Milluki had been trained by Roy, so naturally, Roy would not hand him over to the Zoldyck family. Besides, the future head of the Zoldyck family would not be Milluki anyway, so letting Milluki establish himself outside early was not a bad thing.
Originally, Zeno still wanted to fight for a few benefits, but Mahā stopped him.
From Netero, Mahā had learned about what happened between Roy and Linne. As companions of several decades, Mahā gave Linne and Roy this bit of face and no longer involved himself in Milluki's affairs.
Thus, the pressure on Milluki from the Zoldyck family's side was easily resolved. While this let the second brother breathe a sigh of relief, it also made him feel even more grateful toward Roy.
The second brother now had ample funds in hand, and a positive-cycle industrial chain had already taken shape. Now, basically every day, no small amount of Jenny entered his accounts, enough to support his scientific research.
Before Milluki was called by Roy to participate in the Hunter Exam, he had already begun exploring Dr. Gero's deeper scientific achievements, among which were devices capable of absorbing other people's energy.
The second brother was very interested in such things. Now, he had completely set foot on a path of growing stronger through technology.
It was no exaggeration to say that the second brother's entire body now had hidden technological weapons installed everywhere.
If Illumi were not prepared, he would also suffer a setback at the second brother's hands.
Although the second brother had undergone earth-shaking changes, he still held deep admiration and gratitude toward Roy, and he obeyed Roy's words absolutely.
Thus, according to Roy's instructions, the second brother obediently found the Kiriko family in Zaban City, and they brought him to the site of this Hunter Exam.
This Hunter Exam was being held in a huge abandoned underground mine chamber.
Aside from the now-slim second brother, there were also some familiar old faces Roy recognized.
For example, Tonpa the Rookie Crusher, Bodoro, who had suffered a crushing defeat and exited the previous time, the Amori Brothers, the dark-skinned Geretta, the bee girl Ponzu, the little braid in purple clothes, and so on.
Nearly fifteen hundred people had gathered here. The number was a full three times larger than the previous session, making it very lively.
As time passed, the only door in the abandoned underground mine chamber opened, and Roy walked out under everyone's gaze.
Everyone's eyes turned toward Roy. Some people were stunned at first, then their eyes widened.
"It's him?!"
The Amori Brothers' expressions changed, mixed with fear.
Tonpa and the little braid in purple clothes, meanwhile, had twitching faces, looking extremely unhappy.
As for Geretta and Bodoro, their expressions were incomparably complicated.
The former had been directly defeated by Roy during the previous test, while the latter had watched several people obtain Hunter Licenses with his own eyes, while he himself became the only person who failed.
Moreover, an examinee who had discussed clearing the exam alongside them last time had, after only one year, become their examiner. The complexity and gap in their hearts could be imagined.
"So the chief examiner this time is Roy-aniki. No wonder he specifically told me to come take the Hunter Association's exam." A delighted and enlightened look appeared in the slim second brother's eyes.
Smart as he was, the moment he saw Roy appear, he had already understood something.
"Ahem."
Seeing all those gazes looking at him—some calm, some complicated, and some fearful—Roy could not help coughing once. The entire underground chamber instantly quieted down.
There were quite a few familiar faces he had not seen in a long time.
"As you can see, I am the examiner for the first phase of this Hunter Exam."
Roy swept his gaze around once, then spoke calmly.
"The number of people this year can be said to have broken the record. Fifteen hundred people, huh? Tsk, tsk. When I participated in the Hunter Exam, there were only four hundred people."
Roy sighed slightly, and the expressions of those familiar faces became even more complicated.
Looking at some people's expressions grow increasingly ugly, Roy continued on his own.
"Of course, as an examiner of the Hunter Exam, naturally, I will not bend the law for personal reasons or use public office to settle private grudges. I am still very fair."
Roy paused, then continued, "Of course, the main reason is that your strength is too weak. Right now, there is more than one level of difference between you and me. Naturally, I will not take you seriously anymore."
Bodoro: "..."
The Amori Brothers: "..."
Why did those words sound so stifling?
"Then, allow me to announce the specific rules of this phase."
Everyone immediately focused their minds and pricked up their ears, their eyes tightly fixed on Roy, especially the people who had previously been worried that Roy would use public office to settle private grudges.
"Considering that there are indeed a lot of people this time, I want the first phase alone to reach at least an eighty-percent elimination rate."
Hearing Roy's words, everyone's faces turned solemn.
Many of them were participating in the Hunter Exam for the first time. Hearing such a high elimination rate, they could not quite believe it for a moment.
"Duel."
Roy snapped his fingers.
"Defeat five people, take the number plates from their chests, then come behind this door. That will count as passing the first phase."
Roy pointed at the door behind him, and immediately felt the atmosphere throughout the entire venue turn heavy.
"After all, if you want to become a Hunter, lacking strength is unacceptable. The duel begins after I enter this door. So, I will be waiting for you behind it."
As he spoke, Roy waved his hand, walked up to the door, and pulled the handle open.
Everyone present gathered their focus and energy. As long as Roy entered through the door, a massive chaotic battle would instantly begin.
"Oh, right."
Roy's motion of pulling the door open stopped, and he turned back, revealing a warm smile to all the examinees.
"I forgot to add one more sentence. That is, if someone can defeat all fifteen hundred people present, then they will not need to continue participating in the rest of the exam. They will directly pass and become a Hunter."
Everyone was stunned. Then Roy turned his head back.
"Of course, the people defeated will naturally all be eliminated. So, anyone with great confidence in their own strength should think carefully!"
Bang!
The door closed.
After the scene fell silent for a while, even fiercer sounds of fighting and cursing quickly erupted.
"So that's how it is. Defeat all the examinees, huh?"
Milluki's expression was calm, and he tapped his chest a few times.
The next moment, like Tony Stark from Marvel suiting up, the second brother was instantly covered in a layer of armor.
(End of Chapter)
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