Hunter: I became stronger even after I died.

Chapter 289 The Butterfly Effect
Noon.

In the Biscayne Forest, in a clearing surrounded by trees, stands a warehouse.

The warehouse door was tightly shut, and a clock hung above it, its hands about to strike twelve.

The candidates who successfully traversed the wetland gathered in the open space in front of the warehouse.

Most of them were panting, sweat streaming down their faces and soaking their clothes.

Some people even bent over and supported themselves on their knees, clearly having exhausted their strength.

However, a small number of people were breathing steadily and calmly surveying their surroundings before finally focusing their gaze on the warehouse in front of them.

"There are about a hundred people left."

Before the exam ended, Sartz subtly glanced at the candidates present.

"For some unknown reason, the creatures in the wetlands have suddenly become extremely irritable and more aggressive lately. There were also two dangerous individuals causing trouble during the assessment. I thought that at most, only a dozen or twenty people would remain..."

Silently withdrawing his gaze, Satsuma thought to himself, "It seems that the quality of this year's candidates is quite good, which is something to look forward to."

"Gurgle, gurgle..."

Just as Sats was feeling sentimental, a series of rumbling sounds, as muffled as thunder, came from the warehouse.

The candidates present all looked at the warehouse with strange expressions.

They could recognize the sound, but were surprised by how loud the rumbling was, as if a loudspeaker was placed all over their stomachs.

Sartz looked at the warehouse without changing his expression, then raised his gaze to the clock above the door.

The first test will end in about half a minute.

"Ok?"

Sartz suddenly realized something and looked back in the direction he had come from.

A candidate with dark circles under his eyes and wearing the number 502 on his chest arrived late.

"Number 502...?"

Sarts raised his hand and lightly touched his chin, gazing thoughtfully at the candidate who had arrived just in time for the deadline. He then shook his head slightly, abandoning the idea of ​​investigating further.

Now that the first test is about to end, the process is no longer important to him.

"Thank you all for your hard work. This is Biscayne Forest, which is also the venue for the second test. I hope you can continue to work hard."

Satsuma faced the crowd, said a few simple words, and then simply turned and left.

As he walked into the surrounding forest with such light and swift steps, the clock on top of the warehouse door struck twelve.

crunch--

The previously closed gate slowly opened at this moment, instantly attracting the attention of the test takers.

Upon arriving, Moro immediately looked toward the open gate and keenly noticed several pairs of eyes looking toward him.

One of the gazes was as intense as a flame, and it was undoubtedly Hisoka's.

Other gazes came from Kaldor, Killua, and others, as well as from Tonpa, who stood rather inconspicuously in the crowd.

"This guy's luck is just too good!?"

Dongba looked at Moro, who had arrived at the last minute, with disbelief.

Anyone with eyes to see can understand why the number of candidates suddenly dropped from over four hundred to just over one hundred.

Not only because the wetlands are fraught with danger, but also because dangerous individuals like Hisoka are committing wanton killings.

Just now, Tonpa hadn't seen Moro and thought he had already died at Hisoka's hands.

Unexpectedly, not only did he survive, but he also narrowly made it through the checkpoint.

"No one can live on luck forever..."

Seeing Moro's incredible luck, Tonpa's destructive urge surged up once more.

He couldn't stand seeing people favored by Lady Luck.

In the next test, if he had the chance, he would definitely make Moro experience what cruel reality is.

squeak--

The warehouse doors were wide open, revealing the scene inside.

Menchi, who was in charge of the second test examiner, sat back on a single sofa. Behind her, on the floor, sat Buhara, who was as big as a mountain of flesh and had a rather honest appearance.

Faced with the gazes of the candidates, Menqi did not immediately begin her introduction. Instead, she carefully and attentively scanned the candidates, as if she were counting the number of candidates who had successfully passed the first test.

In reality, she was looking for Moro.

By observing the Nen, she immediately spotted Hisoka and Kurt in the crowd, and then looked at the other two examinees in the arena who were maintaining "Ten".

One was number 22, a thin woman wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a black mask that covered most of her face, leaving only her bright eyes visible.

The other one is number 502, who looks ordinary and appears to be about to fall asleep.

Since Mencius did not see Moreo, he could only initially suspect that Moreo had used a method similar to disguise.

