[134]: Business

After stepping into the contestant tunnel, Cyr finally placed a hand over his chest and sighed.

The effects of [Upright Death] and [Upright Wheel of Fortune] allowed him to function even without a heart,

Even letting him survive for 24 hours in that state.

Once those 24 hours were up, the card effects would wear off—

And he'd be completely screwed.

As for the three Reversed Cards…

He had tossed them to his opponent,

But the guy died too fast to even feel their effects.

"God, that hurt…" Cyr clicked his tongue.

Sure, the shocked expressions on everyone's faces were hilarious,

And making his opponent speechless was pretty satisfying—

But damn, it was painful.

Getting stabbed was one thing.

Ripping the whole thing out?

That tripled the pain.

He honestly wished he had drawn a card that blocked pain.

Still—

It was fun.

How many people could experience something like this?

—

The moment he exited the tunnel,

He saw a group of familiar faces waiting outside.

"You… Did you learn this from Hisoka?"

Killua scanned him up and down,

Watching how energetic he looked despite just losing a heart.

It was bizarre.

He thought about Hisoka,

Who had lost both arms in a fight but still reattached them.

Maybe some Nen abilities could heal injuries.

Sure, reattaching an arm made sense…

But—

Having your heart ripped out, stomped on, and still living?!

Where did that leave the Zoldyck family's signature move—Heart Removal?

If anyone could survive it,

Wouldn't assassins lose their jobs?

"No, I learned it from an old monster." Cyr replied casually.

A thousand-year-old cursed grandpa,

A.K.A. Sukuna.

Calling him an old monster wasn't wrong.

"…Right."

Killua snorted, clearly not buying it,

But he could tell Cyr wasn't planning to explain.

Instead, he changed the subject—

"Hisoka was going crazy watching you."

Apparently, while the rest of the audience was excitedly chatting,

The people near Hisoka's seat were shaking in fear.

His bloodlust had been off the charts,

Like he was dying to jump into the ring himself.

Cyr ignored the red-haired stalker staring at him from not far away,

Casually walking past as if he didn't exist.

As he passed, he heard Hisoka let out a low, amused chuckle.

There was a slight tremor in his voice,

A husky edge that made the laughter even creepier.

—Yikes.

"Let's go. Quickly."

Killua and Gon hurried away.

—

A Month Later…

Their short-term goal was still making money.

But instead of just fights,

They had started two new businesses:

1. A traveling circus.

2. An underground black market medical clinic.

And surprisingly—

Both were making bank.

Cyr had gotten the idea from the Heaven's Arena,

And within a month, they had set up a full-blown circus act.

The main performers were:

Sora (the magical beast) → Jumping through fire rings, knife-throwing.

Killua → Electric fireworks show (literal human sparkler).

Gon → Tightrope walking while juggling and doing tricks.

Maro → Creating an entire snowy landscape + custom ice sculptures.

Cyr, meanwhile, was the ringmaster and magician.

And their ticket sales?

Through the roof.

The prices kept rising,

And people still paid.

—

On top of that,

They ran a highly exclusive, ridiculously expensive black market medical service.

Cyr was the chief doctor.

Killua and Gon were his apprentices.

Maro was the assistant.

They only took patients who couldn't go to normal hospitals—

Criminals, fugitives, underground fighters.

And their consultation fee?

At least 5 million Jenny.

Anything less—don't even ask.

In just over a month,

They had traveled across several cities,

Made a fortune,

And Cyr had gotten a lot of practice using Reversed Cursed Technique.

Since his mastery was only at 70%,

Healing himself was fine,

But healing others was still a bit shaky.

—

At the moment, their circus was mid-performance.

On a makeshift outdoor stage,

Sora was jumping through flaming hoops and throwing knives.

Next was Killua,

Expression deadpan,

Putting on a full-body electric fireworks show.

Then came Gon,

Bouncing on a thin wire,

Casually juggling and doing other tricks mid-air.

And lastly, Maro,

Turning the entire area into a winter wonderland.

For an extra 10,000 Jenny,

People could get a custom ice block

And have it sculpted into any shape they wanted.

Or—

They could pay extra to have it carved for them.

Small sculptures → 100,000 Jenny

Large sculptures → 1 million Jenny

No price cap on special commissions

And the only one allowed to carve them—

Was Cyr.

Because let's be real,

Killua, Gon, and Maro sucked at sculpting,

And Sora's paws weren't built for the job.

Even though they had been reluctant at first,

When Killua and Gon saw their earnings for the month,

They were instantly thrilled.

"Killua… The numbers in my bankbook… I can barely read them anymore."

Gon stared at his share, eyes practically glowing gold.

"Hah? This little bit of cash is blinding you already?"

Killua Zoldyck, third son of the world's top assassin family,

Had a face that screamed "meh, whatever"—

But inside, he was already calculating how much chocolate he could buy.

—

It was at this exact moment

That the Pelisha Family's men arrived.

A black car pulled up,

And a group of men in black suits stepped out.

One of them silently walked over,

Bowed respectfully,

Handed them an envelope,

Then turned and left—

Without saying a single word.

"Maro, what is it?"

Cyr took the envelope from his hands.

Inside was an invitation—

For the Yorknew City Auction in September.

What was interesting, though,

Was that the invite was addressed to Cyr's fake identity,

Not to Maro.

And yet—

It had been delivered by someone from Pelisha.

Could this auction be connected to the Pelisha Family?

A black market auction having ties to a mafia family, wouldn't exactly be shocking.

"Honestly, there's not much I want from the auction…"

Cyr rubbed his chin.

But—

Seeing the Spiders go on a massacre might be worth the trip.

"Let's go."

He casually tossed the invite to Maro,

Signaling the others to pack up and move out.

"Do you think the Greed Island game will actually be there?"

Gon asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

The one who answered wasn't Cyr—

But Maro.

"If they announced it publicly, they won't risk damaging their reputation."

His voice was calm and cold,

Golden eyes downturned—naturally giving him a look of innocence.

But when his face was expressionless,

That innocence turned into something unreadable.

"That Auction House is one of the most prestigious in the world."

He added.

So if they said it was up for sale—

Then it would be there.

In fact, the whole reason news of the game had spread

Was because the auction house itself had leaked it—

To attract wealthy bidders and drive the price sky-high.

°°°

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