Hunter x Hunter: Infinite Growth.

"Hurry! Someone's being attacked!"

This is a golden opportunity!

Kevin and his group made a quick decision and, taking advantage of the gap when the patrolmen crossed the water above their heads, decisively emerged from the water and ran quickly toward the outer wall.

It turned out that one of the test takers couldn't contain himself and resorted to violence. As soon as he subdued the other person, the alarm connected to the other person's body characteristics monitoring device went off.

This is indeed a rare opportunity.

The patrol order in the second circle was instantly disrupted. Those candidates who were about to cross the patrol area on the shore immediately realized that this was an opportunity and rushed out of the water.

However, there were too many candidates who suddenly appeared, and many of them were discovered, causing chaos at the scene.

Of course, some highly capable candidates also took advantage of the situation to cheat.

However, none of this mattered to Kevin and his group anymore. By this time, they had successfully scaled the city wall and entered the military base.

They found a place that was easy to hide in and observe.

Many reserve personnel were seen running out due to the commotion outside.

"It's not that simple after all. Those guys waiting outside are in trouble now." Basho laughed gleefully as he watched the scene unfold.

After all, this is just a test. If it were to infiltrate a real military base, the difficulty would be far greater, and it would certainly not be as "safe" as it is now.

In a real military base, if you are discovered, you won't just be caught with nets; you'll likely face a hail of bullets.

"This military base is too large. We know nothing about the terrain here, and it would be easy to fall into a trap if we wander in blindly."

"We need to determine our destination first, and then formulate an action plan," Kate suggested, gazing into the distance.

Kevin and the other two naturally had no objections and nodded in agreement.

“The target must be a conspicuous place, so that once we arrive, we can clearly see that it is the destination,” Gorenu said after a moment of thought.

In any case, they all felt that this first exam was much more difficult than last year's.

The examiner did not specify the exact location of the final destination they needed to sneak into; he only told them that such a place existed, and that they would have to find it themselves.

The group agreed to meet an hour later, and then dispersed and infiltrated the base.

Kevin immediately spotted an office where officials appeared to be working.

He peered through a corner of the window and found that it looked like a clerk's office area, with many files and documents, as well as several whiteboards.

The whiteboard even had a layout map of the base, various explanations, and a simplified map of the entire military base.

After observing for a while, Kevin realized that he didn't need to sneak into the room; as long as his eyesight was good enough, he could see the simple deployment map on the whiteboard through the window.

Before long, it seemed to be time to leave work, and the clerks inside left one after another, leaving only the soldiers standing guard at the door.

After confirming that no one was around, Kevin stretched out his finger and gently sliced ​​the glass in half, smoothly cutting the entire pane in half.

He quietly sneaked into the room, carefully moved around using the blind spot between the two cameras, and took the opportunity to check the files.

With a large number of files, Kevin quickly found clues and identified the file he was looking for. After carefully examining it, he concluded that this was their target and then quietly left.

It seemed like it didn't take much time, but when Kevin looked up at the clock, more than half an hour had already passed.

Kevin took the file and returned to the designated location, only to find that Banana had already returned before him.

At this moment, Basho was covered in sweat and panting heavily.

"What's wrong with you?" Kevin asked.

"I almost got caught; I accidentally stepped into a trap," Basho said, looking annoyed.

However, he still managed to obtain some useful information.

"Their shipyard is over there, and there's a small cruise ship docked there. It's clearly different from the other warships; it looks dilapidated."

Kevin nodded.

A short while later, Kate and Gore-Nu also returned, and they looked to be in good condition.

The group then compiled the clues they had found.

Sure enough, although the destination was not clearly marked, all signs indicated that the target was very obvious, and they found relevant clues from different directions.

"It's confirmed that the cruise ship that docked a few days ago should be our destination. According to the files we found, this cruise ship is out of place, has many problems, and is almost abandoned. It should have been towed to the ship graveyard, not left here."

Everyone agreed with this.

After all, this is only the first round of assessment, and there won't be any overly complicated or deceptive elements.

The task of infiltrating a military base, locating the target, and reaching the destination alone is far more difficult than ever before.

Clearly, this was a unique assessment designed by the examiners themselves in the first round.

“We’ve obtained the base’s structural blueprints, and even the deployment and patrol maps. We’ve basically got the conditions needed to reach our destination. Let’s go, let’s complete the first test.” Kate said, preparing to get up and leave, but Kevin stopped her.

“Wait a minute, take a look at this information. This is an old cruise ship that’s about to be decommissioned. There must be a reason why it was chosen as the destination,” Kevin said, looking at the other three.

