Hunter x Hunter: From Obtaining the World to Beyond Heaven

Chapter 497 Ancient Route × Dispute

Black Whale I.

The central conference room in the VVIP area.

This conference room, designed to accommodate 200 people, was now packed with hunters and extraordinary individuals.

Even so, more than half of the professional hunters were unable to attend the meeting.

Fortunately, the broadcasting equipment allowed them to see the meeting content in real time.

Looking around, most of the Star Hunters were present, as well as some familiar faces, such as Geno from the Zoldyck family and Vincent from the Flashwyn tribe.

In the very front row sat the twelve Zodiac members of the Hunter Association, and... the gatekeeper.

Before the meeting even started, the crowd was already whispering among themselves.

"That... is the gatekeeper?"

"It looks quite quiet. Can it talk?"

"Yes, but it seems only Jin can understand it."

"On the surface, they don't seem to be creatures in the traditional sense, but the information V6 provided says that the Gatekeepers are some kind of magical beast race... Vincent, what do you think?"

"What do you think? I'm a half-demon, not a true demon beast..."

Among the crowd, there were a few seemingly ordinary-looking guys gathered together, looking somewhat bewildered.

They were dressed in matching black suits with large white "H"s on their chests, indicating that they were all members of the Hunter Association.

Compared to other association members, they seemed to already know each other well, having formed a small circle, intentionally or unintentionally, whispering among themselves:

"Pector, how trustworthy do you think that goalkeeper is?"

One of them, a short man with huge rabbit teeth and a mushroom-shaped hat on his head, responded:

"It's hard to be sure. Even I've never seen such a creature before. I even doubt whether it can be considered a living being, since it doesn't even have a body..."

A girl who looked like a robot and was dressed in a sailor uniform asked:

"By Yangde's previous trip to the Dark Continent, he must have met the gatekeeper, right? Why don't we just ask him?"

"It's not that simple. He's locked up tight right now, not a single message can get out. He's also being watched by the Twelve Earthly Branches. Even if you went, you'd probably be locked up too."

Wearing a hair tie, the man, who looked like he stepped out of a Popeye comic, waved his hand and rejected the robot girl's idea.

Then he looked at another man wearing thick, round-framed glasses, who had a nerdy air about him:

"But speaking of which, isn't it talking right now, with that Jin? Kururi, can you tell what they're saying?"

Kururi shook her head in frustration:

"No, they are speaking some kind of distorted ancient language. The original language can only be spoken by a maximum of five people in the world. Although I have studied it, the problem is that the reference language for its distortion has been lost. I'm afraid that only in some inaccessible ancient ruins, such as imperial tombs, can a few fragments still exist."

"Even the library at Barber University doesn't have any records of this reference language..."

At this point, Kururi's eyes revealed a genuine thirst for knowledge and a strong desire to learn.

He agreed to join Bynd's exploration of the Dark Continent in order to uncover the secrets of the ancient civilization, and now, the journey has only just begun, yet he has already encountered something so intriguing.

Indeed, this trip was the right decision!

puff-

Suddenly, a sound of a microphone being slapped came from the front of the stage, followed by a young man's voice:

"Alright, most of the people have arrived. Hunters who can't make it to the scene can log in to the Hunter website through the channel address I just sent to check it out."

Diya weighed the heavy draft in her hand, tossed it aside without a second thought, and began speaking without notes, microphone in hand:

"Enough with the small talk. You've all probably noticed the new guest. The announcement of its arrival was made over the loudspeaker eight hours ago. Just as you know, it's the 'Messenger' of the Gatekeeper clan. That's its name, not its title or rank."

Dia pointed to the gatekeeper.

The messenger floated up slowly, its clothes swaying behind it as if greeting everyone.

Sparse, hesitant applause rang out in the arena.

"The messenger's purpose in coming here, simply put, is one thing—"

"Notify us of the change in our flight plans."

Dia glanced at the messenger, who nodded obediently, but probably didn't understand what he was saying:

"According to the normal sailing plan, we should still be sailing for another week before we reach the island where the Gatekeepers live, and then we can head to the Dark Continent."

"But in fact, two days later, in the sea area that the Black Whale passed through, there was already an abandoned, very ancient waterway that led directly to the Dark Continent."

"This route can reduce our arrival time in the Dark Continent by half!"

Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent.

Everyone realized what Dia's words meant.

Of course, some people had previously doubted the authenticity of the gatekeeper and the veracity of his words, but Jin was absolutely certain that it was true.

Trusting this exceptional genius, Dia didn't dwell on the truth or falsehood, after all, trusting one's companions is an essential lesson for any hunter.

