Chapter 61 The Assassins of Kukuroku Mountain 04 Brother!
The vehicle eventually entered the city's most bustling central business district and stopped on a relatively quiet back street near a brightly lit building.
"The mission target is the private club on the top floor." Illumi's voice was calm, a stark contrast to the noisy world outside the window. "It's a company executive who has access to a competitor's key trade secrets. His employer has asked him to stage an accidental death and retrieve the encrypted chip he was carrying."
He handed Ayana a signal detector disguised as a high-end women's handbag and a powder compact of the same color, inside which were disguised signal jamming and monitoring interference devices.
"Your task is to remain in the lobby and surrounding area downstairs, posing as a regular visitor. Be alert for any suspicious individuals or unusual situations. If you discover any factors that might interfere with your mission, report them immediately through this communicator."
Illumi pointed to a tiny, almost invisible earpiece next to Ayana's ear: "After I send the signal, activate the jamming device to cover the surveillance systems at the building's ground floor entrance and surrounding streets for ten minutes, understand?"
“Understood, young master.” Ayana took the equipment and quickly adjusted her posture and expression to make herself look more like an ordinary white-collar worker in a high-end office building, or a visitor who had come to keep an appointment.
Illumi nodded and opened the car door.
Instead of going through the main entrance, he slipped through an inconspicuous freight passageway on the side of the building and entered the interior.
There is usually less surveillance and relatively loose management there.
Ayana took a deep breath, picked up her handbag, and walked with composed steps toward the brightly lit revolving door on the first floor of the building.
Inside the hall, well-dressed people came and went, and the air was filled with the mixed scents of perfume and coffee.
She found an inconspicuous sofa in the rest area with a good view and sat down, seemingly casually flipping through a magazine, but her peripheral vision was scanning the entire hall and the entrances and exits.
The tiny earpiece inside her ear was silent, but she knew that Illumi was conducting a silent hunt atop this building.
Time passed by, second by second.
Everything in the hall was normal, and no one noticed that the young woman sitting quietly was performing an auxiliary task for a death that was about to occur hundreds of meters in the air.
About twenty minutes later, Illumi's voice came through the earpiece: "Prepare to block nearby surveillance."
Without any hesitation, Ayana gracefully opened the powder compact, pretending to touch up her makeup, but actually activating the device inside.
Immediately afterwards, the surveillance screen behind the reception desk not far away briefly flickered and then quickly returned to normal, but the recording had already been overwritten.
A few minutes later, a commotion and exclamations came from outside the building, growing louder as they approached.
Someone fell from a height.
Ayana's heart tightened slightly, but her face maintained a perfectly appropriate look of bewilderment and a hint of curiosity drawn by the commotion outside, just like the other disturbed visitors.
She looked out through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows and saw chaos on the street, with people pointing in terror at the top of the building.
A few minutes later, Illumi reappeared in the hall.
His expression remained unchanged, even with a faint smile playing on his lips, creating an eerie contrast with the tragedy unfolding outside.
He nodded almost imperceptibly as he passed Ayana.
Ayana understood, immediately packed her things, stood up naturally, and followed him out of the building's revolving door, blending into the panicked crowd outside due to the sudden incident.
Soon, the two returned to the inconspicuous black car.
Back in the car, Illumi placed a chip smaller than a fingernail into a special box.
“Mission accomplished,” he stated, seemingly in a compliment. “The surveillance was handled very cleanly.”
[Detected that the affection level of the adorable [Illumi] is 20%.]
“It is because of your meticulous planning, young master,” Ayana replied humbly.
As the vehicle drove away from the area, Ayana watched the neon lights rushing past the window, gaining a more intuitive understanding of the Zoldyck family's business.
Illumi broke the silence: "The fee for this mission is 800 million jenny."
He uttered a number that would leave ordinary people speechless, yet his tone remained completely calm.
Illumi turned his head, his empty cat eyes looking at her: "You were in charge of perimeter security and surveillance this time, and you did a good job without causing any extra expenses. I can give you 2.85 million Jenny."
This number may not seem like a lot to ordinary people, but compared to the total entrusted funds of up to 800 million, it is just a drop in the ocean.
That's really stingy.
Ayana thought to herself, but dared not show it on her face.
Illumi then took out an anonymous electronic savings card and handed it over: "The bonus is already in there, this is your share."
Ayana accepted the light card, which carried 2.85 million jenny, with both hands and bowed respectfully: "Thank you, young master. I will continue to work hard."
[Detected that the affection level of the adorable [Illumi] is 25%.]
The increase in favorability might be because she tactfully accepted this "generous" allocation and expressed her willingness to continue making money for Illumi.
Illumi turned back with satisfaction, closed his eyes again, and said nothing more.
Ayana carefully put the card away.
She didn't particularly care about the amount of money, after all, her goal in this world wasn't wealth.
However, the stark contrast between the 800 million and 2.85 million still left her with some reservations about Illumi.
*
In the following days, Illumi did not take Ayana on any more missions.
They continued their training as usual.
Ayana was more obedient than ever before, perfectly fulfilling every duty of her direct butler, even becoming more impeccable in certain details, as if she had completely accepted Illumi's values and regarded herself as Illumi's appendage and a qualified tool.
But this is just an illusion.
She knew that she would only have an opportunity to act when Illumi lowered his guard.
Ayana used every possible opportunity to quietly gather information.