"What did you find?" Gorenu asked.

Kevin nodded.

He noticed this not because he was observant, but because he recalled Neon's prophetic poem.

One passage reads: "[A steel ship destined to sink to the bottom of the sea]."

Kevin felt at the time that it was related to the Hunter Exam, but he couldn't figure out the specific meaning, since the exam venue was located by the sea.

Now, he seems to have found the answer. There must be a deeper meaning behind targeting this ship alone.

Based on the files at his disposal, Kevin discovered that this was indeed a ship on the verge of being abandoned.

It would be perfect to use it as one of the tests in the Hunter Exam.

“This is a ship that’s about to be scrapped, and we’re currently at a military base, our destination being this ship. Based on your past experience, could the second test be related to this ship?” Kevin asked everyone.

Upon hearing Kevin's question, Basho frowned and pondered for a moment before offering her opinion: "Perhaps it's just used to get us to the next exam room?"

Kate shook her head: "No, if it's just about transporting us to the exam venue, a warship or an ordinary cruise ship would be enough. The Hunter Association's deliberate choice of a soon-to-be-abandoned cruise ship as their destination must have another purpose."

“Since it might be related to the second exam, let’s finish the first exam first, then observe the situation and make further preparations once we get there,” Gorenu’s words made everyone fall into deep thought.

"you're right."

The group reached a consensus and immediately got up and left.

Using the intelligence they had gathered, they quickly infiltrated the dock and quietly boarded the dilapidated cruise ship.

However, not everyone could see the unusual thing about the ship.

After all, there are still teams in this world that travel by galleon, so it's not surprising that the boats are old and worn.

"Oh! Congratulations on reaching your destination so quickly!"

Frog Hachi danced and cheered in front of them, seemingly reverting to his original lively personality.

"This ship will not set sail until dawn and sunrise. As a reward for those who arrive first, you can have some free time on board until then. Prepare yourselves well, because the next test will begin after the ship sets sail."

An elderly man with a large beard, wearing a captain's hat, came out and spoke to Kevin and the others.

"Don't interrupt me! This is only the first exam, and I'm their examiner!" Frog Hachi muttered discontentedly, his tone exactly like that of a child throwing a tantrum.

The bearded old man in the captain's hat rolled his eyes helplessly and replied perfunctorily, "Yes, yes, I'll go take a nap then."

After the old man left, Frog Hachi looked at Kevin and the others, cleared his throat, and repeated what the old man had just said.

Soon, more groups of examinees arrived, and Frog Hachi quickly ran over to greet them.

At this moment, Kevin and the others exchanged glances, tacitly dispersed, and began to search the entire cruise ship.

An hour later, they met up again.

At this moment, each of the four people was carrying something different in their hands or on their backs.

“You were right, Kevin,” Banana said, looking at Kevin.

“There are very few staff members on board. From what I’ve observed, they’re operating at almost the bare minimum, just enough to keep the ship moving. And once the ship is in motion, we probably won’t be allowed into the staff’s work and rest areas,” Kate stated her observation.

Kevin nodded, as he had been inspired by the prophecy and had been guessing that the ship might sink during its voyage.

Following this line of thought, we found some clues.

"I found signs of deliberate damage in some structures at the bottom of the ship's hold. This means that the ship would not have been at sea for long before it sank."

Gorenu shook the fishing rod in his hand and said, "After I took this, I was warned that I could only take one other thing. Each person can only take one item."

Kate added, "We are not allowed to take items from the staff rooms and work areas."

"I went to check the kitchen, and the food reserves were very limited, only enough self-heating boxed meals for a few hundred people per meal," Basho shared her findings.

Based on this information, the group roughly deduced the possible tasks for the second exam.

"The examiner's words just now also implied that the supplies on the ship are limited, and there is only enough food for one meal. Judging from the quantity, each person will probably be given one box based on the number of candidates who pass, which is only enough for one meal."

We'll have to figure out how to get our own food afterwards. There aren't many tools like these, so if we arrive early and understand the examiner's hints, we can choose the items we need in advance.

Kevin nodded in agreement and added, "Judging from the current situation, the ship should be at sea for a while, which may be the duration of the second exam."

Ultimately, the ship will most likely sink to the bottom of the sea. Our mission might be to survive the sinking or to complete the objectives set forth in the exam.

This is just a preliminary conclusion they have drawn based on the limited information available. The specific content of the exam will only be known later.

But this did not prevent them from recognizing two crucial things: food would be scarce and they needed to prepare tools for sea escape.