The Rules of Trick Tower

The Airship slowly descended onto the top of a towering structure that pierced the clouds.

The tower's roof was an enormous circular platform without any railings. Fierce winds howled around them, snapping the examinees' clothes. Hundreds of meters above the ground, the more timid among them did not even dare approach the edge.

"Welcome, examinees, to the venue for the Third Phase-Trick Tower."

A man wearing headphones and casual clothes stood in the center of the platform. He was Lippo, the examiner for this phase.

He pointed beneath his feet. "You must reach the bottom of the tower alive within seventy-two hours. Now, let the test begin!"

With that, he disappeared down an elevator in the center of the platform.

The examinees exchanged bewildered looks. Jumping from hundreds of meters up would probably take them straight to hell.

While everyone searched for a way down, Lin Yan emerged from the storage room.

His face still held a sickly pallor, and the extensive conversion of his vital essence had left his steps slightly unsteady.

Yet his eyes alone shone with startling brightness. Flecks of cold starlight seemed to flicker in the depths of his pupils, revealing the radiance of someone utterly transformed.

"Lin Yan! Are you all right?" Gon and Killua immediately hurried over.

"I'm fine. I just reached a critical point in my training and used up some stamina." Lin Yan smiled faintly, reassuring them.

Killua studied Lin Yan with a new, scrutinizing gaze. Remembering Hisoka's almost tangible killing intent outside the door earlier, he still felt a lingering chill of fear.

"That clown came looking for you." Killua lowered his voice, his expression conflicted. "He told me to say he's looking forward to your... surprise!"

Lin Yan's heart tightened. Hisoka really had sensed the fluctuations in his energy during Foundation Establishment.

He took a deep breath and patted Killua on the shoulder. "Thanks. Earlier... I was lucky you were outside the door."

Killua turned his head away, hiding the struggle in his eyes.

He knew perfectly well that fear had frozen his body when he faced Hisoka. But to Lin Yan, he had stood guard fearlessly. That gratitude, born of a misunderstanding, quietly allowed the seed of his desire not to run away to take root.

"Tch. I just didn't want to see Gon's friend die." Killua curled his lip and stopped looking at him.

By then, some examinees had discovered the platform's secret. Numerous trapdoors of different sizes lay hidden in the floor, ready to flip open beneath anyone who stepped on them.

"Let's go this way!" Sharp-eyed Gon spotted a large trapdoor that could accommodate five people at once.

The five-man team, along with one uninvited addition-the broadly grinning Tonpa-jumped in together.

After a brief fall, they landed in a spacious stone chamber. Two passages stood at its far end, with a line of writing on the wall between them.

"○ represents majority rule. × represents minority rule. Please choose your route."

"Majority rule? What does that mean?" Leorio scratched his head.

"It means the six of us vote, and we take whichever route gets more votes," Tonpa explained from beside him, though his eyes shifted furtively.

"Isn't it obvious? We should go left!" Leorio pointed at the passage marked with a ○. "Since we're working as a team, the minority should follow the majority!"

"I disagree," Kurapika said at once. "That's too simple. Trick Tower's test can't be this straightforward. I think we should go right."

"I think the right looks more interesting, too," Killua agreed.

Seeing them about to descend into pointless infighting, Lin Yan spoke up.

"Everyone, calm down for a moment." He walked over to the wall and examined the words. "Let's look at this from another angle. If you were setting the test, how would you design this trap?"

His voice was quiet but clear, and the others instinctively stopped arguing.

"Setting the test?" Leorio looked blank.

"Yes." Lin Yan nodded. "This test is about teamwork."

"The most important thing in a good team isn't having everyone obey one person, or simply making the minority follow the majority. It's being able to make the right decision at a critical moment."

He paused, then continued, "The term 'majority rule' is itself a psychological trap. It encourages us to take opposing sides and focus on which side has more people."

Lin Yan walked up to the wall and pointed at the ○ symbol. "But the real key is the choice. If all six of us reach a consensus from the start, then whichever side we choose, we're the majority, right?"

Killua's eyes lit up. "I get it! You mean as long as all six of us agree, either route is correct!"

