"Brother Kusuo, you've been stuck in the lab all day. You didn't actually think you could keep up in a race, right? …Wait, you did think that?" Killua pointed at Saiki, looking totally shocked.

No need to overact and drag even more attention to us.

[Brother Kusuo definitely thought he could keep up!]

Good grief. I can keep up—don't underestimate a psychic, okay?

He just forgot about the "frail body" setting he'd been pretending to have.

[You and Alluka go ahead. Take this comm device, and I won't lose you. Call me when you reach the finish.] Saiki Kusuo pulled out a small phone from his bag. He also had a flying drone.

"But how are you going to catch up?"

You don't know about my powers yet. I can teleport.

Saiki Kusuo: [I'll show up at the finish line. Just protect the phone and the drone.]

"That's weird…" Killua looked suspicious, but after years of seeing Saiki's inventions, he wasn't too surprised anymore. He tossed the phone in the air and caught it, then turned to Alluka. "I'll keep Alluka safe. Big bro, you just catch up whenever."

Yare yare, what did I end up teleporting into this time?

After the crowd moved on, Saiki Kusuo looked around, found a flat spot, sat down, and closed his eyes.

The drone was just for show, to make Illumi think he was watching his brother.

"So what exactly triggers your teleportation?"

Chrollo. Saiki Kusuo didn't even lift his head, as if he was asleep.

There was a small sound next to him—seemed like Chrollo sat down too.

Saiki Kusuo opened his eyes.

[Shouldn't you be jogging with the group?]

"Can your teleport take people with you?"

Nope. And why should I take you? If you can run, then run on your own.

Chrollo flipped his phone and showed the screen to Saiki Kusuo.

It was a text message that said:

"Alright, we're taking this mission, but it's just assistance—we don't guarantee passing the Hunter Exam."

…?

"A 30% off coupon. I've been looking for a chance to use it. Better to use it now than wait until it's a real emergency, right? A test run before the Yorknew mission."

[So that's your excuse for wasting money? Let me see how much you paid. If it's too little, I'll cancel it myself.]

Saiki Kusuo opened his phone. He'd received the mission message earlier but hadn't bothered to check.

Mission details: Assist a Hunter Exam candidate named Shalnark, part of the Phantom Troupe. Just assistance—passing is not guaranteed.

Also, assistance does not require sacrificing the assistant. If both parties end up competing for a license, the assistant is allowed to quit.

Payment: 90 million Jenny.

90 million? For such vague help conditions? And that's after the 30% discount? The original price must be close to the license's worth.

"There's actually a shortcut. This underground tunnel has more than one path. If you know where the finish line is, we can take a shortcut and head straight there." Chrollo pointed out.

[Great idea. So how do you know where the finish line is when the examiners haven't even reached it yet?]

"Just a guess." Chrollo, still wearing Shalnark's face, opened a book and flipped through a few pages. Shalnark's face disappeared. His body didn't change much—it was just a power that altered his head.

At the same time, some shadow-like creatures came out of the book.

"These guys can scout ahead. Once I understand the route, I can guess the destination by thinking, 'If I were the examiner, what route would I pick?'"

[So you already knew there was a shortcut before using your ability?]

"Oh, that part I figured out from the computer earlier. But the actual route map was encrypted. The real Shalnark might've been able to crack it—I'm not good at that stuff, so I used my power instead."

Give me the computer and maybe I could've figured it out too.

Saiki Kusuo looked at it for two seconds. No, forget it. It didn't look very sturdy—accidentally breaking it would be a pain.

The shadow creatures scouted quickly and returned to Chrollo. Saiki Kusuo finally saw they looked like mice.

Chrollo picked them up with his bare hands to read the map they'd found.

Catching mice with your bare hands…

Even if they're made from aura, you can't help but feel they're full of germs.

Saiki Kusuo used telepathy to read the map forming in Chrollo's mind. That's much easier.

Chrollo:

If the examiner doesn't speed up—no, more likely they'll speed up by at least 20%—then the candidates' current location… There's no fork in the road ahead, but the nearest one is…

So there are three possible destinations, with two leading to the same place.

If I were the examiner, and I didn't want candidates to guess the finish line…

It's most likely the Zomeira Wetlands. There are two shortcuts, and the one on the right is the shortest.

Completely correct. Do you really need me to give coordinates?

"Now that we know the destination, can you just teleport us there?"

Why is this guy so sure I can teleport people? When did I ever say that?

[Sorry, but I've never been there, so no. And if everyone sees us show up at the finish line ahead of time, they'll definitely think we cheated. Sounds annoying—I'd rather not become the center of attention.]

Saiki Kusuo stood up and noticed dust on his white lab coat.

Yare yare, how long has it been since this place was cleaned?

…Please no cockroaches.

[So being there before is a requirement?] Chrollo thought.

Saiki Kusuo casually reset his clothes to how they looked a day ago.

Chrollo had already started walking ahead.

Saiki Kusuo never liked making small talk. He just walked quietly through the darkness.

Chrollo, on the other hand, kept taking out Shalnark's phone to message other members of the Troupe.

After all, the Yorknew arc was starting not long after the Hunter Exam, right?

Chrollo: [Once the coat is dry, just put it away. And by the way, the Hunter Exam will take at least half a month.]

Chrollo: [Stay with Phinks and the others during that time. Don't wander off.]

Just casual chat, huh.

"You see well in the dark?" Chrollo asked in the pitch black.

Yeah, they were deep in darkness now, the light was almost gone.

A normal person probably wouldn't be able to see a thing.

But a psychic's night vision is top-tier. He could walk with his eyes closed.

Probably thanks to some kind of perception-type ability.

[I'm from a family of assassins, so I'm used to it,] Saiki Kusuo casually made up an excuse.

Chrollo: [I can't see what's ahead, I can only tell from his footsteps that the path is clear. If Saiki wanted to kill me now, it would be way too easy. Should I use my phone as a flashlight? But battery is a problem. The Hunter Exam lasts a long time, and there might not be many chances to charge it.]

Then just turn on your flashlight already.

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