Those who can become members of the Zodiacs all have extraordinary strength. After all, every single one of them was handpicked by Netero himself.
At this moment, the conference room was filled with an oppressive Aura. Beans had been forced into a corner, with beads of sweat forming rapidly on his forehead.
He glanced at the sullen-looking members of the Zodiacs sitting in their seats, and prayed weakly in his heart: 'Chairman, please hurry up and get here!'
Even then, the young man at the center of this overwhelming Aura remained completely unfazed. It was as if he couldn't even feel the immense Aura emanating from these powerful individuals. Or, rather, this immense Aura simply had no effect on him whatsoever, despite it being strong enough to make most Nen Users collapse to the ground.
"I'm not late. That clock is slow."
In response to Mizaistom's claim that he was five seconds late, the young man pointed to the clock in the conference room and spoke in a very firm tone.
Then, under everyone's watchful gaze, he strode toward the wall where the clock hung. He lightly tapped the wall, causing the clock to fall instantly.
The young man caught the clock with one hand, examined it briefly, and then said seriously, "It's actually five seconds fast. No wonder you said I was late by five seconds."
"…"
When everyone heard this, the Aura emanating from the Zodiacs' members grew even sharper. The stark contrast between this man's nonchalant demeanor and the serious atmosphere in the room made them deeply uncomfortable.
The young man remained unmoved and simply adjusted the second hand back by five seconds. Then, with a casual flick of his wrist, he tossed the clock back toward the wall. The groove on the back of the clock landed precisely on the nail in the wall, hanging it back up perfectly.
"I've fixed it for you."
After putting up the clock, the young man looked at the people sitting in the seats and said with a slight smile.
The Aura crashing against him were nearly tangible, yet he remained unmoved, completely unaffected. Just his unyielding composure alone was worthy of recognition.
The members of the Zodiacs all stared at the young man, but no one spoke a word, creating a tense, almost explosive atmosphere in the conference room.
Of course, even if Netero was not present, they would never take action in the conference room. But truthfully, if Netero were here, he'd would probably fan the flames even more, perhaps even encourage the Zodiacs' members to beat up the newcomer.
Regardless of the outcome, Netero would surely find an appropriate excuse for the situation, perhaps calling it a 'combat assessment'.
"Ging Freecss?" Botobai, who is the most senior member, was the first to restrain his Aura and said in a deep voice.
The young man addressed as Ging Freecss immediately turned to look at him and nodded.
This man was none other than the father of the original work's protagonist, and the one who would become one of the world's five strongest Nen Users in the future.
Seeing Botobai restraining his Aura, the others hesitated for a moment and then also withdrew their Aura.
First of all, the way Ging appeared and his nonchalant manner, as if he was at home, made them feel a little uncomfortable.
Therefore, they had instinctively shared the same thought, to collectively unleash their intense, emotion-charged Aura in an attempt to pressure him. However, Ging was not affected at all, which is a testament to his strength.
Seeing the tense atmosphere began to ease, Beans, who had unknowingly leaned against the wall, let out a sigh of relief. He quickly walked over and said, "Ging, you're finally here."
"Beans, long time no see." Ging's amber eyes flickered with amusement.
Beans sighed softly and pointed to an empty seat, "Your seat is over here."
Ging glanced at the seat, which was between Mizaistom and a green-haired woman. He nodded slightly before walking over.
"The review process is still ongoing. Until the results are finalized, you are not yet officially a member of the Zodiacs." The blond man in a suit, who always maintained a smile, reminded at the right time.
Pariston, the Rat of the Zodiacs, was very active within the Hunter Association. He is skilled at consolidating various opinions and has a strong ability to handle various affairs. He will serve as the vice chairman of the Hunter Association in the future.
He was always dressed in a full suit, and his warm smile never seemed to fade. It was rare to see him without it.
At this time, Pariston continued to smile as he looked at Ging and put forward the key point.
The other members of the Zodiacs immediately shifted their gaze to Pariston, and their brows furrowed slightly.
Ging was also looking at Pariston with a calm expression.
"Did I say something wrong?" Facing everyone's gaze, Pariston asked with a smile.
The room fell into silence. Beans glanced at the ever-smiling Pariston, then at the unperturbed Ging, and once again shouted in his heart: 'Chairman, hurry up and come!'
Pariston's meaning was very clear, that is, since the review process wasn't finished, Ging couldn't yet be considered an official member of the Zodiacs. Therefore, he couldn't sit on the Zodiacs' seat.
In fact, the person who calls the shots has always been Netero. The moment Ging stepped into the room, his membership in the Zodiacs was already a foregone conclusion.
Everyone present knew this perfectly well, but it seemed that Pariston, purely for his own amusement, deliberately chose to make things difficult.
"So troublesome…"
Ging scratched the back of his head, then casually sat cross-legged on the floor and said, "Then I'll just sit here until the Chairman arrives."
He knew what Pariston meant by that, but he didn't care in the slightest.
"I can bring you a small stool." Pariston offered while looking at Ging with an unwavering smile.
But Ging simply laughed heartily and said, "No need. I'm used to sitting on the ground."
"Hmm." Pariston nodded slowly. From beginning to end, the look in his eyes and the smile on his face were like those of a person in an oil painting, without the slightest change.
On the surface, this seemed like a simple initiation ritual, with veteran members giving the newcomer a hard time. But Pariston's words were all reasonable, and his tone and attitude were also perfectly courteous, making it difficult to accuse him of being deliberately obstructive.
Beans watched the scene unfold and let out a heavy sigh.
The other Zodiacs' members glanced between Ging and Pariston. For some reason, they felt a strange sense of satisfaction.
This newcomer seemed to have an unshakable presence. Perhaps calling him 'thick-skinned' wouldn't be quite appropriate, so 'impervious to anything' felt like a better fit.
They all disliked Pariston, whether it was his ever-present smile or his habit of causing trouble for his own amusement, he was impossible to like. But now, it seemed like Pariston had finally met his match.
10:20 AM, this was the time indicated by the adjusted clock in the conference room, which meant that Netero was already twenty minutes late.
"Bean, how much longer until the Chairman arrives?"
Ging, who was still sitting on the ground, took out an apple from somewhere and asked while eating it.
Beans smiled bitterly and shook his head, "I don't know either."
"Oh." Ging nodded in understanding.
Seeing Ging taking out the apple and eating it without care about his surrounding, the Zodiacs' attention once again fell on him.
Noticing everyone's gaze, Ging said awkwardly, "Do you all want some too? But I only have one… it's not enough to share."
Pariston kept smiling, while several of the others were already sporting prominent veins on their foreheads.
At some point in the future, Zodiacs' meetings would no longer have a serious atmosphere. Instead, the conference table would be filled with snacks, afternoon tea, takeout boxes, even gaming consoles and laptops, turning their meetings into something more akin to casual tea gatherings.
Netero frequently arrived late, and these things they brought became the perfect way to kill time. But right now, the table was completely empty, as the Zodiacs' members hadn't yet developed such bad habits.
And yet, Ging, who had not yet officially become a member of the Zodiacs, took out an apple to eat while waiting for Netero to arrive.
Perhaps… the bad habits of future Zodiacs' meetings started right here.