Shortly after Hinrigh's people stepped through the door, as the portal gradually vanished, Joey made a gesture with his hand.
The meaning was clear: I've fulfilled my part of the deal. Now it's your turn. You can leave.
Hinrigh understood. He handed over a dossier he'd been carrying. Joey didn't reach out to take it—instead, he motioned for him to place it on the table.
"We're still investigating the Coffin Zone. So far, nothing's turned up on Deck 4," Hinrigh said, placing the file down casually, though a flicker of disappointment flashed in his eyes.
The Xiuwuwu Family was in charge of Deck 4, so it made sense for them to be the first to investigate that floor.
Joey nodded—he wasn't in a rush.
He had his own suspicions. The lower decks didn't seem likely to hold the Coffin Zone. His guess was it was hidden somewhere above—in particular, Deck 1 raised all kinds of red flags.
The BW was styled like a luxury cruise ship. That made Joey wonder whether it could even truly sail.
If Nasubi intended to perform a massive blood sacrifice aboard, then the "cruise ship" could be the true escape vessel. The BW—a whale in name—might just be a disposable shell, ready to sink.
Based on that, Joey was convinced the Coffin Zone had to be hidden within that cruise-ship-like upper deck. Not in the prince or royal quarters—but the VVIP zone was a good place to start digging.
Of course, accessing the VVIP area was no easy task. Joey's eyes drifted toward Sakata.
News had come from Area 3, summoning Sakata to the VVIP zone, where the Third Prince was now temporarily detained.
That meant Hinrigh's plan to eliminate the First Prince's personal guard had at least partially succeeded—and the parts that didn't? Likely tied to getting someone into the VVIP area.
Even a partial success would be enough: if just one of the three attackers survived, the Third Prince should now know the version of Joey on Deck 1 was a clone.
What would he deduce from that?
Would he notice the inconsistencies Joey had left behind on purpose?
If he did, getting into the VVIP zone might become easier.
It all depended on Sakata's report once he returned.
Aside from the VVIP zone, Joey had one other major concern about Deck 1: Area 6.
With his real body elsewhere, investigating or monitoring Area 6 was difficult.
His only hope lay in the actions of the First and Second Princes.
But Izunabi's job was to protect the Sixth Prince's life. As a professional Hunter, he likely wouldn't abandon his mission—no matter the risks or complications.
That was what made him tricky.
Then again, maybe Joey was overthinking it. According to Kurapika, Izunabi was a seasoned Hunter—responsible for his actions and judgments.
All they needed to do was contact Izunabi and confirm his stance. If he insisted on protecting the Sixth Prince, they'd cancel all operations involving him.
But Joey had doubts.
They'd helped the Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth, and Fourteenth Princes. Would they really abandon the Sixth just because of his Nen Beast?
If it were up to Joey alone, he wouldn't care. If the Sixth Prince was useless, let him die. Especially someone he saw as a sanctimonious fraud—his death would be no loss.
But Kurapika and the others didn't think that way.
Like when Melody nearly helped the Tenth Prince escape with Kenny, without even consulting the team—if Joey hadn't warned her beforehand, it could've derailed everything.
Such autonomous action was almost a habit among principled Hunters.
Joey understood: unless everyone was his puppet, he couldn't control them completely. And he wasn't a Manipulator, so that was off the table.
So he'd just move according to his own plan.
His clone would remain in Area 12 to protect the Twelfth Prince. Meanwhile, the real Joey—after escorting the Eleventh Prince—returned to his room and began reviewing the Xiasha-Yah intelligence file.
Within his En, Joey sensed a cat—not in his room, but out in the hallway.
He'd seen it earlier.
Its disguise was pathetic. But since he had a similar ability to Hinrigh—summoning animals—he let it be.
Instead, he focused. In a distant, unoccupied room, Joey used Gold Experience on a water kettle.
It took time to build enough aura across that distance.
Eventually, the kettle transformed into a sleek tomcat. It stretched, leapt from the table, and expertly opened the door to slip outside.
Moments later, an awful feline shriek echoed through the corridor.
Back in his room, Joey conjured a white mouse and had it touch the intel file on his desk.
After confirming it wasn't trapped, he began reading.
The Xiasha-Yah Family's boss was Yecaihua—a half-brother of Nasubi Hui Guo Rou. But since he was illegitimate, he remained in the shadows.
As secondary royals, their loyalty to the Kakin monarchy had been formally pledged.
Someone like Morena—who harbored desires of destruction—was a rare outlier among the secondary royals.
The file also contained data on the deputy boss, heirs, and aides.
But the info was surface-level: names, ages, basic roles. Nothing about whether they were Nen users.
Still, one key piece stood out—the Xiasha-Yah Family was currently in a standoff with the Phantom Troupe.
