“I’m healed.”
Renn nodded.
“Thanks for taking care of me these past few days.”
Machi fell silent for a moment.
“So, are you leaving?”
“Leaving? No. Probably not.”
Renn understood his situation.
The body he had possessed had been killed by the mafia and discarded in Meteor City.
If he went back outside and the mafia discovered that he was still alive, they would undoubtedly come after him.
For the time being, a chaotic place like Meteor City was actually relatively safe for him.
Machi’s eyes seemed to brighten slightly.
Renn hesitated before saying, “I’ve gotten a general understanding of this place over the past few days. If you’re willing, how about we work together?”
“Work together?”
“Yeah. Two people will always have an easier time than one. I think you’re someone I can trust, and I believe I can be trusted too. If you’re willing, we can become partners.”
Machi nodded.
“Then let’s establish a few rules for our partnership first.”
“First, we share food. It doesn’t matter whether you find more or I find more. The two of us have equal rights when it comes to distributing it.”
“Second, no betrayal. The moment either of us betrays the other, our partnership ends immediately.”
“Third, we value our partner’s life. Unless our own life is in danger, saving our partner takes priority, no matter how great the financial cost.”
“Can you agree to those three rules?”
Machi nodded.
“Yes.”
Renn nodded and smiled.
He extended a hand toward her.
“Then let’s introduce ourselves again. I’m Renn, your partner from now on.”
Machi awkwardly reached out and shook his hand.
“I’m Machi. I’m your partner from now on too.”
Renn froze.
“Machi?”
Machi looked puzzled.
“What?”
“Nothing. It’s a nice name.”
Renn studied Machi carefully.
The name was familiar to him.
Machi was member number three and appeared during both the Heavens Arena and Yorknew City arcs.
Renn simply hadn’t made the connection before.
Now that he looked closely, the purple-haired girl before him really did resemble the Machi he remembered from the Phantom Troupe.
She was simply much younger.
By the time of the Heavens Arena arc, Machi was already twenty-four years old.
“Machi, if you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?”
“Twelve.”
Renn raised an eyebrow.
If Machi was twelve right now, then Gon and the others had only just been born.
There was still a very, very long time before the main story began.
“Our first step is to find a better place to live,” Renn said.
Machi hesitated.
“In Meteor City, only houses like this are unclaimed. If no one owns one, you can just occupy it and live there. The better houses are all controlled by gangs.”
“If you want to live in one of those, you have to pay resources.”
“I don’t think we need to waste resources on a house.”
Renn asked, “If we rent one of those gang-controlled houses, do they guarantee security?”
“There are people specifically assigned to guard them.”
“Then it’s still worth renting one,” Renn said.
“I’m confident we’ll be able to gather some valuable resources. If we leave them in a place like this, they might all be stolen within two days.”
“Renting a house may cost us some resources, but it gives us much better security. And we’ll be more comfortable living there too, won’t we?”
Machi still didn’t seem convinced.
“How about this? We’ll rest today. You need time for your injuries to heal anyway. Tomorrow, we’ll go to the garbage heaps and see how many resources we can collect before making a decision. Sound good?”
“Okay.”
Machi hesitated for a long time before finally nodding.
“By the way, Machi, how are your injuries?”
“They’re fine. Just some superficial wounds.”
Night fell, and the world grew quiet.
Machi lay on the bed.
Renn sat in the chair.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.
Renn immediately became alert.
Machi climbed out of bed as well, her eyes fixed intently on the entrance.
The knocking continued without stopping.
“Who is it?”
Renn asked in a low voice.
“I’m Johnson. I mean no harm. I’m just looking for someone.”
“I’m unarmed, and I’m alone.”
Renn and Machi exchanged a glance.
Machi nodded.
Renn opened the door.
A middle-aged man stood outside.
“You are?”
Johnson frowned when he saw Renn.
“Where’s Machi?”
Machi stared coldly at Johnson.
“You’re looking for me?”
“I heard that Kro came around here a couple of days ago. Did you see him?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Johnson sighed.
“Kro disappeared two days ago. There’s been no sign of him anywhere. I asked around, and the last place anyone saw him was near here.”
“If you did happen to see him, please make sure you tell me.”
“Fine.”
Renn closed the door.
“You know him?”
Machi nodded.
“I worked with them a few times before, but they divided the spoils unfairly, so I stopped working with them. His younger brother was especially bad. Since there were two of them, he took advantage of it to steal quite a lot from everyone else.”
A look of disgust appeared on Machi’s face.
The moment Renn heard the word steal, someone suddenly came to mind.
The thief he had disassembled.
“Don’t tell me… that was him?”