Shizuku put away the vacuum cleaner, adjusted her glasses, and said calmly.
"Alright. The corpses of the Phantom Troupe are all here."
Shizuku's soft-spoken words plunged the entire reception hall into a deathly silence.
The receptionist's eyes widened, her lips trembled, and her face went deathly pale.
She braced her hands on the counter, her body trembling slightly, and a "clucking" sound came from her throat, but she couldn't utter a single word.
The Hunters and staff who had been busy moments ago were now all frozen in place.
Someone's documents slipped from their hands and fell to the ground.
Someone's coffee cup shattered with a "snap."
Someone instinctively took a step back, knocking over the chair behind them.
Everyone's gaze was frozen on that pile of corpses, frozen on those eleven bodies that once represented "death" and "fear."
Phantom Troupe!
What does this name mean in the hunter world?
It is a notorious A-rank criminal organization, an existence that countless Hunters wanted to capture but ultimately met their end in the Yellow Springs. (Note: In the original work, it is not specified what rank of wanted criminals the Phantom Troupe are; I classified them as A-rank myself.)
Four years ago, Two-Star Hunter Blade led a team of Association Specialized Hunters to surround and annihilate the Phantom Troupe, but they were completely wiped out.
Three years ago, five experienced professional Hunters joined forces to set an ambush, but in the end, only one corpse was returned to the Association.
Two years ago, two Two-Star Hunters and five One-Star Hunters tried to surround them, but the Phantom Troupe still managed to escape unscathed.
Over time, the Phantom Troupe became a taboo.
No one dared to provoke this group of spiders anymore, because the price of provocation was death.
And now—eleven corpses were just piled up on the floor of the Association's hall like that.
The receptionist finally found her voice, but it trembled so much it was almost unintelligible.
"Th... This..."
Leo stepped forward with a kind smile on his face, his tone as calm as if he were talking about the nice weather today.
"These corpses are members of the Phantom Troupe."
He said.
"There are thirteen of them in total; two other corpses could not be brought back, and the rest are here. Please register them, thank you."
The receptionist jolted and straightened her body abruptly.
"O... Okay! Please wait a moment!"
She ran from the front desk, rushing toward the office area in the back.
The entire hall remained silent.
The onlookers, some looking at Leo, some at the pile of corpses, some exchanging glances, had complex expressions written on their faces—shock, awe, disbelief, and a trace of... fear.
A middle-aged Hunter whispered to his companion.
"This kid... I remember him, the one who just promoted to one-star last year."
"Is it him? The one who caught dozens of wanted criminals in a year?"
"Yes. But that's the Phantom Troupe... Thirteen of them, completely wiped out?"
"Even the Zodiacs couldn't do something like that..."
Whispers gradually spread.
Leo ignored those gazes and just stood quietly in place, waiting.
Sophia stood by his side, her back straight.
She also felt those gazes, but she didn't feel intimidated at all—after last night's battle, her confidence had grown significantly.
Shizuku completely ignored everyone, looking down at her fingers in a daze, as if she had just done something trivial.
Biscuit leaned against the wall, arms crossed, with a satisfied smile on her face.
A few minutes later, the sound of rapid footsteps approached.
It wasn't just one person.
The receptionist led three staff members in Association uniforms walking quickly, followed by seven or eight Hunters who had rushed over upon hearing the news.
When they saw the pile of corpses, their footsteps halted in unison, and various expressions appeared on their faces.
But their professional training allowed them to quickly enter a working state.
A middle-aged man wearing glasses crouched down and carefully examined the first corpse.
He pulled back the corpse's eyelids, checked the teeth, and inspected the tattoos and special markings on the body.
Another staff member took out a portable device to scan the corpse's face—although some heads were incomplete, the Association had records for all Phantom Troupe members.
"Feitan Portor, confirmed."
The middle-aged man said in a deep voice.
"Phinks Magcub, confirmed."
"Uvogin, confirmed."
"Franklin, confirmed."
With each confirmed corpse, the surrounding air grew heavier.
When they checked the headless corpse of Chrollo Lucilfer for the No. 0 spider tattoo, the staff member paused, took a deep breath, and looked at Leo.
"Chrollo Lucilfer, confirmed."
Confirmation complete.
The three staff members stood up, their gazes toward Leo filled with unconcealable awe.
The middle-aged man stepped forward, his voice a bit dry.
"Mr. Leo, everything is confirmed. These eleven corpses are indeed members of the Phantom Troupe."
He paused and added.
"This is an achievement... sufficient to be recorded in the history of the Association."
Leo nodded, his tone still calm.
"These achievements are not mine alone. These two—"
He pointed to Sophia and Biscuit.
"Sophia and Biscuit also participated in the battle. Please record it for them as well."
The staff member looked at Biscuit, a flash of surprise in his eyes—this petite woman was actually the Shingen-ryu Two-Star Hunter, Biscuit?
Biscuit, however, waved her hand.
"No need to record me. The achievements I need to reach Three-Star aren't lacking this little bit."
She looked at Leo, her tone unquestionable.
"Just give it to Sophia."
Leo wanted to say something else, but Biscuit had already turned and walked towards the door.
"Master Biscuit—"
"Alright, alright."
Biscuit waved her hand without looking back.
"I have other things to do, I'm leaving first."
Her figure soon disappeared outside the door.
Leo smiled helplessly and turned to the staff members.
"Then do as she said. Record all the achievements for me and Sophia."
The staff member nodded, quickly operating the device in his hands.
The onlookers around them grew more and more numerous.
Some whispered, some took out their phones to take pictures, and some tried to step forward to talk but were held back by their companions.
The hall gradually became lively, but no one dared to get too close, as if that pile of corpses still retained some kind of dangerous aura.
Hunter Association Headquarters, fifth-floor conference hall.
The solemn ceremonial hall was full of people.
There were Association staff, Hunters who had come specifically, and some idlers who had come to join the fun after hearing the news.
On the podium, Satotz held a file, standing in the center with a smile on his face.
Today's promotion ceremony was quite special: Sophia, promotion to One-Star Hunter. Leo, promotion to Two-Star Hunter.
The ceremony began.
Satotz first announced Sophia's achievements—capturing twenty-three wanted criminals, participating in the operation to annihilate the Phantom Troupe, with a cumulative achievement point total of three hundred and nine.
Each achievement was recorded in detail, and every number was verifiable.
After half an hour of reading, Satotz handed a hunter license inlaid with a silver star to Sophia.
"Sophia, congratulations on your promotion to One-Star Hunter."
Sophia received the hunter license with both hands, took a deep breath, then turned to face the audience and bowed deeply.
Applause thundered.
Her gaze crossed the crowd and landed on Leo.
Leo nodded at her with a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth.
Sophia's eyes were slightly red, but she held it back.