After shooting the old acquaintance, Kipseal turned and left.
"Dispose of the witnesses."
"Yes, sir."
Before leaving, Kipseal ordered the "Emer" squad to dispose of the three fleeing servants.
A moment later, with a roar of engines, the Night Raven Aircraft disappeared into the night.
October 22, 1988, 10:00 AM.
Hunter Association Headquarters, Chairman's Office.
As usual, Netero, in ancient white straight robes, sat cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed, hands clasped before his chest, meditating.
"Beep beep..."
A phone rang.
"It's about time to give a response."
Netero opened his eyes, first looked at the clock on the wall, then stood up and went to his desk, picking up the receiver.
"Moshi moshi~ This is Hunter Association Headquarters, Chairman's Office, I am Netero."
Netero held the receiver in one hand and continuously stroked his beard with the other, his tone leisurely.
Coupled with the comical expression on his face, he gave off an extremely unserious vibe, completely lacking the demeanor of the "world's strongest Nen user."
"Chairman Netero."
From the phone, a steady, deep, and magnetic middle-aged male voice rang out.
"Gin, is something wrong?"
Netero's motion of stroking his beard paused. He still asked knowingly, in a leisurely tone.
"Chairman Netero, regarding your request for a meeting, I have already discussed it with them."
"Oh~, and your answer..."
"Refusal."
"Can you give me a suitable reason?"
"We have already learned of the ban passed between the Hunter Association and the V5 nations. We already have an outcome for this meeting."
Netero heard this, his eyes narrowed, the movement of stroking his beard stopped. He pushed back his chair and walked to the office's panoramic French window, gazing at the bustling city streetscape outside, and the blue sky and white clouds above the city.
"Hmm, it seems you have very capable intelligence officers."
Netero's tone was no longer leisurely. His slow words carried a heavy sense of oppression.
"You really can't meet?" Netero asked again, jokingly, "Even a phone call would be fine."
On the other side of the phone, King Bradley stood expressionlessly on a mountaintop.
Above and below him was a military base, with Illyana soldiers coming and going everywhere.
"What has already been decided will not be easily changed."
"Beep..."
King Bradley gave him his final answer, then hung up the phone.
"What has already been decided will not change?"
"Although it was expected, some things cannot be done as one pleases, just because one wants to."
Inside the office, Netero looked down at the receiver in his hand, silent for a long time.
"Chairman, did you call for me?"
Just as Netero was contemplating by the window, Bean took opened the office door and came to the desk, asking Netero, who had his back to the office.
"Bean, notify the Clean-Up Squad that I have an important mission for them."
Bean heard this, first looked surprised, then nodded solemnly.
"Yes, Chairman!"
An hour later...
Inside the Chairman's office, Netero sat in his office chair, while Bean placed a laptop on the desk in front of Netero.
Through Bean's efforts, they finally contacted the Clean-Up Squad members who were performing missions around the world.
"Chairman, why are you looking for us at this time? Has something important happened?"
The laptop screen was divided into twelve small windows, and all members of the Clean-Up Squad were online.
The person who just spoke was a short-haired, clean-cut woman in a purple suit. She was one of the three female Hunters in the Clean-Up Squad.
Facing his subordinate's question, Netero lowered his eyelids, seemingly deep in thought.
"Chairman, can you please speak quickly if there's something important?"
"I'm very busy!"
"Just received news that our people found clues in Manasseh Province, south of Pegorose. We're in a hurry right now."
The second speaker was the Hunter who had appeared at the Southern Pis Auction House in Yorknew City, Geru's partner.
"Pegorose?"
Netero finally showed an expression upon hearing this. He looked at the Hunter speaking on the screen, then scanned the rest of the team.
"In that case, you and Geru go handle the Pegorose matter first."
"You don't need to participate in the upcoming mission."
"You should have said so earlier, wasting my time." Geru's partner complained with a pout, then disconnected the video call.
"I apologize, Chairman." Geru, with a look of apology, apologized to Netero through the screen, then also disconnected the video call.
"Alright, the mission to find the S-class Magical Beast will temporarily be handled by them." After the two members successively disconnected their video calls, Netero finally became serious. "Now, I'm going to give you an extremely important investigation mission."
"The difficulty of this mission is A."
United States of Adime, Yorknew City.
"Due to the lightning storm, all outgoing flights have been canceled. Passengers, please proceed according to..."
A broadcast repeatedly played in Yorknew Airport.
"What's going on?"
"Why is there a lightning storm at this time?"
"My travel plans for this week aren't going to be ruined, are they?"
"Hey, Christopher, I have a problem here. I won't make it in time to sign the contract today..."
A large number of tourists gathered in the waiting area, complaining about the cursed weather.
"Little brother, here's your change."
In the airport supermarket, a chubby boy with squinting eyes in a white hoodie stood in front of the supermarket counter. He held a large bag in one hand and took the change from the cashier's hand with the other.
"Thank you."
The chubby boy casually put the change into his pocket, and after thanking, turned to leave.
As the chubby boy walked, he pulled out a bag of potato chips from the large bag full of snacks. He ripped it open with a "rip" and immediately started eating the potato chips with his hands, his mouth full of crumbs.
He walked out of the airport and came to the roadside outside. He casually waved, and a taxi stopped in front of him.
The chubby boy reached out, opened the car door, and sat in the back seat.
"Where are you going, little brother?"
The driver, seeing that he was a child, was very friendly.
"Umbrella Bio-Tech Corporation Yorknew City Branch."
The chubby boy, eating snacks, opened his mouth and rattled off a string of names. The driver was startled for a moment but then stepped on the gas.
"Little brother, what are you doing at Umbrella Corporation?"
"Do your dad or mom work there?"
"Speaking of which, Umbrella Corporation is famous for its good benefits. Too bad I'm not capable, so I'm stuck driving a taxi all my life."
Along the way, the driver chattered incessantly, while the chubby boy concentrated on devouring a large bag of snacks, completely ignoring the driver's words.
"Beep beep..."
Suddenly, his phone vibrated in his pocket. The chubby boy took it out and saw the caller ID—Dad.
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