The vast open ground was suddenly flooded with a large number of examinees, with many more continuously arriving afterwards.
Both Menchi and Buhara inside the factory building, as well as Law who was resting on the tree, noticed the commotion in advance.
Law slowly opened his eyes and jumped down from the tree. Since the boring and lengthy marathon was over, he had stored the bicycle in Kuro's space.
His movement of jumping down from the tree immediately attracted the attention of Satotz and the examinees who had just arrived.
Seeing Law, Satotz's eyes flickered, a flash of surprise passing through them.
The examinees standing behind Satotz all looked at Law with strange expressions. Then, they secretly glanced at Satotz's back.
Although no examinee had ever doubted the fairness and secrecy of the Hunter Exam, the scene before them inevitably raised suspicions.
If that bicycle was prepared for the marathon test, the persuasiveness was really low. After all, one of the principles of the Hunter Exam was that examinees could bring any tools and weapons.
However, it was hard to explain clearly how an examinee could arrive at the second test location faster than the examiner.
Satotz was also puzzled about how Law had arrived at the second test location early. He didn't notice that the chubby boy among the examinees currently had a horrified expression.
Satotz set aside this temporarily unsolvable doubt, calmly turned around, faced the examinees who had followed him all the way and those suspicious gazes, his face showing no fluctuations.
He remained silent and did not announce the end of the first test because the clock hanging above the main entrance of the factory building still had five minutes until it reached the exact hour.
The distance and travel speed had been taken into account, but there could still be some unforeseen changes, making it impossible to arrive exactly on time.
However, sometimes changes catch up with plans. If there had been the interlude with Hisoka and the Man-Faced Ape from the original work, the group would indeed have arrived exactly on time. Such is the unpredictability of the world.
Law walked slowly towards the group of examinees. Looking around, there were at least over three hundred people.
'What's going on? I remember there shouldn't be this many people.'
As Law walked, he thought silently, 'Could it be another change caused by me?'
Then, he saw Gon's group standing together with Tonpa. Immediately after, Tonpa suddenly looked towards him, grinning to reveal shiny white teeth, seeming very proud.
'See, this result should be enough to pass, right!'
His proud face seemed to be written all over with such a sentence.
Seeing this, Law was just full of question marks.
Because the headscarf covered his face, Tonpa didn't notice Law's strange reaction, nor would he ever think that the truth was very different from what he imagined.
Then, Law saw nearly a hundred examinees seriously thanking Tonpa one after another. Listening carefully, they were basically words of gratitude for saving their lives.
Law thought for a moment, then matched Tonpa's meaningful reaction, and a black line quietly hung on his forehead.
'This guy...'
The phenomenon of many examinees thanking Tonpa once again attracted the attention of the surrounding examinees. Satotz lowered his eyelids, and for some reason, he remembered the complaints from Hunters who had served as examiners several years ago.
He didn't know the specific situation, but now, he always felt something was strange.
Not only did Satotz find it strange, but the group of examinees who had relied on their own strength to closely follow Satotz all had peculiar expressions.
Tonpa didn't care about that. He originally wanted to go over to Law, but was blocked by examinees coming over to thank him.
"Hey, fatso, you should know something, right?" A voice suddenly came from the crowd.
Looking towards the sound, it was the three Amori brothers surrounding the chubby boy. The eldest brother, Amori, even had his arm heavily wrapped around the chubby boy's neck.
The chubby boy's face was covered in cold sweat, his head lowered in silence.
Noticing the commotion, Satotz silently glanced at the clock. There were still three minutes left. Then he looked at the Amori brothers and the chubby boy, sighing lightly in his heart, only hoping time would pass quickly so he could directly hand the examinees over to the two examiners inside the building.
The Amori brothers patted the chubby boy's cheeks with a frivolous attitude while staring provocatively at Law, who remained unmoved.
"Examiner Satotz, I think many examinees present are very curious," The second brother, Imori, sneered coldly, pointing at Law, "Why did examinee No. 405 arrive here early?"
"Also, his bicycle was really well-prepared."
In itself, the bicycle matter wasn't a big deal, but attached to the previous point, it could add some persuasiveness.
The youngest brother, Umori, suddenly exclaimed, shouting, "Big brother, second brother, could it be that examinee No. 405 stole the test information, so he knew the test content and location?"
They completely avoided words like colluding with the examiner and instead pointed out possible rule-breaking behavior by Law, making it a one-sided targeting.
Daring to do this before Examiner Satotz showed any reaction, the motivation behind it lay in their focus on Law.
Because they focused on him, they wanted to stir up problems.
Participating in the Hunter Exam, one of the most basic requirements is a competitive spirit.
