Late night.
Swardani City Hospital.
To treat the patients petrified by the toxin as quickly as possible, Cheadle had been working day and night without rest.
The Nen snake was remarkably powerful, yet it only used its toxin to attack ordinary people.
This ironically left the victims a slim chance of survival, but it was by no means an act of mercy.
Rather, it was because the Conjurer had left behind a vengeful thought, wanting everyone to die slowly and painfully.
Even so, both the Nen snake and this Petrification Toxin were extremely troublesome.
Therefore, when Gel came to inform her that the Nen snake had been dealt with, Cheadle was momentarily stunned.
Gel paid no mind to Cheadle's reaction and said calmly, "The source has been resolved. There won't be any new patients. We can now focus entirely on developing the antidote."
"Where is the Exorcist?"
Cheadle snapped back to reality and asked quickly.
She was worried about the risks the Exorcist might face during the subsequent purification of the Post-Mortem Nen.
Under normal circumstances, if the purification failed, the Exorcist would likely suffer a more severe backlash from the Petrification Toxin.
For this reason, she believed the Exorcist should remain in the hospital for observation while purifying the Post-Mortem Nen, just in case of any mishaps.
Gel saw through her thoughts and said indifferently, "His ability is strong. There's no need to worry."
Cheadle was slightly surprised.
For Gel to give such an evaluation meant the Exorcist was truly exceptional, but...
"If his ability is outstanding, we should try to keep him, Gel."
"He has already left."
Gel knew Cheadle had taken a liking to Morrow's skills, but she had no interest in the Association's talent recruitment and showed no intention of engaging in the conversation.
"If you're interested, go find Ging. Don't try to order me around."
"What is the Exorcist's name?"
Cheadle didn't mind Gel's attitude and changed the subject.
"Morrow."
"I see."
Cheadle nodded, then asked, "How much is the Exorcism fee?"
Before Gel could answer, she added, "Let's split it half and half."
"Fine."
Gel agreed straightforwardly.
Originally, she hadn't planned to bring this up with Cheadle, as the reward for resolving the toxin issue was higher than the cost of the Exorcism.
At most, she would earn a little less money, but she wouldn't be out of pocket.
Moreover, preventing the Nen snake from harming more ordinary people was more important than monetary gain.
Since Cheadle offered to share the cost, Gel saw no reason to refuse.
These two members of the Zodiac Twelve often disagreed on many matters...
Yet, to some extent, their values were quite similar, prioritizing certain things over money.
The only difference was, Gel was cold on the outside but warm-hearted.
While Cheadle was strictly businesslike.
Suddenly, Gel sensed something and took out her phone from her dress pocket, checking the message she had just received.
The sender was Ging.
The message contained the antidote formula.
Hmm?
After reading the message, a look of surprise slowly appeared in Gel's eyes.
"What is it?" Cheadle noticed Gel's unusual reaction and glanced at her phone.
...
Gel didn't answer but forwarded the message to Cheadle's phone, then slightly lowered her head and frowned lightly.
She knew Ging had only recommended Morrow and hadn't been involved in the matter.
Yet, shortly after Morrow had left, a formula was sent over.
Clearly, this was provided by Morrow through Ging's hand.
Although she hadn't verified the authenticity of this formula, from her professional perspective, the composition of this antidote was extremely rigorous, far from being randomly thrown together.
Morrow.
Gel silently recited Morrow's name in her heart, feeling that this former young man was shrouded in an elusive, mysterious aura.
—--
January 7th.
Zaban City, Tsubashi Street.
A certain restaurant on this street served as the entrance to the Hunter Exam venue.
There wasn't much time left before the first phase of the exam began.
The street was bustling with people, and the noise rose and fell continuously.
A man in a crisp suit and sunglasses, frowning, clutched a crumpled piece of paper in his hand, constantly scanning the door numbers of the shops along the street.
"Gon, stop just watching the commotion and help me find where number 2-5-10 is!"
The man in sunglasses suddenly turned around and shouted at a spiky-haired boy holding a fishing rod behind him.
"Ah, okay, Leorio!"
The boy called Gon stopped watching the street performers and jogged to catch up with Leorio, starting to carefully check the door numbers of the shops along the street.
"Are you two here to take the Hunter Exam too?"
Suddenly, a clear voice came from behind them.
Hearing the voice, Leorio and Gon turned around almost simultaneously to see a silver-haired boy standing not far away, balancing on a skateboard with one foot, tilting his head as he looked them over.
