Beyond the tunnel exit lay an open wetland, with the entrance to Viscon Forest Park just ahead. Satotz stood beneath the entrance sign with a timer in his hand, watching the applicants emerge from the tunnel one after another, a gentle smile never leaving his face. When he saw Lin Ye and the other four run out side by side, he glanced down at the timer, and the approval in his eyes deepened. The five young men had covered eighty kilometers in less than four hours-a top-tier result even among applicants from previous Hunter Exams. "Congratulations to all five of you on passing the first phase." Satotz bowed slightly to them and said with a smile, "Please rest here for a little while. Once everyone who can reach the finish line has arrived, we'll take you all to the venue for the second phase." "Finally!" Leorio collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily, his entire body drenched in sweat. Yet an excited grin spread across his face. "Holy shit, I actually made it! Eighty kilometers! I can't believe it myself!" Kurapika also breathed a sigh of relief. He leaned against a nearby tree trunk, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and gave a faint, relaxed smile. Even he had burned through a great deal of stamina running those eighty kilometers, let alone Leorio, who had forced himself onward the entire way. Gon and Killua, on the other hand, were still bursting with energy. They huddled together, chattering about the ambush in the tunnel, their faces full of lingering excitement, as though they had just gone out to play rather than run an eighty-kilometer marathon. Lin Ye leaned against a tree, his expression calm and his breathing even, as though those eighty kilometers had been no more strenuous than a stroll after dinner. His Observation Haki had already spread out, sweeping over every applicant who had arrived and keeping watch for any possible danger. This Hunter Exam had never been a game you played alone. Aside from the challenges set by the examiners, there was also malice from the other applicants. In the original story, countless applicants had fallen victim to their companions' schemes. "Lin Ye, aren't you a little ridiculous?" Leorio stared at Lin Ye, who had barely broken a sweat, looking utterly defeated. "You ran eighty kilometers, and you're completely fine? Are you even human?" Lin Ye smiled and tossed him a bottle of water. "I just train a lot. You did really well already. Making it through a distance like that on your first attempt puts you ahead of the vast majority of applicants." Leorio caught the water and took a long gulp, a smug grin appearing on his face. "Of course! I'm Leorio, the man who's going to become a top doctor! What's a little thing like this?" They chatted and joked as they rested for about half an hour, while more applicants gradually reached the finish line. Some collapsed onto the ground from exhaustion. Others eyed the people around them warily, while still others had already begun recruiting companions in preparation for the later phases. Just then, a middle-aged man in an orange suit approached the five of them, his face wreathed in smiles. He held several bottles of drinks in his hands and wore an exceptionally warm smile. It was Tonpa. "Well, well, you young fellows are really something!" Tonpa came up to them and offered the drinks with a smile. "Finishing the first phase so quickly-you've certainly got bright futures ahead of you! My name's Tonpa. I've taken the Hunter Exam thirty-five times, so you could call me a veteran applicant. I brought these drinks myself. You boys have been running for so long. Have something to quench your thirst." Gon looked at the drink being offered and was just about to reach for it when Lin Ye stopped him. Lin Ye looked at Tonpa without a trace of a smile. His gaze was calm, yet carried an unmistakably commanding pressure. "No, thanks. We brought our own water." Tonpa's smile stiffened for a moment, then returned with even greater enthusiasm. "Come on, young man, no need to be so distant! We're all here to take the Hunter Exam. It's only right that we help each other! I prepared these drinks especially. There's nothing else to it!" "Really?" Lin Ye raised an eyebrow, his gaze settling on the bottles in Tonpa's hands. "Did you put laxatives in them, or anesthetics? Or perhaps a neurotoxin that causes muscle weakness?" Tonpa's expression changed drastically. His smile vanished completely, and a flicker of fear flashed in his eyes. He had never imagined that this young man would see straight through the tampering he had thought was flawless. He had indeed added a special laxative to the drinks. Anyone who drank one would suffer relentless diarrhea within half an hour and lose the ability to move, leaving elimination as their only outcome. It was an old trick he had used for decades, and no one had ever exposed him on the spot before. Hearing Lin Ye's words, the nearby applicants turned to look, pointing at Tonpa with wariness and disgust in their eyes. Tonpa's reputation in the Hunter Exam was already poor. Many veteran applicants knew his title, the Rookie Crusher. "You... don't make baseless accusations!" Tonpa forced himself to look composed and thrust out his chin. "I offered you drinks out of kindness, and this is how you slander me!" "You know perfectly well whether it's slander," Lin Ye said evenly. "Either drink that bottle yourself or get lost. Don't bother us again." Looking into Lin Ye's cold eyes, Tonpa felt a chill creep over him. He could sense that the young man before him had an utterly terrifying presence. If he kept pestering them, it would definitely end badly for him. He gritted his teeth, shot Lin Ye a vicious glare, and scurried away with the drinks. "Lin Ye, how did you know there was something wrong with the drinks?" Gon asked curiously, blinking his large eyes as he looked at him. "That tired old trick is all too common in the Hunter Exam." Lin Ye smiled and explained, "The most dangerous thing in the Hunter Exam is never the examiners' challenges. It's the other applicants' schemes. Most friendly gestures that come out of nowhere have a trap hidden behind them." "So that's it!" Gon nodded in understanding. "You're amazing, Lin Ye! You spotted it at a glance!" Killua also raised an eyebrow, a little more admiration entering his gaze as he looked at Lin Ye. He had grown up in the Assassin Family and was used to all kinds of dirty tricks and poisonings. Even he had only been able to sense Tonpa's malice, not determine exactly what had been added to the drinks. Yet Lin Ye had seen through it at a glance. That insight was truly frightening. Leorio looked shaken as well and patted his