Meanwhile.
While Bai Ze was training Yama Tone.
On the other side, our attention turns to Netero.
Netero, carrying takeout Dandan noodles and pearl milk tea, returned to the Hunter Association’s spaceship.
Here, his secretary, Mame-jin, and the yellow-haired Kang Zai were already waiting.
Mame-jin, short in stature with a face shaped like a green bean, lacking a nose and ears, was Netero’s ever-present secretary.
Kang Zai: a rising star among the Hunter Association's hunters, possessing top-tier strength, he was a martial artist type.
He was a treasure hunter and a bodyguard.
A hot-tempered guy, he was not good with Mandarin or math.
In the original work, Chrollo estimated his strength at 85 points.
He was assigned to the defense team during the Dark Continent expedition.
He had his own ideas and didn’t bother with politics.
In the original work, he was the Yin Tiger of the Twelve Zodiacs.
At this point, Kang Zai was not yet one of the Twelve Zodiacs, as they had not yet been established.
He lay on a black leather sofa, legs crossed, hands behind his head, sporting a nonchalant, yellow-haired look.
Seeing Chairman Netero return, Kang Zai’s eyes lit up, and he exclaimed in a booming voice.
“Yo! Chairman!”
“You’re back, I’ve been waiting for you.”
“I heard you had something for me.”
“I happened to see your airship when I passed by Kukuroo Mountain, so I came to check it out.”
“What did you want to see me for?”
Mame-jin twitched his mouth, casting a helpless glance at Kang Zai.
“Mr. Kang Zai, please be a little calmer in front of Chairman Netero.”
Clearly, as an Enhancement-type, Kang Zai’s voice was like a loudspeaker, loud and boisterous, leaving Mame-jin speechless.
Kang Zai looked confused, his mouth agape.
“Ah!”
“What are you saying, Mame-jin?”
“Are you saying I’m too noisy?”
“I’m a delicate and lovely young man!”
“This is normal conversation, okay?”
Hearing this, Mame-jin’s eyes twitched. Kang Zai must have been taught Chinese by a monster. His descriptions were completely opposite.
He helplessly covered his face and muttered.
“Are you trying to say you’re a man of courage?”
“Oh~” Kang Zai dug his ears, nonchalantly saying: “It’s something like that.”
Way off… Mame-jin looked helpless.
However, he didn’t dwell on it too much.
After the brief interlude, Netero didn’t pay any attention to it. He placed the Dandan noodles and pearl milk tea on the table.
He broke into a genial smile.
Like a benevolent elder.
“I brought you some late-night snacks. Eat up.”
Seeing this, Kang Zai was overjoyed. His hands flew like flies, and he laughed, saying.
“Ahahaha, I was just hungry.”
“Chairman, you always know what I want!”
“I won’t be polite then!”
Clearly, as an Enhancement-type, Kang Zai didn’t have many ulterior motives.
His heart was set on food!
Standing nearby, Mame-jin’s expression was grim.
Regarding Netero’s hospitality.
As Netero’s secretary.
He knew Netero too well.
His strong sixth sense told him.
This was definitely not a good thing.
Seeing this, Netero stroked his white beard, chuckling.
“Ho ho ho~ Mame-jin, you’re not eating?”
“If you’re thirsty, you can have a sip of the pearl milk tea.”
Mame-jin swallowed hard.
His strong sense of danger made him wave his hands repeatedly, wryly saying.
“Chairman, no.”
“I’m not hungry, and I’m not thirsty.”
At this time, the unreserved Kang Zai was already devouring the noodles.
He was eating and commenting at the same time.
“Yo! It tastes pretty good.”
“This noodle is delicious, Chairman!”
“Did some Gourmet Hunter make it?”
“Especially these two meatballs, they’re so chewy.”
“Too bad, there’s not enough.”
As he ate, the thirsty Kang Zai finished the entire cup of pearl milk tea in one gulp, laughing and saying.
“Wow, this drink is also good, Chairman. Do you have more?”
The Chairman jokingly said: “No more.”
“After all, ingredients are scarce, so food is also quite rare.”
The naive Kang Zai hadn’t realized the seriousness of the situation and instinctively asked.
“What do you mean?”
Where there were questions, there were answers. Netero explained honestly.
He truthfully described the process of making the Dandan noodles and pearl milk tea.
As soon as he finished, Kang Zai, who had been wolfing down the food, froze in place, petrified.
His eyes lost their gleam, his pupils were lifeless, his gaze empty, fixed on Netero.
His lips twitched, trembling as he said.
“Chairman… are you serious?”
Netero burst into laughter: “Of course~ ho ho ho.”
Immediately after that!
