"Tsk... scary..." The stubbornness of the Gourmet Hunter drifted into the mountain forest with the breeze, traveling all the way to Sean's ears.
The young man stood with his back to the abandoned factory, having found a small stream. He took out his rod and fished, continuing to unlock the trait [Water].
[Capturing ripples, listening to the inner voice of [Water], sensing the rhythm of [Water]... Trait [Water] exploration in progress.]
[Admiral "Aokiji" template beginning to unlock.]
Unknowingly, figures began to walk out of the Swindler's Swamp one after another.
"Ohohoho... Are you fishing, or are you daydreaming?"
A familiar, perverted laugh came from the mist.
Sean didn't even need to look back to know who it was. He said expressionlessly, "Fishing or daydreaming, it doesn't matter."
"Surely you aren't as bored as a certain piece of trash, fishing for apples?"
The magician who never learned his lesson... when he decided to be a pervert, he was truly annoying enough.
Sean glanced faintly at Hisoka. "Scram."
Hmm. Hisoka, just like in the original story, was carrying Leorio on his shoulder. He paused for a moment, then burst into wild laughter. "True..."
"Actually... I just wanted to tell Teacher Ben An that besides you, I found another nice apple..."
"It's a pity he is too unripe and needs time to grow. Far less tempting than you."
As he spoke, Hisoka couldn't help but lick his lips, glancing behind him. Gon and Kurapika rushed out of the mountain forest, closely following him!
"Huh? Uncle!"
"I finally found you!"
The spiky-haired brat pounced toward Sean's chest like a wronged raccoon!
Unexpectedly, he was ruthlessly frozen in place by a large hand Sean extended.
'I am truly sorry. I... am not your dad. I have no obligation to comfort you.'
He then glanced at Kurapika. The blond youth was polite and maintained his boundaries extremely well; he was not something a certain brat could compare to.
"Teacher Ben An." Kurapika walked over behind Gon. Upon seeing Sean, he nodded to him. The heart that had been suspended in his throat the entire way could finally be put at ease.
At the same time, a flicker passed through his eyes. His awe for Sean's ability of "foresight" deepened a little more.
It seemed the trio had been dealt with quite roughly in the fog.
Sean smiled silently. "The next stage is in that warehouse behind us. Go quickly."
The fog gradually dispersed, and quite a few candidates had already arrived in front of Menchi and Buhara. Kurapika glanced in the direction Sean indicated and suddenly asked, "Teacher Ben An, aren't you going?"
"I'm not going." Sean looked up at the sky, his gaze distant. "The real examiner is still on the way. What is the difference between going and not going?"
The stubborn Gourmet Hunter had not intended to let anyone pass from the very beginning. Naturally, there was no need to press his warm face against a cold backside.
As for Netero... he was probably already on his way.
Propellers churned the air, emitting bursts of humming sounds. The airship was already in position.
In the Hunter Association office, Maha was slurping Netero's instant noodles, drinking Netero's cola, critiquing Netero's subordinates, pretending not to see Netero's sour face, watching Netero's TV, and urging Netero, "Still not going? Didn't you see my grandson is getting impatient waiting?"
This damn old man really treated the Hunter Association as his own home. Those who didn't know better would think his surname wasn't Zoldyck, but Isaac.
Netero took a fierce sip from a glass of lemon water to smooth his breathing. "That girl Menchi is too stubborn... It's not that this old man doesn't want to go, it's out of necessity..."
'Who are you pretending for?' Maha rolled his eyes at Netero. He finished a bottle of cola with a "glug glug glug" sound and exhaled in satisfaction. "Don't pull that act with this old man!"
"You arranged the personnel. Would you not know what kind of virtue she has?"
"Hurry up and get lost. I can't wait to see how you get beaten up."
Netero: "..."
"Beans, let's go!"
"This old man will make that old thing experience... the pain of a white-haired person burying a black-haired person today!"
The Grand Chairman flicked his wide sleeves, leaped up, and jumped directly out of the window.
Beans: "..."
"Chairman, wait for me..."
He took off running, chasing after Netero.
The empty Chairman's office was left with only Maha alone in the blink of an eye. The old man finished the cola, polished off the instant noodles, wiped his mouth, and looked at the TV.
'That brat who followed Sean all the way looks somewhat familiar... He shouldn't be the seed of that Freecss family, right...'
His sharp gaze fixed on the fishing rod carried on Gon's shoulder.
The brat was a bit confused.
He still didn't understand what Sean meant. What did he mean by going or not going being indifferent?
He immediately scratched his head and asked Sean in a daze, "Uncle, hasn't the examiner for this stage arrived yet?"
"Ohohoho... No, they have already arrived..." Before Sean could speak, Hisoka narrowed his eyes. His gaze passed over the crowd of candidates and landed on Menchi and Buhara. He turned his head and looked at Sean playfully. "Teacher Ben An, this time you are wrong..."
"He isn't wrong." Kurapika chewed on Sean's words and looked at Hisoka coldly. "You ignored the word 'real'!"
"Perhaps... those two examiners you see cannot determine the outcome of this test."
