The Trick Tower, a cylindrical building housing extremely dangerous criminals, was originally planned as the third phase of the test.
In this phase, examinees needed to find hidden doors at the top of the tower. Groups of five would then have to reach the bottom of the tower alive within a 72-hour time limit. Along the way, prisoners would emerge to delay them.
These prisoners had sentences starting at a minimum of one hundred years. By hindering the examinees, they could reduce their sentence by one year for every hour they successfully delayed them.
Therefore, when the Trap Tower test was canceled, the man on the phone said the prisoners would be crying under their blankets.
Of course, if Netero didn't explain, that man wouldn't have guessed that the cause of this phenomenon wasn't the examiner of the second phase, but one of the examinees himself.
In the room, Netero put away the phone and looked at Law sitting on the sofa. He then walked over and sat on the sofa opposite.
"You get thirty percent, I get seventy. Rounded down, that's 800 grams of roe for you," Law pointed at the pink, semi-transparent fish roe on the table. With a little preparation and some sauce, it would become delicious, top-tier caviar.
"No way. 810 grams. Not a single gram less," Netero's eyes widened slightly.
"Wow, I'm rounding it down for you and you refuse?" Law was shocked.
"What kind of rounding is that? I'm not senile yet," Netero retorted.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in," Netero said, still staring at the Packfish roe.
The door opened, and Menchi, Buhara, and Satotz walked in.
Seeing Law there too, all three, including Buhara, were slightly taken aback.
"Law, Chairman, what are you doing?" Buhara asked curiously.
"Splitting the spoils… Cough," Netero quickly corrected himself, "We were discussing what to have for dinner tonight."
Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but look at the Packfish roe on the table, 'Wasn't that exactly what the examinees had retrieved today...'
Menchi, however, didn't overthink it. She quickly walked over and plopped down right next to Law on the sofa.
Law instinctively shifted to his left. Menchi calmly moved closer.
Watching their little interaction, the other men could only pretend not to see.
Pushed all the way to the edge of the sofa by Menchi, Law had no choice. He deployed his Domain, creating a thin barrier of aura to block Menchi and prevent her from getting any closer.
"Huh? Isn't your ability about cutting and dividing?" Menchi wasn't annoyed. She pressed her hand against the barrier, curious.
"No," Law shook his head, wondering how he could make Menchi less enthusiastic.
Menchi seemed thoughtful and didn't press further, as someone's Nen Ability is a secret they must keep.
"I'm taking ten grams," Netero seized the moment to take ten grams.
Seeing this, Law didn't say anything more.
Buhara watched Law and the Chairman dividing the spoils and hesitantly said, "Is this really okay? After all, these were obtained by the examinees."
Satotz sat to the side, silently watching everyone.
Law looked at Buhara and smiled, "Then tell us, how should we handle these?"
Buhara thought for a moment and suggested, "Isn't it still before dinner time? We could let the examinees taste the caviar they worked for. That would probably be a very happy experience for them."
"Alright," After hearing Buhara's suggestion, Law, who had just been trying to swindle ten grams of roe from Netero, agreed without hesitation.
For no other reason than because it was Buhara who said it, so he would consider Buhara's feelings.
And so, when dinner time arrived, each examinee received a small plate of prepared caviar.
They immediately recognized the plump, translucent, bright roe as the Packfish roe they had retrieved from the river today.
'I thought that guy had kept it all for himself,' Xiaoyu, with her thick eyebrows and big eyes, thought to herself.
Many others had the same thought. But when the caviar appeared on their plates, their opinions changed, as the portion was probably only about 50 grams.
'Oh well, better than nothing.'
Leorio had only heard of caviar before. Now, seeing this caviar drizzled with golden sauce, shimmering brightly, he couldn't wait and swallowed it all in one go.
A moment later, his eyes widened. After swallowing the caviar, his widened eyes then narrowed, revealing an expression of bliss.
Seeing Leorio's expression, Kurapika and the others at the table sweatdropped.
"I feel like... I'm tasting the flavor of love," Leorio said, but then clutched his chest in pain, "But I don't know why, my heart aches."
Killua said quietly, "Is it because you can't find a girlfriend?"
"..."
An imaginary arrow struck Leorio's forehead.
"Why can't Leorio find a girlfriend? Is it because he's too old?" Gon asked.
A second arrow arrived as scheduled. Leorio's body tilted.
Kurapika said calmly, "It probably has nothing to do with age. Looks are the real issue."
A third arrow snatched away Leorio's soul. He lay down the table, utterly devoid of life.
After that, every examinee tasted the caviar.
'How could it be so delicious?'
If Law were here, he would definitely provide the answer.
Since the dish was prepared by the Single-Star Gourmet Hunter Menchi herself, how could it not be delicious?
Having convinced Menchi to prepare it, Law could also keep a portion of the caviar with a clear conscience, though he already felt perfectly justified anyway.
As for that meal Menchi promised him, according to her, she needed to specially gather some ingredients after the Hunter Exam ended, so Law would have to wait.
After dinner, the remaining time was free time.
Gon and Killua started exploring, running all over the airship.
Law went to the top deck to get some air. Not long after, Netero came up holding a volleyball.
"Let's have some activity," Netero said with a smile.
"Busy," Law refused outright.
Having been ruthlessly rejected, Netero resorted to his pestering tactics.
'Wasn't Netero supposed to go find Gon and Killua? Why is he pestering me?' Law thought. He decided to redirect the flow. "Aren't there two very suitable candidates for entertainment on this ship?"
"Which two are you referring to?" Netero asked.
"Ging's son, and Zeno's grandson."
Law sold out Gon and Killua with a smile. At the same time, he thought that Netero would use the Hunter License as bait to hook Gon and Killua.
'If I were to throw a wrench in Netero's plans midway, allowing Gon and Killua to snatch the ball...'
'Just thinking about it is interesting.'
Unaware of Law's evil thought, Netero left the top deck and found Gon and Killua in the corridor, leaned against the window watching the night scenery.
Netero stood there for a moment, his eyes suddenly sharpening as he released his Aura. Then, with speed faster than lightning, he moved to the other end of the corridor.
Startled by the Aura, Gon and Killua looked down the corridor, but it was empty.
Right at that moment, Netero's voice came from behind them: "What are you two doing?"
"Huh?" Gon looked puzzled.
Killua, however, stared at Netero without speaking. He was certain the dangerous Aura from before had come from Netero.
Netero's face was calm. Judging purely from the two boys' reactions, Killua was superior. After all, as a child trained by the Zoldyck Family, being sensitive to Aura similar to killing intent was normal.