The moment the elevator stopped, they felt a slight increase in weight.
The metal doors slid open silently.
A smell of sweat, rust, and a faint trace of blood hit them head-on.
Beyond the doors lay an enormous underground passage, as spacious as an aircraft hangar.
Dim light spilled down from the high vaulted ceiling, barely illuminating the space.
And the crowd packed inside it.
Over a hundred candidates, all sorts of odd-looking people with wildly different expressions.
Everyone's eyes instantly fixed on the four at the elevator doors like searchlights.
Their gazes held a mixture of scrutiny, wariness, and ill intent.
"Wow... there are so many people!"
Gon's eyes lit up.
"You're kidding, right? There must be hundreds of people here! They're all taking the exam?"
Leorio was startled by the crowd and instinctively adjusted his sunglasses.
Kurapika quietly scanned his surroundings, assessing every potential opponent.
Luo Ye stretched and stepped out of the elevator.
His expression held the pure delight of someone who had just discovered a new toy.
Tsk.
Quite the spectacle.
He liked it.
He was actually completely in the dark about how the Hunter Exam worked.
In his previous life, he had only stumbled across a few short video clips and knew a handful of snippets.
For example, there was a guy who looked like a clown and was a formidable fighter, along with a fat guy who was known as the Rookie Crusher.
But who was who and what the exam involved, he had no idea.
Still, that was fine.
It wouldn't stop him from enjoying the show.
A short man in a suit approached, his face shaped like a bean.
"Hello, new candidates."
Beans smiled at them and handed over four numbered badges.
"These are your number badges. Please keep them safe, and make sure you don't lose them."
Leorio took number 403.
Kurapika got number 404.
Gon got number 405.
Luo Ye received the last one, number 406.
"406... not exactly a lucky number."
Luo Ye tossed out the complaint and pinned the badge to his chest.
Just then, a slightly plump, friendly-looking middle-aged man approached.
He wore an enthusiastic smile and carried several cans of juice.
"You're all newcomers, right? My name's Tonpa. Nice to meet you."
He offered them the drinks.
"Here, have some juice. Let's be friends."
At that, Leorio immediately let his guard down and reached for a can.
"Oh, thanks! I'm Leorio!"
Luo Ye caught his hand.
Looking at the fat man named Tonpa before him, Luo Ye was inwardly delighted.
Well, well.
Here he was.
This was the fat guy.
He had seen him in those short videos, a wily old hand who specialized in screwing over newcomers.
His nickname had been something like "Rookie Crusher."
What a coincidence.
A welcoming gift right off the bat.
"No thanks, old man."
Luo Ye spoke lazily, smiling at Tonpa.
"We're not thirsty."
He deliberately stressed the words "old man."
Tonpa's smile stiffened.
"Hahaha, you youngsters are so polite."
He gave an awkward laugh, then tried to push a drink into Gon's hands instead.
Gon was about to speak when Luo Ye hooked an arm around his neck from behind and dragged him aside.
"Gon, don't go drinking things strangers give you."
Luo Ye wasn't loud, but the people nearby could hear him perfectly well.
"What if he put laxatives in them?"
Tonpa's face instantly turned green.
Kurapika and Leorio caught on too, their gazes turning hostile as they looked at Tonpa.
"Tch."
Seeing that his trick had failed, Tonpa dropped the act and slunk away.
"Luo Ye, how did you know something was wrong with him?"
Gon asked curiously.
"Just a guess."
Luo Ye made up an answer on the spot.
"Look at his face. He's smiling like he finally took a dump after three days of constipation. Does he look like a good guy to you?"
His gaze swept across the crowd.
Before long, it settled on a target.
A tall, red-haired man wearing clown makeup.
He leaned against the wall, leisurely playing with a deck of cards. No one stood within two meters of him.
That's him!
Luo Ye mentally slapped his thigh.
That twisted magician who turned someone's arms into petals in the video!
This was going to be one hell of a show!
And he could fight, too!
Luo Ye felt every cell in his body trembling with excitement.
He was just about to pull Gon over to join the fun.
Then something unexpected happened.
A candidate who had just arrived accidentally bumped into the clown-faced man.
"S-sorry!"
The candidate went deathly pale with fear and kept apologizing.
The clown-faced man said nothing.
He merely smiled, raised his hand, and lightly touched the candidate's shoulder.
The next second.
As everyone watched in horror.
Both of the candidate's arms drooped as though they had no bones.
No, they weren't drooping.
They were disappearing.
They turned into pink petals that fluttered through the air.
"Aaaah!"
An agonized scream echoed throughout the underground passage.
The candidate who had lost both arms rolled on the ground in pain.
The clown-faced man didn't even glance at him. He continued playing with his cards as though he had merely swatted a mosquito.
The entire passage fell deathly silent.
Everyone was stunned by what they had witnessed.
"Did you see that?"
Luo Ye's voice sounded beside Gon's ear, carrying a hint of excitement and gravity.
"Stay away from that freak from now on, at least until you can send him flying with one punch."
Gon and Leorio went pale and nodded vigorously.
Kurapika's expression was more serious than ever.
Just then, the wall at the far end of the passage suddenly rumbled and slowly rose.
A man in a purple suit stepped out. He had no mouth and sported a strange, two-part mustache.
His footsteps echoed through the cavernous passage.
"Sorry for the wait."
"I am Satotz, the examiner for the first phase."
"Now, please follow me."
Before you continue