"We must wait for the real examiner to arrive before a conclusion can be reached."
Tsk... worthy of being a future mafia boss. Knowing the whole picture from a single spot; truly terrifying.
Sean turned his back to Hisoka and mocked him without holding back, "...With that IQ, you're learning magic tricks from others? Better go back to Meteor City and pick up trash."
Hisoka: "..."
It was as if his throat had been choked. His face turned red rapidly, and he froze in place for a good while before recovering to his "normal" perverted state.
He twitched and laughed.
"Ah... I've been humiliated... Teacher Ben An, I really love you to death more and more..."
Hisoka's shoulders shook, almost throwing a certain piece of trash off. Fortunately, Gon and Kurapika were quick-eyed and quick-handed. Each grabbing an arm, they held onto Leorio, preventing him from falling flat on his face.
"Um... let's go too..." Sean could do "whatever he wanted," but they could not.
Kurapika quietly tugged at Gon. The brat waved at Sean. "Uncle, we're going first!"
Supporting Leorio, they marched toward the warehouse.
"Dong..."
Timely, the round clock hanging above the warehouse door rang, signifying that the second phase started from this moment!
Menchi cleared her throat; she had long been waiting impatiently. Her gaze swept over the candidates one by one. Finally, she glanced at Satotz, who was hiding in a large tree, and curled her lips imperceptibly. "Everyone, thank you for waiting!"
As she spoke, she looked up at Buhara. "How about it? You're very hungry, right, Buhara?"
Buhara, who was essentially a mountain of meat, had a stomach that rumbled cooperatively twice. He glanced expressionlessly at the candidates and said faintly, "You heard it too, Menchi."
"My stomach is already growling with hunger..."
Menchi snapped her fingers to show she understood, then turned her head to address the candidates. "As everyone can see, the subject of the second test is presided over by us two Gourmet Hunters as examiners."
Gourmet Hunters?
As soon as Menchi's voice fell, the candidates looked at each other in dismay.
Only after Kurapika gave a detailed explanation did they suddenly realize that so-called Gourmet Hunters were—high-level chefs!
But everyone present was here to take the Hunter Exam, not to be some damn cook for someone else!
Asking each of them, who possessed unique skills, to cook?
What kind of joke was this?!
Candidate number 255, Todo, was furious!
"We went through so much trouble to get to this stage, yet we have to be chefs for no reason!"
Wasn't this messing around?!
Todo clenched his fists, voicing the inner thoughts of everyone present.
Everyone had their own loyalty regarding what kind of professional Hunter they wanted to be in the future. For example, some wanted to be "Ruins Hunters"... some wanted to be "Treasure Hunters"... some wanted to be "Beast Hunters"...
But few wanted to be the extremely niche Gourmet Hunter. Even in the minds of most candidates, cooking? How could that be as impressive as martial arts?
So, when they learned from Menchi that the content of this assessment was actually cooking... the candidates who had never stepped into a kitchen instantly felt numb and completely clueless!
"Heh... If you're not satisfied, you can go back now." Menchi didn't even look at Todo, waving her hand to indicate he could leave.
"As for the others, if anyone else is dissatisfied, you can leave with him. I don't care anyway."
Menchi stepped on the sofa with one foot and leaned against the back of the sofa with one hand, looking at the bunch of trash in front of her. She had already made up her mind.
'Guys who don't respect food deserve to be eliminated!'
It was absolutely impossible for her, Menchi, to go easy on them!
"Alright... don't make me repeat it a third time. Those who don't want to accept the test of this stage can quit now!"
"I don't need to teach you where to go back to, right?"
Menchi waved her hand, not even bothering to give them a glance.
Seeing this, the hot-tempered Leorio, like Todo, couldn't hold back!
"Are you kidding? We made it here with such difficulty; how can we give up just like that?!"
"Right!" Someone grabbed Todo by the collar and scolded angrily, "Todo, you guy, it's all because you talk too much nonsense!"
"That's why things became so complicated!"
Hanzo nodded in deep agreement and added, "Indeed. If anyone else dilly-dallies, they won't need to roll; I'll make them roll! The literal meaning of 'roll'..."
"Uh... actually, I think we should listen to what dish we have to make first."
Gon stared with his innocent, large eyes and said confidently, "If it's special omelet rice, I can definitely pass!"
Was the brat bragging without drafting a script? Cooking? Had he even been weaned yet?
The candidates were all shocked by Gon's words. Even Leorio and Kurapika looked at him in disbelief, their eyes turning into dots.
Only Sean believed Gon was telling the truth.
But, obviously—the Gourmet Hunter's exam question naturally wouldn't be something as common as omelet rice known to the general public.
"Sigh... It seems some people took my reminder as wind past their ears."
Hiding in a tree and noticing this scene, Satotz looked at the stubborn Menchi and couldn't help shaking his head... He knew this would happen. Subconsciously, he looked for Sean's reaction.
Unexpectedly, after searching around... Where the hell was Sean Zoldyck?!
There was clearly no sign of him in front of the warehouse, so... where did he go? Did he give up halfway?
Satotz was a bit confused. He tugged at his mustache, faintly sensing that something was wrong.