The third test had been underway for twenty minutes.
A figure leaped lightly from the tree trunk and landed in front of Leo.
It was Gittarackur.
That face, covered in needles, held no expression, and a pair of black, hole-like eyes stared straight at Leo.
He reached out his hand and handed over a tag.
Leo took the tag and gave him a faint glance.
Gittarackur, or rather, Illumi Zoldyck.
That face was still a bit creepy after looking at it for a while, and Leo didn't know how he could act so nonchalant while covered in needles, but Leo didn't point it out.
"You passed."
He said.
Illumi nodded, turned, walked to the side, sat down against a tree, and closed his eyes, as if everything around him had nothing to do with him.
Leo watched his back and chuckled inwardly.
He thought he wouldn't be able to resist making a move. It seems the hunter license is indeed very important to Illumi.
Before long, another figure floated down to the ground.
Hisoka.
He walked up to Leo and smilingly handed over a tag—the tag was stained with fresh blood, still dripping.
Leo took the tag expressionlessly.
"You passed."
Hisoka stood still, his golden pupils staring fixedly into Leo's eyes.
Leo did not meet his gaze.
He stepped directly to the right, passed Hisoka, and continued looking at the giant tree.
Hisoka's smile remained unchanged, and he didn't speak either.
He turned, walked to Illumi's side, sat down against the tree as well, and began to shuffle his playing cards.
Illumi opened his eyes, glanced at him, and closed them again.
There was a distance of more than a meter between the two, and neither paid any attention to the other.
Next, Kastro and Nico also came down from the tree; they were lucky and also found tags to hand over to Leo.
The two were just like children wanting credit, looking at Leo with anticipation, whispering softly.
"Master, we got the tags!"
Leo nodded with satisfaction and said.
"Not bad, you two have passed."
Nico and Kastro smiled at each other, then walked to the side to wait quietly.
Hisoka, not far away, also noticed; he stuck out his tongue and licked the corner of his mouth lightly, as if savoring some delicacy.
An hour passed.
More and more Examinees successfully found tags and returned to the ground with them.
Hanzo, this ninja, had a relaxed smile on his face, as if the thousand-meter-plus tree was just a piece of cake for him.
Bodoro followed closely behind; although this elderly martial artist was panting like an ox, the light in his eyes was even brighter.
Bapon, Sbar, Tonpa, Ponzu, Pokkle, and others also returned one after another.
The tag Pokkle found was quite hidden, which took him a lot of time, but in the end, he successfully got it.
At the nine-hundred-meter mark.
Kurapika and Leorio discovered a hidden tree hollow.
The tree hollow wasn't large, just enough for one person to crawl into. Kurapika peeked inside, and his eyes immediately lit up.
"Leorio! There are tags inside! Two of them!"
Leorio was overjoyed.
"Really?! That's great!"
He couldn't wait to reach into the tree hollow, grabbed one of the tags, and pulled hard—
The tag didn't budge.
"Huh?"
Leorio exerted more effort, his face turning red from the strain, but the tag still didn't budge.
"Why is this tag so heavy?!"
He couldn't help but curse.
"This examiner is too perverted!"
Kurapika also reached out to grab the other tag and pulled hard.
His brows furrowed slightly—it was indeed very heavy, but still within his capacity.
"Use both hands."
He said.
"Focus your strength."
The two looked at each other, took a deep breath simultaneously, grabbed the tag with both hands, and exerted force together!
"Haa—!"
The tag slowly loosened and was then pulled out!
The two breathed a sigh of relief, each holding a tag, and began the difficult descent.
Twenty minutes later, the two stumbled and landed in front of Leo, handing over the tags in their hands.
Leo took the tags and nodded.
"You passed."
Leorio sat down on the ground, panting heavily.
"Tired, I'm exhausted..."
Although Kurapika was also tired, he still maintained his usual etiquette and bowed slightly to Leo.
"Thank you, examiner."
There were fifteen minutes left.
Gon and Killua finally came down from the tree.
Their method of descent was different from the others—Gon jumped all the way down from the tree, using the branches for leverage each time, his speed astonishingly fast.
Killua followed behind him; although he said "idiot" with his mouth, his eyes held a smile.
The two landed in front of the tree roots, covered in wood shavings and leaves, but with satisfied smiles on their faces.
