"What a pain."
Walking down the street after leaving the hotel, Kevin Carpenberg wore a look of irritation.
He had originally planned to enjoy exploring the city, but now that was out of the question.
This world's acceptance of mafia organizations being legal disgusted him.
Sure, his old world had a few countries where criminal syndicates operated openly—but they were the exception, not the rule.
Here? Every country recognized mafia legitimacy.
"This damn world is seriously messed up," Kevin muttered again.
Then again, his previous self had Nen abilities and was considered a subordinate of some mafia boss named Saro.
More accurately, that guy just assumed he was. Kevin's former self had no real interest in the mafia; he was the type who'd work for whoever paid him enough to fund his dream.
Given the official records under his current identity, it wouldn't be hard to track him down.
He was listed as a regular, high-achieving college graduate with nothing particularly special about him—except for the fact that his fights in Heaven's Arena had been recorded.
This meant that the mafia boss who knew about Nen—Saro—would certainly know Kevin wasn't weak.
Which was likely why Saro had only sent a few average goons today to deliver a so-called "friendly message."
Kevin didn't believe for a second that would be the end of it.
After thinking for a moment, he pulled out his phone and made a call.
"Hey, it's me."
"Kevin? Something happen?" asked the voice on the other end—Wing.
"Yeah, something small. You know I don't have memories from my past, but that doesn't mean my past can't still affect me."
"Let me guess—mafia business, right?" Wing replied, hitting the nail on the head.
"Haha, you're sharp. That's exactly it." Kevin chuckled.
After all, it had been Wing who looked into Kevin's background back when they first met, so he knew the whole story.
Wing quickly understood Kevin might need help and said, "If you need info or advice, I'll dig through the Hunter Association's intranet and email you what I find.
Also, if you want to avoid being tracked so easily, hurry up and get your Hunter License."
Once you became a licensed Hunter, you could travel using your license, and all your data would be stored on the internal network.
The Ten Dons didn't have access to it—nor the means to hack it.
At the end of the day, the Ten Dons were just tools used by high-ranking elites to handle matters they didn't want to deal with directly.
Only top-tier hackers or V5 could access Hunter Association data.
And V5? As long as a Hunter didn't challenge their authority, they turned a blind eye to pretty much everything.
On paper, the Hunter Association was a private cooperative, but in practice, it was basically a puppet of powerful nations.
"No worries—I've already signed up," Kevin replied.
"Good. I'll get that info to you shortly."
"Thanks. Talk soon."
"Take care."
After ending the call, Kevin tucked away his phone.
Even though he hadn't gotten the email yet, that short exchange told him one thing: compared to the Hunter Association, the mafia and the Ten Dons weren't even a threat.
Wing was a member of the Shingen-Ryu school and had been deeply influenced by Biscuit Krueger—so his knowledge far exceeded that of the average Hunter.
Soon, an email came through.
It was a detailed report on Saro and his family—more in-depth than what Kevin had known before.
Apparently, Saro wasn't even an important figure within his own family.
The Tedoruka family held one seat among the Ten Dons, but they had so many children that over twenty of them had founded their own gangs.
These groups all operated under the Tedoruka family umbrella. Saro Tedoruka was the sixth son and far from being favored.
The email even mentioned the Shadow Beasts—a team of Nen users directly under the Ten Dons.
Which meant, even if Kevin threw the underworld into chaos, the worst retaliation he'd face would be from that squad.
"Damn, it even has info on some of their Nen abilities. This is amazing," Kevin murmured.
After reviewing the files, he reached a conclusion:
Even if he found and took Saro out, the backlash wouldn't be too severe.
The loss wasn't worth sending the Shadow Beasts after him.
Judging by the data, the Shadow Beasts were probably strong on paper—but that was just theoretical. He wouldn't know their true strength until they fought in person.
Still, having this intel gave him confidence.
"So basically, the worst that'll happen is he hires a few people to try and drag me back.
And with his level of wealth… it's not like he can offer much. Hah, and here I thought I was in deep with some bigshot."
Kevin couldn't help but snort.
When Pluto had brought up the Ten Dons—the supposed global mafia overlords—Kevin had really been fooled into thinking he was in trouble.
They had clearly taken advantage of his lack of knowledge about this world.
Still, it paid to be cautious.
The email included a place to search for posted jobs—Kevin figured he could look into who might have taken a contract to "invite" him.
"Total buzzkill," he muttered. He had been looking forward to enjoying this big city.
…
In a private hospital room, Wright lay on a medical bed. He had a few broken bones, but no life-threatening injuries.
Half the hospital was now filled with the mafia members Kevin had smashed aside with a single punch each.
Even Pluto hadn't said much this time—just sighed, admitting they'd seriously messed with the wrong person.
As for what Pluto reported to his superiors, Wright had no clearance to know.
He was staring at a sheet of paper his daughter had given him the night before—a poem-like prophecy she'd written.
He never imagined something like this could happen.
A coincidence? Maybe. Prophecy was hard to believe.
His daughter was just a pretty, ordinary girl—how could she suddenly have some kind of supernatural power?
Yet the events of the past few days lined up perfectly with the verses she'd written.
He remembered old stories he'd heard during his mafia days—tales of psychics, masters, superhumans.
Such rumors were always floating around.
Then he recalled the hotel incident—how in a single moment, an armed mafia squad had been wiped out with no resistance.
And that overwhelming malice…
The kind that made you feel like prey before a predator.
"Daddy!" a voice called out from the doorway, snapping him out of his thoughts.
patreon.com/HRT862 for 20 chapters ahead