"I've had enough of this damn place!"
"Heh heh... You're right... I thought I'd never get the chance to leave in this lifetime. I didn't expect a turning point to come so soon."
"Ah... Do you smell it? Can you hear the wind? I think I can already smell the fresh, sweet air outside."
"Bullshit! You just want to play with women, you perverted serial killer... Be careful you don't get caught and brought back as soon as you get out..."
"Don't worry, it won't happen this time. A person can't fall in the same place twice, right Bendot?"
The four prisoners standing behind the bald man could not suppress their excitement and began to get restless. The words "released after serving sentence" were undoubtedly like a shot of adrenaline poured over these felons.
Bendot laughed ferociously. "Yeah... we're about to get out, but it doesn't seem like it will be that simple!"
Pies don't fall from the sky. Bendot was an "old timer" of Trick Tower; he knew very well that Lippo wouldn't deliver such a "big gift" for no reason!
That meant... "Director Lippo, there must be something wrong with the five examiners we have to face next, right?"
Bendot's gaze was sharp as he looked through the camera at Lippo. Lippo washed down a daifuku with a bottle of cola and chuckled, "You're getting sharper the longer you live, Bendot."
"Indeed, among the examiners you are about to face, there is one guy who, in my opinion, is particularly tricky."
"If you run into him, I advise you not to be careless. Do not strictly delusion that you can fight him on strength. It's best... to play mind games with him. Do you understand?"
Sure enough, it was a "poisoned pie." Bendot's face sank, and he asked solemnly, "Director Lippo, regarding those examined, we are practically brothers in the same trench."
"Give us a straight answer. How strong is that tricky guy?"
How strong? "Someone who can exchange blows with the Chairman and not lose ground—how strong do you think?"
Lippo clapped his hands behind his head, leaned back in his chair, and smacked his lips. "At least I am far from being his opponent..."
Bendot, and Sedokan, Majtani, Leroute, and Johness behind him: "..."
They all freeze on the spot. Countless 'mother-fuckers' rose in their hearts but were left unsaid.
"Then you still want us to fight him?!" Majtani, who was even larger than Bendot and lived up to his blustering name, roared at the camera, "Director Lippo! Switch him out for someone else! I can't take this job!"
"Giggle... Director Lippo, I also feel I'm not up to this task. Could you trouble yourself to transfer me?" Leroute took off her hood and winked at the camera. Beautiful as she was, her expertise wasn't in bloody battles with smelly men... but in psychological warfare.
After all, before she was thrown in prison, her profession was—a psychiatrist!
"Uh heh heh heh... Scared already?" After recovering from his initial shock, Johness licked his lips and smiled excitedly. "Since none of you are willing to face him, let me do it."
"To be honest, I haven't tasted what the blood of the strongest human is like yet?"
"Since someone can exchange two moves with him and not lose ground, that's perfect... lucky for me, uh heh heh heh..."
'Who do you think you are? Weren't you caught by Lippo in the end?' Bendot glanced coldly at Johness, then looked seriously at Lippo behind the camera. "We don't really have a choice, do we?!"
Whether it was Majtani, Johness, Leroute, or even Sedokan who was silently pretending to be transparent on the side, they were all bottom-tier talents in this prison... Since Lippo had gathered the five of them, he must have acknowledged them, implying there were no better candidates.
Sure enough. "This is an order, I am not discussing it with you," Lippo's face fell. "Don't forget your status!"
"Either do it, or stay here until you die. Choose for yourselves!"
Then there was no other way. Since both options led to "death," they might as well get it over with quickly.
"Actually, we don't need to be pessimistic..." Bendot rubbed his chin and muttered, "If we can't beat that guy, we simply admit defeat!"
"Seize the opportunities in the remaining four matches. Win three matches... or exhaust all their time, and we can still eliminate them!"
"So..." Bendot's gaze swept over Sedokan, Majtani, Leroute, and Johness one by one. He clenched his fist and said in a low voice, "Let's do it!"
"Fine! If I die, I die. Let's rush 'em!" "Uh heh heh heh... I told you, leave that person to me. I will definitely dig out his heart!" "Eh... you guys... forget it, I'll reluctantly take action too... but let's be clear upfront... I'm not good at fighting people..."
Five fists bumped together. Faced with freedom versus life, they ultimately choose freedom.
"Very good!" Lippo watched all of this through the camera, taking a final look at Johness, and didn't forget to remind them, "Remember! Do not attempt to fight that person on strength! Use your brains more... Actually, I think Bendot's suggestion just now—to forfeit immediately if you meet him—is also a good choice."
"Please rest assured on this point, Director Lippo," Bendot sneered, staring straight into Lippo's fox-like eyes. "We want to win more than anyone!"
None of the prisoners locked in Trick Tower were benevolent souls. The minimum sentence was one hundred and twenty years. Barring any accidents, they would never make it out alive. But now that a broad road to freedom had appeared right beneath their feet, only a fool wouldn't take it.
"Hmm... then I'll wait and see." Lippo said no more. As an examiner, revealing information about the examiners to Bendot and the others in advance was, strictly speaking... cheating. But special circumstances require special handling. Faced with that guy Sean Zoldyck, one couldn't use common sense. He believed that even if the Chairman knew, he would definitely understand.
