There were 341 examinees participating in the second phase. After removing those who failed to hunt the Great Stamp and died, 268 examinees returned to the venue.
Calculated this way, nearly a hundred slower examinees couldn't use the cooking stations.
Thus, this group of examinees, in order to pass the test as quickly as possible, began using forceful methods to seize cooking stations, even going so far as to usurp others' stations and forcibly take over half-finished dishes.
Neither Buhara nor Menchi spoke up to stop this chaos. In their view, while efficiency was one of the key assessment points, holding one's ground was also a key assessment point.
The younger Killua and Gon naturally became targets for many examinees. However, after several ill-intentioned examinees were swiftly knocked out, the others decisively gave up and shifted their targets.
Soon after, Killua and Gon each completed their dishes, becoming the 89th and 90th examinees to pass Buhara's test.
When the number of passing examinees reached 120, Illumi, swaying his stiff head, brought up a bowl of oddly shaped Lion's Head.
He had arrived at the venue later and could only reference the meatballs made by other examinees, then easily made a bowl himself.
Buhara directly poured the Lion's Head from the bowl into his mouth and ate it. After a moment, he swallowed and announced that Illumi had passed the test.
'Do I actually have a talent for cooking?' Illumi thought to himself, then stepped aside.
The test continued. Dozens of examinees had been knocked unconscious due to disputes in the venue, but Buhara was starting to not want to eat anymore.
If it were before, he would have accepted everything, eating all the food to fill his stomach. But the impact of Law's two plates of Lion's Head was too strong. That he could last until now was already incredible.
"I'm still so hungry," Buhara rubbed his stomach.
The test was still ongoing, but after the 150th tester passed, Buhara had reached his limit. He simply struck the gong, announcing the end of the test.
Thus, only 150 examinees passed. The others were directly eliminated.
Outside the building, Satotz, who was closely monitoring the test, muttered to himself, "Eliminated half, huh? But what they face next is the real challenge."
Satotz's mind recalled Menchi's profile.
Menchi was one of the world's few renowned chefs. With boundless curiosity, she sought out all kinds of ingredients.
Once she tasted a flavor, she would never forget it. She obtained her Single-Star Hunter title at the young age of 21.
In short, she was a very difficult woman to deal with.
Inside the building, the examinees who passed breathed a sigh of relief, while those who failed left dejectedly.
Soon, only 152 people remained in the entire factory building, including the examiners.
Menchi stood up at the right moment, clapped her hands, and drew the attention of all the examinees. "Next up is the second half of the second phase test."
Upon hearing this, the secretly rejoicing examinees were stunned.
"Huh? Isn't it over?"
Menchi said nonchalantly, "That was the first half."
Only then did the examinees realize the second test wasn't over yet.
Menchi's peripheral vision had been fixed on Law the entire time. Full of anticipation, she didn't drag things out at all and directly announced the dish for the second half: "The dish I want to eat is... Nigiri Sushi."
'Again!'
The examinees who had never heard of sushi felt their faces fall.
'Just like with Lion's Head, what exactly was sushi?'
'If we didn't know, how could we possibly make it?'
The pressure that had just subsided unknowingly crept back into the examinees' hearts.
"Sushi, huh." Buhara bit his index finger, recalling the sushi Law had made before, a nostalgic expression appearing on his face.
Coinciding with his still-gnawing hunger, his open mouth couldn't help but drool profusely.
"Whoa!"
An examinee, seeing Buhara's drool bursting forth like a broken dam, cried out in surprise.
Menchi turned around, saw it, and quickly dodged aside to avoid the falling drool, her face darkening. However, she noticed Buhara's nostalgic expression and immediately became thoughtful.
Among the 150 examinees, only two knew how to make sushi: one was Law, and the other was the ninja, Hanzo. Someone with a rough idea was Kurapika, who was well-read.
Both Law and Hanzo remained expressionless. The former was truly calm; the latter was calm while forcibly suppressing inner glee. The majority of the examinees were clueless, while the batch that passed first silently watched Law.
Seeing this, Menchi sighed. Pointing at the untouched wooden tubs of rice on the cooking stations, she said flatly, "Rice is one of the indispensable ingredients for nigiri sushi. The matching knives are right beside them. This is my hint to you."
"You can make as many as you want, until I'm full."
'Rice?'
Even with the hint, the examinees were still bewildered. However, there were also examinees who weren't lost.
Even if they didn't know what sushi was, they could just follow someone who knew how to make it. For example, that person might be Law or Tonpa, who had excelled in the first half.
Those who could think of this were basically the first fifty examinees who passed the test.
Buhara, having finally restrained his appetite, looked at Menchi's serious demeanor and thought, 'Given Menchi's pickiness, among the present examinees, probably only Boss could meet the standard.'
Right at that moment, the sound of an airship engine came from outside, drawing everyone's attention.
"Hmm?" Menchi's eyebrows rose slightly. Her first reaction upon hearing the airship sound was that it was the Hunter Exam Review Committee's exclusive airship.
Everyone looked through the open door and saw a figure descending from the sky, kicking up a cloud of dust.
A moment later, a white-haired old man wearing geta emerged from the dust cloud and walked towards the building.
"Chairman Netero, you've come here...?"
Seeing the white-haired old man, Menchi said in surprise.
Hearing the name Menchi called out, the examinees present immediately learned the identity of the newcomer: it's none other than the Chairman of the Hunter Association.
"Just think of me as an observer. Don't mind me," Netero said with a faint smile, simultaneously stealing a subtle glance at Law.
'What are you doing here?'
Law unceremoniously returned the look.
Netero lightly dodged this visual attack.
Menchi didn't notice the subtle interaction between Netero and Law. She nodded silently. This situation, similar to a principal coming to observe a class, didn't put any pressure on her. The test would proceed as planned.
Then, Netero's next words left her speechless.
"If possible, please make two portions," Netero said seriously.
'This isn't observing, it's side-eating!'
The examinees thought, exasperated.
"Can you make three portions?" Buhara asked weakly.
"..."
Menchi slapped her forehead, interrupting this farce, and directly yelled, "The test begins now! Hurry up and get moving!"
As soon as the words fell, the examinees didn't move at all. After all, without even a concept, how were they supposed to act?
Hanzo watched the clueless examinees, covering his mouth and secretly snickering, thinking that he would probably be the only one to pass this stage, and couldn't help but feel smug.
The next moment, he saw Law and Tonpa heading out of the building.
'Are there others besides me who know how to make sushi?'
Hanzo thought this, then saw all the other examinees following Law out.
Perhaps due to the bandwagon effect, or for other reasons, the previously clueless examinees were all led out by Law, soon leaving only Hanzo behind.
"Hey, you bald guy, what are you still doing here?"
Menchi's voice stabbed over like a knife. Hanzo's body trembled, and he quickly ran out of the building.
Watching all the examinees leave the building, Menchi rubbed her cheeks, thinking: 'Even without hints, with Buhara's precedent, the other examinees could simply wait for the first finished product to appear and then copy it.'
'Or, they could directly follow that guy, who had been outstanding in the first half, to obtain the ingredients immediately.'
Sushi required sea fish, but the forest only had river fish.
Law didn't want to put in too much effort, so he simply decided to use river fish.
"Law, should we lose the crowd behind us?" Tonpa asked.
Law looked back and saw a large group of examinees scattering like birds and beasts, each hiding themselves.
'Are you guys playing a game of hide-and-seek mixed with Red Light, Green Light?'