Visca Forest Preserve was the location for the second phase of the test.
A factory building stood on a flat piece of land.
A clock hung above the main entrance of the factory building.
Gurgle…
When Law arrived at the flatland, he heard the sound coming from inside the factory building from afar. He knew it was Buhara's stomach growling.
'Good grief… deliberately waiting for the test on an empty stomach?'
Law shook his head slightly. He didn't enter the factory building but went to a large tree at the edge of the flatland, lay down on a branch, and closed his eyes to rest.
If the examiner for the first phase didn't arrive, the examiner for the second phase couldn't make their entrance.
Law had arrived several hours early and had to wait here for the others to cross the Swindler's Swamp.
Inside the factory building, over a hundred cooking stations were neatly arranged. At the far end, there was a sofa where a woman sat with her legs crossed.
The woman had pink hair tied into five upward-pointing pigtails, with a pretty and beautiful face.
Her upper body was clad in a semi-transparent mesh crop top, clearly revealing the black bra underneath and a large area of her flat stomach.
Her lower body wore ultra-short denim shorts, and her legs were pale and long. Currently crossed, they vaguely revealed her underwear.
Such sexy attire, coupled with the unabashed display of her curvaceous figure, suggested the woman had a rather bold and unrestrained personality.
This woman was none other than the Single-Star Gourmet Hunter, Menchi.
Behind the sofa sat Buhara, who was as large as a small hill.
Menchi lay back on the sofa, utterly bored. Suddenly, she opened her eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them.
"Someone's here."
Buhara, upon hearing this, asked puzzledly, "But there are still over two hours until the estimated arrival time, right?"
"I know," Menchi said, straightening her upper body, her tone calm, "That person probably isn't an examinee."
"Should I go out and take a look?" Buhara suggested.
Menchi shook her head. "No need. That person means no harm; probably just a traveler visiting Visca Forest. Don't bother with him."
Having said that, she closed her eyes again, leaning back on the sofa to wait for time to pass.
Buhara, seeing this, let the matter drop. He rubbed his hungry stomach, thinking how slow time was passing.
He didn't tell Menchi about Law's presence, secretly hoping for Law's quick arrival.
Little did he know that the Law he was thinking of was currently outside on a tree.
…
Meanwhile, after Satotz briefly introduced the Milsy Wetlands, he led the way inside. His pace was still a walking motion, but the speed was akin to running.
There were 392 examinees who had passed through the tunnel. They now realized that the marathon was not only not over, but the following process would be even more dangerous.
The tunnel, which posed no danger, and the Milsy Wetlands, teeming with various lurking creatures, were simply incomparable.
Except for a small number of individuals, even the examinees in good condition couldn't help but feel their moods grow heavy.
Everyone followed Satotz into the Milsy Wetlands one after another, forming a rather long line.
'Having stayed on the Dark Continent for so many years, coming to the Milsy Wetlands now feels like the difference between university and kindergarten,' Tonpa ran on the muddy ground, looking relaxed.
'Speaking of which, where did Law go? Given his style, he should be rescuing examinees, right? Could he be hiding in the shadows observing?'
Tonpa pondered. Just then, he noticed fog setting in, thickening rapidly and reducing visibility in an instant.
He spread out his Ability, and immediately grasped everything about the grass and trees around him.
For the current Tonpa, this kind of test was a piece of cake.
As the dense fog spread, the various lurking creatures gradually bared their fangs.
"Ah!"
In no time, screams frequently came from within the thick fog.
Many examinees quickly lost the lead group led by Satotz and fell into grave danger.
Hearing the screams from the thick fog, Tonpa found it strange. He thought Law would act like before, rescuing every examinee and bringing the mortality rate infinitely close to zero.
However, not only was there no sign of Law, but he could also only sense examinees being devoured by creatures one after another.
'Could it be... Law is testing me?'
Tonpa fell into deep thought, suddenly considering one possibility.