Lippo pushed up the flashy glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. With a snap , he pressed a button on the console, and the screen cut back to the examined ones.
Number Two led Gon, Kurapika, Leorio, and Tonpa. After an awkward brief separation and reunion, they shifted their attention and energy to the next test.
"Uncle, there doesn't seem to be an exit in this room... is there a secret door?" Gon wiggled his nose, observing his surroundings carefully. His gaze swept to a cylindrical object resembling a trash can in the corner, and he shouted, "Hey! Look everyone, there are words!"
Kurapika and Leorio hurriedly followed Gon over and found five timing wristbands placed on the cylinder. On the side facing the wall, a line of small text was written:
"The Path of Majority Rule. The five of you must follow the majority to complete the many hurdles from here to the finish line."
That meant... "We might need to coordinate our operations next," Kurapika muttered. Just as he expected, Lippo's voice came from a red speaker inside the cylinder:
"That is correct..."
"Inside this Trap Tower, many different paths have been preset..."
"The clearing conditions set for each path are different..."
"The one you have chosen is the Path of Majority Rule..."
"This is a super difficult barrier that requires you to work together with one heart to pass smoothly..."
"Alright...I wish you a successful passage..."
Zzzzt... The faint sound of electric current faded, and Lippo's voice vanished into the air along with it.
Having understood the rules of the exam, Gon, Kurapika, Leorio, and even Tonpa all looked at Number Two in unison. It seemed that in their group, there was no minority obeying the majority... only the majority obeying the minority seemed reasonable.
"I nominate Uncle... Whatever Uncle chooses, I'll choose," Gon looked at Sean with a smile, unhesitatingly aligning his 'stance'.
"You really know how to choose, you guy!" Leorio ruthlessly rubbed Gon's spiky hair, then turned to Number Two and gave a thumbs up: "Teacher Ben An, we're counting on you next."
'Tsk... why do I smell a "dog" scent? It seems there are two of them licking his boots now.' Kurapika glanced at Gon and Leorio with disdain, then smoothly put a theoretical leash on himself as well. Without another word, he nodded to Sean: "Teacher Ben An, sorry to trouble you."
Tonpa: "…"
'Are every single one of you doing this? As the "Rookie Crusher," this makes things very difficult for me...'
His soul for stirring up trouble was restless. Tonpa's mouth twitched violently. Meeting Number Two's emotionless eyes, he quickly and skillfully put a leash on himself too, smiling fawningly at Sean. "Teacher Ben An, at your command."
"Whatever you tell me, Tonpa, to do, I will do... I absolutely won't say a word of objection."
'Tonpa, this guy, has amazing bootlicking skills,' Kurapika and Leorio exchanged a glance. The eternal failure... might actually shed the title of "failure" this year and successfully obtain a Hunter License.
However... 'The original you wasn't like this...' Sean looked at Tonpa with a faint smile, making Tonpa's heart hair-raisingly nervous.
Tonpa seemed to realize something and hurriedly picked up a timing wristband, holding it with both hands to offer it to Number Two. But Number Two extended a finger and tapped it lightly—
A "Flying Finger Gun"... The wristband was shattered into pieces on the spot! Subsequently, the Flying Finger Gun, wrapped in Sean's ferocious Nen, continued unabated and hit the camera with a bang . Lippo, in the monitoring room, felt his vision suddenly blur... The daifuku in his mouth lost its flavor.
"Sean Zoldyck, you really don't show any mercy."
Mercy? If you have the skill, go talk to the main body. I, a clone, have no mercy.
"This timing wristband looks just like a handcuff. You really treat us examined like criminals..." Sean retracted his finger expressionlessly.
Tonpa fell to the ground with a thud , landing on his butt, his legs weak from Number Two's sudden finger attack. 'Mommy...Sean Zoldyck...you are a devil!'
'If you didn't want to wear it, why didn't you say so earlier?'
"Uh...Tonpa-san, are you okay?" Gon reached out a hand and pulled Tonpa up from the ground.
Leorio and Kurapika looked at each other. After hearing Sean put it that way, the timing wristbands really did look like handcuffs. Immediately, they lost interest in wearing them.
But in that case, without the wristbands, they couldn't vote. "Teacher Ben An, what should we do?"
They couldn't even open the secret door to leave this room. What should be done?
Except for Tonpa, who was still hiding behind Gon in fear and didn't dare look at Number Two, Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika looked at Number Two cautiously.
Number Two grinned: "It's very simple."
"Just shout 'Open Sesame' at this room, and the door will open naturally."
Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika looked at each other, bewildered. Number Two had a faint smile on his lips but offered no further explanation. He directly called out Tonpa: "Tonpa, you shout it..."
'Fucked by a dog... hateful guy, why do you keep biting onto me and not letting go?'
Tonpa felt depressed enough to vomit blood. He shrank away from behind Gon and, obeying Number Two's command, stammered out a shout: "Open Sesame..."
Suddenly, a blade sliced through the air—
Gon, Tonpa, Kurapika, and Leorio only felt a bright light flash past their eyes. In the blink of an eye, the way forward was blasted open!