Whether through violence or words, any method is fine. Being able to kick out strong examinees increases the chance of passing.
Satotz glanced at Law, who showed no reaction, then looked at Umori, raised his index finger, and said calmly, "Please provide evidence."
The youngest brother, Umori, was momentarily speechless. The second brother, Imori, seeing this, took over and said, "Since the requirement was to arrive at the location of the second test, isn't it an indisputable fact that he actually arrived faster than you, the examiner?"
"That is a fact, but not evidence," Satotz was stalling for time. He glanced at the clock out of the corner of his eye, then found there were still two minutes left.
The second brother, Imori, looking at Satotz's reaction, immediately understood that Satotz simply didn't care about this matter. He was about to remind his brothers to stop here, but it was too late.
The eldest brother, Amori, patted the chubby boy's cheek and then said, "Examinee No. 405 specifically gave you a ride through the tunnel, and he wasn't seen at the exit. You'd better tell everything you saw and heard."
The chubby boy trembled slightly but still kept his head down and remained silent.
Actually, compared to the Amori brothers, he was the most suspicious one because Law had indeed said before leaving that he was going to the second test location.
However, no matter what, he wouldn't reveal this information.
Uninvolved, interested, and spectacle-watching examinees all observed this farce.
Tonpa took this opportunity to break free from the entanglement of the examinees and wanted to suppress the Amori brothers' arrogance, but he saw Law's eye signal, so he retracted the step he had taken out.
Killua noticed this scene, his eyes quickly shifting between Law and Tonpa, and he let out a thoughtful 'Huh?' while stroking his chin.
After stopping Tonpa, Law glanced indifferently at the silently bowing chubby boy, surprised that he actually survived, and then wondered if Tonpa had saved him.
"You, don't you know that the test content is all set by the examiners? That's a rule even the committee has no right to interfere with. Questioning me is equivalent to questioning the examiner."
Law tilted his head slightly and looked at Satotz.
The Amori brothers were stunned upon hearing this. Not just them, basically every examinee was unaware of this.
"Less than a minute."
Law suddenly stated a time.
Satotz's expression changed slightly, while the Amori brothers were confused.
Law chuckled lightly, looked at Satotz, and asked, "Examiner Satotz, I want to confirm with you again. The requirement to pass the first test is to arrive at the location of the second test, right? That is, this open area where we are now?"
Satotz didn't know what Law was planning, but nodded, "Yes."
"There's also a time limit requirement, right?" Law continued to ask.
Satotz's mustache twitched slightly as he replied, "Yes."
Hearing this conversation, the surrounding examinees, including the Amori brothers, were all confused.
Law's smile was hidden under his headscarf as he said calmly, "Then what would happen if I threw everyone out of this open area within one minute?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone, including Satotz, felt their hearts tighten.
"Just kidding."
Law suddenly moved. With only the sound of wind rushing, the Amori brothers flew out, each exclaiming in surprise, then landed lightly in the forest.
Ding ding...
At that moment, the clock on the factory building rang, the time reaching exactly the hour.
'This...?'
The gazes of Satotz and many examinees quickly shifted between three points.
Law, the clock, and the Amori brothers outside the open area.
Satotz looked at Law, remained silent for a while, then turned to the examinees and announced, "This is Visca Forest Park, which is the venue for the second test. There are 341 passers. Congratulations."
As soon as the words fell, the door of the factory building slowly opened.
However, the examinees did not pay attention to the situation inside the factory building but instead looked at the three brothers outside the flat ground.
A small number of examinees with nothing better to do counted the number of examinees present. Including Law, there were 344. However, Examiner Satotz now announced that only 341 had passed, which meant...
Those examinees who had paid attention to the number immediately cast pitying looks at the Amori brothers, who had just gotten up from the ground, and at the same time thought of the speed and strength with which Law had thrown the three brothers away.
For a moment, when they looked at Law, they couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.
If Law had really gone crazy and thrown people out indiscriminately, some of them might indeed have been eliminated.
"Well then, please continue to work hard."
Satotz felt that some of the things Law had shown were quite troublesome. He glanced at the Amori brothers who were rushing back to the flat ground, then simply slipped into the forest in another direction and hid on a large tree.
Since the first test was over, other matters were none of his concern. Whatever happened next would be left to the examiners of the second test.
Satotz knew that Menchi and Buhara inside the building were paying attention to the situation outside, so there was no need for him to stay and explain anything to them.
Once the test was handed over, the examiner from the previous phase could only observe.
The Amori brothers ran back furiously. They were only slightly injured when Law threw them out and they landed, but they couldn't tolerate such a thing.
They were like a pack of wolves biding their time, saying nothing and charging straight at Law.