Beside the boy stood a little girl in a purple kimono, her face as delicate as a porcelain doll.
"Yeah, are you guys too?"
Seeing people his own age, Gon's eyes immediately lit up.
Leorio, however, wasn't as excited as Gon, subtly stepping forward to show the caution of an adult.
The silver-haired boy was none other than Killua, who had run away from home.
This time when he left, he had brought Kalluto along with him.
But this wasn't his intention.
If Kalluto hadn't insisted on following, and considering that Kalluto now had a mind of her own and no longer obeyed their mother in everything, he reluctantly agreed.
However, after leaving home, wanting to see what the so-called challenges of the Hunter Exam were like, he used the excuse that Kalluto was too young to take the exam, hoping to make her turn back home obediently.
Instead, Kalluto directly paid someone from the black market to create an ID card matching his age.
Left with no choice, Killua completely gave up on the idea of sending Kalluto home and then thought of Morrow, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.
So he simply suggested going to find Morrow to hang out.
But Kalluto responded with, "Morrow has important business; we can't disturb him."
In fact, before Morrow began his seclusion, considering he wouldn't be using his phone for a long time, he had informed Kalluto and Biscuit about the situation in advance.
This led Kalluto to form the notion that if Morrow didn't initiate contact, it meant he was still busy with serious matters.
So after leaving home, even though Kalluto had thought about going to find Morrow, she ultimately restrained herself.
This was just part of Kalluto's nature.
But Killua wasn't aware of this. Seeing Kalluto reject his suggestion, he had no choice but to stick to the original plan and come to take the Hunter Exam.
Due to Kalluto's delay in handling documents, when he and Killua arrived in Zaban City, they happened to run into Leorio and Gon, who were looking for address 2-5-10.
Because they were close in age, Killua took the initiative to strike up a conversation.
Although he could easily sense Leorio's wariness, Killua paid it no mind. When Gon asked in return, he casually replied, "Yeah, us too. What's your name?"
"Gon."
"Oh, I'm Killua."
Killua flicked his foot, sending his skateboard flying up, then caught it effortlessly in the crook of his arm. With his other hand, he pointed to Kalluto beside him.
"This is my sis..."
"Cousin."
Kalluto smoothly interjected, maintaining a calm expression as he said, "I'm Kalluto, twelve years old."
By promptly correcting Killua's introduction and emphasizing the age on his fake ID, he aimed to preemptively avoid any trouble.
Gon seemed to have no concept of suspicion and didn't think much of Kalluto emphasizing his age, merely expressing surprise: "We're the same age, then."
Leorio, however, eyed Kalluto skeptically, thinking he didn't look twelve at all, and immediately found Killua and Kalluto even more suspicious.
Killua subtly glanced at Kalluto and picked up the conversation: "What a coincidence, I'm twelve too."
After saying this, as if realizing he'd ignored Leorio, he casually asked, "Gon, is this old man your dad?"
?
A question mark popped up in Leorio's head. Once he processed the words, a vein bulged on his forehead as he shouted, "Who are you calling an old man?! I'm just a teenager like you!"
Huh?
Except for Kalluto, both Killua and Gon, who had never asked Leorio's age, widened their eyes in shock.
Leorio took a deep breath, first glancing at Kalluto, then turning to Killua warily. "Your cousin doesn't look twelve at all. I don't know what you're up to, but save your energy. Don't expect us to fall for it."
"And do you look like a teenager?"
Kalluto abruptly lifted his gaze, giving Leorio a cold look.
Leorio's mouth twitched. Before he could respond, he heard Gon ask in a hushed voice, "Leorio, are you really only..."
"I genuinely am!"
A sense of helplessness welled up in Leorio's heart. He was nineteen this year; wasn't that still technically a teenager? But the real issue wasn't his age; it was that he had no idea about Killua and Kalluto's backgrounds.
Unfortunately, Gon seemed naturally trusting of everyone, with no sense of caution at all.
Killua had never cared about Leorio's vigilance from the start and continued talking to Gon on his own: "Gon, I know where 2-5-10 is. Want to go together?"
"Sure!"
Gon nodded without hesitation.
"Let's go, then."
Killua turned to lead the way.
"Okay."
Gon responded, but his eyes couldn't help drifting to the skateboard tucked under Killua's arm, sparkling with eager curiosity.
Noticing his gaze, Killua smirked slightly. "Want to try the skateboard?"
