Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 493 (Patreon)

Chapter 493: Standing Out

Tonpa felt very uneasy.

For years, he had always been played by Luo, but this time he truly felt anxious.

This subtle feeling was like fine dust lingering on his fingertips, drifting in the light from the window, indescribable and unclear.

The only thing clear was that it was very dangerous.

He had never felt this way before.

So, he felt uneasy.

When Tonpa took out a bottle of drink from his pocket and handed it to Luo, his hand was trembling slightly.

Luo took the drink, noticing Tonpa's trembling hand, and a smile flickered across his eyes.

Tonpa, who had long been accustomed to Luo's visits, wasn't usually so nervous about handing over a drink. This abnormal behavior, could it be that he sensed something?

"Click."

Luo pulled the tab of the drink, downing it in one gulp, having spiked it with a potent laxative, then tossed the empty can into Tonpa's bag.

"Tonpa, in the limited time you have left, you need to make the most of it," Luo said, patting Tonpa on the shoulder with a meaningful expression.

"What... what do you mean?" Tonpa stammered, finding the words "limited time" particularly jarring.

"Exactly what it sounds like," Luo smiled.

He planned to teach Tonpa the ability of Nen, but with an ulterior motive. He intended to exploit Tonpa's value.

However, he wasn't yet sure if Tonpa had any value to extract. It all depended on whether Tonpa's unique Nen ability matched his expectations.

Tonpa couldn't figure out Luo's intentions and felt that it would definitely be disadvantageous to him, which only increased his anxiety.

Thirty minutes passed, and it was now twelve noon.

The examiner for the first round appeared, a bald man over two meters tall, wearing a white tank top and camouflage pants.

He stopped at the edge of the forest in front of nearly two thousand candidates, observed for a moment, then walked straight towards a tree.

Luo noticed the examiner's movements and the tree he chose, a thoughtful light flickering in his eyes.

He then saw the examiner break the tree with his bare hands and carried it to the front of the crowd, planting it firmly in the ground to use as a platform.

There was no need to choose a tree just to make a platform, which indicated the examiner had a specific reason for selecting that particular tree.

The Sangui tree.

It was the tree the examiner had chosen from a distance.

Luo knew about this tree and had a hunch.

Standing atop the stripped-down tree, the examiner surveyed the sea of faces and said coldly, "The first test is simple: stand under the sun for five hours."

"My requirements are only two."

"Do not make any noise, and do not move at all. Violators will be eliminated."

Upon hearing the test instructions, Luo's hunch was immediately confirmed, while many candidates laughed, thinking the test was too easy.

Tonpa, a regular at the Hunter Exam, didn't believe the test would be so straightforward and expected there to be more to it.

It wouldn't be possible for nearly two thousand candidates, who had emerged from tens of thousands, to fail to stand under the sun for five hours.

Many others had the same thought, mostly seasoned participants.

At that moment, Tonpa noticed Luo taking out a small bottle and sprinkling a fine yellow powder on himself.

"What is that?" Tonpa couldn't help but ask.

Luo glanced at him and seriously replied, "Guess."

Tonpa's mouth twitched.

The test began, and the first half-hour passed in silence, with no candidates being eliminated.

Nearly an hour passed before something unusual happened.

At first, candidates near the forest heard rustling sounds, but because of the examiner's two rules, they didn't dare move.

Behind them, a black tide slowly advanced from the ground. On closer inspection, it was a swarm of tiny black bugs, each the size of a fingernail, moving as one like a black wave.

The swarm wasn't passing by by chance; it was coming directly at them.

The candidates closest to the forest were unlucky and were soon covered by the bugs before realizing something was wrong.

"Ah!"

Shrill screams echoed.

Many candidates on the edge were quickly covered by the swarm.

From atop the tree, the bald examiner watched the direction of the screams with disdain.

These bugs posed almost no harm to the human body, and the screams were not from pain or injury but from the terror of being covered by so many bugs.

"Afraid of bugs? How can you be qualified to be a Hunter?" the bald examiner coldly observed the many candidates who started to move.

Those who made noise or tried to avoid the bugs were immediately eliminated.

The black swarm soon reached the center of the crowd. The candidates who initially screamed in terror realized the bugs posed no real threat, only an intense itch.

They hurriedly brushed off the bugs, knowing they had been eliminated.

In just an hour since the test started, half of the candidates were eliminated by the bugs, while the remaining half, having learned from the others, suppressed their fear and let the bugs crawl on them.

The bugs posed no threat.

The remaining candidates relaxed slightly but soon experienced an unbearable itch.

"I can't stand it anymore!"

Just a minute later, one candidate, who had barely conquered his fear, brushed off all the bugs, and the itching disappeared immediately.

That candidate ran out of the bug-infested area, dejected.

The itching was unbearable, more annoying than the scorching sun overhead.

The elimination rate increased.

Soon, the swarm reached the area where Luo and Tonpa stood.

Tonpa gritted his teeth. He didn't feel any danger, so he wanted to endure it.

The bugs crawled up from his feet, covering him to his neck, and the itching began.

"As long as it doesn't hurt, I can endure it!"

Tonpa suppressed the itching, steeling himself.

Then, he saw the bugs avoid Luo as they approached.

"What?"

Tonpa was stunned, quickly recalling the powder Luo had sprinkled on himself earlier.

"Does he know the test content? Did he prepare in advance? No, the committee wouldn't allow that."

Not only did Tonpa notice this, but the other suffering candidates and the examiner atop the tree also noticed.

"Hmm? Someone actually prepared in advance?"

Looking at the calm Luo, the bald examiner was surprised.

He had devised the test, and even the committee didn't know, so how could someone have prepared?

At that moment, another swarm emerged from another part of the forest. When it reached the tree under the examiner, it too avoided it and headed towards the candidates.

The Sangui tree was the bugs' most hated thing, so the examiner sitting on it was safe. Otherwise, a mere tree wouldn't stop the bugs.

"What did you do? Why are the bugs avoiding you?"

Everyone was affected by the bugs except Luo, making him stand out and attracting the ire of the eliminated candidates.

"Cheating! This is definitely cheating!"

Some candidates, with malicious intent, accused him, hoping the test would be redone.

A small group guessed Luo was a rescue worker, so it was normal for him to be prepared.

However, rescue workers were usually ugly, and this guy was extremely handsome, comparable to the super-handsome star Zizhu in the entertainment industry.

As the commotion grew, the bald examiner rubbed his face in frustration.

He guessed that the standout candidate had used something related to the Sangui tree. This might be a coincidence, but he never believed in coincidences.

The conclusion was that the candidate had exceptional abilities.

However, the candidates causing the commotion didn't see it that way.

Sometimes, reason is hard to argue.

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