The hum of the airship's engines gradually faded, and Odin felt a slight sensation of weightlessness.
Outside the window, the vast outline of a sparsely lit city slowly approached through the darkness.
"Passengers, we will shortly be arriving in Kent City.
The time is now 3:07 a.m., and the ground temperature is five degrees Celsius.
Thank you for flying with us. We wish you a pleasant stay in Kent City."
The voice over the speakers still belonged to the captain, so steady that it betrayed no emotion.
Odin opened his eyes and rolled his slightly stiff neck.
He had never truly slept during the journey, remaining half awake the entire time-even though the accelerated thinking granted by the Rabbit Talisman meant he did not need as much sleep as ordinary people, he had never let down his guard.
The cabin lights came on, but the passengers did not stir as Odin had expected. It was so quiet around him that it seemed no one else was awake.
Odin picked up his backpack and looked around, a trace of understanding mingling with his surprise.
The middle-aged man farther away was fast asleep with a magazine covering his face.
The young man behind him was motionless too. Faintly, Odin thought he could even hear snoring.
The flight attendants stood on either side of the cabin door, still wearing professional smiles as they watched.
Odin lifted his backpack and headed toward the cabin door, marveling at it all.
Almost everything aboard this airship had been specially treated, not just the "special lemon tea" and "local specialty snacks" the attendants had recommended.
The only way to pass this stage was to observe the flight attendants and consume the same things they did.
Refuse to eat or drink and tough it out?
Well, that soundly sleeping young man had tried exactly that, ordering food but never touching it.
But Odin was already certain that a sleep-inducing gas permeated the air aboard the airship. Only drinking the water, perhaps combined with washing his face, would let him use whatever was in it to counteract the gas.
Tsk, the Hunter Association really goes all out, Odin muttered inwardly. They knocked out a whole bunch of ordinary people just to screen applicants, and they didn't even bother disguising it.
Still, he understood that this was the essence of the Hunter Exam.
From the very beginning, they used every possible means to select people who could remain alert under any circumstances and exercise sound judgment.
As for innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire? The Hunter Association probably did not care at all.
Besides, it was only a nap. Sleeping aboard the airship was not much different from going back to a hotel to sleep.
Odin descended the gangway alone. The chilly predawn air hit his face, refreshing him.
Kent City's airport was considerably smaller than the one near Heavens Arena. Its lights were dim, and its buildings looked rather old.
Marker lights blinked along the edges of the runway in the darkness, with the outlines of several other airships visible in the distance.
After disembarking, Odin did not leave immediately. He stood where he was, as though observing something-or waiting for something.
Just then, the tall, thin captain-or perhaps he should be called an examiner's assistant-came down the gangway.
He wore his captain's uniform and carried a folder.
He glanced at Odin, a meaningful smile appearing on his face.
"Could you go to the Sengqu Barbecue Restaurant and get me a steak set meal for one?"
Odin paused, then grinned. "Sure. How would you like it cooked?"
"Hmm, slow-roasted over low heat." The captain looked at Odin approvingly. He liked talking to smart people.
"All right." Odin nodded.
As the captain returned to the airship, Odin turned and left the airport.
Had he not seen the story, Odin really would have thought this was a simple conversation.
But Odin knew that the captain had just told him the exam location and the password needed to enter.
In fact, even the captain's first question was part of the Hunter Exam. If Odin had refused, he would have lost his chance to obtain the password.
He had the password and the restaurant's name.
The question now facing Odin was how to find that restaurant.
In the original story, Gon and the others had found it along a street in the city's central shopping district.
It was a small, ordinary-looking storefront, with no sign indicating that it was an entrance to the Hunter Exam.
The restaurant's address had appeared in the story, but so much time had passed, and it had never been an important detail. How could Odin possibly remember it?
He shouldered his backpack and headed toward the airport exit.
Kent City's streets were quiet before dawn. Streetlights cast a dim yellow glow, and there were hardly any pedestrians in sight.
A vehicle occasionally passed, its headlights tracing brief streaks of light across the road.
Odin walked along the streets for about twenty minutes before reaching a somewhat livelier shopping street. There were a few convenience stores and fast-food restaurants open twenty-four hours, their illuminated windows conspicuous in the darkness.
He entered a convenience store, bought a bottle of water, and casually asked the cashier, "Excuse me, do you know where the Sengqu Barbecue Restaurant is?"
The cashier, a man in his early twenties, had been looking down at his phone. He glanced up at the question. "Sengqu? Which one do you mean? There's one nearby, and two others farther away."
"The one near a huge shopping plaza. A friend told me the food there was good, so I wanted to try it." Seeing that the cashier knew the place, Odin quickly adopted the tone of a tourist and described the hazy image in his memory.
"Oh, then you'll have to go a bit farther. That one really is good, though. Get a taxi to Camellia Tree Street. You'll see it when you get there." The cashier enthusiastically gave Odin directions.
