Forget the intruders for now. Since the Reincarnation Dimension can't be used to take down Pariston, I'll just have to play my second trump card.

Xiang Nan wasn't even surprised that Pariston had sniffed out the truth about the multiverse.

I mean, come on—after spending so much time around the players, with a brain like his? It'd be suspicious if he didn't figure anything out.

Sure, natives and canon characters in the main world can't learn the full truth about the System directly from players. But players who want to avoid getting "punished" by powerful factions tend to bend the rules. They use vague language to blur the lines between the System and the multiverse all the time.

Yeah, the System has rules, and yeah, they're strict—but they're not airtight.

There've always been loopholes.

"Heh…"

Back in his hotel room, Xiang Nan chuckled quietly to himself.

Even if Pariston, Netero, and the entire V5 knew about the multiverse, they only had a tiny piece of the puzzle.

A player's knowledge of the multiverse depends entirely on what they've experienced firsthand, which means any info they share is heavily filtered through their own perspective. Even if Pariston had talked to players besides Marco, chances are they still didn't know jack.

Bottom line? Whatever Pariston's learned is surface-level at best.

In the Hunter x Hunter world, not a single player has cleared the "Extinction Game." Nobody's officially "Graduated" yet. Plus, some info about the System is just flat-out unsharable—even if you tried to twist the wording around it.

And if you can't explain something directly? The person hearing it is guaranteed to misunderstand.

So, what does it take to actually understand the multiverse?

You need experience. Real exposure to other worlds, and a solid grasp of how their power systems work. That kind of intel is massive. Even the Association's top-tier Hunters haven't been through as many Reincarnation Dimensions as Orban. They've just been in this world longer, and picked up scattered info from other players.

Before now, there hadn't even been any intruders in this world. When it comes to actual multiverse battlefield experience, those guys are lightweights compared to Xiang Nan or Orban.

So whatever intel the outside world thinks it has? It's barely scratching the surface.

"If that's what Pariston's planning to use against me... even better."

Xiang Nan grinned to himself.

As far as he was concerned, Pariston still had no clue what the multiverse really was.

He pulled out his phone and made a call.

"Yo."

A low voice answered on the other end.

"You ready? Your revenge starts tonight."

Xiang Nan's tone was calm, almost casual.

"Tonight?"

"Yeah. Pariston's leaving tomorrow. Just be careful. If my guess is right, Netero's already in Yorknew City. The old man probably senses something's off…"

"…Good. Then our target's right where we want him."

Just as the caller was about to hang up—

BOOM!

A deafening explosion ripped through the night. Xiang Nan's eyes twitched.

Outside the window, a massive fireball bloomed in the sky, lighting up the city like it was noon.

The shockwave rattled the hotel windows.

"Hold up!"

Xiang Nan's expression shifted. Something clicked.

He could hear the explosion through the phone too—his contact must be close to ground zero.

"Don't go after Pariston yet… Our other allies just made their entrance. Just keep eyes on Netero. Got it?"

Xiang Nan's grin returned.

"…"

The caller was silent for a moment, then hung up.

At that exact moment, the door behind Xiang Nan swung open.

Illumi walked in, long hair swaying with every step.

He'd been in the hotel for a few days already—after finishing a job for Xiang Nan, he came along to Yorknew without making a fuss.

He wasn't sure if Pariston had noticed him yet… but the other two Zodiacs and Association staff definitely hadn't.

"It's starting…"

Illumi stood beside the window, eyes locked on the blazing skyline.

"The moment you've been waiting for."

"That kind of explosion… that kind of raw destructive force… no way an ordinary Nen user could pull that off. Are they the ones you mentioned? The 'mysterious visitors'?"

He turned to glance at Xiang Nan's face.

"Most likely."

Xiang Nan smirked.

He'd honestly thought the intruders weren't coming anymore. What perfect timing.

Since the Ten Dons were killed, the underworld's gone crazy. Countries have sent troops to maintain order. Plus, the Yorknew Auction is backed by powerful forces, which means security in the city is tighter now than it ever was before the Dons died.

Riots? Fights? Not likely.

So a sudden explosion like this... there's no way it's just random.

This was a signal.

Illumi came to Yorknew for a reason—he knew something big was going to hit the Hunter Association. And this place, just like Saba City before, was primed for some multiverse-level chaos.

He and Hisoka had been in Saba with Xiang Nan before. They'd seen what could happen.

Illumi wasn't planning to let Hisoka hog the spotlight this time.

With Xiang Nan's help, he was determined to peek behind the curtain and see the true power of the multiverse.

BOOM!

Another column of fire shot into the sky.

In that blinding light, a skyscraper completely disintegrated—gone in an instant, nothing but ash and ruin.

Even Illumi froze.

"…What the hell is that power?"

Xiang Nan's heart skipped a beat.

Intruders showing up? Great for his plan.

But there were still too many unknowns—where were they from? How powerful were they?

No… this isn't right. This is only the second batch of intruders to appear in the Hunter world. There's no way players alone could pull off something like this…

"Hey, Xiang Nan… that power… is that what people from your Nameless Town can do too? Can I learn it?"

Illumi suddenly turned, eyes glowing with hunger.

His usual deadpan face twisted into something intense. His aura surged, black and cold, almost terrifying.

He wanted that power. Craved it.

The last batch of intruders at Zaban City? They didn't even come close to this level.

"Easy. Calm down. You feel it too, right? Whoever just stepped into our world… they're on another level."

Xiang Nan's tone turned serious.

He and Illumi both snapped their gaze sideways at the same time.

Illumi vanished—gone in an instant, his presence completely erased.

Moments later, a flurry of footsteps approached.

BANG!

Cheadle kicked the door open, panting like she'd sprinted up every floor.

"Xiang Nan! Emergency update from the Association—situation's changed!"

She didn't waste time with small talk. The room was still dark, but she locked eyes on the man by the window and shouted.

Xiang Nan turned toward her and walked forward.

The flames spreading across Yorknew, the heat, the chaos—it all made one thing crystal clear:

Tonight… was going to be anything but normal.