HxH: Apex Predator - Chapter 44: Exposure & Choice

Mo Zhu’s mother remarried after her father went missing, and she had lived in the countryside with her elderly grandmother ever since. The girl who had no parents wanted to protect herself. Therefore, to avoid getting bullied, she had turned wild since she was a child—she played truant, fought, and drank. There was nothing she did not know how to do. She was a problematic student in the eyes of her teachers, a big sister in the eyes of her classmates, and a hooligan in the eyes of her acquaintances.

I have given up power that can make the strongest of men tremble. I bore scars very few can imagine; loved women, very few had the gall to talk; and tread paths with chaosfiends.

“And I'm still standing.”

- - -

Gale was summoned into a mysterious world of magic and monsters for no particular reason. Thrown into squabbles of beings vastly higher than him, Gale strived to make a place for himself in the vain dream of immortality and a better world.

That was six years ago.

Beaten and battered from years of brutal war, Gale finally had enough and resolved to start over a new peaceful life in a totally unremarkable town with his trustworthy companion, Vale. Give up the weapon of slaughter and take up a hoe? That seemed like a fine deal to him.

Unfortunately, the valley wasn't as unremarkable as he thought it to be. Dictatorial governing bodies, suspicious practitioners, an exceedingly unwelcoming guest, and a secret that would change the entire world, all impeded his peaceful life. Gale will need all his mental stability to keep his temper in check, lest he brutalises his way out of trouble. Again.

Lu Shang picked up a dirty teenager while discussing work at a bar. It was merely happenstance, but memories from ten years ago resurfaced when he saw the gunshot scars on the teenager’s back.

Lu Shang asked him, “What is your name?”

“Xiao Li… My surname is Li, so they all called me Xiao Li.”

“You don’t have a name?”

“I don’t remember.”

Lu Shang said, “Then I will call you Li Sui. From now on, you will be with me.”

From that day onward, a young “lover” was always by Lu Shang’s side.

Years later, Dr. Leung teased Lu Shang, “You didn’t get his heart, instead your heart caved in; boss Lu, that doesn’t seem like a bargain.”

He put one hand on the door beside her head before leaning forward. What was he doing? Trying to intimidate her again?