End Game

However, judging from today's meeting, the outcome doesn't seem all that great.

Especially since Pariston found that he couldn't quite see through this man named Lan.

Just as the report had mentioned, the information about this man always carried an air of mystery.

"There shouldn't be anything truly mysterious in this world..."

Pariston murmured to himself: "Unless... He came from that place."

Only those from the Dark Continent had pasts that couldn't be easily uncovered.

But clearly, as someone from Beyond's faction, Pariston had interacted with people from there.

He understood what it meant when someone or something originated from the Dark Continent.

And it was clear, Pariston felt no trace of that aura from Lan.

He didn't have the usual signs... But…

"What was that look he gave just now?"

Pariston still couldn't figure it out.

And someone else with a similar question was Gon.

"Lan, you don't seem to like that vice chairman Pariston very much?"

Gon asked curiously while walking beside Lan.

"Yeah, because he's not a good person."

Lan answered bluntly.

Pariston, the vice chairman of the Hunter Association, publicly promotes the idea of compassion in the association.

But in truth, he takes great pleasure in disrupting others' plans, enjoys mental duels, and delights in seeing others frustrated.

Moreover, this somewhat twisted man actually feels happy when someone hates him.

When he sees something cute, he wants to hurt it for no reason.

He always wears a gentle smile on the surface, appears cheerful, generous, and humble, but his actions are overbearing.

These contradictions, combined with his attractive appearance and exceptional abilities, make him extremely popular in the Hunter Association; he even has his own loyal fans.

To deal with Chairman Netero, Pariston went to great lengths to undermine him and get him removed from his position.

Netero once said he wanted someone who was the hardest to deal with right by his side; that's why Pariston became vice chairman three years ago.

To Pariston, Netero was just another opponent in his game, and causing trouble was also part of the game.

His bottomless ambition and cunningness, which pulled everyone around him into his plots, earned him the title of a monster that can't be stopped.

"So he's that dangerous of a person..."

After hearing Lan's brief evaluation and explanation, Gon was deep in thought.

"But... He seems really interested in the two of us..."

Gon raised another question.

"Because you're Ging's son."

Lan replied directly again.

"So he wants to use you to find a way to deal with Ging."

"Deal with Ging? Why?!"

Gon was stunned and did not understand the situation.

"Because your father, Ging Freecss, is the only person in the entire Hunter Association who's ever wiped the smile off Pariston's face."

Lan smiled: "Even Chairman Netero couldn't manage to do that."

Pariston, known as the Rat among the Zodiac Twelve members, is one of only two members whose name and appearance don't reflect the animal they represent.

The other exception, of course, is Gon's father, Ging, who bears the title of Boar.

During the chairman election arc, Pariston appeared to be actively campaigning, using slogans that seemed to advocate for the weak, yet his actual actions were unpredictable.

He neither truly desired power nor was he simply trying to stir chaos.

Every move he made seemed to follow a unique and inscrutable set of rules in his own mind.

He truly enjoyed employing such tactics.

Faced with many strong opponents, he cleverly used strategy to throw everything into disarray, ensnaring everyone else's plans in the game he had set.

His mind worked like a precision machine, always able to predict opponents' actions in advance and respond accordingly.

Even seemingly random events might have been part of his plans all along.

Yet among all these schemes and strategies, there was one person Pariston could never see through, Ging Freecss.

It was Ging's unpredictable nature that always caught Pariston off guard and made him lose his smile.

"So...Ging really is that amazing?!"

That was what caught Gon's attention most, making his eyes light up immediately.

"Even someone as tricky and difficult as the vice chairman can't handle him?"

"Hmm... Theoretically, yes."

Seeing Lan nod, Gon grinned even more happily.

Then, he quickly caught on to something else: "What about you, Lan? Pariston seems really interested in you too..."

"Because he doesn't know much about me. So he's determined to dig deep and find out everything he can."

Lan thought for a moment, then added with a smile: "Of course, it could also be because he and I are very similar."

"Are you saying that similar things attract each other?"

"Yeah. We both enjoy disrupting everything, changing the entire chessboard with our actions. In that way, we're the same."

As Lan said this, his gaze turned contemplative.

Ever since arriving in this world, he had drastically changed the course of many events, frequently taking reckless and seemingly suicidal actions.

He had involved himself in countless events and interacted with many key characters.

Now that the arc of Chimera Ant King, the strongest individual in this world, had concluded, things were finally approaching their endgame:

The chairman election arc, the Succession Contest arc, and finally, the most mysterious and dangerous chapter of all, the Dark Continent.