chest. "My God, we almost fell for it! That old bastard is so underhanded! Good thing you were here, Lin Ye!" Kurapika nodded too, looking at Lin Ye as he said earnestly, "Thank you, Lin Ye. You've helped us again." "No need for that." Lin Ye smiled. "We're a team, aren't we? Looking out for each other is only natural." They exchanged smiles, the trust between them deepening once more. Just then, a sudden commotion broke out in the distance, accompanied by startled cries from the applicants. Lin Ye's Observation Haki instantly detected the source of the disturbance, and he frowned slightly. It was Hisoka. Earlier in the tunnel, an applicant had bumped into him and dirtied his clothes, so he had simply snapped the man's neck. Now that Hisoka had reached the finish line, the first phase's assistant examiner was confronting him and trying to disqualify him. "What's going on over there?" Hearing the commotion, Leorio craned his neck curiously to look. "It's Hisoka," Lin Ye said evenly. "He killed an applicant, and the examiner wants to disqualify him." All of them immediately grew serious and looked toward the disturbance. In the center of the crowd, Hisoka stood with his usual flippant smile. Opposite him, the assistant examiner was angrily saying something, holding a radio as though reporting to the Hunter Association. "Mr. Hisoka, you killed another applicant without cause, in serious violation of the Hunter Exam's rules! I hereby formally notify you that you have been disqualified!" the assistant examiner said sharply, his face filled with anger. The surrounding applicants backed away in fear, not daring to approach, terrified of drawing the madman's attention. At those words, Hisoka's smile slowly faded, and a cold flash of murderous intent crossed his eyes. His Nen erupted in an instant, its sinister, frenzied pressure surging toward the assistant examiner like a tide. The assistant examiner turned deathly pale and involuntarily stumbled back a step. Even breathing became difficult. He was only an ordinary Hunter Association employee, no match at all for an elite Nen user like Hisoka. "Disqualify me?" Hisoka drawled, advancing toward the assistant examiner one step at a time, a cruel smile curling at his lips. "Are you sure you have the authority?" He slowly raised his hand, a playing card forming between his fingertips. Wreathed in razor-sharp Nen, it pointed at the assistant examiner's throat. The surrounding applicants held their breath in terror. No one dared step forward to stop him. Everyone knew this madman really would kill an examiner. Just then, Satotz moved. He stepped in front of the assistant examiner and faced Hisoka with a calm expression. His aura slowly rose as well, steadily holding back Hisoka's Nen pressure. "Mr. Hisoka, the rules of the Hunter Exam are not to be trampled on." Satotz's voice was calm, yet carried unquestionable authority. "However, disqualifying an applicant requires a collective decision by the Hunter Association's Exam Committee. For now, you remain eligible to continue. But if you attack an examiner or another applicant again, we will immediately terminate your exam and permanently bar you from taking any future Hunter Exam." Hisoka looked at Satotz and fell silent for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed. He put away the playing card, and his Nen subsided as well. "All right~" He spread his hands, his usual flippant expression returning. "I was just playing a little joke on this examiner. No need to be so serious." As he spoke, his gaze suddenly shifted, passing over the crowd and landing on Lin Ye. The moment he saw Lin Ye, his eyes lit up. An excited smile curled at his lips, and he waved to Lin Ye as though greeting an old friend. Lin Ye watched him calmly, offering no response, though a little more wariness entered his eyes. He knew perfectly well that the more interested someone like Hisoka became in him, the more dangerous he was. Seeing Hisoka rein in his murderous intent, Satotz also breathed a sigh of relief and reported the situation to the Exam Committee over the radio. In the end, the committee decided to let Hisoka continue for now, but issued him a severe warning. Any further incident would result in immediate disqualification. And with that, the farce ended. But every applicant knew that Hisoka, that madman, was the greatest wildcard in this Hunter Exam. Another hour passed, and every applicant capable of reaching the finish line had arrived. The original group of several hundred had been reduced to just over a hundred. More than half of the applicants had been eliminated in the first phase. After counting them, Satotz smiled at the remaining applicants. "Congratulations on passing the first phase. Now, please follow me. We will take the Air Bus to the venue for the second phase." Excitement appeared on every applicant's face as they followed Satotz toward the nearby landing pad. The five-man team walked in the middle of the group, chatting as they went. "What's the second phase going to be?" Leorio asked curiously. "It won't be another long-distance run, will it? If we have to run another eighty kilometers, I really will drop dead." "Probably not." Kurapika shook his head. "Each phase of the Hunter Exam focuses on something different. The first tested physical fitness and endurance. The second should test other abilities." "Whatever the challenge is, we'll face it together, and we'll definitely pass!" Gon said firmly, his eyes shining. Killua nodded too, a smile curling at his lips. "Exactly. As long as the five of us stick together, no challenge can stop us." Lin Ye looked at his companions and smiled without saying anything. Of course he knew that the second phase was the Gourmet Hunters' test: Buhara's braised Great Stamp and Menchi's sushi. Its elimination rate was even higher than the first phase's, and very few applicants would ultimately pass. Still, with him there, he could at least ensure that all four of his companions made it through the second phase. The Air Bus soon took off, carrying the hundred-odd remaining applicants toward the second phase's venue. Beyond its windows stretched mountain ranges and dense forests. Sunlight spilled through the clouds over the magnificent scenery. Lin Ye leaned beside a window, gazing outside as his fingers gently rubbed Fei Lan's Revolver in his pocket. Master, just watch. I'll pass the Hunter Exam and get my Hunter License. I'll fulfill your last wish, and I'll protect the people beside me. After about an hour in flight, the Air Bus finally descended slowly, landing in front of a culinary venue in a valley. The doors to the second phase were slowly opening before them.
Before you continue