But Law didn't even glance at them. Instead, he looked inside the factory building and saw the figures of Buhara and Menchi.
Whoosh!
Just as the Amori brothers were about to make their move, a wide-bladed kitchen knife shot out from inside the factory building and embedded itself in the ground two steps away from the three brothers.
The three brothers were shocked and instinctively stopped.
A breeze swept by, and Menchi flashed over, stepping on the handle of the wide-bladed kitchen knife. Looking at the Amori brothers, she said coldly, "Unrelated people, get out of here."
Her bold posture of stepping on the kitchen knife silently attracted the attention of all the examinees. Moreover, this examiner was so young, with a great figure and sexy clothing.
Law glanced at the two kitchen knives sheathed on Menchi's back, then at the wide-bladed kitchen knife being stepped on, judging that it wasn't Menchi's own kitchen knife, which was why she could throw it around so casually.
'Unrelated people?'
Hearing Menchi's words, the Amori brothers were stunned.
"Haven't you figured it out yet? You were eliminated the moment this guy threw you out of the open area." Menchi pointed her thumb at Law, who looked completely unconcerned.
"What?!"
The Amori brothers showed expressions of disbelief.
"I won't say it a third time. Get out." Menchi said coldly.
"Don't joke around!"
The eldest brother, Amori, roared angrily.
Menchi's eyes turned cold, and she did the same thing as Law: she threw the three brothers out with her bare hands.
However, the force Menchi used was more fierce and violent. The three brothers screamed and disappeared from everyone's sight.
The entire place fell silent.
The examinees silently looked at Law and Menchi, wondering what exactly the relationship between you two was.
Menchi clapped her hands, bent down to pull the wide-bladed kitchen knife out of the ground, casually slung it over her shoulder, and said, "Everyone, come over."
Saying this, she walked into the factory building.
Law looked at Menchi's back and smiled, then followed first.
'Girls really change a lot as they grow up.'
He thought to himself.
The examinees entered the factory building and immediately noticed the fully equipped cooking stations inside.
"Is the test this time about cooking?" Kurapika guessed.
"Ah?" Gon immediately showed a troubled expression.
Leorio, on the other hand, showed a confident expression. As a single man, even if it was just cooking instant noodles, he could cook it to the level of a master chef. Cooking is too easy for him.
Menchi sat on the sofa, crossing her legs, and said, "Buhara, you're starving, right? Hurry up and give the test topic."
"Mhm." Buhara nodded eagerly. Facing the 341 examinees present, he said, "First, you have to make the dish I specify. As long as I say it's delicious, it means you have passed the second test."
As soon as these words were spoken, many examinees showed expressions of understanding.
Buhara secretly glanced at Law, stretched out his hand, made a semicircular gesture with his thumb and forefinger, stars sparkling in his eyes, and said, "Lion's Head! This is the dish I specify!" (T/N: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion's_Head_(food).)
'Lion's Head?'
The examinees were confused, as they had never heard of this dish name.
"Lion's Head?" Menchi slightly frowned and couldn't help but look up at Buhara, who was drooling.
She was familiar with all culinary systems, and even dishes like sushi from a small island country were well-known to her, but she had never heard of the dish 'Lion's Head'.
'Moreover, Buhara was looking...'
She glanced inconspicuously at Law.
If compared using a metaphor about lust, this guy with his head covered probably looked like a peerless beauty in Buhara's eyes.
'Why would Buhara look at this guy with such lust after giving the test topic?'
Menchi wondered doubtfully.
Outside the factory building, Satotz pinched his chin and muttered to himself, "Lion's Head? What could it be?"
Inside the factory building, Leorio guessed, "Could it be a dish made from a lion's head? But are there lions in this forest?"
Kurapika felt it couldn't be that simple. He noticed the gesture Buhara made, and it should be outlining the size of the dish, probably only the size of a cat's head at most, not the size of a lion's head.
None of the examinees had heard of the dish 'Lion's Head'. Hearing Leorio's literal guess, they immediately felt it made sense.
Law rubbed his forehead. Lion's Head is one of the famous Huaiyang cuisine. In order to eat the Lion's Head he made, Buhara gave a test topic with a difficulty vastly different from the original, without considering whether the examinees could pass or not.
"There are lions in Visca Forest," Someone suddenly said.
"Oh?"
"So, the main ingredient is a lion's head?"
The examinees began to discuss, leaning towards the idea of a lion's head.
'Is that really it?'
Menchi poked Buhara's stomach.
Law watched as these examinees showed signs of taking Leorio's guess as the truth. After thinking for a moment, he decided not to step forward and explain.
Tonpa, on the other hand, quietly came to Law's side, his intention obvious, of course: he wanted Law to carry him to success.