Thinking of this possibility, Menchi's gaze inadvertently swept over Kurt again.

Kurt, sensing Menchi's gaze, immediately looked back.

However, Menchi pretended to look away, which puzzled Kurt, but he didn't think much of it and kept glancing at Morrow at the back of the group.

Menchi noticed this.

"Ok?"

She noticed that both Hisoka and Kurt were paying close attention to candidate number 502.

"Is number 502 Moro? But his appearance and build are completely different..."

While pondering to herself, Menqi did not disregard her duties as an examiner and took the opportunity to count the number of candidates, totaling one hundred and nine.

Instead of sitting casually on the sofa and reading out the exam questions as in the original story, she stood up, put one hand on her hip, and looked at the group of candidates.

“My name is Menqi, and his name is Buhala.”

Menchi reached over her shoulder with her other hand and pointed behind her to the honest-looking Buhara. After introducing his name, she got straight to the point: "We are all gourmet hunters, so the second test is... cooking."

"!?"

"Cooking?"

The test takers looked completely bewildered.

Compete in endurance, physical strength, hunting skills, and combat prowess...

These things align with the candidates' understanding of a "professional hunter".

Therefore, upon hearing about the dish, they would inevitably feel a sense of absurdity.

Menqi ignored the candidates' reactions, glanced back at Buhala, and seeing that the other was so hungry that he was almost too weak to speak, he took the initiative to read out the test rules.

"First, you must complete the dishes assigned by Buhara. Only those who pass are qualified to cook the dishes I assign. When we say it's delicious, it means you have passed the second test. Also... the test will end after we have eaten our fill."

"!!!"

Upon hearing the rules, some quick-witted individuals instantly realized the key point of this test question.

Since the testing time was mainly focused on ensuring that Buhara and Menchi were well-fed, it indicates that the number of qualified candidates was limited from the beginning.

Therefore, we must race against time and act on a first-come, first-served basis.

Realizing this, the candidates tensed their muscles slightly, and their attention toward Menchi and Buhara became highly focused.

Menqi glanced discreetly at the candidates who had quietly prepared themselves mentally, thinking to herself: Not bad, their judgment is perfectly fine. It's a pity that Buhara has a big appetite, so there's no need to race against time in the first half.

Thinking of this, Menqi turned back to look at Buhara.

Buhara nodded slightly to Menqi, then eagerly raised his index finger, drooling as he announced the topic: "The dish I've specified is roasted whole pig."

"what?"

Those candidates who were aware of the "limited time" were startled when they heard about roasting a whole pig. If someone managed to prepare a roasted whole pig that the examiners found particularly delicious, wouldn't the slower candidates not even be qualified to serve their dishes?

"The second test begins!"

"Buhara said loudly."

As soon as he finished speaking, some of the candidates immediately ran into the forest.

Seeing this, the other candidates who were a step behind also began to rush into the forest with all their might.

Kaldor glanced at Morrow and saw Morrow shake his head slightly, so he had no choice but to give up the idea of ​​going over and instead catch up with Killua and Gon, who had already run some distance ahead.

Moro watched them disappear into the forest, then looked back at Menchi and Buhara.

This sight immediately made Menqi's eyes light up.

Moro quickly looked away, knowing that Menchi had probably confirmed his identity through Hisoka and Kurt's reactions.

He had previously been confident that Mencius would treat the test impartially, but now he was starting to have some doubts.

The reason he felt this way was because he noticed that Menchi's behavior was very different from his impression of her in the original work.

Putting aside attitude, he at least remembered that Menchi omitted the "self-introduction" part in the original work, which in itself was a condescending attitude.

But just now, Mencius not only got up from the sofa, but her tone of voice was also quite gentle...

Moro felt that this change might have been caused by him, and naturally worried that Menchi might act on emotion, thereby affecting the fairness of the test.

In fact, Menchi's behavior, which differs from the original story, is indeed related to Moreau.

On the one hand, it was Mencius's first time serving as an examiner, and he didn't want to make a bad impression on Moreau.

On the other hand, Hisoka's attention was entirely on Moro, and he had no interest in provoking Menchi with murderous intent, so Menchi didn't have to be overly nervous and naturally appeared much more normal.