Diya didn't keep them in suspense and went straight to the point:

"The original plan was for the Black Whale One to stop sailing at the Relay Continent. After that, 200 of you would be selected to follow us to the island where the Gatekeeper is located, and then travel to the Dark Continent via the known routes they have."

"The latter half of this plan was originally scheduled to take more than 20 days, but the six continents expect to be able to hold out for a maximum of 90 days. Considering all of this, time is very tight, and there is a high probability that we will not make it in time. In fact, the six continents' contingency plan has already prepared for the sacrifice of one-tenth of humanity."

"After determining the current state of human civilization, the gatekeeper ran over from the other side of the sea boundary to consult us and confirm whether we should change our sailing plan."

"Of course, there is a reason why such a convenient route was abandoned, namely the inherent danger of the route itself."

"The original shipping route was built in the calm zone of the dark sea, where there were no sea kings to invade. However, the ancient shipping route after the change of course was not in the calm zone."

Dia crossed her arms and said calmly:

"In addition to the extremely bad weather, there is also the possibility of unplanned attacks on our ships by colossal sea monsters. Furthermore, there is a mysterious area along this route that the gatekeepers call the Ghost Triangle."

"No one knows what they will encounter inside, but what is certain is that the risks will be extremely high."

"Therefore, the revised voyage plan will change from a lottery system to a voluntary registration system. Only those who are genuinely willing to take the risk with us will be allowed to join the journey..."

"Wait a moment--"

Suddenly, a discordant voice broke in, and a hand was raised in the crowd.

Dia looked in the direction of the sound and saw a white-haired man with long ears.

The man slowly stood up, looked at Dia on the stage, and calmly said:

“Excuse me for interrupting you. My name is Muhaier, and I am a mercenary. V6 paid a huge sum of money to hire me to participate in the operation, so my nominal superior should be an officer of V6, not the Hunter Association.”

"So I have a question I'd like to ask. Changing the voyage plan should require the approval of V6 from all six continents, right? Considering the normal speed of drones, even if you send the letter the moment the gatekeeper arrives at the Black Whale, it's impossible to get approval right now."

"In other words, the so-called plan to change the course is actually the result of your arbitrary decision-making."

These words immediately sparked murmurs of discussion among the crowd.

Fortunately, the people in the room were all elites among elites, so no uproar occurred.

However, some doubts still arose.

Dia looked at Muhail expressionlessly.

He recognized this person; he was a member of Yang De's team. The fact that he jumped out at this moment probably meant that he had noticed some unforeseen change and wanted to reverse the plan.

But that is impossible.

"V6 will agree; there's no need to ask questions."

Diya answered the question succinctly, but his tone was full of domineering authority and an unquestionable tone.

Before setting sail, he met with the leaders of the six major countries and had in-depth exchanges with each of them.

Contingency plans are in place for unexpected situations.

During the voyage, if variables arise that require changes to the original voyage plan, Dia has the authority to act arbitrarily and forcibly alter the original plan.

Otherwise, we would have to consult the six great powers on everything.

What's the point of sailing then? There's definitely not enough time.

Muhl frowned, still wanting to struggle:

"The original voyage plan was the optimal solution derived by hundreds of experts from six continents after four days and three nights of deliberation, burning out more than a dozen advanced computers. Even if the time was tight, at least the safety could be guaranteed."

"Now that you've changed your plans, who will guarantee safety? Even if you say you can, how many people will believe you?"

"Is this eagerness truly for the future of humanity, or is it driven by some selfish motive?"

Muhály's words were loaded with meaning.

"Those who don't trust my mediocrity are not what the voyage needs; on the contrary, they might be a cancer to the voyage. Even if they volunteer to join, we will remove them."

Dia replied:

"If you wish to withdraw, please do so."

"But if you're going to cause trouble, you should know the consequences. The 10 people behind you are your comrades, right? Think about them more."

A blatant threat!

Cold sweat dripped down everyone's foreheads as they looked at the calm-voiced young man on the stage, finally recalling some of the rumors they had heard on their way here.

If that rumor is true, then at this distance, those mercenaries are basically dancing on the brink of death...

Aside from these extraordinary individuals, the few professional hunters present were not surprised at all.

The hunters looked at the outsiders who clearly showed fear and all smiled disdainfully.

As hunters who had listened to the legends of Dia along the way, they knew better than anyone that the rumors about that young man were true.

"That mercenary is dead for sure," someone said gleefully.

Others echoed this sentiment:

"Don't they know that Dia can really stop time? That distance is enough for those stupid mercenaries to die dozens of times over."