Hunter x Hunter: Infinite Growth

"You...you're Basho, right?"

The pilot, nicknamed Banana, suddenly turned his head, frowned, and asked, "Who are you? I don't remember seeing you before."

“My name is Gorenu. I also took the hunter exam last year, but I was eliminated right at the beginning of the second round.”

Hearing this, Basho nodded, thinking that with so many people taking the exam last year, it was normal not to know them.

Last year, more than 500 people took the exam, and 300 of them made it to the second round, which eliminated a large number of people.

"You made it to the second round, how could you have slipped up there?" Basho asked curiously.

Gorenu smiled awkwardly: "It was a little unexpected."

“Let’s talk as we walk; it can be quite boring in the wilderness at night,” Kevin suggested from the front.

Basho pursed her lips and said to Kevin, "This must be your first time taking the hunter exam, right?"

"Why do you ask that?" Kevin asked, puzzled.

Gorenu cautioned, "The road ahead is unlikely to be peaceful, after all, we haven't met our guide yet."

“A guide?” Kevin repeated, his mind filled with doubt.

Chapter 88 The Guide X Exam Begins

Kevin had never heard of the title "guide" before.

After all, he only had a general understanding of the hunter exam and had not delved into the details, nor did he intend to take any shortcuts.

“The guides are those who know the exact location of the examination venues. They are employed by the Hunter's Guild and will screen the members who are going to take the exams along the routes that lead to the cities where the exam venues are located,” Gorenu explained patiently.

Upon hearing Gorenu's reply, Basho seemed to recall some unpleasant experience and smacked his lips.

"So there's such a mechanism." Kevin couldn't help but exclaim, not expecting that just finding the exam venue was like a mini-exam or test.

He originally thought that navigating through the jungle where it was easy to get lost under the cover of night, traversing the perilous wilderness, and finally reaching the city would already be quite a challenge.

The three of them talked as they quickened their pace through the forest.

Before they knew it, dawn was breaking, and they were almost out of the forest. If they walked a little further, they might see a village and get closer to the outskirts of the city.

"Strange, does this exam not require a guide?" Basho asked, full of doubt.

After all, they had only taken the hunter exam once before and failed, so they couldn't be considered experienced veterans.

Moreover, in this context, "experienced and seasoned" doesn't seem to be a compliment.

Gorenu was also unable to answer the question and was filled with doubt.

Until they saw the edge of the forest.

Standing at the entrance to the forest, Kevin stopped in his tracks.

"What's wrong?" Banana asked.

Kevin didn't respond; he just looked up at the branches and leaves overhead.

"That bird kept following us."

"A bird?" Gorenu looked up in confusion.

Sure enough, a bird with emerald green feathers was hidden among the intertwined branches and leaves.

If it weren't for the fact that it was just getting light and Kevin's reminder, they would have had a very hard time spotting the bird.

Its feathers blend seamlessly with its surroundings, and it moves silently, making it completely undetectable at night.

After all, this is a forest, and it is normal for birds to appear. Their senses are not yet sharp enough to easily discover birds that are so cleverly hidden.

"So it's you, you stupid bird! You weren't hiding here on purpose, were you?" Basho's expression changed after she recognized the bird, and she scolded it loudly without any politeness.

"You know it?" Kevin asked, quite surprised.

"Idiot plane nose."

A crisp sound rang out.

Kevin stared in surprise at the bird that had flown down; it had actually started talking.

This is not a simple imitation, but a clear expression imbued with extremely high intelligence.

"What bad luck! You're lucky you didn't show up. If you hadn't found me, you wouldn't even be able to find the exam hall this year." The little green bird landed on Kevin's shoulder and said in a rather arrogant tone.

"You bastard, you're really despicable, abusing your power?" Banana complained with a face full of dissatisfaction.

"I am the guide. Whoever I say is unqualified, is unqualified!" the little bird declared arrogantly.

Then, it turned around on Kevin's shoulder, looked at Kevin, and asked, "You're pretty perceptive. I was hiding so well, how did you find me?"

“I noticed it the moment you started following me.”

"Really? I didn't expect you to have found out from the very beginning." The little bird didn't doubt Kevin's words.

"You're very perceptive, you've passed." The little bird said to Kevin.

Then it looked at Gorenu: "You are very lucky!"

Finally, it stared at the banana tree, and Kevin could even sense disgust in the bird's expression.

"You're such a jerk, you're just a piece of trash!"

Even if Basho fails, so what? Anyway, Kotori is taking Kevin to the exam venue, and Basho can find the place by following behind.

Banana just scoffed in annoyance and didn't say anything more.

After all, if it weren't for the grudge between him and the bird, the group might have missed the exam because they couldn't find a guide.

"Let's go, I'll take you inside, let's go to the city first." After the little bird finished speaking, the group quickened their pace and hurried towards the city.

As soon as you step into the city, a salty sea breeze hits you.

The city is mostly made up of low-rise buildings, and although it is a port city, commerce does not seem to be thriving.

Most of the people on the street were local residents; there seemed to be very few tourists.

