In his eyes, the man in the suit put on his sunglasses again.
It seemed that his punch just now hadn't been able to cause him any damage...
He was very strong...
"You two be careful! Our current hunting targets are still intentionally limited to one area, which allows us to grow and gain experience while greatly maintaining the safety of our actions... Although the Hunter Exam is full of guys who haven't awakened Nen yet... There are bound to be people among them who have the same purpose as us, so pay special attention to the Association, don't expose too much, and come back quickly after getting your licenses."
In Phinks's mind, he recalled what Chrollo had said before they came.
"With Shalnark around, there's nothing to worry about."
Uvogin said with a smile.
"Shalnark..."
Phinks muttered.
That's right... Shalnark wasn't with him.
Originally... Shalnark was supposed to calm him down.
He seemed to have messed things up!
"There's actually a guy like you in the Mafia..."
Phinks turned his stiff pupils, and looked at the man in the suit.
"No, for the time being... It should just be me... You're very unlucky, you just happened to run into me."
Oboro revealed his white teeth.
Nen was still fluctuating on his hands.
The basic attack effect of the skill, Knuckle Down, was still there... The attack could cause extra damage based on the target's maximum health.
"It's been a little long... With Shalnark's brains, he'll definitely react. He's probably on his way here, maybe he's nearby..." Phinks thought of something, and suddenly wanted to gather his last bit of strength, and shout loudly.
To transmit information to Shalnark with his voice!
Shalnark would understand!
He couldn't come. If he came, Shalnark... wouldn't be this person's opponent!
In the Troupe, Shalnark mainly shouldered the role of logistics and brains.
Immediately, Phinks's chest swelled, and he was about to shout out.
But after he opened his mouth, there wasn't a single sound.
"In the end... You're still worried about your partner... Thank you for your hard work."
A tone that made him despair entered his ears.
Phinks's peripheral vision caught sight of the man. He seemed to have seen through his thoughts, and one hand directly pierced through his chest and lungs.
Then, he turned around and left without looking back.
Oboro carried Ardamo on his shoulder, glanced back at the motionless Phinks, and his figure flashed away, quickly disappearing at the end of the horizon.
He was also pressed for time. Ardamo needed timely help, otherwise... He would probably not survive either.
Once the person died... The old man might change his mind.
Phinks's aura weakened, until it disappeared.
He died with his eyes wide open, and the blood flowing from his body stained the sand...
Several flies were attracted by the smell of blood, and landed on the corpse. One of them even crawled onto his eyeball...
Not long after Oboro had left, a figure ran wildly to the scene.
When his gaze noticed Phinks's corpse, this person's eyes were frightened, and his limbs froze.
Then, he walked towards his partner step by step.
Shalnark's brain had a brief blank space. His strong psychological quality allowed him to quickly regain his composure. He took a breath, and began to check Phinks's injuries... Then, he got up and looked around the battlefield.
The scorching sun made the temperature in the desert remain high. In a trance, it seemed that even the nearby air was distorted by the high temperature, creating a phenomenon of light and shadow...
The bloodstains left by Phinks had already dried up.
"Judging from the footsteps, there were a total of three people... Two of them were Phinks and Ardamo, and the other person... Was it him?" After standing still, the man in the suit's face flashed through Shalnark's mind.
Judging from the situation of the venue, the battle was very fierce, and had affected a large area.
The problem was that the only person who had died was Phinks.
The other two had disappeared...
Phinks was dead... This made Shalnark a little unacceptable... No matter how you looked at it, that examiner wouldn't be Phinks's opponent. Moreover, Phinks wasn't a one-track mind like Uvogin.
Even if the other party's Nen ability was extremely powerful, causing the balance to tip, it wouldn't be a problem for Phinks to retreat and run away.
Unless... someone had interfered.
In a two-on-one situation, the level of that man in the suit, in his and Phinks's perception, should be considered relatively outstanding.
But even if the two of them teamed up, it wouldn't be that easy to kill Phinks...
This battle had ended very quickly. He hadn't rushed over at the first time. If he calculated the time difference before and after, it was less than a quarter of an hour.
Phinks had been killed in such a short time... "An Enhancer, huh..." Shalnark looked at the bloody hole in Phinks's chest, and said coldly.
He hadn't witnessed the process of the battle with his own eyes, and everything could only be inferred... He didn't know under what circumstances Phinks had been killed.
