The arrival of this batch of intruders did more than let Xiang Nan and the others protect their world's resources—they each gained something different from the experience.

For example… they earned Sin Value for killing players from other worlds, along with Dimension Coins granted by the "Legacy" system.

But the most valuable loot was still information.

Intel from other worlds …

…gave Xiang Nan a slightly deeper understanding of the rules that govern the Reincarnation Dimension.

He laid all of this out for Beishi and the rest of the team.

In short, aside from piling up Raid Points to force a world into collapse and then occupy it; or using a special item such as "First-Kill" to enter a designated world and slowly harvest its resources until that world submits; or launching a full invasion once one's Sin Value against that world reach a certain threshold— there's also the tactic of turning players from other worlds into moles.

Without shedding a single drop of blood you can reduce that world to a vassal dimension—a "farm."

With help from any native player of a target main world, the rest of the intruders can raid that world faster—and far more easily.

If Xiang Nan chose to defect, his current web of contacts inside Hunter × Hunter would let him coordinate with off‑world players and set traps for key story characters, accelerating the fall of the Hunter World. Destroying the Republic of Padokea's military—if not the entire country—would be child's play.

That play‑style is… downright insidious.

Because for any main‑world faction, flushing a mole out of your own ranks is extraordinarily hard.

Every moment the mole remains hidden is a standing threat to the home world.

And the odds of a mole appearing aren't low. A turncoat who secures outside backing can strip‑mine home‑world resources or unlock quest lines with far less pressure. From a purely selfish, personal perspective, it's a good deal.

"Alliance" means forces from two different worlds agree to cooperate and share a portion of each other's resources so both sides can grow.

Naturally, such sharing stops short of harming either world's core interests.

An alliance also gives you a battlefield ally inside the Reincarnation Dimension—clearly an advantage for any player.

Even so, Xiang Nan thinks you must be extremely cautious. A player from another main world is, by definition, harder to read. Today's "friend" could become tomorrow's "enemy."

Once an alliance is formed, your partner gains enormous insight into your own main world. If the friendship sours and they leak that data, the Hunter World will face threats it never imagined.

On that point, trusting outsiders is riskier than relying on yourself.

Xiang Nan therefore takes a conservative stance toward alliances: until he's absolutely sure, he simply won't.

…

The examinees who survived the turmoil in Zaban City re‑assembled here.

Nearly five hundred hopefuls at the start; barely four hundred remain.

One‑fifth are dead.

Even at a glance the familiar faces—the plot‑important ones—are gone.

The loss is brutal.

And compared with the examinees, the civilian death toll in Zaban City is even higher.

A soft, rasping chuckle—"Hss‑hss‑hss… such energetic young faces…"

Everyone's gaze converged on the elderly man standing at the front: loose robe, wooden clogs, a single white braid, fondling his beard as he scanned the juniors with a kindly smile.

Isaac Netero, Chairman of the Hunter Association.

The chaos in Zaban City had drawn this giant of a man here in person.

Netero, a Reinforcement‑type Nen user, is considered the current pinnacle of Nen mastery in the Hunter World—though whether he is truly the strongest is debatable; after all, a certain elder monster from the Zoldyck family remains in seclusion.

Xiang Nan probed the aura around Netero.

The old man's flow of Nen felt utterly natural—plain, even—betraying not a hint of a powerhouse's presence.

But as a transmigrator, Xiang Nan knew too well how terrifying this geezer was; he would not be fooled.

"Return to Nature?"

"To control one's energy so naturally—so seamlessly—that it feels as effortless as breathing… you don't get that without grinding through countless temperings."

The stronger Xiang Nan grew, the more he understood Nen—and the more he appreciated how rare Netero's state really was.

How powerful must he have been at his peak?

As for the quantity of Netero's aura—utterly indiscernible. Most examinees likely saw only a petite, slender, genial grandpa with a boyish twinkle—nothing more than a kindly neighbor who happened to hold a lofty office.

"Chairman, these are the reports they filled out. Some have been crosschecked with Zaban City's authorities, but we can't confirm their accuracy. Examiner Satotz was killed early, so no one witnessed how these examinees performed in the mission phase. Whether they met the standard… Well, any of that could be fabricated. That said, at least some performances are verifiable—"

The speaker—a scruffy hunter with stubble and a cigarette—handed a file to Netero. He was the replacement for Satotz.

Besides Netero and the new examiner, the second‑phase examiners Menchi and the mountain‑like Buhara were also present.

Netero chuckled. "Tsk‑tsk, and what if we let them all pass? They did shoulder part of the burden when Zaban went sideways. By rights we ought to reward that, no?"

Not a shred of bureaucratic sternness in the man.

"Absolutely not!"

Before the new examiner could answer, Menchi crossed her arms and shot him down.

"An exam is an exam. Becoming a Hunter is never easy. If we let them breeze through this irresponsibly, it's unfair to every candidate who ever took the test—and to those already eliminated."

Impartial and unmoved, Menchi laid down the law.

Netero stroked his beard and nodded as if he had no stake at all.

"Satotz is dead, yes, but his phase never took place. We stick to the plan and keep filtering them," Menchi said. Pink hair, fish‑net top, bare midriff—yet her voice was ice. "The Association brought you in to replace Satotz, not to slack off."

"Sigh… harsh words." The new examiner gave a wry smile and shook his head.

Xiang Nan's eyes flicked among Menchi, Buhara and the newcomer.

Menchi radiated the greatest danger. Cute exterior or not, she clearly brooked zero nonsense—cool‑tempered and a bit volatile.

Still, by reading the surface aura, eyes and subtle body cues, Xiang Nan judged that all three certified Hunters were below him.

Only the old man in the middle—Netero—showed not one crack in his defenses.

Some candidates bristled at Menchi's stance but held their tongues.

Crossing an examiner was plainly unwise.

Netero winked at the group. "Hee‑hee, though I'm Chairman, on exam content and grading these examiners outrank me. I did argue for you—but alas, no dice.

"Well then, see you later. I hope you all pass."

With that, the old man tucked one hand behind his back, waved the other, and left first. Menchi and Buhara followed.

Menchi's gaze lingered on Xiang Nan for a heartbeat before she, too, turned away.

Xiang Nan felt the look and frowned inside. So—the Association is watching me.

Netero may have treated every candidate equally on the surface, but Menchi didn't have his level of composure.

"And as for this Zaban City mess…"

Xiang Nan sighed. Trust Netero to keep his cool.

"All right, all right, stop staring—you heard them." The new examiner flicked away his cigarette, clapped for attention and barked: "I won't repeat Phase One's rules. We'll resume Examiner Satotz's test where he left off. From now on, stick close to me and don't fall behind!"

He took off at a brisk pace toward the underground passage.

Xiang Nan cast a glance at Gon, who stood in the crowd, head lowered, fists clenched, burdened by guilt.

Then he jogged after the moving throng.

Xiang Nan could more or less guess Gon's feelings.

He'd been no help at all during the chaos in Zaban City; naturally he felt awful—mostly self‑reproach. His concern wasn't "looking good," but that he hadn't saved people, hadn't cut the casualties.

Whatever else one said about Gon, his righteousness and kindness were as plain as day.

Nor did he blame Xiang Nan for knocking him, Killua and Kurapika unconscious. He understood it had been for their protection. Looking at how deadly the Zaban incident turned out, not taking part was probably a blessing.

After all, so many had died.

~~~

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