Kang Zai started throwing up.
Like a faucet turned on full blast, he vomited uncontrollably.
He had eaten a pound of food.
He threw up five pounds.
He was in a complete mess.
He wailed in despair.
“Damn it!!!”
This scene made Mame-jin’s forehead break out in a cold sweat.
He pulled out a white handkerchief from his pocket, wiped the sweat off his forehead, and said with a sigh of relief.
“Good thing, good thing, I knew the Chairman was a playful old man. There was bound to be something fishy about this food.”
“Mr. Kang Zai is too simple, no wonder he’s an Enhancement-type.”
As for the playful old man, Netero understood Bai Ze’s joy.
Indeed, people’s joy was built upon the suffering of others.
Good, next time I’ll ask Bai Ze for more dark dishes, I’ll make some for Kurapika and Pariston too.
But, given Kurapika and Pariston’s cunning, they probably won’t fall for it.
I was careless and didn’t dodge. Who knew Bai Ze would be so unprincipled, bullying this lonely old man.
After the brief interlude, Netero regained his composure, clasped his hands behind his back, and said slowly.
“Alright, let’s talk about the real business.”
“I’m going to form the Twelve Zodiacs.”
“A team composed of the Hunter elite. They’ll have absolute authority within the Hunter Association and help me manage the Hunter Association on a daily basis.”
Of course, when they had nothing to do, the Twelve Zodiacs would be his playmates. This was something Netero didn’t say explicitly.
He’d just play quietly. Occasionally, he could also trick these people, just like he tricked Kang Zai a moment ago. Not bad.
Kang Zai, who had vomited until his face was pale, wiped the stains from his mouth with his right hand, and said in a weak voice.
“Chairman… do you have any candidates?”
Netero’s deep eyes flickered with a glimmer, and he chuckled.
“Of course.”
“You are one of them.”
“And then there’s Pariston Hill, the Criminal Hunter, Chrollo Lucifer, the Ancient Texts Hunter, Pyon, the Terrorist Hunter, Port-a-Pit, the Poison Hunter, Gell, the Bastard, Kurapika… .”
A series of names, all of them famous hunters.
They were either renowned hunters, strong powerhouses, or talented rising stars.
These hunters’ names were well-known in the current hunter world and were not unfamiliar.
As he mentioned the last name, Netero’s tone grew heavier, a playful smile curved his lips, and he said each word carefully.
“And Bai Ze.”
This name caused Mame-jin and Kang Zai to pause slightly, a name they had never heard before.
Kang Zai directly said: “Chairman, who is Bai Ze?”
“Is he qualified?”
“The other candidates for the Twelve Zodiacs are all famous hunters, Chrollo Lucifer, Port-a-Pit, Kidd Cole… these people.”
“Although, I don’t like Kurapika and that bastard Pariston, they are indeed very strong, qualified to be one of the Twelve Zodiacs.”
“Who is this Bai Ze?”
“Is he qualified to be on par with us?”
Kang Zai’s words didn’t actually contain any malice, just a bit too direct. That’s how Enhancement-types are, too simple.
Mame-jin looked solemn and added.
“Chairman, I know you are very willful.”
“But, please reconsider on important matters of the Hunter Association.”
“Don’t make arrangements according to your own preferences.”
“Oh~” Netero stroked his beard, playfully smiling: “The murderous intent you felt near the Zoldyck family, it came from Bai Ze.”
As soon as these words left his mouth, Mame-jin and Kang Zai’s pupils rapidly dilated.
Netero continued: “And, those Dandan noodles and pearl milk tea, those were Bai Ze’s handiwork.”
After those words, Kang Zai’s bad memories came flooding back.
He hung his head and vomited, his eyes bulged, he gritted his teeth, and said with resentment.
“Damn it!”
“That little bastard!”
“I’ll gobble him down!”
“This kind of hellish food, could a human being make it???”
Gobble him down… Mame-jin looked dumbfounded.
Clearly, after this explanation, Mame-jin and Kang Zai temporarily accepted Bai Ze.
This was also one of Netero’s little quirks. He wanted to make the candidates for the Twelve Zodiacs pay attention to Bai Ze. Things were finally getting interesting.
Patting Mame-jin on the shoulder, Netero reminded him.
“Except for Bai Ze, go and inform the other candidates.”
“A year later, we’ll officially begin the final test for the Twelve Zodiacs. Let them prepare well.”
Mame-jin nodded: “Chairman, I understand.”
There were no surprises, everything went as Netero expected.
This group of candidates for the Twelve Zodiacs, upon hearing Bai Ze’s name, were first taken aback, and then they started secretly investigating Bai Ze.
Especially Kang Zai….