Chapter 162: Mord and Ging
"Now let the meeting begin. Regardless of who ultimately gets elected, our first priority is to decide on the election method."
Mord glanced at Beans standing behind him.
Understanding Mord's intention, Beans distributed twelve blank sheets of paper to the Zodiacs that had been prepared earlier.
Unlike the original timeline where Netero had died, causing the Zodiacs to set aside their differences and unite quickly after seeing his final message, putting aside personal honor and disgrace solely to inherit Netero's legacy, the current situation was entirely different with Netero still alive and well. The first major difference was Ging—this guy hadn't taken any action at all.
Throughout history, any transfer of power inevitably creates various conflicts and disputes among different factions, which was exactly why Netero had brought Mord in.
Not wanting the Hunter Association to suffer from excessive internal conflict, Netero, who had essentially become an absentee manager, directly tossed this heavy responsibility to Mord.
All the Zodiacs had been discovered and recruited by Netero. He knew their capabilities well, but understood their personalities even better. If there was anyone in the world besides himself who could keep these people in check, it could only be Mord.
"How about we decide by drawing lots, everyone?"
"Don't be ridiculous! How can we decide something as important as the highest position through drawing lots?" Saiyu shouted angrily.
Mord completely ignored him and continued speaking: "Please have everyone write on their paper what they believe to be the best voting method that satisfies both conditions—allowing all members to vote and achieving a voting rate of over 95%. Afterwards, we'll have a third party randomly draw one slip."
Since these two conditions were proposed by Netero, they had to be fulfilled.
"Each slip has a one in twelve chance of being selected. That seems fair, doesn't it?" Mord smiled.
"Indeed it does!" Tiger Kanzai nodded.
Compared to the straightforward tiger, the others had more considerations.
"If ten of us write methods that work against Pariston, and preferably against Ging too, then the probability of such a method being selected becomes five-sixths. This method is indeed good," Horse Kobayakawa thought to himself while glancing at Mord.
Dog Cheadle had already begun contemplating election methods.
In her view, if they used open voting, it would definitely benefit Pariston. It would be better to use secret ballots with more than two candidates. That way, when members of the Special Assignment Team betrayed him, they would feel less guilty.
Ging glanced at Mord, a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth. An interesting guy.
Pariston also wore a smile on his face.
"Fine, I'm guaranteed to win this time anyway. But don't forget to write your names on the slips."
Soon all twelve had written their preferred election rules and tossed them into the prepared lottery box.
"Alright, let's begin the drawing. The previously mentioned third party would be me."
Mord smiled, reached into the box, and drew out a slip.
"It's Mr. Ging's!"
Mord looked at Ging and began reading his rule: "Rule one: All hunters are both candidates and voters!"
"Rule Two: If no candidate receives votes exceeding half of the total Hunter Association membership in the initial election, the top sixteen candidates will proceed to a second round. If the condition remains unmet, the candidate pool will be halved for another election."
"Rule Three: If voter turnout falls below 95%, the election must be restarted."
"Rule Four: Voters must sign their ballots. Anonymous votes will be considered invalid."
As soon as these words were spoken, the Zodiacs immediately erupted in an uproar.
They turned to Ging, complaining discontentedly, "What were you thinking?!"
"Why use signed ballots? You idiot! Absolute moron!"
Having been outmaneuvered by Mord, Ging shot him a deep look but didn't expose the truth, as Mord's proposed rules inexplicably aligned with his own aesthetic sensibilities.
Ging picked his ear and declared, "You're the fools here! Knowing who voted for whom makes it interesting!"
"Rule Five: The supreme head of the Election Strategy Committee shall be Ging Freecss."
The room fell silent at once.
This was something no one else present had anticipated.
With the position of supreme head, one could freely manipulate the election.
Pariston clearly wouldn't allow such a thing to happen and interjected, "If I may interrupt, the drawing of lots was only meant to determine the election method, wasn't it?"
"Rules One through Four are uncontroversial, but the matter of the head should be discussed separately."
Mord smiled and said, "Fine, then the rules will only go up to the fourth one. That should be acceptable, right?"
This last remark was directed at Ging.
Ging met Mord's gaze directly, the corners of his mouth lifting into a brilliant smile.
"Of course, no problem at all."
"Good, then it's happily settled. The Election Strategy Committee will be jointly managed by you Zodiacs," Mord said with a light laugh.
Beans standing behind him watched the paper in Mord's hand, a bead of sweat involuntarily trickling down his forehead, his mind in turmoil.
This man before him was truly terrifying!
What Mord held was actually a blank sheet of paper!
In other words, all the rules he had just mentioned were entirely improvised on the spot—and he had conveniently pinned the blame on Ging.
What shocked Beans the most was that Ging, who normally wouldn't pay heed to anyone, hadn't exposed Mord's trickery outright but had instead chosen to play along with his act.
Based on his understanding of Ging, this was utterly unbelievable.
What he didn't know was that the election rules Mord had improvised were exactly the ones Ging had conceived in the original work, which is why they struck a chord with him.
Ging was a man who pursued fun and enjoyment above all.
Such an amusing and entertaining scenario was something he had no reason not to cooperate with.
Mord could be considered to have fulfilled his mission admirably. He knew that old man Netero was trying to trap him by pushing him to become the Hunter Association Chairman, but Mord simply refused to take the bait.
Netero wanted to use the position of Hunter Association Chairman to tie Mord down, partly to protect him.
With that status, the V5 would have to think twice before taking action against him, and it would also indirectly restrain Mord's behavior—a double insurance policy.
After presiding over the meeting, Mord left the Hunter Headquarters directly.
The Election Strategy Committee operates under a cabinet system unanimously decided by all members of the Zodiacs. Ballots are delivered to every hunter through the ability of Cluck, the Rooster.
The total number of Hunter Association members is 663.
Voters must personally carry their ballots, fill in their names under the supervision of the Election Strategy Committee (minimum three members), and deposit them into ballot boxes located on the first floor of the Hunter Headquarters building.
While the Hunter Association chairman election is underway here, on the other side of the continent, a major operation is quietly brewing within the Kakin Empire.