Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 228 (Patreon)

Chapter 228: Ging Freecss

To become a member of the Zodiacs, one must be exceptionally skilled, having been handpicked by Chairman Netero himself.

At this moment, the conference room was filled with a palpable and oppressive aura. Bean, pushed into a corner, had beads of sweat densely covering his forehead.

He looked at the Zodiac members sitting around, silently praying in his heart: Chairman, please come!

The young man at the center of the aura seemed unaffected, as if he didn't feel the intense aura emanating from these powerful individuals, or perhaps, the aura that would typically force a regular Nen user to the ground had no effect on him.

"I'm not late; it's just that the clock is slow."

Responding to Mizaistom's remark about being five seconds late, the young man pointed at the clock in the conference room with a very sure tone.

As he spoke, he walked confidently towards the wall where the clock hung, lightly tapped it, and the clock fell.

The young man caught the clock with his bare hands, looked at it, and said seriously, "It's actually five seconds fast, no wonder it said I was late by five seconds."

...

Hearing this, the aura of Nen released by everyone in the room became even more fierce, making it quite uncomfortable for them as it contrasted starkly with the young man's light and breezy demeanor.

Unperturbed, the young man simply turned the second hand back by five seconds, then casually threw the clock back. It hooked onto the wall nail perfectly and hung securely.

"I've adjusted it for you."

After hanging the clock, the young man looked at the seated members and said with a light chuckle,

The wave-like aura assaulting him seemed almost tangible, but he stood firm as a rock, unaffected; his unflinching will alone was commendable.

The members of the Zodiacs were all intently watching the young man, none spoke, creating a tense and eerie atmosphere in the room.

Of course, even if Chairman Netero was not present, they would never start a fight in the conference room. But in fact, if Netero were there, he probably would stir things up and let the Zodiacs take a crack at the newcomer.

Regardless of the outcome, Chairman Netero would always find a fitting excuse for this interesting event, such as, ostensibly, a test of combat strength.

"Ging Freecss?" Botobai, the most senior, first lowered his aura, and asked in a deep voice.

The young man, called Ging Freecss, immediately looked at him and nodded.

This man, the father of the original protagonist, would become one of the world's top five Nen users in the future.

Seeing Botobai lower his aura, others hesitated for a moment, then also withdrew their aura.

Firstly, the way Ging made his entrance, and his at-home demeanor made them slightly uncomfortable.

So, their intentions aligned in that moment, almost simultaneously compressing their emotion-charged rich aura towards him, yet Ging remained completely unaffected, his strength clearly evident.

As the tense atmosphere began to relax, Bean, who had been leaning against the wall, let out a sigh of relief and hurried over, saying, "Ging, you've finally arrived."

"Bean, long time no see." Ging's amber eyes sparkled with a hint of a smile.

Bean sighed softly, pointing to an empty seat, "Your place is here."

Ging glanced at the seat, located between Mizaistom and a woman with long green hair, and nodded slightly before walking over.

"The audit is still ongoing, and until the results are out, you're not yet a member of the Zodiacs," said Pariston Hill, always in a suit and smiling, currently a prominent figure in the Hunter Association, who would later become the Vice Chairman.

He always wore a suit and his face always bore a mild smile, rarely seen without it.

At that moment, he smiled at Ging and made his point.

The other Zodiac members then turned their gaze to Pariston, frowning slightly.

Ging also looked at him, his expression calm.

"Did I say something wrong?" Pariston said with a smile, facing everyone's gaze.

The room fell silent, Bean looked at the smiling Pariston, then at the calm Ging, and screamed in his heart again: Chairman, please come!

Pariston's meaning was clear: before the audit was over, Ging couldn't be sure of his place as a new member of the Zodiacs, so naturally, this seat wasn't his to take yet.

In reality, the decision-maker was always Chairman Netero. When Ging entered the conference room, becoming a member of the Zodiacs was already a foregone conclusion.

Everyone in the room knew this, but Pariston seemed to be just looking for fun by making things difficult.

"Super troublesome..."

Ging scratched the back of his head and sat down cross-legged on

 the floor, saying, "Well, I'll just sit here until the Chairman arrives."

He understood what Pariston meant, but he didn't care.

"I can get you a small stool," Pariston offered, looking at the always composed Ging.

Ging just laughed heartily and said, "No need, I'm used to sitting on the ground."

"Mm," Pariston slowly nodded, his eyes and smile never changing, as if he were a person from an oil painting.

This appeared to be the old members hazing the new one, yet everything Pariston said was by the book, and his tone and demeanor were very gentle, making it hard to see any malice.

Bean watched this scene and sighed deeply.

The other members' eyes shifted between Ging and Pariston, and for some reason, they felt a sense of exhilaration.

This new member seemed to possess an invincibility that didn't quite fit the description of 'thick-skinned,' so they used a more encompassing term, 'invulnerable.'

They all disliked Pariston, whether for his smile or the hidden needles in his cotton, which seemed to have met its match now.

At 10:20, the time pointed to by the corrected clock in the conference room indicated that Chairman Netero was already twenty minutes late.

"Bean, how long till the Chairman arrives?" Ging, sitting on the floor, pulled out an apple and began to munch on it as he asked.

Bean's bitter smile overflowed as he shook his head, "I'm not sure either."

"Oh," Ging nodded in understanding.

As Ging casually took out an apple to eat, the Zodiac members' attention once again fell on him.

Realizing everyone's gaze, Ging awkwardly said, "Do you want some too? But I only have one, not enough to share."

Pariston watched him with a smile, while the foreheads of others were marked with several crossroads.

At some unknown point in the future, during Zodiac meetings, the conference table would be filled with snacks, afternoon tea, boxed lunches, even game consoles and laptops, losing all semblance of a serious meeting atmosphere, and more resembling an afternoon tea gathering.

Chairman Netero was often late, and these items brought to pass the time became their tools, but now, the conference table was bare, as the Zodiac members had not yet formed this bad habit.

At this moment, Ging, not yet officially a Zodiac member, was passing the time before Chairman Netero arrived by eating an apple.

Perhaps... the bad habits in future meetings started right here.

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