Heart-pounding X Two-choice Quiz

"Caught you." Kaya turned back with a grin, poking his head around the corner to call to the other three. "She's here!"

Before he finished speaking, Bucktooth Grandma walked out onto the main road with her cane, facing the three of them.

A crowd of people wearing masks and white bedsheets rustled out from every corner of the street, gathering behind Bucktooth Grandma.

The crowd murmured "blah, blah, blah," as though speaking some kind of language. It was deeply unsettling.

Leorio could hardly stand that mental assault.

"What the hell are you all blabbing about? Can someone tell me what any of this means?"

"Gon, are you sure we came to the right place?"

Gon nodded firmly and replied, "I'm sure. At every fork along the way, I deliberately avoided all the paths that smelled of magical beasts and blood. That brought us here."

Ever since meeting Gon, Kaya had admired his sense of smell. When they played hide-and-seek on Whale Island, Gon could find him by scent no matter where he hid, so he had complete confidence in the route Gon had chosen.

Kurapika nodded. "That means this is the only way to reach the Great Tree."

"Blah, blah, blah."

The racket finally drove Leorio over the edge. "Stop howling!"

That seemed to work. Bucktooth Grandma raised her cane slightly, and the crowd behind her fell silent.

"Quiet down, young man," Bucktooth Grandma said. "You're heading toward the Great Tree, correct?"

"Then you've come to the right place. The only way to reach the Great Tree is through this town."

"The child in green was right. All the other paths on this mountain are mazes, dead ends, or places where vicious magical beasts lie in wait. Charging down them blindly would be suicide."

"Making it here is an achievement in itself."

Kaya hopped over to Gon and pointed at Bucktooth Grandma's cane. "Look, the mark on her cane is the same as the captain's."

Kurapika noticed it too. "That means this Grandma is screening applicants on their way to the exam site."

Leorio sighed in disbelief. "Seriously? This old lady is an examiner?"

"Blah, blah, blah."

Bucktooth Grandma started first, and then the crowd behind her joined in the babbling.

This time, Leorio held his tongue. Since this old lady was an examiner, upsetting her might get him disqualified. Then he really would have nothing to do but cry.

Kaya yawned too, leaning his whole body against Gon as he patiently waited for them to finish babbling.

Suddenly, the entire crowd fell silent, and Bucktooth Grandma bellowed, "Heart-pounding two-choice quiz!"

Leorio jolted in fright and asked with a bewildered expression, "What quiz?"

Bucktooth Grandma continued expressionlessly, "I will now ask you a question. You will have only five seconds to think. If you answer incorrectly, you will lose your eligibility for this year's exam."

Looking confident, Leorio walked over to Kurapika and casually draped a hand over his shoulder. "Just choosing between two options? That's easy."

Kurapika knocked his hand away in disgust.

Kaya asked in confusion, "There are four of us. Do we only get one question?"

Leorio pointed at Kaya. "Then if he answers wrong, won't he drag me down too?"

"Leorio, don't forget you still owe me ten thousand Jenny," Kaya said coldly.

The money for the food earlier had all come from what Aunt Mito had given Gon and Kaya for their journey before they left. Since Leorio was broke and Kaya was particularly fond of Kurapika, he hadn't made either of them pay.

Seeing Leorio put in his place, Kurapika and Kaya bumped fists.

Gon said innocently, "So as long as one of the four of us answers correctly, we pass, right?"

"That's true," Leorio said.

"Then we're counting on you, Kurapika." Kaya hopped over to the steps and sat down.

"Are you done talking?" An unfamiliar voice came from behind them, and everyone turned to look.

An extremely sleazy-looking man dressed in white walked up to the crowd, carrying two weapons on his back.

The man continued, "You people really talk too much. Can I cut in and answer first?"

Naturally, Leorio wasn't pleased to be mocked and snapped back immediately. "Who the hell are you?"

Kaya and Gon said in unison, "You didn't know?"

Leorio scratched the back of his head. "Know what? You know him?"

Gon shook his head and explained, "He's been following us since the port. Kaya noticed too."

Sitting off to one side with his cheek propped on his hand, Kaya added, "I asked Gon earlier if we should drag him out, but Gon wouldn't let me. He said we were all applicants. Oh well."

"Huh?" Leorio looked thoroughly dismayed. He hadn't noticed a thing.

Completely shameless, the man in white said to Gon, "Thanks. Without you leading the way, I might not have made it here."

At that moment, Bucktooth Grandma asked, "This man wants to answer first. Any objections?"

All four shook their heads. None of them knew what the question would be, after all. Letting this man answer first might give them a clue.

Bucktooth Grandma nodded. "Your question is: if your mother and your lover were both kidnapped by a group of bandits, and you could save only one, whom would you save?"

"Option one is your mother. Option two is your lover. The countdown begins."

"Five."

"Huh?" Leorio froze on the spot. What kind of question was that?

"Four."

Even the normally composed Kurapika grew serious as he considered how to answer the question.

"Three."

Kaya's eyes darted about as he searched for a loophole in the question.

"Two."

The man in white smiled confidently and answered, "One. I choose one."

Bucktooth Grandma's expression darkened. "Why?"

The man said, "Because you only have one mother. You can always find another lover."

Bucktooth Grandma was silent for a moment, then closed her eyes and said, "Go on."

She stepped aside, and the crowd opened a path.

The man glanced smugly back at the Four-Person Group, who were still thinking, then ran through the crowd.

"Old lady, what kind of question is that?" Leorio erupted. "The answer depends on the person. How could there possibly be a standard answer?"

