The ringing was sharp and piercing, impossible to ignore.
Following the sound, they saw it came from a small hanging doll in the hands of the man with the mustache.
The man's eyebrows and nose were somewhat sharp and long. Compared to his slightly sexy mustache, the fact that his mouth couldn't be seen was what drew more attention from many examinees.
The man's name was Satotz, a Ruins Hunter, and also the examiner for the first phase this year.
Click.
Satotz pressed the doll's head, stopping the harsh ringing.
Then, he floated down from the metal pipe as lightly as a feather.
'Emission-type?'
Watching Satotz's landing process, Law made a basic judgment.
After landing, Satotz got straight to the point, addressing all the examinees: "Sorry to have kept you waiting. As of just now, the reception time for Hunter Exam's applicants has ended."
As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the tunnel clearly changed, and almost every examinee adopted a serious and solemn expression.
Satotz looked around, raised his index finger, and said flatly, "Let me state this in advance: the Hunter Exam is extremely rigorous. Those with bad luck or lacking strength may suffer serious injury or even death."
"It's also not uncommon for someone to be eliminated early due to conflicts between examinees. Those who wish to withdraw, please take the elevator back the way you came. Those who are not afraid of death, follow me."
It was a fairly serious declaration, yet it didn't cause a single examinee to back down.
What a joke. After finally finding the location of the first test, how could they retreat now?
Most examinees held the same thought.
Satotz scanned everyone once more, his gaze pausing slightly on Law's conspicuous bicycle before withdrawing. He said calmly, "Well, there are 498 participants in this test. The test now officially begins."
After saying that, Satotz turned around and, with the standardized posture of a soldier marching, walked into the tunnel.
The examinees saw this and instinctively followed.
Tap tap tap...
Dense footsteps echoed in the tunnel.
"The test has started."
Law said this to the chubby kid and Tonpa, then rode his bicycle, following at the back of the group.
The chubby kid closed his laptop and followed, as did Tonpa.
The nearly five hundred-strong group walked steadily through the tunnel like this.
After a while, the speed increased from walking to brisk walking.
The examinees realized this and began taking larger strides.
"I haven't introduced myself to everyone yet. I am Satotz, the examiner for the first test. Next, I will lead you all to the venue for the second test. Those who can follow me to the venue of the second test will pass the first test."
"However, please remember, I will not disclose the location of the venue or the arrival time, so you can only follow me closely."
Satotz walked at the very front of the group and explained the content of the first test.
As soon as his words fell, his walking speed increased again, from brisk walking to running.
Although the speed had clearly increased, the walking posture he adopted was still the standardized march.
His speed increase directly caused the entire group's pace to change accordingly. Every examinee started running, with only two exceptions.
One was Law, who was riding a bicycle. The other was Killua, who was riding a skateboard.
But soon, because of Gon's presence, Killua put away his skateboard and honestly ran along with the group.
Although Law was riding a bicycle, he didn't ride at the front of the group. Instead, he stayed at the very back, riding leisurely.
Tonpa wasn't doing his old business this year, so there was no need to mix with the newcomers. After saying hello to Law, he ran to the front of the group, closely following behind Satotz.
His proper attitude, like that of a model student, made a number of veterans who knew Tonpa quite surprised.
The group moved forward, the sound of footsteps rising from low to high, from slow to urgent, echoing incessantly in the tunnel that stretched to who knows where.
Three hours passed. The distance covered was close to sixty kilometers, averaging twenty kilometers per hour.
The average running speed for an ordinary person is around ten kilometers per hour, but the group's speed reached twenty kilometers per hour. Moreover, the distance of a marathon long-distance race is usually around fifty kilometers.
Not to mention the long-distance running intensity exceeding that of an international marathon, the psychological burden of not knowing where the finish line was also accompanied every examinee constantly.
However, after more than four dull and silent hours, with the distance approaching eighty kilometers, not a single examinee had fallen behind. It showed that the quality of this year's examinees was quite good, able to persist for so long in a state of fast running.
However, the distance to the second test venue was estimated to be not even half covered yet.
Law rode his bicycle, very leisurely lagging at the back of the group. He just needed to go through the motions and get the license, but he felt it was too slow and boring.
After a while, he suddenly saw the speed of the chubby kid with the laptop slow down.
Crash.
Perhaps because he was nearing his limit, the laptop tucked under his arm fell to the ground. The chubby kid, as if unaware, continued running with a dazed look in his eyes.
His clothes were already soaked with sweat, and his face and head were also heavily wet, as if he had just been pulled out of water.
Then, Law saw the Amori brothers deliberately slow down, said a few words to the chubby kid, laughed mockingly a few times, then sped up to catch up with the group.
The chubby kid, struck by the brothers' taunting words, like a camel crushed by the last straw, slowly came to a stop, fell to his knees, his expression nearly collapse.
Seeing this, Law shook his head slightly, 'Even without Tonpa causing trouble, there would still be other veterans tripping people up, like now. The Amori brothers' deliberately mocking words had made the chubby kid lose his last bit of spirit.'
"T-t-take... m-me..."
The chubby kid looked up with difficulty at Law passing by him.
Hearing this, Law slowly stopped and looked back at the chubby kid lying on the ground.
"O-on... the... b-basis... of... me... helping you... look up information... t-take me! I... don't want... to fail!"
The chubby kid said these words haltingly, tears and sweat mixed together, his hopeful gaze falling on the rear seat of Law's bicycle.
Law was silent for a moment, then pointed to the tunnel ahead and said, "Continue forward, and you... will die."
The spoken words, slightly imbued with his Aura, struck every inch of the chubby kid's spirit like the morning bell in a temple.
The chubby kid's expression immediately became dazed. Many voices collided in his head. Gradually, stern, expressionless parents appeared in his mind.
'Will I die?'
That life where he had always stood out, whether in studies or sports, taking first place, was now like a mirror covered with spiderweb cracks, suddenly shattering into countless fragments.
But, compared to failure, is death more terrifying?
It was as if his spine had been pulled out. His head hung heavily, and his whole body was about to press against the ground… a posture of complete powerlessness.
'In a life that did not allow failure, is death really more terrifying than failure?'
Law looked calmly at the chubby kid who was the first to be eliminated in the original work. After a moment, he stepped on the pedal and rode his bicycle forward again.
After riding out more than ten meters, the chubby kid's voice, hoarse and strained, suddenly came from behind, even reaching the entire group ahead.
"I, don't want to be eliminated!"
That shout seemed to pour out his last bit of strength, filled with extremely complex emotions, mostly unwillingness.
Most of the examinees who were running fast, upon hearing the chubby kid's shout, all sneered imperceptibly.
"That guy still has the strength to shout," Amori mocked to his two younger brothers.
Imori and Umori, hearing this, couldn't help but laugh too.
"The Hunter Exam isn't child's play. Coming to take it without any psychological preparation at all... being able to fall here is good luck for him," The youngest, Umori, sneered.
At the front of the group, Satotz's expression remained unperturbed. He thought to himself, 'The first eliminated.'
Law, however, stopped again and looked back. The chubby kid who had been lying on the ground was now standing up. His body swayed precariously, his legs trembling uncontrollably, but he managed to support himself with difficulty.
The chubby kid had vividly overturned the originally predetermined outcome of the original work.
It was not set in stone.