The reason Law hadn't stepped in to rescue anyone was that he wanted to see if Tonpa, now possessing ability, would rescue the other examinees like he did.
'That's right, it must be this!'
Tonpa thought seriously.
'Besides this reason, there shouldn't be any other explanation, right?'
'Hmph, just watch me. I've turned over a new leaf now, so you definitely can't act recklessly anymore. I must get the license this year!'
Tonpa's expression turned serious, and he suddenly picked up speed, rushing towards the source of the screams.
In the thick fog, several giant frogs had cut off the examinees' line. Using the fog for cover, their long tongues would lash out each time, snatching an examinee and swallowing them whole.
Over fifty examinees were surrounded by these few frogs, unable to advance or retreat.
"Ah!"
In the blink of an eye, several more examinees met their end, letting out miserable screams before dying.
"Dammit, what the hell are these things!"
One examinee, unable to withstand the psychological pressure, yelled and ran away, only to be instantly caught by a long tongue and disappearing into the fog in the blink of an eye.
The remaining examinees, seeing this, showed even more horrified expressions and dared not act rashly.
Leorio gripped his short knife, nervously watching the surrounding fog, afraid that the elusive tongue would suddenly target him.
Kurapika stood beside him, holding wooden dual swords, his expression extremely cautious.
"Leorio! Kurapika!"
Gon's voice suddenly came from within the fog.
Gon ran through the thick fog. The sound he made caused a frog to shoot its tongue out to attack him, but Gon dodged it with a leap and arrived beside Leorio and Kurapika.
"Why did you come back!"
Kurapika and Leorio said in unison.
Gon said innocently, "To help you, of course."
"..."
Kurapika and Leorio looked at each other, 'Well, that was just like Gon, but the problem was, how could he help?'
The fog was too thick to see where the tongue monsters were. Moreover, the surrounded examinees were too terrified to even show any signs of cooperating.
Just then, a dull thud came from within the fog, followed by a strange scream, and then the deafening sound of a heavy object falling.
Tonpa had arrived at the scene and kicked one of the frogs to death.
"What happened?"
The examinees' hearts jumped, thinking an even more terrifying creature had arrived.
Then, they saw Tonpa slowly walking out of the fog.
Among these examinees, some veterans recognized Tonpa and were momentarily stunned.
Tonpa ignored the examinees present, looking towards the left. He stomped his foot, and his figure darted into the fog like the wind. In less than two seconds, another strange scream was heard.
The examinees present immediately understood what was happening.
After a few seconds, another strange scream sounded, followed by the noise of a heavy object falling.
In less than a minute, this happened six times in a row, then everything fell silent.
Tonpa slowly emerged from the fog and said to the examinees standing dumbfounded in place, in the tone of an expert, "You, follow me."
The rescued examinees cheered and followed behind Tonpa. Only the few veterans were shocked.
'Was this still the Rookie Crusher Tonpa?'
"Whew, saved."
Leorio let out a sigh of relief and quickly urged Gon and Kurapika to follow Tonpa.
"Never judge a book by its cover," Kurapika remarked, looking at Tonpa's back, unable to help but sigh.
'He looked very much like a cunning person, yet he had a heart that rushed to help others upon seeing injustice.'
Gon ran to Tonpa's side and said with a happy smile, "You are a good person!"
Tonpa smiled awkwardly, thinking, 'Why don't I feel happy at all being praised by you as a good person?'
Because of his self-conceived speculation, Tonpa used his Nen Abilities to great effect, gathering all the examinees he encountered along the way into one group, avoiding numerous dangers, and closely following not far behind Satotz.
Through introductions, the examinees also learned the name of this expert.
'Tonpa is so amazing!' Gon and the others thought.
Two hours later, the group passed through the Milsy Wetlands.
Satotz looked back and was surprised to find the number of people in the group somewhat unscientific, 'It should be over three hundred, right?'
'What happened?'
He thought this, leading the examinees into Visca Forest, heading towards the location of the second phase.