"If I want to save my lover, I lose my eligibility? What kind of nutcase came up with this question?"

Leorio's words made Kurapika realize the answer. He was just about to warn the others when Bucktooth Grandma noticed and immediately stopped him.

"No talking now. You have two choices: one, continue answering questions; two, lose your exam eligibility immediately. Give me an answer."

"One," Kurapika replied.

The question seemed to have stumped Gon. He had kept his head lowered in thought ever since it was asked.

Kaya raised his hand. "Grandma, could you explain the exam rules again?"

Bucktooth Grandma nodded and repeated them. "Every question has two choices. You have only five seconds to think. Answer incorrectly, and you immediately lose your exam eligibility. Do you understand now?"

Everything clicked for Kaya. He said nothing more and sat off to one side, waiting for the question.

"All right. The quiz begins."

"If one day your son and daughter were both kidnapped by criminals, and you could save only one, whom would you save?"

"Option one is your son. Option two is your daughter. Answer now."

"Five."

Leorio couldn't take it anymore. He shouted, "Old lady, you've gone too far! Having fun messing with us, huh?"

To him, being forced to choose between two answers to a question with no standard answer meant everything depended on the examiner's whims. If she took a dislike to him, he would never pass, no matter what he did.

So he stopped holding back and decided to teach this old lady a lesson.

"Four."

Leorio walked over to a pile of garbage and pulled out a wooden stick. He swung it a couple of times, then headed toward Bucktooth Grandma.

"Three."

"You like counting down, huh?" Leorio drew closer and closer.

"Two."

Snap!

Leorio felt his body tighten. Looking back, he saw that Kaya had wrapped his whip around his waist and was shaking his head at him.

"One."

"Time's up!"

Everything instantly fell silent.

No one had answered, but Bucktooth Grandma didn't say they had failed either.

The frozen atmosphere lasted several seconds before the impatient Leorio couldn't stand it anymore.

"Kaya, let me go! I'm going to kill this old lady, then take her head to the Hunter Association and ask what idiot came up with an exam like this!"

Kurapika grabbed Leorio. "Calm down. We've already passed."

"Passed? We passed?" Leorio looked blankly at Kurapika, then at Kaya.

Seeing that he had calmed down, Kaya withdrew his whip and stood up. "That's right. We passed."

"But we didn't answer anything," Leorio said dazedly, rooted to the spot.

Kaya walked over to Bucktooth Grandma. "Exactly. Didn't you hear the rules?"

"This Grandma said we'd lose our eligibility if we answered incorrectly. So why not just avoid answering? She never said we couldn't pass without answering. How can you be so dense?"

You can do that? Leorio could no longer keep up.

Kurapika added, "Besides, you said it yourself. How could a question like this have a standard answer?"

"But precisely because there is no correct answer, and we can only choose one or two if we answer, there is only one so-called correct response: silence."

"Right! If there's no correct answer, just don't answer!" Leorio clapped his hands in realization.

Then another thought struck him. "But that guy chose one. Why did she let him through?"

Kurapika rolled his eyes at him and patiently explained, "It was just wordplay. The examiner only told him to go on. She never said his answer was correct."

"I suspect the path he took isn't the real route." After saying that, Kurapika turned to Grandma. "Am I right?"

Bucktooth Grandma nodded slightly. "You're right. That path is indeed a dead end. Congratulations. You answered correctly."

She rose, and two assistants behind her worked together to open a large door nearby.

Beyond the door lay a long, dim path.

Standing beside the door, Bucktooth Grandma said, "This is the real path to the Great Tree. Follow it, and you'll reach the summit in two hours."

"At the summit, you'll find a married couple who serve as guides. They will take you to the actual Hunter Exam site."

"Provided you can pass their test."

Leorio put down the wooden stick and sincerely apologized to Grandma.

Grandma shook her head. "No need to apologize. I became an examiner here because I wanted to meet kindhearted people like you. Go on, now. Set off toward your dreams."

Seeing that Gon was still lost in thought, Kaya walked over, grabbed his ear, and said loudly, "Come on! We passed!"

Gon pondered for a moment, then stared seriously at Kaya. "I still can't think of an answer to that question."

Kaya smiled. "What's there to think about? Come on!"

Gon said with a serious expression, "But it made me think. If one day I could only save either you or Aunt Mito, I really wouldn't be able to choose. What would you choose, Kaya?"

The question left Kaya frozen in place. Leorio and Kurapika were taken aback too.

Kaya rubbed his chin and thought for a moment. "You're not as strong as me. If even I got captured, how would you rescue me? So you'd definitely have to save Aunt Mito."

Gon complained, "You're always like this. You never take anything seriously. I mean what if? What if something like that happened? What would you want me to do?"

It seemed Gon's old habit had resurfaced. He was getting stuck on a single thought again.

Kaya's answer gave Kurapika a flash of inspiration, and he offered some reassurance. "Gon, Kaya is actually right. If we're strong enough, something like that won't happen. What we need to do is improve ourselves."

Leorio and Kaya both agreed with that answer.

After thanking Bucktooth Grandma, the four entered the path.

Watching them walk away, Grandma nodded. They really were four remarkable young men.

The blond boy was intelligent and calm, able to analyze and solve problems quickly.

Though impulsive, the man in sunglasses had a powerful sense of justice.

The brown-haired boy had a distinctive way of thinking, finding unexpected breakthroughs when faced with difficulties.

And the boy in green had laid bare the meaning of the question with a single remark.

Reality was cruel, after all, and the world of Hunters even more so.

The unexpected could happen in an instant. As Hunters, they had to be fully prepared to face unknown challenges.