Another point that Shalnark couldn't understand was that even if that man in the suit had followed them... He was probably just watching the show, and there was no reason for him to interfere.
Firstly, there was no conflict between the other party and them, and there was even less reason to be hostile;
Secondly, to interfere in this kind of intense battle, his own strength had to be good enough, otherwise there would be a danger to his life... No one would do such a stupid thing.
"But, with Phinks's personality... It's very likely that he took the initiative to provoke the third person."
Shalnark's brain began to operate at high speed, and muttered to himself, "With Phinks's ability, he should have been able to escape... Unless... Unless something happened that made it difficult for him to escape, and didn't give him a chance to react! He was... He was killed in seconds..."
He said to the end, and a tremor went through Shalnark's heart.
Phinks, as an Enhancer, although he couldn't compare to Uvogin, he was also among the top fighters in the Troupe.
Was that examiner named Ardamo that strong?
If he had to choose one between the man in the suit and Ardamo as the object of the misjudgment of combat power, he would be more inclined towards the latter...
After all, Ardamo had 'shown his hand' before, and gave people the feeling that he wasn't ordinarily fierce.
Another possibility was that... The third person who had followed them wasn't that man in the suit, but Ardamo's companion, who was also an expert from the Association... And was even stronger.
After all, it was normal for some people to be responsible for monitoring and assessing them in the dark during the Hunter Exam.
They two hadn't noticed it beforehand...
That would explain it... A strong person who was far beyond what Phinks could fight against had suddenly appeared, which was enough to determine the outcome.
However, this possibility was too small... Where had the man in the suit gone?
Did a project of this level of the Hunter Exam need such a powerful Association Hunter to stay in the dark?
It didn't fit reality.
Shalnark's brain was a little confused.
"Had we been targeted early on? That's also unlikely... Phinks and I deciding to participate in the Hunter Exam was a last-minute decision... And there was no risk of leaking it to the outside..."
If this was the real reason, the other party wouldn't have left him, the survivor, behind. They would definitely wait for him to appear!
Comprehensive analysis showed that the greatest possibility was... Phinks had been careless, and Ardamo had found an opportunity.
Even if... Shalnark didn't quite believe it.
"Was it a sneak attack... Or a difference in Nen ability?..."
"The examiner's strength was clearly above the man in the suit. The former had a greater suspicion! Phinks's death stemmed from Ardamo... That man in the suit might not have had this ability, and he also lacked a motive. However... Even if the latter didn't interfere, he definitely witnessed the entire course of the battle, and knew what had happened..." After Shalnark finished speaking, he looked at the distant horizon in a pensive manner.
Judging from the few traces of blood that had already evaporated, the murderer should also have been seriously injured. The man in the suit who had been watching the show had also just left... Should he chase after him?
Soon, Shalnark dismissed the idea. Ardamo had very likely already reported to the Association.
It was uncertain how the Association would deal with it, and with Phinks's death, it indicated that he also existed a certain danger to his life.
There was also the premise of exposure... He had to... leave first.
He would interrupt the Hunter Exam!
Beep beep beep...
After thinking this, Shalnark looked at his partner's corpse, and the sadness in his eyes flashed by. He quickly withdrew, and took out his phone.
Soon, the communication was answered.
"Phinks is dead..." Shalnark said directly.
"The murderer is a Hunter from the Association named Ardamo, who was responsible for the first stage of this Hunter Exam. I wasn't at the scene, and I don't know the specific situation... Apart from the main culprit, there was also an examinee. However, the current situation is a little delicate... I can't find that witness."
"Come back."
The person on the other end of the phone said calmly after listening.
"Okay."
With a very simple communication, Shalnark hung up the phone, and walked in the boundless desert.
The weather was hot, but his heart was cold and stern.
His trip outside had ended prematurely.
...
On the other side, in a small military factory controlled by the Mafia, a fierce firefight was taking place in a warehouse during the day.
In the spacious warehouse, a large number of corpses were lying on the ground... Two figures were like tigers entering a flock of sheep, carrying out a mad massacre... Dense bullets and sharp weapons couldn't cause the slightest damage to these two humanoid beasts.
A pungent smell of blood permeated the air.
One of them slapped out with his big hand, turning the incoming Mafia members into mincemeat...
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