"Why are there so many soldiers here?" Gorenu noticed something was wrong and asked in confusion.

"Didn't you check the intelligence on this city? It's a port city where a naval base of the local country is located."

Kevin listened quietly, then took a handful of small nuts from his pocket and fed them to the bird.

"Oh, thank you, you're so kind." The little bird was surprised to find such a delicious treat and said happily.

Xing Siwa arrived at an inconspicuous seafood market, walked through the bustling crowd, and came to a seafood shop.

"Buy fresh red snapper caught at six o'clock this morning."

When the fishmonger heard this, he looked at the little bird, but there wasn't a trace of surprise on his face.

He waved his hand, signaling an employee to lead a few people into the shop.

The little bird flew onto the employee's shoulder and said to them, "This is the entrance to the examination room."

After saying that, it glanced at the banana tree with disdain: "If you don't pass this time, you won't be so forgiving next time!"

After saying that, he followed the employee inside, and then the door was closed.

Immediately afterwards, a downward passage appeared in the wall.

The group walked in along the passage.

Kevin asked Basho curiously, "How exactly did you get entangled with this little bird?"

“Last year, when we first met, it pooped on my hair,” Basho said seriously, taking out a comb and tidying up her hair.

So that's how it is. No wonder he harbors such a deep grudge against that bird. It seems he's quite concerned about his airplane-shaped hairstyle.

The group passed through a dark passage and soon arrived at a very spacious basement below.

As they entered the basement, many of the other test-takers turned to look at them.

The number of test takers was not large, scattered, and appeared to be less than fifty.

"Hmm, looks like we've arrived pretty early this time." Basho whistled softly, her tone tinged with excitement.

Gorenu nodded in agreement.

His serial number last year was 413, which was in a very late batch.

At this moment, a tiny person dressed in a suit, with a body the size of a green bean, walked over and took out three numbered tags from a backpack next to him, handing them to the three people.

"Here, these are your numbers."

Kevin bent down to take the number plate, and in the instant his hand touched the other person's, a strong desire surged into his heart.

The level of desire was comparable to that when they obtained the crystal hand bone before; it was at least a reaction triggered by a Grade B material.

"You... what do you want to do!" The green bean man was so frightened that he quickly took several steps back, looking at Kevin in terror.

"Ahem." Kevin coughed lightly, quickly concealing the expression of longing that was showing on his face.

He was just caught off guard and taken aback by this sudden desire.

However, he is now able to control his current desires and will not be swayed by them.

“I’m sorry, I was just too surprised. I’ve never seen anything like you outside… uh, an intelligent life form.”

"Oh, you scared me! It's alright now." The green bean man breathed a sigh of relief and pretended to wipe non-existent sweat from his forehead.

Kevin's look just now really scared him, making him think Kevin was going to devour him.

Kevin watched the mung bean man leave.

"This world is truly full of wonders." At some point, the white-haired Kate appeared beside Kevin and exclaimed.

At this moment, Kate was wearing a number plate with a single-digit number on her chest.

After saying that, he looked at Kevin, smiled, and then said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I said I wanted to have a fight with you. But I watched the recording of your first battle on the 200th floor, and you were really good, much better than my first battle."

Kevin waved his hand dismissively and said with a smile, "It's okay. I'm more curious about how your trial went. Have you found your master yet?"

Upon hearing this, Kate shook her head somewhat helplessly.

"We've only found some traces of him, but it'll be soon. I feel like we'll find him very soon."

"Haha, then I wish you a speedy completion of your trial."

After talking for a while, Kate looked at the two people behind Kevin.

"You guys... you look familiar. Are you candidates who took the exam last year?"

Kate, who had also taken the exam last year, obviously recognized them.

The two nodded, indicating that they also knew Kate. After all, Kate had performed exceptionally well in the exams last year, making it hard not to remember him.

Kevin simply smiled and didn't interrupt the conversation between the three. At that moment, he felt a gaze on him and turned to look.

It was a short, stout man with a backpack, whose number was quite early, sitting in the same spot. Seeing Kevin's gaze, he smiled and nodded.

"It's that guy. If you came alone, he would definitely have come over." Banana also saw the short, fat man's gaze, her tone full of disdain.

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

“That man is called Dongba. He’s a seasoned veteran of the hunter exams, and it’s said he’s taken more than thirty exams so far,” Kate added, seemingly knowing something about him.

"He's a very despicable guy." Even the usually easygoing Gorenu had this opinion of him.

Judging from this, the man named Dongba does indeed have a bad reputation.

The four of them leaned against the wall and chatted idly.

As time went on, more and more candidates went into the basement, and the number of unfamiliar faces continued to increase.

They even saw a Nen user.

Kevin witnessed firsthand what the Dongba had done.

He spoke to the new test takers with a seemingly friendly demeanor, then took the opportunity to drug them.

This guy is definitely a bad person.

However, now that we're here, it means we've officially entered the exam phase, and everyone is a competitor.

The fact that the Dongba could do this clearly indicates that it was within the scope permitted by the examination rules.

Kevin doesn't even know the specific rules for the Hunter Exam.