They were in charge of Deck 5. Initially, they had been searching the deck with the Troupe. But a massacre in the central cafeteria sparked conflict between them.
Hinrigh had heard that only some members opposed the Troupe. Others secretly admired them—even more so after witnessing their brutality.
Joey frowned.
The Phantom Troupe really were treated like rockstars among the underworld.
Especially in Kakin's mafia circles—where everything had long been bound by rules—many suppressed "maniacs" idolized the Troupe's unchecked violence.
It wouldn't just be the Xiasha-Yah Family. Joey figured the Xiuwuwu Family probably had Troupe fans too.
Only the Heil-Ly Family, after Elena's filtering, likely had no Troupe fans. They'd already gone full psycho—no need to envy another group of lunatics.
Joey even had a theory: killing ordinary people leveled you up—but killing Nen users? Gave more XP.
That meant some in the Heil-Ly might start hunting the Troupe.
As he frowned in thought, someone knocked.
Joey had kept his En active. Of course he knew who it was—the aura hadn't been gone long.
He opened the door.
The hallway cat had vanished, leaving behind a broken camera—lens and battery shattered—next to a smug-looking tomcat licking its paw.
At the door stood Morena—wearing a tight black dress that showed off her tall figure perfectly.
"You again?" Joey muttered, already irritated.
"Hinrigh left, didn't he?" Morena said sweetly.
"What's that got to do with you?" Joey didn't move from the doorway.
"Planning to receive sensitive intel right here?" Morena glanced both ways down the corridor.
Joey stepped aside. "Come in, then. Must be something important for you to be this eager."
Morena entered. Only after the door shut did she face him seriously.
"My people found a certain zone you've been looking for. Might be the Coffin Zone."
She dropped a bombshell.
"For real?" Joey's eyes lit up.
"Of course. Why lie about this?" Morena's tone turned solemn.
"There a catch?"
"Yes. On the surface, it's just a regular storage zone. But something's hidden. We need confirmation—but intel says all the guards inside are royal soldiers in disguise."
"Deck 3?" Joey asked, surprised.
That contradicted his earlier judgment.
Morena shook her head. "No. Deck 5. In the Xiasha-Yah Family's storage sector."
Joey frowned. Based on the manga, and what he'd just learned from Hinrigh, the Xiasha-Yah were currently clashing with the Phantom Troupe on Deck 5.
If the Coffin Zone was there, Morena might be trying to bait him into a trap.
After all, if the Heil-Ly were helping investigate, they should be looking into Deck 3—not venturing into Deck 5.
The mafia turf layout aboard the ship was clear:
— Heil-Ly: Deck 3. Black market trade with the rich.
— Xiuwuwu: Deck 4. Controlled labor and resources.
— Xiasha-Yah: Deck 5. In charge of all material goods.
That's why the Phantom Troupe's rampage pissed off the Xiasha-Yah.
They'd been the first to try allying with the Troupe—but the Troupe didn't care. The slaughter humiliated them.
Even if they couldn't beat them on Deck 5, they wanted the Troupe gone.
But Hisoka had also appeared on Deck 5—so the Troupe wasn't eager to leave.
Morena seemed to sense Joey's doubt.
"I'll go with you," she offered.
Joey gave her a look. That offer was basically worthless.
Worse than worthless—it was a burden.
But that confirmed something: Morena was testing him. Testing how much he cared about the Coffin Zone. Betting he'd go.
"Cut the crap. I am going to Deck 5. But not with you. So—is your intel fake, or real?" Joey cut straight to the point.
If she was lying, future deals would be handled differently.
But if she was telling the truth—even if she was using him—he didn't care.
Their relationship was built on mutual exploitation. If Morena ever started acting sincere, that would be truly terrifying.
Because that would mean something was very, very wrong.
She was not the type to be ruled by emotion or affection.
And while Joey was handsome, he wasn't so stunning that women would break Vows and Limitations just to adore him.
If that were a real ability, it might be called One Glance Turns You Into A Simp. Ultimate simp mode.
"The intel's real," Morena insisted again.
Joey nodded. "Location."
"Storage Zone C, Deck 5. Details inside are yours to uncover."
"Got it. Anything else?" Joey wasn't heading out immediately. He was already seeing her off.
"Heh." Morena let out an ambiguous chuckle. For the seventh time since entering, she tucked her pale hair behind her ear.
Joey noticed—but felt nothing.
He wasn't really Kira Yoshikage. And even if he were, he only liked hands, not people.
If Morena knew that, she'd realize she was playing with fire.
Maybe the hand would remain—but she might not.
After she left, Joey began tidying up. He burned the Xiasha-Yah intel file—it was already memorized.
Then he examined a map he'd drawn of odd locations on Deck 3. He'd explored part of it, but more work remained.
A few hours later, Joey stepped onto Deck 5.