting as if they were facing a great enemy.

Even an operating cart was ready, and a doctor and a nurse were standing with them, just waiting for people to arrive.

When Law and the other two entered the airport hall, these well-prepared men immediately got busy, putting the unconscious Ellie onto the operating cart and heading towards the specially set up boarding gate.

This is the power of money. Not only did they have a reserved docking space, but they also had access to an exclusive boarding passage.

When Kenda called, he only asked his men to prepare an operating cart for Ellie, while he opted to walk himself.

Just before entering the boarding passage, Law noticed a gaze looking at him. He followed the gaze and saw Illumi looking at him expressionlessly in one of the waiting area seats.

Illumi had arrived earlier than Law and the others, but he did not have his own airship, so he could only wait for the airship to the Republic of Padokea. Unexpectedly, before he could get the airship, he met Law and the others.

"…"

The two stared at each other in silence. Unlike their earlier confrontation in the alley, there was no palpable tension this time.

After a brief pause, Law greeted him nonchalantly: "Yo."

"Ah?" Illumi was stunned.

Then, as though nothing had happened, Law turned and quickly followed Kenda and the others into the boarding passage.

Illumi stared at Law who was leaving, completely bewildered. He had no grudge against Law in the first place. The incident in the alley was merely a case of curiosity gone too far, leading to unintended consequences.

Since there was no profit to be gained from it, Illumi hadn't intended to provoke Law further, and their chance meeting in the airport hall was pure coincidence.

Although he saw Law, Illumi planned to act as if he didn't recognize Law, treating their encounter in the alley as a trivial, forgettable episode between strangers.

Unexpectedly, the moment he looked at Law, he was immediately noticed by him, who casually greeted him and walked off without hesitation, leaving Illumi thoroughly puzzled.

Law didn't know what Illumi was thinking. His greeting was more a way to mask the awkwardness of the moment, so he didn't think much about it.

He had no desire to get entangled with Illumi, and even less wanted to fight with Ilmi, as there was nothing to gain from such a confrontation.

So, after the greeting, Law decisively left.

'Fortunately, Illumi didn't follow us. Who knows if that guy might suddenly feel like stirring up trouble on a whim?'

The brief encounter in the airport lobby was like a small pebble dropped into a lake, barely causing a ripple.

Law escorted Kenda and his group to the side of the airship, but he did not board the airship himself. After all, Kenda hadn't explicitly invited him, and he was too embarrassed to follow them.

"Please help us!"

However, Kenda did not get on the airship directly. Instead, he suddenly did something that surprised Law.

In the pouring rain, the man dropped to his knees before Law, pressing his forehead to the ground. With both arms broken and immobilized, his posture was awkward and painful, but his desperation was clear.

Seeing Kenda prostrating on the ground, Law was utterly dumbfounded.