She paid attention to the conversations between Wutong and the other butlers, gleaning clues about Killua's movements from snippets of conversation. She also observed the time Illumi spent handling business, and even took the opportunity of cleaning and tidying up to memorize the best path to the back mountain in greater detail.
Opportunity always favors the prepared mind.
One morning, Illumi received a phone call.
Although Ayana couldn't hear the content, she could tell from his brief words that this was a big deal that couldn't be delayed and was extremely lucrative.
The mission objective appears to be on the other side of the continent, meaning Illumi will be unable to return for at least half a day to a day.
Before leaving, Illumi stood in front of Ayana as usual, scrutinizing her with his empty cat eyes.
“While I’m gone, you continue your daily training.” His voice was flat, yet carried an undeniable air of authority. “Without my orders, you are not allowed to leave where you are supposed to be.”
He unconsciously twirled his fingertips, and a dark mental nail appeared and disappeared, seemingly as a warning to Ayana.
"Yes, young master, I understand." Ayana bowed her head, her posture extremely submissive.
Only after confirming that the airship carrying Illumi had disappeared into the clouds did Aiana's heart begin to pound violently.
She didn't act immediately, but ate a little more for lunch than usual.
In the afternoon, when she estimated that it was about time, Ayana began her operation.
The first step is to find Killua.
Based on her previous observations, Killua seemed preoccupied when he returned from outside, often staring blankly at the sky in some place, as if he was reminiscing about something.
She quietly entered the forest and, sure enough, saw the silver-haired boy there.
The boy had his hands in his pockets, but his eyes were wandering, his blue cat-like eyes filled with confusion and a hint of barely perceptible restlessness.
Ayana didn't go forward immediately. She waited patiently for a moment, and only after confirming that there was no one else around did she slowly approach.
"Young Master Killua." She lowered her voice and bowed respectfully.
Killua snapped back to reality, saw it was her, and immediately frowned, asking warily, "It's you? You're Big Brother's man, what do you want with me?"
Killua's tone was clearly dismissive.
Ayana didn't care about his attitude.
Time was of the essence, and she had to hurry.
“Regarding Master Alluka,” she lowered her voice, making sure only the two of them could hear, “I know where he is being held captive, and I have a way to allow you to see him briefly. Would you be willing to come with me to see him?”
But Killua's behavior was very strange.
Those blue cat eyes, which had been filled with confusion and restlessness, suddenly contracted upon hearing the name "Alluka".
A sharp, stinging pain flashed through his mind, causing him to instinctively cover his forehead.
“Alluka…?” he murmured, repeating the name, his brow furrowed.
"Who is that? I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before."
A powerful instinct was clamoring within Killua, telling him that this name was incredibly important, but there seemed to be a solid barrier in his mind preventing him from thinking about it further.
Ayana was somewhat puzzled, but still said, "Young Master Alluka is very lonely right now. Please believe me, Young Master Killua, I will not hurt you, nor will I hurt him. I just want you to see him one last time. Time is running out."
Killua scrutinized Aiana for a while before finally squeezing out a voice through clenched teeth: "Lead the way."
His eyes sharpened again, and he added, "If you dare to try anything funny..."
“I understand.” Ayana said no more, turned around immediately, and led Killua quickly through the forest behind the Zoldyck family’s residence.
She chose blind spots in the surveillance cameras, and her movements were light and quick.
Killua followed silently behind, his movements incredibly agile.
They soon arrived at their destination, where a building appeared before them.
“It’s right here,” Ayana whispered.
Ayana took out a stolen access card from her bosom and placed it near the card slot on the door.
She had taken great risks to steal this while tidying up Illumi's study.
With a soft "beep," the green light flashed faintly, and the heavy door opened silently inward.
“I can only take you this far, Master Killua.” Ayana lowered her voice and spoke quickly. “I’ll keep watch outside and see if anyone else comes so I can notify you in time.”
"You have a maximum of ten minutes. After ten minutes, no matter what happens, you must leave immediately."
Killua nodded and went inside without hesitation.
The door slowly closed behind him.
Inside the door was a straight corridor with cold, metallic gray walls and a pale, glaring light from above.
Killua walked forward step by step, his footsteps echoing in the empty corridor.
At the end of the corridor was another door, which looked much more ordinary and wasn't even locked.
Killua took a deep breath and reached out to push it away.
The room was much cozier than I had imagined. It had a bed, a table and chairs, and even a few dolls. The walls were also colorful.
But everything exudes an air of contrived yet undeniable confinement, with not even a window inside.
In the center of the room sat a small figure in a kimono with his back to Killua.
Hearing the door open, the figure slowly turned around.
It was a fair and delicate face with a pair of large, pure black eyes, filled with a hint of timid curiosity.
But the moment she saw Killua, her eyes widened suddenly, quickly filling with tears, and then shone with a light as bright as stars.
"elder brother!"
Alluka leaped up from the ground and pounced on Killua, who was standing there stunned, without hesitation, hugging his waist tightly with her small arms.
"Brother! You've finally come to see me! Alluka missed you so much! I really missed you!"
He buried his face in Killua's chest, his voice choked with sobs and filled with endless grievance.
Killua froze completely.
The moment he was embraced, a solid wall in his mind seemed to be impacted, threatening to collapse at any moment, causing him excruciating headaches.
Killua instinctively hugged Alluka, about to ask her something, when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a corner of the room.
A tiny surveillance camera is silently transmitting all of this in real time to an electronic screen.
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