"Exactly." Lin Yan smiled. "So the question now isn't whether to go left or right. It's whether the six of us can reach a consensus."

His explanation was actually a deduction based on the original story, but presenting it through logical analysis made it sound reasonable and convincing.

"So that's it! You're amazing, Lin Yan!" Gon looked at him in admiration.

Kurapika also looked impressed. "I see. So it's testing the team's cohesion? I understand."

Even Tonpa, who was intent on causing trouble, could find no outward reason to object and nodded along. Inwardly, however, he sneered. Heh. That sounds nice, but once your lives are really on the line, we'll see whether you can maintain this so-called consensus.

Enjoy yourselves while you can. The higher you rise, the harder you fall.

In the end, at Lin Yan's suggestion, all six unanimously chose the left-hand passage marked with a ○.

After pressing the button and entering the passage, they found that it was indeed a safe route.

"Great! We did it!" Leorio shouted excitedly.

Then, without warning, the floor beneath them opened, and all six fell again with screams.

Thud!

This time, they landed in an enormous room resembling an arena. At the opposite end stood several vicious-looking men in prison uniforms.

"Welcome to the Judgment Arena." Lippo's voice echoed over the speakers. "You must face these long-term prisoners in one-on-one matches."

A circular tray rose from the platform, with six specially made wristbands neatly arranged on it.

"Oh, I almost forgot to explain." A teasing note entered Lippo's voice. "Since we have an extra little mouse this year, I adjusted the rules on short notice. Instead of needing three wins out of five matches, you now need four wins out of six.

"If the final score is a three-to-three tie, every one of you will be eliminated on the spot."

"Damn it, he made it harder?" Leorio's expression darkened.

Lin Yan's gaze, however, did not linger on the prisoners. His attention was entirely absorbed in his own dantian.

The mustard-seed-sized dantian embryo floated quietly within it.

Though tiny, it resembled a star that would never burn out, rotating slowly and steadily. It drew in the surrounding free-floating energy strand by strand, then converted it into purer qi that nourished every part of his body.

This was the state he had attained after successfully completing Foundation Establishment.

Lin Yan could feel that his five senses-particularly his sensitivity to energy-were more than ten times sharper than before.

He did not even need to deliberately activate Listening to the Breath or Qi Observation to vaguely "see" the different auras radiating from everyone around him.

Gon's energy was like a pure, burning flame, filled with boundless life and vitality.

Killua's energy was an icy silver-white, like a sharp blade hidden in its sheath.

Kurapika's energy was still as a deep pool, yet crimson magma seemed to churn faintly beneath its depths.

Leorio's energy was open and exuberant, brimming with vitality like a sunflower.

And as for that rookie crusher, Tonpa...

Lin Yan's gaze fell on Tonpa.

He saw that Tonpa's energy was murky and stagnant, like a pool of putrid water. It reeked of lies, jealousy, and malice.

This feeling... is disgusting.

Lin Yan frowned.

Is this Qi Observation? Those masters in Daoist texts who could tell at a glance whether someone was righteous or wicked must have relied on this ability, right?

Just then, the prisoners opposite them spoke.

"All right, enough talk," said a prisoner who appeared to be their leader. "Who's going first?"

Tonpa's eyes shifted, and he was the first to leap onto the stage.

"I'll do it! Leave the first match to your experienced senior!"

He selected the opponent who looked the weakest-a thin, scrawny man.

They quickly settled on the form of their match: rock-paper-scissors.

Leorio was still cheering from below. "Tonpa, take him down! That guy looks like he'd only throw something floppy like paper!"

The match began.

The scrawny prisoner was a straightforward fellow who only threw paper. He spread his palm almost as if he were openly revealing his move.

A sly smile flickered across Tonpa's lips. He shouted, "Take this!" But his hand moved half a beat late, and at the last moment, he curled his fingers back into a rock.

"Oh no! I meant to throw scissors! My hand slipped! It slipped!" Tonpa clutched his head and burst into tears on the spot, his acting absurdly exaggerated.

"You bastard!" Leorio was so furious that he nearly jumped onto the stage.

"We're down zero to one." Kurapika's expression was exceptionally grave. "We have to win four of the remaining five matches.

"We can only afford one more loss."