The presence of the Zodiac members made the hospital room quite lively.
Status seemed to represent the right to speak. Knov and Morel fell a bit short, saying only a few words, not to mention the younger generation like Knuckle.
The result of the discussion was soon reached.
Although some Zodiac members, led by Botobai, believed dealing with any potential subsequent assassins wouldn't be difficult, those led by Cheadle thought it necessary to move Netero to an absolutely safe place to nip the risk in the bud.
That safest place was Knov's Hide-and-Seek space.
A Nen Ability's details are information every Nen User must closely guard, but the number of people who can truly keep them completely secret is few.
Once an ability is used, its general effects will eventually be understood by others.
So Knov's Hide-and-Seek isn't some small secret, and what he can guard are only the details.
"That is indeed a very safe place," Botobai said, arms crossed, standing out in the crowd.
This statement amounted to a compromise. Hearing this, Cheadle looked at Knov.
Meeting Cheadle's gaze, Knov habitually pushed up his glasses and nodded. "I have no problem with that."
"Good."
Cheadle then shifted her gaze to Beans.
Beans immediately replied, "I'll go make the arrangements right away."
"Hmm."
Cheadle nodded.
Throughout their discussion of this matter, they never once asked for Netero's opinion.
Previously, the initiative had basically always been with Netero, but the situation was different now. How could they give Netero room to be willful again?
Therefore, the Zodiac members had no intention of consulting Netero's personal wishes at all, directly finalizing the matter.
Netero scratched his cheek, wisely choosing silence.
Circumstances forced the issue… they were clearly going to ignore him, so what could he do?
Beans, after all, was very familiar with high-intensity work. Once the transfer was decided, he handled the arrangements and quickly moved all the room's equipment, including Netero, into the Hide-and-Seek.
Additionally, they needed to bring a sufficient number of batteries.
The currently configured batteries could only last about three hours, so they had to continue scheduling to ensure enough power lasted until the moment Law returned.
Without the equipment and Netero, the room felt much emptier.
Most Zodiac members had important duties, with little idle time normally.
After visiting Netero, including other Association's members, they all left one after another, while Knov and the others entered the Hide-and-Seek space.
However, Botobai and Cheadle did not leave the room.
The transfer issue was resolved, but the assassin matter was not yet concluded.
Within the Zodiac factions, both Cheadle and Botobai were moderates who valued balance. So they didn't want anything to happen to Netero, nor did they want him to step down as Chairman.
The Association had moderates and, correspondingly, hawkish factions pushing for reform.
The two factions were opposed. The moderates hoped Netero would recover quickly and maintain the Association's status quo. The hawks were stirring, wanting Netero to step down so someone from their own faction could take over and implement reforms.
Different factions, different goals.
Regarding the recent turmoil, although the Chimera Ant incident was resolved, the decision Netero made during the meeting back then had planted a latent danger.
Looking at the final outcome, while the Chimera Ant threat was now resolved, there were many casualties in the incident.
A hypothetical question: If Netero hadn't been so arrogant as to take only two Association members, would the Chimera Ants have had the opportunity to kill so many civilians?
Unfortunately, judging from the meeting records, strong arguments clearly didn't favor Netero.
Using this mistake as a main point, the hawks were applying pressure, with a clear goal: to make Netero take responsibility and resign.
Originally, Netero losing his Nen was also a bargaining chip, but since there seemed to be a possibility of a cure, the hawks couldn't base their victory on a mere possibility.
Before this matter was resolved, a group of fairly capable assassins had appeared.
"Is it Pariston?" Botobai released an En with a hundred-meter range, covering the surroundings.
En is a difficult Nen Technique to master. Botobai's hundred-meter En range lived up to his reputation as a Three-Star Hunter.
Cheadle, wearing white gloves, lightly touched her chin with her hand. As she lowered her head slightly, a glint of light flashed across her lenses.
She thought for a moment and said, "The assassins' identities are still under investigation, but I don't think it's related to him. The Association's hawk faction also wouldn't be foolish enough to send people to assassinate the Chairman."
Hearing this, Botobai shook his head and said solemnly, "In my career, none of the terrorists I've encountered have ever surrendered. Do you know why?"
Cheadle looked at Botobai's expressionless face and said, "No."
"Identity, and choice."
Botobai's eyes became somewhat sharp. "Once they decide on an identity and make a choice, their path becomes limited to only one. So, are you sure the hawk faction wouldn't do such a thing?"
Hearing this, Cheadle fell silent.
"Don't forget, the current Chairman can't even... even an ordinary nurse could..."
Stopping there, Botobai skipped over it and continued, "I just think it's necessary to remind you: before the facts are clear, don't jump to conclusions too quickly. That might affect your judgment and decisions during the process."
Listening to Botobai's words, Cheadle let out a light sigh, pushed up her glasses, and said, "I understand. For now, I won't take too many actions either."
Pausing, she looked at the empty ground where the hospital bed had been.
"As long as the Chairman can 'recover', that's all that matters."
"I share your view. The Chairman's 'recovery' is the top priority. However, you'd better try to persuade Morel not to be too fixated on achievements."
Botobai said.
"Hmm."
Cheadle nodded, her expression slightly troubled.
Regarding Morel's recent actions, as a Zodiac member, she naturally understood them very clearly.
From Morel's perspective as a party involved, his approach wasn't wrong.
But from an outsider's viewpoint, if Morel successfully secured the deserved achievements for Law and the others, correspondingly, Netero's 'weight' in this operation would be diminished.
That was a factor unfavorable to Netero in this current 'pressure storm'.
Of course, perspectives differ.
In Morel's view, as long as Netero could recover, nothing else mattered.
Moreover, he trusted Law's ability, so he believed Law definitely had a way to restore Netero to his original state.
…
After the assassins were subdued, everything returned to calm.
But a storm was quietly waiting, gathering its strength.
Time passed.
The sudden thunderstorm slowly subsided into a light drizzle.
In a certain city, in a certain apartment building, a sudden scream rang out.
A male corpse with an extremely gruesome death posture was discovered.
Clothing included, his muscles, bones, hair, and organs were twisted into a rope-like form, blood splattered all over the floor.
Within half an hour, the police intervened.
The discoverer was a friend of the male corpse… more accurately, he didn't just discover it but witnessed the process of the male body being twisted into a rope on the spot.
While that friend, pale-faced, gave a rambling account of the death process, several men in suits took over the matter.
The scene was quickly sealed off.
The body and the friend were taken away.