"Thanks!" Odin picked up a few more items.
Odin paid and left, stopping outside the convenience store to take a sip of water.
He walked the streets for quite a while before finally finding an empty taxi and asking the driver to take him to Camellia Tree Street.
Eighteen minutes later.
Odin stood before a wooden door.
It was an ordinary wooden door with peeling paint and a "Closed" sign hanging from its handle.
A large sign hung above the door, clearly bearing the words "Sengqu Barbecue."
"Found it." Odin breathed a sigh of relief.
The restaurant had not opened yet, so Odin turned around and found a hotel where he could sleep.
When he returned to the barbecue restaurant on the morning of January 7, the place was already bustling.
Odin stepped inside and placed his order with a man who looked to be in his forties and wore a greasy chef's uniform.
Odin looked at him. "I'd like a steak set meal."
The chef's expression tightened slightly as he stared at Odin for several seconds, his eyes betraying no emotion. Then he slowly asked, "How would you like it cooked?"
The password matched.
Odin relaxed inwardly, keeping his expression unchanged. "Slow-roasted over low heat."
The man nodded, then turned and called to a busy waitress, "One steak set meal."
"This way, please!" The waitress responded and came over to Odin with a radiant smile, guiding him farther into the restaurant.
Odin followed the waitress into a large private dining room. After asking him to wait, she left and closed the door behind her.
Once the door closed, Odin surveyed his surroundings. Seeing the familiar scene he remembered from the story, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Over the past few days, Odin had exchanged the password with that owner several times, only to receive a steak set meal each time. It had left him speechless.
This was not a private dining room at all, but an enormous elevator. Odin knew that perfectly well.
Soon, the elevator began descending with a soft mechanical hum.
Odin sat in a chair, feeling the sensation of weightlessness.
The elevator descended at a moderate pace, but the ride lasted quite a while.
Building it this deep can't just be protection against nuclear bombs. Could there be magical beast uprisings or something? He could not help speculating.
He could hardly be blamed for letting his imagination wander. To him, this was a real world.
Unable to work it out, Odin set the matter aside for now.
Finally, the elevator stopped with a ding, and the doors slid open.
Before him lay an enormous underground tunnel, dark and gloomy.
Odin stepped out of the elevator and looked around.
Some forty-odd applicants had already arrived and were sitting scattered throughout the tunnel.
Some rested with their eyes closed, some conversed in low voices, and others checked their belongings.
At the sound of the elevator, they all looked up at Odin.
Their gazes held all sorts of things-curiosity, scrutiny, wariness, and even outright hostility from a few.
Odin ignored them and walked straight toward the side of the tunnel. Just then, Beans approached him in a suit.
Beans handed him a number badge. "Your number is 48. Keep it safe. Lost badges will not be replaced."
Odin took the badge-a stiff card with the number "48" printed in black.
He glanced at it, then pinned it to his chest.
The place was rather dirty, so Odin did not sit down.
With his backpack between himself and the wall, he leaned back where he could keep an eye on the tunnel ahead.
He spotted Hisoka-the tall, slender red-haired man sat in a corner on the other side of the tunnel, leaning against the wall and toying with a playing card, that half-smile on his face.
There was also Tonpa, approaching him with a broad smile.
Tsk, Odin muttered inwardly. The Hunter Exam's rookie crusher certainly lives up to his reputation.
"Hey, a newcomer?" Tonpa walked up to Odin with an enthusiastic smile. "Your first time taking the exam, right? I'm Tonpa. This is my thirty-fifth attempt, so you could call me a veteran.
Here, have a drink and replenish your energy. Who knows when the exam will start?"
He offered a can of orange juice.
Odin glanced at him, then at the drink.
In the original story, Tonpa had spiked his drinks with laxatives specifically to sabotage newcomers.
He accepted the drink and smiled politely. "Thank you."
But he did not open it, merely setting it beside him.
Tonpa's smile stiffened at the sight, but he quickly recovered. "Aren't you going to drink it? You might not have time once the exam starts."
"I'll drink it when I'm thirsty," Odin said.
"Oh, I see..." Tonpa wanted to say more, but Odin had already looked away, clearly unwilling to continue the conversation. He could only give an awkward smile. "All right, get some rest. Good luck, rookie."
With that, he turned away to wait for other newcomers to arrive.
Odin leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, but kept listening to the sounds around him.
More applicants gradually descended in the elevator, collected their number badges, and found places to stand or sit.
The atmosphere slowly grew tense.
Everyone knew that the Hunter Exam was about to begin, but no one knew what the first test would be.
Outside the windows-if the underground tunnel had any-it should still have been light, but in this subterranean space, their sense of time grew hazy.
The lights stayed on, the air kept circulating, and the applicants waited, waiting for the moment someone would announce the start of the exam.
Odin shifted against the wall, making himself more comfortable.
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