He didn't even bother to greet Ickshonpe, the actual homeowner.
Ickshonpe seemed long accustomed to Ging's whirlwind behavior and abrupt disappearances.
Instead, he shifted his focus to Luke.
[I recently got a new idea for the network world. Help me take a look...]
Words appeared on Ickshonpe's blank board.
After learning the final outcome of the Kute Gang of Thieves and satisfying his curiosity, he stopped caring about that matter.
He refocused on developing the network world he was passionate about.
During Luke's absence, the development of the network world had stagnated.
Ickshonpe wanted to achieve something great, but... he was limited, after all, he had just started, and while he was suited to creating the network world, when it came to developing it further... He really didn't have the vision.
Not everyone is Ging Freecss, possessing that kind of talent and wisdom.
In the past, whenever Ickshonpe encountered problems he couldn't solve or even understand, he would look for Ging.
But with Ging's bad and capricious personality, he was usually nowhere to be found or simply ignored people because he had his own work to do.
Because of that, after Luke appeared and offered him extremely useful constructive suggestions, helping him at the very beginning to greatly accelerate the development of the network world and later even proving his ability through his continued planning, Ickshonpe naturally began preferring to consult with Luke.
And that suited Luke perfectly!
He had a lot of private agendas, ah, no, new ideas he wanted to integrate into the network world.
Looking at Ickshonpe's graffiti-covered face, still unaware of how significant his network world would be in the future, Luke silently apologized in his heart.
Because this technology would completely reshape the structure of the new era.
And within that wave of change and rapid development, Luke was firmly seizing the opportunity.
Thus, the two quickly hit it off and began a very heated discussion.
Meanwhile, somewhere else in the outside world, inside a ruin, the figure of Ging Freecss, who had suddenly vanished earlier, now reappeared.
"Just finished dealing with the Kute Gang of Thieves, huh?"
Ging calmly stored away everything he brought out of the online space.
Then he took out a component resembling a futuristic smartphone.
He tapped a few times, and before long...
"I see... The Phantom Troupe, huh?"
Looking at the information that appeared, Ging nodded slightly.
"I knew it. The previous Mom's Help Foundation incident, he was definitely involved."
"Phantom Troupe... Meteor City..."
Those names surfaced in his mind, followed by Luke's face and their interactions.
"He shouldn't be someone from that place."
Ging pondered briefly, then shook his head.
Even Biscuit could sense that Luke had a completely different aura compared to people from Meteor City.
Naturally, Ging sensed it as well.
"As expected of someone who can produce things like these... each one is more mysterious and interesting than the last."
Ging tightened his sleeve again and secured the Restoring Beam.
At that moment, he recalled a recent rumor circulating within the Hunter Association.
It was said that Chairman Netero was being targeted for assassination, that even when casually drinking tea, he had to stay alert.
When the rumor spread, almost every hunter treated it as a joke.
Because they all thought: Who would dare attempt to assassinate Chairman Netero?!
Even the world's greatest assassin family, the Zoldyck Family, wouldn't be that reckless.
And Netero needing to guard himself against assassins?
What a laughable thought.
He was Chairman Netero, the strongest Nen user in the world!
They thought this rumor was treating them like fools, nonsense meant to stir trouble and smear the Hunter Association.
That was the opinion of most hunters.
But not all hunters.
Because a small group believed the rumor might be true.
For example: Ging Freecss and Pariston.
Ging had his own channels and knew the news was accurate.
He also knew exactly who was behind the assassination attempt.
To be precise, which peculiar robot, and who had introduced that robot to Chairman Netero.
"Well... That really fits the old man's usual habits and style..."
Ging was already used to Netero's bizarre hobbies.
And he also roughly understood why Luke wanted the Double-Star Hunter achievement and what he aimed to do with it.
"The twelve-member hunter executive committee... and the vice chairman position, huh?"
Ging rubbed his beard.
He wasn't particularly interested in becoming Vice-Chairman.
But having certain internal privileges within the association... that might be worth competing for.
Yes, privileges he may never use, but privileges he absolutely could not allow others to restrict him from having.
On major matters, Ging could draw the line clearly.
And the clearer things became, the more he understood what Luke's actions and ambitions truly meant.
"But if this continues, we're in for a good show..."
Ging lowered his head, thinking.
"Pariston definitely won't just sit back and watch the Vice-Chairman seat slip away right under his nose."
"He's been eyeing that position for a long time. There's no way he'll just sit and do nothing."
Ging understood Pariston very well, what he wanted, and how persistent he was.
What Luke wanted directly conflicted with Pariston.
It was a fundamental clash, impossible to reconcile.
Once the two of them collide...
"The Hunter Association is going to get very lively."
Ging suddenly raised his head.
"You think so too, don't you, Chairman Netero?"
"You released the bait, the Vice-Chairman position, and let Pariston and Luke clash over it."
"Watching from behind must be entertaining, huh?"
"You're probably already making tea, preparing Senbei, ready to enjoy your masterpiece."
"Using a Vice-Chairman seat you don't care about in the slightest to trigger their conflict..."
"That's a pretty amusing decision, Chairman Netero."
Ging Freecss knew very well that Chairman Netero wanted to assemble a twelve-member executive leadership group for the Hunter Association.
On the surface, the public explanation was that it would help the association develop better, having excellent people to divide tasks and lead.
But in reality, Ging understood better than anyone what was actually going on in Chairman Netero's head.
Basically, he just wanted to take this opportunity to gather a bunch of interesting people to have fun!
He was already old, yet still loved stirring up trouble.
To the point that he kept causing so much trouble that people even wanted to assassinate him... who knew what kind of hobby that was supposed to be.