His unique entrance led most examinees to mistake Law for the examiner in the first moment.
"Is the test about to start?" Gon looked at Law by the elevator door, his face beaming with a smile.
"Probably." Killua, with a skateboard tucked under his arm, replied lazily.
Having not seen each other for many years, neither of them recognized Law.
Leorio tightened his grip on his briefcase, took a deep breath, and tried his best to calm the nervousness that was just beginning to bud.
'One arm... Is he the examiner?' Kurapika silently observed Law. Although Law's entrance was quite distinctive, it wasn't conclusive proof. And...
Thinking this, Kurapika's eyes swept over the crowd around him. He noticed that some examinees muttered a few words before looking away, though it was unclear what they were saying.
Elsewhere, Tonpa had a dark expression on his face. After careful observation, he directly recognized Law's identity, primarily because the missing arm gave Tonpa more confidence.
'Coming to take the test without saying a word... Could it be intentional?'
Law's sudden appearance made Tonpa feel very uneasy, afraid that Law was going to mess with him again. But he thought, 'Given all the hardships we'd been through over the years, surely he wouldn't target me again, right?'
Just as he was thinking this, he saw Law heading straight towards him.
'It really is Law!'
Tonpa jumped down from the metal pipe.
Law's cycling speed wasn't fast, and he didn't make any statement, so the gazes of most examinees followed him as he moved.
At that moment, a short man with a very weak presence emerged from somewhere, clapping his hands, trying to attract the attention of the numerous examinees.
"Please, all examinees, come to me in order to receive your number tags," The short man, who was none other than Beans, spoke.
'A mistake?'
Hearing Beans's words, most examinees' attention immediately shifted over. The crowd slowly began to move.
Meanwhile, Law reached Tonpa and greeted him.
Tonpa glanced at the crowd going to collect their number tags, leaned close to Law, and whispered, "Law, I really want to get the license."
Hearing this, Law said seriously, "So do I."
'As if I'd believe that!'
Tonpa rolled his eyes and pleaded, "Anyway, just don't mess with me, okay?"
"We're companions, why would I mess with you?" Law asked, puzzled.
"Alright then." Although Tonpa still felt unsure, seeing Law's attitude made him feel a little more at ease.
Law looked at the somewhat oppressive tunnel, then at the examinees, immediately spotting many vaguely familiar faces. An indescribable emotion welled up in his chest.
'Has it really been so many years already...'
Law chuckled softly to himself, then his expression turned serious as he tried to pick out Hisoka's figure from the crowd.
'Huh? He's not here?'
He saw many familiar people, but Hisoka was conspicuously absent.
'He's not taking the test this year?'
Law frowned in thought.
Then, he saw Gon and Killua, who had grown quite a bit, and also saw Leorio, wearing a suit and small sunglasses, looking as if he was about to attend a company interview, and Kurapika, dressed in Kurta clothing and carrying a bundle.
Seeing that Kurapika had escaped his clan's massacre, Law didn't know whether to feel happy or sad for him.
Then, his gaze shifted and fell on the strange pin-faced man.
Click-clack click-clack...
The pin-faced man shook his head, slowly turning his neck to meet Law's gaze. His dull, lifeless eyes gave no hint of what he was thinking.
'The pin-faced man is Illumi. He's here, but Hisoka isn't.'
Law scrutinized the pin-faced man unabashedly, then calmly looked away after a moment, turning his attention to others.
'Huh? That woman, I remember her name is Feng Xiaoyu. Why is she here too?'
Law saw a woman with thick eyebrows, round eyes, and wavy hair. It was clearly the woman he had encountered on the mountaintop when he returned to Stargie's tomb several years ago.
If he remembered correctly, Xiaoyu's Nen was particularly interesting, called [Treasure Vault of the Twelve Bandits], which could establish a relationship between a key and a keyhole on any object.
'Some things have still changed.'
Law averted his gaze and continued looking at the others.
The bald ninja from a certain island country, Hanzo.
The hat-wearing girl who could command bees, Ponzu.
The one who used poison-tipped arrows, Pokkle.
The pompadour-wearing chubby kid holding a laptop, who got eliminated in the first round.
The stylish female sniper wearing sunglasses.
The dark-skinned, sharp-nosed Geretta.
The turbaned man who could control venomous snakes, Bourbon.
These faces, once vivid in his memory, then gradually blurred, were now becoming clear again.
At this moment, what Law was considering wasn't this Hunter Exam, but the Chimera Ant catastrophe one year later.
"Law, we should go get our number tags," Tonpa's voice sounded beside his ear.
"Mm."
Law nodded, rode his bicycle over to Beans.
Beans looked Law up and down. He was also one of the people in the know. His gaze swept over Law's missing arm, and he immediately recognized Law.
'He actually brought a bicycle along.'
Beans felt speechless, then took out number tag 405 and gave it to Law.
Law nodded to Beans, took the number tag, and left without a word. He didn't stand with Tonpa again either, instead occupying a corner by himself.
'It seems Hisoka isn't coming this year.'
Law thought silently, then glanced again at Xiaoyu, who stood out quite a bit in the crowd.
These changes, neither too big nor too small, were all unexpected.
Time passed quietly.
Law suddenly noticed Tonpa talking with the chubby computer kid. An idea sparked, and he moved closer.
As he approached, he heard the chubby kid speaking somewhat arrogantly, methodically recounting Tonpa's track record, his words even containing a hint of disdain.
Tonpa stood by listening to the kid's lofty talk, looking at him as if he were an idiot.
"Yo, what are you talking about?"
Law cut in midway, directly interrupting the chubby kid, which made him a little unhappy.
"Bragging," Tonpa said with curled lips.
Hearing this, the chubby kid immediately corrected him, "Data is real and doesn't lie! Please don't tarnish data with the word 'bragging'!"
"I think so too," Law smiled in agreement, then looked calmly at the chubby kid and asked, "Suppose you were to connect the name 'Hisoka' with the Hunter Exam. What could you find out?"
His calm eyes held a flash of sharpness.
The chubby kid initially wanted to refuse, but his heart skipped a beat. Without another word, he started typing on his laptop keyboard.
A moment later, the chubby kid found information about Hisoka and the Hunter Exam.
"Any results?" Law smiled.
The chubby kid wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded. "Yes."
"Let's hear it."
"Hisoka, a successful candidate in the 283rd Hunter Exam. It's said that in the final test, Hisoka killed all the other examinees, so he was the only successful candidate that year," The chubby kid explained.
"Is that so..."
Law's eyes changed slightly, and he muttered to himself.
'Things had indeed changed. Whether it was joining the Troupe early or passing the exam early.'
'Whatever. We'll meet eventually.'
Ring ring ring...
A harsh ringing sound suddenly echoed through the tunnel.
Following the sound, they saw a hidden door open in the wall above the metal pipes. A man with a mustache stepped out of the hidden door and stood on the metal pipe.