Chapter 97

The nest of the fraudsters is filled with too many terrifying and bizarre creatures, all of which survive in the thick fog. Some use their camouflage to blend into the surroundings, some gather dense fog to completely hide themselves, and some look just like ordinary creatures, making people let their guard down. Of course, there are also other creatures that deceive using sounds.

In short, there are countless dangers hidden in the nest of the fraudsters. One must be extremely cautious. The best approach is to not trust anything heard or seen except for oneself, and to closely follow the examiner, keeping them always within sight.

However, only a part of the people can keep up with the examiner's speed. With the surrounding thick fog, visibility is limited to just ten meters. After running for a while, many people eventually fell behind, especially as the fog grew thicker. They could no longer see the examiner and had to follow the footsteps of those in front, either far or near, chasing the backs of those ahead in the thick fog.

However, such scattered groups are the best opportunities for the fraudsters to hunt.

For example, there is a giant creature called the Fog-Eating Turtle. It can hide its body in the fog and use the large strawberries growing on its back to lure humans. When the candidates approach out of curiosity, its head will emerge from the fog and swallow them in one bite.

Another example is the Landmine Mushroom, a plant that looks no different from ordinary poisonous mushrooms. When humans accidentally step on it, it will release toxic gas, poisoning all the candidates nearby.

There are also the Hypnotic Butterflies, which, though they appear harmless, can emit hypnotic phosphorescence. If the candidates inhale it unguarded, they will fall into a deep sleep, and the consequences of sleeping in such an environment are obvious.

There are also crows that can mimic human voices. When some candidates lose their way in the fog, these crows will mimic the examiner's voice to deceive them. The candidates, unaware of the truth, will be led to their deaths and never return.

Such creatures are found everywhere in the nest of the fraudsters. One could say that every creature here is lethal. Screams and cries of despair echo continuously, and most of the candidates who fell behind were mercilessly killed.

However, for these lagging candidates, the most terrifying enemy is not the creatures in the nest of the fraudsters, but the magician Xizuo, a sadist who enjoys killing and craves blood.

Of course, although Xizuo is a sadist who enjoys bloody battles, he does not kill indiscriminately. Each time he acts, he has a sufficient reason. This time, the reason is: because he cannot bear to eat the unripe apple that is Tang Cheng, his unfulfilled desire can only be vented on other candidates, while also acting as an examiner to test their potential. If he deems them qualified, he will let them proceed; if he deems them worthless, he will kill them.

For most people, this might seem like random killing, but to Xizuo, it is the most correct reason.

Thus, those who barely escaped the terrifying creatures in the nest of the fraudsters once again became prey for even more terrifying monsters. Without any means of resistance, they could only face death one by one.

However, none of this has anything to do with Tang Cheng.

Although Tang Cheng is interested in the creatures in the nest of the fraudsters and wants to take the title of the greatest sadist from Xizuo in "Hunter x Hunter," he is very clear that he does not have the strength to do so. With no understanding of Nen, he is absolutely no match for Xizuo, who uses Nen with great skill.

Perhaps because of the title of "faithless lover," Xizuo might have some degree of affection for him and even let him go as an unripe little apple. But knowing he cannot win and still provoking Xizuo is not just showing off; it is sheer stupidity. Only a true idiot or an overconfident fool would do such a foolish thing.

Tang Cheng likes to challenge strong opponents, but he will never engage in a battle with no chance of winning, as it offers no fun at all.

So, in the second half, Tang Cheng always stayed in the first group, closely following the examiner Satsu.

For this, Tang Ya was deeply moved. It was rare for Tang Cheng to behave normally for such a long time. From the moment they arrived at this Hunter exam to now, he had only gone crazy twice, which was truly a miracle. However... for a lunatic, being normal is the greatest abnormality. Since he has been holding back for so long, will his next episode be even more terrifying?

While Tang Ya was moved, she could not help but feel some concern and could only pray silently in her heart.

After about an hour, the examiner finally stopped at the entrance of a large wildlife park and indicated that the venue for the second exam had been reached. However, since the exam had not yet started, everyone still needed to wait. This news brought joy to many candidates, as they were already exhausted from the long marathon.

Although Tang Cheng did not feel the slightest bit of fatigue, he still found a large tree to lean against and sit down. He then took out his laptop from his backpack and started playing an online game, much to Tang Ya's speechless frustration... She could not understand why Tang Cheng could be so relaxed, as if he was playing a completely different game.

"They don't seem to be here yet..." Ignoring Tang Cheng, Tang Ya scanned the candidates present and noticed that the four friends she had met earlier were not there, nor was the one she was somewhat afraid of, Xizuo.

She also did not see the candidate with the number 407.

"It's strange. Although every candidate in the Hunter exam is an opponent, it is clearly more advantageous for us to unite. Why hasn't 407 shown up?" Tang Ya muttered to herself. Surely he couldn't have died in the nest of the fraudsters?

Shaking her head, Tang Ya stopped thinking about it and found a shady spot near Tang Cheng to rest. Although her wind elf bloodline prevented her from being as exhausted as the others, she was still somewhat tired after running for so long.

As for Tang Cheng, he was still engrossed in his game, like a teenager addicted to the internet, completely ignoring the outside world.

After an unknown amount of time, just as Tang Cheng mercilessly defeated a young-looking loli boss in the game, a magnetic voice sounded in his ear.

"Grow quickly, I'm waiting for you, hehehe..."

Stopping his mouse movement, Tang Cheng looked up and saw the magician Xizuo putting down a young man with his upper body bare, slowly walking past him. Xizuo glanced at him with a meaningful smile.

Tang Cheng smiled slightly but said nothing.

When he looked to the side, he saw that the young man with his upper body bare was Leorio, whose right cheek was swollen, seemingly from a beating, and he was still unconscious. Tang Cheng ignored him and continued playing his game. After defeating the loli boss, the next bosses were a maiden, a mature woman, and a queen. His goal was to defeat the final boss, a tsundere black long-haired queen, before the end of the Hunter exam.

As time slowly passed, with only twenty minutes left before the preliminary exam ended, Gon and Kurapika finally arrived just in time. They immediately spotted Xizuo and, following his guidance, found Leorio, who was unconscious next to Tang Cheng, and quickly ran over.

At this point, Tang Cheng and Tang Ya learned that during the exam, Xizuo had been causing chaos in the rear, killing many candidates and involving Kurapika and Leorio. Gon bravely challenged Xizuo to save them, although he ultimately lost, Xizuo did not kill them.

Of course, Tang Cheng had known about this plot for a long time and did not interfere. There would not be much change, as the protagonist's aura would not be significantly affected by the butterfly effect unless the intruder made major changes. Even if there were changes, they would only occur after a certain period.

As for Leorio, he seemed to have forgotten what had happened and was confused about his injuries.

Then, Killua also emerged from a corner of the crowd, waving and running towards everyone. The friends were happily reunited.

At the same time, the second exam was about to begin.

...

A brief transition, and then the main act begins. Please give me your recommendations!

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