19 Chapter 19: Getting Locations
(A/N: I will be slowing updates to 1 chap a week due to my interest in reading a novel right now, if I can, I will upload more, but right now it's 1/week... I hope you all understand)
After catching up to his thread of Nen, all that Soren was met with was a blazing mansion.
'So they found me… This fire also seems a bit abnormal, as it heat and speed of which it's consuming the mansion is too fast, meaning this is either a Nen ability, or the mansion was prepared for an inevitable 'escape and destroy' when they were caught': soren
Not wanting to stick around for much longer, Soren decided it was best to leave and try picking up on a new trail, as it was quite obvious that the mansion wouldn't hold anything of value after the fire died down. Soren then began looking for any clues left behind in the car that he tailed here, but all he found was a long strand of silver hair, but there was nothing he could do with that.
'What if I put an ad out looking for someone with the Nen ability to locate people through DNA?': soren
As Soren had this thought, he quickly coated the strand of hair in a shroud of Nen so it wouldn't get lost or damaged until he could find a small plastic bag to keep it in. After securing the hair and making sure there was nothing else of value in the car, Soren thought it was time to head back to the city and create an ad.
"Looking for someone who can locate a person through a strand of hair… Price is negotiable": soren
As Soren hit the enter button to post the ad, he began watching the message bar hoping that there wouldn't be too many scammers trying to pull a fast one on him, and after 3 hours, Soren noticed that he had a reply.
"I would like to apply for this job request… Where will we be meeting?": message
As Soren read the contents, he was a bit annoyed that the person neither introduced themselves, nor did they give a brief description on how they would do it, but Soren felt hopeful, as if they were real, why would they give out their secrets and make themselves a target. If you could find anyone in the world only by a strand of DNA, criminals who want to hide wouldn't be able to hide, meaning they would want you dead so you can't leak their whereabouts.
"Give me a location, and I will be there": soren
Soren had given a simple reply, as he knew he wouldn't get much if he were to inquire how it would all be done, as it only needed to be done, and it didn't matter how it came to that point.
"How about Baxton City?... It's about a 3 hour drive from where you currently are": message
Hearing that his location was known by the other party, Soren couldn't be surprised, as this all took place in a public café, and Soren wasn't trying to be secretive, as he didn't care if someone knew his location, as he just replied.
"I'll be there in 3 hours then… Any description on what you will look like?": soren
Not hoping for a real answer, Soren just asked anyway, and as he expected, the reply came back with their answer.
"No need to know what I look like… Be at the Baxton Café in 4 hours… That's enough time to get to Baxton City, and get settled in": message
"Okay, I'll be the man with red hair wearing a white dress shirt": soren
After looking up an address, Soren began heading over to Baxton City using a public transport bus, and after a 3 hour bus ride, Soren was now in Baxton City, and his next stop would be at the Baxton Café where he would meet with the applicant for the job.
"Welcome to the Baxton Café, what can I get you?": waitress
After walking through the door of the Café, Soren was met with a beautiful waitress who was dressed in a simple red dress with a black floral pattern around the hem of the dress. She held a small notepad in hand as she asked what Soren wanted to get.
"I'll have a black coffee, and a banana muffin": soren
After taking down his order, the waitress walked to the back with a business smile as she relayed the order to the barista before heading out to take the order of another table. Meanwhile, Soren was waiting patiently for either the arrival of his order, or the arrival of this potential employee, but he didn't seem to wait long, as a figure in an oversized black hoodie sat down across from him as Soren couldn't make out many of the physical details due to the oversized hoodie.
"You know… It's not wise to dress like this if you're trying to not draw attention to yourself": soren
The figure didn't respond as they only slid forward a piece of paper with something written down.
"I'm not here to chit-chat… Where is the piece of hair you want me to use to track down your missing person?": written note
When Soren read the note, he felt a bit annoyed, but he didn't bother to argue as he took out the plastic bag with a single strand of silver hair and passed it over to the figure as he gave a word of warning.
"Here, but I will let you know now… If you try to pull any sketchy stuff, I'll kill you right where you sit, and I don't care who sees it": soren
Soren made sure to imbue his words with a bit of pressure so as to let the figure know how serious he was, but deep down, Soren didn't plan on killing the person, as he knew nothing about them, but seeing the figure shake under the pressure, Soren could tell they understood, as he watched the figure reach out for the paper, as a delicate white hand grabbed hold of the paper and started writing.
"I will begin now… But I will not release the information until payment is made… I want 5 million jenny to find this person": written note
'5 million is a big sum… It also seems that this person is most likely female from their delicate hands and the way they write… It all gives off a feminine vibe… I really am curious to see the face under the hood': soren
"If I deem your ability to be real, I will most definitely pay you, so just get started": soren
The figure nodded as Soren noticed a shroud of Nen surrounding the figure as the oversized hoodie began to flutter a bit, as Soren tried peering into the fluttering hood as he tried to make out a face, but nothing worked. Soon, an illusory figure of an old school detective dressed like Sherlock Holmes with a magnifier in his hands began examining the strand of hair as it was shrouded in the Nen of the person examining it, and soon, the detective began looking towards the roof as a total of 13 strings of Nen began to emit from the strand of hair as they began stretching out infinitely towards specific directions until the power stopped as the results had surfaced, but the figure seemed confused.