Half an hour ago—
The two successfully reached the top and saw the huge bird's nest at the treetop, along with the five round, chubby chicks.
Gon excitedly rushed into the nest, petting those fluffy little creatures.
The chicks weren't shy either, rubbing their heads against his hand and chirping "tweet, tweet."
"So cute!"
Gon's eyes were incredibly bright.
"Killua, come quickly! These baby birds are all so cute!"
Killua stood where he was, staring blankly at this scene.
He watched Gon playing with the chicks, watched those little lives defenselessly getting close to a stranger, watched that warm and pure smile—
He was stunned.
This was something he had never felt in his entire life.
In the Zoldyck Family, there was no warmth, no closeness, no trust.
Only training, only killing, only cold rules.
And now, watching Gon, watching those chicks, an indescribable, complex emotion surged in his heart.
"Killua?"
Gon turned his head and waved at him.
"Come quickly!"
Killua snapped out of it and slowly walked over.
He squatted down and reached out to gently touch the head of one of the chicks.
The little creature first shrank back warily, then, seeming to sense his goodwill, it also rubbed against his hand.
The corners of Killua's mouth lifted in a very slight arc.
In the nest of the chicks, there was also a tag; after Gon got it, he and Killua played in the nest for a while longer.
Finally, Killua stood up and looked at Gon.
"Gon, let's go down. It's getting late."
Gon nodded and reluctantly said goodbye to the chicks.
"Goodbye! I'll come to see you again when I have the chance!"
When Gon and Killua came down from the tree.
Leorio's eyes lit up, and he stumbled to his feet to meet them.
"Gon! Killua! You finally came down!"
He excitedly patted both of them on the shoulders.
"You had us worried to death!"
Gon scratched the back of his head and smiled somewhat embarrassedly.
"Hehe, sorry. Killua and I climbed to the top of the tree and played with the baby birds up there for a while..."
The expression on Leorio's face froze instantly.
"...Played?"
He widened his eyes, looking at these two guys in disbelief.
A thousand-meter-plus tree, dozens of people desperately looking for tags, and the two of them actually climbed to the top... to play with birds?
Leorio glared at them fiercely.
Kurapika walked over and smilingly patted Gon's shoulder.
"Alright, since Gon and the others have also passed, that's good."
Gon and Killua looked at each other, then simultaneously took the tags out of their pockets and handed them to Leo.
Leo took the tags and gave them a look.
Both boys had a special aura about them.
Gon's pure goodwill, the trace of gloom deep in Killua's eyes—but at this moment, that gloom seemed to have faded a little.
"You passed," Leo said.
The last fifteen minutes.
Three more Examinees returned to the ground with difficulty.
One was covered in blood, having clearly fought with someone; one was holding a tag and crying uncontrollably; and another was pale, legs trembling, but his eyes were full of the relief of having survived a disaster.
When the last Examinee landed, the two-hour time limit was exactly up.
Leo raised his hand.
"Time's up!"
He scanned the twenty-seven Examinees in front of him, his voice clearly reaching everyone's ears.
"A total of twenty-seven Examinees successfully passed the third test. Congratulations to everyone."
As his voice fell, uncontrollable cheers erupted from the crowd.
Some hugged and cried, some slumped to the ground panting heavily, some looked up at the giant tree, their eyes full of disbelief.
Gon and Killua stood together with smiles on their faces, Leorio sat on the ground, not wanting to get up again.
Kurapika stood behind the three, a smile on his lips.
Nico and Kastro stood at the back of the crowd, watching quietly.
Hanzo stood with his arms crossed, a satisfied smile on his face. Bodoro calmed his inner excitement.
Bapon wiped the sweat from his face silently, his eyes flashing with light.
Tonpa breathed a sigh of relief, looking at Leo with fear.
Gittarackur was still sitting against the tree, eyes closed, with no expression.
The playing cards in Hisoka's hands stopped shuffling; he looked up slightly, gazing at the white figure standing in front of the crowd, the smile on his lips deepening a few notches.
Leo did not look at them.
He just looked up at the giant tree that towered into the clouds.
Sunlight filtered down through the canopy, casting dappled light and shadows on the ground.
A breeze blew, and the leaves rustled.
The third test ended.