Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 460 (Patreon)

Chapter 460: Opposition

The troupe withdrew, leaving the bound spoils behind.

In the entire museum, only Luo remained. After a while, perhaps because the troupe had retreated to a considerable distance, the nen threads binding the artifacts disappeared, and piles of items collapsed to the ground, making a series of sounds.

Luo could have stopped it, but he didn't. This collapse inevitably caused many of the artifacts to get damaged.

Once everything settled quietly on the ground, Luo walked over, and under the coverage of countless hidden cameras, he picked up those ancient objects imbued with nen, absorbed the nen, and then gently placed them back down.

After making a round, he had absorbed the nen from a total of twenty-three ancient objects, but the average value barely increased. The further he went, the less profitable it became. He might have to rely purely on quantity or find high-quality items like the Dark Sonata.

“Unfortunately, the Dark Sonata isn't among them.”

Luo glanced at the valuable artifacts scattered all over the place and left the museum without any reluctance.

Outside, besides the corpses on the ground, there were still more than two hundred people who maintained a combat stance upon seeing Luo.

Luo did not tell them that the enemy had retreated because the people in the control room should already know.

He looked up at the moon in the night sky, silent.

The actions taken against the troupe tonight weren't cold-blooded, but a grudge had been formed nonetheless. What Machi would think afterward was bound to be a headache.

If only he hadn't come to Meteor Street initially...

Luo subconsciously reached out and grabbed the jade pendant inside his clothes, a piece of jewelry that no longer helped him but that he still wore, connected to the memory of Machi snatching it away at the beginning.

“Should I...make a call?”

The night deepened, the smoke cleared, and bodies were collected one by one.

In an unfinished building on the outskirts of the city, the retreating troupe gathered.

Pakunoda, who had been knocked out by Luo, had already awakened, silently observing the extremely unfriendly atmosphere within the troupe, clearly divided into two factions.

Feitan, shirtless with a large bruise on his abdomen, had applied some simple medicine.

Holding a thin blade, he coldly stared at Nobunaga and said in a deep voice, “If you hadn't interfered, I would have already cut him down.”

Nobunaga, with his thumb on his sword hilt and his right hand floating in the air, struck a stance for an iai slash, facing Feitan with a cold smile, “If it weren't for me, do you think you’d still be standing?”

Feitan's expression changed, anger flaring up as he was about to act, but Phinks placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping his rash move.

“Let go.”

Feitan shrugged his shoulder, but Phinks held him down firmly, making it hard to break free.

Phinks said solemnly, “If you want to act, I won’t stop you, but before that, finish the intel briefing first.”

“I don't recommend seeking revenge on Luo, but having an initial understanding benefits us,” Shalnark said, hands on his hips, looking at everyone.

Franklin agreed, “I think so too. Given our current capabilities, it's difficult to gain any advantage over that man.”

“But are we just going to let the incident with Wugu go?” came a weak voice from Kage.

“If Feitan hadn’t acted recklessly, Wugu wouldn’t have died,” Nobunaga almost drew his blade, barely restraining himself as he thought of Feitan’s impulsive behavior.

Bang!

Uvogin's fist hit the ground in frustration, the loud noise drawing everyone's attention.

Hearing Nobunaga’s mention of the matter struck a chord with Uvogin, whose body reacted instinctively, as he had also resented Feitan’s rash actions at the time.

Pointed out by Nobunaga, Feitan’s face darkened, his voice hoarse, “Are you all that afraid of him?”

His gaze swept over the group, who remained expressionless, their emotions unaffected by his words, but the tension was at a breaking point.

Fear wasn’t wrong; after all, Luo’s strength was clear.

On a giant stone left behind by the building’s ruins, Chrollo sat, with Machi sewing his broken arm beside him. The two did not join the discussion, and members like Kortopi, who didn't know or had direct contact with Luo, also chose to stay silent.

“All done.”

Machi withdrew her hand, placing the needle back into the storage pouch on her palm.

Chrollo nodded at her, then turned to the troupe, saying, “This was my fault.”

His words quelled the imminent explosion of tension, drawing everyone's attention to him.

“My misjudgment and willfulness led to this outcome.”

Taking the blame, Chrollo then looked at Feitan, calmly stating, “Luo’s strength was my biggest miscalculation, and my unrestrained probing of his limits was my own reckless act.”

“Feitan, you should thank Nobunaga, and you know that best.”

With that, Chrollo's eyes, like deep, dark pools, emitted an intimidating glow.

“If you can't admit your own flaws, don’t expect others to recognize you.”

Chrollo flicked a coin, and with a click, it split into two halves, landing in front of Nobunaga and Feitan.

Nobunaga and Feitan looked down at the half coin at their feet, falling silent.

The unfriendly atmosphere finally showed signs of easing.

Seeing this, Pakunoda breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

“We must acknowledge one thing,” Chrollo's gaze lowered, “This was a crushing defeat.”

No one argued, with only Feitan letting out a cold snort.

“It’s likely...there will be a second time.”

Chrollo looked at Uvogin, Nobunaga, and Machi as he spoke.

As he thought, the three showed subtle reactions to his words, indicating they didn't wish for a second confrontation with Luo.

“The losses from this operation are within acceptable limits, but if there’s a next time, I doubt we can avoid another crushing defeat,” Shalnark habitually raised a finger, saying seriously, “So, compiling intel is crucial.”

“Indeed, we gained some understanding from fighting him,” Franklin added.

Chrollo surveyed the group, “First, his sword is not a nen ability product. It seems he has a skill to freely store and summon weapons, always done with his right hand, possibly linked to the flame emblem on his hand.”

“Ring...”

As Chrollo began summarizing intel on Luo, a phone’s ringtone abruptly interrupted.

The sound came from beside him, and Chrollo paused, looking at Machi.

Machi calmly took out her phone, her expression changing slightly upon seeing the caller ID.

“It’s him, isn’t it?” Chrollo said lightly.

“Yes.”

Machi nodded slightly, noticing everyone staring at her phone.

After a moment's silence, she emotionlessly hung up the call.

She had no intention of answering the call in front of everyone.

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