"So, did you find this person?": soren
Just as Soren was waiting for the figure to start writing, he was a bit shocked to hear a feminine voice come from the figure.
"Just who exactly are you looking for?": hooded woman
"Oh, so you do speak… Who I'm looking for is none of your concern, I just want to know if you have found them": soren
Seeing that Soren wasn't going to give an answer to her question, the hooded woman spoke again.
"I indeed have found the person you are looking for, but there is a problem": hooded woman
"Oh?... And what's the problem?": soren
"I have found a total of 13 matches, and they are spread out, while only two of these matches are currently on the move together": hooded woman
When Soren heard this, he was quite confused, but it was quite obvious what the hooded woman was getting at.
"So this hair belongs to 13 different people… Well, not different, but separate": soren
The woman only nodded as she fixed her hood and began writing on two separate pieces of paper before handing one of the pieces over as she spoke.
"This is the routing info, once you transfer over the 5 million jenny I'll give you the other piece of paper with the locations of the person or in this case persons you're looking for": hooded woman
Soren decided to pay for the information as he pulled out a phone and began contacting his bank before sending 5 million to the routing number that was given to him, and after receiving a notification through her laptop, the hooded woman passed over the second slip of paper before getting up to leave.
"Hey, how about a name before you go… I'd like to keep in contact just in case I need your assistance in the future": soren
Seeing that Soren wanted to keep in contact, the woman only gave a simple name.
"My name's Mina… If you ever need me, just make another ad using my name, and I'll respond": mina
Seeing that a possibly fake name was all that he was going to get, Soren had a smile appear on his face before he finally got his coffee and muffin.
"It's about time!": soren
Soren then spent a few minutes enjoying his coffee and muffin before he paid the bill and left the café. His next stop was to start hunting down these 13 people who all have the same DNA.
'I wonder if it's a cloning ability… But would that make it possible for the clones to create their own Nen ability?... This world is so strange': soren
The closest target to him were the two that had escaped the mansion, but remembering that Twelve was talking about delivering the goods to Zero, that made Soren think that Zero was the leader and was most likely the strongest among them.
"I should target the others first and see what kind of powers they have before targeting the head": soren
Soren decided that he would first head over to the Kukan'yu Kingdom where 3 out of the 13 locations were marked as he would start the operation of removing these fakes there.
{Attention all passengers, We will arrive in 10 minutes, please make sure to grab all belongings before exiting}
Soren heard the announcement as he released a sigh and got up to use the restroom before getting off the airship. After getting off the ship, Soren began looking around the city he had been dropped off at.
'Zaban City… A lot happens in this city, as it's the start to the Hunter Exam in the future… I wonder why these fakes choose to come here': soren
As Soren walked around the city, he noticed the gigantic cedar tree that stood tall off in the distance.
'This brings back the memories of watching the Anime, and the city itself kind of reminds me of my past life growing up in a crowded city': soren
As Soren continued towards the location written on the paper, Soren noticed that the first target was staying in a small hotel, but it was currently unknown if they were still staying in such a place. After entering the hotel, Soren made his way up to the room number marked down on the paper, and as he was taking the elevator up to the 10th floor, Soren thought about just how scary such an ability was.
'It seems impossible to hide from such an ability… It's just too sad that the ability is only limited to support rather than augmentation, making it almost impossible to fight skilled Nen users with their own Hatsu': soren
After coming out of the elevator, Soren began making his way down the hall to room 417, and after knocking on the door, Soren began to wait, but even after 4 minutes, there was no answer.
'Is it possible that nobody's home right now?': soren
As Soren thought of that possibility he used En to check the room, and surprisingly the room was empty, almost as if nobody was checked into the room. The bed had no sign of use, and the towels were still folded neatly in the closet, while the dust on the dressers remained untouched, all of the signs pointed towards the room not being used, but there was obviously someone who stayed there as Mina's ability said so.
'This is frustrating… I wish I had been into more detective related shows in the past… I guess I can only rely on prying information from the hotel receptionist': soren
As Soren alted for the second option, he made his way back down to the main lobby before heading up to the counter to talk with a well dressed young man.
"Welcome to the Zaban Hostal, how can I help you?": rep
"Yes, I was supposed to meet with my friend here, but I don't know where they had gone… Could you tell me who lives in room 417?": soren
Upon hearing the dilemma, the receptionist felt troubled, but the hotel policy was never to reveal client information unless it's to an authority, and since Soren wasn't an authority he couldn't help.
"I'm sorry, but I can't divulge that information… Perhaps you can give them a call?": rep
"I tried, but I heard the ring come from the other side of the door, meaning they left their phone": soren
After seeing that the receptionist was going to play hard ball, Soren felt he would return the game until he got what he wanted, and he wouldn't leave until then.