"Can I?"
Gon's eyes lit up.
"Of course."
Killua pointed at the fishing rod in Gon's hand. "But you'll have to let me try your fishing rod too."
"Okay, let's swap."
Gon handed over the fishing rod.
Just like that, the two exchanged the fishing rod and skateboard.
Kalluto remained silent beside them, appearing very quiet.
"Hey, Gon..."
Leorio witnessed this scene, raising a hand to his forehead while making a final attempt at resistance. "They could be swindlers, you know."
"It's fine, Leorio."
Gon stepped onto his skateboard to test his balance, then turned back with a radiant smile. "Killua and Kalluto aren't bad people."
"..."
Leorio was utterly speechless. He let out a long sigh and said helplessly, "You're far too trusting..."
Hearing Gon's words, Killua and Kalluto almost simultaneously glanced over before quietly withdrawing their gazes.
The four of them continued walking along the street and soon found the location marked 2-5-10.
It was a rather ordinary-looking restaurant.
They entered and, following the guide's instructions, smoothly took the private elevator to the first phase examination venue.
The elevator finally stopped at underground floor 100.
When the doors opened, what greeted them was a broad underground passageway and a dense crowd of examinees.
Approximately five hundred people had already gathered here.
Every one of them was an elite who had stood out from millions of applicants after passing through layers of screening.
When such individuals gathered together, an intangible pressure permeated the entire semicircular passageway.
Leorio stepped out of the elevator and couldn't help but tense up under this atmosphere.
In contrast, Gon curiously looked around while Killua and Kalluto remained completely unfazed.
In the passageway.
Examinees near the elevator instinctively turned their attention to Gon's group.
Among these examinees was, naturally, Tonpa who had been staking out near the elevator.
Heh, another batch of fresh faces.
Tonpa lowered his head, snickering slyly before involuntarily glancing at Hisoka not far away and shuddering inwardly.
Meanwhile.
Outside the restaurant.
This should be the place.
Morrow glanced at the address plate beside the restaurant entrance before pushing open the door.
He had already used a disguise technique, now wearing the face of someone with drowsy eyes and heavy dark circles as he entered the establishment.
"Welcome, what would you like to order?"
The restaurant owner looked up at Morrow, his tone casual and ordinary.
Morrow chose a nearby table and sat down, saying offhandedly, "I saw a picture of chicken cutlet rice on your sign outside. I'll have that."
"Coming right up."
The owner responded, but his gaze inadvertently lingered on Morrow for a moment.
He could see Morrow's Ten, and a flicker of doubt crossed his mind.
Not here for the Hunter Exam?
Though the owner's actions were subtle, they didn't escape Morrow's perception.
Morrow didn't mind, knowing it was his Ten that had drawn the extra attention.
This was unavoidable.
To maintain the disguise effect, he had to utilize aura enhancement, especially since he had even adjusted his physique.
This meant he couldn't pretend to be an ordinary person.
Morrow glanced at the clock in the restaurant.
There was still some time left, enough for him to enjoy the restaurant's signature chicken cutlet rice.
A short while later.
The chicken cutlet rice was served.
Morrow ate with great relish.
After swallowing the last piece of fried chicken cutlet, he set down his chopsticks and looked at the owner, delivering the code phrase.
"Another steak set, slow-grilled."
???
The owner's hand trembled as he held a pot, silently glancing at the empty plate before Morrow.
Here for the Hunter Exam, and grabbing the signature dish while you're at it?
After a brief silence, the owner replied, "Certainly."
As soon as his voice fell, a young attendant approached Morrow and said politely, "Guest, please follow me."
Led by the attendant, Morrow entered a private elevator and descended all the way to underground level B100.
Ding.
The elevator doors opened.
Stepping out of the elevator and into the underground passage, Morrow immediately noticed Tonpa.
He saw the other man slap his palm in frustration, seeming somewhat unwilling to accept something, but the next moment, he returned to normal and glanced toward the elevator.
Morrow calmly averted his gaze, pretending not to have seen him.
Tonpa put on an enthusiastic smile and walked directly toward Morrow, who was standing in front of the elevator.
Having just suffered a setback at the hands of four rookie examinees and with the first phase of the Hunter Exam about to begin, he naturally didn't want to let Morrow, who had just stepped out of the elevator, slip away.
"Hey, I'm Tonpa. Is this your first time taking the Hunter Exam?"
"..."