"And they're pretending not to know me!"

Menchi had confirmed Moro's identity, and her eyes sparkled as she watched Moro walk away.

However, it's still quite necessary to pretend you don't know about this kind of thing.

Just like how she treated Kurt as a stranger, it was to avoid giving others any clues that could lead to malicious speculation and slander.

"Menchi, Menchi?"

Buhala looked at Menqi's unwavering reaction with suspicion, but to his surprise, the other party did not respond even after he called her name several times.

Suddenly,

He was even more puzzled and asked, "Menqi, what happened to that number 502?"

"what?"

Menqi, as if she had just been disconnected and reconnected, turned her head to look at Buhala, "What did you just say?"

"Uh……"

Buhara scratched his head with his large, fan-like hand and shook his head, saying, "It's nothing, I'm just too hungry."

"Oh, then you can eat as much as you want later."

Menchi said dismissively, "This year's candidates are quite skilled; they should all be able to hunt down the Great Nose Boar."

The Biscayne Forest has only one type of pig: the world's most ferocious mongoose.

This creature is known for its incredible ramming power and aggression.

For those who have mastered Nen, dealing with them is not difficult thanks to the defense and enhancement of Nen energy.

However, those who do not understand the technique, even if they have strong physical abilities, may still suffer a severe defeat if they cannot find the weakness of the monstrous boar.

Creatures like the Magnolia Boar are actually negligible in terms of danger level within the entire biosphere.

The world is so rich in species.

This is why, like bounty hunters, there is a large number of people working in the field of creature hunters.

In contrast, Gourmet Hunters, who are somewhat related to Biological Hunters, are few and far between.

But almost all of them are the elite of the elite. They not only possess keen judgment and observation skills, but also have the formidable strength to deal with all kinds of deadly creatures.

Buhara's test was not entirely for satisfying cravings, but rather, from the perspective of a food hunter, to test the candidates' judgment, observation skills, and most importantly, their abilities.

of course.

Putting aside the taste factor, if we were to point out any unfairness in the process of hunting the Great Nose Boar...

It means that Nen users can complete the hunt with no difficulty.

In the forest.

With an even more thrilling feeling than when facing Hisoka, Xiao Jie accurately judged the weakness of the Boar with a powerful nose at the edge of danger.

"Oh!"

After a muffled sound.

Xiao Jie easily knocked out a boar with a large nose, and was immersed in a strange emotion.

Besides Leorio, Killua and Kalluto also easily completed the hunt.

not far away.

The heavily dressed candidate, number 22, noticed Xiao Jie and his group's hunting process.

It was a relaxed hunting process, but this candidate only focused on Xiao Jie.

Because she is a creature hunter, she discovered that Gon's judgment of creatures is exceptional.

In contrast, Killua and Kalluto completed their hunts through sheer skill, so they weren't worth her attention.

"Exceptionally talented."

As candidate number 22 pondered this, he began to consider contacting Xiao Jie.

She suddenly strode over.

Kurt suddenly looked at her, his eyes cold, yet tinged with a hint of warning.

After all, the other party is a Nen user, so we can never let our guard down.

Candidate number 22 ignored Kurt's reaction and walked straight towards Xiao Jie.

Her actions quickly caught the attention of Gon and Killua.

"Do you want to be a creature hunter?"

Candidate number 22 looked at Xiao Jie and asked directly.

Xiao Jie was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, and the image of Kate flashed through his mind.

Seeing Xiao Jie's reaction, candidate number 22 unabashedly unleashed his power, conjuring up a red and white electronic encyclopedia out of thin air right in front of everyone.

"I think you are very suitable for the profession of creature hunter."

Candidate number 22 held the electronic illustration book and spoke very seriously.

Leorio, Gon, and Killua stared at the electronic encyclopedia with expressions of astonishment.

It actually... appeared out of thin air?
next to.

Kurt glanced at Killua's reaction.

Illumi's Nen needles altered Killua's memories and understanding of Nen abilities.

But having encountered that freak Hisoka before, and now this Conjuration-type Devil Fruit user whose mind is a mystery...

It is gradually allowing the older brother to reconnect with Nen abilities.

Thinking about what his elders had done, Kurt was in a dilemma for a moment.

(End of this chapter)