The Dark Continent is the world beyond the edges of the world map.
There, one can find all sorts of humanoid creatures, endless and bizarre special disasters, and an ecosystem so vast and chaotic that it defies description.
In such a place, humans are as insignificant as ants.
Moreover, any human exploration or challenge of the Dark Continent has led to disasters befalling the Six Continents.
Therefore, in order to ensure the stability of human society, more than two hundred years ago, the Dark Continent was regarded as the biggest taboo by V5, and a treaty was established that prohibited anyone from going to the Dark Continent.
Over time, the vast majority of the public became unaware of the Dark Continent's existence.
Much like a policy of isolation, they didn't know that beyond the edges of their world lay a Pandora's box filled with unknowns and dangers. Their understanding of the 'world' was limited only to the world map printed in their textbooks.
But now, Beyond, in collaboration with the Kakin Empire, has brazenly revealed the existence of the [Dark Continent] to the world, shattering the treaty V5 had upheld for over two hundred years!
Most importantly,
Beyond only spoke of the bright, alluring prospects while completely omitting the endless risks lurking in the shadows.
This would undoubtedly anger the higher-ups of V5.
And thus, just as Moses had predicted, the furious V5's leadership couldn't immediately take drastic action against the Kakin Empire, but they could directly target Beyond, who was appointed by the Kakin Empire's King Nasubi as the Captain of the Dark Continent Expedition Team.
Shortly after Moses and the others finished watching the recording, V5's special instructions arrived as expected.
No justification was given. Instead, the order straightforwardly demanded the hunt down Beyond Netero.
And at the end of the call, the male voice coming from Beans's phone coldly stated:: "If you fail, I can assure you that the Hunter Association will no longer have a future in the light."
Faced with the pressure from the man on the other end of the line, Beans's face was covered in cold sweat and he nodded repeatedly.
Then, the call ended abruptly.
Moses and the others, who are nearby, had all heard the conversation.
Kanzai clicked his tongue and said, "It seems like V5 is really pissed."
"Indeed…"
Saccho looked down at the corner of the meeting table and said calmly, "They rush over to ask others for something, but in the end, they don't even bother coming up with a proper justification."
"Most likely, they'll charge Beyond with inciting chaos or sedition."
Gel raised her head slightly and came up with the most plausible scenario based on the existing information.
After all, Beyond had now captured the attention of the entire world.
Therefore, whether it was the colossal entity of V5 or the Hunter Association, which is a well-known group among the people… if they want to attack Beyond, they must have a legitimate reason.
"Who cares about the charges? The real issue is trying to assassinate Beyond under the heavy protection of a great nation like Kakin Empire... Even if we mobilized the entire Association's strength, success isn't guaranteed, right?"
Cluck rested her chin on the back of her hand, her brows furrowed.
Botobai crossed his arms and said seriously:
"With just the Association's power, of course we can't go head-to-head with a superpower like Kakin Empire. But… our original goal was to fulfill the late Chairman's last wish. So no matter how difficult the process is, I assume everyone here has already steeled their resolve, right?"
"That goes without saying."
Mizaistom let out a long sigh and said in a deep voice: "But we could've taken our time to plan carefully and ensure the mission's success rate."
"Things don't always go as planned~ Just take it easy."
"There's no need to rush this matter. For now, let's consolidate our information..."
Regarding V5's hastily issued special order to kill Beyond, the Zodiacs' first reaction was recognizing the immense difficulty of the task.
If they were to hunt Beyond down, their preferred approach would be to intercept him either during the journey to the Dark Continent or at the landing point.
This approach is simpler than facing the national strength of the Kakin Empire head-on.
After all, Beyond wasn't some powerless politician. He is a formidable opponent in his own right.
Taking him down would already be an immense challenge, let alone doing so while facing the might of a superpower.
Under these circumstances, V5's attitude toward this matter would significantly influence the difficulty of the Hunter Association's mission.
Moses lowered his gaze, lost in thought.
Even if the task seemed nigh impossible, he wouldn't back down.
However, due to the extreme difficulty of implementation, careful planning was unavoidable.
It's a pity that his shadow is gone, and the specialties of the Dark Continent stored in the Shadow World are also gone with it.
Otherwise, he could have sold something like [Time Sand], which has the effect of reshaping the body, beautifying, and restoring youth, and get a large sum of money from those rich ladies and local tycoons, and then see if the Zoldyck Family would accept the commission to assassinate Beyond.
Moses glanced at the Zodiacs, who were still deep in discussion.
'The development of events is indeed different from the original work.'
It seemed the four unresolved Calamities had placed immense pressure on V5 and the International Permit Agencies, to the point where their reactions bordered on panic.
'And it is impossible for Beyond to take the initiative to come to the Hunter Association to 'surrender' as in the original work.'
If that were the case, Moses would definitely kill Beyond on the spot.
'For now, let's observe the situation. V5 will likely have to make some 'trade-offs'.'
Moses thought silently in his heart.
If V5's stance on this matter was firm enough, then they might abandon their research into the four Calamities and focus on suppressing the risks as quickly as possible, relocating at least two of them to the International Permit Agencies' underground research facility.
Only then would V5 have enough leverage to deal with the chaos Kakin Empire and Beyond had stirred up.
At the end of the day-
V5, which stood at the top of the world's superpowers, certainly wants to obtain the precious resources of the Dark Continent, but they prioritized mitigating the risks posed by the 'Calamities' above all else.
After the meeting concluded-
Moses directly left the relevant matters for Cheadle and Beans to deal with.
Faced with Moses's laid-back approach, which is inherited from the former Chairman Netero, Beans could only offer a wry smile before resigning himself to his usual busywork.
As for Cheadle, she was more than happy to assist Moses.
Or rather-
When it comes to work, Cheadle is essentially no different from Beans. Both are workaholics with a relentless work ethic.
Having offloaded his responsibilities, Moses left the Hunter Association's Headquarters and headed straight for the hotel where Menchi and the others were staying.
Hunting down Beyond was Netero's final wish, but now that V5 has turned it into a 'mandatory order'-
For the current Hunter Association, this was undoubtedly a major undertaking.
But Moses still had something else to take care of first.
That is, to get rid of the bounty on his head in the underworld. Only after dealing with that could he focus wholeheartedly on hunting Beyond.
After leaving the Hunter Association's Headquarters, Moses had only walked a short distance when he suddenly stopped.
He turned around and saw Ging walking toward him from the direction he'd come.
"I get the feeling…"
Stopping in front of Moses, Ging shoved his hands into his pockets and said calmly: "You're planning to take on Beyond alone."
"…"